Around Brooklyn: Finish Brooklyn Greenway, elected officials say

May 22, 2020 Editorial Staff

The Rowhouses on 29th Street seem to stretch to infinity. Photo: Lore Croghan/Brooklyn Eagle

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Finish Brooklyn Greenway, elected officials say

Elected officials are asking the city to fill a gap in Brooklyn’s protected bike network as bicycling surges during the coronavirus, according to Streetsblog. The Brooklyn Greenway Initiative, with the support of 11 local officials, sent a letter this week urging the de Blasio administration to install jersey barriers along the greenway route, which currently runs through Red Hook and across the Gowanus Canal. The missing section could be an important connecter between Sunset Park, Red Hook, Gowanus, Carroll Gardens, Downtown Brooklyn and Manhattan, according to the letter. The connector has already been engineered, planned and paid for, Streetsblog wrote.

Former Sen. Jesse Hamilton seeks a political comeback

A former Brooklyn Democratic state senator who was part of the now-defunct Independent Democratic Conference, a breakaway group of Democrats who had a power-sharing agreement with Republicans, wants to make a political comeback, according to the Daily News. Former State Sen. Jesse Hamilton officially announced Wednesday that he’s challenging incumbent Assemblywoman Diana Richardson for her seat. “My passion and knowledge plus my proven experience as a community lawyer and activist, positions me to be the best candidate to move our community forward during this crisis,” Hamilton wrote in an email to potential supporters. In 2018, he, like most of the IDC members, lost a re-election bid, getting defeated in the primary by current State Sen. Zellnor Myrie, the News said. Myrie dismissed Hamilton’s new run as political retribution.

Developer gets $131.2M loan for DUMBO buildings

CIM Group has finalized a $131.2 million construction loan for Front and York, a 728-unit residential project in DUMBO, according to Multi-Housing News. JPMorgan provided the financing, the publication said. CIM Group partnered with LIVWRK for the Morris Adimi-designed building. The group bought the three-acre site from Jared Kushner’s Kushner Cos. in 2016. The development, located at 85 Jay St., is slated to contain two 21-story high-rises with 408 condo units and 320 rental floor plans.

Borough Park rabbi dies of COVID-19

Rabbi Meir Yisroel Azreylitz, who taught at the Chasan Sofer school in Borough Park for decades, died in April after contacting COVID-19, according to Chabad, the outreach arm of the Lubavitch Hasidic movement. “He believed so much in his students and made learning so delightful for all his students,” said one former student. Azreylitz would encourage all of his students to memorize all 613 commandments, even those that have not been observed since the Temple was destroyed in 70 A.D. In later years, he dedicated more time to his own study, completing the entire Talmud just weeks before he died.

Candidate switches parties, still runs against Clarke

Lutchi Gayot ran on the Republican line against U.S. Rep. Yvette Clarke in 2018, seeking to represent Brooklyn’s 9th Congressional District, according to Gotham Gazette. This year, he is running against Clarke and several others in the Democratic Party primary, which will take place in June. In his website, Gayot says he is a small business owner of Haitian descent who grew up in East Flatbush. His literature stresses his support for a universal basic income, affordable housing and quality health care.

Out-of-control bus causes a path of destruction

Eleven people were injured when a driver lost control of his MTA bus on a busy street in Brooklyn, according to amNewYork. The injured included three people in a BMW that was crossing the intersection of Ralph and East New York avenues, one pedestrian struck by a light pole, three pedestrians struck by debris, and five people on the bus itself. The crash took place at 6:20 p.m. when the bus that was traveling on East New York Avenue went up onto the sidewalk near Ralph Avenue, knocking over three small trees, a street sign and two park cars. It even sent a van careening into a building, amNewYork said.

Duplex in Heights rowhouse rents for $12K a month

A duplex in an early 19th-century Brooklyn Heights Greek Revival house is renting for $12,000 a month, according to Brownstoner. “Unit No. 1” at 164 Hicks St. has original details and modern upgrades and comes fully furnished. The house dates to 1839, Brownstoner said. It was made over in 1946, when new owners Albert and Marion Coleman transformed the interior because they found the mid-Victorian décor depressing. They created four separate apartments with new kitchens, cheery wallpapers and new bookshelves on either side of the fireplaces. They took the parlor-level unit for themselves, built closets into the corners of the bedroom and added a bathroom. The apartment currently for rent is considered a temporary rental.

Photographer depicts life in the era of virus

Brooklyn photographer Francesca Magnani has been spending much of her time documenting how New Yorkers have been coping with the coronavirus, according to Brownstoner. Originally from Padua, she has been living in Brooklyn for more than 15 years, and her work has been featured in a solo show at Photoville and many publications. Now, she posts daily on Instagram. One of her photo series, “On the Stoop,” depicts how people in Cobble Hill and Prospect Heights have been using their stoops during the shutdown.

Kids get virtual tennis lessons

To help with the stress, isolation, lack of exercise and boredom that many kids are facing today, the Kings County Tennis League is providing free virtual classes to more than 100 children living in public housing across Brooklyn, according to BK Reader. Instructors work with students via Zoom for nine one-hour classes every week, where they practice basic tennis skills, discuss their favorite tennis stars and participate in group workouts. Students get pointers on their hand grips, footwork and strokes; and do jumping jacks, stretches and toe touches. The organization normally hosts in-person tennis lessons for kids at the sites, BK Reader said.

New building planned for Myrtle Ave. in Clinton Hill

Permits have been filed for an eight-story mixed-use building at 493 Myrtle Ave. in Clinton Hill. The lot, which is currently vacant, is located between Hall and Ryerson streets and is near the G train’s Clinton-Washington avenues subway station. Alex Guzman is listed as the owner on the applications, and Zambrano Architectural Design is listed as the architect of record, according to New York YIMBY. The building is slated to have 21 units, most likely rentals, as well as 3,077 square feet of commercial space and a rear yard, New York YIMBY said.

Couple ‘gets down’ in Brooklyn subway station

A raunchy couple had sex in a nearly-empty Brooklyn subway station, taking advantage of the fact that there are few people riding the subways, according to the New York Post. The nearly minute-long clip, filmed by an onlooker from across the tracks, shows a man and woman in the throes of passion on the platform of the Flushing Avenue station. “I don’t mind that s—t, that s—t is like Pornhub to me,” the voyeur can be heard saying. “Oh, he came! … I can’t even concentrate with s—t like this!” It was unclear when the video was shot.

Gowanus row house being sold for $2.35M

A mid-19th century row house at 446 Sackett St., on the edge of Gowanus, is being sold for $2.35 million, according to Brownstoner. The house has a living room and a kitchen on the first floor, two bedrooms above, and a rec room and additional bedroom on the garden level. Surviving 19th century features include the original staircase, wide planked floorboards, moldings and an Italianate marble mantel.

Compiled by Raanan Geberer.