Hotel Bossert Will Open Its Doors For Montague Street BID Meeting In June

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — The doors of the Hotel Bossert — Brooklyn’s answer to the Waldorf Astoria — will open its doors to the public this summer, if only for one afternoon.

The historic Hotel Bossert ballroom will host the 20th annual Montague Street Business Improvement District meeting on June 8 at 3 p.m. and organizers are boasting of the sneak peek the meeting will offer its guests.

"Celebrate the businesses, people, and organizations that help make Montague Street and Brooklyn Heights thrive," organizers wrote, "and enjoy a preview of Hotel Bossert's newly renovated famed ballroom."

It’s been a long time since the hotel was a hotel.

The doors of 98 Montague Street first opened in 1909 and quickly became famous for its elegant Italian Renaissance revival architecture, Manhattan skyline views and famous guests — it’s where the Brooklyn Dodgers celebrated their 1955 World Series victory against the Yankees.

But in 1988, the 14-story building was sold to the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York — a corporation run by Jehovah’s Witnesses — and was shuttered to the public for 30 years.

Developers Clipper Equity and the Chetrit Group bought the Hotel Bossert from the Jehovah’s Witnesses for $81 million in 2012 and have since been working to remodel the space into a luxury hotel again, according to a Brooklyn Eagle report.

Since then, rumors of the Hotel Bossert's imminent opening have been rampant. But the latest opening deadline set by developers — Oct. 21, 2016 — came and went and the hotel remained closed.

There still is no official word on when the hotel will open — although a construction worker on site told Patch it might be as soon as this summer — but on Thursday, June, 8, the ballroom will once again host a party.

Or a meeting.

Those interested in being one of first to snoop around the grand hotel can register to attend the Montague Street BID meeting on EventBrite. Tickets are free but, according to organizers, extremely limited.

Image via Kathleen Culliton