Day: October 21, 2024

POLICE HAVE ARRESTED RUBEN RUIZ, 53, IN CONNECTION WITH A STRING OF HOME BURGLARIES involving tools that occurred.

The post Frozen waffles from several store brands recalled for listeria contamination appeared first on Brooklyn Eagle.

Officials with Mayor Eric Adams’ administration on Monday attempted to assuage City Council members’ litany of concerns about the sweeping “City of Yes” zoning overhaul, which is intended to boost housing construction across the Big Apple and ease the ongoing housing crisis.

Council members questioned officials with the city’s Departments of City Planning (DCP) and Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) over the zoning text amendment during the first of two public hearings on the plan this week. The hearings come after the plan passed the City Planning Commission late last month and is its final step ahead of a full council vote before the end of the year.

During the proceeding, lawmakers raised multiple concerns about the bundle of proposals, which would rewrite half-a-century-old rules governing where and how much housing can be built in specific corners of the city, with the goal of constructing roughly 100,000 new units over 15 years. The zoning changes are aimed at building a “little more housing in every neighborhood” to combat the city’s housing shortage, which has led to a lack of affordable housing.

“This is the most pro-housing policy in the history of New York City zoning,” DCP Commissioner Dan Garodnick said. “We’ve never attempted to do something like this. It’s the first time that a mayoral administration is taking action to create new housing in every neighborhood, from the lowest density to the highest.”

The plan has become quite controversial, as many of the city’s lower-density communities — those made up of one- to three-family homes and small apartment buildings — fear it will permanently change the character of their more suburban neighborhoods.

During the hearing, some council members expressed worries to Garodnick and HPD Commissioner Adolfo Carrion Jr. over how certain components of the plan would impact their communities. Specifically, council members questioned how new housing created by the plan could further strain already scarce resources in their areas.

Infrastructure impacts

Robert Holden, a conservative Democrat who represents parts of Queens, believes his district should be able to “opt-out” of the City of Yes due to his concerns that the zoning changes would exacerbate already existing infrastructure issues.

Council members also cited anxieties about proposals in the plan that would eliminate a requirement that developers construct off-street parking for every new building they put up and that would allow homeowners to add accessory units on parts of their properties.

Other parts of the zoning amendment that have drawn less opposition include proposals to allow developers to build at least 20% more housing as long as its affordable and authorize small apartment buildings around train stations.

Council Member Kevin Riley (D-Bronx), chair of the council’s Zoning Subcommittee, said his constituents are worried that an influx of new residents into his northern Bronx district would overwhelm the area’s sewers. City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams echoed the same sentiments.

“I’m hearing this from my constituents, ‘Kevin, we’re talking about building more density, which means more toilets being flushed, that means more people taking showers, more people washing dishes, this is going to really impact the sewer system,’” Riley said.

However, Gardnick assured them that his agency’s Environmental Review found that the amount of new housing the City of Yes would add to each area would be so “modest” that it would not significantly strain sewer infrastructure.

“It’s so little density that it does not have a significant adverse impact,” Garodnick said.

Later in the hearing, Council Member Selvena Brooks-Powers (D), who represents part of southeast Queens, argued that eliminating parking mandates could mean less parking for districts like hers that depend on cars due to a lack of access to public transportation. Brooks-Powers said the proposal is a one-size-fits-all approach that does not work her district and areas like it.

“Our communities are not the same and one size does not always fit all,” Brooks-Powers said.

But Garodnick responded that the current model of requiring developers to build parking, which is often expensive and discourages them from constructing more housing, is actually a one-size-fits-all approach.

“We think that we need the level of flexibility to allow for your district to be different from other districts where the transit access is better,” he said. “And today, we are over-defining the thing in ways that are overrepresenting parking in places where it is not needed, and we believe it will continue to be provided in places where it is needed.”

Garodnick added that eliminating the parking minimums is “essential” to making other components of the plan work.

Families got an inside look at their neighborhood firehouses, met firefighters and learned about fire safety on Saturday and Sunday.

