Brooklyn Boro

Brooklyn Today May 10: De Blasio’s BQX Trolley Is Not in His Proposed Budget

May 10, 2018 Brooklyn Daily Eagle
capture.jpg
Share this:

Weather, Brooklyn (NWS): Day 73°, Night 58°, Mostly Sunny then Chance of T-storms


Send tips to [email protected]. Click here to signup.


Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
 

THE LEDE: Happy Thursday, Brooklyn! President Trump makes some money off Starrett City, we travel to Vinegar Hill, and a clean water activist says Newtown Creek is way grosser than the Gowanus Canal. Plus, the BQX streetcar falls out of favor, North Brooklyn’s rents are expected to go down, and we tell you what you can get for $6,600 a month in DUMBO’s next-door neighbor. Finally, a California bank backs Brooklyn’s Hasidic developers, we recommend the best restaurants in Brooklyn heights, and we share photos of the MET Gala.     
 
IMPRINT: Lin-Manuel Miranda receives his closeup on the latest cover ofTown and Country.

 ____________________________
The Rundown
 

~MOVE OVER GOWANUS, NEWTOWN CREEK IS WAY GROSSER, SAYS DAREDEVIL SWIMMER: The Gowanus Canal gets all the attention, but Newtown Creek is so much more disgusting. That filthy bill of health comes from clean water activist Christopher Swain — and he should know, given his years paddling in the country’s most toxic waterways, including the entire East River, the Gowanus Canal (three times!) and the pungent body of water separating Brooklyn from Queens. “Newton Creek was by far the worst waterway that I’ve ever been in,” Swain said. “I mean just layers of sewage and oil slick. … It was the most polluted and visibly polluted waterway that I’ve ever been in.” “Newtown Creek,” he added, “made the Gowanus seem charming.” (via Brooklyn Eagle)
 
~COME SEE VINEGAR HILL, DUMBO’S QUAINT, QUIRKY COUSIN: Commandants. Cobblestones. A Con Ed substation. What a combo. No other Brooklyn neighborhood is quite like Vinegar Hill. Some of our borough’soldest homes, aside from a handful of Colonial-era farmhouses, stand in this quaint, quirky neighborhood nestled against the Brooklyn Navy Yard. The most venerable of them is the Commandant’s House, whose design is attributed to the famed architect of America’s early years, Charles Bulfinch. As in the Charles Bulfinch who designed part of the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. (via Brooklyn Eagle)
 
~WHAT CAN YOU RENT FOR $6,600 IN VINEGAR HILL?: We wanted to find out what you can rent for $4,000 per month in Vinegar Hill — that quaint, quirky neighborhood tucked between DUMBO and the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Vinegar Hill is irresistible — especially the three sections of it that constitute its historic district. A landmarked former firehouse constructed in the 1850s shares the block with 239 Front St., a rowhouse with a duplex available for rent. When we found out a duplex in a landmarked rowhouse there is on the market for $6,600 per month, we decided to change our price range. The eight-room, two-floor unit for rent is at 239 Front St(via Brooklyn Eagle)
 
~DE BLASIO’S BQX TROLLEY IS NOT IN HIS PROPOSED BUDGET: MayorBill de Blasio didn’t put his proposed Brooklyn-Queens waterfront streetcar project in his budget proposal for the next fiscal year. The city Economic Development Corporation did not allocate any funding for the project pending the outcome of a lengthy feasibility study. “We are very close to being able to present results, but we are not quite there,” the corporation President James Patchett, said. Problems with underground infrastructure along the proposed route has threatened to increase the original $2.5 billion cost by 40 percent.(Crain’s New York via Brooklyn Eagle)
 
~SOME OF PROFITS FROM SALE OF STARRETT CITY WILL GO TO TRUMP: Starrett City in East New York, the nation’s largest subsidized affordable housing complex, has been sold for hundreds of millions of dollars – and some of the money is going to President Donald Trump. A statement from the new owners, Brooksville Co. and Rockpoint Group, announced the sale on Tuesday. Trump, who has sought an 11 percent cut in rental assistance programs, owns 4 percent of the complex. Plans for the sale were announced in September 2017, and the Trump issue was mentioned at that time as well. (via Crain’s)
 
