3. Famed seafood restaurant Lundy’s was plagued with problems

Lundy's

Lundy’s Restaurant was a cultural icon in Sheepshead Bay with quite a storied history. The seafood restaurant was opened in 1926 by Irving Lundy on the Sheepshead Bay waterfront. The Lundy family was heavily involved in the Brooklyn fish industry (as well as the Brooklyn Democratic Party), selling oysters, clams, and fish at shops in the neighborhood and nearby Coney Island. Irving Lundy began selling clams out of a pushcart, and by age 22, he opened his first clam bar before joining the Navy. After a kidnapping and other challenges, Lundy opened one of the area’s first seafood restaurants at East 21st Street and Ocean Avenue. He later relocated to Emmons Avenue by the Bayside Hotel and Casino. The new building was completed by 1935, and by then Emmons Avenue had become what the Brooklyn Daily Eagle called a “modern Venice.” The restaurant served raw clams on the half shell, Manhattan clam chowder, lobster, their “shore dinner” seafood platter, and huckleberry pie.

Lundy’s new location in a Spanish Colonial Revival building was a hit, despite some hiccups like threats of federal seizure and a ceiling collapse. Lundy’s at the time was one of the city’s largest restaurants, capable of seating between 2,400 and 3,000 customers. These operations were possible because of the restaurant’s large African American staff, which was an anomaly for the neighborhood. Lundy was not satisfied with operating just his restaurant; he bought more and more waterfront real estate until he owned all 70 waterfront properties between East 19th and East 29th Streets on Emmons Avenue.

Lundy’s business tactics displeased some of his staff, many of whom went on strike in 1946 and 1957 over union disagreements and wage disputes. The end of the first Lundy’s restaurant was tumultuous. Armed robberies, failed health inspections, Lundy’s death in 1977, and demographic changes in the neighborhood all led to the restaurant’s downfall. Lundy’s restaurant closed in 1979, and the building was soon after vandalized.

After at least a dozen attempts to reopen the restaurant, TAM Restaurant Group acquired Lundy’s and reopened it in 1995 in a smaller space. Whereas the fall of the original Lundy’s restaurant led to a decline in commerce along Emmons Avenue, the reopening triggered rapid development. A Times Square location opened briefly in 2001, though by 2007, the new Lundy’s was seized by the landlord. The name was preserved for the controversial Lundy’s Landing Shopping Plaza. The original building still remains today, even after suffering water damage from Hurricane Sandy. It is currently occupied by Momo Hibachi Steak House & Bar.