Brooklyn Today: Here’s why your train is delayed

January 14, 2020 Brooklyn Today

Welcome to Crown Heights North, which is full of eye-catching historic houses. Eagle photos by Lore Croghan

Welcome to Crown Heights North, which is full of eye-catching historic houses. Photo: Lore Croghan/Brooklyn Eagle

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THE LEDE: Good morning! Signal malfunctions delayed subway trains on 78 percent of weekday morning commutes in 2019, according to a new analysis from a group of public transit advocates.

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THE RUNDOWN

~ BUSHWICK REZONING PLAN AT IMPASSE AFTER CITY SNUBS LOCAL REPS’ REQUESTS: After years of community input and back and forth between neighborhood representatives, the Department of City Planning and the Mayor’s Office, the plan to rezone 300 blocks of Bushwick has reached an impasse.

~ REPORT: 4 OUT OF 5 MORNING COMMUTES WERE DELAYED BY SIGNAL PROBLEMS IN 2019: Transit groups studied MTA alert data to gauge the progress of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Subway Action Plan, which started in 2017. Despite the high numbers, it’s still an upgrade from 2018, when malfunctioning signals resulted in delays for 92 percent of morning commutes.

~ CITY’S PLAN TO REMOVE TREES FROM FORT GREENE PARK HITS A SNAG: Activists won a new round in their legal fight against a city project that would remove dozens of mature, healthy trees from Fort Greene Park and destroy park features designed by famous landscape artists.

~ BOTANIC GARDEN SHOWS OFF THE PLANTS THREATENED BY PLANNED HIGH-RISES: About 300 concerned New Yorkers showed up to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden over the weekend to push back on high-rise development planned just 150 feet away.

~ HOW DOES AG JAMES PLAN TO FIGHT DEED THEFT? GOING DOOR TO DOOR.: Attorney General Letitia James went door to door in Bedford-Stuyvesant on Saturday to warn homeowners of the dangers of deed theft and to kick off a campaign to battle housing fraud in New York City.

~ COPS RELEASE FOOTAGE FROM FATAL POLICE SHOOTING IN GOWANUS: The NYPD released body camera footage on Friday from a fatal police shooting that took place near the Gowanus Houses in October.

~ BROOKLYN ‘INSTITUTION’ SEN. MONTGOMERY TO RETIRE, BACKING WRIGHT: Long-serving Brooklyn State Sen. Velmanette Montgomery announced her retirement Saturday afternoon, confirming rumors that had been swirling since the fall.

~ AMID HATE SPIKE, A CROWN HEIGHTS LEADER PLEADS: ‘WE HAVE TO DO BETTER’: The Dodge Ram is the last of a fleet that once numbered 21 street outreach vans, roaming the neighborhood to counsel teens and prevent violent outbursts — including those targeting Lubavitch Jews who live, work and pray in Crown Heights in large numbers. (THE CITY)

MORE BROOKLYN NEWS

~ Take a look inside Sauced, a new wine bar and “low-key nightclub” in Williamsburg. (Eater)

~ The BQE expert panel wants to create an entirely new panel. (Politico)

~ “Brooklyn man’s book is NYPL’s most-borrowed in system’s 125-year history” (New York Post)

STAFF PICKS

~ READ: Would you pay $740,000 for a psychic reading? That’s what Ruth was tricked into doing. (GQ)

~ EAT: “Meet the New Guard of Power in NYC Dining” (Eater)

~ LAUGH: Benjamin Franklin’s “Join, or Die” political cartoon receives a reinterpretation. (The Week)

~ LIVE: Here are some tips on how to find the perfect place to live when you’re moving to a different part of the country. (NYT)

WHAT’S HAPPENING

7:00PM — Author/Editor: Uncovering the Narratives of Free Black Communities in “Africaville” at The Center For Fiction. Details.

7:00PM — “Secrets Of The Dead: Bombing Auschwitz” PBS Premiere at Museum of Jewish Heritage. Details.

8:00PM — Pod Damn America Roasts the Dem Debate: Watch Party at Secret Loft. Details.

THE WRAP

⌛ ON THIS DAY
In 1952, the Brooklyn Eagle reported, “A twin-engine Northeast Airlines plane, with 36 aboard, undershot the LaGuardia Field runway in the fog early today and plunged into the East River. At least 28 persons were injured. All passengers and crew members were rescued.”

📔 IMPRINT
Brad Pitt poses in an undershirt on the latest cover of W Magazine.

👑 ROYAL WATCH
The Queen says she’s “entirely supportive” of Harry and Meghan splitting their time between Canada and England. (NBC News)

🏀 SPORTS
“Kyrie Irving is back, but what does it mean for the Nets?” (Yahoo)

BIRTHDAYS

Happy birthday to Jason Bateman, Shannon Lucid, Steven Soderbergh, Emily Watson, Kristin Cavallari, Faye Dunaway, Holland Taylor, Nina Totenberg, Carl Weathers, Lawrence Kasdan, David Hall, Grant Gustin and Shepard Smith!