The Brooklyn Bridge bike lane opened in September (left), and the historic
Grand Prospect Hall was bought by a real estate holding company
and demolished in September (above).
COURIER LIFE, DEC. 31, 2021-JAN. 6, 2022 13
YEAR IN REVIEW
was defi ned by scandal, including
sexual harassment,
misreporting COVID deaths
in nursing homes, and using
state resources to write a book
that netted him $5 million.
The disgraced former chief
executive, now embroiled in
legal trouble over his conduct,
was replaced by the lieutenant
governor, Kathy Hochul.
Horrifi c dog attack in
Flatbush leaves 19-monthold
boy dead: A rottweiler
mauled to death a toddler, the
youngest member of the dog’s
human clan, at the family’s
Flatbush townhouse in August.
The youngster was only
19-months-old.
Brooklyn tunnel impresario,
transit advocate Bob
Diamond dies at 62: Bob
Diamond, who discovered a
long-lost subway tunnel underneath
an Atlantic Avenue
manhole, and provided tours
to the public for years until
the city squashed his enterprise,
died over the summer at
age 62. The ubiquitous transit
gadfl y also tried for years, in
vain, to build a streetcar between
Red Hook and Downtown
Brooklyn. Though many
of his efforts were unsuccessful,
Diamond won the hearts
and minds of Brooklynites fascinated
by the history of how
we move.
Brooklyn’s population
increases by over 230k in
2020 Census results: Brooklyn’s
population increased by
over 230,000 people in the past
decade, marking the biggest
increase of any borough in
New York City, and far outpacing
expectations, according
to 2020 Census data released
over the summer.
The borough’s demographics
are also changing, the Census
revealed. Brooklyn’s Black
population shrunk between
2010 and 2020, while the white,
Hispanic, and Asian populations
all grew.
City disapproves Botanic
Garden-adjacent mega development:
The city’s land
use gurus formally put the kibosh
on a proposed 34-story
residential tower on Franklin
Avenue, adjacent to the Brooklyn
Botanic Garden. The Botanic
Garden long contended
the proposed tower, which was
supposed to be half-composed
of affordable units, would
block sunlight critical to the
life of the beloved green oasis’
plant life, a point to which advocates
and offi cials agreed.
The developer had threatened
to build an alternate
tower at the site that wouldn’t
require a rezoning, and would
not contain any affordable
housing.
Reckless driver charged
after killing 6-year-old girl
in Dyker Heights: A reckless
driver was charged with manslaughter
and negligent homicide
after hitting and killing
a 6-year-old girl in Dyker
Heights. The driver was indicted
in October.
SEPTEMBER
Hurricane Ida pounds
NYC: Hurricane Ida brought a
massive torrential downpour
to New York City, killing 13 city
residents including two Brooklynites,
fl ooding crucial infrastructure,
and causing billions
of dollars in property damage.
‘The Wire’ actor Michael
K. Williams found dead in
Williamsburg apartment:
The actor Michael K. Williams,
known for playing Omar on
HBO’s “The Wire,” was found
dead of a suspected drug overdose
in his Williamsburg apartment
in September, at the age
of 54. Widely acclaimed for his
performance as Omar, he was
well-known for giving back to
the community and was involved
in local civic affairs in
Brooklyn, particularly his native
East Flatbush.
Brooklyn Bridge bike lane
opens: The new protected bike
lane on the Brooklyn Bridge’s
Manhattan-bound roadbed fi -
nally opened in September, replacing
the notorious hybrid
bike path on the pedestrian
walkway. Since then, cycling
trips across the storied span
have doubled, the city says.
Grand Prospect Hall
bought, demolished: The
Grand Prospect Hall was purchased
for $30 million by a real
estate investor, taking it off
the hands of the Halkias family,
who made all of Brooklyn’s
dreams come true. The new
owner sent those dreams down
the toilet: he fi led demolition
permits and, after a last-minute
bid to landmark the splendorous,
century-old banquet hall
failed, began to tear down the
storied structure.
