A man stands with a sign that states “Cancel Brunch” on Sunday in Greenpoint. (Image courtesy of @hannahsea)
We are now living through — in the words of Mayor Bill de Blasio — a “wartime” scenario where the city, state and federal governments are readying hospital facilities and supplies to treat the anticipated flood of sick patients infected with the coronavirus, as five drive through testing facilities are being prepared. in NYC.
The coronavirus situation continues to evolve, here are the latest developments: Continue reading →
Manhattan Avenue shines bright (Image via John Gurion)
Happy Friday Greenpointers! It’s feeling frigid out there, but if you venture out of the apartment then you might want to visit the opening reception of the exhibition Weird Nature at Greenpoint Terminal Gallery (67 West St. #320) open from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Over at the Greenpoint Gallery (90 McGuinness Blvd) tonight from 8 p.m. to midnight, two floors of gallery space will display local art for the gallery’s first salon show of the year, along with live music.
If you couldn’t make it to the monthly Brooklyn Community Board 1 meeting last Tuesday where the local National Grid pipeline project was debated, video of the entire meeting is available here.
The purchase of a $26,000 Toyota SUV by the executive committee of Brooklyn Community Board 1 resulted in multiple community members speaking out at Tuesday’s public meeting against the board’s largest expense outside of payroll, the NY Post reports.
Approximately a dozen people spoke out on Tuesday against the purchase of the SUV which is used by CB1 manager of more than 40 years Gerald Esposito, who lives a few blocks from the SUV’s city designated parking spot, the NY Post reports: Continue reading →
A driver who fled the scene after running over a 25-year-old pregnant woman at the intersection of Middleton Street and Lee Avenue in South Williamsburg is being sought by NYPD.
GRAPHIC: Woman struck by speeding hit-and-run vehicle in Brooklyn at Lee Ave & Middleton Street on Wednesday afternoon. The #Williamsburg Shomrim Patrol located the empty vehicle. @NYPD79Pct are investigating. She was rushed to the hospital with multiple injuries. pic.twitter.com/01rj5aFNF3
The hit and run happened on Wednesday at approximately 3 p.m. and sent the woman flying into the air, she is recovering at Bellevue Hospital
The car, a 2007 Chrysler was abandoned by the driver after he sped away, even driving onto the sidewalk to escape, Pix11 reports.
With at least 63 fatalities this year, traffic-related deaths are up approximately 30 percent in NYC compared with the same time period in 2018, according to Streetsblog.
Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74682), logging onto the Crime stoppers website at www.nypdcrimestoppers.com, or by texting tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enterings TIP577.
A group of Greenpoint residents have reported smelling oil and petroleum vapors recently in their apartments and will hold a meeting this week with local elected officials and concerned neighbors to “work toward a solution.”
If you live in the vicinity of Freeman, Green, and Huron streets and would like to learn more or share your story a meeting hosted by the North Brooklyn Neighbors will take place at the Dupont Street Senior Housing Center (80 Dupont St.) on Tuesday, May 7th, from 7 p.m. – 9 p.m.
Both the city Department of Environmental Protection and the state Department of Environmental Conservation have been investigating the potential source of the alleged vapors and conducted sewer inspections in Greenpoint last week, according to Benjamin Solotaire of Council Member Stephen Levin’s office.
The agencies sampled the air at six manholes and found one manhole on Freeman Street that has evidence of petroleum product. Here are the full details: Continue reading →
UPDATE: The rally has been rescheduled for Sunday, May 19th, from noon- 1 p.m. at the Greenpoint Key Food.
Approximately 40 Key Food meat department workers at seven local stores, including the Greenpoint Key Food, are locked out and have been without pay since April 6th in an ongoing contract dispute.
A community action is being held in Greenpoint this weekend in solidarity with the workers, who are represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers’ Local 342.
The Newtown Creek Alliance, Interval Projects and Evergreen Exchange are hosting a second visioning workshop for the “Gateway to Greenpoint” on Tuesday, March 5, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at 520 Kingsland Ave. The meeting will give participants the opportunity to help plan the environmental development at the vacant lot at the corner of Greenpoint and Kingsland Avenues; RSVP here.
The vacant lot at Kingsland and Greenpoint Avenues (courtesy of Newtown Creek Alliance)
The 13,000 square-foot city-owned parcel is managed by the Dept. of Environmental Protection and was granted to the local community during the upgrades to the wastewater treatment plant. Continue reading →
A male suspect is wanted for questioning for allegedly following a woman into a Greenpoint subway station and groping her around 5 p.m. on Feb. 11, NYPD says.
The 94 Pct Detective Sqd needs help id-ing the male below, wanted for a forcible touching occurring on 2/11 @ 515pm @ the Nassau Ave station of the G train. Male did approach female victim from behind & fondle her groin area. If you have any info call 718-383-8545 or 800-577-TIPS pic.twitter.com/0f2bWW3jM9
The 28-year-old woman was followed by the suspect into the Nassau Avenue G train station where he fondled her from behind before the woman fought the suspect off, making him flee to the street above.
