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Brooklyn Today: 3 active oil spills plague Newtown Creek

May 21, 2019 Brooklyn Eagle
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THE LEDE: Happy Tuesday! Three properties along Newtown Creek are actively discharging oil into the waterway, further polluting the already toxic federal Superfund site and possibly undoing years of mitigation efforts. Two of the sites, Manhattan Polybag and Morgan Oil, were former oil storage facilities in Greenpoint. The third, Pratt Oil, was a refinery in Queens.

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THE RUNDOWN

~ CON ARTISTS ARE DEFRAUDING BROOKLYN SENIORS WITH SINISTER BAIL SCAM: Con artists posing as defense attorneys have been scamming senior citizens in Brooklyn for the past few months, telling the victims that their loved ones have been arrested and need money for bail.

~ FAMILY AND FRIENDS MOURN MARINE PARK CYCLIST WHO ‘JUST LOVED EVERYONE’: Friends and family of Rob Sommer, the cyclist killed in a crash in Marine Park on May 12, gathered on Thursday at a wake to remember the man they called a “contagiously happy person” who “had a heart for everyone.”

~ THERE ARE 3 ACTIVE OIL SPILLS ON NEWTOWN CREEK: Willis Elkins, executive director of Newtown Creek Alliance, said that he doesn’t believe locals are fully aware of the number of contaminated sites that surround the creek and the impact these spills have on the waterway.

~ HATE CRIME PREVENTION OFFICE UNDERFUNDED, COUNCILMEMBERS SAY: City councilmembers and Jewish community leaders gathered in Williamsburg Monday to address the sharp spike in anti-Semitic incidents in the city this year, and to call on the mayor to fully fund a new office that seeks to prevent hate crimes.

~ THE PRICE OF FILLING A PRESCRIPTION: INDEPENDENT PHARMACIES FIGHT FOR SURVIVAL: Pharmacy owners across the state say the source of their pain is clear: pharmacy benefit managers who have been pushing drug reimbursements down to unsustainable levels.

~ NAVY YARD FERRY SERVICE OPENS AMID SPENDING CRITICISM: Ferry service launched Monday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the historic Navy Yard. The Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corp. and the developers of Navy Yard office building Dock 72 jointly footed the approximately $8 million bill for the ferry facility.

~ MURALS FOR MENTAL HEALTH SHOW ‘YOU ARE NOT ALONE’: In honor of National Mental Health Awareness Month, local artists and activists are creating murals in northern Brooklyn to offer hope to people affected by mental health issues.

~ A NEW TRAIL SHOWS OFF MARINE PARK’S WILD SIDE: Brooklyn’s biggest park has a new two-mile loop trail and more than 7,000 new native trees and shrubs. Marine Park holds ecological significance in part because of its coastal maritime forests, which are a habitat for migrating birds.

MORE BROOKLYN NEWS

~ Do you know what “The Sorted Library” is? See inside DUMBO’s secret collection of books. (Untapped Cities)

~A new rooftop seafood restaurant opens in Williamsburg. (Eater)

~ A swastika is found in a Bensonhurst subway station. (ABC7)

STAFF PICKS

~ READ: There’s a civil war brewing inside Google headquarters as some employees believe the company is moving away from its “Don’t be evil” slogan. (Fortune)

~ DRINK: Here are the 24 best outdoor bars in New York City, including a whopping 14 in Brooklyn. (Eater)

~ CARTOON: Here’s a closer look at Jared Kushner’s immigration plan. (The Week)

~ LIVE: Let go of your grudges. They’re doing you no good.” (NYT)

WHAT’S HAPPENING

6:30PM Wendell Willkie, the 1940 Election, and the Transformation of American Politics at New-York Historical Society. Details.

7:00PM — NFL Legend Joe Namath in Conversation with Mike Greenberg at 92nd Street Y. Details.

8:00PM – 10:00PM — Ambush Comedy at Two Boots Williamsburg. Details.

THE WRAP

ON THIS DAY
In 1954, the Eagle reported, “Brooklyn’s mammoth 2,632-room Hotel St. George, one of the largest hotels in the nation, was sold last week … Title passed from a group of stockholders and Bing & Bing, operating agents, to a group of investors headed by Milton Kestenberg, an attorney, of 220 W. 42nd St., Manhattan.”

📔 IMPRINT
Model Bella Hadid poses on the beach on the June cover of Vogue España.

👑 ROYAL WATCH
Here are 12 photos of the royal family shopping at the grocery store. (Town & Country)

🏀 SPORTS
Other NBA teams continue to poach members of the Nets’ coaching staff. (NetsDaily)

BIRTHDAYS

Happy birthday to Lisa Edelstein, Al Franken, Gotye, Josh Hamilton, Heinz Holliger, Loretta E. Lynch, Ian McEwan, Sarah Ramos, Judge Reinhold, Leo Sayer and Mr. T!

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

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