We’ve rounded up Brooklyn’s top stories of the week: the long-awaited restoration of DUMBO’s cobblestone streets is finally complete; Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s holiday light show has opened; no new Michelin stars were awarded to Brooklyn restaurants in the 2025 guide; a new tortilleria has debuted in Park Slope; and a young girl was struck while crossing a street in the Columbia Street Waterfront District. Read on for the latest!
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DUMBO’s Belgian block restoration is now complete after 6 years of construction
A six-year, $108 million project to restore DUMBO and Vinegar Hill’s historic Belgian block streets has wrapped. Installed between the 1870s and 1930s, more than 800,000 cobblestones were removed, reworked, and reset across 26 blocks. Led by the Department of Design and Construction with DOT, the project also upgraded sewers and stormwater systems, added new ADA-accessible crosswalks, more than 110 pedestrian ramps, and 1.7 miles of granite bike lanes. Along the way, crews unearthed 2,800 artifacts dating as far back as the 1670s.
Brooklyn restaurants denied new Michelin stars in 2025 guide
At the Michelin Guide’s 2025 ceremony, six New York restaurants earned new stars—none of them in Brooklyn. Still, six Brooklyn restaurants kept their stars (five one-star, one two-star), and three more were added to Michelin’s list of recommendations. Click here for all of Brooklyn’s Michelin-star restaurants, restaurants removed from the Michelin Guide this year, as well as new additions to their list of recommended restaurants.
Lightscape opens at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s winter light show Lightscape opens this week. The dazzling display transforms the Garden’s landscapes, trees, water features, architectural details, and paths into a magical winter wonderland. Along the trail, kids can enjoy hot chocolate and treats, and there is mulled wine and hot cider for adults. Lightscape will run from November 21 through January 4, with tickets starting at $39/adult and $22/child during off-peak hours. Children 2 and under are free!
Vato opens in Park Slope
Corima, the Michelin-starred Mexican restaurant from the Lower East Side, has opened Vato, a tortilleria, bakery, and soon-to-be dinner spot in Park Slope built around its famed flour tortillas. By day, it serves Chihuahuan-style burritos, Mexican pastries, and Oaxacan coffee; dinner service launches in mid-December, shifting the space into a walk-in-only natural wine bar with Northern Mexican–meets–Basque plates. The restaurant has a small bar, open kitchen, and back patio, with tortillas sold by the pack and pastries like conchas and churros available during daytime hours. Initially open 7am-3pm Thursday–Monday, Vato will add evening hours 5-10pm once dinner service begins in December.
Young girl struck by car on Columbia Street Waterfront
A child was injured when she was struck by a car this week crossing at Columbia Street and President Street, at the border of Carroll Gardens. Community members have put together a petition to urge the DOT to improve the safety of this intersection, which they say is long overdue for safety measures.
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Updated: November 22, 2025. Main Image: DUMBO celebrates the completion of the Belgian block restoration project.
