Around Brooklyn: Colton: City is trying to turn playground into park

November 19, 2020 Editorial Staff

Guadalupita II, which sells Mexican foods, is located on this Fifth Avenue corner in Sunset Park. Photo: Lore Croghan/Brooklyn Eagle

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Colton: City is trying to turn playground into park

Assemblymember William Colton (Gravesend, Bensonhurst, Bath Beach, and Dyker Heights) says the city is trying to turn I.S. 228’s playground, also known as David A. Boody schoolyard, into a public park. “There was no transparency with the local community. The local community was not surveyed. My understanding is that West 4th and West 5th Streets are narrow streets and if this plan is true it will be strongly opposed by many community residents. I believe that this project will create serious safety, health, and quality of life issues not only for the neighborhood but also for I.S. 228 which has been a shining star of quality education,” Colton said.

Cleckley Funeral Home permanently closed

Months after the license of Andrew T. Cleckley Funeral Services in East Flatbush was temporarily suspended for “egregious violations” related to the coronavirus pandemic, it has been shut down for good. Back in April, dozens of bodies were found inside an unrefrigerated U-Haul truck outside the funeral home, and other remains were discovered throughout the building. Owner Andrew Cleckley has been fined $68,000 and stripped of his funeral-director license, according to ABC 7.

Brooklyn pizzeria opens branch in Louisville

Emmy Squared, a Brooklyn restaurant that features Detroit-style pizza, has opened in Louisville, Kentucky. Emmy Squared, which started in Williamsburg, has also opened in Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and Nashville. The store features square pizzas as well as burgers and a variety of sandwiches, according to Leo Weekly, which praised the pizzeria.

BRIC exhibits Latino artists

BRIC, a leading arts and media institution headquartered in Brooklyn, is announcing Latinx Abstract, an exhibition that asserts the enduring legacy of abstract art among Latino artists. It will be on view Jan. 21 to May 21, both virtually and in person, at BRIC House, 647 Fulton St. In-person viewing will be available within reduced hours, Wednesday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., at reduced capacity. Among the artists are Candida Alvarez, Karlos Carcamo, Alejandro Guzman, Glendalys Medina, Freddy Rodriguez, Fanny Sanín, Mary Valverde, Vargas-Suarez Universal, and Sarah Zapata.

AG James supports relief for taxi medallion owners

New York State Attorney General Letitia James on Wednesday released a statement in support of a relief package introduced by the New York Taxi Workers Alliance that will provide New York City’s taxi medallion owners with debt forgiveness on outstanding loans on taxi medallions. “Hardworking taxi medallion individuals and owner-drivers entered this industry believing the city would run a fair system. Instead, many of these workers and small business owners were sent down a rabbit hole of financial ruin. After reviewing the proposal by the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, and understanding that the city’s chief financial officer, Comptroller Scott Stringer, has come out in support of this plan, I believe it is essential that we move forward on this relief package immediately to mitigate the harm already done,” she said.

Kings Highway area in ‘yellow zone’

While coronavirus rates are going up across the country, Gov. Andrew Cuomo has declared that the area around Kings Highway has graduated from an orange zone to the less restrictive yellow zone, according to the Kings Highway BID. This means that all businesses can reopen, indoor dining can resume (with four people per table), indoor and outdoor gatherings can take place with a maximum of 25 people, and houses of worship can operate at 50 percent capacity, the BID said.

Adams: School shutdown was too sudden

Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams recently said, “This sudden announcement [that in-person learning has closed at city public schools] has yet again left parents and administrators scrambling to adjust to a new reality, with little time to plan properly. Last week, I very clearly stated that a more strategic approach was needed to ensure continuity and stability for students, parents, and educators. The ones who will suffer most from a full transition to remote learning are Black and Latino and lower-income families, who have been left behind without needed access to technology and the internet. New Yorkers deserve better than this confusing, unscientific approach.”

70-year-old woman shot in the face

A 70-year-old woman was shot in the face aboard a city bus in Bedford-Stuyvesant on Tuesday afternoon. Police say she was sitting in the back of the bus when her cheek was grazed by a bullet. Around 2:30 p.m., police were called to Fulton Street near Tompkins Avenue in response to the shooting. Cops say the shots were fired outside the bus, and the woman was not the intended target. The woman was in traumatic arrest when EMS crews arrived and rushed her to Kings County Hospital. Later, she was in stable condition, according to CBS News. No one else on the bus suffered any injuries, police reported.

Woman gives birth after being shot

A pregnant woman needed an emergency c-section after she was shot in Brooklyn this past weekend, police said. The eight-months-pregnant, 21-year-old victim was shot once in the right shoulder on Saturday near Utica Avenue and Montgomery Street in Crown Heights. She was taken to an area hospital, where she was treated. Both the mother and the baby are OK. Police described the young woman as being “extremely uncooperative,” according to 1010 WINS.

Four overcome by carbon monoxide

Four people in Weeksville were overcome by carbon monoxide fumes when a leak caused the gas to spread through their home, police said. Around 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, firefighters responded to 905 Herkimer St., where they found at least one person unconscious and carbon-monoxide alarms ringing. Two of the people in the house were hospitalized and were taken to Cornell Hospital. National Grid shut off service and started to probe where the leak was coming from, according to published reports.

12-story building planned in Bushwick

Permits have been filed for a 12-story residential building at 389 Weirfield Street in Bushwick. The site, located between Irving Avenue and Wyckoff Avenue, is currently occupied by a one-story commercial building and one block from the Halsey Street subway station, serviced by the L train. The Horizon Group under the Horizon at 391 Weirfield LLC is listed as the owner behind the applications, and Aufgang Architects is listed as the architect of record. The building is slated to have 66 residences, most likely rentals, as well as a rear yard and 54 enclosed parking spaces, according to New York YIMBY.

Woman beaten after asking pair to wear masks

A 60-year-old woman was beaten and landed in the hospital last week after she asked two subway commuters to wear a mask in an elevator at the Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center subway station, police said. The woman was getting into the elevator around 12:15 p.m. on Friday when a man and a woman who weren’t wearing masks tried to get on with her. When the woman asked them to put on masks, the couple refused and began shoving and hitting her, video presented by police shows. Eventually, they pushed her to the ground and kept beating her before they left the station. She was taken to the hospital with bruising on her face and leg pain, police said. The suspects are described as being between 16 and 20 years old. The man was wearing black knit cap, a black coat and gray pants, while the woman was wearing a black-and-white sweater and dark pants, Patch reported.

Twitter account started for COVID test line

The line for COVID-19 tests outside a CityMD urgent care center on Atlantic Avenue at the corner of Nevins Street is so big that a local woman has started a Twitter account dedicated to logging its length. Francine Ricchi, who works during the day at Chelsea Piers, has been living in the neighborhood for 15 years. She modeled her account on a similar one that tracks the line outside the nearby Trader Joe’s at Atlantic Avenue and Court Street, and she now posts about five times a day, according to the New York Post.

Compiled by Raanan Geberer.