Brooklyn Today: Elephants will fall from the sky

September 26, 2019 Brooklyn Today

Sunlight glitters on the waves in Coney Island. Eagle photo by Lore Croghan

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THE LEDE: Good morning! The most photographed block in DUMBO will be the scene of cheerful inanity tomorrow as thousands of parachute-wearing toy elephants are hurled off rooftops for the amusement of the crowds in the street below. (Yes, you read that correctly.)

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THE RUNDOWN

~ PROSECUTORS AND DEFENDERS SUE ICE OVER ARRESTS IN AND AROUND COURTHOUSES: Prosecutors and public defenders teamed up Tuesday to announce lawsuits against the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement for arrests of undocumented people in courthouses, which have spiked across New York state since President Trump took office.

~ DUMBO DROP 2019: THOUSANDS OF ELEPHANTS WILL FALL FROM BROOKLYN SKIES: For those who enjoy a little wager, a guess-where-the-elephant-will-fall contest could pay off. Top prizes including a $1,000 shopping spree and a private rooftop party for 10 at Time Out Market New York.

~ MARIJUANA USE HIGHER AMONG WHITE NEW YORKERS, THOUGH 94% OF POT BUSTS ARE PEOPLE OF COLOR: White people in New York City report smoking marijuana at a higher rate than black and Latinx city residents, though the vast majority of people arrested for low-level marijuana-related crimes are people of color, a new study by the city Department of Health revealed Tuesday.

~ ‘EMERGENCY’ ROUNDTABLE ON VAPING, MENTHOL CIGARETTES GROWS SUPPORT FOR EXPANDED BAN: The discussion — which included health experts, clergy members, parents and other opponents — focused largely on the dangers of vaping and menthol cigarettes both in schools and within communities of color.

~ WHO WILL RESCUE THE DAMAGED CONEY ISLAND BOARDWALK?: The Coney Island Boardwalk’s wooden planks are in urgent need of repair. In a New York minute, a civic-minded business owner could come up with the cash to fix up the famous span and create a reserve fund to keep it in good shape thereafter.

~ BROOKLYN POLS DEMAND STATE RELEASE $4 MILLION FOR CENSUS 2020 OUTREACH: With just over five months to go before the start of the 2020 Census, leaders across Brooklyn are calling for the state to deliver $4 million to fund the borough’s counting efforts.

~ BROOKLYN MAN CONVICTED OF GIVING CASH TO SUPPORT WANNABE ISIS FIGHTER: A Brooklyn man was convicted Tuesday of helping to fund another man’s travel and expenses to fight for ISIS, federal prosecutors announced.

~ SUNSET PARK PRIME BEEF WHOLESALERS EMBROILED IN SCANDAL: A newly-unsealed indictment reveals some major beef between the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York and A. Stein Meat Products, Inc., a Sunset Park-based meat distribution business that was once the subject on an ill-fated deal on CNBC’s reality show “The Profit.”

~ BROOKLYN BOROUGH HALL PARKING LOT ON PARKLAND GETS NEW REVIEW: The Parks Department is reviewing a longstanding arrangement that lets officials at Brooklyn Borough Hall use a busy walkway and popular plaza as 24-hour employee parking lots, THE CITY has learned. (THE CITY)

~ CITY UNVEILS MAP OF PROPOSED SCHOOL ZONES IN BROOKLYN’S DISTRICT 15, HINTS THAT A DECISION COULD BE DELAYED: The education department on Tuesday unveiled a proposal for redrawing elementary school zone lines to relieve overcrowding and encourage integration in Brooklyn’s District 15. (Chalkbeat)

PODCAST

~ LISTEN: A HISTORY OF BROOKLYN’S MOST TOXIC WATERWAYS: Coal tar, oil, and used contraceptives are only some of the items routinely found floating on the highly polluted Gowanus Canal and Newtown Creek — Brooklyn’s two federal Superfund sites. In honor of Climate Week, we explore how the two waterways got so polluted, what has been done to clean them up, and what their future might look like.

MORE BROOKLYN NEWS

~ “Lyft ignored complaints about driver who assaulted Brooklyn man, lawsuit claims” (Gothamist)

~ Here’s a map of all the new developments in Crown Heights. (Curbed)

~ A co-living project from Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto is coming to Bed-Stuy. (Designboom)

STAFF PICKS

~ READ: “The man who would kill horse racing” (Deadspin)

~ EAT: Want to throw a successful dinner party? Start with choosing a co-host. (Eater)

~ CARTOON: Nancy Pelosi makes an announcement. (The New Yorker)

~ OPINION: Here’s why you should be very scared about a Trump impeachment. (NYT)

WHAT’S HAPPENING

6:30PM — Challenging Identities: Muslim Artists and Visual Narratives at Brooklyn Historical Society. Details.

7:00PM — Reading “Lolita” in America: A Panel Discussion with Sarah Weinman, Morgan Jerkins, Susan Choi, and Catherine Chung at The Center for Fiction. Details.

7:30PM — ACLU: At Liberty Podcast with Edward Snowden at Central Library. Details.

THE WRAP

⌛ ON THIS DAY
In 1849, the Eagle reported, “Gas at last. Last evening the new and beautiful iron posts recently erected along Fulton Street, to accommodate the lamps of the gas company, were fired up, and for the first time our city was illuminated with gas lights.”

📔 IMPRINT
Actress Lucy Boynton graces the October cover of S Moda.

👑 ROYAL WATCH
“Royal rebel: The Princess who shunned royal life to become an ‘agent of change‘” (Daily Express)

🏀 SPORTS
Kevin Durant ‘controls’ his rehab, says GM Sean Marks

BIRTHDAYS

Happy birthday to Serena Williams, Olivia Newton-John, Jane Smiley, Melissa Sue Anderson, Mary Beth Hurt, Linda Hamilton, Jim Caviezel and Bryan Ferry!