BW01052020 - Page 6

6 BROOKLYN WEEKLY, JANUARY 5, 2020 STORIES TO WATCH IN 2020! �� BY BEN VERDE, JESSICA PARKS, AIDAN GRAHAM, COLIN MIXSON Here’s a collection of compelling stories that got rolling in 2019, but are sure to heat up in 2020, a year that’s certain to give Courier Life reporters plenty to do. Industry City rezoning: Industry City’s controversial rezoning — which would pave the way for a 12-year, $1 billion expansion of the Sunset Park manufacturing complex — will be decided next year by Councilman Carlos Menchaca, whose vote as the local legislator will make or break the measure. Menchaca tried to circumvent the city’s land use review process by demanding that Industry City executives and Mayor de Blasio acquiesce to certain dictates — such as reducing the scope of the rezoning, and providing a number of public amenities to the community, such as a new high school — before the rezoning application was submitted, or else vowing to vote against the proposal. However, that didn’t stop Industry City CEO Andrew Kimball from submitting a rezoning application in December that ignored many of the councilman’s demands, and the next few months will show whether Menchaca meant it when he threatened to vote against the expansion scheme, or if he was bluffi ng. 960 Franklin Ave. rezoning: A rezoning application that would pave the way for construction of a massive mixed-use complex in Crown Heights has put the Brooklyn Botanic Garden under threat, with experts claiming the 39-story development would cast shadows over the horticultural museum for up to six hours per day. The hours of additional gloom would pose a serious threat to the garden’s leafy attractions, with one professional green thumb claiming as many as half the plants currently on exhibit there could wither and die if the complex gets built. As a result, Majority Leader Laurie Cumbo, whose district encompasses 960 Franklin Ave., will have �� This newspaper is not responsible for typographical errors in ads beyond the cost of the space occupied by the error. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2020 by Brooklyn Courier Life LLC. The content of this newspaper is protected by Federal copyright law. This newspaper, its advertisements, articles, and photographs may not be reproduced, either in whole or part, without permission in writing from the publisher except brief portions for purposes of review or commentary consistent with the law. Postmaster, send address changes to Courier Life, One MetroTech Center North, Third Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201. �� to decide next year whether the 789 affordable units that would be included among the development’s planned 1,578 units warrant the possible destruction of one of Brooklyn’s most cherished wonders. Borough Presidents race heats up: Eric Adams is term-limited as Brooklyn’s Borough President — which means a wide open fi eld of up-and-comers vying to fi ll the vacancy at Borough Hall. The elections will occur in November of 2021, but several candidates have already announced their candidacies — including Council members Antonio Reynoso, Robert Cornegy, and Rafael Espinal. Other rumored candidates include Council Majority Leader Laurie Cumbo and Mayor Bill de Blasio’s wife Chirlane McCray. The campaign for the borough’s highest offi ce fi gures to be especially heated this election, as 11 of Kings County’s 15 City Council members are term-limited from their current posts — and seeking other public offi ces. House of D closing: The city has already begun the process of transferring inmates out of the Brooklyn House of Detention, with plans to fully close the jail complex before the end of January. The building’s roughly 400 occupants will be moved to other borough facilities —unless they have specifi c needs that can only be met at Rikers — and the 535 Department of Corrections staff will be reassigned. The move will allow the city to expand and renovate the Downtown Brooklyn holding facility, as it pursues a $8.7 billion strategy to close Rikers Island and move to a borough-based jail system. Canarsie bathroom construction: A city plan to build a comfort station in Canarsie’s namesake park with an anticipated September 2020 completion is at a standstill after contractors fell into default in October, according to the Parks Department. The construction — originally scheduled to kickoff in April 2019 — never broke ground and is not likely to until after the winter season if new contractors are found, possibly pushing the project’s completion date back a year or longer. Gowanus rezoning: With a review of the highprofi le Gowanus rezoning just around the corner, residents of the affected neighborhood are pushing for specifics in what has so far been an opaque community input process. The fi rst public meeting held on the rezoning in early February devolved into a shouting match over city offi cials lack of a clear presentation, and things haven’t gotten much clearer since then. Gowanasaurs have since demanded the rezoning take their concerns into account, which include cleaning the neighborhoods fetid canal and providing affordable housing in the increasingly gentrifi ed neighborhood. Marijuana legalization: The push to create a legal weed market in New York State built up a lot of momentum in 2019 thanks to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who in January outlined a plan to open pot stores across the state by 2024, which would generate an estimated $300 million in annual tax revenue. However, the effort to include Cuomo’s legalization in the 2020 budget fi zzled out over the spring, with legislators failing to reach consensus over how the drug would be taxed and where that money should be spent. Safety concerns raised by local law-enforcement didn’t help, and, while the bill was expected to clear the Assembly, it lacked the support to pass through the Senate. But the legalization movement still has a lot of support in New York, and the bill’s sponsors, state Sen. Liz Krueger (D-Manhattan) and Majority Leader Crystal Peoples- Stokes (D-Buffalo), have vowed to revive the effort after legislators head back to Albany in January. Brooklyn’s bus redesign: The Metropolitan Transportation Authority kicked off a borough-wide revamp of Brooklyn’s bus network in October, and is expected to begin wholesale implementation of strategies designed to cut costs and provide more reliable service beginning next year. Bike lane expansion: The borough is set to receive a whole new network of bike lanes under new citywide initiatives to increase bike safety, after nearly 30 cyclists were killed in the fi ve boroughs in 2019. Along with Mayor de Blasio’s Green Wave initiative, the city council passed Speaker Corey Johnson’s Streets Master Plan, both of which call for the aggressive installation of new bike and bus infrastructure. Several Brooklyn neighborhoods are labeled as priority districts under the Mayor’s plan, including Borough Park, Midwood, Sheepshead Bay, Coney Island, East Flatbush, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Bushwick, Brownsville, and East New York. While most of the Green Wave won’t be put into place until after de Blasio leaves offi ce, Brooklyn can expect several new bike projects in 2020, including a DOT scheme to wrap the perimeter of Prospect Park with protected lanes. The MTA will implement service changes next year as part of a borough-wide revamp to Brooklyn’s bus network. Photo by Kevin Duggan The city will begin a sweeping expansion of the city’s bike lane network beginning next year, when Council Speaker Corey Johnson’s “Streets Master Plan” kicks into effect. Photo by Stefano Giovannini