2
BROOKLYN WEEKLY, MAY 31, 2020
The restaurateurs behind Gage & Tollner (from left) Ben Schneider,
Sohui Kim and St. John Frizell have seen an outpouring
of support on their online shop. Photo by Julianne Cuba
BY JESSICA PARKS
After the coronavirus
pandemic halted the
highly-anticipated resurrection
of Downtown
Brooklyn’s Gage & Tollner,
the restaurateurs behind
the iconic eatery have seen
an outpouring of support
on their online shop.
“It was crazy how much
people are supporting us
in the way of gift certifi -
cates,” said Sohui Kim, executive
chef and one of the
restaurant’s co-owners.
“That is banking on the future
of Gage & Tollner, so
it’s just been really wonderful.”
The revival of the 1870sera
oyster and chop house
caused a torrent of excitement
when Kim, her husband
Ben Schneider, and
their business partner St.
John Frizell announced
they were aiming to bring
the eatery back to Fulton
Street, where it closed in
2004.
“It was just this big
thing that was building
and everybody was so excited,”
Kim said. “People
would just sort of peek in
and say ‘oh my god, is this
place coming back.”
But the triumphant return
was foiled just two
days before their scheduled
grand opening, when
the entrepreneurs postponed
their plans as the
virus began to grip the
borough. Days later, Gov.
Andrew Cuomo instituted
his ongoing stay-at-home
order.
“We decided to postpone
it because we knew
at that point that it was
bad enough. Not just like
a week or two ordeal, but I
am thinking if we just wait
a couple of months, we can
still have the grander opening,”
Kim said. “We have
to preserve this because it
is history-making.”
In the two months
since the postponement,
online sales of Gage & Tollner
merchandise and gift
certifi cates have buoyed
the owners through the
incomeless pandemic —
as the inconvenient timing
prevented them from
opening for take-out and
delivery.
“I was just expecting
both my sisters and some
of my aunts and uncles to
buy a tote bag, but it has
been amazing,” Kim said.
The trio of restaurateurs
are reimagining
their grand opening considering
the new regulations
in place once eateries
can begin serving diners
again — a prospect scheduled
for phase 3 of the governor’s
reopening plan.
“When it comes to reopening
restaurants and
offi cially opening Gage &
Tollner, we do have to play
by the rules that are so different
now,” Kim said. “We
have to have a playbook
in place to safeguard our
workers as well as the public.
The real puzzle is how
do we do this right.”
Fed up and ready to fi sh!
BY ROSE ADAMS
Dozens of fi shermen who
cast their lines off southern
Brooklyn’s Floyd Bennett
Field are slamming federal
park offi cials for closing the
park in order to store idle
MTA buses — claiming that
the closure has taken a toll
on their fi nances and mental
health.
“I think of it not only as
a place to catch, but also as
a place to de-stress,” said
Adrian Morris, who added
that most fi shermen eat
the fi sh they catch. “Ninety
percent of the fi shermen
take their fi sh for food …
The fi sh market is not exactly
cheap.”
Federal offi cials closed
the 1,000-plus-acre greenspace
in late April so that
the MTA could store buses
that have been taken out of
commission because of reduced
service during the
COVID-19 pandemic, according
to Brenda Ling, a
spokeswoman from Gateway
National Recreation
Area, which oversees the
the fi eld.
Park offi cials opted to
seal off the entrance to the
park because a partial closure
would be “diffi cult to
maintain and resource intensive,”
Ling told The City
in April. There are currently
69 buses being stored
at Floyd Bennet Field, according
to an MTA spokesperson
who said that the
fl eets will return to their
own depots once the agency
resumes normal service.
Following the park’s closure,
a group of more than
400 gardeners lobbied offi
cials to let them back in,
claiming that the gardens
provide them with needed
food and downtime. Park
stewards headed the gardeners’
calls, and, one
week later, sent letters of
permission to each green
thumb that allowed them
back into the fi elds.
But now, more than 50
fi shermen are wondering
Fishermen say the closure of Floyd Bennett Field due to the pandemic has taken a toll on their fi -
nances and mental health. National Park Service
where their permission
letters are — arguing that
the park is an important
source of food and leisure
for them, too.
“I go everyday. That’s
where I spend most of my
time,” said Leondre Descartes,
a retired Mill Basin
resident who says he’s
fi shed at the fi eld every
summer for the last 20
years. “We breathe fresh
air and we meet our friends
and we talk.”
The popular fi shing
spot, located on the eastern
side of the park near aircraft
Hangar B, gives the
anglers access to some of
the best fi sh in the city, including
large striped bass,
blue fi sh, fl ounder, fl uke
and sea robin — making it
a citywide destination, said
the fi shermen.
“There is not many access
to fi shing areas,” said
Morris, a Brownsville resident
who has traveled to
Floyd Bennett Field for 15
years. “Fishermen come
from all over.”
Fishing is compatible
with the social distancing
rules, Morris added, since
anglers must stand far
enough away from the each
other to prevent keep their
fi shing lines straight.
“Fishermen do not fi sh
on top of each other,” he
said. “They don’t want to
get their lines tangled up.”
National Parks offi -
cials, however, said that
the chances of allowing
the fi shermen back into the
fi eld are slim, since unlike
the gardeners, they do not
form a larger, legal entity.
“The reason the gardeners
are able to have access
is because the Floyd Bennett
Field Gardeners’ Association
is a formal organization
and the Floyd Bennett
Field Gardeners’ Association
holds a lease with the
National Park Service,”
Ling told Brooklyn Paper.
“The Floyd Bennett Field
Gardeners’ Association is
managing the activity and
assuming liability.”
Offi cials added that the
fi shermen can fi nd similar
fi shing spots in Queens and
eastern Brooklyn.
“We realize that each
fi shing enthusiast has
their favorite spot; but we
have many miles of shoreline
around Jamaica Bay
and along the Rockaways
to provide fi shing opportunities
while Floyd Bennett
Field is temporarily
closed, and encourage our
visitors to discover some of
these sites in the interim,
Beach Channel Drive, Fort
Tilden, Canarsie Pier, Shirley
Chisholm State Park, to
name a few.” said Jen Nersesian,
the superintendent
of Gateway National Recreation
Area.
But the Floyd Bennett
Field fi shermen, who have
already paid $50 for their
annual fi shing permits at
the fi eld, say they remain
loyal to their beloved spot.
“Everyday I go up there
and I see a cop and ask him
when it’s going to open,”
said Decartes. “We really
miss it.”
Gage & Tollner sees
community support
amid reopening delay
Floyd Bennett Field fi shermen blast feds
for closing park to store idle buses