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Brooklyn Today December 13: MTA’s Plan to Add 200 Diesel Buses Could Create Health Crisis

December 13, 2017 Brooklyn Daily Eagle
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THE LEDE: Happy hump day, Brooklyn! The L-train shutdown gets even more complicated, we have news on the BQE rehab, and there’s a stealthy virus going around. Plus, Sean Spicer is releasing a book, we share the ultimate guide to Christmas in NYC, and community journalism faces its toughest test. Finally, The New Yorker fires Ryan Lizza for sexual misconduct allegations, more democrats call for the resignation of Trump, and San Francisco’s mayor,Ed Lee, dies at 65.
 
IMPRINT: Bruce Springsteen and Patti Scialfa embrace on the newestcover of New York Magazine.

 
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The Rundown
 

~BQE REHAB MUST BE COMPLETED BY 2026 OR TRUCKS COULD TRAVEL THROUGH RESIDENTIAL STREETS: At a meeting hosted by DOTTuesday night, concerned Brooklyn residents heard new information about the timeline of the massive BQE rehabilitation project. The seven-year project will restore the crumbling 1.5 mile stretch of the BQE between Atlantic Avenue and Sands Street, a segment that includes the triple cantilever underpinning the Brooklyn Heights Promenade. If significant repairs are not made by 2026, vehicle-weight limits and truck diversions will be necessary, DOT engineers said. The Brooklyn Heights Association and local officials are hoping the project can be completed using the design-build process, which could shorten the construction period by two years and save as much as $300 million. “The thought of five years of Brooklyn Heights being perhaps unlivable due to traffic has me concerned,” said Heights resident Helen Simonson. BHA’s Peter Bray added, “By the time the construction starts, all the decisions will have been made, so now is the time for people who have concerns about how best to mitigate those problems that are going to happen to get involved, attend meetings, participate in these workshops.” (via Brooklyn Eagle)
 
~L-TRAIN SHUTDOWN: MTA’S PLAN TO ADD 200 DIESEL BUSES COULD CREATE HEALTH CRISIS: After Los Angeles and Houston, New York City has the third-worst air quality in America among large cities, according to Sciencemagazine. And with the L-train shutdown looming on the horizon, MTA’s provisional plan to introduce 200 diesel buses during the closure will damage the city’s atmosphere, according to Councilmember Rafael Espinal. “As far as we can tell, the MTA’s plan is to use 200 diesel buses during the L-train shutdown,” Espinal told us. “That is the equivalent of 2,200 cars on our roads. Our communities will not allow that level of air pollution and environmental disrespect during this crisis, which was originally caused by climate change due to Hurricane Sandy.” Adding 200 diesel buses to New York’s streets for 15 months will create an estimated 14,351 tons of greenhouse gas emissions, according to EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator. (via Brooklyn Eagle)
 
~RED HOOK HOUSES TENANTS GET BREACH OF LEASE NOTICES: When news broke last month that the New York City Housing Authority stopped doing required annual lead paint inspections in 2012, there was outrage. That anger combined with fear and confusion in the Red Hook Houses when 48 tenants received “breach of lease” notices after lead was found in their apartments. “This is to advise you that termination of your lease is being considered because you have breached NYCHA’s rules and regulations,” the note read. The letter urged fast action, despite NYCHA’s years-long lack of inspections under local and federal regulations. NYCHA spokeswoman Jasmine Blake cleared the air, saying the notices went out in error and only to Red Hook tenants. She emphasized that no one actually faces eviction. (via NYDN) 
 
~BROOKLYN MICRO UNITS COME WITH ADDED AMENITIES: New studio apartments blocks away from the Barclays Center might be tiny, but they come with a catch: a decked-out lending library. The mixed-use building, Caesura, offers a common area that includes dinner service, a ladder, sewing machine, an ice-cream maker and a guitar and amp for all tenants. The developer,Jonathan Rose, trusts that the public amenities will make up for the small, but luxury living space. “The underlying concept is how to make a more intimate, sharing and community-focused building,” Rose said. With similar services in Downtown Brooklyn’s many towers, Caesura expects to compete toe to toe in the market. The furnished micro units start at $2,588 per month for 314 square feet, while the unfurnished cost $2,360 for 414 square feet. (via NYT)
 
