(Photo courtesy of The Brooklyn Paper)

Let’s say you start working at a new restaurant or a trendy new ice cream store, wouldn’t you want to know if your boss is doing what he can to make it profitable? If you knew that he has a shady past, would you work there? Would you patronize the business? Obviously, you would not go there if you knew the “business owner” was using your credit card number to steal at least $25,000, or that he was paying employees with bad checks. That’s what Daniel Kaufman, who managed Wine Bar, Busy Chef, Blue Pig ice cream, and Oven, all located on Henry Street at the corner of Cranberry Street in Brooklyn Heights is accused of, according to a NY Times story published yesterday. If you’ve been following our neighboring blog, the Brooklyn Heights Blog, they first broke the story of Kaufman’s shady past over a year ago. But not until back payments unpaid, bouncing paychecks, and credit card fraud did the story become much more public. Nearly 50 hard working employees are now out of work, and as BHB states, he “just couldn’t sit on the sidelines“. Neither can we. If any readers can help with a contact or job opportunity for any of the former employees, please contact webmaster @ brooklynheightsblog.com.

The 20 Henry Street condominium has released their first phase of sales last week. (Curbed featured this yesterday.) We’ve received several tips from our readers who mentioned that they’ve met with the sales office. There are two buildings in the project; one is the former Peaks Mason Mints building (on the corner of Henry and Middagh) and the second is a newly constructed 4 story building on the corner of Poplar and Henry. We’ve always liked the older building, which is an 1864 industrial loft building with 22 units. The new building is a 4 story, 14 unit building. There aren’t too many loft conversions left in Brooklyn Heights and the sales office has priced the units appropriately. Our tipster said the sales broker told them that these are great deals. “Get them before the prices jump.” The ceiling height is 9″ for both and there will be a garden courtyard between the buildings and a workout room. (A few floorplan samples after the jump). Some example prices:

• $1,575,000; 3 bed, 2 bath, 1530 sqft, maint: $1296, tax: $181.
• $1,490,000; 2 bed, 2 bath, 1310 sqft, maint: $1110, tax: $153.
• $625,000; 1 bed, 1 bath, 726 sqft (47 sqft balcony), maint: $615, tax: $74.

On one hand, loft conversions in prime Brooklyn are hard to come by. However, with the economy being what it is, will they sell at these prices?

{Sizing Up a Heights Newcomer, 31Jul2008, Curbed}
{20 Henry Swings Back Into Action, 25Jun2008, Brownstoner}
{From Mints to Condos at 20 Henry Street, 29Apr2008, Brownstoner}
{20henry.com}
{DOB filing}

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The Brooklyn International Film Festival, a 10 day International event for independent film makers is taking place this week. One of the highlights is a film called The Collective, written and directed by husband and wife team Judson Pearce Morgan and Kelly Overton. Kelly also plays a woman who goes to NYC to look for her sister who disappeared. Her search leads her to a clandestine society, where the film takes us through some dark, mysterious, and thrilling scenes. Several of the scenes were filmed in Dumbo and Brooklyn Heights last year.

A second screening will take place on Thursday, June 5 at 8pm at the Brooklyn Lyceum. (Details here) We caught Judson for a few questions.

DumboNYC: A lot of scenes in THE COLLECTIVE were filmed in and around Brooklyn Heights/Dumbo. Were you and Kelly living in the area at the time?
Judson: Yeah, we were living on Clark St. in Brooklyn Heights. We would go on walks on the promenade to brainstorm as we wrote the movie and naturally be inspired by the beauty of the area and the city.

DumboNYC: Was the filming in the area for convenience or specifically for the scenes in the movie?
Judson: There were a few sequences in the film where the lead character, played by Kelly, is sent on a wild goose chase around the city by a group of her sisters friends, Dumbo and the surrounding area were the perfect locations to send a girl who isn’t familiar with the city, to get her out of sorts. It was a combination of the story needs and the sheer cinematic quality of the streets overlooking Manhattan and the bridges.

