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Brooklyn Today August 15: One Year in, Brooklyn Heights Library Tower Is Almost a Third of Its Final Height

August 15, 2018 Brooklyn Daily Eagle
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THE LEDE: Happy Wednesday! A judge rules against moving “El Chapo’s” trial, we have an update on the Brooklyn Heights library tower, and a truck hits an overpass on the Belt Parkway. Plus, temperatures skyrocket in the subway, a Thai restaurant closes in the Columbia Street Waterfront District, and a Williamsburg hotel is keeping neighbors up at night. Finally, a chicken goes missing in Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, the owner of Red Hook’s Hometown BBQ has plans for a second restaurant, and the Islanders sign a first-round draft pick.  
 
IMPRINT: American model Bella Hadid shows off her radiant blue eyes on the September cover of Allure.


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The Rundown
 

~ONE YEAR IN, BROOKLYN HEIGHTS LIBRARY TOWER ALMOST A THIRD OF FINAL HEIGHT: It’s exactly one year since construction began at280 Cadman Plaza West, the redevelopment of the site of the Brooklyn Heights branch of the Brooklyn Public Library. This week, crews are pouring concrete to form the 11th floor and the mezzanine of the “C” section of the tower, according to Hudson Companies, which bought the site for $52 million. The tower will soon be about a third of its planned height of 36 stories. The original library branch was demolished in April 2017 after a fight by advocacy groups to keep it open. See photos of construction here(via Brooklyn Eagle)
 
~JUDGE RULES AGAINST MOVING TRIAL FOR ‘EL CHAPO’ OUT OF BROOKLYN: Brooklyn federal court judge Brian Cogan ruled against a motion by the defense of Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman to move his trial out of Brooklyn and into Manhattan on Tuesday morning. Guzman’s defense attorney A. Eduardo Balarezo had requested a change in venue from Brooklyn to Manhattan because transporting Guzman creates a spectacle and disrupts commuting New Yorkers, which he contends could potentially taint the jury pool. That spectacle is a result of the Brooklyn Bridge being closed each time Guzman has to appear in court. (via Brooklyn Eagle)
 
~WHAT THE TRUCK: TRACTOR TRAILER HITS OVERPASS ON BELT PARKWAY: An incident involving a massive tractor trailer led to a brief traffic tie-up on the Belt Parkway Tuesday morning after witnesses say the truck — belonging to a company called Palos Garza Transportation — appeared to have struck a pedestrian overpass between Exits 5 and 6 sometime before 10 a.m.The tractor trailer was traveling eastbound between Bath Beach andGravesend when it hit the walkway, though the truck — badly damaged — did manage to make its way to the shoulder of the parkway, minimizing traffic congestion. (via Brooklyn Eagle)
 
~HEAT WAVE MAKES TEMPERATURES SKYROCKET IN CITY SUBWAY STATIONS: Temperatures inside the subway’s underground stations have always been hot in the summer, but last week’s heat wave made people take noticeOn Thursday, temperature inside the busy Union Square station reached 104 degrees, nearly 20 degrees warmer than the high in Central Park. That day, the Regional Plan Association measured temperatures at 16 of the system’s busiest stations as well as several others, and 12 out of the 16 reached 90 degrees or more. Few of the system’s stations are equipped with air conditioning. (CityLab via Brooklyn Eagle)
 
~AFTER 6 YEARS OF SERVICE, POK POK NY IS CLOSING UP SHOP: Pok Pok Ny, the Thai restaurant in the Columbia Street Waterfront District, willclose next month after six years of operation. Andy Ricker, the chef and owner, took the upcoming end of the restaurant’s lease as an opportunity to close up shop. In a statement, he wrote: “Our revenue is down year-over-year to the point where we will stop being profitable this fall.” He cited other reasons for closing, too, such as a hope to pare down his work life and the Columbia Street area’s failure to take off as a cultural hub. (NYT via Brooklyn Eagle)
 
~NOISE FROM A WILLIAMSBURG HOTEL IS KEEPING NEIGHBORS UP ALL NIGHT: The noise from partygoers at a trendy Williamsburg boutique hotel has made for many a sleepless night for hotel guests and locals alike. The McCarren Hotel, a four star establishment on North 12th Street with a pool and a rooftop lounge, was found to be the noisiest hotel out of a group of 90 popular spots across Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens, according to a study done by the New York Post. The Post found in an analysis of 311 calls that 90 noise complaints have been filed against the hotel since June 2017, both from angry guests and nearby residents. (New York Post via Brooklyn Eagle)
 
