Around Brooklyn: Cyclists push for more bike lanes on bridges

September 11, 2020 Editorial Staff

Hello Kitties: Winged lions form the base of a lamppost at Montague Street’s Chase Bank branch. Photo: Lore Croghan/Brooklyn Eagle

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Cyclists push for more bike lanes on bridges

Bicycle advocates rallied last week to demand more bike lanes on the Brooklyn, Manhattan, Williamsburg and Queensboro bridges. “As people continue to venture out more in a safe and socially-distanced way, we need to provide more protected space for them to do so,” said Katherine Willis, an organizer for Transportation Alternatives’ new campaign Bridges4People. Bicycle trips on these four spans have increased more than 22 percent this August over August 2019. The activist want to remove two car lanes on the Brooklyn, Manhattan and Williamsburg bridges, according to the Brooklyn Paper.

Eugene to give out free food

Councilmember Mathieu Eugene (D-Crown Heights-East Flatbush-Flatbush, Kensington) is partnering with local organizations to provide free food and masks to residents facing food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic. “I want to commend and thank the community organizations that have partnered with me to provide these resources to those in need,” said Eugene. “We have held several food and mask distributions, providing large sections of the community with food that will help them feed their families.”

Amazon Music signs new lease in Williamsburg

Amazon Music recently signed a lease for 40,000 square feet at Rubenstein Partners’ and Heritage Equity Partners’ 25 Kent Ave. in Williamsburg. Amazon Music, a streaming service founded four years ago to compete with companies such as Spotify, seeks to use the space as a studio or production office. Amazon recently said it was moving Twitch, a streaming service used by video gamers, into Amazon Music as a way for artists to host live virtual performances, according to Business Insider.

LIU names TV host as institute chair

Rita Cosby, the renowned Emmy-winning TV host, correspondent and best-selling author, who is also a native Brooklynite, has been named by Long Island University as the chair of its Global Service Institute. Cosby will inspire a commitment toward volunteerism among students through conferences, internships, scholarships and fellowships. Dr. Kimberly R. Cline, President of Long Island University, said, “With her global experience exploring critical headlines and lifelong dedication to service, Rita Cosby is an exemplary leader who will elevate the Institute to even higher levels.”

Rep. Rose hails return of indoor dining

U.S. Rep. Max Rose (D-Southern Brooklyn-Staten Island) and several Staten Island officials recently hailed Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s announcement that indoor dining will be allowed in New York City in a reduced capacity. “We appreciate Governor Cuomo hearing our calls and working with us to bring back New York City indoor dining,” they said. “Restaurants have been holding on for dear life and need to know there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. But this is just one step in a long journey. We need to make sure they get the support and guidance they need to safely reopen.”

State to begin ‘lost wages’ payments

The New York State Department of Labor on Thursday announced that payments for the Lost Wages Assistance program, which provides an additional $300 in weekly wages to unemployed New Yorkers, will begin this week. Up to 2.4 million New Yorkers are eligible for the program, including 435,000 who must submit an additional certification to qualify. During the pandemic emergency, New York State has paid $43.7 billion in unemployment benefits to 3.5 million New Yorkers, representing more than 20 typical years’ worth of benefits paid in just six months.

Child care program to begin at Flatbush YMCA

AT&T and subsidiary WarnerMedia recently announced a $500,000 donation to the YMCA of Greater New York to help create an in-person child care program for families in high-need areas of New York City. In Brooklyn, the program will be offered at the Flatbush YMCA. With schools set to reopen part-time, many parents who do not have the option of working from home will be left without affordable child care options for days when their children learn from home. The funding will allow the YMCA to support and supervise students during school day remote learning from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., as well as to provide some in-person project-based learning and physical games and activities.

Cinch Market combines online sales, small businesses

A new online shopping site will be linked to Brooklyn small businesses. Cinch Market, which bills itself as an “everything store,” aims to provide Brooklyn residents with a single source for their buying needs. Independent store owners like the site because it provides them with another sales outlet. The site also now has a special “Back to School” section that was curated by and for local kids and parents. “It’s the first time we’re really using this hybrid model to show others what it can look like when you have a team of businesses that work with the community, and respond to what they need,” Maya Komerov, head of Cinch Market, told the Brooklyn Paper.

Two-bedroom apt. asking $875K in Prospect Heights

A two-bedroom co-op apartment at 125 Eastern Parkway, located across from the Brooklyn Museum, is selling for $875,000. The apartment has a long foyer leading to a living room with an arched doorway. A separate kitchen has a dishwasher and small eat-in area. The two bedrooms are spacious, and the building comes with a common laundry room and landscaped courtyard, according to Curbed.

Remember the Alamo, Brooklyn style

The still-furloughed employees at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Downtown Brooklyn are petitioning the company for increased pandemic protections, hazard pay and health insurance benefits for all workers. More than 100 employees, about half of the staffers who worked at the theater before it closed in March, signed the petition. In response, the executives of Alamo Drafthouse invited the workers to a conference call on Sept. 10 to discuss the matter, according to IndieWire.

Riders Alliance comments on subway delays

Last Thursday saw a series of delays on the 4, 5, 6, A, B, D, M and Q subway lines. Commenting on the delays, Danny Pearlstein, communications director for the Riders Alliance, said, “As New York reopens, nurses, teachers, students and other riders need reliable train service more than ever. To sustain our recovery, New Yorkers need Congress and the White House to rescue the transit system at the heart of the nation’s financial and cultural capital.”

MTA bus struck by bullet

An MTA bus was struck by a bullet on Thursday afternoon in Crown Heights, police said. The B25 bus was hit by gunfire just before 5:30 p.m. near the corner of Atlantic and New York avenues. None of the six passengers were injured. Police are searching the area for a gray Jeep Wrangler, which they believe was the gunman’s vehicle, according to the New York Post.

Survey asks parents about school rezoning

A new survey is asking parents to give their opinions about a plan to redraw zones for seven Brooklyn elementary schools in District 15, which encompasses Red Hook, Gowanus, Cobble Hill, Boerum Hill and Carroll Gardens. “The survey is a tool that will allow us to hear from a broad range of community members,” the organizers wrote. The rezoning would affect seven schools — P.S. 676, P.S. 15, P.S. 32, P.S. 58, P.S. 29, P.S. 38 and P.S. 261. The survey will ask families a series of questions based on equity and their goals for choosing a school, according to Patch.

Brooklyn man dies after Queensbridge shooting

A 23-year-old man from Brooklyn died Tuesday after being shot inside of a building in the Queensbridge Houses in Long Island City, Queens. Around 9:25 p.m. that day, police received a call about a man shot inside a public housing building at 40-23 Vernon Blvd. Officers arrived to find Dahmel Miller on the floor of a hallway, unconscious and with gunshot wounds to his stomach and buttocks. He was taken to Cornell Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to Qns.com.

Compiled by Raanan Geberer.