Around Brooklyn: Menchaca advises compliance with restrictions

October 13, 2020 Editorial Staff

This scenic spot is the corner of Stratford Road and Turner Place. Photo: Lore Croghan/Brooklyn Eagle

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Menchaca advises compliance with restrictions

City Councilmember Carlos Menchaca (D-Sunset Park-Red Hook) advised constituents to go along with Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s new cluster action initiative to address “hot spots” in Brooklyn, Queens, Orange and Rockland Counties. “We should all be concerned with the uptick in COVID cases, we are possibly facing the second wave. I urge our neighbors to please make sure to wear masks and social distance, they save lives and stop the spread of COVID,” he said.

Café donates proceeds to help ailing restaurant

The Brooklyn Brew Café on 79th Street in Bay Ridge recently donated its proceeds from Oct. 2 and 3 to help the struggling nearby restaurant Schnitzel Haus, according to the Brooklyn Reporter. “The Brooklyn Brew Cafe family would love to thank all of our Bay Ridge neighbors for the strong turnout,” said Marina Madden, co-owner of the cafe. “We would like to encourage others to help their neighbors and be the change they want to see.” “The friendship and love that they have shown us is truly indescribable because it comes from the heart,” said Alfred Urban, owner of Schnitzel Haus. “The generosity of the community is overwhelming.”

COVID cases in Brooklyn red zones decline

The number of COVID-19 cases across the state’s designated red zones are fluctuating, according to Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Saturday. People living in the red zones live under heavy restrictions, including a ban on mass gatherings and a ban on both public and private schools. In the red zone in southern Brooklyn, the percentage of people testing positive went from 6.69 percent during the week of Sept. 27 to 5.71 percent on the week of Oct. 4. In the red zones in Queens, however, the number of cases increased by about a half of a percent. In New York State in general, the number of new COVID-19 cases appears to remain just above or below 1 percent, a very low figure, according to Gothamist.

Brooklyn man arrested for forcible touching

A Brooklyn man has been arrested and charged with several forcible touching incidents in Brooklyn and Manhattan. Maurice Claybrooks, 28, was arrested on Oct. 8 and charged with forcible touching and sex abuse. The first incident happened on Sept. 4, when a 33-year-old woman at the Atlantic Avenue subway station was grabbed on the buttocks as she bent down to attend to her child. Later that same day, Claybrooks allegedly approached a woman in the mezzanine of the Delancey Street-Essex Street station and grabbed her rear end before running away. On Sept. 24, he allegedly approached a woman from behind on the R train and slapped her buttocks. On Oct. 4, he allegedly grabbed a woman on the DeKalb Avenue subway platform. Finally, he is accused of doing the same the next day at Times Square, according to amNewYork.

Adams urges organ donations

Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams recently joined LiveOnNY staff, donor families and organ recipients to recognize the sixth annual Organ Donor Enrollment Day and urge New Yorkers to give the gift of life and sign up to become a registered organ donor. There are approximately 113,000 Americans — nearly 10,000 of whom live in New York — currently waiting for a life-saving transplant. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City earlier this year, organ donations dropped markedly, making organ donor enrollment more urgent than ever.

Four story building planned for Red Hook

Permits have been filed for a four-story mixed-use building at 348 Van Brunt St. in Red Hook. The site, located between King and Sullivan streets, is currently a vacant lot. The development is slated to include five residential units, most likely rentals, and commercial space on the ground floor. Lee Cohen is listed as the owner, and Daniel Bernstein of Kutnicki Bernstein Architect is listed as the architect of record, according to New York YIMBY.

Hasidim celebrate holiday under the radar

On Saturday evening, which was the night of Simchat Torah, only a small number of the hundreds of Hasidic and ultra-Orthodox Jews seen on the streets of Brooklyn neighborhoods wore masks, according to the Times of Israel. However, they did make an accommodation to the times. Usually on Simchat Torah, worshippers dance in the streets for hours, holding the Torah. But this year, because the new restrictions include a ban on outdoor gatherings, most remained inside in their synagogues, out of sight of the few police vehicles seen circling their neighborhoods, according to the Times of Israel.

Four-story building planned for Bushwick

Permits have been filed for a four-story residential building at 32 Schaefer St. in Bushwick. The site, located between Broadway and Bushwick Avenue, is currently a vacant lot and is three blocks west of the J and Z trains’ Chauncey Street station. The development is slated to have eight residences, most likely rentals, as well as a rear yard. Maurice Nassiri is listed as the owner, and Raymond Nelson of Earthwise Architecture is listed as the architect of record, according to New York YIMBY.

Navy Yard building becomes company’s HQ

MN DPC design studio is converting a former shipbuilding factory in the Brooklyn Navy Yard into the headquarters of Crye Precision, a firm that specializes in apparel for the military and medical professions. MN DPC’s design seeks to preserve the old factory’s huge steel structure and make sure that any new elements fit in with it. “More than reverence, new architectural elements build upon the logic of the existing, echoing the materiality, detailing, rhythm and spirit of the original. Great efforts were made to blur the line between old and new,” a spokesperson for MN DPC told Dezeen, a design website.

Four Brooklyn pizzerias in top NYC 12

Four slices from Brooklyn pizzerias were recently named as being part of the Top 12 Neighborhood Pizza Slices in New York City by New York Eater. The four were Espresso Pizzeria in Bay Ridge, King’s Pizza in Midwood, Rogelio’s Pizza in Bushwick and Danny’s Pizza in East Williamsburg. At Danny’s, food critic Robert Sietsma praised the ziti slice, and at Rogelio’s, he preferred the plain slice. Four Manhattan pizzerias were also represented, as were two in the Bronx, one in Queens and one in Staten Island.

Cuomo blames Trump for inciting ultra-Orthodox

Gov. Andrew Cuomo says a robocall targeting Orthodox Jews from an organizer who claims to have been in touch with the Trump campaign has been urging listeners to bring signs Cuomo to demonstrations. “Come to 13^th Avenue and hold big signs, ‘Cuomo killed thousands,’ as many as possible, as big as possible,” the call says. “The Trump campaign is urging us to hold as many and as big signs as possible.” Cuomo also pointed to a tweet appearing to be from Heshy Tischler, who has been leading the often-violent protests, asking for someone to print “Cuomo hates Jews” and “Cuomo killed thousands” on flags, according to Patch.

Compiled by Raanan Geberer.