Around Brooklyn: Trump tweets to endorse Malliotakis

February 14, 2020 Editorial Staff

Ted was on the board of directors of Brooklyn Botanic Garden for 29 years and was a trustee of the Brooklyn Museum for 26 years, serving as its chairman for five years. Photo: Lore Croghan/Brooklyn Eagle

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Trump tweets to endorse Malliotakis

President Donald Trump took to Twitter to announce his endorsement of Republican Assemblymember Nicole Malliotakis for Congress. “Nicole has my Complete and Total Endorsement,” Trump tweeted on Wednesday. Malliotakis is seeking to take the 11th Congressional District seat, representing Southwest Brooklyn and Staten Island, from incumbent Democrat Max Rose, according to the Home Reporter website. Malliotakis, who has been vocal in her support of Trump, said in a statement, “I plan to defeat Max Rose and return New York’s 11th Congressional District to common-sense leadership.”

Brooklyn, other NY rents rise, says report

The latest New York City rental report from Douglas Elliman is out, covering January 2020, and it shows rents rising throughout the city, according to Curbed. The median rent in Brooklyn is $2,987 a month, a year-over-year increase of 5.5 percent. In Manhattan, the median rent is up 5 percent YOY, with the face rent (without concessions included) at $3.595 per month. And in Queens, the figure is $2,993 per month, a 6.3 percent increase.

Brooklyn Museum pairs African, traditional American art

A mask depicting a leader from the central Congo and a 1796 painting of George Washington are being exhibited together at the Brooklyn Museum’s “African Arts-Global Conversations,” which opened last week. Kristen Windmuller-Luna, the organizer of the exhibition, explains that both are idealized depictions of founding fathers, according to Art Newspaper. By placing sub-Saharan African works in museum galleries devoted to European art, art of the Americas, ancient Egyptian art and the arts of Asia, Windmuller-Luna seeks to reassert the importance of African art within the museum canon. The works in the show range in date from 2,300 B.C. to the present day. The Brooklyn Museum was the first museum in the country to display African objects as works of art, in 1923.

Papa’s got a brand new reusable bag

The much-discussed plastic bag ban is set to take effect on March 1, and on Monday, Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia, local Councilmember Antonio Reynoso and others gave away free reusable bags in Williamsburg. The giveaway effort was part of the agency’s drive to distribute 100,000 free reusable bags to city residents as the plastic bag ban nears. “We really don’t want people to be using single-use paper or plastic bags,” Garcia said. More than 23 billion bags are used annually across the state.

Brooklyn Quilters’ show set for Industry City

Hundreds of quilts will be on display at the Brooklyn Quilters Guild’s special show this spring, according to Brownstoner. Styles from modern to traditional will be on view, all stitched by Guild members. The event is timed to coincide with National Quilting Day on March 21, with events across the country planned to celebrate the rich history of quilting. The show will take place both Saturday and Sunday at Building No. 1 in Industry City, Sunset Park.

Brooklyn is becoming a ‘ghost town’

A Brooklyn-based comedy series that started as a monthly live show has gone online. “Ghost Town: The Series” addresses the digital-dating problem of “ghosting,” in which someone meets a potential mate who then disappears from the web and can no longer be found, according to the Brooklyn Paper. Comedian Savannah DesOrmeaux started the series after she experienced both being ghosted and ghosting another person. The live show, which runs at Friends and Lovers in Crown Heights, alternates between traditional standup sets and interview segments. The web show focuses solely on the interview, the Brooklyn Paper said.

Adams forecasts ‘dirty campaign’ for 2021

Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams on Wednesday said that the 2021 mayoral race is “going to be a dirty campaign,” according to the New York Post. Adams joined two other mayoral hopefuls, Council Speaker Corey Johnson and Comptroller Scott Stringer, at a rally promoting the city’s new ranked-choice voting system. Later, Adams’ campaign spokesperson Evan Thies said Adams was joking, and that “we are going to focus on the issues.”

