Brooklyn Today June 29: Whose Name Will Replace the Watchtower Sign?

June 29, 2017 Brooklyn Daily Eagle

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THE LEDE: Good morning, Brooklyn! There will be more than one big change to Brooklyn’s skyline in the near future, and the end is near for the Rent Guidelines Board’s rent freeze. The Bedford-Union Armory redevelopment encounters yet another hurdle, and with Paul Massey unexpectedly out of the race for the GOP nomination for mayoral candidate, Nicole Malliotakis is very likely in. Staff Picks today includes a breakdown of what all those people inmovie credits actually do, and some frank talk about student debt. We’ll see you again on Friday!

IMPRINT: A very summery spread on the cover of the winter issue of Cape Town’s Southern Vines mag.

*Correction: We left a crucial few words out of a headline yesterday. The floating body, which was originally spotted off the shoreline in Red Hook, was found in the waters of the Buttermilk Channel near Brooklyn Bridge Park, not in the actual park. We regret the error.

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The Rundown

~WHOSE NAME WILL REPLACE THE WATCHTOWER SIGN?: Brooklyn’s skyline has undergone a lot of changes recently, but none perhaps more dramatic than this. It’s time to say farewell to the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ famed “Watchtower” emblem that has stood as an iconic beacon, perched on the edge of Brooklyn Heights for decades. The Witnesses filed a permit to remove the 15-foot-tall letters from the roof of its former headquarters earlier this month…And with hordes of tech startups recently moving to Brooklyn Heights and Downtown Brooklyn, and with several companies eyeing Brooklyn waterfront properties, could it only be a matter of time before a navy-blue “Facebook” logo replaces the iconic red Watchtower one? (via the Brooklyn Daily Eagle)

~AFTER TWO YEARS, RENT FREEZE THAWS: The Rent Guidelines Boardwill hike rents on one year leases by 1.25 percent and 2 year leases by 2 percent. The two-year rent freeze was unprecedented, but many rent stabilized tenants and advocates had been calling for an extension of the freeze. (via Gothamist)

~CROWN HEIGHTS GIVES BEDFORD-UNION ARMORY REDEVELOPMENT TWO THUMBS DOWN: It’s been a long, bumpy road for the Bedford-Union Armory redevelopment project, and developer BFC Projects just hit another major speed bump. The plan got a unanimous thumbs down by the local community board this week. The project is currently slated to offer half of the rentals and 20 percent of the condos as affordable units, but manyCrown Heights residents argue that the entire project should be affordable. The project’s future doesn’t look too bright; the next step of the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure is the City Council…and Laurie Cumbo has already indicated that she’ll say “nay” to the project in its current form, too. (via Curbed NY and the Brooklyn Daily Eagle)

~WITH MASSEY OUT, MALLIOTAKIS MOVES CENTER STAGE: With millionaire real estate mogul Paul Massey’s abrupt departure from the mayoral race, Republican Nicole Malliotakis now appears to have a clear path to the GOP nomination to run against Democratic incumbent Mayor Bill de Blasio in November in what is sure to be one of the hottest races for City Hall in decades. Malliotakis would be NYC’s first female mayor. Her words for the mayor? “I look forward to going head to head with him,” she said. (via the Brooklyn Daily Eagle)

~SOME VERY SWEET EYE-CANDY IN WILLIAMSBURG: 325 Kent Ave., which Two Trees Management is constructing at the 11-acre Domino Sugar Refinery site, looks more like the renderings every day. Check out the progress on the donut-shaped building right here. Meanwhile, construction at Hotel Row, AKA Wythe Ave., is moving right along. With murals and sidewalk cafes, there’s plenty to see. (via the Brooklyn Daily Eagle)

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Staff Picks:

READ: It’s wedding season! Here’s a guide for what *not* to do when you make a toast. (via Lit Hub)

LOOK: Think adult coloring books are a new trend? Think again. Check outthis botanical themed one from 1760. (via Hyperallergic)

WATCH: Ever sat through the movie credits until the end and thought, “What do all these people actually do?” Here’s a breakdown of who does what in a film production. (via Filmmaker IQ)

LISTEN: Some real talk about student debt, and how most of us have it…a lot of it. (via Death, Sex & Money)

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NATIONAL BULLETIN: The city of Chicago will dedicate $1 million to bring commissioned art to all 50 of the city’s wards this summer…The Mormon church is making some changes. It will begin to offer employees paid maternity and paternity leave, and also allow women to wear pants or slacks instead of sticking to dresses or skirts…Facebook’s algorithm for differentiating between hate speech and political expression comes under fire when ProPublica discovers some seeming inconsistencies…And, it turns out palm cockatoos have rhythm. The birds are the only animal besides humans that drum out non-random, sequenced beats. (via the Chicago Tribune, ProPublica and WaPo)

FOREIGN FLASH: Angela Merkel softens her resistance to same-sex marriage in Germany, giving members of her party the go-ahead to vote whichever way they desire…The 1989 Hillsborough Stadium trampling resurfaces as British prosecutors will bring criminal charges against six people, including a former police chief…And one of Pope Francis’ top advisers takes a leave of absence, due to charges of sex assault. (via the NYT, WaPo and the AP)
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ROYAL WATCH: Queen Elizabeth is about to get a raise. (via Fortune)
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BROOKLYN TONIGHT

10:00am – 6:00pm – Northeast Conference on Science and Skepticism at Museum at FIT. Details.

5:00pm and 8:00pm – Black Queer Brooklyn on Film at the Brooklyn Musuem. Details.

5:30pm – Kayaking at Brooklyn Bridge Park Boathouse at Pier 2. Details.

5:30pm – Poetry Reading with Susan Lewis and Sharon Mesmer at Muhlenberg Library. Details.

6:00pm – Vivian Green/Music with a Message/ GrandWizzard Theodore at Betsy Head Park. Details.

6:00pm – Natural Dyeing with Food Waste at The Roof. Details.

6:30pm – Book Talk: The New Brooklyn: What It Takes to Bring a City Back at Brooklyn Historical Society. Details.

7:00pm and 10:00pm – Jen Shyu at National Sawdust. Details.

7:00pm – How Love Resonates with Rosanne Cash & Sharon Salzberg.Details.

7:30pm – BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival: Lila Downs and Orkesta Mendoza at Prospect Park Bandshell. Details.

8:30pm – The Long and Fascinating History of Toilets at Prospect Heights Brainery. Details.

ON THE PITCH: We always knew Gareth Bale could play soccer, but it looks like he has some serious golf skills up his sleeve as well…
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