STORIES OF THE YEAR
COURIER LIFE, DEC. 31, 2021-JAN. 6, 2022 3
counties around the state.
City landmarks Downtown
abolitionist house at
227 Duffi eld: The city’s Landmarks
Preservation Commission
voted unanimously to
grant landmark status to the
Downtown Brooklyn house
where prominent abolitionists
Harriet and Thomas Truesdell
lived during the 19th century
— marking a long-awaited victory
for local history buffs and
activists alike. The city later
purchased the property.
Hit-and-runs run rampant
on Brooklyn’s streets:
Cops cuffed driver who fatally
struck a 4-year-old boy and
left another child in critical
condition after dropping them
off at a Bensonhurst school.
Later in the month, a hit-andrun
school bus driver killed
a 6-year-old boy right outside
his S. Fifth Street home in
Williamsburg. Later that day,
a driver fatally struck a man
before leaving the scene near
Carroll Gardens.
Dog stabbing shocks
Fort Greene Park: A dog
owner knifed a pooch in Fort
Greene Park, seemingly out
of nowhere, shocking the local
community. Police later
arrested the man, and luckily,
the canine survived.
Bedford Union Armory
renamed for longtime
Brooklyn Rep. Major Owens:
The Bedford Union Armory
in Crown Heights was
renamed in honor of Congressmember
Major Owens —
a longtime staple of New York
politics who served central
Brooklyn in the US House of
Representatives for 24 years.
MARCH
Moonstruck House in
Brooklyn Heights hits the
market for $12.85 million:
The 19th century Brooklyn
Heights house featured in the
1987 fi lm “Moonstruck” hit
the real estate market for a
whopping $12.85 million.
Good Samaritan rescues
goat from highway: A good
Samaritan brought Brooklyn’s
63rd Precinct an un-baaa-lievable
delivery — a baby goat
they found on the side of the
highway.
City “looking into relocating”
loved concrete animal
statues in NYC playgrounds:
The city’s Parks
Department said they were
looking for temporary new
homes for animal statues
across the city, including the
beloved concrete dolphin in
Cobble Hill Park, the eagles
at Fort Greene Park, and the
metal dragon at Prospect
Park’s Imagination Playground,
as they planned renovations.
State Parks ditches controversial
Marsha P. Johnson
mural following backlash:
After widespread communal
backlash, with locals criticizing
the largely colorful concrete
design, state park honchos
overhauled their designs
for Williamsburg’s Marsha P.
Johnson State Park.
Kings County honors
late Brooklynite Ruth
bader Ginsburg: Following
Supreme Court Justice Ruth
Bader Ginsburg’s death, locals
came together to honor the late
Brooklynite with a series of
monuments — including by renaming
Coney Island Hospital
and the Brooklyn Municipal
Building, and by erecting statues
at Downtown Brooklyn’s
City Point and several other locations.
Vaccines become available
for all adults: All New
Yorkers 16 and older became eligible
for the COVID-19 vaccine
starting on April 6.
Puff puff passed: All but
four of Brooklyn’s state legislators
voted in favor of legalizing
the recreational use of marijuana,
which then-Gov. Andrew
Cuomo signed into law in
March.
APRIL
Two diners shot at Peter
Luger Steakhouse in Williamsburg:
Cops arrested a
24-year-old man who allegedly
shot two diners outside the Peter
Luger Steakhouse after getting
into an argument outside
the restaurant. After a heated
verbal argument, the shooter
walked outside the restaurant
and aimed a handgun at his
combatants — but missed, hitting
two onlookers instead.
Late skateboarder’s mom
fi ghts to bring “Brooklyn
Skate Garden” to life: The
mother of late skateboarder
Pablo Ramirez pushed for the
creation of a public greenspace
to memorialize her son,
who was killed in 2019 on his
skateboard. The Brooklyn
Skate Garden is planned to not
just be a skate park but a place
that can be used by everyone
with designs featuring lush
foliage and accessible walkways.
The push for the skate
garden began back in 2019,
however had renewed hope in
Aprl 2021 when it was placed
on District 39’s participatory
budget ballot.
Restored Concert Grove
Pavilion in Prospect Park
reopens after six-year closure:
Prospect Park’s Concert
Grove Pavilion reopened to
the public April 7 after its decaying
roof began to fall apart
in 2014. The year-long restoration
project also worked to correct
a feature that improperly
drained water from the roof
that led to a lot of the damage
from the roof thar was last reconstructed
in 1988.
Coney Island amusements
reopen after lost
summer 2020: April 9 was
an exciting day on the Coney
Island Boardwalk as funseekers,
community leaders
and the local amusement park
owners joined together to reopen
the Coney Island Amusment
District for the fi rst time
in over a year. The fi rst summer
without amusement parks
in the peninsula’s history led
to soaring unemployment and
business closures as foot traffi
c was at an all time low
City relaunches sweeping
$24m Fort Greene
Park redesign, nixes trees:
City greenspace honchos relaunched
a recently stalled
plan to revamp sections of
Fort Green’s eponymous park,
make it more handicap accessible
and improve its drainage
system. The plan combines
two previously proposed that
environment opposed for its
classifi cation as routine maintenance
while it includes cutting
down dozen of trees.
Yang criticizes Adams
for placard abuse at Cadman
Plaza: Former may-
A woman jumps rope after a
nor’easter brought over 13 inches
of snow on Feb. 1 (left), former Gov.
Andrew Cuomo drew heat after
allegations of sexual misconduct
(top), and a man stabbed a dog in
Fort Greene Park in Febuary.
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