Brooklyn Today: ‘This stuff is so tenacious.’

October 9, 2019 Brooklyn Today

Highland Boulevard runs through Highland Park, which is a mini-neighborhood within Cypress Hills. Eagle file photo by Lore Croghan

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THE LEDE: Good morning! Driving through Floyd Bennett Field, it’s easy to miss the Marian S. Heiskell Nursery. Sitting snugly between an archery range and an NYPD helicopter-training facility, what appears to be an overgrown lot abandoned to the elements is in fact a garden producing New York City’s first line of defense against hurricanes.

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THE RUNDOWN

~ IN NYPD’S USE OF LETHAL FORCE, LACK OF INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION A CITYWIDE TREND: The Civilian Complaint Review Board, New York City’s independent police oversight agency, is not investigating the majority of recent cases in which NYPD officers have killed civilians — including headline-grabbing incidents involving allegations of police misconduct.

~ WHERE THE BEACH GRASS GROWS: HOW FLOYD BENNETT FIELD IS FIGHTING FUTURE STORMS: Established in 2014 as a post-Superstorm Sandy response to bolster coastal resilience, the Marian S. Heiskell Nursery yields roughly a quarter-million culms of beach grass every year. The plant is one of the most resilient and well-adapted species in the world.

~ THE 10 BEST FRIED CHICKEN SANDWICHES IN BROOKLYN: Brooklyn as no shortage of fried chicken joints. That’s why we recently asked our readers for their go-to spots. Here are the top 10, based on their suggestions — plus some of our favorites.

~ FIGHTING FACIAL RECOGNITION TECH, NEW BILL WOULD MANDATE KEYS: A new City Council bill set to be introduced next week would require that landlords at all residential buildings provide physical keys to their tenants, combating recent use of facial recognition technology at low-income housing developments across the city.

~ PLUCKING WITHOUT PRETENSE: THE ETHOS OF ORPHAN GUITARS: You won’t find big, legacy brands like Fender and Gibson at Orphan Guitars, a tiny storefront in Carroll Gardens. Instead, owner Dwight Weeks favors playable, affordable, oddball instruments.

~ BELOVED RADIO STATION WBAI GETS A REPRIEVE FROM SHUTDOWN — FOR NOW: Legal action may temporarily save local broadcasting at 99.5 WBAI FM, staffers said Tuesday.

~ NEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TO BE BUILT ON THIRD AVENUE: The New York City School Construction Authority plans to build a 330-seat elementary school at 6740 Third Ave. in Bay Ridge, according to Councilmember Justin Brannan.

MORE BROOKLYN NEWS

~ The New Lab in the Brooklyn Navy Yard boasts only the trendiest companies as tenants. (WSJ)

~ “Can an urban agriculture plan cultivate NYC’s community gardens?” (Curbed)

~ The Washington Post released a guide to Brooklyn. (WaPo)

STAFF PICKS

~ READ: “‘We are inside the fire’: An oral history of the war in Afghanistan” (NYT)

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

~ CARTOON: The NBA gets a new logo. (The Week)

~ EXPLORE: From Williamsburg to Boerum Hill, here are the 10 oldest bars and restaurants in Brooklyn. (Untapped Cities)

WHAT’S HAPPENING

7:00PM – 9:00PM — An Evening of Performance Art with Nooshin Rostami and Baseera Khan at BRIC. Details.

7:00PM – 9:00PM — The Trans Sounds of Black Freedom Roundtable: A Disinherited — Making a Way Out of No Way at Pioneer Works. Details.

7:30PM – 9:30PM — Cocktail Chemistry Quest In New York City at Littlefield. Details.

THE WRAP

⌛ ON THIS DAY
In 1927, the Brooklyn Eagle reported, “The New York Yankees are baseball champions of the world today by virtue of the fact that they won four games from the Pittsburgh Pirates in a row — and because in yesterday’s battle, the last of the series, John Miljus inserted a wild pitch into the ninth inning with the bases loaded with Yankee ball players.”

📔 IMPRINT
Jennifer Aniston wears a hat on the latest cover of Variety.

👑 ROYAL WATCH
“Royal costs: How this European royal family is more expensive than Britain’s” (Daily Express)

🏀 SPORTS
On a radio show on Tuesday, Kevin Durant said “The cool thing right now is not the Knicks.” (Bleacher Report)

BIRTHDAYS

Happy birthday to Michael Paré, Bella Hadid, Guillermo del Toro, Steve McQueen, Tony Shalhoub, Annika Sörenstam, Scott Bakula, Jackson Browne, Zachery Ty Bryan, David Cameron, Scotty McCreery, Russell Myers, Joe Pepitone and Brandon Routh!