Brooklyn Today: This could be the new Downtown Brooklyn

December 20, 2019 Brooklyn Today

Williamsburg. Photo: Lore Croghan/Brooklyn Eagle

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THE LEDE: Happy Friday! The Downtown Brooklyn Partnership has devised a plan to cut cars’ access to the neighborhood and make pedestrian and cyclist safety a high priority. The Public Realm Action Plan seeks solutions for snarled traffic and dangerous pedestrian crossings in Downtown Brooklyn’s 240-acre core.

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THE RUNDOWN

~ TO KEEP YOUTH OUT OF JAIL, NONPROFIT TURNS TO NAVY YARD’S WORKFORCE VETERAN: One of the leaders behind the Brooklyn Navy Yard’s noted workforce program is moving on to a group that works with young men coming out of the criminal justice system.

~ SWEEPING REDESIGN FOR DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN WOULD IMPROVE CYCLIST AND PEDESTRIAN SAFETY: “We want to go further than any business district in the city by reorienting streets away from cars and toward pedestrian, cyclist and mass-transit use,” said Downtown Brooklyn Partnership President Regina Myer.

~ MUSIC AND MENORAHS: 10 THINGS TO DO IN BROOKLYN THIS WEEKEND: This weekend’s events are about as eclectic as Brooklyn itself. You can drink in an igloo, see NASA spacesuits up close, talk about death or do yoga to house music. Plus, you’ll have the opportunity to see Sen. Chuck Schumer light the “Largest Menorah in Brooklyn.”

~ LIGHTING UP THE FIGHT: THE ARTIST SHAPING THE IMAGE OF NEW YORK’S RESISTANCE: Athena Soules is director and chief igniter of NYC Light Brigade, a project that uses light to amplify the messages of protest movements.

~ HEALTH DEPARTMENT TO BEGIN ISSUING NONBINARY DEATH CERTIFICATES IN 2020: Beginning in January, the roughly 54,000 death certificates the department issues each year will have a third gender option — “X” — in addition to male and female markers.

~ DUMBO SET TO BE NEXT FRONT FOR DEVELOPMENT’S BATTLE AGAINST HOMELESSNESS: Breaking Ground, an organization committed to ending homelessness by developing and managing buildings with supportive housing and specialized programs, appears postured to reimagine a one-time Jehovah’s Witness hotel at 90 Sands St. in DUMBO.

~ POLY PREP TENNIS COACH NAMED IN SEXUAL ASSAULT LAWSUIT: An active tennis coach from the Poly Prep Country Day School is accused of sexually assaulting a student in the 1980s in a lawsuit filed this week under the Child Victims Act. It’s the second suit in as many months filed against the school under the law.

~ IT’S TIME TO REOPEN ALL THOSE CLOSED SUBWAY ENTRANCES: OPINION: “Some commentators have speculated that the MTA is in no hurry to reopen these closed entrances because it might give rise to demands that disabled-accessible features such as elevators be installed there,” writes our columnist.

MORE BROOKLYN NEWS

~ “After Rikers Island Closes, What Will Jail Look Like?” (NYT)

~ A $150 million co-living development is coming to Williamsburg. (The Real Deal)

~ The Nevins Street subway raccoon makes another appearance. (Gothamist)

STAFF PICKS

~ READ: “How Unproven Stem Cell Therapies Are Costing Desperate Patients” (Texas Monthly)

~ EAT: Don’t feel like cooking? Here are the 15 best restaurants to eat at on Christmas Day, including one spot in Williamsburg.

~ LAUGH: Andrew, Bill and Donald get together. (The New Yorker)

~ LISTEN: Parul Sehgal of The New York Times discusses what it’s like to be a book critic. (Longform)

WHAT’S HAPPENING

7:00PM — Terry Riley Live at 85 at Pioneer Works. Details.

7:00PM — Astronomy Live: Winter Solstice and the Year Ahead at American Museum of Natural History. Details.

7:30PM — Charu Suri & Friends Book of Ragas: Indian Jazz and the New American Songbook at Carnegie Hall. Details.

THE WRAP

⌛ ON THIS DAY
In 1948, the Brooklyn Eagle reported, “Despite the 19.6-inch snowfall which greeted them on the way, Brooklyn Christmas shoppers today braved the elements to get in their last-minute chores. With only five days to go, the snow-blanketed city provided an appropriate setting for the holiday rush in department stores and gift shops.”

📔 IMPRINT
Brad Pitt poses on the latest cover of The New York Times Magazine.

👑 ROYAL WATCH
Take a look at Kate Middleton and Prince William’s Christmas card. (People)

🏀 SPORTS
“Kyrie Irving’s injury, Spencer Dinwiddie’s dominance and the biggest Brooklyn Nets questions” (ESPN)

BIRTHDAYS

Happy birthday to Sandra Cisneros, William Junius Wilson, Ashley Cole, Billy Bragg, Jonah Hill, Jenny Agutter, David Cook, Sonny Perdue, Dick Wolf and Uri Geller!