Around Brooklyn: Sisters create video thanking their teachers

May 6, 2020 Editorial Staff

A South Slope streetcorner. Photo: Lore Croghan/Brooklyn Eagle

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Sisters create video thanking their teachers

Sisters Genesys and Michell Abreu, who are in the fourth and fifth grades respectively at P.S. 676 in Brooklyn, created a special video for Teacher Appreciation Week, according to NY1 News. In the video, they say they wanted to thank their teachers for showing them how to adapt and be empathetic. They also sent shout-outs to their crossing guards, security guards and other school staff. The Abreu sisters also created a video urging people to stay inside a few weeks ago.

Pols introduce ‘Essential Workers Bill of Rights’

Several Brooklyn lawmakers have introduced a set of bills called the “Essential Workers Bill of Rights,” according to the Brooklyn Paper. If signed into law, the proposed package would ensure a number of protections and economic boosts for workers deemed essential. “There is something wrong with the fact that we’re cheering so loudly, and yet at the very same time some of these workers, if they’re gig workers, can’t take a day off if they’re sick,” said Park Slope City Councilmember Brad Lander. The bill was sponsored by Fort Greene Councilmember Laurie Cumbo.

Forceful police arrest for social distancing rules

A video first shared by the Washington Post on Monday shows police officers violently arresting three people in East New York after they allegedly refused to social distance. Police said that on Saturday evening, they attempted to disperse a group not complying with social distancing regulations at the corner of Fountain and Blake avenues. As a crowd began to gather, a man, identified as Antonio Rivera, ran toward the officers. One officer hurled his arm, knocking Rivera to the pavement. Rivera was turned on his stomach and placed in handcuffs as bystanders can be heard saying, “He’s unconscious!” according to 1010 WINS.

Brooklyn man riding stolen motorcycle dies in crash

A Brooklyn man driving a stolen motorcycle on Sunday died in Upstate Cortlandt, N.Y., after leading police on a high-speed chase toward Peekskill, according to LOHUD. On Sunday, state police from the Cortlandt barracks did a traffic stop of a Kawasaki motorcycle that had been reported stolen. Damian Simmons of Brooklyn immediately fled the stop, driving south on Route 9. The man was thrown off the Croton Point exit at Croton-on-Hudson and was taken to Westchester Medical Center, where he died, LoHud said.

Ambulance overturns on Ocean Avenue

A private ambulance overturned in Flatbush on Tuesday morning, according to ABC7. The accident happened at Ocean Avenue and Avenue I soon after 6:30 p.m. It is now yet known why the ambulance flipped over, but a police vehicle was sent to the scene to remove it.

Flowers represent discharged patients

Workers at Maimonides Medical Center in Southern Brooklyn have lined the windows with makeshift daffodil decals, each representing a COVID-19 patient who has recovered and left the hospital, according to amNewYork. “Mark [another doctor] and I both thought that the idea of really focusing on the successes — and on the good and the positive — was important, even as we face our darkest days,” Dr. Jennifer Brenzay said, stressing that the project, which doubles as a source of positivity for patients and their families, serves as a “visual sign” of Maimonides’ success and growth during the current crisis. As of Monday, 920 daffodils composed the field of faux flowers in the 10th Avenue medical center’s large, glass window display, amNewYork reported.

‘Lynbrook’ is a takeoff on Brooklyn

The name of the village of Lynbrook in Long Island is an anagram of Brooklyn, according to Untapped Cities. Earlier, the village had been named Pearsalls. With the coming of the Long Island Rail Road in the mid-19th century, local businesses and farms began to ship farm produce and seafood to Downtown Brooklyn, a center of commerce. Soon, former Brooklyn residents began to relocate to the town. Some of the newcomers came up with the idea of changing the town’s name to Lynbrook to pay homage to their former home. In 1894 a referendum was held, and the idea passed, Untapped Cities said.

Pratt students sue, seeking tuition refund

Students at Pratt Institute, whose main campus is in Brooklyn, sued the university on Friday, saying that the university should refund them part of their tuition because of the coronavirus outbreak, according to the Daily News. The university closed its campus on March 12. “The online learning options being offered to Pratt students are subpar in practically every aspect, from the lack of facilities, materials and access to faculty,” a lawyer for the students wrote in the suit. “Students have been deprived of the opportunity for collaborative learning and in-person dialogue, feedback and critique.” Students at other universities have filed similar lawsuits.

Gardeners return to Floyd Bennett Field

Community gardeners returned to Floyd Bennett Field in southeast Brooklyn on Saturday after a weeklong shutout by the National Parks Service that drew a large share of criticism, according to the Brooklyn Paper. The reopening came five days after the Service shut down Floyd Bennett Field to store about 160 out-of-use MTA buses. The closure of Floyd Bennett Gardens, one of the largest community gardens on the East Coast, infuriated the 430 local gardeners, some of whom have been gardening there for more than 30 years.

Brooklyn Chamber to give small business loans

The Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce is giving out loans of up to $30,000 to any business owner who has been hurt by the pandemic and who was shut out of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s loan program, according to the New York Post, The Bring Back Brooklyn program raised $125,000 for no-interest loans of as little as $500. Restaurants, bars, coffee shops, hair salons, daycare centers, gyms and others are required to repay the loans based on a flexible time frame. Money from repaid loans will, in turn, be lent to other businesses, Brooklyn Chamber officials said. “In 2008, Main Street bailed out Wall Street. Today, who is going to bail out Wall Street?” asked Randy Peers, president of the Chamber, in a statement.

Seven-story building planned for Williamsburg

Permits have been filed for a seven-story mixed-use building at 134 Hope St. in Williamsburg, according to New York YIMBY. Located at the intersection of Keap Street and Hope Street, the corner lot, which is currently vacant, is two blocks south of the Metropolitan Avenue-Lorimer Street subway station, served by the G and L trains. Solomon Schwimmer is listed as the owner on the application, and J Frankl C Mallea Associates is listed as the architect of record. The building is slated to have 143 residences, most likely rentals, as well as 72 enclosed parking spaces.

Historical Society seeks to document pandemic

The Brooklyn Historical Society seeks to document the current pandemic. It is asking Brooklynites to submit stories and digital materials as part of the new collection and documentation effort, according to Brownstoner. BHS has created an online submission form that is available on its website. There, Brooklynites can share their photographs, videos and audio recordings while New York is still under PAUSE.

Compiled by Raanan Geberer.