Around Brooklyn: Brooklyn called deadliest county in New York area

April 24, 2020 Editorial Staff

An impending storm casts lurid light over the waters off Bush Terminal Park. Photo: Lore Croghan/Brooklyn Eagle

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Brooklyn called deadliest county in New York area

On Thursday, the state said there have been 44,904 COVID-19 cases in Queens, along with 3,520 deaths, according to NBC New York. While there were still more cases than neighboring Kings County, Queens now had 20 fewer deaths than Brooklyn. In fact, 22 percent of all confirmed coronavirus-related deaths in New York have been reported in Brooklyn — meaning nearly one in four deaths in the state. As of Thursday, the city had counted 4,148 deaths in Brooklyn, 1,108 of which were listed as having probable ties to the coronavirus, NBC New York said.

Video shows man wanted in tobacco shop burglary

Police recently released surveillance video showing a burglar breaking into a tobacco shop in Bay Ridge, according to ABC7. Police say the man lifted the front gate of Mist Tobacco Shop on Third Avenue on Tuesday morning. He then apparently broke the glass front door with a piece of wood. The burglar got away with about $500 from the cash register and a case of energy drinks.

‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ to use virus in scripts

NBC’s “Brooklyn Nine Nine” plans to incorporate New York’s first responders and the novel coronavirus into its scripts, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Producer Dan Goor said that brushing the pandemic under the rug is not an option, namely because so many of the city’s first responders have been impacted by the deadly COVID-19 virus. “It has been incredibly moving and gratifying for all of us to read tweets from people who are happy to be watching our show and to escape into these characters who happen to be living in a world that is corona-free,” he said.

Midwood kosher steakhouse closes due to coronavirus

The Wolf and Lamb Steakhouse, a kosher steakhouse on the corner of Coney Island Avenue and Avenue M, is the latest financial casualty of the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Chabad website. “After nearly a decade serving the Brooklyn Kosher community, we are sad to announce that due to issues related to the corona crisis, Wolf and Lamb is sad to be closing our Brooklyn location,” owner Zalman Wuensch announced on Thursday. He said that the flagship Wolf & Lamb in Midtown Manhattan is not going out of business. “(It) will reopen once the executive order has been lifted and we look forward to serving you there soon,” he said in a statement posted on the Facebook group “Great Kosher Restaurant Foodies.” Wuensch added: “G-d willing, once the crisis is behind us, we look forward to hopefully coming to Brooklyn.”

Persaud to take part in children’s story time

New York State Sen. Roxanne Persaud (Canarsie-East New York-Mill Basin-Sheepshead Bay) plans to host “Story Time” on Facebook live on April 29. She will partner with children’s author Kamla Millwood, the host of “Story Time.” “I am honored to partner with Ms. Millwood to host this online event, now in its fourth week. During these unprecedented times, it is important that children continue a healthy educational routine, she said. Ms. Millwood will be reading from her popular children’s book series, “Peach the Duck,” at 11 a.m.

Takeoff from runway, then splash into bay

A young woman was speeding her Staten Island boyfriend’s SUV on the empty runways of Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn on Wednesday night when she got a little carried away and sank the SUV into Jamaica Bay, according to amNewYork. The crash occurred around 9 p.m. on the southern end of Floyd Bennett Field, a World War II-era Air Force base that is now a recreational area for the city. Drivers often come to drive on the runways, sometimes doing spins with their cars. In this instance, police said, the woman behind the wheel of her boyfriend’s Cadillac Escalade lost control of the vehicle, which founded through the weeds, smashed through a fence and took a dive into the bay. The owner said his girlfriend was an off-duty cop.

Rose wants FEMA to include future pandemic response efforts

U.S. Rep. Max Rose (Bay Ridge-Staten Island) recently called for the Federal Emergency Management Agency to include pandemic response efforts as eligible for hazard mitigation funding. “While we continue to battle this coronavirus crisis with everything we have, we also need to be building in mitigation efforts and setting ourselves up to be better prepared for future pandemics,” said Rose. “We must incentivize and encourage these mitigation efforts, and instead of reinventing the wheel, FEMA should just expand the existing program.” The Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) is meant to ensure that mitigation measures to reduce the loss of life and property from future disasters are undertaken following a disaster.

Major crimes fall in Brooklyn after virus

Major crimes have fallen nearly 30 percent in Brooklyn as borough residents take shelter indoors, according to the Brooklyn Paper. The NYPD’s seven major crime categories — murder, rape, robbery, felony assault, burglary, grand larceny, and car theft — recorded 1,397 criminal infractions during the 28-day period that ended on April 12, marking a sizable decrease from the 1,989 recorded crimes during the same period last year. Grand larceny was the crime category with the highest drop, having gone from 828 to 407 over the 28-day timeframe. “I’ve talked to my Police Commissioner Dermot Shea and he says his officers are out there all over the city and they’re struck by how much people are following the rules,” Mayor Bill de Blasio during an April 9 appearance on MSNBC.

Council proposes long pause on evictions

The City Council is proposing an up-to-year-long pause on evictions ‘for New Yorkers impacted by COVID-19” as part of a legislative relief package, according to Curbed. Under the bill, city marshals and sheriffs would be barred from claiming and restoring property or executing money judgments — usually the amount of back rent owed — during the pandemic. This would effectively halt evictions and debt collection for both residential and commercial tenants until September 30, following the expiration state and federal eviction moratoriums, according to draft bill text obtained by Curbed. The legislation, which is sponsored by City Council Speaker Corey Johnson, would also prevent city officials from collecting debts and carrying out evictions on New Yorkers impacted by COVID-19 until April 2021.

Seven-story residential building planned for Flatbush

With $4.4 million in construction financing successfully closed, Threefold Development has released the first renderings of a seven-story residential building in Flatbush, according to New York YIMBY. Located at 1458-1466 Flatbush Ave., the property is near some of the neighborhood’s most prominent landmarks, including Kings Theatre and Prospect Park. Designed by architect Bar Orian, the façade is similar to contemporary waterfront structures in southern Florida and the Caribbean, New York YIMBY said. The building will include 43 units in a mix of 38 single-bedroom and five tw0-bedroom apartments. The ground floor will also include two small commercial spaces.

From funeral to hotel in Crown Heights

Permits have been filed for a five-story hotel at 169 Empire Blvd. in Crown Heights. The site, located between Bedford and Rogers avenue and currently occupied by a one-story funeral home, is two blocks west of the 2 and 5 trains’ Sterling Street subway station. Nahalkumar Gandhi, under the name Empire Prospect LLC, is listed as the owner behind the applications, according to New York YIMBY. The building will have 86 rooms. Michael Kang Architect is listed as the architect or record.

Colton slams National Grid’s application for price hike

Assemblymember William Colton (D-Gravesend-Bensonhurst-Bath Beach) says he is outraged with National Grid’s submitting an application to the New York State Public Service Commission for the gas delivery rate to increase by more than 17.78 percent “I sent my opposition comments to the New York State Public Service Commission against the gas service rate increase requested by the National Grid. First, much of its request is based upon its insistence on building a billion-dollar pipeline, the cost of which is intended to be passed on to its gas customers. An independent analysis of the National Grid’s ‘Long Term Capacity Report’ by Synapse Energy Economics, a nationally known expert concluded there was no supply and demand gap to justify building this pipeline, which National Grid customers are being asked to pay the price,” Colton said.

Compiled by Raanan Geberer.