6
BROOKLYN WEEKLY, APRIL 7, 2019
SAHARA
see it permanently closed
feels like a death,” wrote Sahana
Hanif on Facebook.
Located at 2337 Coney Island
Ave., the family-owned
Mediterranean eatery fi rst
opened in 1986 and featured
a dining area, dance club,
and private event space.
“Our establishment
can accommodate any occasion
with our outside
seating in the oasis garden,
private party room
with a capacity of 40, and
our second-fl oor dance
hall for special occasions
with a capacity of 110.
No party is too big or too
small,” reads the now-defunct
restaurant’s promotional
materials.
Over the years, Sahara
developed a devout following
in the neighborhood,
becoming a go-to spot for
holidays and special occasions,
patrons said.
“We spent every Christmas
and Easter here and
we’d always come in the
summer,” said Facebook
user Mariam Atia. “So
sad.”
The closing gives the
community one less place
to grub, but for some,
it represents a more
sentimental loss.
“This restaurant was a
Brooklyn icon for my family
and so many people I
know. It’s where we went
for birthdays, anniversaries,
and family get togethers,”
Hanif said. “Feels
odd to lose a dining place
where so many late nights
with my parents and sisters
were spent.”
This newspaper is not responsible for typographical errors in ads beyond the cost of the space occupied by the error. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2019 by Brooklyn Courier
Life LLC. The content of this newspaper is protected by Federal copyright law. This newspaper, its advertisements, articles, and photographs may not be reproduced, either in
whole or part, without permission in writing from the publisher except brief portions for purposes of review or commentary consistent with the law. Postmaster, send address
changes to Courier Life, One MetroTech Center North, 10th Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201.
CLOSED: Sahara, the popular Turkish restaurant in Sheepshead
Bay, has shuttered. Photo by Stefano Giovannini
Continued from page 1
reach.
“People think police offi -
cers are robots and we’re not
human,” Rhodes said. “But
when they see I actually like
music and I can do what I do,
it humanizes the idea of being
a police offi cer.”
The Bedford-Stuyvesant
native has been a
fan of mixing music his
whole life, and picked up
his nickname from a guy
in his neighborhood. But
he only went public with
his talents about fi ve years
ago, he said, when others
at the 78th precinct urged
him to enter a “cops versus
kids” disk jockey battle,
and he has played regularly
since then. This will
be his third year spinning
at the Taste of Fifth, where
he mixes together tracks
old and new, he said, playing
whatever will get the
crowd moving.
In addition to music
from DJ Ace, the night will
offer unlimited cocktails,
beer, and wine, and samples
from Fifth Avenue restaurants
and shops, including
new spots Pizza Secret,
Lizzie Kings, and Amy
Poehler-owned shop Zula
Wines, serving alongside
veteran establishments
Bogota Latin Bistro, Nunu
Chocolates, Bricolage, and
many others.
Rhodes said that his
work at Barclays, both as
an offi cer and as an occasional
record scratcher,
is especially rewarding
because it brings him in
touch with people from
across New York City.
“The Barclays Center
brings the entire city together
for different events,
and I have an Instagram, @
DJAce78 , that is starting to
gain a lot of followers,” he
said. “So those followers
have a chance to meet and
talk to me when they come
to the arena. Not only that,
I get a chance to meet and
talk to actual celebrities
and celebrity DJs and they
actually recognize me and
know who I am.”
“A Taste of Fifth” at
Grand Prospect Hall 263
Prospect Ave. between
Fifth and Sixth avenues in
Park Slope, (718) 551-5545,
www.parkslopef ifthavenuebid.
com. April 10;
6:30–9:30 p.m. $70 ($60 in
advance).
TASTE
Continued from page 1
SMOOCH-Y GUY: First-graders pet and read to Fonzie, a German shepherd, and several other fourlegged
audience members at Powerhouse in Park Slope on March 27. Photo by Caroline Ourso
Kids read to dogs in Slope
BY COLIN MIXSON
It’s the cutest thing ever
— 2019 edition!
Youngsters recited
children’s books to dogs
at the PowerHouse on
Eighth bookstore on
March 27, as part of the
borough’s only annual
event where kids learn
to read — and Brooklyn
learns to feel again.
“It was very, very
adorable,” said Mika
Kleban, who organized
this year’s Kids Read
to Dogs event. “Kids
read, dogs were pet, all
was well.”
This year’s Kids Read
to Dogs event featured
50 fi rst-graders, ages 6 to
7, from PS 107 reading to
registered therapy dogs
at the Eighth Avenue
book seller, where the
pooches offered youngsters
— newly set upon
the path to literacy — a
judgement-free audience
of very good listeners, according
to the mom, who
serves on the PS 107 PTA’s
Beast Relief Committee,
which teaches kids
about conservation, and
raises money to support
endangered species.
“The whole concept behind
this event is to give
kids a non-judgemental,
non-threatening audience,”
said Kleban.
This year’s event featured
Rocky the Australian
shepherd, Cosi the
Spinone Italiano, Kylo the
Yorkshire terrier, Fonzie
the German shepherd,
and Karat, a 6-year-old
Labrador Retriever, who
has the sweetest, saddest
eyes in the whole world,
pictures show.
The dogs were educated
to provide unconditional
love to the sick,
elderly, and all-around
melancholy residents of
New York.
They endured a rigorous
training program that
promotes only the city’s
best behaved furballs,
according to a rep from
the foundation.
“What people in our
organization have said is
that every dog is a great
dog, but not every dog is
a Good Dog,” said Carly
Goteiner, director of community
engagement at the
Good Dog Foundation.
On March 27, some
dogs proved better listeners
than others, who
took story time as their
que to take a nap, while
the youngsters gave
them pets and scratches,
Goteiner said.
“Some of them used it
as an opportunity to relax
and get pets, but others
listened very intently,”
she said.
But the foundation’s
strict training regimen
shined through in the end,
according to Goteiner,
who claimed who dogs
set a great example for
the kids.
“I might be biased,
I have to say the dogs
were better behaved,”
she said. “But the kids
were great.”
/www.parkslopef
/www.parkslopef