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BROOKLYN WEEKLY, AUGUST 23, 2020
The City Council announced a winner in the amature group (left) and the professionals group (center and right). Van Alen Institute
BUILDING BRIDGES
Winners crowned in competition to redesign the Brooklyn Bridge
BY KEVIN DUGGAN
The City Council and
their architectural design
partners announced the
winners of the Brooklyn
Bridge redesign competition
on Aug. 17 — crowing
two non-binding proposals
to make the borough’s namesake
span more friendly to
pedestrians and bicyclists.
Manhattan group Pilot
Projects Design Collective
won the category meant
for professional builders
with their greenery-graced
“Brooklyn Bridge Forest”
scheme — which would expand
the bridge’s wooden
walkway, while reclaiming
several car lanes down below
for cycling. At either end
of the span, the plans call for
so-called “microforests” of
biodiverse greenery, which
the designer said will reconnect
city residents with nature.
The top prize in the
Young Adult category was
taken home by up-and-comers
Shannon Hui, Kwans
Kim, and Yujin Kim. for
their glass-paneled “Do
Look Down” design —
which would create a new
glass deck above the roadway
with sparkling lights
and projections that would
honor the city’s rich culture,
while turning the road into
a space for vendors.
The professional winner
will walk away with $13,000,
while the youngsters will
net $3,000 for their efforts.
Both proposals came out
on top due to their emphasis
on repurposing public space
while highlighting environmental
sustainability and
social equity — all of which
have become more important
amid the pandemic,
said the organizers.
“Public spaces and transportation
options must
be designed with equity,
health, and sustainability
at their core,” reads an Aug.
17 statement c ongratulating
the winners. “With this
in mind, the competition’s
winning designs reclaim
the bridge’s roadways for expanded
pedestrian and cyclist
use.”
Council Speaker Corey
Johnson said he hopes the
ideas will spur the city’s
street designers into bold
action on busy thurways
across the Five Boroughs.
“They are a crucial fi rst
step to get New Yorkers
thinking about how to adapt
not only the bridge but also
our streets and public spaces
for future generations and
stay true to our goal of creating
an environmentally sensitive,
bike friendly city that
prioritizes pedestrians over
cars,” Johnson said.
Three-boat blaze injures
four in Sheesphead Bay
BY KEVIN DUGGAN
A three-boat fire at a
Sheepshead Bay marina
on the morning of Aug. 14
left four people injured,
according to authorities.
Firefighters rushed
to the scene of the blaze
near Avenue Y and Knapp
Street in the Plumb Beach
Channel at 10:30 am with
motorboats and firetrucks
to quell the flames, which
started in one vessel and
spread to two others, according
to the FDNY.
The smoke eaters extinguished
the inferno just
after 11 am, while plumes
of black smoke filled the
sky.
A worker at a Gerritsen
Beach watering
hole across the inlet recalled
the chaotic scene
as authorities worked on
boath land and water to
mitigate the damage.
“When we came in,
it was a full blaze, but it
didn’t explode, luckily
and the firemen got it out
— lots of smoke,” said Pat,
an employee of Tamaqua
Bar and Marina at Dictum
Court, who didn’t give her
last name. “It made a lot
of people come over and
look at it.”
Two boaters and two
firefighters sustained
minor injuries during
the rescue, and all four
are expected to recover,
according to authorities. Firefi ghters work to put out the fl ames. Photo by Bruce Colter