Around Brooklyn: Beloved Xaverian baseball coach dies

February 6, 2020 Editorial Staff

A view from the Brooklyn Heights Promenade of the World Trade Center and other Lower Manhattan skyscrapers. Photo: Lore Croghan/Brooklyn Eagle

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Beloved Xaverian baseball coach dies

John Joseph Woods, educator and baseball coach at Xaverian High School in Bay Ridge for 38 years, died on Saturday, according to the Brooklyn Reporter website. Woods, who was born in 1938, began his career at Xaverian in 1960. “John’s passing will leave a void that cannot be filled, but we are certain that his memory will continue to live on through the lives he impacted as an educator, counselor and coach,” read a statement issued by Xaverian High School. City Councilmember Justin Brannan remembered Woods as a good man who truly cared about his students. “Mr. Woods looked after many of us smart and restless troublemakers at Xaverian High School,” Brannan told the Brooklyn Reporter.

Slate inks new deal for Downtown offices

Slate, the well-known news and culture website, has inked a direct lease for a Downtown Brooklyn office after renting it for four years as a sublease, Commercial Observer said. The online publication originally signed a five-year sublease at 5 MetroTech Center in 2016. The sub-landlord for the eighth-floor space was obstacle course competition host Tough Mudder. Now, Slate has signed a seven-year, 23,000-square-foot lease with landlord Brookfield Properties. The space also includes four podcasting studios and a video studio, Commercial Observer said.

Cannabis-related firm moving to DUMBO Heights

Cannabis marketing compliance technology platform Fyllo, which ensures that advertising conforms to government regulations, has moved to new offices in DUMBO Heights. Chicago-based Fyllo is moving 10 employees from a co-working space and will hire another 10 at the new office on the 12th floor of 77 Sands St. The building is one of several that belonged to the Jehovah’s Witnesses and were later sold and renovated to attract tech companies, according to the New York Post. Fyllo, which was founded last March, already has attracted $18 million in venture capital funds.

Innovative ‘trees’ to provide fresh produce

The Brooklyn-based creative agency Framlab has proposed modular “vertical farms” designed to generate fresh produce, according to Fast Company. The project targets low-income neighborhoods, which tend to have limited access to fresh food. Framlab’s “Glasir” model consists of a tree-like track of glass cubes, each one of which could grow fresh vegetables. The system would use aeroponics, which uses mist and not soil, and would be topped with solar panels for more energy. The “trees” could be housed in all sorts of public spaces, from sidewalks to parks, Fast Company reported.

Brooklyn sees large number of real-estate loans

Brooklyn had the most outer-borough real estate loans in January, even though a Queens deal claimed the top spot, according to The Real Deal. Seven out of the top 10 loans last month were solely for properties in Brooklyn, while two others were for portfolios that included Brooklyn sites. The one loan that didn’t involve Brooklyn was the biggest: $580 million to Savanna for One Court Square in Long Island City. The second largest was a $460 million loan to the Brodsky Organization and Greenland Forest City Partners for their Pacific Park rental building at 18 Sixth Ave. in Brooklyn; and a $240 million loan to Petroleum Marketing Group for gas-station properties in Bay Ridge, Jackson Heights and the North Bronx.

Dog stolen at IKEA reunited with owner

A beloved canine is back with her owner after the dog was apparently stolen by a passer-by from outside the IKEA store in Red Hook. As the Eagle previously reported, Wenfei Tong told News 4 that her pooch Ana had been taken Saturday from outside the well-known furniture store around 6:15 p.m., according to NBC New York. Tong, who recently moved here from Montana, said, “I didn’t realize it was so risky to leave a dog in New York City unattended.” Thankfully, the dog was wearing an ID collar and was microchipped. Thanks in part to social media, Tong and Ana were reunited on Monday.

Prospect Park-area riders complain about bus wait time

Bus riders from neighborhoods near Prospect Park are complaining about long wait times for buses, according to Patch. An MTA study found that Prospect Heights, Crown Heights and Park Slope riders complained more frequently about bus service than many other Brooklynites. The report said that the park itself serves as an obstacle for direct transportation in many parts of Brooklyn. Crown Heights also has narrow streets, like St. John’s Place, that don’t allow two buses to pass each other, causing delays, Patch said.

Randolph Beer plans new waterfront space

Randolph Beer, a chain of popular brewpubs, is moving into a giant space on the North Brooklyn waterfront with a view of the Manhattan skyline, according to New York Eater. The restaurant and brewery are headed to the ground and second floors of 25 Kent, a new eight-story office building that recently signed streetwear fashion brand Kith. Besides the bar and restaurant, Randolph plans to make the space the main manufacturing hub for brewing its own beer, including cans for the first time, New York Eater said. In addition to enjoying the food and drink, diners will be able to play games like shuffleboard, skeeball and foosball.

Arts and crafts store in Carroll Gardens closing

Swallow, a storefront art gallery at 361 Smith St. in Carroll Gardens, is closing at the end of this month after 21 years, according to Pardon Me for Asking. The store sells ceramics, glass, jewelry and other decorative arts. A sign hung in its window recently said, “After 21 glorious years providing hand-crafted treasures to the neighborhood, NYC and visitors from all over the world, Swallow will be closing at the end of February. I would love to personally give my thanks and say goodbye to everyone.”

Teen shot in head, killed in East New York

A teenager was shot in the head and killed near the intersection of Elton Street and New Lots Avenue on Tuesday, according to the New York Post. The victim, 19-year-old Jeremiah Dickey, was at the intersection around 6:45 p.m. when a gunman opened fire at him. “Everyone was shocked when they found out it was Jeremiah,” said Maria Monello, a neighbor. “Even the guy in the bodega was crying.” Dickey was pronounced dead at Brookdale Hospital, the Post said.

Crabby restaurant flourishes in Crown Heights

For Black History Month, CBSNewYork profiled the Crabby Shack in Crown Heights, established six years ago by Fifi Bell-Clanton and Gwen Woods as a haven for crab lovers. The menu includes crab legs, crab cakes and the eatery’s famous Clobster Roll. “Most of the New York [seafood] places are Cajun style. Ours is basically Maryland mixed with a bit of Philadelphia,” Bell-Clanton said. Woods added that many black-owned restaurants were edged out of the area because of “the changing neighborhood” and high prices, “so the fact that we were able to come in and open up on Franklin Avenue is really, really something special for us.”

Deutsch makes about-face on Sheepshead bike lane

Southern Brooklyn Councilmember Chaim Deutsch, who said last year that he would oppose any bike lanes in his district, last week pressured Department of Transportation officials to get one of those very bike lanes finished, according to Streetsblog. “I really want to have a concept of this and try to have it done. Why was it pushed back?” Deutsch asked DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg at a City Council hearing on Jan. 29, referring to a cycling path in Sheepshead Bay. Deutsch complained that a bike lane on Emmons Avenue was left off of a list of those that the DOT plans to construct this year.

Compiled by Raanan Geberer