This month brought several exciting openings to Brooklyn—from a new supermarket and children’s hair salon in Park Slope, to a bookstore in Prospect Heights, an art studio specifically for teens in Sunset Park, and a new toy store in Bay Ridge. Even more openings are slated for early 2026, including a pickleball club in Red Hook, a ceramics studio and rock climbing gym in DUMBO, and a French-English bilingual daycare in Carroll Gardens.
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Closing or Moving:
The Donald and Barbara Zucker Natural Exploration Area in Prospect Park will be closing in early 2026. The Prospect Park Alliance will be reconstructing the surrounding Vale landscapes and creating a new Natural Exploration Area that should be open by 2028.
The Music Hall of Williamsburg is losing its lease at the end of the month and its future is undetermined for now.
The beloved Brooklyn Strategist boardgame store is leaving its location in Cobble Hill and moving to Brooklyn Heights.
Indian Larry Motorcycles in Greenpoint will be closing by the end of the year.
Brooklyn Plaza Medical Center, Inc. will be leaving its Fort Greene location and moving to Crown Heights at the beginning of next year.
Sit Still. Kids Salon opened on December 13th and is located on 5th Avenue at 12th Street in Park Slope. They use gentle products, have eco-friendly games and toys to play with before appointments, and give families the option of using individual tablets. They offer hair cuts, special occasion styles, mini-manis, a “Teach Me How to Braid” session, and more. They also do parties!
Love & Legends Books is NYC’s newest independent book store specializing in fantasy, sci-fi, and romance books. They also have children’s and young adult literature. The store is located on Washington Avenue between St. Marks Avenue and Prospect Place. Events such as Quiet Reading Nights, book clubs, and more are listed on their website.
The city’s fourth trauma recovery center recently opened in Downtown Brooklyn. This facility will focus on helping the formerly incarcerated, crime survivors, low-income individuals, and immigrants access mental health services and other resources.
Lista Studios is a brand new art space for teenagers to learn, create, and find their artistic voice. They offer studio sessions, after school workshops, and special workshops when school is not in session. Find their schedule here.
Lidl opened on December 10 at 680 Baltic Street, at the corner of 5th Avenue and Baltic Street. The supermarket is part of the Paseo on Fifth development in Park Slope, which includes two luxury apartment buildings and various retailers on the ground floor. Similar to Trader Joe’s and Aldi, Lidl offers a broad assortment of products, including its 49-cent butter croissants, private-label Butcher’s Specialty meats, and Bon Gelati mini ice cream bars. Shoppers can also find gourmet favorites like frozen tiramisu, aged Parmigiano Reggiano, and authentic prosciutto. Lidl will be open 8am-9pm daily.
Bay Ridge and Cobble Hill NYC Ferry riders can now catch a ride to St. George in Staten Island as well as Battery Park City and Midtown West in Manhattan. See schedule here.
LEGO fans will love Bay Ridge’s newest store Kidult Brick, which opened on December 21st after moving from Gravesend. Customers can buy, sell, or trade LEGO kits. They have LEGO figurines. In addition to LEGOs, they also carry Squishmallows, Pokémon cards, Hot Wheels, and many other toys. They are open from 11am-6:30pm daily.
Keep an eye out for more updates on these upcoming spots!
The sweep of Lidl markets into the Brooklyn scene continues with a location in Williamsburg gearing up to open on Lorimer and Grand Street.
Velto Pickleball Club is scheduled to open in Winter 2025 on the second floor of the Tesla Building at 160 Van Brunt Street in Red Hook, Brooklyn, occupying 14,000 square feet with four full-size courts, a half-court, a mezzanine lounge, and a smoothie bar. The club, New York City’s first fully automated pickleball facility, will offer competitive matches, open play, lessons and clinics, coaching, private events, and leagues for players of all skill levels. Additional spaces include lounges and coworking areas. Hours will be Monday through Sunday from 6am to 12am, with separate peak and off-peak pricing for members and non-members.
The Goods Mart, a convenience store focused on healthier snacks and pantry staples, is coming later this year to Williamsburg Wharf, the new mixed-use waterfront development at 470 Kent Avenue. This will be the shop’s first location in Williamsburg, joining a retail lineup at Williamsburg Wharf that includes a new location of Breads Bakery and a restaurant from chef Eyal Shani. The female-owned Goods Mart offers snacks, drinks, and everyday items from emerging brands.
A new pottery studio will open on the corner of Jay and John in the former NY Media Center space in January 2026 offering pottery classes for adults and kids, day camps, and community events. Registration for January classes is open. See the schedule here.
Petits Poussins is opening up a new location in Carroll Gardens at 283 Court Street. The French-English bilingual daycare will infants and toddlers ages 3 months to 2 years. Each classroom has one French-speaking teacher and one English-speaking teacher, with a curriculum focused on early language acquisition, well-being, and the development of fine and gross motor skills. Applications accepted on a rolling basis.
Cobble Hill Ballet, the ballet studio for toddlers all the way up to adults, has signed a lease for a 5,803 square foot space at 300 Huntington Street in Gowanus. The studio already has locations in Gowanus and the Columbia Street Waterfront with their Court Street location closing in January 2026. The studio will be on the 5th floor of a mixed-use 6-story building.
Brooklyn Uprising, a new indoor rock climbing gym, is set to open in January 2026 at 20 John Street in DUMBO, directly across from Brooklyn Bridge Park. Alongside bouldering walls, the facility will feature weight training, a sauna, and locker rooms, plus options for climbing coaching and personal training. The gym will be for ages 16 and up.
The Greenpoint Comedy Club will be opening in the spring on Greenpoint Avenue between Franklin Street and West Street. Get ready to laugh by signing up for their email list here.
The co-working company The Malin has announced a new location coming to 57 Court Street in Brooklyn Heights. The 15,000 square foot space will be located on the second floor above SoulCycle, Sephora, and Hot 8 Yoga. This will be The Malin’s 7th location in New York City and its 2nd location in Brooklyn, with an outpost already established in Williamsburg.
Indoor golf simulation with a clubhouse style restaurant is coming to the plaza at 25 Kent Avenue. Slated to open in spring of 2026, this location will have state-of-the-art Trackman golf simulator bays, high-speed swing cameras, and access to 200+ world-class virtual golf courses.
In Fall 2026, the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music will open a second hub on Grand Army Plaza, just a few blocks away from their Park Slope home at 58 7th Avenue. The new 12,000 square foot expansion at One Prospect Park West will more than double enrollment in their music programs, and will house their new Music Therapy Institute. Learn more and watch a video for the expansion here!
The Brooklyn grocer Union Market has a signed a lease for a 10,000-square-foot grocery store at 499 President in Gowanus. Union Market carries speciality and organic groceries, with six locations across Brooklyn and downtown Manhattan. The mixed-use development at 499 President is slated to become a neighborhood hub, with other retail tenants including Italian cafe Corto, Spear Physical Therapy, pizzeria Paulie Gee’s, and Royal Palms Shuffleboard.
The athletic club Life Time has announced another Brooklyn location on the Gowanus waterfront. Still in development, 175 Third Street will be the largest building in Gowanus when it is finished. The new Life Time Club will occupy 85,000 square feet, with year-round rooftop hot and cold pools, saunas, and a bar. Indoors, it will have a co-ed wet suite with sauna, steam, red-light and infrared therapies. There will also be pickleball, coworking lounge spaces, and a Kids Academy with supervised childcare for 3 months and up.
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Updated: December 22, 2025. Main Image: Kidult Brick in Bay Ridge
