We’ve rounded up the biggest stories of the week in Brooklyn, including the long anticipated openings of ABC Kitchens and Space Club in DUMBO. Plus, a STEAM center in the Brooklyn Navy Yard has completed a massive expansion, the borough’s largest children’s ER has opened, and 19th-century homes in Downtown Brooklyn have been saved from gutting. Read on to learn more!
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Chef Jean-Georges opens ABC Kitchens in DUMBO
On October 23, Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten opened his first Brooklyn restaurant inside Empire Stores, just steps from Jane’s Carousel and the East River waterfront. The new restaurant combines elements of ABC Kitchen, ABC Cocina, and the vegeterian abcV, with a menu highlighting favorites from all three—like Jean-Georges’s famous kale salad, peekytoe crab toast, green chickpea hummus, roast-carrot-and-avocado salad, arroz con pollo, pork tacos, and guacamole. For dessert, ABC Kitchens will offer tableside ice cream service in colorful cones. The 125-seat restaurant takes over the former Sugarcane space and features landmarked stone walls built from Brooklyn Bridge remnants. A spacious patio in Brooklyn Bridge Park offers outdoor dining with views of the bridge and the waterfront. Currently only open for dinner. Book your table here; reservations are available beginning October 28!
Space Club opens its DUMBO location to members on October 27
Space Club is opening its third location in DUMBO at 256 Plymouth Street, with a members-only preview from October 27–31 and a public opening on November 1. The indoor play space features a massive bead pit, Magna-Tile pit, trampolines, scarf-blowing machines, a three-level playground with slides, a bedazzling room, multiple party rooms, a café, and—coming in 2026—a rooftop greenhouse. Memberships ($299/month plus a $299 joining fee) include free classes, infant sibling entry, movie nights, after-school care access, and discounts on parties and café purchases. Non-member passes, available starting November 1, are $39 for two hours for one child and one adult. After-school programs begin January 2026, offering homework help, arts and crafts, open play, and school pick-up for Pre-K through 6th graders.
19th-century Downtown Brooklyn homes spared from gutting for high-rise development
Four houses on Duffield Street in Downtown Brooklyn stand out: they are 19th-century landmarked homes that built between the 1830s and 1847. A developer with plans for a high-rise tower directly behind them had proposed gutting the interiors, combining them, creating a new entrance, and altering the facades of these historic structures. However the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission rejected the plans, preserving the historic homes, for now. Read more here.
Maimonides opens Brooklyn’s largest children’s ER in Borough Park
Brooklyn STEAM Center expands in the Brooklyn Navy Yard
The Brooklyn STEAM Center at the Brooklyn Navy Yard has completed a 27,000-square-foot expansion, doubling enrollment to 600 students and adding six new career pathways—HVAC, game design, industrial product realization, manufacturing, live production technology, and audio engineering. The program combines classroom learning with hands-on industry experience, preparing students for careers in STEAM industries while earning college credits and certifications.
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Updated: October 23, 2025.
