Brooklyn Today: Brooklyn leads city in ICE activity

November 6, 2019 Brooklyn Today

The Landmarks Preservation Commission designated five Gowanus properties as city landmarks, including the Old American Can Factory. Eagle photo by Lore Croghan

The Old American Can Factory. Eagle photo by Lore Croghan

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THE LEDE: Good morning! Federal immigration arrests and sightings in and around New York courthouses have reached triple digits for the third year in a row — though they have decreased since 2018, according to a new report by an immigrants’ rights organization that tracks ICE activity statewide.

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THE RUNDOWN

~ A MASSIVE STEEL WALL IS COMING TO THE GOWANUS CANAL: One of the main groups responsible for the Gowanus Canal’s pollution will begin building an 880-foot wall along the waterway this fall as part of the federal Superfund site’s overall cleanup.

~ BROOKLYN LEADS CITY IN ICE ARRESTS AND SIGHTINGS SO FAR THIS YEAR: So far this year, Brooklyn led the city with 23 ICE sightings and arrests in or around courthouses. Queens had the next most at 22. Manhattan had 12; the Bronx had 10 and Staten Island had two.

~ TECH, POLITICS AND GROWTH: THE NEW BK CHAMBER PRESIDENT’S PLAN FOR THE FUTURE: The Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce has a new head. With an eye on the long-term, he’s rolling out a programming slate to transform the 101-year-old organization, engage the tech community and beef up its political clout.

~ BENCHES WERE NAMED IN HONOR OF CONEY LOCALS. THE COMMUNITY HAD NO IDEA.: A pair of Coney Island park benches were recently named for lifelong employees of the amusement area. But families of the honorees — and the local community board tasked with reviewing other tributes such as street co-namings — had no idea it was happening.

~ TRAVEL HOSTS COME TO BROOKLYN IN SEARCH OF AMERICA’S BEST TACOS: New York City may not be known for its Mexican food, but that didn’t stop two self-described “taco journalists” from scouring the city’s streets for the perfect combination of fluffy tortilla, mouthwatering meat and spicy salsa.

~ ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE STARTS WITH THE AIR WE BREATHE: “We still have some unfinished business when it comes to local air pollution problems, particularly in New York City,” writes Assemblymember Latrice Walker.

~ CUOMO SAYS HE’LL FIGHT TRUMP’S ANTI-LGBTQ FOSTER CARE RULE: Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Sunday that his office would take legal action to block a Trump administration proposal that would allow foster care and adoption agencies to exclude LGBTQ families on religious grounds.

~ GOUNARDES DISMISSES GOLDEN STAFFER’S LAWSUIT AS ‘FRIVOLOUS’: The bruising campaign between Democratic State Sen. Andrew Gounardes and his Republican rival Marty Golden ended a year ago, but the controversy surrounding that 2018 election is still exploding today.

MORE BROOKLYN NEWS

~ New York City spends $9 million to have election workers chauffeured in black cars. (New York Post)

~ A new pierogi shop in Greenpoint is all the rage. (NYT)

~ “For Sale: A relic from Babe Ruth’s ill-fated year in Brooklyn” (Atlas Obscura)

STAFF PICKS

~ READ: “How does the human soul survive atrocity? After the horror of ISIS captivity, tens of thousands of Iraqis — many of them children — are caught up in a mental-health crisis unlike any in the world.” (NYT)

~ EAT: From pasta and pancakes to ramen and donuts, here are the 27 best restaurants in Williamsburg. (Thrillist)

~ CARTOON: God gives the people what they want. (The New Yorker)

~ TRAVEL: Flying on Spirit Airlines? Here are seven items that you have to bring on your next budget flight. (NYT)

WHAT’S HAPPENING

7:00PM — SciCafe: Climate Change and Rising Sea Levels at American Museum of Natural History. Details.

7:00PM — Glenn O’Brien and the Past, Present and Future of Magazine Writing at The Center for Fiction. Details.

7:30PM — Adam Frankel & Jake Horowitz at Greenlight Bookstore. Details.

THE WRAP

⌛ ON THIS DAY
In 1940, the Brooklyn Eagle reported, “Bushwick’s future voters held a practice election yesterday while their parents went to the polls. The result — President [Franklin] Roosevelt 135, Wendell L. Willkie 102. Voting requirements were limited to neighborhood children 5 to 18 years of age.”

📔 IMPRINT
Jamie Lee Curtis sits in a folding chair on the cover of Variety’s Recovery Issue.

👑 ROYAL WATCH
Here’s why the royal family didn’t want Prince Charles to marry Camilla. (Marie Claire)

🏀 SPORTS
“Nets troll Knicks with Kyrie Irving billboard within earshot of Madison Square Garden” (Sports Illustrated)

BIRTHDAYS

Happy birthday to Colson Whitehead, Thandie Newton, Emma Stone, Kelly Rutherford, Sally Field, Maria Shriver, Zoe McLellan, Ethan Hawke and Nigel Havers!