Brooklyn Today September 24: BQE rehab plan would replace promenade with 6-lane highway

September 24, 2018 Brooklyn Daily Eagle

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THE LEDE: Happy Monday! NYC launches a plan to diversify District 15’s middle schools, residents criticize Mayor de Blasio’s jail plan, and the city is expanding the capacity of ferryboats before the L-train shutdown. Plus, we go inside Brooklyn’s “Secret Mansion,” Björk puts her Brooklyn Heightspenthouse on the market, and Greenpoint’s restaurants are all the rage. Finally, we recommend the best intimate dining rooms, Spike Lee discusses his new film, and the Nets keep their eye on Jimmy Butler.

IMPRINT: Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper embrace on the Septembercover of Vanity Fair Italia.

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The Rundown

~BQE REHAB PLAN WOULD REPLACE PROMENADE WITH 6-LANE HIGHWAY: DOT is backing a plan that would temporarily replace the Brooklyn Heights Promenade with a six-lane highway during the reconstruction of the BQE between Atlantic Avenue and Sands Street. DOT says the plan, in which 153,000 vehicles a day would rumble past the back doors of some of the most valuable real estate in Brooklyn, would allow the rehab of the decrepit 1.5 mile stretch of roadway to be completed in six years, as opposed to eight or more years using the typical incremental, lane-by-lane repair approach. (via Brooklyn Eagle)

~TO DESEGREGATE BROOKLYN MIDDLE SCHOOLS, HIGH SCORES, GOOD GRADES NO LONGER A FACTOR: On Thursday at Park Slope’s M.S. 51, Mayor Bill de Blasio and Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza launcheda plan to increase diversity at Brownstone Brooklyn’s sought-after District 15 middle schools. The move is part of a citywide push to increase the number of black and Hispanic students admitted into high achieving schools. Middle schools in District 15 are currently competitive, admitting students with the best grades, test scores, attendance record and other positives. The district has now dropped selective admissions. (via Brooklyn Eagle)

~BROOKLYNITES FUME OVER LACK OF COMMUNITY INPUT IN JAIL PLANNING PROCESS: Brooklynites called on the city to halt the planning process of a 430-foot jail in Boerum Hill at a public hearing Thursday. City officials presented the borough-based jail system Draft Scope of Work that aims to develop four jails in the boroughs as part of the plan to close Rikers Island. Though most of the community leaders, business owners and residents support Rikers shutting down and recognize the need of a new jail in Brooklyn, they expressed their concerns about the community’s lack of engagement in the plan. (via Brooklyn Eagle)

~CITY EXPANDS CAPACITY OF NEW FERRYBOATS IN ANTICIPATION OF L-TRAIN SHUTDOWN: In anticipation of the looming 15-month L-train shutdown, transit officials are expanding the capacity of ferryboats so they will be able to handle more passengers. One of the transit alternatives during the shutdown is a new ferry route between Williamsburg and Stuyvesant Cove in Manhattan. The route will be run directly by MTA and not by Hornblower, which operates the NYC Ferry System. Rep. Carolyn Maloneysaid officials are working with contractors to increase the capacity of the boats from 149 to 240 people. (Curbed via Brooklyn Eagle)

~GO INSIDE BROOKLYN’S SECRET MANSION, COMPLETE WITH ‘INDENTURED SERVANTS’: A party planner is accused of throwing lavish affairs in a “Secret Mansion” that he didn’t own at 846 McDonald Ave. inKensington with the aid of unpaid “indentured servants” who lived in the basement. The situation came to light when one of the “servants” refused to clean the dishes, whereupon the “master tenant,” Robin French, called 911 to report that the “servant” had armed herself with a knife and refused to leave. French allegedly earned thousands of dollars listing rooms and “pods” on Airbnb as well as selling tickets to his parties. (Patch via Brooklyn Eagle)

~BJÖRK PRICES BROOKLYN HEIGHTS APARTMENT AT $9 MILLION: Björk, the Icelandic singer known for her eclectic repertoire, has put her Brooklyn Heights penthouse up for sale. The asking price? A cool $9 million. The building is a pre-war co-op, and the 3,000-square-foot penthouse, which is separated into day spaces and night spaces, has four bedrooms, four bathrooms, a wraparound terrace, a greenhouse structure opening off the dining room and a service wing. The rooftop offers 360-degree views of Brooklyn and the Lower Manhattan skyline. (Variety via Brooklyn Eagle)

