BROOKS 1890 BUILDING, LONG ISLAND CITY

In 2019 I finally had the opportunity to visit the Brooks 1890 restaurant at Jackson Avenue and Court Square after attending a book signing by 1969 Miracle Met Art Shamsky.

The restaurant was a delight to sit in and while away an afternoon with lunch and a couple of drinks. There’s a tiled floor, wood timbers, tin ceilings, and stained glass. The place is more spacious than the exterior seems to indicate. Since the 1910s under a number of names, Brooks Restaurant served lawyers, court personnel and even defendants who were in the busy courthouse across the street, as well as hospital personnel and since 1989, workers in the Citicorp tower. I had been by the restaurant many times but till recently, the policy was to close it on the weekends and thus, I had never entered. The area has been getting busier with all the new construction, and the restaurant finally opened all week.

The building went up around 1890 and was the Long Island City Hall before its conversion to a restaurant around 1910. The original proprietors were Martin Heilbut and Herman Kleefeld, whose interlocking H and K initials are preserved in stained glass above the bar. The tavern was known as  Kleefeld Hall, Kleefeld’s saloon, Kleefeld’s Hotel and Hielbut and Kleefeld, but in the 1920s it became the Court Square Restaurant. When it was purchased in the 1970s by Bill “Brooks” Gounaris, he named it for himself. Tragically, a previous owner had committed suicide.

Unfortunately Brooks 1890 closed in 2025. However, a new restaurant featuring Hong Kong and Cantonese cuisine has opened in its place, the Dim Sum Palace. The exterior remains the same except for new signage, while the interior was heavily altered. Yelp reviews are mixed.

Check out the ForgottenBook, take a look at the  gift shop. As always, “comment…as you see fit.” I earn a small payment when you click on any ad on the site. 

5/17/26