WHEN THE BAY RIDGE COLONIAL CLUB met for lunch last week their speaker was one of the new members, Heather Hamilton. With an alliterative name and a vital new role in the community, Heather has taken over a business that was owned and operated for decades by one of the most powerful politicians in the state, Mike Long, head of the Conservative Party. But it was not a political connection or interest in power that brought her to buy Long’s Wine & Liquor Shop. Hamilton, a former theater professional with a background on Broadway, found that she had developed a “passion for the grape.” With her business savvy gained through years of managing New York theaters, she also realized that selling wine has a lot to do with stage design — or in her new business, label presentation. Many novice wine buyers will choose something based on the label. “I’m here to guide them on which wines are really good, whether the label is attractive or not,” says Hamilton.
That’s why she started regular wine tastings on Friday and Saturday evenings, which have become so popular. The tastings are among the many reasons Hamilton can be found at Long’s seven days a week, often working alongside her sister. She also samples every wine that she carries in order to make custom-tailored recommendations. Running the store has taught her quite a bit in the several months it has been open, but there is ever more to learn: “Wine will keep me interested for decades to come,” she said. For a schedule of tastings and store location, visit www.longswines.com.
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ON WEDNESDAY MORNING, May 21, Boerum Hill resident and architecture expert ROBERT ZAGAROLI will speak to students and anyone else fascinated by the opening of the Brooklyn Bridge 125 years ago this weekend. The 10 a.m. presentation at NY City College of Technology, Atrium faculty lounge, will be accompanied by images and graphics from the bridge’s history dating to the late 1800s and short readings from the work of bridge-admiring poets Walt Whitman and Harold Hart Crane. Zagaroli is a knowledgeable source of ‘Great Bridge’ information, as professor of architectural technology and chair of the same department at City Tech. Those planning to attend should RSVP in advance to slazala@citytech.cuny.edu. Also don’t miss the corresponding library showcase exhibit on the fourth floor of the Atrium Building.
BRIEFLY NOTED:
BROOKLYN RESIDENT TENNESSEE JONES of Hunter College has been selected for excellence in creative writing as one of 44 winners of the national Jacob K. Javits Fellowship to pursue graduate study. Selected from 899 applicants, fellows are chosen on the basis of superior academic achievement, financial need and exceptional promise. Jones will receive a stipend of up to $30,000. The Brooklyn Hospital Center yesterday announced the appointment of Richard B. Becker, M.D., as its new president and CEO. Becker will be transferring in June from his current position as CEO of George Washington University Hospital in Washington, D.C. This appointment is the result of a nationwide search for a successor to Samuel Lehrfeld, who announced his intention to step down late last year. Becker and his wife, Rachel, a psychiatrist and native New Yorker, have three young children and are excited to return to New York.
