Brooklyn Today: Checkmate for National Grid?

November 13, 2019 Brooklyn Today

Does this photo remind you just a little bit of Alfred Hitchcock's movie “The Birds”? Eagle file photo by Lore Croghan

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THE LEDE: Good morning! Gov. Andrew Cuomo gave National Grid 14 days notice on Tuesday that New York State intends to revoke the company’s certificate to operate its downstate gas franchise. “These utilities believe they have a license granted by God. They don’t,” Cuomo said.

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THE RUNDOWN

~ ILLEGAL REPAIRS PUSH TENANTS OUT OF PROBLEM-PLAGUED BUSHWICK BUILDING: Bushwick tenants who in August sued to take control of their building from a negligent landlord — citing rodents, water leaks and ongoing electrical issues — are now living in hotels across the borough.

~ CHECKMATE? CUOMO ISSUES ULTIMATUM TO NATIONAL GRID: National Grid has refused to supply gas hook-ups to new customers in Brooklyn, Staten Island, parts of Queens and Long Island since May 15, after the state denied its application to build a controversial $1 billion gas pipeline.

~ ARREST OF SUBWAY CHURRO VENDOR SPARKS PUSHBACK AGAINST SUBWAY POLICING: After a woman selling churros was arrested at the Broadway Junction station on Friday night, advocates are demanding the city curb what they describe as overzealous policing of the subway system — starting with the way it deals with vendor permits.

~ MORE BROOKLYN SCHOOLS TO RECEIVE ANTI-BIAS TRAINING AMID RISE IN ANTI-SEMITIC INCIDENTS: Twice as many Brooklyn schools will receive anti-bias education to combat the rising number of anti-Semitic incidents in the borough, the Brooklyn borough president and Anti-Defamation League CEO announced Tuesday.

~ IS A BROOKLYN STARTUP’S MINIMALIST PHONE THE ANSWER TO SMARTPHONE ADDICTION?: The makers of Light Phone 2 have released a second version with added apps, but say users won’t get sucked into a “void” of distraction.

~ SUNSET PARK COMPANY WANTS TO CHANGE HOW THE FASHION INDUSTRY RECYCLES: Fabscrap collects, sorts and recycles unwanted garments from designers and other fashion-related industries. With a small staff and an arsenal of volunteers, the company recycles about 12,000 pounds of fabric and other related material per month.

~ NEW YORK CITY WRESTLES WITH SURGE OF VIOLENT POLICE CLASHES: A surge in violent police clashes has left a trail of bodies across New York City, stoking tensions between officers and critics who say they have been too quick to use deadly force. (AP)

MORE BROOKLYN NEWS

~ Singer Norah Jones put her Cobble Hill townhouse — complete with a heated lap pool — on the market for $8 million. (WSJ)

~ “Sen. Simcha Felder rips de Blasio over special education ‘crisis’” (New York Post)

~ At Claudia’s, a Guatemalan eatery in Williamsburg, the fried chicken sandwich is a must try. (Eater)

STAFF PICKS

~ READ: “The legend of A-N-N-A: Revisiting an American town where black people weren’t welcome after dark” (ProPublica)

~ EAT: Don’t feel like cooking? Here are the 16 best restaurants in New York City for a Thanksgiving meal, including three in Brooklyn. (Eater)

~ CARTOON: The office schedules sick days. (The New Yorker)

~ POLITICS: President Trump said Ivanka personally created 14 million jobs. (Intelligencer)

WHAT’S HAPPENING

7:00PM — Eyeworks Festival of Experimental Animation at Pioneer Works. Details.

7:00PM — “The New Black Vanguard” at BAM. Details.

7:00PM – 9:00PM — Book Launch: “Revolutionary Witchcraft” by Sarah Lyons in conversation with Sophie St. Thomas at powerHouse Arena. Details.

THE WRAP

🔎ASK A HISTORIAN
How has Prospect Park changed since the 1860s?

⌛ ON THIS DAY
In 1953, the Brooklyn Eagle reported, “Walt Whitman’s own copy of the first edition of ‘Leaves of Grass’ in its original paper covers – believed to be one of three extant — is the ‘star’ in the New York Public Library’s Walt Whitman exhibition opening today in Manhattan.”

📔 IMPRINT
Jennifer Lopez and Robert Pattinson pose side by side on the latest cover of Variety.

👑 ROYAL WATCH
“Why Prince Harry wore his remembrance poppy differently from the rest of the royal family” (People)

🏀 SPORTS
David Levy is leaving his job as Brooklyn Nets CEO after less than two months. (The Hollywood Reporter)

BIRTHDAYS

Happy birthday to Whoopi Goldberg, Jimmy Kimmel, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Sheila Frazier, Monique Coleman, Joe Mantegna, Tracy Scoggins, Gerard Butler, Vinny Testaverde, Dana Vollmer and Steve Zahn!