Brooklyn Today September 12: Primary Day in NYC; Renewed Push For A Platform Park Over the BQE
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THE LEDE: Happy Tuesday, Brooklyn! A new High Line-style park could be built above the BQE, firefighters march to remember Brooklyn’s 9/11 victims, and anti-gentrification protesters take to the borough’s streets. Plus, it’s healthy to sleep with your dog, Ernest Hemingway’s six-toed cats survived Hurricane Irma in Key West, and we explain why Pope Francis has a black eye. Finally, Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov plans to sell his team. And don’t forget to vote today!
IMPRINT: Gwyneth Paltrow gets messy in the mud on the latest cover ofGoop.
IMPRINT: Gwyneth Paltrow gets messy in the mud on the latest cover ofGoop.
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The Rundown
The Rundown
~TODAY IS PRIMARY ELECTION DAY: Brooklyn voters should be especially interested in hustling out to the polls for today’s primary election, as several races directly affect issues important to residents here, such as affordable housing and the Brooklyn judicial system. In addition to the race for mayor and Brooklyn district attorney, all City Council members are vying for their positions today, with several seats being vacated by term-limited officials. For example, the fight over the future of the Bedford-Union Armory is at the center of the hotly contested District 35 (Crown Heights, Fort Greene, Prospect Heights, Clinton Hill) City Council race. Incumbent Laurie Cumbo is defending herself against Democratic challenger Ede Fox, who claims Cumbo is soft on the controversial project. An especially heated race is shaping up for judgeships as well, with a reform group causing agita for Brooklyn’s Democratic establishment. And state Sen. Daniel Squadron’s sudden resignation has ignited a last-minute scramble over his unexpectedly vacant seat. (via the Brooklyn Daily Eagle)
~A RENEWED PUSH FOR A PLATFORM PARK OVER THE BQE: Walking along the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway in South Williamsburg, residents are plagued by deafening noise, polluted air and a lack of open space. On average, 108,000 cars pass by this section of the BQE daily, emitting roughly 20,000 pounds of pollutants into the atmosphere each day. To address these problems, Councilmember Antonio Reynoso is renewing a push for a High Line-style park over the sunken BQE that would have sweeping benefits for the neighborhood. The 3.5-acre park, dubbed the BQGreen, would be built “out of thin air” on a concrete platform above the thruway between South Third and South Fifth streets. The BQGreen will feature a flower garden, playground, baseball diamond, indoor pool, barbecue areas and grassy and wooded areas.(via the Brooklyn Daily Eagle)
~FORMER DA LEGACY ATTACKED IN ELECTION SEASON: A former Brooklyn District Attorney, responsible for multiple wrongful convictions and often accused of corruption, is getting targeted this primary season by those he helped put behind bars. The number of exonerees tasting freedom afterCharles Hynes pit Brooklyn’s criminal justice system against them continues to grow and most recently, Sandra Roper and John O’Hara, two civil court judge candidates, have gained support from that crowd. Roper and O’Hara were both targets of the Hynes administration and as a result, recently gained endorsements from Jabbar Collins and Derrick Hamilton, two vocal exonerees. Hynes helped revoke O’Hara’s law license and removed Roper from a past DA ballot, helping to destroy their careers, but in the 2017 primary season, the Hynes era Brooklyn politics could prove to help them. (via The Village Voice)
~REMEMBERING BROOKLYN’S FALLEN FIREFIGHTERS ON 9/11: Led by motorcycles painted in the colors of the American flag, firefighters from across the country joined together in a solemn march across the Brooklyn Bridge and Mass in Downtown Brooklyn on Monday to remember FDNY firefighters and others who lost their lives in the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks. “Those guys, what they did down there and what the families went through, they’re in my thoughts and prayers every day,” said FDNY Captain Charles Saladis. (via the Brooklyn Daily Eagle)
