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Around Brooklyn: Cyclists help doctors who are fighting virus

April 7, 2020 Editorial Staff
Victorian Flatbush is a fine place for a stroll. Photo: Lore Croghan/Brooklyn Eagle
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Cyclists help doctors who are fighting virus

Experienced cyclists are doing their part to help medical workers by delivering 3D-printed parts to NYU Langone Hospital in Sunset Park and ferrying masks to doctors and nurses all over Brooklyn, according to Streetsblog. The cyclists in question are members of the New York City Adventure Cycling Club, a group that in normal times is usually focused on long-distance bike rides and camping trips. MakerSpace, a printing lab in MetroTech, has been printing face masks for doctors, and the biker volunteers have been “essential providing fast handoffs between the two areas,” Streetsblog reported.

Brooklyn woman burned in possible acid attack

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A Brooklyn woman suffered severe burns across her body when someone sneaked up on her outside her home and splashed her with what appeared to be acid, according to the New York Post. The incident took place at 11 a.m. on Sunday in Borough Park. The corrosive fluid caused 2nd degree burns all over the woman’s upper body, face and hands, police said. The woman was transported to Maimonides Hospital in stable condition, police said.

‘Supertall’ tower begins to rise

Construction is under way at 9 DeKalb Ave., which New York YIMBY says is “the first supertall skyscraper in the outer boroughs.” Construction on the building, which is designed by SHoP Architects and developed by JDS, is now proceeding above street level. The 9 DeKalb Ave. development will yield 425 rental apartments and 150 condo apartments, along with amenities such as an outdoor terrace and a rooftop pool. There will be retail space along Flatbush Avenue, including a bank. The two-story building that includes the famous Junior’s Restaurant and Bakery will remain, New York YIMBY said.

Police, EMS vehicles crash in Brownsville

Two police officers and two EMS paramedics were hurt on Sunday afternoon when their emergency vehicles collided while responding to 911 calls in Brownsville, according to amNewYork. One of the EMS workers was listed in serious condition at Kings County Hospital, while the others involved in the crash suffered non-serious injuries. The crash occurred about 2:15 p.m. when a police car from Transit District 33 was responding to a call of a person armed with a firearm, and the ambulance was rushing to a cardiac arrest. Both vehicles were said to be traveling with lights and sirens, amNewYork said.

WeWork closes one of its Brooklyn locations

WeWork has closed one of its Brooklyn locations after one of its employees there tested positive for coronavirus, according to Real Estate Daily Beat. The company has kept all of its U.S. locations open throughout the pandemic on the grounds that some of them operate essential businesses, the real estate website reported. One tenant told The Real Deal that some anxious tenants will not be returning when social distancing guidelines have eased.

Banks making record numbers of loans

Small businesses around the country have been trying to stay alive by taking advantage of a Treasury Department program to pump $349 billion into the economy, according to The New York Times. By 9 a.m. on Friday, banks had processed 700 loans totaling $2.5 million for small businesses as the program began. By early afternoon, that number had ballooned to $1.8 million. And by evening it was $3.2 billion in loans, going to more than 10,000 small businesses, the Times reported.

Respiratory therapists keep the ventilators running

It’s important to get enough ventilators, but it’s also important to have enough people trained to run them, according to the New York Post. The Post recently profiled respiratory therapist couple Jennifer Cubero and husband Brian Zabala. “Being pregnant, it’s a challenge — we are running more than 120 vents,” Cubero, who works at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, told the Post. Zabala does the same job at nearby NYU Langone-Brooklyn in Sunset Park. “We understand the physiology of their lungs and how we can manipulate the vents to help kind of correct their numbers as best as we can while keeping the patient comfortable,” Cubero said.

Brooklyn community boards switch to remote meetings

Amid the statewide ban on non-essential gatherings, Brooklyn’s community boards are looking to restart their regular meeting schedules remotely, according to the Brooklyn Paper.  “If people have questions, it’s a great time for people to have dialogue and the absence of that really makes us feel more socially distanced,” the district manager of Bushwick’s Community Board 4, Celestina Leon, told the Brooklyn Paper. The local boards took a cue from Manhattan, where Borough President Gale Brewer bought subscriptions on the videoconferencing platform Zoom to allow the borough’s 12 community boards to host meetings online.

Legislators seek moratorium on new liquor licenses  

Some New York State legislators are calling for a moratorium on new liquor licenses, according to the Brooklyn Paper. Assemblymember Harvey Epstein (D-Manhattan) and six others have sent a letter to the State Liquor Authority, asking that the agency temporarily stop issuing licenses for storefronts that already have bars and restaurants in place. If landlords aren’t able to replace an existing business that has a liquor license with a similar new business, they might be more reluctant to kick the business out, the legislators say.

Well-known Greenpoint merchant passes away

A longtime Greenpoint business owner and Holocaust survivor, Howard Kiffel, died on March 29 at the age of 95 as a result of complications from the Covid-19 virus, according to the Greenpointers blog. He owned and operated Howard Machine Shop at 34 Norman Ave. since 1968 and was willing to receive all the artisans in the neighborhood. Artist Gabrielle Shelton operated a metal shop down the street from Kiffel and said his support had helped her to start her own business, Greenpointers reported.

New map tells which construction is essential

Last week, in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19, Gov. Andrew Cuomo halted all non-essential construction, but work has continued on non-essential sites anyway, according to Gothamist. Now, the city’s Department of Buildings has published a real-time map of all essential and emergency work. Such projects include construction of health care facilities, essential housing and utilities along with emergency work to repair buildings. As of Friday, the city had identified 887 construction sites as essential. Also, on Monday, the DOB conducted a sweep of non-essential construction sites across the city, issuing more than 100 violations and stop-work orders, Gothamist said.

Argument on J train turns deadly as man is stabbed

A man fatally stabbed another man on the J train early Tuesday morning, according to amNewYork. Police said the stabbing happened around 2:30 a.m. as the train pulled into the Lorimer Street station. It began with an argument, then the unknown attacker pulled out a knife and repeatedly stabbed the victim in the back and the neck. The killer left the train at Flushing Avenue. The investigation is continuing, amNewYork reported.

Sidewalk vendor sells masks and gloves

A sidewalk vendor was selling surgical masks and gloves in front of a Rite Aid store Bushwick on Monday afternoon and was extremely busy, according to the New York Post.  At the vendor’s stand on Broadway and Halsey Street, surgical face masks were selling for $2 each, washable cloth masks were selling for $4 each and KN95 masks were selling for $5.99 each, the same price as a box of disposable gloves. The vendor, who gave his name as Jay, said he’s been working from 2 until dark since Saturday, used “different suppliers” and generally cleared about $600 in profits a day, the Post said.

Passover meals delivered to elderly Holocaust survivors

Uber and the Met Council are joining forces to deliver 500 Passover meals to homebound Holocaust survivors, according to the New York Post. The seder boxes will include matzoh balls, gefilte fish, borscht, chicken, sweet potatoes, apples and eggs. To get the meals to the survivors, Met Council, which operates food pantries and soup kitchens throughout the city, is teaming up with the  ride-hailing app, the Post reported. “I think it’s amazing what Met Council is doing,” Alex Budnitskiy, CEO of Marks Jewish Community House of Bensonhurst, said.

Compiled by Raanan Geberer.


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1 Comment

  1. CoronaSecrets.com

    That’s great to hear, health care workers need all the help they can right now.

    I myself am in health care and we are exposed to the virus on a daily basis.

    April 7, 2020 at 5:14 pm
    Reply