Brooklyn Today: ‘The station is a corked bottle.’

November 25, 2019 Brooklyn Today

Fort Greene Park. Eagle photo by Paul Frangipane

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THE LEDE: DUMBO residents and employees are renewing their efforts to get the MTA to build a second entrance at the York Street subway station through an in-person and online petition. The current layout of the station, they say, is not only inconvenient, but also hazardous. “If someone threw a bomb, if someone had a gun, people would get trampled,” one resident said. “There’s no way to get out.”

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THE RUNDOWN

~ CONEY ISLAND STATION’S PRICY SOLAR PANELS HAVE BEEN DARK FOR 7 YEARS. NO ONE KNOWS WHEN THEY’RE COMING BACK.: The system saved the MTA roughly $52,500 a year, depending on the number of sunny days. In the time that the system has been out of order, the solar panels could have saved the agency around $367,500.

~ DUMBO RIDERS WANT A SAFER YORK STREET STATION: During rush hour, the station’s sole entrance and narrow stairs routinely fill up with commuters as panhandlers spread out on the floor. The base of the steps becomes jam-packed as tourists purchase MetroCards and straphangers attempt to enter and exit through just three turnstiles.

~ JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES’ HOTEL WILL BECOME HOUSING FOR THE FORMERLY HOMELESS: A project to turn a DUMBO hotel that belonged to the Jehovah’s Witnesses into housing for formerly homeless New Yorkers has taken a step forward in rezoning proceedings.

~ RARE NEW CONSTRUCTION PLANNED IN THE BROOKLYN HEIGHTS HISTORIC DISTRICT: In the Brooklyn Heights Historic District, where houses have been protected from demolition for a half-century, there are just a handful of vacant sites — for the most part parking lots or parking spaces — where new construction is possible.

~ FOR YEARS, A LONE PHONE BOOTH STOOD ON THE PROMENADE. THEN ONE DAY, IT WAS GONE.: Once, if you were to look east on the Brooklyn Heights Promenade, you might have caught something odd, something seemingly anachronistic and somewhat out of place at the intersection of Clark Street and the pathway: a lone phone booth. But today, it’s no longer there.

~ CAN THE ‘UBER OF ENERGY’ PREVENT ANOTHER CITYWIDE BLACKOUT?: Emerging tech company Brooklyn Microgrid hopes to shake up the Con Edison status quo by using solar power.

~ MORE NYC HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES ARE COLLEGE-BOUND — AND ‘COLLEGE READY’: Marking a new record high, 62 percent of students in the class of 2018 have enrolled in higher education programs, city officials said Thursday. (Chalkbeat)

MORE BROOKLYN NEWS

~ Here’s a look inside the life of homeless students in Brooklyn and beyond. (NYT)

~ NYPD transit officers will meet with food vendors on a “churro tour.” (Gothamist)

~ “Restoring Brooklyn’s queen of department stores” (NYT)

STAFF PICKS

~ READ: “The Jungle Prince of Delhi” (NYT)

~ EAT: Here are the 18 best restaurants in New York City for large group dinners, including five spots in Brooklyn. (Thrillist)

~ CARTOON: President Trump pardons a turkey. (The Week)

~ LIVE: Here are four tips on how to feel less blue during the holidays. (NYT)

WHAT’S HAPPENING

6:00PM – 8:00PM — The Right to the City vs. The Might of the Car at TransitCenter. Details.

7:00PM — Masters of Social Gastronomy: Thanksgiving PIES!!!! at Caveat Details.

7:30PM — Leonardo da Vinci Rediscovered: Carmen Bambach in Conversation with Walter Isaacson at 92nd Street Y. Details.

THE WRAP

⌛ ON THIS DAY
In 1954, the Brooklyn Eagle reported, “The Sheepshead Bay Maritime Service Training Station, largest installation of its type in the world, is slated to be abolished by the Federal Maritime Administration for economy reasons, it was learned today.”

IMPRINT
Elizabeth Banks poses in a beautiful dress on the latest cover of Porter.

ROYAL WATCH
“Prince William and Kate Middleton told off radio host for mocking Princess Charlotte” (Page Six)

SPORTS
Is Kyrie Irving faking an injury to avoid a return to Boston? (NESN)

BIRTHDAYS

Happy birthday to Katie Cassidy, Amy Grant, John Larroquette, Eddie Steeples, Charlaine Harris, Christina Applegate, Jill Hennessy, Ben Stein, Joel Kinnaman, Jerry Ferrara, Bucky Dent and Cris Carter!