Brooklyn Today: Art classes instead of court dates?

October 3, 2019 Brooklyn Today

Ditmas Park West is a lovely micro-neighborhood in Victorian Flatbush. Eagle file photo by Lore Croghan

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THE LEDE: Good Morning! People arrested on low-level misdemeanors in Brooklyn will now have the option to complete a one-day arts course at the Brooklyn Museum instead of ever having to appear in court, thanks to a newly expanded diversion program offered by the Brooklyn District Attorney.

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THE RUNDOWN

~ PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES MUST COMMIT TO PUBLIC HOUSING, SAYS CONGRESSMEMBER: A federal lawmaker wants to hear promises from presidential candidates to make a significant investment in public housing like NYCHA, which in New York City houses more than 400,000 people.

~ BAY RIDGE RESIDENTS WANTED A SOLUTION TO LAWLESS DRIVERS. THEY GOT YELLOW PAINT.: At night, a four-block stretch of 86th Street becomes a track for drag racers and stunt drivers pulling donuts. Locals demanded the Department of Transportation reconfigure the roadway to make that impossible. What they got was yellow paint.

~ ART CLASSES INSTEAD OF COURT DATES? IN LOW-LEVEL CASES, BROOKLYN DA SAYS YES.: The program — dubbed Project Reset — is funded by the City Council and the de Blasio administration, and is coordinated along with the nonprofit Center for Court Innovation and Brooklyn Justice Initiative. It will expand citywide after a piloted launch in Brooklyn.

~ EAST NEW YORK DEVELOPMENT GEARED TO LOW-INCOME TENANTS BREAKS GROUND: Work is underway on the construction of a 218-unit East New York rental-apartment building where four-fifths of the units will be affordable for extremely low-income, very low-income or low-income tenants.

~ DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN ARTS FESTIVAL: WHAT TO SEE: Culture, couture, music and makers will come together this weekend at the second annual Downtown Brooklyn Arts Festival hosted by the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership in the epicenter of the borough’s cultural district.

~ TAKE A SOUTH SLOPE STROLL WHILE THE SCENERY’S STILL SUMMERY: The other day when it was 80 degrees outside, our reporter went to South Slope to take photos. After five hours, she had covered only a fraction of its beautiful, old-fashioned blocks. There was so much to see.

~ WITH A POP-UP PHOTO STUDIO, THIS BED-STUY ARTIST TURNED HER NEIGHBORS INTO STARS: “I’ve lived in different parts of Brooklyn and this is the first time I’ve felt like this is a community,” Hidemi Takagi, a visual artist and photographer, said of Bed-Stuy. “This is the best neighborhood I’ve ever lived in.”

~ TWO WOMEN SOUGHT IN CONNECTION TO JULY’S BROWNSVILLE MASS SHOOTING: Police are looking for two women in connection with July’s mass shooting at a Brownsville street festival that killed one man and injured 11 other people.

~ WOMAN STRUCK AND KILLED BY TRAIN AT BAY PARKWAY: A woman was struck and killed Wednesday morning by a Manhattan-bound D train at Bay Parkway and 86th Street, police said.

~ BED-STUY TENANTS BID TO EVICT NONPROFIT LANDLORD OVER DIRE CONDITIONS: Some Brooklyn tenants battling to oust their troubled nonprofit landlord have reached a deal that could bring some relief — while others in buildings run by the group say they remain plagued by rats, broken locks and more woes. (THE CITY)

~ THE SPONSOR OF DE BLASIO’S CONTROVERSIAL SHSAT BILL IS BACKING A NEW STRATEGY: The state lawmaker who sponsored the bill backing Mayor Bill de Blasio’s controversial specialized high school plan is changing his strategy for diversifying the elite schools. (Chalkbeat)

PODCAST

~ LISTEN: INSIDE BROOKLYN’S DEVELOPMENT BOOM: Brooklyn’s skyline has changed dramatically over the years as more and more buildings rise from the earth. In recognition of such swift and efficient workmanship, on this week’s episode, we’re speaking with the people who have built our borough and made such construction possible.

MORE BROOKLYN NEWS

~ NYCHA needs $3 billion to improve its heat and hot water systems. (Curbed)

~ At Gowanus Gardens, the neighborhood’s newest bar, expect delicious food and a quaint backyard. (Gothamist)

~ “James Robinson, 79, dies; filled an ambulance gap in Brooklyn” (NYT)

STAFF PICKS

~ READ: “Shoot migrants’ legs, build alligator moat: Behind Trump’s ideas for border” (NYT)

~ DRINK: Here are the 15 best dive bars in Brooklyn. (Thrillist)

~ CARTOON: President Trump gets his wall. (The Week)

~ PETS: Cats can grow as close to humans as dogs can, according to a new study. (NYT)

WHAT’S HAPPENING

6:00PM — How to Be an Antiracist at The New School. Details.

6:30PM – 8:30PM — Person Place Thing with Tobias Frere-Jones at New York Transit Museum. Details.

7:00PM – 9:00PM — Body Care: On Food, Self-Care and the Wellness Industry at Museum of Food and Drink. Details.

THE WRAP

⌛ ON THIS DAY
In 1952, the Eagle reported, “Communist teachers must be kicked out of the schools if academic freedom is to be preserved, the Brooklyn College Kingsman, weekly undergraduate newspaper, asserted today.”

📔 IMPRINT
Actor Joaquin Phoenix poses by the pool on the November cover of Vanity Fair.

👑 ROYAL WATCH
“How [Princess] Diana’s engagement ring sparked furious response from royal family” (Daily Express)

🏀 SPORTS
Here’s what the Nets will look like this season without Kevin Durant. (FiveThirtyEight)

BIRTHDAYS

Happy birthday to Gwen Stefani, Chubby Checker, Lena Headey, Alicia Vikander, Zlatan Ibrahimović, Janel Moloney, Neve Campbell, Lindsey Buckingham, Dave Winfield, Clive Owen and Dennis Eckersley!