Brooklyn Today May 24: Walt Whitman, Canine Influenza, and a Ban on Plastic Straws

May 24, 2018 Brooklyn Daily Eagle

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THE LEDE: Happy Thursday, Brooklyn! New York City could soon ban plastic straws, BP Eric Adams says the city should pay for safety agents in schools, and we take a stroll down the Brighton Beach boardwalk. Plus, Walt Whitman’s house could become a landmark, exotic cars come to Prospect Park, and Jennifer Connelly and Paul Bettany are reportedly buying aBrooklyn Heights townhouse. Finally, the borough president plans to hire a critic of the mayor, Brooklyn dogs are in danger of getting canine influenza, and Brooklyn Heights continues to balance the past and present.

IMPRINT: TimeOut New York features a high-tech brunch setup on a recentcover.

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The Rundown

~ADRIAN GRENIER JOINS ESPINAL TO BAN PLASTIC STRAWS ACROSS NYC: It’s the last straw. One Brooklyn politician is introducing a bill that wouldban all plastic straws from New York City restaurants, bars and food carts. Councilmember Rafael Espinal said the impetus behind the legislation comes from the alarming figure that an estimated 8 to 12 million metric tons of plastic end up in the ocean every year. “Much of Brooklyn is on the NYC waterfront,” Espinal said. “That’s why this issue is so personal to Brooklynites and all New Yorkers.” Actor and activist Adrian Grenier also supports the campaign. (via Brooklyn Eagle)

~COME STROLL THE BRIGHTON BEACH BOARDWALK: Borscht by the seashore. Sometimes you really need a dose of Brighton Beach. Coney Island gets all the love from tourists and selfie-snappers. But Brighton Beach is terrific too in its own quiet way. The Boardwalk is a recreation area for Little Odessa, as the Atlantic Ocean shoreline neighborhood has been nicknamed since the 1970s because of a wave of Cold War-era Soviet immigration. A couple blocks inland, Brighton Beach Avenue is a vibrant place to shop for Russian groceries and baked goods, Russian nesting dolls and more than 50 types of vodka. (via Brooklyn Eagle)

~REPORT: JENNIFER CONNELLY AND PAUL BETTANY MAKE $15.5 MILLION HOME BUY IN BROOKLYN HEIGHTS: Actors Jennifer Connellyand Paul Bettany, who owned a limestone mansion in Park Slope for several years, are reportedly the purchasers of a $15.5 million Brooklyn Heightstownhouse. The Wall Street Journal identifies the couple as the buyers of a house sold by Timothy Ingrassia, the co-chairman of global mergers and acquisitions at Goldman Sachs, and his wife, Stephanie Ingrassia. The property is a landmarked 1840s Greek Revival-style townhouse with a late 19th-century mansard roof. (via Brooklyn Eagle)

~BP ADAMS: NYC SHOULD PAY FOR SAFETY AGENTS AT ALL SCHOOLS: While most schools in New York City receive taxpayer dollars to hire safety agents, some still do not. On Tuesday, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams said that has got to change. The schools excluded from receiving safety funds are religious schools with fewer than 300 students and charter schools housed in private space. These schools serve more than 75,000 students. “We need all of our children to be safe at school,” Adams said. “A crazed gunman doesn’t care how big a school is before they attack.” (via Brooklyn Eagle)

~BROOKLYN POLS SUPPORT LANDMARKING WALT WHITMAN’S HOME:A coalition of preservationists, scholars and admirers of poet and former Brooklyn Eagle editor Walt Whitman are trying to landmark one of his former homes at 99 Ryerson St., and their effort has received a boost from councilmembers. Whitman lived in the house for about a year between 1855 and 1856, and scholars say he finished his first edition of “Leaves of Grass” while living there. Council Speaker Corey Johnson and CouncilmembersCarlos Menchaca and Laurie Cumbo have signed a letter stressing the cultural importance of the building. (Brownstoner via Brooklyn Eagle)

