January 26, 2020 Your Neighborhood — Your News®
Month xx–xx, 2019
LOCAL
CLASSIFIEDS
PAG E 11
Industrial
sabotage
Community
board punts on
Industry City
amid harassment
BY ROSE ADAMS
Community board members
failed to reach a consensus on
the Industry City rezoning during
a messy, four-hour meeting
on Wednesday night following
a phone harassment campaign
that spooked board members
ahead of the important vote, according
to the civic group’s lead
staffer.
“Somebody apparently had
board members’ phone numbers,
so they were getting phone
calls,” said Jeremy Laufer, district
manager of Community
Board 7.
The meeting was the fi nal
chance for the local community
board to issue a set of recommendations
for Industry City’s rezoning
application, which, if approved,
would pave the way for
a $1-billion redevelopment of the
sprawling industrial complex.
The board’s recommendations
are only advisory, but they’re
likely to infl uence the local
councilman, Carlos Menchaca,
who holds outsized power over
the application’s passage in the
Council since the land in questions
sits in his district.
However, board members
who supported the proposal have
faced intense pressure from opponents
of the rezoning scheme,
which activists claim will drive
up rents and herald a wave of
gentrifi cation that threatens to
push out the area’s large immigrant
population. Members who
testifi ed in favor of the appli-
Continued on page 8
Floyd Hayes shows off his certifi cate for his emotional support beer, which he hopes to bring on public transit. Photo by Caroline Ourso
Brewhaha!
Clinton Hill man registers beer as emotional support animal
BY COLIN MIXSON
Talk about a cold comfort!
A Clinton Hill man registered
his beer as an emotional support
animal last month, hoping the
certifi cation will allow him to access
public transit in possession
of his favorite beverage.
“I travel from upstate to Brooklyn
a lot, and on the bus they say
its a federal crime to smoke or
have an alcoholic beverage unless
by prior written consent, and I always
wondered where you get that
consent,” said Floyd Hayes.
“Not that I’m an alcoholic,” he
added.
As fi rst reported by Ale Street
News, Hayes registered his beer
as an emotional support dog with
USA Service Dog Registration.
According to the site, Hayes’
support dog, which is listed as
“beer,” does not require any additional
training and helps the Clinton
Hill resident to manage his social
anxiety disorder.
“I don’t mean it in a heady
mental health manner,” he said.
“More if you go to a party, and
want to break the ice.”
Hayes hasn’t tried bringing
his beer on a bus yet — he is ironically
observing Dry January
— but an employee at USA Service
Dog Registration, who declined
to give her name, was not
amused by the Clinton Hill man’s
shenanigans, and said that registering
his beer with the company
would not provide him with any
benefi ts.
“He can register his beer all
day long, it’s not going to get him
anywhere,” she said.
The worker said that, while
landlords who don’t typically allow
pets in the buildings will
sometimes refer to their registry,
it has no legal merit, and that
anyone wishing to bring an emotional
support animal on a plane,
or place of business requires written
medical approval from a doctor
under the Americans with
Disabilities Act.
“This will not get you into Walmart,
it will not get you into Denny’s,
it will only protect you where
you’re renting,” she said.
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