Around Brooklyn: B’klyn Macy’s gets $66M loan

August 5, 2020 Editorial Staff

A big sky is seen over the Waterfront Museum, AKA Lehigh Valley Barge No. 79, in Red Hook. Photo: Lore Croghan/Brooklyn Eagle

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B’klyn Macy’s gets $66M loan

Macy’s Inc. has received a $66.1 million loan for its Brooklyn store. The store, at 422 Fulton St., is within a mile of Barclays Center, the courts and the Brooklyn Navy Yard. The building was originally owned by Abraham & Straus, but was acquired by Macy’s during the 1990s. Its upper floors are leased to Whittle School and Studios, which is slated to open for the 2020-21 school year, according to Commercial Property Executive.

Many Brooklynites lose power in hurricane

More than 17,000 Brooklynites were without power on Tuesday afternoon as Hurricane Isaias descended on the city. As of 3 p.m., 17,071 customers of the borough were without power. Most of the outages were in Eastern Brooklyn, including more than 6,000 customers who lost power in East Flatbush and Canarsie. An additional 1,000 or so were without power near Sheepshead Bay, according to Patch.

Rose seeks to curb Homeland Security

U.S. Rep. Max Rose (D-Southern Brooklyn-Staten Island) is introducing legislation to restore checks on the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Intelligence and Analysis. “It was no accident that the Department of Homeland Security published intelligence reports on journalists,” he said. Rose’s legislation would require DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis reports to be vetted by the Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties to ensure they don’t violate constitutional and other legal protections. This was the case in the past, but DHS senior leadership eliminated the requirement.

W’burg building collapses, no injuries reported

A three-story building at 204 Bedford Ave. in Williamsburg collapsed on Tuesday afternoon. Luckily, the building was vacant at the time and no injuries were immediately reported. Police and firefighters came to the scene and cleared away loose debris at around 2 p.m. They also evacuated the adjacent building at 208 Bedford Ave., according to the Brooklyn Paper.

Southern B’klyn leaders donate pizzas to NYPD

Southern Brooklyn civic leaders and politicians ordered 80 pizzas last month for local police precincts to show thanks to the NYPD. Assemblymember Steven Cymbrowitz, who represents Sheepshead Bay, said, “We’re very fortunate to have strong relationships with our local police, and these pizzas are a small token of our appreciation.” The Shorefront Partnership Alliance hosted separate parties for officers from the 60th and 61st Precincts, who patrol an area stretching from Sea Gate to Sheepshead Bay, according to the Brooklyn Paper.

Police release video of July 4 shooting

Police on Sunday released a surveillance video of a July 4 shooting in East New York, in an attempt to crack the case. The video begins with the 21-year-old victim talking with a friend of his on Sheffield Avenue near Hegeman Avenue around 3 a.m. A gunman walks up behind the man, pulls out a pistol and opens fire. The victim was struck twice but survived the attack, police said. The perp is about 22 years old and was seen wearing a light-colored long-sleeved shirt, light colored pants and a fishing hat, according to the New York Post.

Soapbox Gallery continues to present music

Concerts may have stopped in most places, but an art gallery known as Soapbox Gallery on Dean Street continues to stream live music six days a week. Soapbox Gallery was founded and is still headed by Jimmy Greenfield, a sculptor and arts entrepreneur who came to Brooklyn from SoHo in the 1980s. Greenfield has been presenting music shows since 2014. Eventually, he moved his sculpture studio to another location and converted Soapbox into a full-time performance space. “The idea was to create an intimate space, a sanctuary that was almost like a mini concert hall,” he said, according to NYS Music.

Luxury tower in Cultural District now renting

The Ashland, a residential tower designed for middle-income tenants, is now renting. It’s located at 250 Ashland Place in the Fort Greene Cultural District, within blocks of Fort Greene Park, several subway lines, restaurants, stores, historic brownstones and more. The 53-story tower has 586 units, which represent a mix of market-rate, middle-income and low-income residences, according to Bklyner.

Home sales have biggest drop in a decade

Brooklyn home sales fell last quarter at the biggest rate in 10 years because of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, during the same time period, the median Brooklyn home price increased to a record $820,000, a Douglas Elliman market report said. During the shutdown, many would-be sellers pulled their listings or delayed putting their properties up for sale. However, Jonathan Miller of Miller Samuel, who co-wrote the report, cautioned against seeing the figures as a template of what’s to come, pointing to the extreme nature of the shutdown, according to The Real Deal.

Woman punches 6-year-old

Cops are searching for a woman who randomly punched a 6-year-old boy in the head in Williamsburg last week. The young boy was walking with his mother at Walgreens on Flushing Avenue and Broadway on Wednesday, July 29, when the woman approached him and punched him in the back of the head before walking off. The child refused medical attention at the scene. Police say the attacker was last seen wearing a multicolored fitted dress and multicolored sneakers and was carrying a pink purse, according to 4NBC.

Eight-story building planned for East Flatbush

Permits have been filed for an eight-story building at 406 Remsen Ave. in East Flatbush. The site, currently occupied by a used car lot, is between East 58th Street and Lenox Road. Amit Tank of Sammon Associates is listed as the developer, and Asher Hershkowitz Architect is listed as the architect of record. The building is slated to have 95 apartments, most likely rentals, as well as a rear yard, community facility space and 34 enclosed parking spaces, according to New York YIMBY.

Woman critically injured by tree branch

A woman in Brooklyn was critically injured when a tree branch fell and struck her in the midst of Hurricane Isaias on Tuesday. She was rushed from Dumont Avenue in Brownsville to a local hospital for treatment. Also on Tuesday, a 60-year-old man was killed when a tree fell on a parked car in Briarwood, Queens. The man, Mario Siles, was in the passenger seat when the tree fell, according to PIX11.

Compiled by Raanan Geberer.