Laura B asks on the DAILY HEIGHTS message boards: “When I read ‘What Happens If It Bursts?’ in last weekend’s Times, I couldn’t help wondering how Prospect Heights would fare in an economic downturn. The article says that proximity to resources (transportation, shopping) is key to property maintaining its value, which would seem to bode well for the PH. What do others think?

The article doesn’t say much about Brooklyn but quotes Brad Lander of the Pratt Institute Center for Community and Environmental Development (PICCED) as saying that fashionable areas playing host to “fringe gentrification” typically get harder hit: “If prices come down in general, Mr. Lander said, buyers will be less willing to deal with the relative isolation, limited retail and school choice in a place like Williamsburg.”

Nichelle points out that Amorina gets top billing in the latest “Openings & Buzz” column in New York Metro:

Albano Ballerini continues to remake burgeoning Vanderbilt Avenue in his own offbeat culinary image … he’s transformed a Brooklyn slice joint into a boutique focacceria. Pizza chef Ruth Kaplan, an Aliseo customer and avid home cook whose puffy, free-form pies got her the Amorina gig, has a toppings repertoire that runs the gamut from classic (tomatoes and mozzarella) to creative (dried cherries, nutmeg, orange peel, and crème fraîche)…”

Amorina (Cucina Rustica) | 624 Vanderbilt Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11238. 718-230-3030.

[Photo: Kenneth Chen]

Nichelle points out that Amorina gets top billing in the latest “Openings & Buzz” column in New York Metro:

Albano Ballerini continues to remake burgeoning Vanderbilt Avenue in his own offbeat culinary image … he’s transformed a Brooklyn slice joint into a boutique focacceria. Pizza chef Ruth Kaplan, an Aliseo customer and avid home cook whose puffy, free-form pies got her the Amorina gig, has a toppings repertoire that runs the gamut from classic (tomatoes and mozzarella) to creative (dried cherries, nutmeg, orange peel, and crème fraîche)…”

Amorina (Cucina Rustica) | 624 Vanderbilt Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11238. 718-230-3030.

[Photo: Kenneth Chen]

Isabel and Chay (center, right) show Park Sloper Leah (left) how things are done in the PH.

Soda Bar | 629 Vanderbilt Ave. at St. Marks Ave. 718-230-8393.

NOTE! Entry #2 in the ProHo Cuties category. Send in your cuties (animal or human) to prohocuties@dailyheights.com.