Around Brooklyn: Outdoor-only eatery opens in Williamsburg

August 10, 2020 Editorial Staff

Pretty painted houses on Verandah Place are so romantic. Photo: Lore Croghan/Brooklyn Eagle

Painted houses on Verandah Place. Photo: Lore Croghan/Brooklyn Eagle

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Outdoor-only eatery opens in Williamsburg

Strangeways, a new outdoor-only restaurant located at 302 Metropolitan Ave. in Williamsburg, opened on Friday. The restaurant is run by chef Ken Addington and restaurateur Jamie Webb. “We are very fortunate to have a restaurant with a 1,500-square-foot outdoor space,” said Addington. “We worked with a landscaping company to install lush plants and flowering trees that act as natural partitions between dining tables and service areas,” he told Greenpointers.

Students who don’t wear masks to be sent home

Students who won’t comply with NYC schools’ mask-wearing requirements will be sent home and barred from in-person learning, schools Chancellor Richard Carranza told parent leaders last week. “If you don’t cooperate, you have now elected for remote learning 100 percent until you are willing to follow the safety protocols,” he said. The schools chief said exceptions will be made for students who are unable to wear masks for health reasons or “younger children who aren’t developmentally able,” according to Chalkbeat.

B’klyn Library adds more “grab-and-go” branches

The Brooklyn Public Library has opened 10 more branches for grab-and-go services. Book lovers will now be able to pick up and drop off books, DVDs, CDs and other materials at 17 out of 59 library locations. The new open locations are libraries in Canarsie, Clarendon, Coney Island, Cortelyou, Fort Hamilton, Macon, Park Slope, Stone Avenue and Williamsburg, according to the Brooklyn Paper. When the books are brought back, staffers will “quarantine” them for 96 hours before returning them to the stacks.

Parolee arrested for fatal shooting

A 24-year-old parolee was arrested Thursday in connection to a fatal shooting in Brooklyn that occurred two months ago. Marcus Worrell was charged with murder, assault and criminal possession of a weapon in connection to the shooting of Evan Hillman on June 5 in East New York. Worrell had been let out of state prison on Jan. 9 after serving about a year on a third-degree robbery conviction. He also served two years in prison for first-degree assault before being released in July 2017, according to the New York Post.

Missing 2-year-old girl found

Police said a toddler who was reported missing last Friday has been found. The 2-year-old girl was reunited with her family after she went missing in Fort Greene. The circumstances of her disappearance were not immediately disclosed, according to WABC.

Foundation helps homeless kids

On Saturday, the Precious Dreams Foundation assembled and dropped off 400 “comfort bags” to homeless children and adolescents throughout Brooklyn. The bags were stuffed brand new items like pajamas, plush towns, blankets, stress balls, eye masks, books and journals. The foundation gives comfort items to children in foster care and homeless shelters. Precious Dreams executive director Nicole Russell said, “we don’t give any used items, we want them to attach to something they know was bought just for them,” according to BK Reader.

Man shot outside Weeksville church

A 36-year-old man is in stable condition after being shot twice outside a church in Weeksville. Police said the shooting took place around 4 a.m. on Aug. 8 near St. Stephen’s Church of Christ at 219 Buffalo Ave. Police sources said someone opened fire, striking the victim twice in the chest before getting away. After receiving a 911 call, paramedics rushed him to Brookdale University Hospital, according to amNewYork.

Armed robber targets taxi drivers

An armed man has stolen money from seven different taxicab drivers during the past week, police said. The NYPD released video on Thursday of a masked man who robbed drivers at gunpoint. None of the drivers have been injured, and the man has fled on foot each time, according to Patch. All robberies happened late at night, and the seven locations are Avenue K and East 54th Street, in front of 1006 E. 59th St., in front of 2951 W. 33rd St., in front of 582 Jerome St., in front of 660 Linwood St., in front of 601 Bristol St. and in front of 230 Osborn St.

Gowanus venue presents backyard events

Gowanus-based concert venue Parklife is now hosting social distanced music concerts, movie screening and comedy sets in its 4,000-square-foot backyard. Films are screened on Wednesday nights at 8:30 p.m. Brooklyn concert hall Littlefield books the artists. Guests must be sitting in their reserved seats for all performances and movies, and can’t move up if seats further in the front open, according to Time Out New York. The outdoor programming will last until the end of September.

Tree crashes through window, is removed

On Tuesday, in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Isaias, a tree crashed through the Johnson family’s home on South Portland Avenue in Fort Greene. On Friday, crews sent by the city came to the family’s home to remove the branches and debris. The family was concerned that another rainstorm could do even more damage to the broken window, according to NY1 News.

Nine-story b’ldg planned for Boerum Hill

Permits have been filed for a nine-story mixed-use building at 82 Fourth Ave. in Boerum Hill. The site, currently occupied by a five-story older building, is between St. Marks and Bergen streets and is two blocks south of the Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center subway hub, which is serviced by eight lines. The building is slated to have 29 apartments, most likely rentals, as well as 359 square feet of community facility space and a rear yard, according to New York YIMBY. Abraham Posner is listed as the developer.

Man pulls out gun, demanding cigarettes

A man pulled out a gun at a deli in East Flatbush last week as he demanded a pack of cigarettes. Video released by the NYPD shows the suspect placing a gun on the counter, and police said the man raised the gun toward the store clerk at one point. After the clerk handed over a pack of cigarettes, the man fled. The incident happened at Minchiez Deli on Lenox Road, according to 1010 WINS. The video shows a Black man with glasses and braids, wearing a black T-shirt and a cross.

Bystander killed at handball court

A 53-year-old man was killed by a stray bullet at a handball court in Crown Heights on Sunday. The man was found shot to the head at Lincoln Terrace Park off Eastern Parkway in Crown Heights around 5:45 p.m., police said. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Police believe the man was caught in the crossfire of two gangs that were shooting at each other, according to the New York Post.

Developers consider pandemic market

Brooklyn and Queens developers and real estate brokers said during an online forum that that the real estate markets in these two boroughs will rebound despite the pandemic. Kathe Chase, the director of Industry City, said that the industrial-office-retail complex in Sunset Park has seen weekend foot traffic return to 50 percent of pre-COVID levels. Johanna Greenbaum, the chief development officer of the Brooklyn Navy Yard, said that more tenants were returning to the yard. Regina Myer, head of the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, said that foot traffic Downtown is at a 50 percent decrease, as opposed to some areas in Manhattan where decrease is as high as 80 percent. The forum was sponsored by the Commercial Observer.

Sisters United hosts anti-gun violence march

A group known as Sisters United Against Gun Violence marched from Downtown Brooklyn to Bedford-Stuyvesant on Saturday. Many of those who marched have lost children to gun violence. Attorney General Letitia James and City Council President Laurie Cumbo also joined the marchers, according to PIX11.

Compiled by Raanan Geberer.