Brooklyn Today: Should sex work be decriminalized?

June 12, 2019 Brooklyn Eagle

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THE LEDE: Good morning! Lawmakers on Monday introduced the first statewide bill to decriminalize the sale and solicitation of sex, just over a week before the end of the legislative session. The legislation is backed by a coalition of Democratic state senators, assemblymembers and activists who say the government should have no say in sex between consenting adults.

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THE RUNDOWN

~ FORMER POL ACCUSED OF HELPING FLOOD BROOKLYN STREETS WITH OXY SAYS HE’S VICTIM OF POLITICAL HIT JOB: Former Assemblymember Alec Brook-Krasny, who represented a district spanning Bay Ridge to Coney Island, is on trial with two others for their roles in a ring that allegedly sent more than 6.3 million pills pouring into Brooklynstreets.

~ CRIME SPIKE IN CLINTON HILL LEAVES BUSINESS OWNERS SHAKEN: Fulton Street merchants in Clinton Hill are reeling from a spate of burglaries and robberies in the past few weeks, and they say cops need to do more to protect them.

~ HISTORIC BILL WOULD DECRIMINALIZE SEX WORK: The risk of arrest discourages sex workers from gaining the supportive services they need — and also pushes them further into marginalization, the bill’s supporters say.

~ ‘GUNS DOWN, CLIPPERS UP’: EAST NY BARBER SHAPES CAREERS FOR AT-RISK YOUTH: In the back of a brick building on Blake Avenue in East New York, the sounds of buzzing clippers and good-natured banter fill the room on most mornings. The place isn’t a barbershop, though, it’s a school.

~ CRANKING THE WORLD’S LARGEST FLIPBOOKS IN DUMBO: The lunchtime crowd in DUMBO took turns cranking two giant, solar-powered flipbooks installed at the Pearl Street Triangle last week. As the pages flipped, the individual drawings merged into an animated image, delighting participants.

~ WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE DIVERSITY RECOMMENDATIONS DE BLASIO JUST EMBRACED: Mayor Bill de Blasio endorsed a series of recommendations offered by the city’s School Diversity Advisory Group, an announcement that top city officials — and even some integration advocates — heralded as a triumph. (Chalkbeat)

MORE BROOKLYN NEWS

~ “Captain” Kirk Douglas of the Roots finds “sanctuary” in Brooklyn. (NYT)

~ Here’s a map of 1930s Brooklyn Heights. (Brownstoner)

~ L&B Spumoni Gardens is coming to DUMBO. (Eater)

STAFF PICKS

~ READ: Here’s a look inside the suicide crisis afflicting East Texas. (The Texas Observer)

~ EAT: Here are the 20 best hot dogs in New York City, including seven in Brooklyn.

~ LAUGH: A different perspective on the plastic bag ban. (The New Yorker)

~ LIVE: “So you’ve made a huge mistake. What now?” (NYT)

WHAT’S HAPPENING

12:00PM — Curator Talk with MoMA: “Lincoln Kirstein’s Modern” 92nd Street Y. Details.

5:00PM — Writing Workshop with Magie Dominic at New York Public Library. Details.

7:30PM — Grave Robbing 101 at 2 Rector St. Details.

THE WRAP

⌛ ON THIS DAY
In 1871, the Eagle reported, “It has been well remarked that of all the great inventions of this century, that of the telegraph is the greatest, because it is the simplest. It is the nearest approach man has made to the simplicity and majesty of the works of the Deity.

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Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer grace the latest cover of Radio Times.