~BROOKLYN DOGS IN DANGER OF CONTRACTING CANINE INFLUENZA: Dogs in Brooklyn may be subject to two new airborne strains of canine influenza, H3N8 and H3N2. The influenza strains have been recorded in more than 500 dogs in California and Nevada, and now 14 pups have tested positive in Brooklyn. “There’s no natural immunity,” said Dr. Yasmine Mortsakis, head of the New York Veterinary Practice. If dogs experience coughing, nasal discharge or sneezing, Mortsakis urges owners to get their dogs vaccinated immediately. To be fully immune, however, the dogs will have to wait to take a second booster shot two weeks later. (Fox 5 via Brooklyn Eagle)

~CAR SHOW BRINGS A TASTE OF EUROPEAN HIGH-END CARS TO PROSPECT PARK: A rare car show was hosted in the heart of Brooklyn last weekend. The Prospect Park event, dubbed CarPark Cars & Coffee, displayed several exotic cars, including a Maserati 300S and a Porsche 968 drop top from the 1990s. “The show had a wider range of cars than I expected,” said Jared Auslander, a photographer from Jalopnik. It was a “pretty cool concept and location, but the foot traffic from park attendants made things a little challenging at times,” he added. (Jalopnik via Brooklyn Eagle)

~ADAMS APPOINTS ALBANESE TO CHARTER REVIEW COMMISSION: Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams plans to name former CouncilmemberSal Albanese, a veteran Bay Ridge Democrat who has run for mayor several times, to his Charter Review Commission. Albanese has been a critic of Mayor Bill de Blasio and is “more than thrilled” that Adams supports his “democracy vouchers” initiative. The voucher program would provide eligible city residents with four $25 vouchers they can donate to candidates they support. (Daily News via Brooklyn Eagle)

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Staff Picks:

LONG READ: Brooklyn Heights, the city’s first historic district, preserves its 19th-century streets, but it’s also experiencing 21st-century changes. (via NYT)

ANOTHER LONG READ: England’s iconic red telephone booths are making a comeback in very innovative ways. (via NYT)

WELL-BEING: Nightmares aren’t just frightening, they can also cause “real health trouble,” according to researchers. (via Time)

EAT: Traveling on a summer vacation soon? Here are the six best places to eat at LaGuardia airport. (via Eater)

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NATIONAL BULLETIN: A federal judge says President Trump can’t blockpeople on Twitter…Tick season is here…And Stacey Abrams could become America’s first black female governor. (via CNN, USA Today and NBC News)

FOREIGN FLASH: Sweden now considers sex without consent as rape…A private jet breaks in half in Honduras…And an American in China may have been the victim of a sonic attack. (via NYT, The Sun and CNN)

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ROYAL WATCH: Meghan Markle’s half-sister had some harsh wordsfor the royal family. (via The Sun)

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BROOKLYN TONIGHT

9:30AM — Yo Re Mi Music and Movement at 1 John St. Details.

10:00AM — Dancercize at Brighton Beach Library. Details.

12:00PM —The Pride of the Yankees: Lou Gehrig, Gary Cooper and the Making of a Classic at 92nd Street Y. Details.

5:30PM – 8:00PM — Building Creative Structures from Your Existing Rubble at Ten Neighbors Community Garden. Details.

6:30PM — Regina Opera in Concert at Highlawn Library. 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 — Black Conference at Patrick F Daly School. Details.

7:00PM – 9:00PM — Invitational Poetry and Prose Readings at Court Tree Collective. Details.

8:00PM — RuPaul Drag Race S10 Watch Party at Fulton Ale House. Details.


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EAGLE SPORTS: Lou Lamoriello was still the head coach/athletic director at Providence College when Denis Potvin hoisted the last of the Islanders’ four consecutive Stanley Cups while skating around the Nassau Coliseum. But the vision remains with him to this day, 35 years after one of the greatest teams in NHL history completed its historic run. “I have so many positive recollections of the Islanders because [then-general manager] Bill Torrey was an outstanding friend to me from day one,” Lamoriello said. “Even when I was in the college ranks I communicated with Bill. We had been friends up until — unfortunately — his passing.” (via Brooklyn Eagle)

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MILESTONES

Happy birthday to Jim Broadbent, Gary Burghoff, Tommy Chong, Eric Close,Bob Dylan, Alyson Hannigan, Patti Labelle, Tracy McGrady, Alfred Molina, Frank Oz, Priscilla Beaulieu Presley, Kristin Scott Thomas and William Trevor!