Around Brooklyn: Greenpoint woman makes masks for hard of hearing

June 2, 2020 Editorial Staff

Some of the Center Slope’s classic apartment buildings have names. This one at 203 Seventh Ave. is the Annandale. Photo: Lore Croghan/Brooklyn Eagle

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Greenpoint woman makes masks for hard of hearing

A Greenpoint woman has started making transparent face masks to help the hard of hearing who rely on reading lips. “Somebody who can’t hear well, a big part of life is reading lips,” said Stephanie Samperi-Gonzalez. She was inspired by her brother-in-law, who wears a hearing aid and used lip-reading his entire life. Samperi-Gonzalez and her husband have been producing personal protective equipment out of their home since March. They then donate the clear masks to Maimonides Hospital, according to amNewYork.

Citi Bike plans to add thousands of e-bikes

As New York City gears up for reopening, Citi Bike is preparing by increasing its fleet of pedal-assisted electric-powered bikes. Last year, the 1,000-E-bike fleet was recalled after a braking issue sent some riders flying from their bikes. Citi Bike this year reintroduced the E-bikes after upgrades. In addition, the overall system is undergoing an expansion to double its coverage area. Last month, it added stations in Harlem and the Bronx, according to Gothamist.

Grim times ahead seen for city parks

New Yorkers have flocked to parks during the coronavirus pandemic. However, the city’s parks are now facing financial hardship. To make up shortfalls in the city’s budget, the largest and most-used parks traditionally rely on organizations such as the Prospect Park Alliance and the Central Park Conservancy, which raise funds to augment money in the parks budget. However, a new report says that these organizations are expected to lose an average of 32 percent of their revenue next year. Sue Donoghue, president of the Prospect Park Alliance, said that her group depends not only on donations but on earned income from renting a tennis center, the LeFrak Center at Lakeside and other spaces for events. Now, those spaces are closed, according to Curbed.

Windsor Terrace row house on sale for $2.25M

An early 20th century brick row house at 25 Howard Place in Windsor Terrace is on sale for $2.25 million. The house was built in 1909 by William M. Calder, who developed many homes in the area, and features parquet floors with inlay, stained glass windows, wood door and window trim and an original staircase. On the second floor, the master bedroom is in front, and the other two bedrooms are in the rear. The house has one full bathroom and two half-bathrooms. The rear yard has a stone patio and elevated planters, according to Brownstoner.

Flames rip through Flatbush seniors’ home

A massive fire ripped through a home at 638 E. 40th St. in Flatbush, sending the elderly residents running from the smoke and flames. The fire broke out at 11:45 a.m. on Friday, and when police arrived to flames consuming the house. About 75 firefighters battled the blaze, which was under control in about 45 minutes. The house sustained heavy damage, according to amNewYork.

Apartment building plans spark concern for historic home

A developer is seeking to build a new apartment building on the grounds of the former Brooklyn Methodist Episcopal Home for the Aged and Inform on New York Avenue in Crown Heights. The historic building, constructed in 1899, is now the Hebron Seventh Day Adventist School. The home was part of the same charitable impulse on the part of the Methodist Episcopal Church that also built what is now New York Presbyterian Methodist Hospital. Each resident had their own room; married couples had two rooms. After the United Methodist Church decided to build a new home nearby, the old building was sold in the 1970s to the Seventh-Day Adventists. The new apartment building would block the view of the historic home from the street and would take up half the green space, according to Just Place.

Heights tenants sue landlord, an NHL team owner

Vincent Viola, the owner of the Florida Panthers and President Trump’s one-time nominee for Secretary of the Army broke New York’s rent stabilization laws at his Brooklyn Heights apartment building, a lawsuit charges. Viola bought the 12-story building at 2 Pierrepont St. from Brooklyn Law School in 2015 for $35 million. Now, tenants are suing Viola’s ownership entity, 2 Pierrepont Street LLC, saying it provided them with free-market leases instead of rent-stabilized leases when they moved in. The complaint charges that the tenants are paying “far in excess of the legal rent,” according to The Real Deal.

Local TV reporter attacked in Flatbush

Local TV and radio reporter Darius Radzius, who works for 1010 WINS and News 12, was attacked and injured on Saturday night while covering protests in Flatbush. Radzius said he was outside a liquor store that was being looted when someone yelled, “Snitch!” and threw an object at his head. He was treated by a protester whom he believes is a nurse, according to ABC7.

Brooklyn Diocese youth rally held online

The annual Brooklyn Diocese Youth Day, normally a rally featuring prayers, inspirational talks and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, this year took place online on May 30. The theme of the virtual rally was “Proclaim His Greatness and Find Your Treasure.” There were prayers, music, short speeches, friendly greetings from youth recipes and the sharing of recipes that highlight the diversity of Brooklyn and Queens. Father James Kuroly, president of Cathedral Preparatory High School, led the prayers, according to the Brooklyn Tablet.

De Blasio visits sites of Brooklyn protests

Mayor Bill de Blasio on Sunday night visited parts of Brooklyn that were the sites of protests over George Floyd’s death. He walked around Flatbush and Bedford-Stuyvesant, listening to the concerns of community leaders. “Hearing from them and community about priorities like police accountability and increasing access to food and relief,” he tweeted. “We have a lot of work to do,” the New York Post quoted him as saying.

Compiled by Raanan Geberer.