Around Brooklyn: Musicians to play together, separately

April 27, 2020 Editorial Staff

A corner of Commerce Street in Red Hook. Photo: Lore Croghan/Brooklyn Eagle

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Musicians to play together, separately

Isolated musicians across the city will play as one next week in a show of support for frontline workers, according to the Brooklyn Paper. Tenth Intervention, along with sponsors including the Brooklyn Music Conservatory and Make Music New York, hope to attract over 1,000 musicians across the five boroughs to play along with “For Our Courageous Workers” — a newly conceived piece of fanfare. Brian Drye, the director of the Community Music School at the conservatory, said the event is perfect, as anyone of all skill levels — including professionals, amateurs, and youngsters — can participate.

Narrow sidewalks are a problem in today’s city

New Yorkers are told to stay six feet away from each other, but it’s very difficult on the city’s narrow sidewalks, according to Curbed. Urban planner Mel Harvey said, “As the city has grown, attention to pedestrians has waned.” Using data from the city Department of Information Technology, Harvey has produced a website on sidewalk widths. She found that the farther from Manhattan, the narrower the sidewalks. Some have suggested closing down some streets so people can pass each other at a comfortable distance.

While Carroll Park is closed, Cobble Hill Park is open

Pardon Me for Asking, a well-known blog for Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill and Boerum Hill, received an email saying that Cobble Hill Park “is like a full-on party there, packed with people oblivious to what’s going on.” On the other hand, Carroll Park has been entirely closed since April 2. The author of Pardon Me for Asking, visiting Cobble Hill Park, reported, “There were not many people there, but I was still surprised had it not been closed like Carroll Park.” One factor may be that Cobble Hill Park does not have gates like Carroll Park and therefore may be more difficult to close entirely.

Getting unemployment benefits called ‘Kafkaesque’

Payment delays and filing backlogs have fueled skepticism of the New York State government’s efforts to give people unemployment insurance. Brooklyn resident Jazmine Alzado said that after she filed a claim online, she received notice that the Department of Labor would call her back within 72 hours. She still hasn’t gotten a call back. “I have never been unemployed. I have always paid taxes. And this is how the government is treating me.”

Large number of people have antibodies, Cuomo says

At a recent press conference, Gov. Andrew Cuomo revealed the preliminary results of a first-phase antibody test that surveyed 3,000 New Yorkers over two days in 19 counties at 40 locations. The sample suggested that 13.9 percent of New York State residents have the antibodies, meaning that they had the virus at one point and then recovered. Of the various regions tested — Long Island, New York City, Westchester-Rockland and the rest of the state, New York City had the highest positive rate at 21.2 percent, according go 6sqft.com. The good news is that the death rate may be far lower than some estimates, at 0.5 percent.

Crooks in medical masks start Bronx-Brooklyn crime spree

A pair of crooks sporting surgical masks, medical gloves and handguns have launched a crime wave during the coronavirus pandemic, according the Daily News. The thugs are wanted for a violent robbery spree across Brooklyn and the Bronx over five weeks that includes beating an 83-year-old man, pistol-whipping a woman and shooting a bread deliveryman who was later diagnosed with COVID-19 while hospitalized for his wounds. Cesar Fuentes, a relative of one of the victims, said, “Man, I’m telling you these guys are doing it on purpose. Police are busy with other things, the city is in chaos, and that is how they thrive — they come out at night to attack.”

Brooklyn in danger of Census undercount

Brooklyn was undercounted in the 2010 Census, and it’s in danger of being undercounted again, according to Bklyner. Only 38 percent of people across Brooklyn have filled out the Census so far. Brooklyn has the lowest response rate of all boroughs. In some areas such as Flatbush, Borough Park, East New York and Sunset Park, fewer than 30 percent of all people have filled out the Census form. Many of these neighborhoods have also been hit hard by the pandemic, Bklyner said. It’s crucial that New York City, the current epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, get all the federal money it can in order to help us recover, and U.S. Census data is used to decide how federal funding gets split up and how many House seats Brooklyn will get.

Insurgents charge de Blasio with trying to throw them off ballot

Some insurgent Brooklyn political candidates are accusing Mayor Bill de Blasio and the official Kings County Democratic Party of forcing insurgent progressive candidates off the June 23 primary elections, according to the Brooklyn Paper. “For weeks we have been wondering why Mayor de Blasio has not been weighing in, and now it is clear: he is complicit with this machine power grab. The mayor is working to undermine Democracy in the 37th District for his own political purposes,” said Sandy Nurse, an upstart candidate for a City Council seat in Bushwick. Nurse and a handful of other progressives vying for political seats around Brooklyn did not make the primary ballot due to legal challenges to the signatures needed for their names to appear.

Louis wants tighter food safety requirements

Councilmember Farah Louis (D-Flatbush-East Flatbush-Midwood) along with Bronx Councilmember Mark Gjonaj have introduced a food safety bill that would require third-party food delivery services and food-service establishments to display sanitary inspection letter grades online. “With more customers ordering online or through mobile apps, food safety must always remain a top priority,” said Louis. “We cannot continue this two-tier system that creates a loophole for eateries, endangers public health, while depriving paying customers of critical safety information to protect themselves.”

Construction kicks off in Clinton Hill

Construction has kicked off on a five-story, 43-apartment building at 445 Vanderbilt Ave. in Clinton Hill, according to New York YIMBY. The project’s primary developer is Loketch Group, and Marvel Architects is the architect of record. The apartments will include a mix of units ranging from studios to three-bedroom units. Available amenities will include a fitness room, a communal lounge, cold and dry storage facilities and parking accommodations for 25 vehicles. The Meral Property Group is credited as co-developer.

Brooklyn bar brings healthy juices to first responders

A local bar is giving medical workers an immunity boost with some fresh juices. L’Wren Bar is serving some healthy options to boost the immunity of the healthcare workers on the frontlines by making deliveries to New York-Presbyterian Methodist Hospital, according to New York 1 news. The bar is serving drinks like Lemongrass Liftoffs, Thyme Citrus Boosters and Grapefruit Mint Blast. To help the bar raise money for the ingredients, you can donate money on Venmo to Travis-Klamath or via PayPal at [email protected].

Large crowd shows up for Chabad rabbi’s funeral

A crowd of at least 100 people gathered Friday outside of Chabad Lubavitch headquarters in Crown Heights to pay their respects to a rabbi who died earlier in the day, according to the Forward. Rabbi Aharon Yaacov Schwei, 86, was a prominent figure in the Crown Heights Jewish community and held many top roles within the Chabad organization. Messages announcing the funeral procession implored people to practice social distancing rules if they planned to attend. “Please maintain social distance and stand at least 6 feet apart,” a message in bold read.

Police seek man connected to three Flatbush assaults

The New York City Police Department is looking for a man connected to three assaults that took place in Flatbush. On Saturday night, the suspect punched and kicked two men within a residential building near Dorchester Road and East 21st Street. The younger victim was also stabbed many times before the suspect left the building. At the corner of Dorchester and Flatbush Avenue, the perp then stabbed another man and was seen heading westbound on Flatbush Avenue. Police are searching a black man roughly 6-foot-1, between 40 and 50 years old who has a beard and mustache.

Compiled by Raanan Geberer.