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JANUARY 12, 2020, BROOKLYN WEEKLY
RISKY BUSINESS
Board game cafe opens in Park Slope
Spot news
BY ROSE ADAMS
Luxury real estate developers
have entered into a
long-term lease agreement
to redevelop a large Surf Avenue
parking lot, according
to documents obtained by
the Brooklyn Paper.
The owner of Coney Island’s
beloved Gargiulo’s
Restaurant, Louis Russo,
fi led a 99-year lease agreement
with luxury development
fi rm LCOR on Dec.
30, giving the builder rights
to a sprawling parking lot
owned by the Russo family
that’s bordered by Mermaid
Avenue, W. 15th, and W. 16th
streets.
The lease agreement also
grants the developers control
over several adjacent
buildings, including 1530
Mermaid Avenue, which
houses S&M Mini Market, a
music venue called Classie
Sounds Entertainment at
2906 W. 15th Street, and an
empty lot on Mermaid Avenue
between Golden Crust
and H&R Block.
The lot is zoned R7x with
a C2-4 overlay, which permits
a mixed-use development
featuring ground fl oor
retail of around 6 to 10 stories
in height.
LCOR has built several
luxury commercial and
residential buildings in Miami,
Washington, DC, and
New York City, including
a seven-story rental building
in Williamsburg called
34Berry, whose studio, onebedroom,
and two-bedroom
apartments go for $2,100 to
$5,000 per month.
The Russo family, who
has owned Gargiulo’s since
1965, also signed an option
agreement with LCOR for
several other properties,
allowing the developers to
buy the lots for an undisclosed
price if they choose
to, records show.
The properties listed in
the option agreement include
two lots on Stillwell
and Mermaid avenues, as
well as a cluster of properties
on W. 15th Street between
the restaurant — located
across the street from
the parking lot — and Surf
Avenue. One of the lots
housed Rita’s Ice Cream,
HIGH END: The owners of the beloved Gargiulo’s Restaurant entered a lease agreement with a luxury
developer, who will most likely turn the restaurant’s parking lot into luxury apartments.
Photo by Corazon Aguirre.
which closed permanently
a couple of months ago, although
it’s unclear if the
franchise’s departure had
anything to do with the
lease deal, according to reports.
The agreements come
two weeks before another
glitzy residential complex,
Ocean Drive, is slated to
open on Surf Avenue between
W. 35th and W. 36th
streets. The luxury hirerise
comes equipped with
a movie theater, a 50-foot
swimming pool, and about
half a football fi eld worth of
oceanfront sundeck — and
the building is the fi rst of
many luxury skyscrapers
to come to the People’s Playground,
according to its billionaire
developer.
“We’re going to build
Ocean Drive one, Ocean
Drive two, Ocean Drive
three, Ocean Drive four, et
cetera,” said developer John
Catsimatidis, who founded
Gristedes Foods. “We want
to make Coney Island look
like Miami Beach!”
The Russo family and
LCOR did not respond to requests
for comment.
BY BEN VERDE
Talk about a monopoly!
Park Slope’s only board
game cafe celebrated its
grand opening last week,
giving gamers young and
old a chance to sip espresso
as they play any one of more
than 200 titles, according to
the owner.
“We realized that Park
Slope didn’t actually have
a space where people could
work and study in the
morning hours while having
a board game option at
night,” said Jonathan Li,
owner of Sip ‘N’ Play.
The neighborhood is already
home to the Brooklyn
Game Lab, but Li says the
Seventh Avenue establishment
is targeted towards
youngsters, whose parents
want them to harness
the educational benefi ts of
board games, as opposed to
strategists of all ages looking
for nothing more than a
good time.
“We wanted to be different
and go towards hobbyists
or families that are just
looking to have a fun family
night out,” he said.
The Fifth Avenue shop
offers board games for everyone
from the experienced
dungeon master to
the low-level wizard, including
the popular introductory
strategy game Settlers
of Catan, and the railwaythemed
Ticket to Ride,
which Li says is popular
among families.
A large draw to board
game cafes is the affordable
alternative they offer to
other nightlife options like
movies and drinks.
“All those options, especially
in New York, are
quite expensive,” Li said.
Sip N’ Play charges $5
per person for three hours
of play, or $10 per person for
unlimited play time, a good
deal cheaper than the average
$15 asked for a movie
ticket, with a snack menu.
For Li, a long-time board
game enthusiast and recent
college graduate, opening
a board game cafe was the
logical step when he came
across the site of a former
laundromat in the heart of
Park Slope, and he decided
to bail on his planned restaurant
in favor of what became
Sip ‘N’ Play.
Board games have been
steadily increasing in popularity
in the face of competition
from video games, with
sales estimated to reach
over $12 Billion globally by
2023, according to market
researchers. Li attributes
the industry’s popularity
with its ability to keep
pumping out fresh new
games for people to try, and
said he hopes to generate
even greater enthusiasm
for analog entertainment
systems through his cafe.
“I want to spread awareness
of board game cafes in
general,” he said.
Sip n Play 471 Fifth Ave.
at 10th Street, Park Slope,
(718) 971-1684} 9 am – 11 pm
daily, $5 per person for three
hours.
Gargiulo’s parking lot to become luxury housing
Jonathan Li opened Park Slope’s fi rst board game cafe geared towards kids and adaults, and which
features more than 200 titles. Photo by Ben Verde