Brooklyn Today February 26: Brooklyn Today: Cross Downtown Brooklyn Tunnel Idea Revived as BQE Solution

The Lede

A proposal to build a Cross Downtown Brooklyn Tunnel sparks new interest, the Brooklyn Heights Association’s annual meeting is tonight, and we have a guide to the public advocate election today. Plus, a developer bows out of a mega-project in Sunset Park, we reveal everything you need to know about the Bushwick Community Plan, and a Brooklyn lawmaker asks the DOJ to clarify its stance on condom “stealthing.” Finally, cops are looking for a man who stole a statue from a Park Slope church, and we recommend the best Chinese restaurants in the city.

Imprint

IMPRINT: Actress Michelle Williams poses in a chair on the March cover of Elle Vietnam.

The Rundown

CROSS DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN TUNNEL IDEA REVIVED AS BQE SOLUTION

A proposal to build a Cross Downtown Brooklyn Tunnel, an idea studied by the state in 2010, is sparking new interest. As the BQE from Atlantic Avenue to Sands Street faces a massive, $3.4 billion reconstruction, a once-in-a-lifetime window of opportunity has opened, says longtime Cobble Hill community leader and graphic designer Roy Sloane. Sloane came up with the tunnel concept at a planning session in June 2010, and he was a member of the original BQE Advisory Committee. With a tunnel bypass, the existing BQE section, which includes the triple cantilever in Brooklyn Heights, would remain in place as a local feeder road. (via Brooklyn Eagle)

GUIDE OF GUIDES: PUBLIC ADVOCATE SPECIAL ELECTION

New Yorkers will go to the polls today to vote in a special election for the new public advocate, a citywide watchdog with few direct powers beyond proposing legislation. There are 17 candidates on the ballot for public advocate. For those playing catch up ahead of the vote, you’re in luck: There are almost as many voter guides as there are candidates. We’ve put together the best for you, and also shared some important election need-to-knows and a wrap up of our previous coverage, by candidate. (via Brooklyn Eagle)

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS ASSOCIATION ANNUAL MEETING: WHO IS PLANNING BROOKLYN’S FUTURE?

The Brooklyn Heights Association’s annual meeting promises to be especially compelling this year, given that the massive BQE reconstruction project is fast-approaching. The event takes place tonight at 7 p.m. at St. Francis College. The meeting will both inform neighborhood residents on the ongoing BQE saga, and bring attention to the wider questions the process engenders. The New York Times’ Ginia Bellafante will moderate the evening. (via Brooklyn Eagle)

DEVELOPER PUTS SUNSET SITE OF MEGA-PROJECT ON THE MARKET

The developer has bowed out of a mega-project proposed for Eighth Avenue and 62nd Street in Sunset Park. The Commercial Observer reported that Flushing-based 62-08 Realty LLC had put the property on the market, listing it with Cushman & Wakefield for $150 million after unsuccessfully trying to push forward with a development that would have transformed the border of Sunset Park and Dyker Heights. According to the Observer, the move comes after developers stumbled for the second time as they attempted to shepherd the project through the city-mandated ULURP review process. (via Brooklyn Eagle)

BUSHWICK COMMUNITY PLAN: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW

City officials, elected representatives and Bushwick residents continue to await word from the Department of City Planning about its intentions to set new zoning rules and invest in the rapidly gentrifying community. A rezoning in Bushwick has the potential not only to reshape the skyline of the neighborhood, but also to greatly affect the amount of housing available. More high-density luxury development could attract new residents and exacerbate rising rents and gentrification, furthering the displacement of long-time residents. Here’s what we know about the plan and what comes next. (via Brooklyn Eagle)

BROOKLYN LAWMAKER ASKS DOJ TO CLARIFY STANCE ON CONDOM ‘STEALTHING’

A Brooklyn lawmaker is pressuring the Department of Justice to clarify its stance on “stealthing,” the act of removing a condom during sex without the consent of the other partner. U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney co-wrote a letter with U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna of California to Attorney General William Barr, asking him to clarify whether the DOJ collects data on stealthing, if it addresses the act in its resources for crime victims and whether it is mentioned in department “data collection guidelines and/or protocols for law enforcement.”(via Brooklyn Eagle)

COPS INVESTIGATE STATUE THEFT AT PARK SLOPE CHURCH AS HATE CRIME

Cops are looking for the man they say tossed a statue belonging to aPark Slope church in the trash last week in an incident that’s being treated as a hate crime. An unidentified man removed a religious statue from inside of Saint Thomas Aquinas Church at 249 Ninth St. and disposed of it in a nearby trash can, according to authorities. The theft took place at around 11:10 a.m. on Feb. 20. The suspect was last seen walking out of the church wearing a black jacket, blue jeans and white sneakers. (via Brooklyn Eagle)