Driver charged with manslaughter,
faces 25 years
for Clinton Hill crash that
killed 3-month-old: A driver
is facing up to 25 years behind
bars on manslaughter and assault
charges after killing a
3-month-old girl with his car on
a Clinton Hill sidewalk in September.
The driver, Tyrik Mott,
was driving at high speed in the
wrong direction along Gates
Avenue when he smashed his
car into another vehicle, which
then plowed into the infant,
Apolline Guillemin, and her
family. The mother suffered serious
injuries. Mott had racked
up dozens of speeding tickets
over the past few years, enough
to have his car impounded under
a law passed by the city before
the crash, but not yet implemented.
Robert Brennan named
Bishop of Brooklyn, replaces
longtime Bishop DiMarzio:
Robert Brennan was appointed
as the new Catholic Bishop of
Brooklyn, replacing the longtenured
Bishop Nicholas Di-
Marzio, who weathered child
sex abuse allegations near the
end of his term. He assumed offi
ce at the end of November.
OCTOBER
Clark Street subway station
closes for repairs, causing
worry for businesses:
The MTA announced that they
would be closing the Clark
Street subway station entirely
for at least eight months as
the agency repaired the station’s
three ancient elevators.
Business owners on the station’s
mezzanine level worried
about the future of their shops
with most of their customers
rerouted to other nearby stations.
Thousands march across
Brooklyn Bridge protesting
vax mandate: Thousands
of municipal employees
and allies marched across the
Brooklyn Bridge in protest of
the city’s vaccination mandate.
Marchers fi rst gathered
in Downtown Brooklyn for a
rally, where they chanted their
intentions to “hold the line”
and not get vaccinated against
the coronavirus even if that
means losing their jobs.
Tarzian Hardware celebrates
a century in Park
Slope: The unassuming Tarzian
Hardware store on Seventh
Avenue celebrated one
hundred years selling tools
of all kinds to handy Brooklynites.
Family-owned since
its opening in 1921, the shop
has struggled and succeeded
as big-box hardware stores
and online retailers like Amazon
cut into their profi ts.
Dumbo gets a new library,
Brooklyn’s fi rst
since 1983: The Adams Street
Library represented two milestones
for the Brooklyn Public
Library: it was the borough’s
fi rst new branch to open in
40 years and is Dumbo’s fi rst
public library. The 6,5000
square foot library sits on the
fi rst fl oor of an old industrial
building, and is primarily
geared toward children.
Major Owens Health
Center offi cially opens in
Crown Heights: Elected offi -
cials, including outgoing councilmember
Laurie Cumbo, cut
the ribbon on the Major R.
Owens Health and Wellness
Center on Oct. 27, marking
the offi cial opening of the recreational
facility in the Bedford
Union Armory building
in Crown Heights. The controversial
project was seen as a
defi ning project for Cumbo.
Two Brooklynites enter
the gubernatorial race,
only one sticks around: Attorney
General Tish James
and Public Advocate Jumaane
Williams both launched campaigns
to succeed Gov. Kathy
Hocul in Albany. James later
chose to end her campaign
and run for reelection as AG.
NOVEMBER
Election results unsurprising
in Brooklyn and
citywide: Three Brooklynites
secured their spots in city government:
Borough President
Eric Adams won the mayor’s
race by a wide margin, while
outgoing council member Antonio
Reynoso clinched his
spot as new Brooklyn beep and
Public Advocate Jumaane Williams
handily won reelection.
While progressives won big
across the board, Republican
Inna Vernikov trounced her
Democrat opponent in a south
Brooklyn city council race.
“The Race to Deliver”
explores quick-commerce
grocery delivery apps: Cost,
real estate, and labor rights
took center stage as venture
capitalist-backed grocery delivery
apps exploded across
the city.
City scraps Sunset Park
double bike lane, locals
still call for more changes:
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