Around Brooklyn: De Blasio stands in line to vote in Park Slope

October 28, 2020 Editorial Staff

The Brooklyn Public Library’s Bushwick Branch opened in 1908. Photo: Lore Croghan/Brooklyn Eagle

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De Blasio stands in line to vote in Park Slope

Mayor Bill de Blasio waited for quite a while to cast his ballot at an early voting site in Park Slope. When he arrived at the Park Slope YMCA at 15th Street and Seventh Avenue, hecklers told him to get to the end of the line, which wrapped around the block. “Everyone else is waiting and they do it because they care and want to make their voices heard. I admire everyone in this line and I’m gonna join them,” the mayor said, according to NY1 News.

Studio 54 exhibit at Brooklyn Museum to close

“Studio 54: Night Magic,” an exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum that explores the famed, glitzy and gender-bending nightclub in Midtown Manhattan, is closing on Nov. 8. Although it was only open from 1977 to 1980, Studio 54 was one of the most influential nightclubs to emerge in the 20th century. The club coincided with the disco era, and most of the music played at the exclusive club, where you had to get past the gatekeepers, was disco music. The exhibition presents more than 650 objects ranging from fashion, photography, drawings and film to stage sets and music. In its final week, the exhibition will be open until 10 p.m. on Nov. 6, 7 and 8.

Judge: Brooklyn Dems violated law

Brooklyn State Supreme Court Justice Edgar Walker ruled on Tuesday against the Kings County Democratic Party Committee for not having held an organizational meeting, and ordered it to do so within 45 days. In these meetings, party officials elect officers, adopt rules, fill vacancies and conduct other business. The borough Democratic Committee, citing the coronavirus pandemic, did not hold a meeting this year, in person, virtual or otherwise. The plaintiffs, who are party committee members who belong to the New Kings Democrats, said failure to hold a virtual meeting disenfranchised members, according to the New York Post.

Cornegy, Adams seek changes to early voting

City Councilmember Robert Cornegy (D-Bedford-Stuyvesant-Crown Heights) and Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams have called for modifications in early voting protocols after huge turnouts of New Yorkers who showed up last weekend. According to New York City Board of Elections (BOE) statistics, 193,915 New Yorkers participated in early voting over the weekend. Brooklyn had the highest turnout of any borough, with 61,315 people casting their ballots. “Early voting was established to make voting easier and to make participation in this crucial part of our democracy more accessible. That’s why we need to pay attention to the experience voters are facing as they go to the polls,” Cornegy said.

Biotech company signs lease at Industry City

A biotech and medical device company has signed a lease for 6,200 square feet at Industry City in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. The Israeli-based company is one of several new tenants that have been announced. Called Sight Diagnostics, it most recently developed a computer-based blood analyzer, according to Business Insider.

Indoor skateboarders’ haven opens in Williamsburg

The Substance Skatepark, which opened in July on Scholes Street in East Williamsburg, provides a haven for skateboarders who want a rush of adrenaline at any time, night or day. “We’re both a 24/7 facility and we’re open to the public every single day, so no matter what level you’re on or where you are at you can just come shred with us anytime,” said owner Andrew Gelles. Gelles was an instructor at Hudson River Park’s popular Pier 62 skate camp for 10 years, according to NY1 News.

‘Positively dog street’ in Brooklyn

Brooklyn card maker Wendy Waters has created a set of four 5-by-7-inch notepads, available online, with envelopes featuring an American Bull Terrier, a Weimaraner, a Boxer and an American Hairless Terrier, all wearing colorful tattoos (the dogs aren’t tattooed in real life). The models for these cards were Kirby, Brodie, Finn and Luna, all of whom live in New York City and all of whom she met while walking in her Brooklyn neighborhood. The dogs are only four of Waters’ “Positively Dog Street” series of hand-painted drawings of tattooed dogs.

One week left to renew expired DMV documents

The New York State Department of Motor Vehicles is urging New Yorkers to renew their expired vehicle inspections, vehicle registrations and non-driver identification cards. All registrations, inspections and non-driver IDs that expired in or after March were extended by Gov. Andrew Cuomo at the time, but that extension is slated to end on Nov. 3. In addition, the DMV is urging New Yorkers to renew their expired driver’s licenses that were also extended during the pandemic.” There is no need to leave home to renew most DMV documents — you can go on our website to renew your vehicle registration, non-driver ID, or driver license in a matter of minutes,” said DMV Commissioner Mark J.F. Schroeder.

Grandparents mourn slain Brooklyn rapper

The devastated grandparents of a young Brooklyn rapper are mourning the fact that he was shot on a Brooklyn street last Sunday. Luis Caballero, 22, who went by the name of Lu Blixky, was shot to death around 1 a.m. on Sunday at Watkins Street and Livonia Avenue in Brownsville. Cops arrested suspect Rovert Benjamin, 20, near the scene. “All I do is cry, cry,” said Caballero’s grandfather, Raphael Landers, 71. “Every time I sit down, I see him. I love that kid.” The grandparents didn’t know how Caballero wound up in the deadly confrontation, according to the Daily News.

Brooklyn Bridge profiled in Fla.

The Dothan Eagle, a Dothan, Florida, newspaper, recently profiled the Brooklyn Bridge and the Roebling family who built it. The idea for constructing a bridge between Brooklyn and Manhattan dates back to 1800. By the 1860s, most Brooklynites who worked in New York used one of 13 ferryboat routes, but the ferries were vulnerable to weather conditions. Workers who built the bridge often had violent reactions to sudden changes in air pressure after emerging from compressed-air compartments, as there were no decompression chambers in those days. There was also corruption involving William Marcy “Boss” Tweed, who bought shares in the bridge without paying for them.

Hasidic Jew attacked by three men

Last week, a man in Hasidic Jewish attire was approached from behind by three hooded young men who soon began hitting and kicking him. The assailants left the scene within seconds of the assault. The Williamsburg News, a Twitter account, posted video from the scene and said that the incident had taken place near the intersection of Throop Avenue and Bartlett Street, according to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. The NYPD’s Hate Crimes Unit is investigating the incident, authorities said.

Gift shop shut down in Midwood

Odette Rishy, co-owner of the “It’s a Gift” gift shop on Avenue M in Midwood, complained to Fox 5 News that even though her store, in a red zone, is closed, the state shut her down for doing business by delivery. “Across the street, there’s a block-long supermarket, a candy store, a bodega, and they’re open. We sell essential things. We don’t mind to deliver,” she said. The store, which has been open for 10 years, sells jewelry, clothing and accessories.

Compiled by Raanan Geberer.