NYC sunset from The Brooklyn Barge. Photo: Megan Penmann
What happened this week besides the weather being steamier than a dirty monkey’s crotch and more stifling than a sweat lodge? Here’s the rude, sad and the fugly.
Looks like Greenpoint could be getting another park! The Open Space Alliance and the Department of Transportation are holding a meeting on June 28 to offer the community the chance to give input on possible open space usage underneath the Kosciuszko Bridge. They’ll also be hosting a tour of the proposed park site on June 24th, but the tour is capped at 25 people and currently full.
What: Kosciuszko Bridge Park Community Planning Meeting When: Wednesday, June 28, 6:30 – 8:30 pm Where: The Park House at Bushwick Inlet Park, 86 Kent Avenue (at N. 9th Street) RSVP here
Franklin St & Greenpoint Ave sunset. Photo: Megan Penmann
According to police, a man was slashed and robbed in McGolrick Park Saturday night around 9:30pm. He had seen someone in a group of people drop a pack of cigarettes and went to return them—only to get his head smashed on a metal bar, slashed on his cheek with a knife and robbed of his iPhone, $250 in cash and a bracelet.
A Paulie Gee’s server was seriously injured after a cyclist struck her on the corner of Manhattan and India. Without insurance, she’s now facing $10k in medical bills and $25k of bills and lost wages combined while she recovers. You can donate to her crowdfunding campaign to help her recover physically and financially. Continue reading →
The new Kosciuszko Bridge finally opened yesterday to much fanfare (and of course, some traffic). If you’re passing by at night, or on a rooftop, you’ll be able to catch the rad light show, which was funded with the $500 million that the MTA chipped in for bridge overhauls. According to CBS New York, “The first of two new spans opened to drivers Thursday. It will carry traffic in both directions while the second span is built. The first span will be converted to five lanes of Queens-bound traffic when the second span containing four lanes opens in 2020 for Brooklyn-bound traffic. The bridge will also feature a 20-foot-wide path for cyclists and pedestrians.”
The old sections of the bridge will be imploded this summer, and there’s currently a petition to have a live orchestra play the 1812 Overture as the bridge literally bites the dust. More than 14,000 people have RSVP’d to the bridge blow-up on Facebook, with another 56,000 people “interested” in the event. And PS—if you’re wondering how to pronounce Kosciuszko, here’s a video primer with a little history mixed in.
Yesterday, photographer Nick McManus was able to ride over the bridge before it opened to traffic and captured some cool instant photos. See more after the jump.
A protest at Greenpoint’s 94th Precinct this weekmadeheadlines following Captain Peter Rose’s statements to the press about rape cases. The protest happened despite his formal apology via Twitter. The National Organization For Women has requested a meeting with the police commissioner to discuss sytem-wide reforms.
There’s a new development going up next to Transmitter Park, and local residents are not excited about the building’s lobby overlooking the park. Residents voiced their dissent at a Community Board meeting this week about the zoning amendment which would allow the proposed construction to take place. The issue now goes up before the City Planning Commission and then to City Hall.
The renovated Kosciuszko Bridge might actually open sooner than originally planned. The project, which started in late 2014, has been regularly clogging up neighborhood traffic leading onto the BQE. A Department of Transportation spokeswoman says that the “main span will be completed and all traffic in both directions will be shifted onto it in early spring.” Hallelujah! Continue reading →
That’s Ted Cruz territory in yellow. All hail the Sewage King. (via New York Times)
What’s stopping Greenpoint’s birds in their tracks? A discussion on the North Brooklyn Community page on Facebook brought attention to a weird prevalence of dead birds (and even a hawk) around the bus stop on the corner of Lorimer and Driggs, supposedly after flying into the glass.
As you’re surely all aware, Bernie’s best electoral NYC performance took place in Greenpoint. What you don’t know is that Ted Cruz’s also did. He didn’t just win by one vote, though. He won with one vote. Yeah, just read the thing.
Re: shutting down Riker’s Island: the city’s looking into it. But apparently it’s looking at Greenpoint as a potential site for a new satellite jail where it can transfer inmates.
As Pope Francis alights upon our city, the New York Times turns its attention to Greenpoint’s own St. Anthony Church, where graffiti, theft, and abuse of holy water bely the sometimes less savory side of embracing the destitute.
Progress for Newtown Creek’s new Kosciuszko Bridge are right on track. Where public development projects are concerned, no news is certainly newsworthy.
New York’s first Polish Dual Language Program has landed at PS34. On the agenda: preserving the neighborhood’s cultural heritage, preparing kids to succeed in English, and raising a class of high-achieving wunderkind. Continue reading →
When we came up with nothing, we created our own dream subway line. And we’re calling it the K Train.
As you can see (above), Eastern Greenpoint and Maspeth would see immediate transportation benefits, and the ramifications could positively impact many more commuters. Expansion of the line could finally provide direct rail service to La Guardia Airport. The K Line could also serve areas like the Brookyln Navy Yard, Wallabout, and Red Hook, while also connecting neighborhoods that currently require a trip into Manhattan, allowing commuters to coast down the Brooklyn waterfront, something that as of now, we can only do to a very limited extent, by ferry. Continue reading →
We know eastern Greenpoint is readying for construction of a new Kosciuszko Bridge, replacing the decrepitly old (and ugly) monster of a structure that currently connects Brooklyn and Queens (and that this will require a collective holding of everyone’s breath). We also know that our State’s forward-thinking Department of Transportation is removing surrounding trees to prevent an endangered bat species from nesting (so that they’ll settle elsewhere and won’t be harmed as construction begins).
Still, we can’t help but look at the new, treeless scene and wonder if the area, already bleak, has now reached its apotheosis of soulless, post-apocalyptic gloom. Continue reading →