~DROP IN NORTH BROOKLYN RENTS PREDICTED AFTER L-TRAIN SHUTDOWN: In the housing market, renters are likely to be among the people in North Brooklyn who are most affected by the looming L-train shutdown, according to a survey of real estate brokers, developers and business owners by The Real Deal. Landlords will have to admit that short-term tenants have better options for the money they’re paying and need to adjust rental rates accordingly, professionals say. “What comes as a loss to this market is a gain in another neighborhood that doesn’t have a commuting challenge,” Jonathan Miller, head of the real estate appraisal firm Miller Samuel said. (via The Real Deal)

 ____________________________
Bulletin Board
 

SPONSORED: GET YOUR MOM OR WIFE A THOUGHTFUL GIFT SHE’LL (ACTUALLY) LOVE: Best Kept is a concierge service that makes it really easy to gift thoughtful jewelry based on the unique style of the woman you’re buying for. You take a short quiz about the occasion, your budget and the person receiving the gift, and you’ll receive three curated and thoughtful recommendations to choose from that she’s going to love. The gift comes wrapped beautifully with a hand-selected card so all you need to do is sign the card and go! In a last minute panic for Mother’s Day? Check them out.
 
SPONSORED: SWIM STRONG’S 6TH ANNUAL WATER AWARENESS WEEK: Shining a spotlight on a silent epidemic. Worldwide a person dies every 70 seconds due to drowning; 5 more suffer life altering brain and spinal cord trauma. In the U.S., an average of 10 people die per day due to drowning with 50 people suffering life altering brain and spinal cord trauma. Swim strong exists to combat these statistics and they’re kicking off their 6th Annual Water Awareness Week! Sign up here.  

 ____________________________
 

Staff Picks:   
 

LONG READ: Mark Gonzalez, district attorney of a small county in Texas, is considered a gang member by police officers. Here’s how the tattoo-covered motorcyclist got the job(via Politico)  
 
ANOTHER LONG READ: Forget fake news. Amazon has its own problem: fake reviews(via BuzzFeed)
 
REAL ESTATE: “Meet the California bank backing Brooklyn’s Hasidic developers” (via The Real Deal)
 
EAT: Here are the 13 best restaurants in Brooklyn Heights(via Eater)  

 
____________________________    
 

NATIONAL BULLETIN: Northern California deals with a heroin epidemic…Here are photos from the 2018 Met Gala…And California requires all new homes to have solar panels starting in 2020. (via NYT, CNN and WSJ)            
 
FOREIGN FLASH: A 104-year-old Australian scientist plans to use assisted suicide today in Switzerland…Iran may accelerate its nuclear program…And North Korea frees three American prisoners(via USA Today, NYT and WaPo)                               
 
____________________________
 ROYAL WATCH: 
Here’s how the royal family makes its money(via CNN)

 ____________________________
BROOKLYN TONIGHT     
 

10:00AM — Dancercize at Brighton Beach Library. Details.
 
12:00PM — Chuck Palahniuk at Greenlight Bookstore. Details.
 
6:30PM – 8:30PM — Writers Studio at Ugly Duckling Presse Studio. Details.
 
7:00PM — Fun in fitness at Sheepshead Bay Cornerstone. Details.
 
7:00PM — Stretch Aerobics at Greenpoint Beacon Center. Details.
 
7:00PM — Hinds at Warsaw. Details.
 
7:00PM – 9:00PM — Turning 5: Kindergarten and Special Education Part One: Advocating for Your Child at Brooklyn Conservatory of Music. Details.
 
7:00PM – 9:00PM — The XY Chromosome Project at Court Tree Collective.Details.
 
7:30PM — Long Day’s Journey Into Night at BAM Harvey Theater. Details.
 
7:30PM — Twelfth Night at Polonsky Shakespeare Center. Details.
      
 
____________________________
EAGLE SPORTS: Reigning two-time Northeast Conference Coach of the Year Anthony Davison believes his Long Island University Brooklyn women’s tennis team may have a little something for the nationally ranked Miami Hurricanes Friday in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. “We are all excited to play against the U,” Davison said. “We know it will be a very hard match as they are one of the strongest teams in the country,” he added. “But we learned from playing Pepperdine last year. So hopefully we can play our best tennis on the day and show them how good we are.” (via Brooklyn Eagle)

 ____________________________
MILESTONES
 
Happy birthday to Bono, Barbara Taylor Bradford, Jason Brooks, Missy Franklin, Dean Heller, Dave Mason, Salvador Perez and Kenan Thompson!
 
Brooklyn Today’s editor is Scott Enman. Contact him at[email protected].

Subscribe to our newsletters


Leave a Comment


Leave a Comment