Brooklyn Today: Who is ‘No New Jails NYC?’

May 15, 2019 Brooklyn Eagle

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THE LEDE: Happy Wednesday! Students and their teachers rallied on the steps of Brooklyn Borough Hall Monday to demand permanent city funding for adult literacy programs. The classes serve roughly 5,700 students throughout the city, including more than 1,800 in Brooklyn. Roughly $12 million in funds dedicated to teaching English to adults was eliminated from Mayor Bill de Blasio’s executive budget plan for fiscal year 2020.

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THE RUNDOWN

~ WHO IS NO NEW JAILS NYC?: No New Jails NYC is part of a growing prison abolition movement around the country. They believe money spent on incarcerating people should be reinvested in black and brown communities that have historically been disproportionately incarcerated and affected by over-policing.

~ PROTESTERS CRASH INDUSTRY CITY WINE FESTIVAL: Sunset Parkresidents took to the streets on Saturday to rally for a second time against Industry City’s plans to rezone — this time, interrupting a “wine and artisanal food” festival.

~ IMMIGRANTS AND TEACHERS SEEK PERMANENT FUNDING FOR ADULT LITERACY: “Education is a right,” said Lena Cohen of the nonprofit United Neighborhood Houses. “It’s essential for adults to improve their economic, civic and social standing in America.”

~ IT’S ALL ABOUT THE BEANS: A BUSHWICK RESIDENT IS MAKING AUTHENTIC VIETNAMESE COFFEE: The coffee beans inside Cafe Phin have come a long way — they’re grown in Da Lat, Vietnam, by a fourth-generation coffee farmer. Vietnamese robusta beans have twice as much caffeine as the more popular arabica beans.

~ ASK, BUT DON’T EXPECT TO RECEIVE: BP PRESSES MTA FOR MALBONE STREET CRASH MONUMENT: After six months, the BrooklynBorough President’s Office is still seeking a cost estimate from the MTA that will help it proceed with plans to install a permanent marker to commemorate the worst disaster in New York City transit history.

~ RENT REFORM HEARING TO TAKE PLACE THURSDAY: During a seven-hour hearing on Thursday, the State Senate Majority will listen as tenants and landlords deliver testimony at a public hearing on rent regulations. The event, which takes place annually, will last from 1-8 p.m at Medgar Evers College in Crown Heights.

~ ‘GET THIS RIGHT:’ COMPTROLLER STRINGER ADDS TO CALLS FOR MAJOR CHANGES TO NEW YORK CITY’S PRE-K CONTRACTS: NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer is calling on the education department to make major changes to its new contracts for pre-K and childcare services, echoing the concerns of community providers who say there are major flaws in the ways the city plans to fund them. (Chalkbeat)

MORE BROOKLYN NEWS

~ Bishop Kearney High School in Mapleton is closing its doors on Aug. 31. (ABC7)

~ Teo, an izakaya-style restaurant in Bushwick, closes after less than five months. (Eater)

~ A worker in Flatbush was knocked unconscious after he fell off a billboard. Luckily, the rooftop advertisement was for personal injury attorneys. (Daily News)

STAFF PICKS

~ READ: “The complicated business of selling the NYPD logo” (Vox)

~ EAT: Here are the 10 best restaurants on the water in New York City, including four spots in Brooklyn. (Thrillist)

~ LAUGH: Donald and Melania engage in pillow talk. (The Week)

~ LEARN: Here are four effective ways of coming to terms with the poor choices of your past. (NYT)

WHAT’S HAPPENING

6:30PM — Facebook Made Me Do It: Social Media and Democracy at Albertine. Details.

7:00PM — An Objective Media — Fact or Fiction? at Brooklyn Historical Society. Details.

7:00PM — Antigone in Ferguson at St. Ann & the Holy Trinity Church. Details.

THE WRAP

⌛ ON THIS DAY
In 1939, the Eagle reported, “King George and Queen Elizabeth, surfeited with fog and ice, got their first glimpse of the New World today. The liner Empress of Australia, carrying the British monarchs on their first voyage to America, came in sight of the southern tip of Newfoundland at 7:30 a.m.”

IMPRINT
GQ Portugal sends a message loud and clear on a recent cover.

ROYAL WATCH
Kate Middleton and Prince William meet their new nephew Archie. (Town & Country)

SPORTS
LIU softball’s dream season ends with a painful defeat.

BIRTHDAYS

Happy birthday to Anna Maria Alberghetti, Madeleine Albright, George Brett, David Charvet, David Cronenberg, Dwayne De Rosario, Brian Eno, Giselle Fernandez, Lee Horsley, Jasper Johns, Laine Kazan, David Krumholtz, Ray Lewis, Trini Lopez, Justin Morneau, Andy Murray, Chazz Palminteri, Dan Patrick, Kathleen Sebelius, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Emmitt Smith, John Smoltz and Sam Trammell!

Brooklyn Today’s editor is Scott Enman. Contact him at scott@brooklyneagle.com.