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BROOKLYN WEEKLY, DECEMBER 29, 2019
spending their time criticizing
the program, the Police
Department should focus
on closing open cases.
Time Out: City Health
Department shut down
Time Out Market on July
10 after inspectors discovered
a communal fridge
shared by most of its eateries
was too warm. The
walk-in fridge was found
operating at a balmy 58 degrees
— 17 degrees over the
41-degree threshold set by
the federal Food and Drug
Administration to prevent
the growth of bacteria. Inspectors
ordered the fridge
to be taken offl ine, which
necessitated the 14 vendors
using it to close down, and
by extension shuttered the
entire food hall.
Powerless: A punishing
heat wave and thunderstorm
left thousands of
south Brooklynites without
power in July, forcing
those in the dark to sweat
it out without air conditioning
as temperatures
creeped above 90 degrees.
Pedal power: Mayor
Bill de Blasio announced
an aggressive expansion
of the city’s bike lane network
on July 25. The $58.4
Million plan requires the
city install 80 miles of protected
bike lanes per year.
The announcement came
amid a bloody year for cyclists,
who suffered 29 fatalities
citywide, and 18 in
Brooklyn.
AUGUST
Slip up: A Williamsburg
basketball court became
dangerously slippery
after a Looney Tunes-inspired
paint job made it
unsafe to play on Aug. 23.
To address locals’ concerns,
the city’s Parks Department
days later added
a layer of clear paint mixed
with silica sand after local
ballers complained that the
paint job created a slipping
hazard. The city later widened
the court, repainted
its lines, and replaced its
backboards from distracting
cartoon-covered surfaces
to clear boards.
Not O-KKK: Borough
President Eric Adams put
his foot in it when he compared
a critic on social media
to the Ku Klux Klan.
Twitter user Corrupt-
Brooklyn had slammed
the beep and local Councilman
Stephen Levin for
their weak stance on the
rampant placard parking
abuse in Downtown
Brooklyn on Aug. 27. Adams
shot back, likening
his detractor to people
who “hid themselves with
white hoods,” and the internet
reacted swiftly to
condemn the Beep’s bone
headed move.
Bridging the gap: The
Kosciuszko Bridge’s decades
in-the-works second
span opened on Aug. 29.
The $873 million state project
also included a pedestrian
and bike path, and
replaced the original 1939
built span.
Pond rescue: The
NYPD brought out the
big guns to rescue an allegedly
“emotionally disturbed”
man from Prospect
Park’s shallow lake.
Scuba cops rappelled into
NYPD divers rescued the emotionally disturbed man from Prospect
Park Lake in August. Photo by Paul Martinka
the water from a helicopter
to reach the lone swimmer,
who was cast away
in the manmade lake
that reaches a maximum
depth of about 7 feet.
Assembly corruption:
A staffer for Assemblyman
Felix Ortiz was arrested
for allegedly embezzling
funds from the Sunset
Park pols campaign in August,
before a jury found
him guilty in September.
The staffer, Maruf Alam,
served Ortiz’s offi ce in several
different roles, including
chief of staff. According
to a federal complaint,
Alam fi led false disclosure
forms with the New York
State Board of Elections,
and cut several checks for
himself while serving as
the campaign’s treasurer.
SEPTEMBER
Child Victims Act:
Eighty-seven victims of
childhood sex abuse fi led
suits in Brooklyn Supreme
Court in the fi rst month
since state lawmakers
open up a yearlong lookback
window — known
as the Child Victims Act.
The law enacted on Aug. 14
gives child sex abuse victims
a renewed chance to
seek justice against their
abusers regardless of statute
of limitations, for a one
year period.
2019 REVIEW
Continued from Page 6
The Parks Department built a slippery, Looney-Toons themed basketball
court in August. Photo by Kevin Duggan
WINNER