Brooklyn Today January 23: Brooklyn Today January 23: City Landmarking Process Begins for Sunset Park

The Lede

THE LEDE: Happy Wednesday! NYCHA residents suffer from no heat or hot water, Sunset Park could be getting four historic districts, and Sonia Sotomayor is coming to the Brooklyn Bar Association. Plus, Bay Ridge residents march on MLK Jr. Day, a Cypress Hills fire injures four, and two brothers are arrested with a stolen car in Bath Beach. Finally, a Brooklyn to Staten Island subway was once floated as an idea, and we recommend the best desserts in the city.

Imprint

IMPRINT: Victoria Beckham graces the latest cover of Guardian Weekend.

The Rundown

CITY LANDMARKING PROCESS BEGINS FOR SUNSET PARK

A Brooklyn neighborhood built for working-class immigrants is finally getting its due from the city Landmarks Preservation Commission. On Tuesday, commissionersvoted unanimously to put four sections of Sunset Park onto the agency’s calendar to consider them for designation as historic districts. Activists have spent years campaigning for landmarking protection for Sunset Park blocks, where rows of brownstone, limestone and brick houses built between 1885 and 1912 are largely intact. “We’re over the moon …” said Lynn Massimo of the Sunset Park Landmarks Committee. “It’s been a long time coming.” (via Brooklyn Eagle)

BROOKLYN BAR ASSOCIATION PREPARES FOR JUSTICE SOTOMAYOR’S VISIT

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor is no stranger to Brooklyn. The Bronx native is regularly in Kings County to speak with groups at Brooklyn Law School, local churches, or to take part in courthouse events. Now she’s finally ready for her appearance at the Brooklyn Bar Association. Justice Sotomayor was originally scheduled to make an appearance on Remsen Street last April, but when she suddenly fell and broke her shoulder, she had to cancel the trip. Recovered, she is rescheduled to visit the association on Jan. 31. (via Brooklyn Eagle)

BAY RIDGE RESIDENTS CALL FOR ‘SOLIDARITY, NOT BORDERS’ AT MLK JR. DAY MARCH

Dozens of people braved the coldest day of the year on Monday to commemorate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by marchingagainst racism through the streets of Bay Ridge. Before marching, Rama Issa-Ibrahim, executive director of the Arab American Association of New York, warmed up the crowd by recalling King’s words in a visit to the Berlin Wall a year before his assassination. “For here on either side of the wall are God’s children, and no man-made barrier can obliterate that fact,” Issa-Ibrahim read. (via Brooklyn Eagle)

CYPRESS HILLS FIRE INJURES 4; DESTROYS HOMES, BUSINESSES

A five-alarm fire devastated a row of stores and the homes of 15 families on Atlantic Avenue in Cypress Hills on Saturday. Four injuries were reported, including three firefighters and one resident. None of the injuries were considered life threatening. The fire broke out shortly after 10 a.m. at 2681 Atlantic Ave. in the basement of an appliance store. More than 100 firefighters battled the flames and heavy smoke. (via Brooklyn Eagle)

TWO BROTHERS ARRESTED WITH STOLEN CAR AFTER POLICE PURSUIT

Two young brothers were arrested on Sunday morning after leading police on a chase in a stolen car from Coney Island onto the Belt Parkway. They were caught after a foot chase in Bath Beach. The two were identified as Tafari James, 22, and his brother Tiereek, 19. The chase began at about 11:15 a.m. on Sunday, when a patrol car spotted the 2018 Audi weaving in and out of traffic on Neptune Avenue. Upon checking the Florida plate, the officers discovered the vehicle was stolen. (via Brooklyn Eagle)

CARS PARKED ON THE SIDEWALK SPARK GOWANUS COMPLAINT

Cars parked on the sidewalk are a frequent complaint for some Gowanus residents. A contributor to Pardon Me for Asking using the pseudonym J. Moccasin Walker recently counted 24 cars and trucks parked on the sidewalk at the same time on Union Street. Parking on sidewalks, Walker said, reduces space for pedestrians and could force some people into the street to avoid the parked cars. “One of these days,” he wrote, “a mom with young kids will step out onto the street to pass a parked car. A big truck will be speeding by, and suddenly there’ll be a tragedy.” (PMFA via Brooklyn Eagle)

MANY NYCHA RESIDENTS HAVE NO HEAT, HOT WATER ON COLDEST DAY OF THE YEAR

More than 10,000 NYCHA residents across the city, including at several Brooklyn housing projects, spent Martin Luther King Jr. Day without any heat or hot water amid sub-freezing temperatures outside. The tenants said they were forced to warm their hands over ovens, heat up pots of water for bathing and wear jackets and sweaters inside to keep from freezing. Some 2,829 residents were affected in the Bushwick Houses when the heat went out due to an electrical issue. (New York Post via Brooklyn Eagle)

BROOKLYN-STATEN ISLAND SUBWAY: AN IDEA THAT NEVER GOT OFF THE GROUND

Deep under Owls Head Park in Bay Ridge lies the beginning of a never-finished subway tunnel between Brooklyn and Staten Island. Starting in the 1910s, the idea of a subway tunnel between Bay Ridge and the Staten Island Railway’s now-defunct North Shore Line was popular. Even Mayor John Hylan, who served in the 1920s and was usually hostile to mass transit, was in favor of the tunnel. Ground was broken in 1924, but cost overruns and the financial problems of Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit, the company that would have built the tunnel, doomed the project. (NYT via Brooklyn Eagle)

Staff Picks

LONG READ:

Adam Moss, editor in chief at New York magazine for 15 years, recently announced he’s stepping down. Here’s a look at all he accomplishedat the iconic publication. (via NYT)

ANOTHER LONG READ:

“The Unbelievable Story Of The Plot Against George Soros” (via BuzzFeed News)

CARTOON:

Campaign season starts early(via The New Yorker)

EAT:

Calling all sweet tooths. Here are the 19 best desserts in New York City, including two dishes in Brooklyn. (via Eater)

NATIONAL BULLETIN:

Sen. Kamala Harris raises $1.5 million on her first day of her presidential campaign…Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst says her former husband assaulted her…And the 2019 Oscar nominations are announced.(via Politico, USA Today and NYT)

FOREIGN FLASH:

Urban male frogs are more attractive to mates than their forest counterparts…More than 1,000 beagles gather for a stroll in England, setting a world record…And the Philippines passes a bill making 9-year-olds criminally liable(via New Scientist, Daily Mail and Channel NewsAsia)

ROYAL WATCH:

Here’s why the royal family sometimes doesn’t wear seat belts. (via Hello!)