Brooklyn Boro

Brooklyn Today: They’re ‘holding everybody hostage’

September 18, 2019 Brooklyn Today
This is Sunset Park’s Fourth Avenue Methodist Episcopal Church, a nominee for inclusion on the State and National Registers of Historic Places. Eagle photo by Lore Croghan
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THE LEDE: Good morning! New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams ripped National Grid’s denial of service to thousands of new and returning customers in Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and Long Island on Tuesday, calling it “reprehensible.”

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THE RUNDOWN

~ 86 PERCENT OF BROOKLYNITES IN COURT ARE PEOPLE OF COLOR: REPORT: The group, Police Reform Organizing Project, observed 243 cases in Brooklyn’s criminal court between January 2019 and June 2019 and found that only 14 percent of the cases involved white New Yorkers, despite the fact that white people make up nearly 40 percent of Brooklyn’s population.

~ NATIONAL GRID IS HOLDING CUSTOMERS HOSTAGE, SAYS NYC PUBLIC ADVOCATE: “Clearly it’s a political ploy to have the Williams Pipeline built,” Jumaane Williams told reporters at a press conference in front of National Grid headquarters in Downtown Brooklyn. “This is a privately owned company holding everybody hostage.”

~ IT’S TIME FOR A BIKE LANE ON THE VERRAZZANO, SOUTHERN BROOKLYNITES SAY: A group of cyclists, runners and transit advocates came together at Bay Ridge’s Cannonball Park on Sunday to renew their call for a bike and pedestrian lane on the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge during the summer season.

~ CLARK STREET STATION CLOSURE ‘NOT A DONE DEAL,’ SAYS MTA OFFICIAL: There are three possible scenarios for fixing the ancient elevators at the Clark Street subway station, according to the MTA. New York City Transit Authority President Andy Byford laid out the possibilities on Monday at a town hall meeting.

~ 6 PLACES TO GO APPLE PICKING NEAR NYC (WITHOUT A CAR): New York is called the Big Apple, but it’s pretty difficult to pick the fruit in the city. Luckily, there are orchards and farms just a short train ride away — like these six.

~ AUTUMN MOON LANTERN PARADE FESTIVAL BRINGS CROWDS AND CEREMONY TO SUNSET: It was another massive turnout for Sunset Park’s Autumn Moon Lantern Parade Festival. “People got to see great performers, sports car and all kinds of festival activities,” said Steven Tin, executive director of Better Chinatown USA.

~ HAS THE ‘CULTURE WAR’ COME FOR NYC SCHOOLS? WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THAT CONTENTIOUS ATLANTIC ESSAY: Over the weekend, The Atlantic published a 10,000-word story that argues New York City public schools have been overtaken by a “new progressivism” encompassing everything from state testing boycotts to school integration. (Chalkbeat)

MORE BROOKLYN NEWS

~ A cargo ship docked off the coast of Brooklyn is under quarantine due to a laternfly infestation. (NBC New York)

~ Here’s what it’s like to work at Brooklyn’s medical cannabis dispensaries. (Commercial Observer)

~ ‘Better than nothing’ won’t cut it for critics of Brooklyn housing development” (City Limits)

STAFF PICKS

READ: “Bringing Home Braden: The extraordinary ‘rescue’ of a fallen California firefighter” (SF Chronicle)

DRINK: Here are the 26 best beer gardens in America, including one in Williamsburg(Thrillist)

CARTOON: A lot can happen in a day. (The New Yorker)

WORK: Here are five tips on how to excel at water cooler talk. (NYT)

WHAT’S HAPPENING 

6:30PM — Is Meritocracy a Myth? at Brooklyn Historical Society. Details.

7:00PM — The Big Green Picture: Local Strategies for a Livable World at Central Library. Details.

7:30PM — Presidential Candidate Marianne Williamson in Conversation at 92nd Street Y. Details.

THE WRAP

🔎ASK A HISTORIAN
What’s the nautical history of southern Brooklyn?

 ON THIS DAY
In 1954, the Eagle reported, “Community resentment flared high today over the drastic ‘economy’ curtailment of Brooklyn’s surface transit service ordered by the Transit Authority. Many protests by shocked leaders of borough civic and business groups to both the Authority and the Board of Estimate were being whipped into shape.”

📔 IMPRINT
Victoria Beckham graces the latest cover of Glamour U.K.

👑 ROYAL WATCH
“There’s a royal family strain of marijuana — and you’ll never guess who’s selling it” (Yahoo)

🏀 SPORTS
Could the Nets sign Wizards guard Bradley Beal(Fadeaway World)

BIRTHDAYS

Happy birthday to Jada Pinkett Smith, Aisha Tyler, Ryne Sandberg, Serge Ibaka, James Marsden, Robert Blake, Lance Armstrong, Frankie Avalon and Ben Carson!

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