Around Brooklyn: Old-style hair salon closes on Court St.

May 18, 2020 Editorial Staff

The opening of the Wonder Wheel will be postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic. Photo: Lore Croghan/Brooklyn Eagle

Coney Island's Wonder Wheel. Photo: Lore Croghan/Brooklyn Eagle

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Old-style hair salon closes on Court St.

All barber shops in the city have been closed since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. However, according to Pardon Me for Asking, Damian’s at 417 A Court St. in Carroll Gardens apparently won’t be reopening. A reader emailed the blog, saying that “while out jogging, I just ran past the store, and it indicated that the space was now available.” All the barber equipment was still inside the store, however. Some people were afraid that Damian, the owner, was a victim of the virus, but it turns out that he has retired.

Expert has dire forecast for NY hotel industry

About 250 hotels in the city, including many in Brooklyn, have closed temporarily in response to the coronavirus pandemic, according to BK Reader. However, when hotels in general reopen, now-common amenities, such as breakfast buffets, room service, saunas and spas may not be that common in the future, the website says, quoting Vijay Dadapani, CEO of the Hotel Association of New York City. “I think you’re going to see anywhere from 10, 15, even 20 percent of hotels going out of business or being repurposed for some other use,” he said. Even after restrictions are lifted, hotels won’t truly come back until attractions like concert halls and museums are reopened.

Town hall addresses perils of small biz

Southern Brooklyn’s elected officials logged onto Facebook Live Wednesday night to help local business owners who are struggling to stay afloat during the pandemic. The Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce reported that one-third of Brooklyn business are at risk of closing permanently. “A year from now, when the dust is settled, I want my neighborhoods to be the neighborhoods that they were, not completely unrecognizable,” said Councilmember Justin Brannan (D-Bay Ridge-Dyker Heights). Several officials are very familiar with the complexities of the business world: Rep. Max Rose’s family owns the Williamsburg deli Kellogg’s and Brannan has many family members who are small business owners. Those present unanimously agreed that the available lending for small businesses was not enough.

City adds more ‘open streets,’ bike lanes

The city has added more than five miles of Brooklyn roadways to its “Open Streets” plan as well as four miles of protected bike lanes, according to the Brooklyn Paper. The city will add more than five miles of Brooklyn roadways to its “open streets” plan and will roll out almost four miles of protected bike lanes to allow locals to social distance and bike more easily amid the coronavirus pandemic, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Wednesday. While most of the additions stretch for just one, two, or three blocks, there are some longer sections, including almost a mile of Berry Street in Williamsburg and 0.8 miles along East Seventh Street in Kensington. In Carroll Gardens, there will be almost one mile of open streets on First, Second and Fourth (but not Third) Places.

Six-story apt. building planned for Bushwick

Permits have been filed for a six-story residential building at 822 Evergreen Ave. in Bushwick, according to New York YIMBY. The site, located at the intersection of Piling Street and Evergreen Avenue, is now a vacant lot. It is three blocks from the Bushwick Avenue-Aberdeen Street station on the L train. The Par Group is listed as the owner on the applications, and Marin Architects is listed as the architect. The development is slated to have 60 units, most likely rentals, as well as 36 enclosed parking spaces, New York YIMBY said.

Thieves rob teen at ATM in bodega

Two crooks robbed and beat a 16-year-old boy who was taking money out of an ATM at a Brownsville bodega, according to the Daily News. Video shows the teen inside the Lily Mini Market on Ralph and Sutter avenues on Thursday night. One of the men approached the victim and shot him four times in the face. The other man took out a knife and forced the teen to give up his debit card and $500 in cash. The teen, who didn’t know his attackers, refused medical attention, police said.

Kids’ soccer camp goes online

A Brooklyn day camp has made the decision to go virtual and connect kids with pro players, according to CBS New York. Ten-year-old Landon Olivers would usually be signing up for summer soccer camp in Brooklyn this week, but this year, it was canceled due to COVID-19. “I was sad because I spent most of my time playing soccer,” he told CBS. One of the camp organizers, Darius Marcellin, saw how easily kids adapted to school online and decided to offer the camp online. He called on some of his coaching contacts to help out. One hundred kids and teens signed up for the program, known as “Ultrain,” the first week.

Man stabbed in neck in unprovoked attack

A random, unprovoked stabbing was caught on camera last week in Brooklyn, and police are searching for the suspect, according to CBS New York. The attack happened around 8 p.m. last Monday at Myrtle and Gates avenues in Bushwick. Surveillance video shows the 60-year-old victim walking on the sidewalk when the suspect runs up to him and tackles him. Police said the suspect stabbed the man once in the neck and took off. The victim was taken to Elmhurst Hospital in serious condition.

Al Capone played for semi-pro team in Brooklyn

Before he turned full-time to crime and went to Chicago, Al Capone was a first baseman and pitcher for a semi-pro team in Brooklyn, where he played alongside his brother, according to the New York Post. Montreal gangland historian Mario Gomez recently found evidence of Capone’s baseball career. He found local newspaper clippings about the team, the Young Men’s Catholic Club in Park Slope, in clippings from local newspapers from 1916 to 1918. Capone also briefly headed a team called the Al Capone Stars in 1918, Gomes said. One of the reasons Capone’s baseball background was unknown until now was that his name was often misspelled as “Caponey” or “Carponey,” the Post said.

Frontus says ‘digital divide’ is a threat

Assemblywoman Mathylde Frontus (D-Coney Island-Bay Ridge-Gravesend-Brighton Beach) recently said that the digital divide poses a threat to educational equality in a time of social distancing and New York should use federal stimulus funds to launch Phase 4 of its Broadband Program to build out fiberoptic infrastructure. She pointed out that since the coronavirus outbreak, children in the 500,000 New York City households without internet access have struggled to access remote learning tools, although the city has tried to provide laptops for all students who need them. “The digital divide is a barrier to opportunity. If we don’t close it, another generation will be left behind,” she said.

Clarke supports HEROES Act in the House

U.S. Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-Crown Heights-Flatbush-Kensington-Park Slope) voted on Friday for the HEROES Act to support the nation’s essential workers in their efforts to fight the coronavirus act. The bill passed 208-199 in the House of Representatives. “My beloved Brooklyn has the distinction of having more COVID-related deaths than any county in the United States,” she said. The HEROES Act will commit $75 billion for testing, tracing and treatment; support small business and more.

Nine-story building planned for Vinegar Hill

Renderings from J Frankl architects show a nine-story mixed-use building planned for 58 Vanderbilt Ave. in Vinegar Hill, according to New York YIMBY. The development, located near the Brooklyn Navy Yard, will be located on a currently vacant corner lot. There will be 90 rental units and 34 enclosed parking spaces as well as 9,168 square feet of commercial space and a 1,157-square-foot community facility. The developer is Bruchy Leftkowitz.

Compiled by Raanan Geberer.