~NEIGHBORS SEARCH FOR BROOKLYN CHICKEN WHO FLEW THE COOP: Prospect-Lefferts Gardens residents are searching for Pompom, a chicken who flew her rooftop coop Sunday night after a storm damaged her cage. The one-year-old Polish bantam was one of three belonging to owners Tom Wilsonand Anastasia Page. “For Ana, the sky is falling,” Wilson said. “We’ve raised them from a day old, and they are much beloved.” Pompom was last seen on Monday morning at Lenox Road near Flatbush Avenue by Erika Bruchhausen, who posted photos of the bird on Facebook and called it “a chicken with a fabulous mop of blond feathers.” (Patch via Brooklyn Eagle)


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Staff Picks:   
 

LONG READ: Fed up with President Trump, a British woman who became a U.S. citizen leaves New York for England. The American values outlined in her Certificate of Naturalization, which was sent by Barack Obama, aren’t upheld by the current president, she said. (via The New Yorker)
 
ANOTHER LONG READ: “Spike Lee Wants ‘BlacKkKlansman’ to Wake America Up” (via Time)
 
EAT: Billy Durney, owner of the famed Red Hook BBQ spot Hometown, is opening a tavern in the neighborhood, which will serve fried chicken, burgers and wine. (via Eater)  
 
HEALTH: Don’t check your inbox after clocking out. Work emails may beadversely affecting your mental health and your relationship with your partner, according to a new study. (via Time)

 
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NATIONAL BULLETIN: Nebraska implements its first lethal injection…The first-ever Ford Mustang sold is worth $350,000…And a new study reveals black boys feel less safe in white neighborhoods. (via Omaha World-Herald, Detroit Free Press via WWLTV and ABC News)
 
FOREIGN FLASH: Swedish youths burn at least 100 cars…At least 20 people die in a bridge collapse in Italy…And Osama bin Laden’s suspected bodyguard is banned from Germany(via Reuters, WaPo and USA Today) 
 

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ROYAL WATCH:
 Here’s why no one in the royal family calls the Queen by her first name(via Express)

 
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BROOKLYN TONIGHT     
 

10:00AM – 6:00PM — Ocean Wonders: Sharks! at New York Aquarium.Details.
 
10:00AM – 6:00PM— Practice: in Progress at NARS Foundation. Details.
 
2:00PM – 5:00PM — En Plein Air: Wallabout Bay at BLDG 92: Brooklyn Navy Yard Center. Details.
 
5:30PM — Wednesday Night Yoga at MetroTech Commons. Details.  
 
6:00PM — The Wingate Concert Series at Wingate Park. Details.
 
7:00PM — Double Dutch at Brooklyn Bridge Park, Pier 2. Details.
 
7:00PM — Total Body Conditioning at Brooklyn Bridge Park, Pier 6. Details.  
 
7:00PM — PUNCH presents Cocktails Are Magic at Books Are Magic. Details.
 
8:00PM — Slick Comedy at Mad Tropical. Details.
 
8:30PM — Ben Goldberg at Areté Venue and Gallery. Details.
 
  

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EAGLE SPORTS: The Islanders’ two-way defenseman of the future hassigned a three-year, entry-level contract with the franchise. Noah Dobson, one of two first-round picks by the Islanders in June’s NHL Draft, agreed to terms with the Isles and is now eager to earn a job on the Opening Night roster during training camp. “I want to get stronger this summer and come into camp and be able to compete against men and give [the organization] a hard decision not to send me back to juniors,” the 18-year-old Canadian blueliner told Newsday. (via Brooklyn Eagle)


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MILESTONES
 
Happy birthday to Ben Affleck, Anthony Anderson, Princess Anne, Stephen G. Breyer, Linda Ellerbee, Alejandro Inarritu, Zeljko Ivanek, Joe Jonas, Vernon Jordan Jr., Jennifer LawrenceDebra Messing, Phyllis Stewart Schlafly andKerri Walsh!
 
Brooklyn Today’s editor is Scott Enman. Contact him at[email protected].

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