Brooklyn Today February 20: Brooklyn Today Feb. 20: Historic Center for Fiction Opens Today in Fort Greene

The Lede

The Center for Fiction opens today, Andrew Gounardes introduces a bill aimed at restricting the use of campaign funds on family-owned businesses, and we take a tour of Gerritsen Beach. Plus, a bodega visit turns bloody in Bed-Stuy, Max Rose fights for the families of 9/11 victims, and several Brooklyn streets are set to be revamped in a Vision Zero expansion. Finally, Brooklyn Heights-raised actor Lucas Hedges opens up about success at a young age, and we recommend the best gluten-free restaurants in the city.

Imprint

IMPRINT: Actress Gwyneth Paltrow poses in purple on the February cover of Variety.

The Rundown

HISTORIC CENTER FOR FICTION OPENS TODAY IN FORT GREENE

Next to the Mark Morris Dance Group and kitty-corner to BAM, a new cultural institution has landed in Brooklyn: The nearly 200-year-old Center for Fiction opens today in Fort Greene. The center, which is the only organization in the country devoted to fiction alone, has operated out of Manhattan since its inception in 1821, when it was founded as a mercantile library. Its new home is at 15 Lafayette Ave., inside a three-story, 17,500-square-foot building with floor-to-ceiling-windows that features a bookstore, a cafe, a library and a basement full of mystery novels. (via Brooklyn Eagle)

GOUNARDES TO INTRO ‘GOLDEN RULE’ BILL TO KEEP CAMPAIGN FUNDS OUT OF FAMILY BUSINESSES

A pair of Brooklyn pols is introducing a new bill today that is aimed at restricting the use of campaign funds at family-owned businesses. The bill – dubbed “The Golden Rule,” after former state Sen. Marty Golden – is being pushed by Assemblymember Robert Carroll, and state Sen.Andrew Gounardes. Gounardes and Carroll allege that nearly $800,000 in campaign funds were spent, in total, by Golden at his family’s catering hall.(via Brooklyn Eagle)

SEE SIX SPECTACULAR SHORELINE SPOTS IN GERRITSEN BEACH

It looks like a New England fishing village. That’s what people sometimes say when they describe Gerritsen Beach to New York newcomers. Actually, it’s much cooler than that. It’s a unique piece of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is situated on a peninsula, which gives it the feel of a snug, self-contained destination. There are docks and boats in marinas, and residents’ backyards, on waterways called Shell Bank Creek and Plumb Beach Channel. Nearly all the houses are winterized bungalows with immense charm. (via Brooklyn Eagle)

MANHUNT: BED-STUY BODEGA STABBING LEAVES TWO CRITICALLY INJURED

A stabbing inside a Bed-Stuy bodega early Sunday morning left two men in critical condition as police search for four people they say were involved in the incident. The two victims, a 33-year-old man and 28-year-old man, were stabbed multiple times around 4:30 a.m. on Sunday following an argument inside the Blessed Mini Market Deli and Grocery at 1443 Fulton St. They were taken to Kings County Hospital, where they were listed in critical but stable condition. News 12 reports that the argument began “over who should order their sandwich first.” (via Brooklyn Eagle)

ROSE LEADS OUTREACH TO HOUSE FRESHMEN IN 9/11 FUND FIGHT

A rookie Brooklyn lawmaker is being tapped by his veteran colleagues to lead the effort in making the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Reauthorization Act a permanent government fund before its 2020 expiration date. U.S. Rep. Max Rose will spearhead an initiative to educate Capitol Hill newcomers about the Zadroga Act, which doles out settlements through the 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund to families of victims of the Sept. 11 attacks, ahead of a legislative battle to make the fund permanent. (via Brooklyn Eagle)

BROOKLYN STREETS PART OF VISION ZERO EXPANSION

Several busy streets in Brooklyn will get extra attention from the DOT as part of an expansion of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Vision Zero program, which aims to eliminate pedestrian fatalities on the streets of New York. The mayor announced on Tuesday the start of the next phase of Vision Zero, including a new round of Borough Pedestrian Safety Action Plans. The plans are a key part of Vision Zero that employ traffic calming measures and other safety features at dangerous intersections where numerous crashes have taken place. Here’s a list of the Brooklyn streets that are set to be revamped. (via Brooklyn Eagle)