YEAR
IN REVIEW
2020
Grand Prospect Hall
owner Michael Halkias dies:
Michael Halkias, the beloved
owner of Park Slope’s iconic
Grand Prospect Hall died from
COVID-19. The 82-year-old was
remembered for his “larger
than life” personality — especially
recognized from his longrunning
commercial where his
wife, Alice Halkias, exclaims
“We make your dreams come
true!”
JUNE
More than 500 complaints
fi led regarding police
misconduct at George
Floyd protests: The Civilian
Complaint Review Board, an
independent agency that investigates
reports of police
misconduct, logged more than
500 complaints related to the
George Floyd protests.
Man shoots, stabs NYPD
offi cers in Flatbush: Dzenan
Camovic, a 20-year-old Serbian
national living in Brooklyn,
allegedly stabbed a police
offi cer in the neck, and
used the wounded cop’s gun
to shoot two other offi cers on
Church Avenue in Flatbush.
Responding authorities then
shot Camovic during the ensuing
panic. All four injured people
sustained non-life threatening
COURIER L 6 IFE, DECEMBER 25-31, 2020
wounds, and have since
recovered. Federal authorities
arrested the suspect on a slew
of charges, and claim he was
infl uenced by terrorist organizations
like al-Qaida.
Inmate at Sunset Park
prison dies after offi cers
pepper spray him: Jamel
Floyd, a 35-year-old inmate at
the Metropolitan Detention
Center died after prison guards
pepper sprayed him in the face,
saying he was “being disruptive”
and “potentially harmful
to himself and others.” The incident
came during a series of
protests over the police killing
of George Floyd in Minneapolis,
and sparked more protests
outside the detention center.
Jay and Lloyd’s Kosher
Deli bids farewell to Sheepshead
Bay: Sheepshead Bay
mainstay, Jay and Lloyd’s Kosher
Deli, closed their doors
much to the remorse of their
longtime patrons in June. The
infamous duo, always known
for entertaining their guests,
said the ongoing pandemic
and a decline in the popularity
of Kosher delis left them
with little choice.
JULY
Progressives trounce establishment
in Democratic
primaries: A slate of progresive
upstarts unseated
establishment-backed candidates
in the primary elections
for statewide offi ce.
Democratic socialist Marcela
Mitaynes beat 26-year incumbent
Assemblyman Félix Ortiz
in Sunset Park, insurgent
Greenpoint Assembly candidate
Emily Gallagher defeated
23-term incumbent Joe Lentol,
tenant organizer Phara Souffrant
Forrest overcame Assemblyman
Walter Mosley in
Fort Greene, and public school
teacher Jabari Brisport beat
the party-favored Assemblywoman
Tremaine Wright in
the race for northern Brooklyn’s
state Senate District 25.
Revel suspends service after
second fatality: The popular
scooter-sharing company,
Revel, indefi nitely suspended
its service in July following the
fatalities of two riders in July.
One of the fatalities resulting
in the closure was of CBS2 reporter
Nina Kapur, after she
fell off the back of a scooter in
Greenpoint. Revel resumed
service a month later in August
with new safety-features,
requiring that riders confi rm
they are wearing helmets
and complete a short training
course in their application.
AUGUST
Thousands lose power
after Isaias blows through
Brooklyn: Tropical Storm
Isaias wreaked havoc on New
York City, closing all beaches,
fl ooding streets, and causing
trees to collapse and manhole
transformers to blow across
the Five Boroughs. The extreme
weather led over 20,000
Brooklynites to lose power for
several days, in what utility
company Con Edison called
the second largest power outage
in the company’s history,
behind only Superstorm
Sandy in 2012. Con Edison’s
widely criticized response led
several Brooklyn politicians
to call for government control
of the energy grid.
Asian-Americans lead
march after 89-year-old
woman set on fi re: Hundreds
of New Yorkers took
to the streets of Bensonhurst
after an 89-year-old woman
was set on fi re and slapped
by two teenagers in what attendees
suspected was a vicious
hate crime. The marchers,
led by a well-known
rapper named China Mac,
demanded that the Police Department
classify the attack
as a hate crime. Though police
never did, they arrested
two 13-year-olds in September
for the attack.
Pol shares Facebook post
equating Black Lives Matter
to Klu Klux Klan: Southern
Brooklyn Assemblyman
William Colton shared a post
on his public Facebook page
calling Black Lives Matter
a “hate group” and equating
it to the Klu Klux Klan —
which, he said, started out as
a group of “well intentioned
people” before becoming the
notoriously violent white supremacist
institution that it
is today.
SEPTEMBER
Virtual Mermaid Parade
draws fans from
around the world: Thousands
of revelers tuned into
the virtual Mermaid Parade
from as far as Scotland to
share their costumes, hear
performances from Death
Cab for Cutie’s Ben Gibbard
and The Feelies’ Glenn Mercer,
and donate money to
local charities during the
telethon.
Continued from page 5
Continued on page 10
SHOP
YOUR
CITY
3 ways you can support
the small businesses that
make our city a unique
place to live:
Shop safely in person or online
Buy a gift card
Order delivery or curbside pickup
1
2
3
Find options to help you
Shop Your City at
nyc.gov/supportsmallbusinesses
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