Brooklyn Today: ‘They can’t touch me.’

December 13, 2019 Brooklyn Today

Welcome to the Life Aquatic on the Sheepshead Bay shoreline. Photo: Lore Croghan/Brooklyn Eagle

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THE LEDE: Happy Friday the 13th! A new city law banning street vendors from the Dyker Heights holiday light display was meant to make the world-famous event a little merrier for locals. But, at the height of another viewing season, at least a few food trucks have taken up residence regardless.

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THE RUNDOWN

~ BEFORE BQE REHAB, NEIGHBORS PUSH TO FREEZE NEARBY CONSTRUCTION: A coalition of Brooklyn community groups are urging the city to put a freeze on new construction adjacent to the section of the BQE slated for a massive reconstruction project.

~ VENDORS, BANNED FROM DYKER LIGHTS DISPLAY, FIND LEGAL ‘LOOPHOLE’: Police say the food trucks’ presence is technically legal — because the vendors are employing veterans. Veterans, under city law, are exempt from certain restrictions on street vending in order to give them an edge on the competitive licensing process.

~ NEW CLASS OF DOGS GRADUATES FROM POLICE ACADEMY: Bloodhounds, German shepherds and Labrador retrievers skated across the slippery stone floor of an aviation hangar at Floyd Bennett Field Wednesday morning as a crowd applauded them on their graduation from NYPD canine academy.

~ ‘PEOPLE ARE SHAKING’: THOUSANDS GATHER IN WILLIAMSBURG FOR FUNERAL OF JERSEY CITY VICTIMS: More than 1,000 mourners streamed onto a Williamsburg street Wednesday evening to pay their final respects to two of the civilian victims of the Jersey City shooting.

~ PARTIES AND POP-UPS: 10 THINGS TO DO IN BROOKLYN THIS WEEKEND: The holiday season is about enjoying the presence of family and friends, and coming together to celebrate and eat good food. This weekend there are lots of events encompassing all of those things. We have warehouse parties, pop-up markets, a tamale-making workshop, as well as performances celebrating the season.

~ SHOULD AXE-THROWING AND ALCOHOL MIX? GREENPOINT RESIDENTS DEBATE: An axe-throwing venue in Greenpoint is hoping to start serving up alcoholic drinks — but not everyone in the neighborhood is a fan of the idea. One neighbor even suggested that tipsy tossing could lead to serious physical harm.

~ THE GODSQUAD TO INTERVIEW RESEARCHER THOMAS ABT ABOUT NEW BOOK ON GUN VIOLENCE: Thomas Abt, a research fellow at Harvard Kennedy School and former Obama administration official, lays out an ambitious plan in his new book, “Bleeding Out.”

~ REPORT CALLS ON NEW NYPD TOP COP DERMOT SHEA TO ABOLISH GANG DATABASE: Public defenders and justice advocates are calling on new NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea to abolish a policing tool he’s strongly defended: the department’s gang database. (THE CITY)

MORE BROOKLYN NEWS

~ “The Future Is Female: Meet the Dope Black Women Behind Brooklyn’s Local Creative Space” (Refinery29)

~ At Noods n’ Chill, Williamsburg’s newest Thai restaurant, roti with chicken curry is all the rage. (Grub Street)

~ Here are Brooklyn’s 10 largest retail leases this year. (The Real Deal)

STAFF PICKS

~ READ: “The age of Instagram face: How social media, FaceTune, and plastic surgery created a single, cyborgian look.” (The New Yorker)

~ EAT: Here are the 31 best Italian restaurants in New York City, including 16 in Brooklyn. (Eater)

~ LAUGH: A gnome and a smart speaker walk into a room. (The New Yorker)

~ LIVE: Sincerely, best or xoxo? Here’s what email signatures reveal about the sender. (NYT)

BULLETIN BOARD

~ You do not have to leave Brooklyn to see the most enduring ballet masterpiece set to the music of Sergei Prokofiev, Romeo and Juliet! Feb. 9, 2020 is the ONLY day that Kings Theatre will showcase the National Ballet Theatre of Odessa, Ukraine, with William Shakespeare’s timeless tale of tragic love. Tickets are available for their full-length ballet in 2 acts. SPONSORED

WHAT’S HAPPENING

7:00PM — Adam Rudolph’s Go: Organic Orchestra and Brooklyn Raga Massive at Graduate Center, CUNY. Details.

8:00PM — The Central Conservatory of Music Symphony Orchestra of Beijing at Carnegie Hall. Details.

10:30PM — Holy Mountain: Witches Sabbath at Avant Gardner. Details.

THE WRAP

⌛ ON THIS DAY
In 1860, the Brooklyn Eagle reported, “A NEW STATE. — A movement is on foot, it is said, in this day of secession, to form a new State, to be composed of New York City, Kings, Queens, Suffolk, Richmond and Westchester counties, to be called the State of Manhattan. Mayor [Fernando] Wood is said to be the originator of the scheme.”

📔 IMPRINT
Harry Styles appears on the latest cover of Weekend The Guardian.

👑 ROYAL WATCH
“Duchess Kate dazzles in tiara at annual Diplomatic Reception” (Good Morning America)

🏀 SPORTS
The Nets release Iman Shumpert after only 13 games.

BIRTHDAYS

Happy birthday to Jamie Foxx, Taylor Swift, Mike Tirico, Dick Van Dyke, Steve Buscemi, Wendie Malick, Christopher Plummer, Richard Dent, John Davidson, Sergei Fedorov and Rickie Fowler!