Brooklyn Today June 5: De Blasio Seeks to Eliminate Test for NYC’s Elite Specialized High Schools

June 5, 2018 Brooklyn Daily Eagle

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THE LEDE: Happy Tuesday, Brooklyn! Mayor Bill de Blasio wants to eliminate an admission exam for high schools, Lyft could soon buy Citi Bike, and a nine-seat sushi restaurant comes to Williamsburg. Plus, two neighborhood-favorite eateries close their doors, the city is shelving plans to expand its organics recycling program, and thousands march across the Brooklyn Bridge to protest gun violence. Finally, a Brooklyn Heights resident is named interim chair of the Landmarks Preservation Commission, a feasibility study for the BQX will cost taxpayers $7 million, and we recommend the best whiskey bars in the city.

IMPRINT: Singer Ariana Grande receives her closeup on the July cover ofVogue UK.

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The Rundown

~DE BLASIO SEEKS TO ELIMINATE HIGH-STAKES TEST FOR NYC’S ELITE SPECIALIZED HIGH SCHOOLS: After years of claims of racial discrimination, Mayor Bill de Blasio on Sunday announced plans to change the admissions process at the city’s elite specialized high schools by getting rid of the high-stakes admission exam known as SHSAT. Using one test as the sole criterion for admissions has been called unfair and discriminatory, especially to minority kids with access to fewer educational resources. “The amount of talent that has gone missing because of that is unbelievable, because talent takes many forms,” de Blasio said. Instead of one test, the mayor hopes to move toward a system that would open placement to the top students from every middle school in the city, based on grades and the seventh grade state math and English exams. (via Brooklyn Eagle)

~LYFT’S POTENTIAL PURCHASE OF CITI BIKE MAY IGNITE BROOKLYN BIKE-SHARE WAR: How many dockless bike programs does New York need? Will there be a glut of bicycles strewn about the somnolent streets of Brooklyn? These are questions that residents and Department of Transportation officials will likely ask in the coming months. Lyft’s on the verge of buying Citi Bike. Uber recently purchased the Brooklyn Navy Yard-based bike-sharing company JUMP. LimeBike, Spin and Ofo, all of which have a presence in other American cities, are looking to expand to The Big Apple. But the most recent acquisition rumor regarding Lyft’s potential $250 million purchase is garneringthe most attention right now. (The Bridge via Brooklyn Eagle)

~THOUSANDS MARCH ACROSS BROOKLYN BRIDGE IN GUN PROTEST: Thousands of demonstrators marched across the Brooklyn Bridge in a protest against gun violence on Saturday. A student-led group called Youth Over Guns organized the rally. The group formed after the deadly mass shooting in Parkland, Florida, in February. The protesters marched across the bridge and then rallied in lower Manhattan. Most wore orange to show their support for gun violence awareness. Aalayah Eastmond, a survivor of the shooting at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, addressed the crowd. Actresses Julianne Moore and Susan Sarandon also were in attendance. (AP via Brooklyn Eagle)

~9-SEAT KYOTO-STYLE SUSHI SPOT OPENS IN SOUTH WILLIAMSBURG: Williamsburg sushi restaurant owner Yuji Haraguchirecently opened his third restaurant Okozushi, a tiny spot that only seats nine people. Okozushi, located at 376 Graham Ave., is one of the few New York restaurants to use Kyoto-style sushi that uses cured and pickled local seafood. “We’re trying to create like a $200, $300 omakase-quality fish, but casual and affordable by incorporating local fish,” Haraguchi said. “There’s very cheap all-you-can-eat sushi and very, very high-end restaurants, all the fish came from Japan, that kind of thing. But there’s no middle ground.” (Grub Street via Brooklyn Eagle)

~TWO BROOKLYN RESTAURANTS CLOSE THEIR DOORS; ONE TO REOPEN: Another two bite the dust. Two neighborhood-favorite restaurants in Brooklyn have recently gone out of business. The closings include Brooklyn Star, a Southern comfort food spot in Williamsburg and Downtown Brooklyn ramen shop Ganso Ramen. Nine years after it opened, Brooklyn Star owners Simon Gibson and Joaquin Baca closed their eatery because of slow business. As for Ganso Ramen, it’s the last of three ramen restaurants owned by Harris Salat. Salat will be opening a new restaurant at the same space, 25 Bond St., but it won’t be serving Japanese food. (Eater via Brooklyn Eagle)

