And now, the weather, in this July 19, 2019 edition of East & Creek, the Greenpoint newsletter.
What’s up in Greenpoint?
Fierce rains and poor road design caused India St, which connects to the Greenpoint ferry landing, to flood Wednesday evening. (As of Thursday morning, the developers of the adjacent “The Greenpoint” had opened its new sidewalk, which provides high-n-dry access to the waterfront.) And at Court Square in Queens, flood waters broke through a particle-board wall — nearly knocking a person off of the platform. (Greenpointers)
In a statement released on Thursday, the MTA blamed the flooding at Court Square on an adjacent building project’s private developer, who “allowed their construction site to become inundated with water after their contractor relocated utilities and did not have the proper pumping system in place to act as a temporary drainage system.”
(Oh, and you know, you just know that the city’s combined sewer overflow system caused Greenpointers’ filth and feces to gush into the East River and Newtown Creek.)
The New York real estate lobby is lashing out, filing a lawsuit this week targeting the state’s newly-strengthened rent regulations. Julia Salazar, who represents parts of Greenpoint in the state senate, called the lawsuit “hypocritical and unethical.” (The Real Deal’s Georgia Kromrei)
There are several upcoming family-friendly film screenings in Transmitter Park, including “Aquaman” this weekend. (Greenpointers) [e&c note: the original edition of this newsletter listed “The Incredibles 2” as this weekend’s featured film. e&c sincerely regrets the error.]
And one last thing: Ever wondered about the numbered “Belvedere” apartment buildings in Greenpoint? (“Number 88? That can’t be right.”) e&c did, and in 2013 apparently the New York Times did, too. They published a lengthy profile of two Polish immigrants-turned-developers, including an explanation of that peculiar numbering system. (New York Times’ Elizabeth Harris, h/t Sarah A.)
(By the way: Don’t forget that you can always feel free to send your Greenpoint-centric queries and mysteries to eastandcreek@substack.com!)
Meanwhile in New York City…
The heat wave cometh. To emphasize the weather event’s severity, Mayor de Blasio announced earlier this week that he would skip a planned trip to Iowa to monitor the situation from within the five boroughs; he later directed the owners of large office buildings to conserve energy this weekend by keeping thermostats at 78 degrees. (Con Edison warned earlier this week that the hot weather could cause power outages; there were two such outages this week in Staten Island and another in South Brooklyn.)
New Yorkers trying to keep cool can expect longer hours at the city’s public pools and beaches, and should make use of city-run cooling centers — there are two in Greenpoint — as well as the many public parks with spray showers. But even this late into the summer, 16 NYCHA community centers are waiting for A/C repairs, while 33 are still waiting for the seasonal switch from heat to A/C. (NBC 4’s Melissa Russo)
Attempted ICE raids continued, and continued to fail, this week in New York City. (Patch’s Noah Manskar)
The city’s affordable housing lottery system often gives preference to New Yorkers applying for apartments in their own neighborhoods. The result, according to one study (that the city tried to keep under wraps), is the perpetuation of segregation. (New York Times’ J. David Goodman)
Gov. Cuomo signed legislation yesterday requiring an ambitious reduction in New York’s greenhouse gas emissions over the next three decades. He also signed off on the “largest offshore wind agreement in U.S. history,” which is expected to bring investment and jobs to South Brooklyn. (Brooklyn Daily Eagle’s Mary Frost)
Among the issues increasingly likely to come up in the next mayoral race is on-street car storage (née “parking), and whether New Yorkers have access to too much of it. Council Speaker Corey Johnson says they do: “We should reclaim that space and use it for the public.” (WNYC’s Brian Lehrer)
Sen. Rand Paul delayed passage of funding for victims of 9/11 earlier this week; when a reporter for NY1 asked him why, the senator told him he ought to be more “professional” — like the journalists at Fox News. (NY1’s Jeevan Vittal)
And finally, filming for “Clifford the Big Red Dog” this week in Bed-Stuy raised a few NYC-centric questions for one enterprising reporter: What do local zoning laws mean for the massive hound? Are there any legal protections for dogs like Clifford in “no-pet” buildings? And could Clifford ever ride the subway, bag or no bag? (Brooklyn Daily Eagle’s Jake Bittle)
Your Subway Weekender
G - Normal service.
L - “Slowdown” service, and no service between Broadway Junction and Lorimer St from midnight until 5 a.m.
Thus concludes this July 19, 2019 edition of East & Creek, the twice-weekly newsletter about Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Read the full archives here.
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If you don’t like what you’re reading — or if you have any comments or questions — send an email to eastandcreek@substack.com.
See you around town,
e&c