The Park Sloper
Issue #20 · October 8, 2026
Park Slope this week: Caputo Bagels opens on Fifth Avenue, the Conservatory marches to its new home, and Lakeside's Fall Festival
A Brooklyn baking family whose shop closed this spring after 124 years opened a bagel shop on Fifth Avenue on Monday. On Sunday the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music parades from its old home on Seventh Avenue to its new one on President Street, and you can walk along. And Monday is a school holiday, so the calendar runs through it.
Victor, founding editor
01 · This week
Caputo Bagels is open at 81 Fifth Avenue
James Caputo is a fifth-generation Brooklyn baker. His family's Carroll Gardens bakery, which dates to 1904, closed in April. Now he and restaurateur Rafi Hasid have opened a bagel shop in Park Slope: hand-rolled sourdough bagels from a starter at least 45 years old, plus cream cheeses, smoked fish and breakfast sandwiches. Plain, sesame and everything are $2.50. The signature is a lard provolone bagel, $4. "This isn't going to be a traditional New York bagel," Caputo told Brooklyn Paper.
Brooklyn Paper · 81 Fifth Ave · Mon to Fri 7am to 3pm, Sat and Sun 7am to 4pm
Grand Prospect Hall's replacement is almost finished
Four years after the 1902 banquet hall was razed, the five-story, 144-apartment building at 263 Prospect Avenue looks nearly done. Crews are still finishing the playground and driveway, and it has no certificate of occupancy yet. Under 421-a, 20 to 30 percent of the units go to households earning around 130 percent of Area Median Income, where a two-bedroom would rent for $4,738. No listings are up yet.
Brownstoner · 263 Prospect Ave
Eight stories are coming to Fifth Avenue and 22nd Street
Demolition has started on the two-story building at 238 22nd Street, on the Fifth Avenue corner. Permits are filed for an 85-foot, eight-story building with 39 apartments averaging about 696 square feet, plus rooftop terraces and parking. No completion date yet.
Patch · 238 22nd St, South Slope
Sign up now for the Fall Civic Sweep
The Park Slope Civic Council's twice-yearly cleanup is Saturday, October 24. Volunteers sign up for one-hour shifts, and the Council brings the tools.
Sat Oct 24 · 10am to 2pm ET · Old Stone House, 336 3rd St · Free, sign up
02 · Worth a visit
Oct 8 to Nov 1 · weekdays 4pm to 10pm, weekends 11am to 10pm ET · LeFrak Center at Lakeside, Prospect Park · Ticketed
Lakeside's Fall Festival opens today
LeFrak Center at Lakeside turns into a fall fair through November 1: pumpkin picking, a corn maze, carnival games, seasonal food and a Haunted Hotel. Prices vary by activity; tickets are on the Lakeside site. It's closed October 13 and 14 and October 20 and 21, and open late on Monday's holiday.
03 · One vetted pick
Best for panel and service upgrades · DOB master electrician #12526 active · from our electricians guide
The pick for the big jobs: meter and service upgrades, panel replacements, EV chargers and clearing DOB violations. A family-run Brooklyn shop based in Sunset Park, where owners answer the phone. If an old house still runs on a 60-amp fuse box and needs a 200-amp panel, that is their lane. The license has more than 1,000 NYC electrical permits on record, mostly general wiring and mostly in Brooklyn, and the latest was filed September 26. Licensed Master Electrician #12526, held by Roberto Rivera. Skip it for a fixture swap or a single outlet: Riviera is set up for permitted service and panel work, not 20-minute calls.
Two of this week's stories are about new buildings going up. This one is for the building you already live in. It comes from our electricians guide. Every electrician on it holds a NYC Master Electrician license we confirmed active in city permit records. Nobody paid to be there.
See the pick →04 · The calendar
Lakeside is above. Here's the rest of the long weekend.
Sat Oct 10 · Fifth Ave Open Street · Free · details TBA
Open Streets: Music in the Air
Live music takes over the Fifth Avenue Open Street on Saturday. Park Slope Open Streets hasn't posted the hours or performers yet, so check its calendar before you go.
Sat Oct 10 · 1pm to 2pm ET · Central Library, Dweck Center · Free
Woody Guthrie's Songs to Grow On
New York City Children's Theater puts on a musical about four-year-old Cathy Ann Guthrie, who is nervous about leaving home until a cross-country road trip with her parents. Made for ages 2 to 5. No RSVP; seats are first come, first served.
Sun Oct 11 · gather 10am, parade ends around 11:30am ET · starts at 58 7th Ave · Free
The Conservatory's grand opening parade
Dozens of Brooklyn Conservatory of Music ensembles play as the school marches from 58 Seventh Avenue down Seventh and up President Street to its new campus at 963 President Street. After the parade, you can tour the new building: 13 studios, a performance hall and a community room.
Sun Oct 11 · 2pm to 4pm ET · Gothic Arch, Fifth Ave and 25th St · $25, $20 members
A two-hour walking tour of the cemetery's trees at peak color. Bring a camera. The terrain is hilly and uneven, it isn't wheelchair accessible, and it's not recommended for kids under 10.
Mon Oct 12 · 10am to 3pm ET · Prospect Park Audubon Center · Free
A free day at the Audubon Center for the school holiday
Monday is Indigenous Peoples' Day and schools are closed. The Prospect Park Audubon Center has leaf-litter exploring from 10am to 3pm, an animal encounter from 1pm to 2pm, and a fall leaf discovery from 2pm to 3pm. Lefferts Historic House is open free from noon to 5pm.