YEAR IN REVIEW
against vandalism of Bensonhurst
church, Windsor
Terrace church desecrated
same day: Brooklynites gathered
outside a Bensonhurst
church to rally against the destruction
of its house of worship
the same day another vandalism
took place at another
Catholic Church in Windsor
Terrace. Both incidents of vandalism
were investigated and
many fundraised to restore the
religous monuments.
Mayor pledges to fund fi x
for deadly McGuinness Boulevard
after teacher killed
in hit-and-run: Mayor Bill
de Blasio announced he would
redesign Greenpoint’s deadly
McGuiness Boulevard after a
teacher was killed in a hit-andrun
crash. Five-lane McGuinness
Boulevard has long been
a treacherous speedway splitting
the north Brooklyn nabe
in half and some 200 residents,
former students of Jensen’s and
their parents, along with safe
streets activists and elected offi
cials demanded action.
JUNE
City bus crashes into
Prospect Leffert Home leaving
dozens injured: A New
York City Transit bus crashed
into a townhouse on Bedford
Avenue in Prospect Lefferts
Gardens on Monday, injuring
more than a dozen people. The
building was declared no longer
safe for occupation by the
Department of Buildings and
issued an order to vacate for all
residents, who were provided
with emergency housing while
the investigation continued.
Baby porcupine debuts at
Prospect Park Zoo: Prospect
Park Zoo’s new prickly resident,
Barb, made her debut in
June after she was born in February
to Needles and Spike. As
a newborn, the North American
Porcupine’s quills are very
soft but will harden as she gets
older.
Thousands raised for retired
police offi cer killed in
pizzeria altercation: Donations
poured in after a retired
NYPD offi cer was killed when
trying to play peacemaker at a
Kensington pizzeria, where a
corrections offi cer was arguing
with another man. A fundraiser
launched in his honor
saw $55,000 in donations just
four days after its launch.
Diocese unveils Mother
Cabrini statue in Carroll
Gardens: The Brooklyn Diocese
unveiled a long awaited
Mother Cabrini statue outside
of a Carroll Gardens statue in
COURIER LIFE, D 6 EC. 31, 2021-JAN. 6, 2022
June, after a yearlong battle
to memorialize the saint after
a statue of her was suggested
for Chirlane McRay’s female
statue initiative.
Gov lifts most COVID-19
restrictions as state hits 70
percent fi rst dose vaccinations:
Forsaken former Governor
Andrew Cuomo lifted
most COVID-19 restrictions as
the state surpassed 70 percent
of adults who received at least
one shot of the vaccine. The
lifted limits included capacity
restrictions, social distancing,
health screening, cleaning and
disinfection protocols, and information
gathering for contact
tracing.
George Floyd statue vandalized
with white supremacist
graffi ti in Flatbush:
Racist vandals desecrated a
statue of George Floyd in Flatbush,
spray painting black
paint on the monument’s head
and leaving behind the insignia
of a notorious white supremacist
group. The statue
— a 500-pound wooden bust
of Floyd’s profi le at Flatbush
Junction — was unveiled the
weekend before as part of borough
wide Juneteenth celebrations.
Brooklyn politicians
sweep citywide roles in June
primary: Politicians hailing
from Brooklyn swept the citywide
posts in the June primary,
making them likely for victory
in November. Borough President
Eric Adams won his election
for mayor, and Park Slope
Councilmember Brad Lander
will be the next comptroller.
Progressive Councilmember
Antonio Reynoso will serve as
Brooklyn Borough President.
JULY
Mayor, Council speaker
celebrate $98.7 billion budget
deal: Mayor Bill de Blasio
and the City Council reached
an agreement on a nearly $100
billion municipal budget, the
largest in the city’s history.
The budget deal, which is
the last one for de Blasio and
Council Speaker Corey Johnson,
reversed many of the
service cuts to city agencies
seen during the pandemic,
when cratering revenues
threatening the city’s fi scal
stability.
New York City’s essential
workers honored
with extravagant parade:
The city celebrated its essential
workers, aka “hometown
heroes,” in a long-promised
ticker-tape parade down Man-
A statue of George Floyd was vandalized in June.
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