~GREENPOINT RESTAURANTS GAIN ATTENTION OF TRAVEL + LEISURE: Greenpoint may now be the most exciting restaurant destination in New York City, Travel + Leisure said. The upscale magazine mentions several restaurants. Greenpoint’s ascendancy, it said, started with Chez Ma Tante, “which draws culinary influences from all over Europe and Canada” and opened in spring 2017. The publication also mentions Di An Di, a Vietnamese restaurant; Annicka, a bar-restaurant; Oxomoco, a Mexican restaurant; Bernie’s, an old-school diner; Paulie Gee’s Slice Shop, a pizzeria, and several others. (Travel + Leisure via Brooklyn Eagle)

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Staff Picks:

LONG READ: “Police on Long Island wrote off missing immigrant teens as runaways. One mother knew better — and searched MS-13’s killing fields for answers.” (via ProPublica)

ANOTHER LONG READ: Brooklyn resident and famed director Spike Leediscusses his new film “BlackKkKlansman” (via GQ)

EAT: Here are the 20 best intimate dining rooms in New York City, including six in Brooklyn. (via Eater)

CARTOON: The Cleveland Browns get their first win in 635 days. (via The New Yorker)

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NATIONAL BULLETIN: A 9-year-old girl is running for alderman in Tennessee…A naked man doing yard work in Florida upsets his neighbors…And an aviation student tries to steal an American Airlines plane in Florida. (via Knox News, Orlando Sentinel and CBS News)

FOREIGN FLASH: One year after Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico is still in shambles…A raccoon eats a woman’s English muffins in Toronto…And Mexico’s president-elect gets delayed for three hours on a commercial airline. (via NYT, Miami Herald and BBC)

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ROYAL WATCH: Here are 11 of the most awkward moments for the royal family. (via Cosmopolitan)

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BROOKLYN TONIGHT

10:00AM — Celebrate Sukkot at Bay Ridge Jewish Center. Details.

10:00AM — Toddler Yoga & Dance Class for 2s & 3s at Brooklyn Music School.Details.

6:00PM — Re-imagine Book Covers: A Design Workshop with Jenny Kroik at Shakespeare & Co. Details.

6:30PM – 9:00PM — The JACK Quartet at Green-Wood Cemetery. Details.

7:00PM — Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart at BAM Rose Cinemas. Details.

7:00PM — Dato Magradze: Footprints on Water at The Strand. Details.

7:00PM — An Evening with Xu Bing at Museum of Modern Art. Details.

7:00PM – 9:00PM — Subway Reads Author Series: Darnell Moore in conversation with Brian Vines at McNally Jackson Books. Details.

8:00PM — Dan Poppick & Danniel Schoonebeek at St. Mark’s Church-in-the-Bowery. Details.

9:00PM — Eat a Bowl of Tea at BAM Rose Cinemas. Details.

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EAGLE SPORTS: Nets general manager Sean Marks has been adamant that the Nets are sticking to the blueprint for their massive rebuilding project, taking it step-by-step on the path to creating a winning program. But disgruntled Minnesota Timberwolves shooting guard Jimmy Butler may haveaccelerated that plan. Though the Nets’ architect has done a brilliant job of clearing enough cap space to sign not one, but potentially two max-contract free agents in the summer of 2019, Butler’s insistence that he wants out of Minnesota may force Marks’ hand. (via Brooklyn Eagle)

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MILESTONES

Happy birthday to Ash Carter, Gordon Clapp, Alan Colmes, Paul Hammand Morgan Hamm, Rafael Palmeiro, Kevin Sorbo and Nia Vardalos!

Correction: In a long read “Staff Pick” on Friday, it incorrectly stated that a rape victim in Texas recanted her allegations. There were rumors within the town that she recanted them, but she never actually did.

Brooklyn Today’s editor is Scott Enman. Contact him at[email protected].