Grand Prospect hotel debate heats up after controversial letter released

Michael and Alice Halkias in the Grand Prospect Hall (credit: Brooklyn Paper)After announcing plans earlier this week to build an 11-story hotel adjacent to the Grand Prospect Hall at 263 Prospect Avenue, the proprietors of the Park Slope event space are pulling out the big guns to get the project approved, according to the Brooklyn Paper. Michael and Alice Halkias, the husband-and-wife team behind Grand Prospect Hall, sent an oddly worded letter to local residents this week, in anticipation of tonight’s community board meeting to review the project. “We were here a long time ago, before any normal person would dare populate this socially wild west community,” the letter reads, adding that, if Grand Prospect’s hotel plan isn’t approved, “the alternate course wold be to cater to a low-end clientele.” Although some residents said they felt the letter’s tone was threatening, Michael Halkias said he had no intention of strong-arming the community. “It’s not a threat — it’s very simple math,” Halkias said. “We are elegant people and we want to compete at the same level as our competitors.” [Brooklyn Paper]