Brooklyn Today: “We want to shut down Whole Foods.”

August 1, 2019 Brooklyn Eagle

Historic Navy Yard buildings and modern Downtown Brooklyn towers mingle in this view from a ferry-boat deck. Eagle photo by Lore Croghan

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THE LEDE: Good morning! Activists gathered outside Whole Foods in Downtown Brooklyn on Tuesday, protesting the company’s support of immigration enforcement. Whole Foods is owned by Amazon, which has provided technology and logistical support to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, including controversial facial recognition software.

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THE RUNDOWN

~ MAYOR CALLS BROWNSVILLE TRAGEDY A ‘MASS SHOOTING’ AFTER DAYS OF HESITATION: Four days after a shooting in Brownsville that left 11 injured and one dead, Mayor Bill de Blasio tweaked his language surrounding the event, calling it a “mass shooting” for the first time.

~ OPINION: BROWNSVILLE’S PAIN CAN’T HOLD A CANDLE TO ITS PROMISE: “It’s easy to use Brownsville as target practice when taking pot shots at a Brooklyn neighborhood that has become ground zero for incidents of gun violence within the borough,” Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams writes.

~ POOP ALERT: 65% OF NY BEACHES WERE ‘POTENTIALLY UNSAFE’ FOR SWIMMING ON AT LEAST ONE DAY IN 2018: With intensifying rains, like the flash storm that flooded much of Brooklyn on July 22, environmental experts are warning that an increasing number of beaches could be closed because of bacteria in the water, especially during the summer season.

~ AT DOWNTOWN BK WHOLE FOODS, A CALL TO BOYCOTT AMAZON-OWNED GROCER FOR ICE SUPPORT: Protestors attempted to dissuade Brooklynites from shopping there with flyers reading, “Don’t pay your grocery money into ICE violence. Don’t feed your kids on racism.”

~ AMID HIGH TEMPS, PROTESTERS CALL FOR COLD WATER, COLD SHOWERS AND MORE FANS AT BROOKLYN JAIL: As Monday and Tuesday’s temperatures topped 90 degrees, advocates for incarcerated people gathered and demanded better conditions — including cold showers and more fans — for inmates inside the Brooklyn Detention Complex in Boerum Hill.

~ STATE’S TOP COP SHARES TIPS TO PREVENT YOUR HOUSE BEING STOLEN: Attorney General Letitia James organized a town hall with Central Brooklyn’s local and state officials Tuesday to share information about the loss of black and brown home ownership, which she said is hitting crisis levels — and provide tips to protect homeowners.

~ CHURCH AVENUE NO-PARKING PLAN RILES UP FLATBUSH TEMPLE MEMBERS: Anger erupted over parking issues related to the creation of dedicated bus lanes on Church Avenue in Flatbush at a public forum on Tuesday night.

~ CHECK OUT GREENPOINT’S NEW WATERFRONT GREEN SPACES: Greenpoint’s two new waterfront parks are best appreciated by visitors who plan to stay a while, and just sit here and watch the river flow, as Bob Dylan famously sang.

~ THE PARK SLOPE ART SHOW WITH SNAIL MAIL SUBMISSIONS: Through Aug. 6, Park Slope gallery owner Krista Scenna is accepting submissions to a Ground Floor Gallery exhibition called “Priority Mail: Our 2019 Mail Art Biennial.”

~ AT CYCLIST VIGIL, SUNSET PARK COMMUNITY DEMANDS CHANGE: A vigil for Em Samolewicz, the 18th cyclist killed in New York City traffic this year, was held on the site of her death at the corner of 36th Street and Third Avenue on Tuesday.

~ AN INTERVIEW WITH RAÚL COLÓN, THE ILLUSTRATOR BEHIND THIS YEAR’S BROOKLYN BOOK FESTIVAL POSTER: The Brooklyn Book Festival takes place Sept. 22, with Children’s Day on Sept. 21. Raul Colón spoke to the Brooklyn Eagle on Tuesday about his artwork, his sources of inspiration and how he created the Book Festival poster.

~ POLICE OFFER $10K REWARD FOR INFO IN BROWNSVILLE MASS SHOOTING: Cops are offering up to $10,000 to anyone with information that could help them secure an arrest in the Brownsville mass shooting Saturday night that left one man dead and 11 others injured.

~ JOHN PHILIP BIGOLSKI, A WILLIAMSBURG STALWART, ARMY VETERAN AND CITY SERVANT, DIES AT 71: John Philip Bigolski, a father, husband and longtime fixture of the northside Williamsburg community seen frequently chatting up store owners on Bedford Avenue and doling out wisdom from local barstools, passed away on July 28 at the age of 71.

PODCAST

~ IS NYC PREPARED FOR ANOTHER SUPERSTORM SANDY?: It’s been roughly seven years since Superstorm Sandy flooded our streets and pounded our infrastructure. And while efforts have been made to better prepare the city for future natural disasters, a recent routine rainstorm flooded the city’s streets — and people’s apartments. It begs the question, is New York actually prepared for another hurricane?

MORE BROOKLYN NEWS

~ NYPD misconduct lawsuits have cost taxpayers $40 million in 2019. (Gothamist)

~ “Scabby, the giant inflatable union protest rat, faces extermination” (NYT)

~ Here’s a tour of a food editor’s two-floor Flatbush apartment. (Design*Sponge)

STAFF PICKS

~ READ: “Gone: Decades of greed, neglect, corruption, and bad politics led to last year’s Paradise fire, the worst in California history. It should never have happened. It will happen again.” (The California Sunday Magazine)

~ EAT: Here are the 12 hottest brunch spots in New York City right now, including three restaurants in Brooklyn. (Eater)

~ LAUGH: Rodents take over the Oval Office. (The Week)

~ PLAY: Woodstock’s 50th anniversary concert was officially canceled on Wednesday. “We just ran out of time,” one of the festival’s partners said. (NYT)

WHAT’S HAPPENING

6:00PM – 8:30PM — Camp Catcha-Train at New York Transit Museum. Details.

6:00PM – 10:00PM — Movies With A View: “Crooklyn” at Brooklyn Bridge Park. Details.

7:30PM — Lyz Lenz: “God Land” with Jia Tolentino at Books Are Magic. Details.

THE WRAP

⌛ ON THIS DAY

In 1932, the Eagle reported, “Ten Mile River, N.Y. — Brooklyn Boy Scouts encamped here have been listening to exciting tales of adventure — true stories, related by a man who had a part in them — of Buffalo Bill and the days of the Pony Express.”

📔 IMPRINT

President Trump is surrounded by white supremacists on a recent cover of Newsweek.

👑 ROYAL WATCH

“Meghan Markle has an ‘unofficial mentor‘ and ‘ally’ within the Royal family” (Mirror)

🥊 SPORTS

Undefeated yet mostly unknown outside of our fair borough, Brooklyn resident and rising heavyweight contender Adam Kownacki will get his moment in the spotlight Aug. 3 at Barclays Center.

BIRTHDAYS

Happy birthday to Jack O’Connell, Demián Bechir, Jason Momoa, Tempestt Bledsoe, Sam Mendes, Coolio, James Gleick, Doug Burgum, Chuck D, Robert Cray and Giancarlo Giannini!