Around Brooklyn: Vegan restaurant donates free meals

June 15, 2020 Editorial Staff

These painted window bays can be found on Sixth Avenue between 6th and 7th streets. Photo: Lore Croghan/Brooklyn Eagle

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Vegan restaurant donates free meals

The Bushwick-based vegan restaurant Sol Sips, like most restaurants, has been operating at limited capacity. However, owner Francesca Chaney was inspired by the Black Lives Matter protests to start a program to deliver vegan meals to those in need. “For a lot of Black people, having a brick-and-mortar [store] itself is a huge thing; the history of distribution of wealth and financial literacy can make getting funding and loans difficult,” she told BK Reader “For me, [nutritious meals] will always be plant-based because I believe in the healing power of plants.”

School professionals skeptical on summer special ed

An executive order signed on June 5 by Gov. Andrew Cuomo authorizes special education services statewide to resume for the summer term starting the first week of July. However, service providers say that business as usual is a long way off. “Right now, I don’t think it’s going to make any difference to us in the near future,” said Joe Riley, CEO of the Guild for Exceptional Children. Riley said it’s unlikely these services will be operating in person this summer because of caution and transportation concerns, according to the Brooklyn Paper.

De Blasio announces program for restaurant workers

Many workers at small restaurants in New York City were struggling economically even before the coronavirus, and the COVID-19 nightmare only intensified their problems. For this reason, Mayor Bill de Blasio on Thursday announced a $3 million program to support unemployed and underemployed restaurant workers. “Small businesses across the board, and these mom-and pop restaurants in particular, were dealing with rising rents, they were dealing with so many challenges,” said de Blasio, according to NBC New York.

Two big RE brokerages to merge

Two of the biggest New York City real estate brokerages, both of which have a Brooklyn presence, are set to merge. They are Halstead and Brown Harris Stevens, and they will merge under the BHS banner. The combined firm will have 2,500 agents. Residential real estate firms are restructuring because of losses due to the coronavirus epidemic. “It’s no secret that the real estate industry has changed, especially with all of the aggregators and iBuyers now competing for business,” Terra COO Alan Kersner told The Real Deal.

Nitehawk may have to wait to fly

On March 15, when there were only five confirmed coronavirus deaths in New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio told movie theaters they had only two days to close. Nitehawk founder Matthew Viragh already had furloughed most of the staff at his Williamsburg and Park Slope theaters. Viragh said that movie houses are really two businesses, a theater and a restaurant. Because of the challenge of operating a restaurant within the theater, Viragh said Nitehawk may not open until next year, and he doesn’t expect business to get back to pre-coronavirus levels for at least 18 months, according to Gothamist.

De Blasio says cops should stay in schools

Mayor Bill de Blasio said Wednesday that he continues to support Police Department control of school security and would oppose transferring that responsibility to the Education Department. “School safety as it’s currently configured has done a lot to reduce crime and violence in our schools,” the mayor told reporters. He added that there is still a “huge safety challenge in our schools.” The Education Department, then known as the Board of Education, oversaw school security until Mayor Rudy Giuliani changed things around in the 1990s, according to Chalkbeat.

Brooklyn gets ‘Black Lives Matter’ street

Brooklyn now has a giant Black Lives Matter street similar to the one in Washington, D.C. Artists, elected officials and others joined in painting the words along Fulton Street in Bedford-Stuyvesant on Saturday. State Attorney General Letitia James tweeted a photo of herself with a paint roller in hand. She was standing next to the Rev. Al Sharpton, who posted a photo of himself with Spike Lee on Twitter, according to the New York Post.

Forbes lavishly praises Brooklyn Bridge Park

The Eagle has been covering Brooklyn Bridge Park since its birth, and Forbes, the well-known financial publication and website, has now decided to feature the park online. It describes Brooklyn Bridge Park as, “a Mecca for groups of all types: Blacks, Whites, Hispanics, Asians, Hasidic Jews, Muslims, hipsters, yuppies, seniors, young couples with babies, ex-pats and visitors to New York.” Indeed, the writer thinks that, “it’s the most extraordinary urban walk on the planet.” The article focuses on the park’s exceptional views, landscaping, walking paths and sports activities.

Six-story building to rise in Flatbush

Renderings have been unveiled of a six-story residential building at 2484 Bedford Ave. in Flatbush. The 25-unit property, to be constructed on the current site of a used car lot, shows a building with floor-to-ceiling windows, balconies and a white-panel exterior, with black panels on the ground floor. There will also be an enclosed parking garage that will hold 13 cars. S. Wieder Architects is the architect of record, according to New York YIMBY.

A different use for masks, gloves

Cops are seeking looters who grabbed $25,000 in merchandise from Foot Locker at 767 Broadway in Bushwick on June 2. The thieves, who were dressed in dark clothing and wore masks and gloves, smashed the front door of the store around 11:30 p.m., took what they could and then escaped through the front door. The store had been closed because of the coronavirus epidemic, according to the New York Post.

Ten-story building planned in Park Slope

Permits have been filed for a 10-story mixed-use buildings at 65 Fourth Ave. in Park Slope. The site, currently occupied by a four-story 19th century building, is located between Bergen Street and St. Marks Place and is two blocks south of the Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center subway station served by eight subway lines and the Long Island Rail Road. Yisroel Greenfeld is listed as the owner behind the applications, and Mohamed Mabrouk of MHM Engineering PC is listed as the architect of record, according to New York YIMBY.

Goodwill renews Downtown Brooklyn lease

Goodwill has renewed its lease for its popular workforce development operation at 25 Elm St. in Downtown Brooklyn. The location is across the street from Goodwill’s flagship store at 258 Livingston St. In the workforce development hub, Goodwill serves almost 1,000 people a day. Katy Gaul-Stigge, president and CEO of Goodwill Industries, told the New York Post, “With this lease, we signal our commitment to launch new and innovative programs for Brooklyn residents and to continuing to provide vital training and employment services.”

Brooklyn businesses damaged by fire

Two stores in Brooklyn were damaged by fires early Sunday morning. The first began around 5:20 a.m. at the Dallas Stella clothing store at 285 North Sixth St., Williamsburg. Some 285 firefighters responded to the blaze, and the business suffered heavy damage. The second fire took place starting around 7 a.m. at Sun Glass, a glass repair shop at 1008 Flushing Ave., Bushwick. The roof of the building was badly damaged, according to the New York Post.

Compiled by Raanan Geberer.