~IT MIGHT NOT BE THE FLU, BUT SOMETHING IS GOING AROUND: With the start of flu season, viral infections in the region have been ticking steadily upward over the past several weeks. But the nasal congestion, coughs, fever and body aches you’re experiencing may not be caused by the influenza virus. According to researchers, one virus that might be responsible for a cough that just keeps hanging on is respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Because RSV season overlaps with flu season in most years, the virus has been a bit of a stealth operator. But when scientists separate out its effects, RSV can have almost the same impact on health as influenza. Nasal congestion, fever, an “irritating nonproductive cough,” persistent fatigue and intermittent shortness of breath lasting a month or even two are fairly common with RSV. Unlike the flu, there’s no vaccine yet and no cure, such as Tamiflu. Find out what local doctors recommend doing about RSV and other respiratory infections here(via Brooklyn Eagle)

 
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Staff Picks:   
 

LONG READ: Can community journalism survive? It needs to for democracy to thrive. (via Wired)
 
ANOTHER LONG READ: “What Happens When the Government UsesFacebook as a Weapon?” (via Bloomberg Businessweek)
 
LITERATURE: Sean Spicer will release a book about working as press secretary in the Trump administration. (via CNN)
 
HOLIDAYS: From tree lightings to ice skating, here’s the ultimate guide to Christmas in the Big Apple. (via TimeOut New York)

 
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NATIONAL BULLETIN: The New Yorker fires reporter Ryan Lizza for sexual misconduct allegations…More democrats call on President Trump to resign…And San Francisco’s mayor, Ed Lee,  dies at 65. (via NYT, USA Today and WaPo)               
 
FOREIGN FLASH: Unlike Trump, E.U. leaders will not recognize Jerusalemas Israel’s capital…A fossil of a giant penguin is found in New Zealand…And an Auschwitz survivor says North Korea’s prisons are equally as bad as concentration camps. (via NYT, USA Today and WaPo)

 
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 ROYAL WATCH: 
Here’s how Meghan Markle will spend her first Christmas with Prince Harry(via Huffington Post)

 
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BROOKLYN TONIGHT  
 

10:30AM — Little Scientists: Science Baby at Washington Irving Library.Details.  
 
12:00PM  5:00PM — Until Everyone Has it Made: Jackie Robinson’s Legacy at Brooklyn Historical Society. Details.
 
4:00PM — Madame Morbid’s Trolley Tours & Holiday Clothing Drive at Cadman Plaza West. Details.
 
5:30PM – 7:30PM — Personal Finances Workshop at Bay Ridge Center for Older Adults. Details.
 
6:00PM – 10:00PM — More Women in the Art World at 188 Broadway.Details.
 
6:30PM — Book Talk: The Ghost Ship of Brooklyn at Brooklyn Historical Society. Details.
 
6:30PM — Women in Film: Reckoning with Misogyny at Film Society of Lincoln Center. Details.
 
7:30PM — Tesseract at BAM Harvey Theater. Details.
 
7:30PM — A Memorial for John Ashbery at 92nd Street Y. Details.
 
7:30PM — Person Place Thing: Gail Simmons at The Jewish Community Center in Manhattan. Details.
 
 
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 EAGLE SPORTS: Mired in their first significant slump of this otherwise strong season, the New York Islanders pulled themselves back into the thick of the Metropolitan Division race Monday night thanks to the brilliant goaltending of veteran Jaroslav Halak. Demoted to the minors a little more than a year ago, Halak continued to prove he is New York’s best option between the pipes, making 31 saves and thwarting NHL’s top goal scorer Alex Ovechkin in a 3-1 victory over the Washington Capitals in front of 11,053 fans at Barclays Center. “He was a huge percentage of the win tonight for us,” Islanders head coachDoug Weight said of Halak, who helped New York snap out of a 1-3-1 funk with his team-high ninth win of the season. (via Brooklyn Eagle)

 
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MILESTONES
 
Happy birthday to Steve Buscemi, John Davidson, Richard Dent, Sergei Fedorov, Jamie Foxx, Wendy Malick, Ted Nugent, Christopher Plummer,Taylor Swift, Dick Van Dyke and Tom Vilsack!

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