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Brooklyn Today August 17: Plaques Honoring Robert E. Lee Removed From Fort Hamilton Church

August 17, 2017 Brooklyn Daily Eagle
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THE LEDE: Happy Thursday, Brooklyn! Gov. Andrew Cuomo joins the fight to remove the names of Confederate generals from the streets of Fort Hamilton. California is the state with the most hate groups, and a new park is coming toGowanus and Carroll GardensJared Kushner’s company is getting sued, the earth is running out of sand, and the Royal Family is hiring. Plus, while experts say “alt-left” is a “made up” term, President Donald Trump tries some alt-hair styles. Finally, a New Jersey couple finds a ring they lost nine years ago in Italy.
 
IMPRINT: Actress Sofia Vergara stunningly poses on Women’s Health’sfirst-ever global Naked issue.
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The Rundown
 
~PLAQUES HONORING ROBERT E. LEE REMOVED FROM FORT HAMILTON CHURCH: Leaders of a New York Episcopal diocese removed two plaques honoring Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee from a church property in Fort Hamilton on Wednesday. The plaques were removed by the Episcopal Diocese of Long Island, which owns the property. The larger of the two plaques was placed outside St. John’s Episcopal Church by the United Daughters of the Confederacy in 1912. It commemorated the spot where Lee is said to have planted a tree while serving in the Army at Fort Hamilton in the 1840s, two decades before he became commander of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. The plaque marked a tree that was a descendant of the one Lee is believed to have planted. A second plaque made note of that. (AP via the Brooklyn Daily Eagle)
 
~CUOMO JOINS FORT HAMILTON NAME CHANGE FIGHT: In the wake of the violence in Charlottesville and President Donald Trump’s controversial statements that white supremacists and counter-protesters equally shared the blame, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that he has joined the effort to remove the names of Confederate generals Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson from streets on the U.S. Army Garrison at Fort Hamilton. “Renaming these streets will send a clear message that in New York, we stand against intolerance and racism, whether it be insidious and hidden or obvious and intentional,” Cuomo wrote in a letter to Acting Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy(via the Brooklyn Daily Eagle)
 
~A GREENER GOWANUS: Gowanus is known for its notoriously polluted green canal, but the neighborhood may soon be recognized for being viridescent in a more positive way. On Tuesday, Councilmember Brad Landerand Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams celebrated the groundbreakingof St. Mary’s Park, a former playground located on Smith Street between Huntington and Luquer streets. The play area sits underneath the elevated subway tracks for the F/G trains. The 0.37-acre park opened in the late 1960s and was primarily known for being dirty, loud and sparsely used. The new park will feature a synthetic turf field, an adult fitness area, a skating rink, basketball courts, a running track and a children’s play area. (via the Brooklyn Daily Eagle)
 
~TENANTS SUE KUSHNER COMPANIES: A group of tenants are bringing Kushner Companies to court for allegedly violating state rent regulations. Rent overcharges of the company owned by Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner could possibly grow to more than $1 million in a single building if the accusations ring true. The company’s 2014 purchase of 89 Hicks St. inBrooklyn Heights is the center of the complaints. The building, once owned by Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, falls under the category of buildings with six or more apartments built before 1974 that must offer rent stabilization. The suit claims that Kushner Companies didn’t provide the stabilization to tenants. Nonprofit group Housing Rights Initiative said more than 50 other Kushner Companies’ buildings might also be in violation. (via The New York Times)
 
~DEATH OF DEADPOOL STUNTWOMAN MOURNED IN BROOKLYN: From Vancouver to Brooklyn, the love for Deadpool 2 stuntwoman Joi Harris is strong. Harris, the first African-American woman to compete professionally as a motorcycle racer, died on set of the new comic book movie while riding her bike for a scene. Family and friends in Brooklyn wondered why Harris wasn’t wearing a helmet at the time. She ran the stunt safely four times, but on the fifth try, Harris crashed the motorcycle. Witnesses said they saw her stopping the bike after riding down a set of stairs, but on the last attempt she couldn’t stop and swerved as she crossed the street. Lead actor Ryan Reynoldsaddressed the family, saying his heart “pours out to them — along with each and every person she touched in this world.” (via ABC News)
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Staff Picks:    
 
LONG READ: Steve Bannon once said it’s a platform for the alt-right, but just how dangerous is Breitbart News(via The New York Times Magazine)
 
ANOTHER LONG READ: The earth is running out of sand(via The New Yorker)
 
POLITICS: Is there even such a thing as the “alt-left?” Experts say it’s a “made up” term. (via CNN)
 
CARTOON: President Trump explores some “alt-hair styles.” (via The New Yorker)
 
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NATIONAL BULLETIN: A new report says 1 in every 7 elementary school students in New York City will be homeless at some point…There’s an app that pays people to line up in front of restaurants to make the eateries seem more popular…California has the most hate groups in the nation, followed by Florida. (via NYT, WaPo, the Sacramento Bee)
 
FOREIGN FLASH: A New Jersey couple finds an engagement ring that they lost nine years ago in Italy…Beachgoers inadvertently kill a baby dolphin in southern Spain…And a Swiss hotel tells its Jewish guests to shower before entering the pool. (via USA Today, WaPo and CNN)
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 ROYAL WATCH: 
Want to work for the Royal Family? If so, you’re in luck. They’re hiring.
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BROOKLYN TONIGHT  
 
11:00AM – 1:00PM — Historic Brooklyn Heights Walking Tour at Brooklyn Historical Society. Details.
 
4:00PM —  Basketball Clinics at Brooklyn Bridge Park. Details.
 
4:00PM — 8:00PM — NY Harbor Scenes. Details.
 
5:00PM  7:00PM — Happy Hours at MetroTech Commons. Details.
 
5:30PM – 6:45PM — Kayaking at Brooklyn Bridge Park. Details.
 
6:00PM — The History of Gin at Prospect Heights Brainery. Details.
 
6:00PM  9:00PM — Live at the Archway in DUMBO: Big Sky Works. Details.
 
7:00PM — When Yes Means No: A Roundtable on Consent in Carnival Culture at Brooklyn Museum. Details.
 
7:30PM — Echo et Narcisse at BMS Playhouse. Details.
 
8:30PM — Journey to the Stars at Brooklyn Bridge Park. Details.
 
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EAGLE SPORTS: Apparently, the ice isn’t the only thing melting beneath the New York Islanders’ skates these days. The Brooklyn-based NHL franchise is also reportedly feeling the heat from Barclays Center ownerMikhail Prokhorov. According to a story in Wednesday’s New York Post, Prokhorov, who sunk a $165 investment into the renovated Nassau Coliseum, now rebranded as NYCB Live, wants the Islanders to play a portion of their 2018-19 home schedule at the Uniondale, N.Y. arena. (via the Brooklyn Daily Eagle)
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MILESTONES
 
Happy birthday to Belinda Carlisle, Robert De Niro, Julian Fellowes, Jonathan Franzen, Thierry Henry, Robert Joy, V.S. Naipaul, Sean Penn, Nelson Piquet, Mark Salling, Guillermo Vilas and Donnie Wahlberg!
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