~CITY PUTS BRAKES ON EXPANSION OF ORGANICS RECYCLING PROGRAM: The Department of Sanitation, faced with numerous difficulties, has shelved plans to expand its curbside organics recycling program. The program, which currently serves 3.5 million residents, gives residents separate bags to leave food scraps and yard waste curbside. However, only about 3 percent of all organic waste produced by residents in the program is getting recycled, the department’s statistics reveal. The other 97 percent ends up in landfills alongside all other trash. The program is available in Cobble Hill,Park Slope, Borough Park and Flatbush, among others. (Gothamist via Brooklyn Eagle)

~BROOKLYN HEIGHTS RESIDENT TO BE LANDMARKS PRESERVATION COMMISSION’S INTERIM CHAIR: Fred Bland, managing partner of the architectural firm Beyer Blinder Belle and a longtime Brooklyn Heightsresident, will take over from Meenakshi Srinivasan as interim chair of the Landmarks Preservation Commission. Bland, who has served on the commission since 2008, will conduct its public hearings and meetings until a permanent new chair is appointed. He has served as a board member of the Brooklyn Historical Society and the Mark Morris Dance Group and as president of the Brooklyn Heights Association. (Brownstoner via Brooklyn Eagle)

~FEASIBILITY STUDY FOR BQX WOULD COST $7 MILLION: A feasibility study for the Brooklyn-Queens Connector waterfront trolley, which was supposed to have been completed last fall, will cost the city at least $7 million. NYC Economic Development Corporation spokeswoman Stephanie Baez told the New York Post that because the BQX is so important in terms of transportation and growing jobs, “That’s why we are taking the time necessary to make sure that everything is done right, including finalizing block-by-block analysis.” (New York Post via Brooklyn Eagle)

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Staff Picks:

LONG READ: Scot Peterson, the school resource officer in Parkland, Florida, opens up about his dereliction of duty: “It was my job, and I didn’t find him,” Peterson said of not entering Marjory Stoneman Douglas during the shooting.(via WaPo)

ANOTHER LONG READ: U.S. Official: “North Korea shakes up top military brass ahead of Trump summit.” (via Reuters)

NATURE: Antarctic sea spiders don’t have lungs or gills. So how do they breathe? (via NYT)

DRINK: Here are 19 of New York City’s best whiskey bars, including two in Brooklyn. (via Eater)

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NATIONAL BULLETIN: Coyote attacks on small dogs is on the rise…Police officers are looking for someone who shot a federally-protected bald eagle in Maine…And a new poll reveals 65 percent of Americans think it’s “morally acceptable” to smoke marijuana. (via Detroit Free Press, USA Today and WaPo)

FOREIGN FLASH: Serena Williams removes herself from the French Open with an injury…A volcano eruption in Guatemala leaves at least 62 people dead…And Jordan’s prime minister quits. (via ESPN, USA Today and NYT)

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ROYAL WATCH: No more selfies: Here’s a list of rules that Meghan Markle will have to follow now that she’s part of the royal family. (CNBC)

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BROOKLYN TONIGHT

2:30PM — One Sings, the Other Doesn’t at BAM Rose Cinemas. Details.

6:30PM – 8:30PM — Orientation, Media Education at Brooklyn Public Library, Central LIbrary. Details.

6:45PM — NYRR Open Run at Brooklyn Bridge Park. Details.

7:00PM — On Feminism with Jamieson Webster at The Floor. Details.

7:00PM — Brooklyn Film Festival at Various Locations. Details.

7:00PM — Piyo at Empire Fulton Ferry. Details.

7:30PM — Looking Out, In, and Back: Artists on Citizenship at BAM Fisher.Details.

7:30PM — BRIC! Celebrate Brooklyn at Prospect Park Bandshell. Details.

7:30PM — Caribbean Film Series at BAM Rose Cinemas. Details.

7:30PM – 10:00PM — Tuesday Trivia at Fulton Ale House. Details.

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EAGLE SPORTS: “From Brooklyn to Asia, the Nets are expanding the game globally” (via The Athletic)

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MILESTONES

Happy birthday to Chad Allen, Jill Biden, Margaret Drabble, Ken Follett,Kathleen Kennedy, Brian McKnight, Bill Moyers, Suze Orman, Rick Riordan Jr., Troye Sivan and Mark Wahlberg!