Brooklyn Today: ‘It’s a crisis. It’s an emergency.’

July 26, 2019 Brooklyn Eagle

Canarsie. Eagle file photo by Lore Croghan

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THE LEDE: Happy Friday! The city will increase the pace of bike lane construction — particularly in southern Brooklyn neighborhoods — eliminate “thousands” of parking spaces and increase police enforcement following a spate of cyclist deaths throughout the city, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Thursday.

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THE RUNDOWN

~ THE MTA’S HOMELESS OUTREACH PROGRAM IS NOT ACTUALLY HELPING, AUDIT SAYS: The nonprofit organization tasked with providing support services to homeless individuals at the city’s major subway stations failed to reach a significant amount of people for nearly four years, a recently released state study shows.

~ NOT ONE CITY-BACKED LAND-USE APP WAS REJECTED IN 19 YEARS. WHAT’S THAT MEAN FOR THE JAIL PLAN?: While it is anecdotally known in New York politics that the City Planning Commission usually votes in favor of the city’s land-use applications, it turns out the commission has approved every single city application since 2000.

~ MORE BIKE LANES AND FEWER PARKING SPACES, MAYOR DE BLASIO ANNOUNCES: The mayor unveiled his “Green Wave” plan as a component of his Vision Zero initiative, which seeks to bring cyclist, pedestrian and driver deaths down to zero by the year 2024.

~ PIE AND POETRY: 10 THINGS TO DO IN BROOKLYN THIS WEEKEND: With the heat wave behind us, spend this weekend outside in the (comparatively) cooler weather. From a poetry festival on Governors Island to a food crawl in Red Hook, we’ve selected the 10 best events happening in Brooklyn.

~ LONGER WAITS FOR BUSES ALONG THREE BROOKLYN LINES: Come fall, passengers on three Brooklyn bus routes will have longer waiting times between buses, and two of the lines will be more crowded, according to a July report issued by the MTA’s Transit and Bus Committee.

~ EAT AND DRINK YOUR WAY THROUGH RED HOOK THIS SUNDAY: Red Hook’s first-ever restaurant and bar tour hosted by Tastes of Brooklyn will be taking place this Sunday. The event will feature Steve’s key lime pie, Widow Jane whiskey, live music at Sunny’s Bar and so much more. Could a Sunday get better?

~ IN CROWN HEIGHTS, TENSIONS FLARE AROUND A BELOVED MURAL AND A NEW RESTAURANT: When rumors began spreading that a belovedCrown Heights mural — one memorializing late rapper Sean Price — might be wiped away, neighbors mobilized.

~ THE CHARTER REVISION COMMISSION: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW: Here’s what you need to know about the commission, what it’s proposing and how it affects you.

~ GAME OF GARDENS: GREENEST BLOCK IN BROOKLYN CONTEST ENTERS FINAL ROUND: Judges from the Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s Greenest Block in Brooklyn contest roamed the streets of the borough on Tuesday with clipboards and cameras in hand.

~ OPINION: THE TRIBORO LINE MAY SEEM GREAT — BUT IT PROBABLY WON’T HAPPEN: “In a city where even a small portion of the Second Avenue subway took almost 100 years to get built, the odds are against the Triboro Line ever coming to fruition,” Brooklyn Eagle reporter Raanan Geberer writes.

PODCAST

~ HERE’S HOW SUNSET PARK IS COMBATING ICE: Daily life in Sunset Park, one of NYC’s most diverse neighborhoods, was disrupted after ICE attempted at least four raids since July 13. On this week’s episode, we’re talking with residents, Councilmember Carlos Menchaca and an immigration lawyer, among others, to better understand what it’s like in the neighborhood during this uncertain time.

MORE BROOKLYN NEWS

~ The city will be shutting down several lanes on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway for four weeks starting today. (NYCDOT)

~ “Facing massive repair needs, public housing in Bushwick is undergoing a huge shift” (City Limits)

~ A new Williamsburg pizzeria is serving $1 oysters. (Eater)

STAFF PICKS

~ READ: “How scorned women and a casanova cop caught L.A.’s ‘dine-and-dash dater'” (Daily Beast)

~ EAT: From Greenpoint to Sheepshead Bay, here are the 15 best brunch restaurants in Brooklyn. (Thrillist)

~ LAUGH: A patient opens up to her therapist. (The New Yorker)

~ TRAVEL: Heading on vacation soon? Make sure to bring these seven must-have travel items. (Wired)

WHAT’S HAPPENING

7:00PM — “Yo Yo Mon Brooklyn!” New York City’s Pirates of the Air at Interference Archive. Details.

8:30PM — Excerpts from Moby-Dick, In Concert Under the Whale at American Museum of Natural History. Details.

9:30PM — Coney Island Friday Night Fireworks at Riegelmann Boardwalk.Details.

THE WRAP

⌛ ON THIS DAY
In 1929, the Eagle reported, “Madrid bullfighting fans have a better opinion of Yankee toreadors today. In their own words, Sydney Franklin, Brooklyn bullfighter, is ‘Que Hombre!’ – ‘What a man!’ Franklin yesterday, making his debut in a Madrid bullring … dispatched two ferocious beasts in a skillful manner.”

📔 IMPRINT
Alessandra Ambrosio graces the August cover of Vogue Greece.

👑 ROYAL WATCH
“Palace denies Kate Middleton got ‘baby Botox'” (Page Six)

🏀 SPORTS
Here’s a look inside the Brooklyn Nets offseason. (NBA)

BIRTHDAYS

Happy birthday to Jacinda Ardern, Cress Williams, Kate Beckinsale, Kevin Spacey, Sandra Bullock, Jeremy Piven, Susan George, Taylor Momsen, Mick Jagger and Helen Mirren!

Brooklyn Today’s editor is Scott Enman. Contact him at [email protected].