Brooklyn Today February 22: Brooklyn Today Feb. 22: BQX Streetcar Plan Jeopardized by Amazon Withdrawal

The Lede

Amazon’s withdrawal jeopardizes the BQX streetcar plan, the windup to congestion pricing could take two years, and a new speakeasy bar opens in Downtown Brooklyn. Plus, a landmarked building inBrooklyn Heights is one step closer to being demolished, Andrew Gounardes denies that his new bill is aimed at Marty Golden, and the hottest brunch spots in the city are revealed. Finally, we speak with a trio of Brooklyn authors, including Pulitzer Prize winner Jennifer Egan, on this week’s podcast.

Imprint

IMPRINT: Actor Rami Malek receives his close-up on the February cover ofVanity Fair Italia.

The Rundown

BQX STREETCAR PLAN JEOPARDIZED BY AMAZON WITHDRAWAL

Backers of the Brooklyn-Queens Connector have touted Amazon’s potential arrival as an illustration of the critical need for a new interborough transportation option. But when the tech company canceled its $2.5 billion plan to bring 25,000 employees to Long Island City, it may have taken with it any hope of the streetcar becoming a reality, transit advocates said. “It’s one less arrow in the mayor’s quiver,” Ben Fried of TransitCenter said. “But the fact is — with or without Amazon — this project was losing momentum and was on its last breath.” (via Brooklyn Eagle)

DEMOLITION OF LANDMARKED MONTAGUE STREET BUILDING WINS LOCAL SUPPORT

A landmarked bank building at 200 Montague St. in Brooklyn Heights is one step closer to being torn down and replaced with a 20-story apartment tower, following a recommendation from the local community board Wednesday. CB 2’s land use committee approved Midtown Equities’ plan to demolish the Modern-style building, a part of the Borough Hall Skyscraper Historic District established in 2011. The board’s executive committee will make a final decision on the issue on Monday. (via Brooklyn Eagle)

WINDUP TO CONGESTION PRICING COULD TAKE TWO YEARS, MTA CHIEF SAYS

The congestion pricing proposal supported by Gov. Andrew Cuomo and MTA as a means to raise funds to fix the subway is expected to take two years to complete. MTA President Patrick Foye testified at a state Senate hearing in Manhattan that he was confident the transit agency could create a tolling system in less time than other cities, the Wall Street Journal reported. “It took three years-plus in London. We believe we could do it in two,” he said. Michael Wojnar, Cuomo’s deputy transportation secretary, said the proposal would charge roughly $11.52 to vehicles traveling into Manhattan’s central business district south of 60th Street. (via Brooklyn Eagle)

NEW SPEAKEASY BAR AT DEKALB MARKET HALL HIGHLIGHTS RECENT TREND

A new bar in Downtown Brooklyn’s DeKalb Market Hall, Understudy, is the latest iteration of a 1920s bygone on the rise over the past few years: the speakeasy. These bars, modeled after the original speakeasies of the Prohibition era, are small venues reachable only through an entrance in the back of another establishment, from Versailles-style chambers to Mexican delis. These modern speakeasies, however, have liquor licenses, websites and Instagram handles — and a door you can get through without a password. (via Brooklyn Eagle)

GOUNARDES DENIES ‘GOLDEN RULE’ BILL AIMED AT RIVAL

Democratic state Sen. Andrew Gounardes denies that an anti-corruption bill he introduced that has been nicknamed the “Golden Rule” is aimed at punishing Marty Golden, the Republican incumbent he defeated in November after a bitter and bruising campaign. But two Golden supporters, Fran Vella-Marrone, chairperson of the Brooklyn Conservative Party and Ted Ghorra, chairperson of the Brooklyn Republican Party, issued a joint statement on Wednesday accusing Gounardes of “using his government office to settle petty political scores.” (via Brooklyn Eagle)