It was a festive occasion and deserved the appropriate pomp,rain be darned, as the staff and owners of the Sheraton Brooklynand Aloft New York Brooklyn Hotel cut the ribbon on Brooklyn’sfirst full-service hotels to open since the 1990s.
And so on Thursday, September 15, Mayor Michael Bloomberg andBrooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz joined John Lam of TheLam Group, Frits van Paasschen of Starwood Hotels, and Ben Siedeland Rick Day of Real Hospitality Group at 228 Duffield Street indowntown Brooklyn to laud the new businesses, particularly in atime otherwise dominated by austerity.
It was also a celebration of collaboration between cultures,noted Markowitz, before Lam fed lettuce heads to ceremonial lionsduring a traditional Chinese lion dance to wish prosperity on thenew business endeavor.
Sheraton and Aloft are brands under the Starwood Hotel umbrella,with Aloft being their newest brand.
The Aloft hotel has 176 guest rooms; the Sheraton has 321 rooms.The restaurant in the Sheraton is the Grubstake.
On the Avenue: Bay Ridge’s parade season in full swing 
On the Avenue: Irish step-dancers delight at St. Pat’s parade grandstand