DumboNYC: Have you written a follow up to the movie? What’s next for you and Kelly?
Judson: We are in the gearing up for our next film, a modern day take on the story of the prodigal son. But, we are proud to announce that THE COLLECTIVE will be getting distributed, so anyone who misses it on the festival tour will be able to pick it up when it gets a broader release later this year or early 2009.

Thanks Judson and hope we’ll be seeing more of your films!
More info on the Film festival: wbff.org
thecollectivemovie.com

There’s a wine and food opening reception and open house for Yoga People on Saturday May 17 from 3-6 pm. The yoga studio & spa center is an expansion of the existing Yoga People on Remsen St. There’s a free yoga class on Sunday May 18th from 1-2 pm.

Yoga People (yoga-people.com)
160 Montague Street, 2nd floor, Brooklyn, NY
718-522-9642

What: PS 8 Annual Spring Auction
When: Thursday, April 10, 7-9pm
Where: Hillis Hall, Plymouth Church, 75 Hicks Street, Brooklyn Heights

Please join PS8 for live music, wine, hors d’oeuvres to celebrate the school and support their children. Tickets are $50 in advance ($75 at the door) at www.ps8pta.org. Some items on the auction block:

• Baking lessons for six children at Almondine Bakery
• Wine tasting with a noted wine expert
• Be a Principal of the Day with Mr. Phillips
• Vacation home stays
• Artwork from local artists
• Personal sessions with a fitness trainer
• Estate planning sessions with an attorney
• …and much more…

An event from our neighbor friends in Brooklyn Heights at Magnetic Field:
Pant-Hoot is Charles Star’s comedy showcase, featuring excellent stand-up comedy and an educational interlude about chimpanzees from Monkeywire.
This month’s show features:

• Moody McCarthy (Last Comic Standing, Jimmy Kimmel)
• Adam Wade
• DJ Hazard (American Misfits (on Fuse), Boston comedy legend)
• Gilad Foss
• Rachael Parenta, and more

Hosted by Charles Star (charlesstar.com (Onion News Network) with an educational interlude from Monkeywire (Monkeywire.org)

Tuesday, January 15 at 8PM
Magnetic Field
97 Atlantic Avenue between Hicks and Henry (Brooklyn Heights)
Free – and happy hour all night.

An event from our neighbor friends in Brooklyn Heights at Magnetic Field in Sept 25 promises that “there will be more hilarity, more chimpanzee information and, in addition to the zero-dollar cover charge, I found out that it is happy hour all night on Tuesdays.” Can’t beat that for entertainment!:

Pant-Hoot Comedy – Sept. 25 at 8PM
Magnetic Field (magneticbrooklyn.com)
97 Atlantic Ave. between Hicks and Henry (Free!)
Featuring:

• Tom Shillue (Conan O’Brien, Comedy Central Presents:) (tomshillue.com)
• Becky Donohue (Comedy Central’s Premium Blend and Tough Crowd) (beckydonohue.com)
• Baron Vaughn (HBO/Aspen Comedy Festival, CC’s Open Mic Fight) (baronvaughn.com)
• Jesse Popp (Comedy Central’s Premium Blend) (myspace.com/jwpopp)
• Matt Taylor (Waltz) (myspace.com/matthewallentaylor)

Hosted by Charles Star (Onion News Network contributor, Stay Free!) (myspace.com/charles_star)
with an educational interlude about primates from Monkeywire (monkeywire.org).

Congratulations to Homer Fink’s Brooklyn Heights Blog, who celebrated their one year anniversary last night at Magnetic Field Cocktail Lounge last night. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to make it, but I’m sure it was fun. BHB has been a great resource to find out about Brooklyn Heights’ hot topics, events, and news. We’re looking forward to another year of blogging.

AM New York’s City Living features Brooklyn Heights in today’s paper, which includes an interview with BHB.

{AM New York City Living}
{brooklynheightsblog.com}