‘No bridge scoop for you’
B’klyn ice-cream woe
The Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory, a longtime favorite of confectionery cravers at the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge, might soon serve its last fresh-made sundaes and shakes.
The Brooklyn Bridge Park Corp. is expected to announce a new operator as early as this week for the food concession at the nearly century-old historic former fireboat station at 1 Water St.
The dessert mecca — which famously kickstarted Brooklyn’s “artisanal” ice-cream revolution — bravely opened on the East River waterfront two months after 9/11, when acrid smoke from the World Trade Center still wafted across the water.
“It’s a strange time to open an ice-cream shop,” a skeptical New York Times article reported. “Businesses are closing, the markets are struggling and the city’s spirit is subdued.”
But the Factory’s inexpensive treats (today $4 for a single scoop, $8.50 for a banana split), made in-house, quickly drew crowds even in winter — and came to symbolize the Big Apple’s resilience.
The Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory is run by Mark Thompson and owned by Buzzy O’Keeffe, who also owns the culinary landmark River Cafe a half-block away.
But with the Factory’s license with the city up, the Park Corporation put out a request for proposals last summer for an operator to run a “high-quality food and beverage concession.” The new license holder would also have to pay for major capital improvements including expanded access to the mostly unused second floor.
Although Thompson and O’Keeffe are said by sources to have put in their own bid on the site, the edge might go to larger companies that can afford the pricey upgrades, locals said.
Responses were due last September but haven’t been made public.