Around Brooklyn: Treyger, Jeffries hail new Coney greenhouse

December 3, 2020 Editorial Staff

Here’s the view from the Manhattan Bridge’s pedestrian pathway. Photo: Lore Croghan/Brooklyn Eagle

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Treyger, Jeffries hail new Coney greenhouse

Councilmember Mark Treyger (D-Coney Island, Bensonhurst, Bath Beach, Gravesend) was joined by U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-Brooklyn, Queens) and other community leaders for a virtual press conference to announce funding and project details for a brand-new STEM greenhouse facility at the Rachel Carson High School for Coastal Studies in Coney Island. Treyger helped secure $4.6 million for the greenhouse project through City Council discretionary funding from fiscal years 2019 to 2021. The high school is an educational campus in a community greatly affected by climate change. Students and school staff at Rachel Carson know firsthand the detrimental effects of this change, due to Superstorm Sandy, occurring right in their community.

New biz offers same-day delivery for local stores

A new startup is making it easier to avoid major online retailers by offering same-day delivery from Brooklyn-based stores. ShopINC.nyc is plugged into small businesses in Brooklyn and lets you shop among several local retailers at once. All products are delivered in a single, convenient package. Among the stores participating in the program are Amy’s Brad, Annie’s Blue Ribbon General Store, Runnin’ Wild Toys, One Girl Cookies, Sahadi’s and dozens of others, according to 6sqft.com.

De Blasio launches employee ownership initiative

Mayor Bill de Blasio, in concert with the Department of Small Business Services and the Mayor’s Office of Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises, has launched Employee Ownership NYC, the nation’s largest municipal initiative for education and technical assistance for employee ownership and conversion. “Enabling workers to buy their businesses is a proven model to address the wealth gap in this city – and it will be a transformative approach for businesses looking for creative ways to recover from the challenges posed by COVID-19,” said de Blasio.

Cops seek suspects in hate-crime robbery pattern

The Police Department is seeking public assistance in finding two men who are being sought in connection with a hate-crime robbery spree in Williamsburg and Bed-Stuy. In the first incident, at 485 Bedford Ave., the pair approached a young Hasidic man, grabbed his hat and fled. In the second, at 954 Bedford Ave., the two also grabbed a young Hasidic man’s traditional hat. In the third, at 954 Bedford Ave., they approached a middle-aged Hasidic man and grabbed his hat. And in the fourth, at 888 Bedford Ave., they approached another middle-aged Hasidic man and grabbed his hat. While the incidents all took place on July 23, photos have been made available just now. They show two young Black men in their late teens or early twenties, one wearing glasses, both riding on the same Citi Bike.

New Yorkers urged to share election experiences

The New York Voter Assistance Advisory Committee will hold a virtual public hearing on Dec. 9 in which both voters and poll workers are invited to share their experiences. They are asked to weigh in on voting in person during Early Voting, voting in person on Election Day, voting by mail and requesting absentee ballots, and recommendations to improve the voting experience in New York City. All testimony provided at the hearing will be shared with elected officials and the Board of Elections.

Test & Trace Corps expands testing locations

The NYC Test & Trace Corps has announced the expansion of its rapid point-and-care testing to reach communities in need, with rapid testing to become available at more than 20 sites in the coming weeks. “As rates of COVID-19 begin to climb in our neighborhoods this season, New York City is meeting the challenge with the strongest and most advanced testing infrastructure in the country,” said NYC Test & Trace Corps Executive Director Dr. Ted Long. Test & Trace Corps sites introducing rapid antigen testing this week include Co-op City Retail Space in the Bronx and Bay Ridge Fifth Avenue in Brooklyn. Other sites offering rapid PCR testing since Nov. 5 include the St. James Rec Center in the Bronx, Queens Public Library at Lefferts, St. George Ferry Terminal in Staten Island, Northern Boulevard in Queens, Mt. Loretto Sportsplex in Staten Island, Starrett City in Brooklyn and Highbridge Pool in Upper Manhattan.

‘Off Broadway in the Boros’ now available online

In October, the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment and small Off-Broadway theater groups produced several 20-minute outdoor performances in public plazas in each of the five boroughs. Now, these performances are available on the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment website. The participating theater organizations were Pregones/PRTT, Café La Mama, the Chocolate Factory Theater, the Bushwick Starr and A Collaboration: Kaleidoscope Entertainment. The series was created to provide support for artists and organizations struggling during the coronavirus pandemic. Performances were not announced in advance.

Winter marketplace at Marcy Plaza

For this year’s holiday season, Marcy Plaza in Bedford-Stuyvesant has become a winter marketplace, courtesy of the Bed-Stuy Gateway Business Improvement District. Among this year’s attractions, in addition to the usual offerings by merchants, are a “Santa safety station” and a coronavirus testing site. This set-up is part of a project by the Van Alen Institute and Urban Design Forum to help New York City neighborhoods with their pandemic recovery. “Community safety is our number one priority,” BID Interim Executive Director Lynette Battle told Patch. Marcy Plaza is across Fulton Street from Restoration Plaza.

14-year-old girl stabbed, brother suspected

A 14-year-old girl was stabbed in the stomach in their Brooklyn apartment, and her 9-year-old brother, who has autism, is suspected, police said. The girl was attacked in the family’s apartment on Patchen Avenue in Bedford-Stuyvesant on Tuesday afternoon. Their parents found the toddler with a laceration to her stomach and rushed her to Woodhull Hospital. She was transferred to Bellevue Hospital and is being treated for non-life-threatening injuries. Police recovered a bloody kitchen knife in the apartment and took her brother to Kings County Hospital for observation, according to ABC7.

New York Times profiles Bay Ridge

The New York Times has profiled Bay Ridge, focusing on several families who live there. The neighborhood’s proximity to the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge is presented as a big plus for the area, as are the neighborhood’s many parks and the ferry service at 69th Street. As far as businesses are concerned, Bay Ridge has “an interesting mix of old-school neighborhood mainstays and newer businesses and restaurants,” Joseph Moniaci, a high school social studies teacher, is quoted as saying. Also, the community club and pool at Fort Hamilton are “a well-kept secret,” he said.

Parker seeks to declare racism a public health crisis

State Kevin Parker (D-East Flatbush, Flatbush, Midwood, Kensington, Park Slope) introduced a Bill S8673A that would declare racism a public health crisis in the state of New York and create a working group within the New York State Commissioner of Health’s office to address these issues related to racism. “Framing racism as a public health issue compels organizations and governmental agencies to address the crisis in the systemic ways that other threats to public health have been addressed,” he said. “For decades, racial inequalities have caused significant mental, physical, and financial hardships for people of color.”

Expect regular floods in Brooklyn by 2050

In a study released by Climate Center on Dec. 1, scholars have predicted that coastal areas within Coney Island, Brighton Beach, Gravesend, Red Hook, Marine Park, Canarsie and North Brooklyn will be flooded at least once a year as storms become more frequent because of climate change. Some of the worst flooding is forecasted to take place in Greenpoint, near Newtown Creek, near the Navy Yard, along the Gowanus Canal, along Neptune Avenue and along the edges of Shore Boulevard. The city has already begun to give incentives to homeowners in these areas to shore up their homes with shore-resistant infrastructure and to reduce construction in flood-prone areas, according to published reports.

Compiled by Raanan Geberer.