STORIES OF THE YEAR
COURIER LIFE, DEC. 31, 2021-JAN. 6, 2022 5
FEBRUARY
Nor’easter brings over 13
inches of snow to Brooklyn:
Winter-loving Brooklynites
took to the frigid outdoors
on Feb. 1 as the borough was
blasted with a nor’easter that
brought over 13 inches of snowfall.
As the inclement weather
approached, then-Gov. Andrew
Cuomo declared a state of emergency
in Kings County, as well
as 43 other counties around the
state.
NYPD horses race
through Midwood after
breaking free: A rag of runaway
NYPD horses made the
streets of Midwood look like
the Aqueduct Racetrack after
escaping custody of the Boysin
Blue.
Hit-and-runs run rampant
on Brooklyn’s streets:
Cops cuffed driver who fatally
struck a 4-year-old boy and left
another child in critical condition
after dropping them off at
a Bensonhurst school. Later in
the month, a hit-and-run school
bus driver killed a 6-year-old
boy right outside his S. Fifth
Street home in Williamsburg.
Later that day, a driver fatally
struck a man before leaving the
scene near Carroll Gardens.
Dog stabbing shocks Fort
Greene Park: A dog owner
knifed a pooch in Fort Greene
Park, seemingly out of nowhere,
shocking the local community.
Police later arrested
the man, and luckily, the canine
survived.
80 percent of Brooklyn
businesses saw revenue decline
in 2020: A report released
in February found that
around 80 percent of businesses
reported a stark decline in revenue,
and 85 percent had to lay
off workers in 2020.
MARCH
Moonstruck House in
Brooklyn Heights hits the
market for $12.85 million:
The 19th century Brooklyn
Heights house featured in
the 1987 fi lm “Moonstruck”
hit the real estate market for
a whopping $12.85 million.
Brooklyn politicos call
on Cuomo’s ouster from
offi ce: After three women
came forward to accuse then-
Gov. Andrew Cuomo of sexual
misconduct, a cadre of
local politicos began calling
on the state’s chief executive
to resign — or face impeachment.
Good Samaritan rescues
goat from highway:
A good Samaritan brought
Brooklyn’s 63rd Precinct an
un-baaa-lievable delivery —
a baby goat they found on the
side of the highway.
City “looking into relocating”
loved concrete animal
statues in NYC playgrounds:
The city’s Parks
Department said they were
looking for temporary new
homes for animal statues
across the city, including the
beloved concrete dolphin in
Cobble Hill Park, the eagles
at Fort Greene Park, and the
metal dragon at Prospect
Park’s Imagination Playground,
as they planned renovations.
Kings County honors
late Brooklynite Ruth
bader Ginsburg: Following
Supreme Court Justice Ruth
Bader Ginsburg’s death, locals
came together to honor
the late Brooklynite with a
series of monuments — including
by renaming Coney
Island Hospital and the
Brooklyn Municipal Building,
and by erecting statues
at Downtown Brooklyn’s City
Point and several other locations.
Vaccines become available
for all adults: All New
Yorkers 16 and older became
eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine
starting on April 6.
Puff puff passed: All but
four of Brooklyn’s state legislators
voted in favor of legalizing
the recreational use of
marijuana, which then-Gov.
Andrew Cuomo signed into
law in March.
APRIL
Brooklyn community
boards see surge in applications:
Community boards
across the borough saw a jump
in applications in 2021, largely
credited to meetings going
fully virtual due to the pandemic.
The number of applications
increased by 58 percent
compared to 2020, with over
1,200 applications received
across Brooklyn’s 18 community
boards, a number not
seen since at least 2017. Northern
advisory boards collected
the highest amount of applications
in the borough with
community boards 1, 2, and 3
which cover northern half of
the borough from Greenpoint
to Bed-Stuy all the way to
Brooklyn Heights and everything
in between.
Brooklyn real estate
prices rise, despite ongoing
pandemic: Brooklyn real
estate prices saw a jump the
fi rst quarter of 2021, despite
the Covid-19 pandemic’s toll
across the city. Prices rose
over 5 percent from the previous
quarter and saw a nearly
10 percent increase from the
same quarter last year.
Coney Island amusements
reopen after lost
summer 2020: April 9 was
an exciting day on the Coney
Island Boardwalk as funseekers,
community leaders
and the local amusement park
owners joined together to reopen
the Coney Island Amusment
District for the fi rst time
in over a year. The fi rst summer
without amusement parks
in the peninsula’s history led
to soaring unemployment and
business closures as foot traffi
c was at an all time low.
Yang criticizes Adams
for placard abuse at Cadman
Plaza: Former mayoral
candidate Andrew Yang
held a press condference at
Brooklyn’s Cadman Plaza to
criticize his one-time opponent
Eric Adam’s use of parking
placards to allow his staff
to park in illegal spots in the
park. Yang never specifi cally
mentioned the borough president,
despite using his offi ce
as the press conference’s backdrop—
claiming the location
was chosen to support Councilmember
Steven Levin’s bill
to curb illegal parking.
Classic chophouse Gage
& Tollner fi nally opens in
Downtown Brooklyn: The
highly-anticipated reopening
of the famed Downtown
Brooklyn steakhouse Gage
and Tollner arrived in April
— 13 months after its relaunch
A woman jumps rope after a
nor’easter brought over 13 inches
of snow on Feb. 1 (left), former Gov.
Andrew Cuomo drew heat after
allegations of sexual misconduct
(top), and a man stabbed a dog in
Fort Greene Park in Febuary (left).
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