Brooklyn Today: Gas fumes plague Greenpoint

June 13, 2019 Brooklyn Eagle

Share this:

THE LEDE: Good morning! When Mary Cinadr first started smelling gas fumes in her Greenpoint apartment in February, she assumed it was a one-time thing. But soon those odors grew stronger, and they persisted over months.

Think there’s something we should cover? Let us know. Also, if you like what we’re doing, tell a friend, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

THE RUNDOWN

~ HEAD OF BQE PANEL DESCRIBES ‘DAUNTING TASK’ AHEAD: Carlo Scissura, chair of the 17-member panel appointed by Mayor Bill de Blasio to evaluate options for the massive, $4 billion reconstruction of the BQE, said on Tuesday that the scope of the project “is much deeper and more intricate than I think anyone ever imagined.”

~ CUOMO AGREES TO SIGN SWEEPING RENT REGULATION REFORMS: It’s a significant win for a statewide coalition of tenant activists who campaigned for months to support a set of nine bills they called “universal rent control.”

~ GREENPOINTERS SAY GAS FUMES ARE MAKING THEM SICK, AND GOV’T IS STALLING: Residents across the neighborhood on Java, India, Huron, Freeman and Russell streets, as well as tenants in the Msgr. McGolrick Park area, also reported similar gasoline-like odors.

~ BROOKLYN ACTIVISTS PUSH FOR MORE ACCESS TO LATE-TERM ABORTIONS: As early-term abortion bans dominate national headlines, a growing network of pro-choice activists in Brooklyn is doubling down on a push for late-term abortion access closer to home.

~ CELEB CHEF ACCUSED OF STEALING $14K FROM BAY RIDGE RESTAURANT OFFERED DELICIOUS PLEA DEAL: Vincent Tropepe was arrested in February on charges that he falsified city documents claiming the restaurant he worked for — the Yemen Cafe — owed thousands in delinquent payments to the city.

~ HIRING ‘NIGHTMARE’ ESCALATES AT CROWN HEIGHTS COMMUNITY BOARD: After nearly four years without a district manager, Community Board 9 met Tuesday night to choose one — which did not happen after six of the 24 board members present refused to cast a vote.

~ BROOKLYN’S LOVELIEST CHURCH (AND OTHER BUILDINGS NEAR FORT GREENE PARK): It looks like a ghostly gray castle in a dream — an abandoned castle. Two 80-foot turrets with pointy roofs flank its front entrance. You might have glimpsed them from Fort Greene Park’s hilltop, which is a block away. It’s Church of St. Michael-St. Edward.

~ A LOOK INSIDE ADRIAN GRENIER’S MUSEUM OF PLASTIC: A pop-up museum from Fort Greene resident and actor Adrian Grenier exposed the dangers of plastics and encouraged residents to use alternatives to plastic bottles.

MORE BROOKLYN NEWS

~ Greenpoint’s ferry flooding fiasco appears to have been fixed. (Greenpointers)

~ A Clinton Hill block is officially co-named after Brooklyn rapper “Notorious B.I.G.” (Curbed)

~ Brooklyn‘s tech startup scene continues to grow. (am New York)

STAFF PICKS

~ READ: Famed boxer Mike Tyson opens a weed resort in the California desert. (GQ)

~ EAT: Williamsburg’s Maison Premiere, home of the $1 oyster, is $2.5 million in debt. (Eater)

~ LAUGH: The secret deal between Mexico and the United States is revealed. (The New Yorker)

~ LIVE: Are Americans the worst patients in the world? (The Atlantic)

WHAT’S HAPPENING

1:30PM — LGBTIQ Politics in Russia and Its Impact on the Global Queer Agenda at Prospect Park. Details.

7:00PM – 10:00PM — Art History Happy Hour: Stonewall at Fifty at BrooklynMuseum. Details.

7:30PM — Life with Picasso at 92nd Street Y. Details.

THE WRAP

⌛ ON THIS DAY
In 1937, the Eagle reported, “Mrs. Mary E. Wilson, 91, of 148-21 84th Ave., Jamaica, who was among the first to cross the Brooklyn Bridge the day it was officially opened in 1883, died yesterday after an illness of two months.”

IMPRINT
British actor Nicholas Hoult poses in black on the latest cover of Gio.

ROYAL WATCH
Countess Sophie of Wessex meets with Syrian refugees in Lebanon. (Royal Central)

SPORTS
D’Angelo Russell wins GQ’s 2019 NBA Style Showdown. (GQ)

BIRTHDAYS

Happy birthday to Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, Tim Allen, Chris Evans, Ally Sheedy, Roy Cooper, Kat Dennings, Ban Ki-Moon and Richard Thomas!

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