Around Brooklyn: Bicycle, pedestrian advocates slam traffic fatalities

March 4, 2020 Editorial Staff

Sports fields at Bush Terminal Park. Eagle photo by Lore Croghan

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Bicycle, pedestrian advocates slam traffic fatalities

Bicycle and pedestrian advocates lined the sidewalk in front of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s favorite YMCA branch in Park Slope with a row of empty shoes, hoping that the display would call de Blasio’s attention to the 22 pedestrians killed in the city since New Year’s Day. “We should not accept any more traffic fatalities this year or ever,” the advocates wrote on Twitter. During 2019, motorists killed 245 pedestrians and 27 cyclists, according to advocates. The most recent group of deaths includes a 7-year-old boy and a 10-year old. “The city’s 1.4 million car owners dictate the livelihoods and safety of 8.6 million New Yorkers,” said Transportation Alternatives Director Danny Harris.

Norah Jones selling her Cobble Hill townhouse

Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Norah Jones is in contract to sell her four-story townhouse on Amity Street in Cobble Hill, according to the New York Post. The final sale price is not yet known. Jones, the daughter of Indian musician Ravi Shankar, listed the building for $8 million late last year. She bought it for $4.9 million in 2009. The house features a garden-level kitchen, a working fireplace, a media room, a breakfast sunroom, a heated pool and a hot tub.

Report: Brooklyn tech workforce more diverse than San Francisco’s

A report published by the Center for an Urban Future says Brooklyn’s tech workforce is more diverse than that of San Francisco, Boston, Seattle and most leading tech hubs. The report says Black and Latino workers account for 23 percent of Brooklyn’s tech workforce. Fifty-four percent of the borough’s tech workforce is white, 20.4 percent is Asian, 14 percent is Black and 8.8 percent is Hispanic, the report says. To make the workforce more diverse, the center recommends that Brooklyn put more residents on the path to earning college credentials. In addition, the report says that the borough needs to open more tech education and training programs, and many employers need to recruit and hire local residents, especially recruiting from CUNY. The CUNY colleges also need to make progress in producing STEM graduates and in connecting students to internships, the report says.

Fashion, culture website features Brooklyn pizza

Everyone has a list of his or her favorite pizzerias, and Hypebae, a fashion and culture website, includes several Brooklyn establishments on its list. They include Grimaldi’s at One Front St., Fulton Ferry Landing area; Lucali at 575 Henry St., Carroll Gardens; and Paulie Gee’s at 60 Greenpoint Ave. in Greenpoint. At Grimaldi’s, Hypebae recommends brick oven pizza, white pizza or the “Original Large Pie;” at Lucali, the site recommends brick oven pizza with extra basil and garlic; and at Paulie Gee’s, the favorites are Benny Gee’s (which includes fresh mozzarella, baby spinach and Canadian bacon) and Vegan Regina (made with vegan mozzarella).

Frontus calls on MTA to reduce Coney transit noise

Assemblymember Mathylde Frontus (D-Coney Island-Bay Ridge-Brighton Beach-Gravesend) has introduced a bill designed to help Brightwater Towers residents in Coney Island by dampening the noise from passing B, F and Q trains. “Excessive noise can be a symptom of potentially more serious structural problems,” she said. “The MTA cannot afford to skimp on maintenance that only results in more expensive repairs and interruptions in service.” Noise from the trains can exceed 100 decibels as they rattle past residential buildings, Frontus said.

Cops seek man who attempted to rape woman in Clinton Hill

Police are looking for a man who allegedly sneaked up behind a 30-year-old woman as she was walking home in Clinton Hill, punched her in the head and then continued to beat her and attempted to rape her as she lay on the ground early Sunday. The victim was first attacked near St. James and Lefferts places around 4 p.m., News4 New York said. She fell to the ground after being punched in the head, then the man kept punching her and tried to sexually assault her, police said. She fought back, and the suspect ran off eventually with her backpack. She was taken to a local hospital with head lacerations, bruising and swelling, News4 New York reported.

Permits filed for eight-story building in Crown Heights

Permits have been filed for an eight-story mixed-use building at 1718 President St. in Crown Heights, according to New York YIMBY. The site, located between Utica and Rochester avenues, is currently occupied by two two-family homes and is two blocks south of the Utica Avenue subway station. Anshel Friedman, under the name 1720 Ventures LLC, is listed as the owner behind the applications. The proposed building would have 37 residential units, most likely rentals, as well as a ground-floor community facility and 11 enclosed parking spaces. Tafadzwa Mwandiambira of Baobab Architects is listed as the architect of record.

Water main break hits Canarsie area

A water main break in Canarsie flooded nearby streets with murky water on Tuesday, according to the New York Post. Water spewed above ground on East 78th Street near Farragut Road just before 10 a.m., spreading toward Ralph Avenue, police said. The water was shut off at 11:40 a.m. By now, all nearby homes and businesses have restored water service, the Post reported.

More shelters coming for adolescent homeless

New York City will be required to provide shelter for 16-year-old and 17-year-old youths experiencing homelessness if a judge approves a settlement reached as part of a lawsuit first filed in 2013, according to Gothamist. The settlement, announced Monday by the Legal Aid Society, would significantly expand the “right to shelter” at age-specific shelters for minors. “After over six years of litigation, we are very pleased to have reached a settlement, which will establish system-changing relief to some of New York City’s most vulnerable youth,” Legal Aid’s staff attorney in the Homeless Rights Project Beth Hofmeister said, according to Gothamist.

Fried chickpea sandwich at Bay Ridge restaurant

New York Eater recently reviewed the hard-to-find panelle sandwich, featuring layers of chickpea paste, which is a specialty of a new Sicilian snack shop at 7217 Third Ave. in Bay Ridge called Amuni. The sandwich once was featured at Joe’s on Avenue U in Gravesend. As featured at Amuni, the panelle special, costing $12, is comprised of three thick chickpea fritters topped by ricotta cheese on an oblong roll. “A friend and I found it was particularly good for a hangover,” said Robert Sietsema, the Eater columnist.

Suit against Broadway Triangle project dismissed

An appellate court has upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit that accused Rabsky Group’s Broadway Triangle project of discriminating against people of color, according to the Real Deal. Churches United for Fair Housing in 2018 asked the court to nullify the rezoning of the former Pfizer site in Williamsburg where the project is being built. Churches United argued that the project’s market-rate units would go to “wealthy whites” and the affordable units would go to Hasidic families. Justice Arthur Engoron dismissed the lawsuit in 2018, and the Appellate Decision upheld his decision in late February.

Bus driver says woman assaulted him first

MTA bus driver Olusedun Alale, who is accused of spitting on a female passenger on Saturday in Clinton Hill, says it was the passenger who kicked and spit on him first. “Looking back, I wish I would have just stayed on the bus,” driver Olusedun Alale told Eyewitness News. The Nigerian immigrant driver admitted that he spit on the woman but said the well-publicized cellphone video only told half of the story. He said that he announced that all baby strollers had to be folded for other customers’ safety, but she made no move to fold her stroller. When he called transit headquarters, she began assaulting him, Alale claimed.

Cops seek man who robbed Bay Ridge bank

Police are searching for a man who robbed a Bay Ridge bank on Monday afternoon, according to the Brooklyn Reporter website. Police said that on Monday around 12:30 p.m., the suspect went inside a bank at 78th Street and Fifth Avenue, and approached a teller with a note. The teller gave the thief $550 before he fled the bank. There were no injuries during the robbery.

Compiled by Raanan Geberer.