Around Brooklyn: Green-Wood to host Zoom discussion

July 14, 2020 Editorial Staff

The apricot blossoms at Brooklyn Botanic Garden were so photogenic. Photo: Lore Croghan/Brooklyn Eagle

Apricot blossoms at Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Photo: Lore Croghan/Brooklyn Eagle

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Green-Wood to host Zoom discussion

The historic Green-Wood Cemetery on Wednesday evening will host a Zoom discussion on a soon-to-be-completed restoration project at its chapel. In particular, the focus will be on the chapel’s 41 stained-glass windows. Restoration work started in 2017, and the results will be unveiled soon, according to Brownstoner. The program, part of a series called “Zooming Into History,” will feature Green-wood historian Jeff Richman and stained-glass consultant Julie Sloan, according to Brownstoner. For more information, visit the Green-Wood Cemetery website.

Council candidates slam S.I. legislator on West Indian Parade

Some 36 City Council candidates are calling on Staten Island Councilmember Joe Borelli to apologize for his statements demanding an end to Brooklyn’s popular West Indian Day Parade. The signers call his statement racist, since each of the city’s parades, not only the famed Eastern Parkway event, requires additional police resources and disrupts local communities. Borelli said that recent cutbacks in the NYPD budget meant that police presence at what he calls a violent parade would now be inadequate. District 40 candidate Josue Pierre suggested that Borelli was trying to punish the Black community because it had asked for substantive changes in the way the police force operates, according to the Brooklyn Paper.

Wonder Wheel owner wants Coney to reopen

Dennis Vourderis, owner of Coney Island’s Wonder Wheel Amusement Park, had hoped for a 100th birthday celebration for the Wonder Wheel itself, which debuted in 1920. However, after the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Vourderis wasn’t able to open the park. Even though Phase Three of reopening has begun, amusement parks are part of plans for Phase Four. Vourderis is hoping for good news from City Hall and Albany. “Why punish us for what Florida, Arizona and Texas have done?” he told the Brooklyn Paper. Rye Playland, another amusement park, has already canceled its summer season.

Well-known Greenpoint diner closes

Jimmy’s Diner at 577 Union Ave. in Greenpoint recently announced it would close for good. “The pandemic is absolutely the reason we closed,” said Blair Papagani, the diner’s owner. Originally, when Gov. Andrew Cuomo closed the city’s restaurants, Papagani assumed the shutdown would only last a few weeks and had no doubt he would open. Later, Jimmy’s partnered with North Brooklyn Angels to prepare meals for health workers at Woodhull Hospital, according to Greenpointers.

In Crown Heights, everything’s Hunky Dory

Hunky Dory, a Crown Heights café and bar that opened about a year ago, has reopened for outdoor dining at 747 Franklin Ave. between Sterling Place and St. John’s Place. There will be no tipping. Owner Claire Sprouse believes that that tipping sustains a pay gap between front-of-house employees, who make tips, and back-of-house employees, who don’t make as much. “I believe that employees should be paid the same amount whether they are handing something over a counter or serving to a table,” Sprouse told New York Eater.

Construction begins at DUMBO building

Construction has begun at 30 Front St., a 26-story mixed-use building in DUMBO. The building, designed by Hill West Architects and developed by Fortis Property Group, will contain 74 apartments. In addition to the apartments, 72,500 square feet will be allocated for community facilities, and the remaining area will be used for a parking lot that is slated to hold more than 400 vehicles. The 22nd and 26th floors will contain full-floor units, and the 24th and 25th floors will hold duplex penthouses, according to New York YIMBY.

Eugene mourns closing of Catholic schools

Councilmember Mathieu Eugene (D-Flatbush, Prospect-Lefferts Gardens) recently mourned the closing of 26 Catholic schools in the city because of loss of revenue resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. “I believe that education is the best tool we can give to our children so that they are prepared to reach their full potential,” he said. He praised the Diocese of Brooklyn in particular for finding slots at other schools for students who had been enrolled at the closed academies.

Malliotakis slams Goya boycott

Assemblymember Nicole Malliotakis (D-Bay Ridge-Staten Island) recently criticized U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for her effort to boycott Goya foods and responded by announcing a Goya canned food drive to benefit local food pantries. Malliotakis called Ocasio-Cortez’s actions “symptomatic of the radical left’s attempts to bully and intimidate those who hold opposing view.” Calls for a boycott of Goya started soon after CEO Robert Unanue praised President Trump at a “Hispanic Prosperity Initiative” at the White House.

Traffic agent nabbed, charged with sexual abuse

An off-duty NYPD traffic agent was arrested in Brooklyn after an investigation uncovered years of alleged sexual abuse. Police said that officers arrested Jeanisidor Jean Baptiste within the confines of the 90th Precinct, which mainly covers Williamsburg and Greenpoint. Police say the investigation revealed that between 2008 and 2012, Baptiste allegedly sexually abused the victim, who is now 17, many times. Baptiste was charged with rape, predatory sexual assault on a child, sexual abuse and other charges, according to amNewYork.

Schumer says fed funds needed to reopen schools

U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer recently said that without federal funds, New York State schools might not be able to reopen safely in the fall. “Everyone wants our schools to reopen, but the federal government must lead the way by funding the safety measures that would open the doors of New York and the nation’s schools in a way that helps ensure the coronavirus does not needlessly spread or infect teachers, kids or staff,” he said. Schumer is one of the sponsors of the Coronavirus Child Care and Education Relief Act, which includes $175 billion for K-12 schools across the country. The aid, he said, would benefit parochial and private as well as public schools.

BP Adams wants new Anti-Crime Unit

Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, who spent two decades as an NYPD officer, called on the department to reinstitute its Anti-Crime Unit in the wake of the recent spike in shootings and gun violence. The Anti-Crime Unit, which worked undercover, was basically charged with getting guns off the streets, but was disbanded last month. Public Advocate Jumaane Williams added that it’s important that community leaders and police work together to stop the violence, adding that law enforcement has a part to play in solving these problems, but that it must be done “with equity and justice,” according to NBC4.

De Blasio visits mother of one-year-old

Mayor Bill de Blasio on Monday visited the grieving mother of a one-year-old boy killed by a stray bullet in Brooklyn and vowed that the city would catch the man responsible. The meeting took place on the same block in Bedford-Stuyvesant where toddler Darvell Gardner was killed late Sunday night. Gardner, who would have been two years old in two months, was shot when at least two gunmen opened fire on a family barbecue outside Raymond Bush Playground. Police Commissioner Dermot Shea visited the mother earlier in the day, but police did not immediately name a suspect or a motive, according to the New York Post.

Brooklyn teen drowns while trying save friend

The body of a missing Brooklyn teenager was found early Monday off the shore of Atlantic City. Police say that 18-year-old Jalan Alston was reported missing on Friday after diving into rough waters. He went into the water to save two friends from drowning during Tropical Storm Fay, according to News 12 Brooklyn.

More vacancies equal lower rents

The coronavirus has made thousands of New York City residents leave the city, resulting in falling rents, according to a new report from Douglas Elliman. Vacancy rates now are at 3.67 percent, compared to 1.61 percent in June 2019. Gary Malin, COO of the Corcoran Group, said there is no doubt that the coronavirus has been a shock to the industry. “The June rental data should not come as a surprise to anyone,” Malin told the New York Times.

Compiled by Raanan Geberer.