Prospect, Crown Heights Eateries Got $34M From Federal Stimulus

CROWN HEIGHTS, BROOKLYN — More than 180 restaurants, caterers and other food spots in and around Prospect and Crown Heights received grants from the federal government as part of the stimulus package passed in January, according to newly released data.

Ranging from $1,400 to $1.2 million, the grants came from the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, a key component of the American Rescue Act. The recipients were revealed Friday by the Small Business Administration in response to a Freedom of Information Act request.

In Brooklyn, 1,346 food businesses got a slice of the funding, 188 of them in the five ZIP codes covering Prospect and Crown Heights: 11216, 11233, 11213, 11225 and 11238. The ZIP codes also include parts of Bed-Stuy, Prospect Lefferts Gardens and Brownsville.

In those ZIP codes, the eatery that got the largest grant was Crown Heights' own Franklin Park beer garden, which received $1.23 million. Italian restaurant Cent'Anni, Suite 704 on Franklin Avenue and Prospect Heights hotspot Maison Yaki were also among the biggest grants in the neighborhoods.

All told, the 188 Prospect and Crown Heights-area grants amount to more than $33.5 million. The government's $28.6 billion fund closed at the end of June after granting less than a third of the more than 370,000 requests made nationwide.

In New York, 27,000 across the state got Restaurant Revitalization grants, totaling more than $9.6 billion.

The fund was initially supposed to prioritize restaurants owned by women, veterans and members of other marginalized groups, but that aspect was halted after white business owners sued, alleging that the government was discriminating against them.

Below, scroll through the full list of Prospect and Crown Heights-area spots that received federal grants. (Note that many are listed under business aliases, but searching the name on the state's liquor license database can reveal each one's identity.)