The old OTB parlor at 320 Court Street has sat empty for a long time despite movement last year toward becoming a French bistro called Huître. A tip from a GL Reader indicates that there may be movement, however. Per our reader:

Yesterday evening, I saw Jim McGown, owner of Hanley’s and South Brooklyn Pizza, step out of the vacant OTB storefront on Court and Sackett in Carroll Gardens. A new bar perhaps? More pizza? Who knows?

Well, here is what we know: the owner of Hanley’s is, indeed, the person behind the French bistro that would open in that spot and which would also have an outdoor cafe. A check of Department of Buildings records indicates recent activity on permits, including some fees due as of August 6. There are permits for interior work including kitchen equipment and for exterior repair work. The sighting of a principal in the venture would certainly indicate that something is about to start happening. There has been neighborhood discontent with Hanley’s, some of which we noted very recently. Dear God. Was that the sound of a pitchfork being retrieved from the closet and a torch being lit that we just heard?