2019 REVIEW
lane McCray.
Renter rights: Brooklyn
renters celebrated a landmark
agreement on June 14
that limited landlords’ ability
to jack up rent and deregulate
rent-stabilized apartments,
among other provisions favoring
tenants. Political leaders
of both the state’s legislative
chamber lauded the deal
as historic victory for tenants
across the state. Housing
advocates — spearheaded
by state Sen. Julia Salazar —
began pushing lawmakers to
pass nine “universal rent control”
measures following the
November election.
Hammer beats gavel:
On June 14, former Community
Board 6 District Manager
Craig Hammerman was
found not guilty in Brooklyn
Supreme Court on charges
of using bogus documents to
give himself pay-raises from
the city which totaled more
than $16,000 annually. If found
guilty, the civic leader could
have faced up to seven years
in prison for using the signature
stamps of two CB6 chairmen
to issue himself four salary
bumps over a three-year
span. But Hammerman maintained
that he had been authorized
to use the signatures for
community board business —
a defense the jury accepted.
Bye, bye barber: Legendary
Brighton Beach barber
Jack Skolnick hung up his
shears after more than 50
years in the neighborhood on
June 29. He opened up ‘Jack’s
Barber Shop’ in 1964 and continued
COURIER LIFE,6 DEC. 27, 2019-JAN. 2, 2020
cutting the hair of
many of his earliest clients,
some of whom have been visiting
him since he worked in
his fi rst barbershop as a teenager.
Many remember Jack’s
Barber Shop as an unoffi cial
meeting place where neighbors
and old friends would
gossip and discuss sports.
July
Shots fi red: NYPD Chief
of Department Terence Monahan
slammed Brooklyn District
Attorney Eric Gonzalez
at a Manhattan press conference
on July 8 for putting gunmen
back on the street. The
police chief specifi cally criticized
the prosecutor’s youth
diversion program where offenders
between the ages of 14
to 22 who plead guilty to weapons
possession charges can
partake in an 18- to 24-month
educational program in place
of incarceration. The district
attorney’s offi ce fi red back
that instead of 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. Residents
in Canarsie, Marine
Park, Mill Basin, and parts
of Flatbush suffered worst —
with locals describing chaotic
car crashes as traffi c signals
remained dormant throughout
the night. The utility company’s
handling of the blackouts
lead to calls from some
elected offi cials to consider
city control of the power grid,
claiming Con Edison was not
adequately prepared to handle
emergencies.
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, with several priority
zones falling in Brooklyn,
including Bay Ridge, Borough
Park, Midwood, Sheepshead
Bay, Coney Island, East Flatbush,
and Bedford-Stuyvesant.
The announcement
came amid a bloody year for
cyclists, who suffered 29 fatalities
citywide, and 18 in
Brooklyn.
Brash beetle: Scientists
discovered a new species of
beetle with a unique genitalia
— right in Greenwood Cemetery!
The bizarre bug was
proven to be a unique specimen
of the genome Agrilus, a
family of about 3,000 species.
Not everyone was pleased
with the discovery though,
cemetery tree huggers are
concerned the European native
could cause grave damage
to the boneyards stately
old trees, and should be eradicated
if possible.
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’ con-
Continued from Page 4
Continued on Page 8
Scientists identifi ed a new species
of beetle at Green-Wood Cemetery
discovered by a male specimen’s,
right, unique genitalia.
National Forest Service
They count on you,
So count on us to
keep you going.
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