YEAR
IN REVIEW
2020
networks offi cially called the
presidential election in favor of
now President-elect Joe Biden,
Brooklynites took to the streets
for a series of impromptu celebrations.
Drivers honked
their horns, stoop-sitting locals
banged pots and pans, and
champagne corks popped from
noon until sundown as jubilant
revelers ushered in a new
day in American politics.
Feds offi cially start Gowanus
Canal Superfund
dredging: Senior Environmental
Protection Agency offi
cials fi nally kicked off the
long-awaited dredging of the
Gowanus Canal’s Superfund
Cleanup, marking a new milestone
in the decade-on battle
to cleanse Brooklyn’s Nautical
Purgatory.
Borough President Eric
Adams declares for mayor:
After months of speculation,
the Beep offi cially entered the
race for Gracie Mansion, leaning
on his time as a police offi -
cer, a state legislator, and borough
president to stand out
in the increasingly crowded
June 2021 Democratic primary.
Adams would go on to
outriase nearly all of his opponents,
COURIER L 10 IFE, DECEMBER 25-31, 2020
and was immediately
crowned as one of the race’s
frontrunners.
Boerum Hill woman
tracks local CityMD wait
on Twitter: As Brooklynites
lined up in masse to receive
tests for COVID-19 at various
CityMD locations around the
borough, one do-gooder used
her proximity to the medical
facility’s Atlantic Avenue
branch to help inform neighbors
on Twitter about the
length of lines stretching outside,
so they could opt for an
ideal time to go get tested.
DECEMBER
Judge reverses Brooklyn
Democrats’ 2,400 illegal vacancy
appointments: A Kings
County Supreme Court judge
reverses the controversial appointment
of some 2,400 lowlevel
members of the Brooklyn
Democratic Party by its
executive ranks, saying the
move violates state Election
Law. Progressives previously
accused party bigs of
using an expansion of some
non-gendered seats in the
party as a “pink-washing”
power grab by party honchos
to consolidate power among
its leadership
COVID-19 vaccine brings
Pfi zer back to Brooklyn: The
COVID-19 vaccine arrived
in Brooklyn on December 14
and some healthcare workers
have already gotten their fi rst
dose. The vaccine, produced
by Pfi zer alongside Germanbased
BioNTech, marks the
return of Pfi zer to the Brooklyn
borough where the massive
global pharmaceutical
company once made its humble
beginnings.
Brooklyn Bridge plaza
to be named after Emily
Roebling: Local greenspace
stewards announced that a
planned civic square beneath
the Brooklyn Bridge will be
named after Emily Roebling,
who oversaw the completion
of the borough’s iconic span
after her husband, Washington
Roebling, became bedridden
with caisson disease. The
new public area will mark
the fi nal section of Brooklyn
Bridge Park.
City announces offi cial
Gowanus rezoning start
date: City planners offi cially
announced that the hotlydebated
neighborhood-wide
rezoning of Gowanus would
start its public review process
on Jan. 19.
Brooklyn Dems host chaotic
13-hour full membership
Zoom call: The Brooklyn
Democratic Party’s fi rst
ever virtual full membership
meeting went off the rails,
with party bigs miscounting
votes and members pushing
them for more transparency
during a wild 13-hour Zoom
call. After hours of back-andforth,
progressives secure
a slate of victories aimed at
making the party more transparent.
Controversial Crown
Heights developments killed:
In one week, two contentious
rezonings in Crown Heights
hit serious road blocks. One,
the 960 Franklin Avenue rezoning
across the street from
the Brooklyn Botanic Garden,
was all but killed when
the mayor came out against
the multi-tower megadevelopment,
and another, the 2018
Franklin Avenue rezoning
was annulled when a Kings
County Supreme Court Justice
sided with neighborhood
activists in a lawsuit and decertifi
ed the rezoning. The Department
of City Planning has
since fi led an appeal.
Continued from page 6
Brooklynites took to the streets on November 7 to celebrate Joe Biden’s
election as President of the United States in November.
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