The post Fun and serious business mix on FDNY’s Open House weekend appeared first on Brooklyn Eagle.

A Brooklyn man has been sentenced to prison for slashing a stranger and assaulting a bystander who tried to intervene in Greenpoint.

The post Greenpoint street attack leads to three-and-a-half-year prison sentence for Bushwick man appeared first on Brooklyn Eagle.

Dad of JV football player charged in alleged assault on another student at their Brooklyn school defended his son’s behavior, calling it simple “horseplay” and nothing more.

New York Liberty secured their first WNBA Championship in the team’s 28-year history, and the city is in celebratory chaos.

As the buzzer rang out at the 18,090-strong arena crowd, the Liberty, with a heart-stopping 67-62 victory, celebrated their first title and their first-ever finals win after six competitive showings up to this point.

Between the confetti explosions that rained down at the final buzzer and the sounds of Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York,” Barclays Center was overcome with emotions as the athletes relished their sweet victory.

Game 5 was a rollercoaster, peppered with five lead changes and five ties, including a nail-biting finish where the tension peaked in the final moments of the fourth quarter. As the clock wound down, it was a true test of grit and skill that kept fans on the edge of their seats.

“After 28 years, we can finally say it: the New York Liberty are WNBA champions,” Jonathan Kolb, General Manager of the New York Liberty, said in a statement. “This achievement belongs to our fans who never wavered, each and every Liberty legend who paved the way, Joe Tsai and Clara Wu Tsai who breathed new life into an organization in need, and the entire city of New York that has been starving for a championship—and of course, our players, whose grit, sacrifice, and determination have made history. They are truly the first to do it in New York, and I could not be more proud of this entire organization.”

As the athletes celebrated inside with champagne showers, fans stood outside the arena reciting the team’s call-and-response manta — “We all we got, We all we need”— coined by Jones earlier this season.

New York officials, including Mayor Eric Adams and Gov. Kathy Hochul, praised the win online.

“The @nyliberty are proof: When you give women a chance to succeed, they’ll carry the torch forward to a brighter future,” Hochul wrote on X. 

But it’s not just the leaders showing love. City landmarks like the Empire State Building shone bright with seafoam green love.

As fans made their way home after the game, they were thrilled to see a  Nike campaign illuminating the Brooklyn Bridge. 

The phrase “Liberty has a nice ring to it”  hatched by Nike has fans erupting with online applause.

 

My cousin works at Nike and said it was W+K. Idk if it was Portland but my homeboy who works in the NY office confirmed it and showed me this. They won. https://t.co/gB3UD1IPPx pic.twitter.com/hF0SzRwjaT

— Sioban M (@JustCallMeSio) October 21, 2024

The city has shown nothing but love for the athletes, and the celebration is just beginning. Liberty is ready to celebrate a groundbreaking championship with the city that’s been supporting them all season long.

Per New York Liberty, the city will host an official ticker tape parade on Oct. 21 in both Manhattan and Brooklyn at 10 a.m.

On Oct. 24, the city will host their first-ever WNBA Championship victory parade. Set to begin at 10 a.m., the parade will start from Battery Park and go along Broadway towards City Hall, journeying through the famed “Canyon of Heroes.” There will also be a special ceremony honoring the New York Liberty at City Hall at noon.

The team will wrap up celebrations with an event outside of Barclays Center at 7 p.m.

The parade is open and free for all fans to attend, but tickets are required for the ceremony at City Hall and the fan celebration at Barclays Center. Those looking to attend can sign up online to receive additional parade day details.

“This Championship is not only for us and New York City – it’s for all Liberty Loyals and our Brooklyn community. We are honored to celebrate at the iconic Canyon of Heroes and also come together with our passionate fans at our home in Brooklyn,” Keia Clarke, CEO of New York Liberty, said in a statement. “The community in the borough has embraced us wholeheartedly since we began playing at Barclays Center, and we want to share this moment with them.”