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Brooklyn Today July 11: “Old seltzer men never die. They just lose their spritzer.”

July 11, 2017 Brooklyn Daily Eagle
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THE LEDE: Good morning! The city comptroller’s office has run the numbers on the cost of the extensive subway delays, and – surprise! – the numbers are not good. Don’t believe the rumors circulating today about the old Kosciuszko Bridge. ATTN: Prospect Park joggers and cyclists: you’re about to have less competition for road space. Meanwhile, Sen. Chuck Schumer requests that you please, please don’t snort “chocolate” powder. Read up on the history of Brooklyn’s long ties to beer, and, finally, an 84-year-old seltzer delivery man loses his spritzer, but leaves a legacy.
      
IMPRINT: Try not to drool over this cover of Woolworths TASTE.

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The Rundown
 

~THE COST OF THE MTA’S “SUMMER OF HELL”: A survey of more than 1,200 commuters has revealed a slew of missed doctor’s appointments and job interviews, lost wages and late arrivals to work meetings, thanks to excessive subway delays that have been hobbling the city this summer. About two dozen of those commuters had been fired from their jobs due to transit issues. City comptroller Scott Stringer has praised the appointment of Joe Lhota as chairman of the MTA, but he says the agency will still need a “massive” reorganization to get back on the rails. Stringer is calling for a $3.5 billion bond act to present to voters in November 2018. (via WNYC and the Brooklyn Daily Eagle)   
 
~NO, THE KOSCIUSZKO BRIDGE WON’T BE DEMOLISHED TODAY: The rusted old bridge that connects Brooklyn and Queens was given a neighbor in April–a newer version of itself. Since then, talk of an explosive demolition has circulated, culminating in several Facebook events slating the demolition for today. The events have drawn thousands of interested possible attendees to watch the bridge go out with a bang. However, a Dept. of Transportationspokeswoman told the Brooklyn Eagle that the demolition is “definitely not happening” today…and that there is no definitive date for demolition thus far.(via the Brooklyn Daily Eagle) 
 
~“LIKE COCAINE ON TRAINING WHEELS”: U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer hasraised the alarm about a snortable chocolate powder being marketed to youth as a legal drug. Yesterday, he called on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to formally launch an investigation into “Coco Loko,” a new product that he says isn’t “real chocolate.” Coco Loko contains powdered chocolate with added stimulants and instructs users to snort it directly through the nasal cavity. “I can’t think of a single parent who thinks it is a good idea for their children to be snorting over-the-counter stimulants up their noses,”Schumer said. “This product is like cocaine on training wheels.” (via the Brooklyn Daily Eagle)
 
~GOOD NEWS FOR PROSPECT PARK JOGGERS AND CYCLISTS: BeginningJuly 17cars will be completely banned in Prospect Park, clearing the way for Brooklyn’s many joggers, walkers and cyclists. The park will remain carless for a two-month test period, and the change comes on the heels of “many requests” from the community, according to city officials. Currently, cars are allowed on the park’s northbound East Drive during morning rush hour. During a peak morning hour in the summer, fewer than 300 vehicles use the East Drive, while nearly 1,000 pedestrians, joggers and cyclists use it during the same window of time. And while you’re meandering through the carless park this summer, check out the new art installation featuring 7,000 pinwheelsin the Rose Garden(via the Brooklyn Daily Eagle and Curbed NY)
 
~“BEERS GONE BY: THE LIFE, DEATH AND REBIRTH OF 5 BROOKLYN BREWERIES”: Long before Brooklyn became a hotbed for crafty IPAs and hipster breweries, plenty of beer flowed through the borough. Brooklyn has been brewing beer since Dutch colonization in the 17th century, and Brownstoner checks in on five historic Brooklyn breweries that paved the way for now-trendy labels like Brooklyn Brewery and Six Point. (via Brownstoner) 
 
~“OLD SELTZER MEN NEVER DIE. THEY JUST LOSE THEIR SPRITZER.”:Those are the words of Eli Miller, 84, who delivered seltzer in Brooklyn for more than 50 years. One of the few remaining seltzer deliverymen in NYC, Miller delivered the seltzer in handblown bottles made mostly in Czechoslovakia in the 1930s and capped with pewter siphon tops. Now, Brooklyn’s oldest seltzer man is calling it quits…but he’s making sure Brooklynites will still get their spritz delivered to their door. He’s passing on the torch to Brooklyn’s youngest seltzer deliveryman, 29-year-old Alex Gomberg, who will assume Miller’s route, as well as the classic bottles. (via the NYT)

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Staff Picks:    
 

PROFILE: “Mahershala Ali Thinks We Can Still Make This Country Great.” (via GQ)   
 
READ: In Kazakhstan, a kingdom fit for a horse(via VQR)
 
DRINK: Take a self-guided Prohibition tour of NYC’s most secret watering holes(via the WSJ) 
 
CULTURE: Catch a live taping of “The Nod,” Gimlet Media’s new podcast series.

 
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NATIONAL BULLETIN: Those brain-training games? It turns out they don’t really train brains at all, according to a new study…Wildfires are ripping through at least six U.S. states, plus Canada…And, concerned about long wait times when students are in moments of crisis, some universities areembedding mental health counselors where the students are: dorms and Starbucks. (via WaPo, the NYT and the WSJ) 
 
FOREIGN FLASH: In Korea, a punk band struggles with censorship after a string of controversial tweets…In Hong Kong, crackdowns stifle the indie music scene…Meet the Russian pop star at the center of the latest Trump scandal…The Vatican refuses to go gluten free at communion…And, finally, would you vote for Frida Kahlo or tacos al pastor to represent Mexico City’s municipal emoji(via Hyperallergic, the NYT, WaPo and Hyperallergic)  
 

 ROYAL WATCH: Ghanaian-born Nana Kofi Twumasi-Ankrah is the first black person to be appointed by the royal family to the role of equerry.(via The Times UK)

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BROOKLYN TONIGHT  
 

10:00am – 7:00pm – Art Installation at Rose Garden – Prospect Park.Details.
 
11:00am – 12:00pm – Cinderella Samba at Linden Park. Details.
 
4:00pm – Basketball clinics at Brooklyn Bridge Park. Details.  
 
6:30pm – Book Talk: Chief Engineer: The Man Who Built the Brooklyn Bridge at Brooklyn Historical Society. Details.
 
6:30pm – Adornment as Resistance: The Black Dandy and Street Style at Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. Details.
 
7:00pm – NYRR Open Run at Pier 6. Details.  
 
7:00pm – Astronomy Live: You Ask, Astronomers Answer at American Museum of Natural History. Details.
 
7:30pm – Think Olio: The Art of Noise: Percussion Music and the Urban Jungle at Nowadays. Details.
 
7:30pm – Measure for Measure at the Polonsky Shakespeare Center. Details.
 
7:30pm – The Brontes: A Musical at Books Are Magic. Details.

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 ON THE PITCH: 
Indianapolis has been an unkind place for the Cosmos to play through the years. Going into Saturday’s match, New York had not won against Indy Eleven in the Midwest city in five meetings. That streak was extended to six games as Indy defeated the Cosmos 2-1 in their second meeting in five days at a packed Michael A. Carroll Stadium. “Today we showed great spirit,” said Cosmos head coach Giovanni Savarese. “Under different circumstances, the game could have been ours.” (via the Brooklyn Daily Eagle)
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MILESTONES

Happy birthday to Lil Kim, Alessia Cara, Giorgio Armani, Mindy Sterling and the late EB White and John Quincy Adams!

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