Brooklyn-based foundation Gives $405K to groups working with seniors

The Brooklyn Community Foundation is announcing $405,000 for community-based organizations that are addressing issues confronting older adults in Brooklyn. The foundation launched the Brooklyn Elders Fund in March 2019 to promote the care and welfare of adults older than 50 in Brooklyn. Organizations receiving general operating grants of $45,000 include Council of Peoples Organizations, Flatbush Development Corp., GRIOT Circle, Grow Brooklyn, the Guardianship Project, Jews for Racial and Economic Justice, the Osborne Association, Release Aging People in Prison and Spanish-Speaking Elderly Council. Priority consideration was given to organizations that center on racial issues and inequities.

SBIDC offer workshop on financial data

Business and financial data can be a mystery to many business owners. The Southwest Brooklyn Industrial Development Corp. is offering a new Plan for Growth session over two full days – one session based on financial concepts and a second devoted to Quickbooks accounting software. Participants will also receive a one-hour consultation with an expert facilitator. The session will take place on March 17-18, and users can apply on SBIDC’s website.

Judge orders halt to Crown Heights construction

A State Supreme Court justice ordered developers to remove all construction equipment from the site of two planned 16-story towers in Crown Heights, according to the Brooklyn Paper. Activists have accused Carroll Plaza Development, the developer of one of the residential towers, of violating the restraining order by performing preliminary construction work at the site. The restraining order stems from a lawsuit that Alicia Boyd of the anti-gentrification group Movement to Protect the People brought against the developers and the City of New York, which she accused of failing to conduct a thorough environmental impact statement.

Cops seek gang that assaulted deliveryman

Police recently released a video of a violent assault and robbery of a pizza deliveryman in Williamsburg. The robbery and assault were not only caught on camera, but in high definition, according to ABC7. The incident happened last Saturday at 32 Walton St. A group of young people wearing masks roughed up the deliveryman before robbing him and stabbing him in both legs. They stole his bike, phone, jacket, $70 in cash and a pizza.

Dollar van driver hits two cars, light pole

Police are searching for the driver of a dollar van that struck two vehicles and a light pole in Flatlands Thursday afternoon and then ran from the scene, according to amNewYork. No injuries were reported, but damage to the cars and the van was considered serious, police said. The van crashed into the first car on Avenue T and Utica Avenue around 4:45 p.m. The driver of the car chased the van to Schenectady Avenue and Avenue I, where it struck a Volkswagen before hitting a light pole. The van driver then jumped out and fled the scene, amNewYork reported.

Shoplifters stab store employees

A slashing attack on two store employees took place on Wednesday at Modell’s Sporting Goods on Graham Avenue in South Williamsburg, according to CBS New York. Police say two shoplifters tried to leave the store with several items without paying. When two employees tried to stop them, the men allegedly attacked them. One employee was slashed in the face, the other in the back, CBS New York said.

Seven-story building planned in Wingate

Permits have been filed for a mixed-use building at 461 East New York Ave. in Wingate, according to New York YIMBY. The site, currently occupied by a boarded-up two-story house, is located several blocks from the 2 and 5 trains’ Sterling Street subway station. The building is slated to have 56 residential units as well as 15,621 square feet devoted to community space. Tolib Mansurov, under the name 461 ENY LLC, is listed as the owner, while Alexander Zhtnik of Z Architecture is listed as the architect of record.

Man found fatally shot in Canarsie

Police are investigating the fatal shooting of a man in the courtyard of a NYCHA housing complex in Canarsie last Tuesday. Around 6:10 p.m., officers arrived at the Glenwood Houses on Ralph Avenue, where they saw the 22-year-old victim with a gunshot wound to his chest. EMS crews transported him to Brookdale Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. According to the Daily News, he was standing in the courtyard when a dispute began and a gunman fired at least five shots.

Compiled by Raanan Geberer.