Brooklyn Today: The Gowanus Canal gets a watchdog

May 30, 2019 Brooklyn Eagle

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THE LEDE: Good morning! The federal agency tasked with overseeing the remediation of the Gowanus Canal told residents on Tuesday that it would fight to ensure that the city’s rezoning plan would not compromise its cleanup efforts. The redevelopment is projected to bring in an additional 1.8 million gallons of wastewater per day.

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THE RUNDOWN

~ COMMUNITY BOARD’S SEARCH FOR TOP BUREAUCRAT TAKES ANOTHER DRAMATIC TURN: A CB 9 meeting erupted into shouting and a walkout Monday, the latest drama in a process that has seen two district managers ousted amid scandal in three years — all as part of the search to fill the spot of top neighborhood bureaucrat.

~ FLOATING MUSEUMS AND 19TH-CENTURY STOREHOUSES: THE RED HOOK I CHERISH: Our real estate columnist Lore Croghan wrote an obituary for Red Hook’s Lidgerwood Building, a remnant of a bygone era that UPS is currently tearing down.

~ FEDS VOW TO BE GOWANUS CANAL WATCHDOG AS CITY EYES REDEVELOPMENT: In the EPA’s most pointed remarks to date, spokesperson Christos Tsiamis said that the city cannot legally interfere with the cleanup. “We’re not going to be passive onlookers,” he said.

~ BAD KARMA: BROOKLYN COP NAMED KARMA SUED FOR ALLEGED UNCONSTITUTIONAL ARREST: Juliese Walton filed a lawsuit against 70th Precinct police officer Danny Karma, among others. She was arrested at a traffic stop on Ocean Parkway in February 2018 — an arrest she claims was unconstitutional.

~ FARMING TAKES TO THE ROOFTOPS IN SUNSET PARK: BrooklynGrange, a company that specializes in sustainable living, is bringing a brand-new 140,000-square-foot rooftop farm to Sunset Park’s Liberty View Industrial Plaza this summer.

~ MOPED MADNESS: SCOOTER-SHARE COMPANY UNLEASHES 1K RIDES ON BK STREETS: Rideshare moped company Revel began distributing1,000 street-legal electric scooters across Brooklyn and Queens on Wednesday. The company launched a pilot in Bushwick, Greenpoint and Williamsburglast July with 68 bikes.

~ MEET THE BAY RIDGE HIGH SCHOOLERS LEADING THE CHARGE FOR SAFER STREETS: The Youth Pedestrian Task Force, organized by State Sen. Andrew Gounardes, is an outgrowth of a panel of adults brought togetherearlier this year in response to a spate of car crashes in the Bay Ridge–Dyker Heights area.

PODCAST

~ CELEBRATING WALT WHITMAN’S 200TH BIRTHDAY: REMEMBERING THE ICONIC BROOKLYN POET: The 200th anniversary of The Good Gray Poet’s birthday is tomorrow. As he looked forward to us, we look back on the impact he made on our beloved borough and the legacy he left behind.

MORE BROOKLYN NEWS

~ The Hoxton in Williamsburg gets mixed reviews. (Gothamist)

~ The city is getting safer, but gang violence in northern Brooklyn is causing an uptick in killings. (NYT)

~ The Smith Canteen in Carroll Gardens is closing after eight years. (Eater)

STAFF PICKS

~ READ: “The shark attack that changed Cape Cod forever” (Boston Magazine)

~ EAT: Here are the 14 best ice cream parlors in New York City, including eight spots in Brooklyn. (Eater)

~ CARTOON: A closer look at President Trump’s priorities. (The Week)

~ LEARN: Navy pilots reported seeing UFOs flying up and down the East Coast. “These things would be out there all day,” Lt. Ryan Graves said. (NYT)

WHAT’S HAPPENING

12:00PM – 5:00PM — Taking Care of Brooklyn: Stories of Sickness and Health Exhibition at Brooklyn Historical Society. Details.

6:30PM — A Green New Deal for New York City with Ashley Dawson at BPL Central Library. Details.

7:30PM — YYDC Presents The Edge of 30 Degrees at BAM. Details.

THE WRAP

⌛ ON THIS DAY
In 1920, the Eagle reported, “The unveiling of the Fort Hamilton Memorial Monument, scheduled for tomorrow, will have to be put off, perhaps until July 4, because a strike of Rhode Island stonecutters has prevented delivery of the granite and stone needed for the monument.”

IMPRINT
English actress Naomi Scott graces the June cover of Harper’s Bazaar Arabia.

ROYAL WATCH
Meghan Markle’s half brother says he’s homeless and at the “lowest point” in his life. (Yahoo)

SPORTS
Anders Lee and Islanders management have yet to agree on a new contract thus far this offseason, leaving open the possibility that the franchise could lose its team captain via free agency for the second consecutive summer.

BIRTHDAYS

Happy birthday to Remy Ma, Steven Gerrard, Duncan Jones, CeeLo Green, Indina Menzel, Madeon, Harrison Barnes and Jennifer Ellison.

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