Hijinks at Community Board Meeting; K Bridge Traffic Persists; Results from Polish Elections
The nanny state is coming for your crystals.
East & Creek, the Greenpoint newsletter | No. 43
What’s up in Greenpoint?
Well, what if we just widen the Kosciuszko Bridge again: “When New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo opened the new Kosciuszko Bridge in August, he predicted that average speeds along that section of the traffic-clogged Brooklyn-Queens Expressway would increase by 65%. Travel speeds along the bridge, which carries about 163,000 daily vehicles, have improved at certain times of day. But as commuters stuck in traffic this September can attest, the $900 million bridge has done little to fix a notorious bottleneck during most rush-hour periods. Motorists driving over the bridge from Queens toward Brooklyn during the morning and evening rush hours this September saw no change in travel speeds compared to 2016 when the old Kosciuszko Bridge was last in use, according to data from transportation analytics firm INRIX.” (Wall Street Journal’s Paul Berger)
Cuomo, speaking to reporters at yesterday’s Columbus Day Parade, dismissed the study. “Non è posso! Questo pazzo,” the Guv proclaimed, smiling comfortably. “It’s non è posso que nine lanes is the same as six lanes. Non è posso. It’s simple math.”
Poland elected a divided Parliament last weekend: “Poland’s ruling rightwing Law and Justice (PiS) party has narrowly won a second term in office, but its grip on power was weakened after it lost control of the upper house and failed to increase its majority in the more powerful lower chamber. What had looked like a clear-cut victory for PiS turned into a far tighter contest, with final results showing that while the party won just under 44% of Sunday’s vote for the lower house or Sejm, up from 38% in 2015, it secured only 235 seats in the 460-seat assembly – the same total as in 2015.” (The Guardian’s Jon Henley and Christian Davies)
Attention local parents: Tonight will see the second meeting of the newly-formed D14 Green Alliance, a coalition of parents and educators developing sustainable practices in North Brooklyn’s public schools. Led by locals Acacia Thompson and Lori Vroegindewey, the group hopes to “work within schools to change behaviors” and build an information network “so we don’t have to reinvent the wheel” for green projects, as Thompson put it to e&c. Attendants are encouraged to RSVP.
Tomcats Barbershop is closing its location at 135 India St. According to the shop’s voicemail message, “the entire staff is moving down the road” to a new location at 599 Manhattan Ave.
And then there’s this:
Eric Yearwood speaks at Thursday’s meeting of Brooklyn Community Board 1. (screenshot via WNET)
More than two hours of last Thursday’s Community Board 1 meeting had passed without any hyperlocal theatrics when Eric Yearwood, clad in black leather, approached the microphone, introduced himself, opened his notes, and proceeded to pull one over on assembled locals.
In a steady voice he listed off neighborhood businesses offering “supernatural services” — Subversive Tattoo & Tarot, Brooklyn Psychic Boutique — and recounted hearing “young people” and “women, in particular” in “bars” discussing their practice of “wicca” and “witchcraft.” And then he called upon the board to consider regulating — licensing! — these alternative service providers.
"We have to make a choice," he says. "Do these things have power? And if they do, are we going to let these people do this stuff unlicensed in the area?" He finished, and the board applauded.
This newsletter was fooled. Greenpointer and meeting attendee Kevin LaCherra was, too. LaCherra was reviewing the meeting livestream later to send the moment to a friend when he thought to do some background on the speaker. “He came up on Facebook,” LaCherra told e&c. “There was a video of him doing a very similar thing — far more performative — in Huntington, on Long Island.” (Yearwood spoke against the town’s decision to rename itself “Hauntington” for a day.) The actor has previously collaborated with the legendary hoax artist Zardulu, playing a key supporting role in the infamous “selfie rat” video.
“If I hadn’t looked into it, we would’ve been none the wiser,” LaCherra admitted. “It would have been just another fellow New Yorker with a niche concern — in this case, licensing witches.”
Thus concludes this October 15, 2019 edition of East & Creek, the twice-weekly newsletter about Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Read the full archives here.
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See ya around the neighb,
Jon Hanrahan
Author, e&c