Brooklyn Today: ‘Overworked and underpaid’

November 15, 2019 Brooklyn Today

A Bed-Stuy block. Eagle file photo by Lore Croghan

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THE LEDE: Happy Friday! New York City Council members voted in 2016 to raise their own wages by $36,000 — a bump that is more than dozens of council staffers make in a year. “Some councilmembers cruise on by and are getting paid a lot of money and really exploit their staff,” one Brooklyn aide said.

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THE RUNDOWN

~ FREEZING CONDITIONS AT BROOKLYN JAIL DURING SEASON’S FIRST COLD SNAP: As temperatures dipped below freezing last Friday, incarcerated people on some floors at Brooklyn’s Downtown jail were left in the cold, moving around the lockup in their blankets, public defenders said on Thursday.

~ ‘OVERWORKED AND UNDERPAID’ COUNCIL STAFFERS WANT A LIVING WAGE: At least 81 full- and part-time district staffers earn less than $36,000 in base salary, according to an analysis of staff pay by the Eagle.

~ QUIET ON THE SET! GIANT SOUNDPROOF WALL GOING UP AROUND GOWANUS CANAL FILM STUDIO: One of the main parties responsible for the Gowanus Canal’s pollution is building a massive soundproof wall outside a neighborhood movie studio to reduce noise related to the waterway’s cleanup.

~ JUDGE SET TO TOSS DECADES-OLD MURDER CONVICTION TUESDAY: A Brooklyn man who has been behind bars for more than 20 years will have his murder conviction overturned on Tuesday, after his lawyers argued that the confession secured in his case was coerced.

~ SALSA AND CIDER: 10 THINGS TO DO IN BROOKLYN THIS WEEKEND: It’s very chilly out there, Brooklyn, which is why all of the events this weekend either take place indoors, or feature a means of warming yourself up — think physical exertion or alcohol.

~ SOFTWARE GIANTS TOR AND PYTHON HEAD TO DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN: Two of the most prominent open-source software companies in the world in the world are coming to Downtown Brooklyn.

~ WATCH ARTISTS AT WORK THIS WEEKEND AT CROWN HEIGHTS OPEN STUDIOS: More than 100 Brooklyn artists will give visitors a behind-the-scenes view of their creative processes at the Crown Heights Open Studios tomorrow.

~ OPINION: NEW YORK MUST DIVEST FROM CLIMATE DISASTER: “The rainforest mitigates global warming by absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. When we lose huge amounts of the Amazon to deforestation, we are losing one of our best bulwarks against this crisis,” writes Borough President Eric Adams and Councilmember Costa Constantinides.

~ ALLEGED ARSONIST BEHIND 5 FIRES AT BROOKLYN NYCHA COMPLEX ARRESTED: Police arrested a man yesterday in connection with five separate fires that happened earlier this year at a New York City Housing Authority complex in Brooklyn.

~ COUNCILMEMBERS DEMAND MORE DETAILS ON NYC LEAD INSPECTIONS IN SCHOOLS: City Council members pressed Education Department officials Wednesday on the robustness of lead inspections in schools and pushed them to release records of past work to remove the toxin. (Chalkbeat)

MORE BROOKLYN NEWS

~ Here’s a look inside the lives of subway churro vendors. (Edible Brooklyn)

~ “Did a Brooklyn artist unleash bedbugs on a Trump hotel?” (Gothamist)

~ A new charter school is coming to Prospect-Lefferts Gardens. (Commercial Observer)

STAFF PICKS

~ READ: “How the tiny town of Roundup, Montana, became a hub in Amazon’s supply chain” (The Verge)

~ EAT: Just in time for the holidays, here are the 14 best pie shops in New York City, including seven in Brooklyn. (Eater)

~ CARTOON: Inside impeachment proceedings. (The Week)

~ DRINK: Here are some tips on how to pick Thanksgiving wines, according to wine critic Eric Asimov. (NYT)

WHAT’S HAPPENING

7:00PM — The Pushcart Prize XLIV: Best of Small Presses 2020 at The Strand. Details.

7:00PM – 10:00PM — Scientific Controversies No. 21: Extra Dimensions at Pioneer Works. Details.

8:00PM — Brooklyn Chamber Music Society presents: Bach, Beethoven & Dohnányi at First Unitarian Church. Details.

THE WRAP

⌛ ON THIS DAY
In 1925, the Brooklyn Eagle reported, “The new Madison Square Garden, which is being constructed at 8th Ave. and 50th St., Manhattan, is rapidly nearing completion, and plans for the grand opening have been completed.”

IMPRINT
Reese Witherspoon poses in denim on the December cover of InStyle Australia.

ROYAL WATCH
“The royal family makes a lot more money than you think” (Harper’s Bazaar)

SPORTS
The Nets signed Iman Shumpert. (New York Post)

BIRTHDAYS

Happy birthday to Yaphet Kotto, Shailene Woodley, Ed Asner, Karl-Anthony Towns, Kevin Eubanks, Joanna Barnes, Beverly D’Angelo, Petula Clark, Jonny Lee Miller, Daniel Barenboim and Sam Waterston!