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Brooklyn Today: BP shows off 90 rat carcasses

September 6, 2019 Brooklyn Today
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THE LEDE: Happy Friday! Following the successful capture and “humane” killing of more than 100 rats in one month around Brooklyn Borough Hall and Cadman Plaza, local officials are calling for the expansion of the pilot program to rat nests citywide.

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THE RUNDOWN

~ BROOKLYN COUNCILMEMBER QUESTIONS CITY OFFICIALS ON JAIL PLAN: Councilmember Stephen Levin asked Department of Corrections officials about parking, building density and an alternative to demolishing the current Boerum Hill jail during the City Council’s only public hearing on the mayor’s borough-based jail plan Thursday.

~ THOUSANDS OF NYCHA RESIDENTS FACE SUDDEN WATER OUTAGES: More than 7,000 NYCHA residents across the city were without hot water — or, in some cases, any water at all — Thursday morning as the agency grappled with unplanned outages in 35 buildings across 11 developments, some of which started as early as Monday.

~ BP SHOWS OFF CARCASSES OF 90 ‘HUMANELY’ KILLED RATS, CALLS FOR MORE OF THEM: Brooklyn BP Eric Adams and City Councilmember Robert Cornegy showed off a big bowl of preserved rat soup on Thursday to make their point that rat trapping — not poison — is the best way to get rid of Brooklyn’s least favorite neighbors.

~ CON ED GRILLED OVER SUMMER POWER OUTAGES: Lawmakers grilled Con Edison President Timothy Cawley at a joint hearing held by the State Senate and State Assembly in lower Manhattan that focused on Con Edison’s preparedness and their oft-criticized response to the blackouts that impacted thousands of New Yorkers this summer.

~ DIY RAPE KIT STARTUP’S 23-YEAR-OLD FOUNDER SAYS SHE IS A SEXUAL ASSAULT SURVIVOR: Brooklyn-based health care startup MeToo Kit has come under fire in the past week for marketing a do-it-yourself rape kit designed to allow victims of sexual assault to collect DNA evidence in the privacy of their own home.

~ BROOKLYN BOOK FESTIVAL SCHEDULE 2019: The largest free literary event in New York City and one of the premier book festivals in America released a packed schedule on Thursday with roughly 100 programs featuring more than 300 authors across 13 locations in Brooklyn.

~ PHOTOS: BROOKLYN STUDENTS ARE BACK IN SCHOOL. WE ASKED WHAT’S ON THEIR MINDS.: More than 1.1 million students across the five boroughs started the new school year on Thursday morning. The Brooklyn Eagle hit the streets and asked kids what they were looking forward to on their first day.

~ BARBECUES AND BEARD COMPETITIONS: 10 THINGS TO DO IN BROOKLYN THIS WEEKEND: This weekend’s top events revolve around food — and lots of it. There’s a wine-and-food festival in Prospect Park, a barbecue festival in Red Hook, a food truck block party in Williamsburg, and of course, Smorgasburg.

~ OPINION: KEEP SPECIAL ED IN DOE’S HANDS: “It’s a terrible, half-baked idea” for city, state and federal officials to transfer oversight of special education from the City’s Department of Education to its Department of Health, writes our columnist.

~ AERIAL SPRAYING FOR WEST NILE VIRUS THURSDAY NIGHT: City Department of Health trucks sprayed pesticide mist in parts of Brooklyn and Queens on Thursday night to kill mosquitoes carrying West Nile virus.

~ YOUR BACK-TO-SCHOOL BRIEFING: School is back in session — and now’s your chance to look back on a summer’s worth of education reporting at the Brooklyn Eagle.

~ ‘NEEDLE PARK’ IN DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN? KIDS FIND SYRINGES, PARENTS DEMAND CLEANUP: Young children romping through Cadman Plaza Park last Tuesday discovered half a dozen discarded syringes under the bushes. One boy began playing with one and “something came out,” as his friend told his mother.

~ NYPD: FEWER ARRESTS SINCE ‘I CAN’T BREATHE’ OFFICER’S FIRING: Arrests totals in New York City have plunged in the two weeks since the police department fired an officer for the 2014 chokehold death of Eric Garner, pointing to a possible slowdown amid a heated response to the firing from the officers’ union. (AP)

MORE BROOKLYN NEWS

~ A single tomato grows in Brooklyn Bridge Park. (NYT)

~ New York City is closing its beaches today and Saturday for Hurricane Dorian. (Daily News)

~ “The adorable shingled cat houses of Pratt Institute” (Untapped Cities)

STAFF PICKS

READ: “The gospel according to Marianne Williamson” (NYT)

EAT: From Sunset Park to Greenpoint, here are the 12 hottest restaurants in Brooklyn this month. (Eater)

CARTOON: America has its borders redrawn(The Week)

OPINION: Beto O’Rourke’s gun safety plan — which involves declaring gun violence a public health emergency — is aggressive, but at least he speaks “openly, passionately and honestly,” one columnist writes(NYT)

WHAT’S HAPPENING 

7:00PM — “Cat Call: Reclaiming the Feral Feminine” Book Release at Catland. Details.

7:00PM — Etgar Keret: “Fly Already” with Elif Batuman at Books Are Magic. Details.

7:30PM – 9:30PM — 80th Anniversary of the 1939-40 New York World’s Fair at Bay Side Historical Society. Details.

THE WRAP

 ON THIS DAY
In 1949, the Eagle reported, “The toll of accidental deaths over the Labor Day weekend, with reports still coming in, today reached a total of 479. Traffic accidents over the nation accounted for 365 deaths, also a record.”

📔 IMPRINT
David Beckham wears a tuxedo on the October cover of GQ U.K. 

👑 ROYAL WATCH
Take a look at Princess Charlotte’s first day of school(Time)

🏀 SPORTS
Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie is in contract to buy the penthouse of Brooklyn Point. (New York Post)

BIRTHDAYS

Happy birthday to Jo Anne Worley, Chris Christie, Justin Whalin, Jane Curtin, John Wall, Elizabeth Vargas, Idris Elba, Sarah Strange, Jeff Foxworthy, Rosie Perez, Naomie Harris, China Miéville, Tim Henman and Swoosie Kurtz!

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