OPINION: A real story of Prohibition in Brooklyn Heights
In a recent article and photo spread in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, reporter Mary Frost examined a recent shoot for hit HBO show “Boardwalk Empire” in Brooklyn Heights.
Monroe Place, in particular, was transformed into a street from 1931, complete with vintage automobiles, actors wearing fedoras, actresses wearing cloche hats and an old-style peanut vendor. (We trust he wasn’t doing the type of madcap stunts Chico Marx did as a peanut vendor in the 1933 classic “Duck Soup.”)
For those who don’t know, “Boardwalk Empire” deals with the rise of organized crime during the Prohibition era of the 1920s and early ’30s. Meyer Lansky, Al Capone and Arnold Rothstein are depicted as characters. But Downtown Brooklyn and Brooklyn Heights had their own Prohibition history — and part of it may have been unveiled by the late Eagle columnist Dennis Holt.
Before we go any further, no one New York City neighborhood was a “hotbed” of illegal liquor. Because Prohibition was so unpopular, there were speakeasies, or illegal bars, everywhere. These ranged from ritzy places like the 21 Club in Manhattan, which served the “real stuff” imported from Canada, to dives where rotgut bathtub gin was served. In addition, private clubs like the ones that used to exist in the Heights and nearby areas would often have a stock of booze discreetly on hand for their members.