Around Brooklyn: Center for Brooklyn History hosts talk on QAnon

November 5, 2020 Editorial Staff

The modern building with the huge circular windows is the Wyndham Garden Hotel. Photo: Lore Croghan/Brooklyn Eagle

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Center for Brooklyn History hosts talk on QAnon

On Wednesday, Nov. 18 at 6 p.m., the Center for Brooklyn History (formerly the Brooklyn Historical Society) is hosting a talk on QAnon, a far-right group that believes in conspiracy theories (such as the idea that Hillary Clinton abused children in the basement of a Washington, D.C., pizza shop and that JFK Jr. is still alive). Leading the discussion will be Travis View, host of the podcast “QAnon Anonymous,” and Kevin Roose, technology columnist for the New York Times, who has written extensively on disinformation and online radicalization. For more information, please visit the Center’s website.

Subway service resumes after delay near Barclays

Subway service on the D, N, Q and R subway lines was temporarily disrupted on Thursday morning after a train derailment in Brooklyn. According to the FDNY, a “minor train derailment” took place around 4 a.m. near the Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center station, possibly caused by a track fire. There were no injuries, but the mishap gave rise to several service changes. After 8 a.m., the MTA reported that the D and N lines were back to normal, although there were some slight delays on the N line, according to PIX11.

Wrestling match or art exhibit?

The election night-organized wrestling match on a Williamsburg Street, mentioned in Wednesday’s Around Brooklyn compilation, ended up getting busted by the Sheriff’s Office when the fighters moved inside and violated pandemic gathering restrictions. The “Death Match” wrestling event, which promoters referred to as “performance art,” started around 9 p.m. on Frost Street where about 25 people gathered in a circle watching two men pummel each other. Video made the rounds on Twitter, and the city Sheriff’s Office took notice. Around 12:40 a.m., deputies found more than 50 wrestling fans and wrestlers inside the 17 Frost Gallery. Promoter Terrence Gallaher insisted the match was an “art exhibit,” but he received a summons anyway, according to the New York Post.

Two Trees goes on office-leasing spree in Brooklyn

Two Trees Management, based in DUMBO, recently signed 13 office deals throughout Kings County. The developer signed a total of 16,690 square feet during the past three months. “A lot of it is being driven by where the principals live,” Alyssa Zahler, director of leasing for Two Trees, told the Commercial Observer, a commercial real estate website. “A couple of these people are like, ‘Well I just moved to Brooklyn and now [the coronavirus pandemic] is going on, I don’t want to have to schlep back into Manhattan.’” Eleven of the deals were in DUMBO, while the two others were in the company’s recently completed Williamsburg development, Ten Grand Street. Only two of the companies were previously located in Brooklyn.

Cops seek to bust ATM-stealing gang

Police are seeking several men who were reportedly going around Brooklyn in a white van and stealing ATMs. On Aug. 30 at around 5:30 a.m. in front of 841 Atlantic Ave., they removed an ATM that contained $18,300. On Sept. 11 in front of 895 Bedford Ave., they removed an ATM with an undetermined amount of cash. On Sept. 12 at around 3 a.m. in front of 1273 Fulton St., they removed an ATM that contained $9,940, police said. On Sept. 30 shortly after midnight in front of 1004 Flushing Ave., they removed an ATM that contained $20,000. And finally, on Oct. 13 at around 4:30 a.m. in front of 720 Washington Ave., they removed an ATM that contained $1,560.

Jews in NYC have radically differing views

Tuesday’s election revealed how different sub-groups within the city’s overall Jewish community have radically opposing views, according to the Times of Israel. For example, on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, with mostly Reform, Conservative and unaffiliated Jews, about 75 supported Joe Biden, according to a recent survey from the American Jewish Community. However, in Williamsburg’s Hasidic community, Rabbi Izzy Rosenberg, who described himself as a leader in the Satmar sect, said it was a “positive commandment for all Jews to vote for Donald Trump.” He showed a video of a shouting match from 1982 in which Biden, then a U.S. senator, told Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin that Israeli settlement expansion would jeopardize U.S. support for Israel.

Jeffries, Clarke host post-Election Day conference

U.S. Reps. Hakeem Jeffries and Yvette Clarke hosted a post-Election Day conference on the future of Central Brooklyn, the city and the country. It took place Wednesday at the entrance to Barclays Center. They discussed why this election was the most consequential of their lifetimes and the potential long-lasting implications on their constituents’ quality of life. The Trump administration’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic has been an unmitigated disaster, they said.

James advises voters with absentee ballot errors

New York State Attorney General Letitia James issued an alert to New Yorkers who voted by absentee ballot to inform them of their rights under the state’s new “notice and cure” law. The law states that voters must be notified if their absentee ballots are being rejected for certain errors they might have made in filling out their ballots, such as the voter forgetting to sign the envelope that the completed ballot goes inside. The law also says the voter must also be given an opportunity to fix such errors within an allotted time period.

Man attacks two women in deli

A man attacked two women in a Crown Heights deli, knocking one woman to the ground, police said. He approached them in the deli on Utica Avenue near Sterling Place on Sunday. Video taken at the scene shows him putting down his bag and punching one woman, then turning on the other woman and hitting her as well. One victim, age 21, suffered a detached retina, while the other, age 24, suffered pain and bruising. Video shows a tall, thin Black man wearing an all-black outfit and a black do-rag. Police believe he is in his 30s, according to PIX 11.

Four-story building planned in Bed-Stuy

Permits have been filed for a four-story residential building at 167 Malcolm X Boulevard in Bedford-Stuyvesant. The site, located between Monroe and Madison streets, is a few blocks from the J and Z trains’ Gates Avenue subway station and is currently occupied by a deteriorated, boarded-up two-story wooden house. The new building is slated to have 10 residences, most likely condos, as well as a penthouse and a rear yard. Cory Eliyahu is listed as the owner, while Woody Chen of Infocus is listed as the architect of record, according to New York YIMBY.

Survival of House of Yes in doubt

Before the coronavirus, the House of Yes performance venue in Bushwick hosted aerialists, fire-eaters, stilt walkers and clowns as well as pole dancers and go-go dancers. The New York Times described the venue as “a vital part of New York City’s queer nightlife scene.” However, it’s unclear when, or if, the club will be able to operate again the way it did in the past. The club reopened briefly in July with an outdoor bar and food, but then closed in August after its liquor license was suspended, the Times reported.

Planned supertall building hits 26 stories

The planned “supertall” building at 9 DeKalb Avenue, attached to the landmarked Dime Savings Bank in Downtown Brooklyn, has now hit 26 stories and continues to grow upward. When finished, it will be 73 stories tall and will be the tallest building of Brooklyn. The building, designed by SHoP Architects, is slated to have 417 rental units, 82,694 square feet of commercial space and an outdoor pool. Approval was needed from the Landmarks Preservation Commission to attach the historic bank building with the new tower.

Compiled by Raanan Geberer.