Brooklyn Today December 20: Nitehawk Cinema Finally Opens in Park Slope

The Lede

Happy Thursday! Nitehawk Cinema in Park Slope finally opens, we tell you the house prices of Crown Heights North, and Ocasio-Cortez denies she’s gunning for Jeffries. Plus, the El Chapo trial becomes a tourist magnet, there’s a booze cruise battle in the borough, and Eric Adams says DowntownBrooklyn is safe. Finally, a judge admits to misusing city funds, Amazon’s payments won’t be a savior for the BQX, and we recommend the best restaurants in Brooklyn Heights.

Imprint

Model Bella Hadid poses in sparkles on the latest cover of Pop Magazine.

The Rundown

NITEHAWK CINEMA FINALLY OPENS IN PARK SLOPE’S LANDMARKED PAVILION THEATER

Drinks and popcorn were finally flowing on Tuesday at Nitehawk Cinema’s new Park Slope location for its opening party. The borough has been eagerly waiting for the landmarked former Pavilion Theater, vacant since 2016, to finally serve the public. The Williamsburg-based Nitehawk Cinema chain, known for its in-seat food and beverage service, has been working on the site at 188 Prospect Park for more than a year. “It’s a privilege to bring Nitehawk’s enhanced cinematic experience to the neighborhood, particularly in one of New York’s legacy movie theaters,” Nitehawk founder Matthew Viragh said. (via Brooklyn Eagle)

HOW HIGH ARE HOUSE PRICES IN CROWN HEIGHTS NORTH?

Houses in Crown Heights North are selling for a pretty penny. We’re talking about the part of Crown Heights that’s located between Eastern Parkway and Atlantic Avenue. In the past decade, the city Landmarks Preservation Commission has created historic districts that protect 19th- and early 20th-century properties on many of its blocks from demolition or exterior alteration without the agency’s approval. We put together a sampler of 2018 multi-family house sales in Crown Heights North. (via Brooklyn Eagle)

OCASIO-CORTEZ DENIES SHE’S GUNNING FOR JEFFRIES

In the wake of a firestorm of controversy that erupted over a Politico report, U.S. Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez denied that she is looking to defeat Democratic colleague U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries in 2020. “One disappointment about D.C. is the gossip that masquerades as ‘reporting.’ This story has: – Not a SINGLE named or verifiable source – Only ONE on-the-record comment, which is a denial,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote on Twitter on Tuesday after the article appeared on Politico’s website and tongues started wagging in the Capitol. (via Brooklyn Eagle)

EL CHAPO TRIAL BECOMES NEW YORK’S LATEST TOURIST ATTRACTION

There was a time, after a spectacular prison escape, when Joaquin Guzman was the most wanted man in the world. The thrill of being able to see the man known as El Chapo up close — and live to tell the tale — has been drawing curious New Yorkers, fans of TV crime shows and even tourists to the Brooklyn courtroom where the infamous Mexican drug trafficker is being tried on charges that could put him in a U.S. prison for life. “It was surreal. It was like I was seeing the (Netflix) TV show ‘El Chapo,’” said spectator Peter Stolt, 23, who attended three days of the trial in November.(AP via Brooklyn Eagle)

BOOZE CRUISE BATTLE: BOOTED FROM BROOKLYN DOCK, OWNER SEES RACISM

Dwayne Braithwaite is a rarity in NYC’s sightseeing cruise industry: a black owner whose raucous party boats are filled with mostly black patrons. So, when his vessels were ousted from city-owned docks in Brooklyn last summer while booze cruises with white owners continued to sail, Braithwaite filed a lawsuit alleging racism and accused the city contractor that runs the docks of punishing him for not paying kickbacks. The city and its contractor, Dock NYC, tell a different story. They say Braithwaite and his vessels, violated the terms of their docking contracts at least seven times in just 77 days. (AP via Brooklyn Eagle)

ERIC ADAMS PLEDGES SAFE SHOPPING SEASON IN DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN

Brooklyn BP Eric Adams promised that Downtown Brooklyn will be a safe neighborhood this holiday season, despite several recent shootings in the area. Adams said the courts, the probation offices and many schools are located in the area, making Downtown a complicated area to police. The key, he said, is cooperation between different law enforcement agencies. For example, cooperation between court officers and NYPD led to the arrest of several criminals who were trying to hide their guns within construction sites during court visits. (Bklyner via Brooklyn Eagle)

JUDGE, A FORMER HYNES ADA, ADMITS TO MISUSING CITY RESOURCES

A newly elected Brooklyn judge agreed to pay a $2,000 fine after she admitted that while working as an assistant district attorney for former District Attorney Charles J. Hynes, she used her official email account and computer to work on Hynes’ 2013 re-election bid. Anne Swern, who was elected to the Kings County Civil Court last month, will pay the $2,000 to the city’s Conflicts of Interest Board. In total, Swern sent five emails that violated city law. (Daily News via Brooklyn Eagle)

REPORT DETAILS LINKS BETWEEN NYCHA HOUSES AND CITY’S ECONOMY

The current woes of NYCHA’s low-income housing developments have made headlines lately, and a new report from the Regional Plan Association highlights how the Housing Authority’s crisis impacts not only its own residents but the entire city. Not adequately addressing desperately needed repairs as soon as possible could make the cost of repairs jump by $700 million every year, the report says. Plus, if the buildings continue to deteriorate, some may have to be evacuated. If just 10 percent of public housing is lost, this could increase homelessness by 62 percent. (Curbed via Brooklyn Eagle)

AMAZON’S PAYMENTS MAY NOT BE A SAVIOR FOR BQX STREETCAR PLAN

From the moment that Amazon announced that it would be opening a new headquarters in Long Island City, supporters of the BQX have hoped thatmoney raised from the development would help close the hole in the streetcar’s budget. Supporters placed their hopes in an infrastructure fund that Amazon agreed to set up. The infrastructure fund would take up half of the PILOTS (payments in lieu of taxes) raised from Amazon. The amount of PILOT money that could be pumped into the infrastructure fund would likely be between $200 million and $300 million. However, the estimated price tag for the BQX is about $2.7 billion. (Gothamist via Brooklyn Eagle)