Brooklyn Today January 11: Brooklyn Today January 11: Teen Driver Jumps Off Gowanus Expressway After Crash

The Lede

THE LEDE: Happy Friday! De Blasio unveils benefits for NYC’s least wealthy, Bay Ridge and Coney Island get a dedicated Manhattan-bound ferry, and a muralist depicts fallen firefighter Steven Pollard. Plus, a teen driver jumps off the Gowanus Expressway, jurors at the El Chapo trial hear intercepted phone calls, and opponents of the BQE plan will rally tomorrow. Finally, a Korean restaurant is all the rage in Park Slope, tenants saved $6.4 million from the L-train shutdown plan, and the Brooklyn Public Library’s eagle is finally named. 

Imprint

IMPRINT: Serena Williams graces the cover of Allure’s “Body and Mind” issue.

The Rundown

DE BLASIO UNVEILS BENEFITS FOR NYC’S LEAST WEALTHY IN STATE OF THE CITY SPEECH

Mayor Bill de Blasio let his progressive flag fly on Thursday as he announced a number of new worker- and immigrant-friendly initiatives in his State of the City Speech. His theme was Fairest Big City, and by fair, the mayor meant fair for the lower 99 percent. “There’s plenty of money in this city,” de Blasio said. “It’s just in the wrong hands.” Initiatives include paid two-week vacation for all workers, health care for all, enforcement of paid sick leave laws for workers like nannies and freelancers, and a crack down on abusive landlords. (via Brooklyn Eagle)

BAY RIDGE, CONEY ISLAND TO GET DEDICATED MANHATTAN-BOUND FERRY

Residents of Coney Island and Bay Ridge have reason to celebrate, with the news, delivered by Mayor Bill de Blasioin his State of the City address, that a new Coney Island to Wall Street ferry, stopping at the 69th Street Pier then heading right across the water to Manhattan, is being added to the city’s roster of waterborne transportation options. The express service between Bay Ridge and Wall Street should take about 20 minutes. The new route will likely be operational before 2021. (via Brooklyn Eagle)

MURALIST DEPICTS FALLEN FIREFIGHTER STEVEN POLLARD

He’s a muralist who depicts New York City heroes. This time he brought to life Firefighter Steven Pollard, who was killed Sunday in a fall from the Mill Basin Bridge while helping crash victims. Kenny Altidor of Canarsie worked through the night on this latest mural, a 4-by-6 foot depiction of Firefighter Pollard of Ladder 170 on Rockaway Parkway, which was presented Wednesday to Pollard’s family. “I usually take a week to finish one of these, but I worked through the night to finish this one,” Altidor said. (via Brooklyn Eagle)

CAR SLAMS BUS ON GOWANUS, TEEN DRIVER JUMPS OFF HIGHWAY

A 19-year-old man struck an MTA bus traveling toward Manhattan with his car on the Gowanus Expressway, then rear-ended another vehicle before he fled the car, ran several blocks and jumped more than 30 feet down to Third Avenue in Sunset Park on Thursday. The driver was rushed to Maimonides Medical Center with what police said was head trauma. He was reported in stable condition. Traffic was stalled all the way to the Belt Parkway. (via Brooklyn Eagle)

OPPONENTS OF CITY’S BQE PLAN TO RALLY ON PROMENADE

Residents and stakeholders have been left out of the city’s controversial plan to overhaul the BQE, says city Comptroller Scott Stringer. Stringer will be headlining a rally tomorrow on theBrooklyn Heights Promenade to demand more transparency and recommend that a “community-driven process” be implemented to identify a feasible alternative. The rally is sponsored by the community group A Better Way NYC and is set to take place at 11 a.m. on the Promenade at the Pierrepont Street entrance. (via Brooklyn Eagle)

JURORS AT EL CHAPO TRIAL HEAR INTERCEPTED PHONE CALLS

Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman didn’t sound pleased on a 2011 phone call as he listened to his chief enforcer for his cartel try to justify a beatdown he gave some crooked cops. The exasperated kingpin finally gave orders to “just reprimand them, don’t beat them up.” The animated exchange was heard publicly for the first time Tuesday at Guzman’s drug-trafficking trial in one of several recordings of phone calls intercepted by the FBI. Guzman didn’t know at the time that the FBI had hacked into a custom encrypted communications system created for the Sinaloa cartel. (AP via Brooklyn Eagle)

NEW KOREAN RESTAURANT IN PARK SLOPE GETS THUMBS-UP

Korean restaurants have been moving out of Manhattan’s Koreatown and into the city’s neighborhoods for several decades now, and one of the latest in Brooklyn, Haenyeo in Park Slope, has been getting rave reviews. Haenyeo is named after the legendary female divers of Jeju island in Korea who harvested shellfish and seaweed. Dishes include Chigae, a spicy kimchi stew with cabbage, tofu squares and slices of pork belly; and Rice Cake Fundido, which contains lots of cheese and chorizo. (Gothamist via Brooklyn Eagle)

CENTRAL LIBRARY’S EAGLE STATUE NAMED AFTER FORMER BOROUGH PRESIDENT

Drum roll, please. Brooklyn’s Central Library’s storied eagle statue has been given a new name. The decades-old sculpture perched in the lobby of the borough’s main branch has been dubbed “Ingersoll.” The name — a tribute toRaymond Ingersoll, Brooklyn’s Borough President from 1934 to 1940 — was chosen after the Brooklyn Public Library launched a contest seeking name suggestions for the cast copper eagle last fall. Runner-ups included “Dodger,” “Emily,” “Harmony” and “Winged Wonder.” (NBC New York via Brooklyn Eagle)

NORTH BROOKLYN TENANTS SAVED $6.4 MILLION FROM L-TRAIN SHUTDOWN PLAN

While Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced plans to call off the L-train shutdown, which was scheduled to begin in April, the original plans already had their impact on the real estate market. In particular, rents in North Brooklyn have decreased 1.5 percent since April 2016. An analysis by StreetEasy estimates that renters who signed new leases on apartments in the area cumulatively saved a minimum of $6.4 million compared to what they would have paid if plans for a shutdown were not in the works. (Curbed via Brooklyn Eagle)