~ELECTED OFFICIALS ACCUSED OF ENABLING GENTRIFICATION: Anti-gentrification protesters marched through Brooklyn’s Streets this past weekend to oppose unnecessary development and elected officials who support it. “I think they’re engines of gentrification,” Bed-Stuy resident, Mike Bento said of local politicians. The route brought protesters to the Barclays Center, Ebbets Field Apartments and the Bedford-Union Armory. A request for a sound permit in front of the Barclays Center was rejected, leading protesters to speak out against the district’s representative, Laurie Cumbo, who’s in favor of development at the Bedford-Union Armory. “They’re gonna kick the poor [out], and they’re gonna bring in the rich,” a local construction worker pessimistically said. “That’s America, you know?” The demonstration, organized by Brooklyn Anti-Gentrification Network also spoke out against racism and police violence. (via Gothamist)
~A RENEWED PUSH FOR A PLATFORM PARK OVER THE BQE: Walking along the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway in South Williamsburg, residents are plagued by deafening noise, polluted air and a lack of open space. On average, 108,000 cars pass by this section of the BQE daily, emitting roughly 20,000 pounds of pollutants into the atmosphere each day. To address these problems, Councilmember Antonio Reynoso is renewing a push for a High Line-style park over the sunken BQE that would have sweeping benefits for the neighborhood. The 3.5-acre park, dubbed the BQGreen, would be built “out of thin air” on a concrete platform above the thruway between South Third and South Fifth streets. The BQGreen will feature a flower garden, playground, baseball diamond, indoor pool, barbecue areas and grassy and wooded areas.(via the Brooklyn Daily Eagle)
~FORMER DA LEGACY ATTACKED IN ELECTION SEASON: A former Brooklyn District Attorney, responsible for multiple wrongful convictions and often accused of corruption, is getting targeted this primary season by those he helped put behind bars. The number of exonerees tasting freedom afterCharles Hynes pit Brooklyn’s criminal justice system against them continues to grow and most recently, Sandra Roper and John O’Hara, two civil court judge candidates, have gained support from that crowd. Roper and O’Hara were both targets of the Hynes administration and as a result, recently gained endorsements from Jabbar Collins and Derrick Hamilton, two vocal exonerees. Hynes helped revoke O’Hara’s law license and removed Roper from a past DA ballot, helping to destroy their careers, but in the 2017 primary season, the Hynes era Brooklyn politics could prove to help them. (via The Village Voice)
~REMEMBERING BROOKLYN’S FALLEN FIREFIGHTERS ON 9/11: Led by motorcycles painted in the colors of the American flag, firefighters from across the country joined together in a solemn march across the Brooklyn Bridge and Mass in Downtown Brooklyn on Monday to remember FDNY firefighters and others who lost their lives in the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks. “Those guys, what they did down there and what the families went through, they’re in my thoughts and prayers every day,” said FDNY Captain Charles Saladis. (via the Brooklyn Daily Eagle)
~ELECTED OFFICIALS ACCUSED OF ENABLING GENTRIFICATION: Anti-gentrification protesters marched through Brooklyn’s Streets this past weekend to oppose unnecessary development and elected officials who support it. “I think they’re engines of gentrification,” Bed-Stuy resident, Mike Bento said of local politicians. The route brought protesters to the Barclays Center, Ebbets Field Apartments and the Bedford-Union Armory. A request for a sound permit in front of the Barclays Center was rejected, leading protesters to speak out against the district’s representative, Laurie Cumbo, who’s in favor of development at the Bedford-Union Armory. “They’re gonna kick the poor [out], and they’re gonna bring in the rich,” a local construction worker pessimistically said. “That’s America, you know?” The demonstration, organized by Brooklyn Anti-Gentrification Network also spoke out against racism and police violence. (via Gothamist)
