Around Brooklyn: Sheepshead Bay teen wins kids’ book contest

May 20, 2020 Editorial Staff

These handsome residences are located on the corner of Sixth Avenue and 3rd St. Photo: Lore Croghan/Brooklyn Eagle

A view of the corner of Sixth Avenue and 3rd St. Photo: Lore Croghan/Brooklyn Eagle

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Sheepshead Bay teen wins kids’ book contest

The Park Slope-based EJK Foundation, which was established by children’s author and illustrator Ezra Jack Keats and seeks to nurture the next generation of book lovers, announced the winners of its most recent Bookmaking Competition on May 5. For the competition, students in grades 3 through 12 were asked not only to write and illustrate a book but also to construct it by hand. Andrei Kulikov, 13, a student at I.S. 98 in Sheepshead Bay, won the top prize in the 6th- to 8^th-grade category. Andrei’s book, “The Telephone,” is about a boy who buys an old-fashioned phone at an antique shop, uses it and mysteriously gets in contact with his great-grandfather.

Chef sends his burgers down a ‘burger slide’

One of America’s top hamburger experts, who’s also the director of the Food Film Festival, has installed a “burger slide” from his Brooklyn home to sell his famous fried onion burgers, according to Time Out New York. George Motz sends white takeout bags down a wooden slide from his Brooklyn window to the sidewalk for customers. “After a two-month hiatus, things have actually stabilized in New York City, so we feel it’s time to get burgers out there,” Metz said on his Instagram accounts. Customers purchase tickets online, then are given the location of the burger slide and are told to show up at a certain time, Time Out New York said.

Outdoor dining could be a possibility this summer

The City Council is focusing on how to make outdoor dining a reality for restaurants and bars this summer, according to New York Eater. In a joint op-ed, City Council speaker Corey Johnson and NYC Hospitality Alliance executive director Andrew Rigie said both groups were reaching out to restaurant owners, business improvement districts and community boards to identify areas where the city could test outdoor dining options. They pointed to one street in the Financial District in which restaurants and bars share outdoor seating. New York City is at least a month away from allowing restaurants and bars to reopen with dine-in service, New York Eater said.

Retail tenants sign leases at Brooklyn Bridge Park

Three new retail tenants have signed leases at Brooklyn Bridge Park, developers RAL Companies and Oliver’s Realty Group announced last week. The owner of Brooklyn Heights’ Iris Café will reopen the café as part of a new specialty grocery store called Town Market at One Brooklyn Bridge Park. The two businesses will share a 8,000-square-foot space in the condo building on Furman Street. Next door at The Landing at Brooklyn Bridge Park, OV Pilates Studio has leased 885 square feet, according to the Commercial Observer.

Fornino, pizza emporium to reopen at Brooklyn Bridge Park

Fornino will reopen its Brooklyn Bridge Park location at Pier 6 for takeout and delivery starting this Friday, according to Patch. The outdoor restaurant will have two pickup windows for wood-fired pizzas, salads, sandwiches and non-alcoholic beverages. Owner Michael Ayoub also reopened his Greenpoint location at 849 Manhattan Ave. on May 1. Three types of 12-inch pizzas will be on the menu, including the Margherita with tomato, mozzarella, basil, olive oil and parmesan; the Calabrese with sopressata picante, tomato, mozzarella, parmesan and oregano; and the Funghi Misti with mozzarella, caciocavallo, mixed mushroom and white truffle oil, Patch said.

Former Brooklyn judge now involved in Flynn case

John Gleeson, a former Brooklyn federal judge best known for bringing down John Gotti, has filed a request for a court hearing to argue against the Justice Department’s bid to drop all criminal charges against former national security advisor Michael Flynn. Gleeson proposed in the Washington Federal Court filing that he be allowed to submit a written brief by June 10 before the presiding judge can schedule a hearing for oral arguments. Before he became a judge, Gleeson served as a federal prosecutor in the same courthouse. Most famously, he spearheaded the Gotti prosecution that resulted in the Gambino crime family boss’ conviction and lifetime imprisonment.

Plexiglass makes small Brooklyn firm a success

A small Brooklyn company, because of the coronavirus pandemic, has become a booming business, according to PIX11. NNK Design and Cabinetry that was thriving until the pandemic locked things down. Then, owner Peter Comito designed a Plexiglass shield for a nail salon to potentially use. After he shared the idea on Facebook, it went viral, PIX11 said. Now, bigger government contracts are in the works, and the firm plans to increase its number of employees from three to nine. Speaking to other entreprenuers, Comito said, “You got to be hungry, and make your own luck. Think about what you do, and apply it to what’s happening now.”

Protesters in Williamsburg rally against COVID shutdown

Several mostly out-of-state protesters held a rally outside a Lorimer Street barbershop on Tuesday, calling on the city and the state to end the coronavirus shutdown, according to amNewYork. “My fingernails are breaking, I’ve got hangnails, I can’t go to my Birkam yoga studios, I can’t get my eyelashes done,” said Hillary Angel Barq, from Mississippi. The event was organized by Liberate America, which describes itself as a “pro-Trump, pro-business” group, with the owners of Beard Barberia Cut and Shave at the corner of Grand Street. One local passer-by, Alissa Vladimir, slammed the protesters, saying, “It looks like her position about what liberation is comes from a lot of privilege.”

Ditmas Park CSA registers members

The Ditmas Park CSA (community supported agriculture) is now registering members for the 2020 season. This is its 13th year of bringing fresh vegetables to the community. This year, members will also have the option of ordering fruit and eggs. Because of the coronavirus epidemic, the CSA this year will give out prepackaged bags to members, and members and volunteers will be required to wear masks at pickup. The group is still waiting for a location for pickups. The deadline for signing up is June 8.

Addition to Brooklyn Bridge Park will connect its DUMBO, Heights sections

A fenced-in lot under the Brooklyn Bridge will soon become a plaza, linking swaths of Brooklyn parkland, as part of a years-long revamp of the Brooklyn waterfront, according to Curbed. The Landmarks Preservation Commission this week approved plans by the Brooklyn Bridge Park Corporation to convert the lot into a two-acre pedestrian plaza, along with re-doing the Fulton Ferry Lawn just north of the bridge. The new space will connect the Brooklyn Heights and DUMBO sections of the park, Curbed said. The $8 million project is the final piece of Brooklyn Bridge Park.

145 children have mystery illness

On Monday, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that 145 children in New York City have contracted a rare illness linked to the novel coronavirus, according to amNewYork. Out of the 145 children diagnosed with the illness that health officials previously referred to as pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome (PMIS), 67 tested positive for the virus or its antibodies, suggesting that they at one point contracted the disease and then recovered. Parents should contact their health care provider immediately if a child or teen starts to show symptoms like fever, sluggishness, irritability, sharp abdominal pain, diarrhea, vomiting, rash, conjunctivitis, enlarged lymph nodes, red cracked lips, red tongue, or swollen hands and feet.

Compiled by Raanan Geberer.