Brooklyn Today April 15: Brooklyn Today: Want to get high? Try hot sauce

The Lede

Happy Monday! The city held its first public hearing on the planned expansion of a Brooklyn jail Thursday, with many community members giving emotional testimony about their own detention on Rikers Island and the moral imperative to shut down the scandal-ridden jail complex. The city wants to rebuild and more than double the size of the current Brooklyn Detention Complex — an 11-story, 170-foot-tall building in Boerum Hill. It was aheated affair with two community groups going head-to-head on how the city should proceed.

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The Rundown

FORMER INMATES SHARE HARROWING EXPERIENCES IN SUPPORT OF BROOKLYN JAIL EXPANSION

“I saw people getting killed by staff. Beaten to death and no one held accountable. They’ve proven unable to create a safe environment,” said Darren Mack, who was on Rikers Island as a teenager in the early ’90s.

WANT TO GET HIGH? TRY HOT SAUCE

An active component in chili peppers can cause users to feel high. “Capsaicin fills the dopamine receptors in your brain like narcotics do,” said hot sauce maker Ed Currie. “They release endorphins and dopamine into your body in a huge amount. So not only is eating hot food delicious, it’s pleasurable to your body too.”

INDUSTRY CITY LAUNCHES AD CAMPAIGN TO BUILD SUPPORT FOR REZONING

The organization is spending hundreds of dollars a day onFacebook ads, a campaign that began on April 4. The marketing appears to be an effort to demonstrate public support for the project to CouncilmemberCarlos Menchaca and CB 7 Chairperson Cesar Zuniga, who are leading the charge to delay the rezoning process.

THE LAST STRAW: MAYOR SIGNS EXECUTIVE ORDER LIMITING SINGLE-USE PLASTIC

The city has 120 days from the signing to come up with a plan, and the order is expected to be fully implemented by the end of the year. The Department of Sanitation collects 36 million pounds of single-use plastic foodware every year, Mayor Bill de Blasio said.

BLADE BAN COULD BE SLASHED

Most New York City residents aren’t even aware they can be arrested for possessing common pocket knives of the type sold in corner hardware stores. These knives are often classified by police as gravity knives, leading to the arrest of their confused owners.

PUBLIC FUNDING OF PRIVATE-SCHOOL SECURITY GROWS BY MILLIONS

A program that uses public funds to pay for unarmed security guards at private schools — including some of the city’s most elite institutions — is on pace to cost taxpayers $22.3 million over the last three years. (THE CITY)

More Brooklyn News

Supermarket chain Wegmans tries its hand in Brooklyn. (Bloomberg)

In order to avoid rent burden in Brooklyn or Manhattan, one must live in a 300-square-foot space, according to a new study. (6sqft)

One Clinton Street, the skyscraper at the former location of the Brooklyn Heights Library, tops out. (YIMBY)

Staff Picks

READ:

Author Bret Easton Ellis thinks we’re “overreacting” to PresidentTrump(The New Yorker)

DRINK:

Here are the 36 best happy hour deals in New York City, including 10 in Brooklyn. (Eater)

LAUGH:

Donald Trump gets a new caddie(The Week)

LIVE:

Does drinking red wine have health benefits? There are mixed results(Time)

⌛ ON THIS DAY:

In 1861, the Eagle reported, “The evacuation of Fort Sumter is the only thing thought of or talked about this morning. In offices, stores, saloons, places of business of any kind, the principal and only topic appears to be Fort Sumter.”

📔 IMPRINT:

Actor Mark Ruffalo receives his close-up on the April cover of Entertainment Weekly.

👑 ROYAL WATCH:

The Queen turns 93 on Sunday. Can you guess how she’s celebrating her birthday(Hello!)

🏀SPORTS:

“Brooklyn Nets CEO Brett Yormark discusses state of team’s business, feels validated by playoff spot” (Forbes)