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Staff Picks:
Staff Picks:
LONG READ: “The Falling Man:” An unforgettable story about the man who jumped from the south tower during the 9/11 terrorist attacks. (via Esquire)
ANOTHER LONG READ: “The First White President” (via The Atlantic)
SCIENCE: “What It Feels Like to Die” (via Lifehacker)
HEALTH: Here’s why sleeping with your dog is good for you. (via Time)
ANOTHER LONG READ: “The First White President” (via The Atlantic)
SCIENCE: “What It Feels Like to Die” (via Lifehacker)
HEALTH: Here’s why sleeping with your dog is good for you. (via Time)
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NATIONAL BULLETIN: Following Hurricane Irma, a debate begins over TV storm reporting…All of Ernest Hemingway’s six-toed cats survived Irma on Key West…More than 14,000 flights have been cancelled since Irma started (via NYT and USA Today)
FOREIGN FLASH: Here’s how Pope Francis got a black eye…North Koreathreatens the U.S. again…And Catalans continue their call for independence from Spain. (via USA Today, WSJ and WaPo)
FOREIGN FLASH: Here’s how Pope Francis got a black eye…North Koreathreatens the U.S. again…And Catalans continue their call for independence from Spain. (via USA Today, WSJ and WaPo)
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ROYAL WATCH: Here’s what it’s like to travel the world with the Royal Family. (via Business Insider)
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BROOKLYN TONIGHT
BROOKLYN TONIGHT
3:00PM – 5:00PM — Ed Center Open Hours at Brooklyn Bridge Park. Details.
6:30PM – 8:30PM — Death Need Not be Fatal at Green-Wood Cemetery.Details.
7:00PM — Eyewitness to History: Pinchas Gutter at Museum of Jewish Heritage. Details.
7:00PM — Literary Death Match at The Bell House. Details.
7:00PM — Melodie Winawer: The Scribe of Siena with Medieval Scholar Neslihan Şenocak at St Ann and the Holy Trinity Church. Details.
7:00PM — NYRR Open Run at Pier 6 at Brooklyn Bridge Park. Details.
7:00PM – 9:00PM — Watoji: Japanese Bookbinding at Japan Society. Details.
7:30PM — What Exactly Is Neo About Neo-Nazism? Violence in Politics at Nowadays. Details.
8:00PM — Butch Morris and Radical Black Composition at Issue Project Room.Details.
8:00PM — Stevie at Our Wicked Lady. Details.
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EAGLE SPORTS: “Brooklyn Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov plans to sell the team” (via NYP)
6:30PM – 8:30PM — Death Need Not be Fatal at Green-Wood Cemetery.Details.
7:00PM — Eyewitness to History: Pinchas Gutter at Museum of Jewish Heritage. Details.
7:00PM — Literary Death Match at The Bell House. Details.
7:00PM — Melodie Winawer: The Scribe of Siena with Medieval Scholar Neslihan Şenocak at St Ann and the Holy Trinity Church. Details.
7:00PM — NYRR Open Run at Pier 6 at Brooklyn Bridge Park. Details.
7:00PM – 9:00PM — Watoji: Japanese Bookbinding at Japan Society. Details.
7:30PM — What Exactly Is Neo About Neo-Nazism? Violence in Politics at Nowadays. Details.
8:00PM — Butch Morris and Radical Black Composition at Issue Project Room.Details.
8:00PM — Stevie at Our Wicked Lady. Details.
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EAGLE SPORTS: “Brooklyn Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov plans to sell the team” (via NYP)
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MILESTONES
Happy birthday to Sam Brownback, Linda Gray, Ian Holm, Jennifer Hudson, Louis C.K., Benjamin McKenzie, Yao Ming, Maria Muldaur, Joe Pantoliano, Emmy Rossum, Peter Scolari, Rachel Ward and Amy Yasbeck!
MILESTONES
Happy birthday to Sam Brownback, Linda Gray, Ian Holm, Jennifer Hudson, Louis C.K., Benjamin McKenzie, Yao Ming, Maria Muldaur, Joe Pantoliano, Emmy Rossum, Peter Scolari, Rachel Ward and Amy Yasbeck!
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