The suspect is described as approximately 25 years old, 5 feet three inches tall, wearing a dark knit cap, gray jacket, jeans, and black backpack, according to News 12 Brooklyn.
If you have info call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). Tips can also be submitted at the Crime Stoppers website at www.nypdcrimestoppers.com, on Twitter @NYPDTips, or by texting 274637 (CRIMES) and entering TIP577. All calls are confidential.
Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (NY-12) is hosting a town hall on the 2020 census to discuss the impact of the current presidential administration’s policies this Sunday, Feb. 24, at the Williamsburg Hotel (96 Wythe Ave.) at 1 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. With Amazon HQ2 still fresh on the minds of her constituents and the news media, there’s a chance more topics might be brought up at the public meeting.
As the representative of NY’s 12th Congressional District Maloney reps parts of Williamsburg, Greenpoint, Bushwick, Long Island City (where HQ2 would’ve been constructed), Astoria, the East Village, Midtown East and perhaps most-fittingly, the Upper East Side. The multi-millionaire and UES resident whose lagest donors include real estate developers and BlackRock Inc continues advocating for the failed Amazon bid in NYC.
Appearing on CNBC after the HQ2 deal died, Maloney bemoaned the loss of 25,000 high paying jobs stating, “Along with most of the constituents that I represent, I was terribly disappointed. If Amazon had come to New York, it would have made New York the high-tech capital of the East Coat, cementing permanent good jobs for generations to come. It’s a terrible loss for the city’s economy and jobs for its people.” Amazon also received pushback in the city council hearings on it’s resistance to labor unions and treatment of warehouse workers, which Maloney doesn’t mention in the interview.
“If Amazon had come to New York it would have made New York the high-tech capital of the East Coast,” NY Rep. Carolyn Maloney said. “It’s a terrible loss to the city’s economy and jobs for its people.” https://t.co/83JyRK2vSlpic.twitter.com/usGkSxQEGI
The national debate on if cities should compete by bidding on contracts from mega-corporations has been sparked by the failed Amazon project in NYC, and the backroom nature of the deal brokered by Mayor Bill de Blasio and Governor Andrew “Amazon” Cuomo, where they offered upward of $3 billion in tax subsidies, was met with widespread condemnation by the NYC City Council and many Queens residents and activist groups.
Disappointed that NYC wont be home to 25K+ new jobs from HQ2 & that LIC will lose out on infrastructure improvements that would have accompanied this project. This is not the Valentine that NY needed. 1/
“I applaud Mayor de Blasio and Governor Cuomo for having beat out 220 other localities, cities and states to win Amazon in the first place. I would hope that all of us would try to renegotiate, reach out to Amazon, and try to get them to reconsider,” Maloney said. Continue reading →
After Governor “Amazon” Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio offered the trillion-dollar company, Amazon, upwards of $3 billion in tax subsidies to locate part of its HQ2 campus in Long Island City without public discourse, Amazon has canceled its plans for Queens. Read the full statement from Amazon:
After much thought and deliberation, we’ve decided not to move forward with our plans to build a headquarters for Amazon in Long Island City, Queens. For Amazon, the commitment to build a new headquarters requires positive, collaborative relationships with state and local elected officials who will be supportive over the long-term. While polls show that 70% of New Yorkers support our plans and investment, a number of state and local politicians have made it clear that they oppose our presence and will not work with us to build the type of relationships that are required to go forward with the project we and many others envisioned in Long Island City.
We are disappointed to have reached this conclusion—we love New York, its incomparable dynamism, people, and culture—and particularly the community of Long Island City, where we have gotten to know so many optimistic, forward-leaning community leaders, small business owners, and residents. There are currently over 5,000 Amazon employees in Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Staten Island, and we plan to continue growing these teams.
We are deeply grateful to Governor Cuomo, Mayor de Blasio, and their staffs, who so enthusiastically and graciously invited us to build in New York City and supported us during the process. Governor Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio have worked tirelessly on behalf of New Yorkers to encourage local investment and job creation, and we can’t speak positively enough about all their efforts. The steadfast commitment and dedication that these leaders have demonstrated to the communities they represent inspired us from the very beginning and is one of the big reasons our decision was so difficult.
We do not intend to reopen the HQ2 search at this time. We will proceed as planned in Northern Virginia and Nashville, and we will continue to hire and grow across our 17 corporate offices and tech hubs in the U.S. and Canada.
Thank you again to Governor Cuomo, Mayor de Blasio, and the many other community leaders and residents who welcomed our plans and supported us along the way. We hope to have future chances to collaborate as we continue to build our presence in New York over time.
