Readers: We don’t need new hotels!
Sheepshead Bay residents are
fuming over a proposed sevenstory
hotel slated for construction
on a residential street, fearing
the new building will turn
into a extended stay homeless
shelter.
“They are worried about their
property values, worried about
the city housing the homeless in
the hotel, and it taking away limited
curbside parking spaces on
the road,” said Community Board
15 Chairwoman Theresa Scavo.
Queens-based builders with
the Michael Kang Architect fi rm
fi led a permit on Dec. 2 with plans
detailing a 72-room hotel building
with three parking spaces at
2646 E. 18th St, and neighbors
aren’t happy about the prospect
of a seven-story structure towering
over their two-story homes.
“I think it’s crazy honestly.
It’s a total mistake for this area,”
said Diane Soffi an-Yulfo. “It’s the
middle of a small, mini block.
It’s not an avenue, nobody knows
where Jerome Street in Brooklyn
is.”
Readers had a lot to say online:
And another question... why put
up a hotel in a residential area?
Use the spaces near the highways!
That’s ridiculous, unless it is really
meant to be a shelter and they just
say “hotel”!
Christina Gardner
I guess zoning laws mean nothing
... this is happening all over our
beloved Brooklyn.
Sheila Hall
Sheepshead Bay defi nitely don’t
need a hotel these people are looking
to turn it into a homeless shelter
and rent it out to the city easy
money.
Enrico J Marini
Time to get our elected offi cials
involved.
Mitchell Rentzler
Ridiculous!!
Mia L. Camen
COURIER L 24 IFE, FEBRUARY 7-13, 2020
Don’t leave your dog alone
A woman whose pleas for help
went viral after her pooch was
dognapped outside the Red Hook
Ikea has been reunited with her
beloved hound.
Park Slope resident Wenfei
Tong managed to contact the
woman who walked off with her
furball with the help of dog lovers
across the city, who fi lled social media
with pictures of her wayward
pooch, and the pair arranged to
meet in Prospect Park on Monday,
where the other woman handed
over the dog happy and healthy.
“It was this amazing explosion
of different people who really
showed a lot of support,” said
Tong. “It practically went viral.”
Tong, who moved to Brooklyn
three months ago from her home
in Anchorage, Alaska, had left her
shepherd and cattle dog mix Ana
tied up outside the Beaver Street
furniture store on Feb. 1, only to return
a short time later to discover
her dog was missing — a shocker
that she admits shouldn’t have
come as a big surprise.
Readers spoke up online:
That guard has to go: even if s/
he dialed the number correctly, why
presume there’s service in that big
store? It’s clear the dog belonged to
another customer.
Would they stand by if a customer
took someone else’s child? Or wallet?
Janet Gottlieb
I do not support leaving dogs unattended
outside.
Grace Scotto
Leaving your pet outside is stupid.
John Ryan
I used to walk my dog while I ran
errands at stores. It was never an issue..
I always tied him up outside. No
problem. If I saw a dog that I thought
just may have been abandoned tied
up.. I would sit and wait on it a little
while.. before making any rash decisions.
Connie LoMonaco
People bring this on themselves.
You wanna get food or go shopping?
Leave your dog at home.
Wendy Dorothy
The dog owner was recently
moved from Alaska where dogs outside
stores are common. It never occurred
to her that this would be a
problem.
Mary A Whalen
There is nothing wrong with having
your dog outside if you are going
in and out. But to shop leave the dog
home and take the dog out later.
Mary G. Woods
People who tie their dogs up outside
are not responsible dog owners.
I have no pity...If you need to go in
somewhere leave them home.
Brett Klisch
It takes like 20 minutes to walk
from the entrance to the register
without stopping. How long was the
poor thing out there ?
Melissa Nastasi
Would you tie your child up outside
and leave it??? Same difference!!
Jill Herman Cannon
Wait! Why was her dog outside of
IKEA? In RED HOOK! Gentrifi cation
huh?
Timm Dogg
Keep BQE lanes open!
One day after his expert panel
released their recommendations
for the crumbling Brooklyn-
Queens Expressway, Mayor Bill
de Blasio signed an executive order
to ratchet up police enforcement
of oversized trucks illegally
driving on the thoroughfare and
directed the city to start repairing
the roadway.
“The BQE is one of the main
arteries of our city, which is why
we are immediately increasing
enforcement against overweight
trucks and addressing the highway’s
most pressing structural
issues,” de Blasio said in a statement
on Jan. 31.
Motorists caught hauling
loads above the 80,000 pound federal
limit on the 1.5 mile thruway
will now be subject to fi nes of up
to $7,000 per violation by Hizzoner’s
new narrowly-focused task
force, which will operate as a
subsidiary of the New York Police
Department.
Offi cials on de Blasio’s expert
panel claimed that the roadway
would become unsafe within fi ve
years unless drastic action was
taken.
The mayor balked, however,
at the recommendation to shrink
the highway from three to two
lanes in each direction, which
the 17-member brain trust said
would cut back the 150,000 vehicles
driving on the interstate
daily, thereby extending its dwindling
lifespan.
Readers made themselves
heard online:
Defi nitely get trucks off the road.
But don’t eliminate roadway.
Mickey Caffrey
Reducing lanes will not reduce
the number of cars desiring to use
the BQE. In this one instance I completely
agree with Hizzoner that lane
reduction will dramatically slow
down the traffi c on the BQE and result
in unprecedented traffi c jams.
Fewer cars will use the BQE b/c
there will simply not be enough room
for additional cars to get on the BQE
with everyone else “parked” on it.
Dennis Diggett
In the 1970s, the southbound BQE
was expanded from two lanes to
three lanes at the Hamilton Avenue
overpass. The right lane was an exit
lane. Before the expansion southbound
speeds were no greater than
20 mph from 8 AM to 10 PM. Once the
new overpass was built, southbound
speeds increased to 40 mph except
during rush hours when it remained
at 20 mph. Eliminating the bottleneck
by adding a lane eased traffi c and did
not increase traffi c. Traffi c is still
40 mph except during rush hours.
These so-called experts are not really
experts. Two lanes each way will ensure
no one gets anywhere and will
reduce job opportunities and hurt
the economy. History has proven
these “experts” wrong.
Allan Rosen
If only the Administration had
prioritized the repair of the BQE instead
of the private construction of
multi-million dollar condos.
Matt Townsend
They’re going to extend the
lifespan by 10 years. What the hell
happens then? Either the river walk
get clipped or they knock down the
new luxury buildings to _actually_
fi x this, then rebuild when it’s done.
This doesn’t get easier in 10-15 years,
it just kicks the can down the road
Ben Greenberg
If it is a not a bike lane he either
does not know or does not care.
Mitchell Rentzler
LET US HEAR FROM YOU
Submit letters to:
Colin Mixson, Edi tor, Courier Life,
1 MetroTech Center North, Brooklyn,
NY 11201, or e-mail to editorial@
schnepsmedia.com. Please include
your address and tele phone number
for so we can con fi rm you sent the
letter. We reserve the right to edit all
correspondence, which becomes the
property of Courier Life.
SOUND OFF TO THE EDITOR
LETTERS AND COMMENTS FROM OUR READERS
/schnepsmedia.com
