Community Corner
🌱 Climate Activists Vie For Mayor's Ear + BlocPower + Your Friday
The quickest way to get caught up on the most important things happening today in Brooklyn.
Hi all. Carlie Houser here with your fresh copy of the Brooklyn Patch newsletter. Keep reading to find out all the most important things happening in our community, including updates on:
- BP and climate activists urge Mayor Eric Adams not to listen to real-estate lobbyists
- Brooklyn-based, Black-led climate tech start-up announced impressive fundraising round
- Plans for a temporary highway in Brooklyn Heights harkens back to notorious 2018 idea
But first, today's weather: 🌨 A bit of snow and rain. High: 44 Low: 38.
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Here are the top stories in Brooklyn today:
1. The Brooklyn Borough President joined climate activists yesterday to urge the mayor to implement climate law. Passed in 2019, Local Law 97 is New York City's landmark climate law for sustainable buildings; when fully implemented, Law 97 has the potential to lower energy costs for residents while simultaneously creating good-paying jobs, decreasing pollution, and protecting lives. At the moment, Local Law 97 stands to be weakened by real estate lobbyists in Mayor Eric Adams' ear. However, according To Food and Water Watch, "fossil fuels used to heat, cool and power buildings generate about 70 percent of the city's climate-heating pollution and kill an estimated 1,000 New Yorkers per year from respiratory and other health problems." On Thursday, BP Antonio Reynoso joined owners of the large co-op building at 1701 Albemarle Road in Flatbush to support Local Law 97 who, eager to reduce fossil fuel use at their building and others, are urging Mayor Adams to implement, enforce, and ultimately strengthen the breadth of Local Law 97.
2. And while Brooklynites keep fighting for stronger climate policy at the local level, another climate tech start-up is looking for change beyond the borough. BlocPower is a Black-led, Brooklyn-based start-up founded by Donnel Baird in 2014. In a March 1 press release, the clime technology company announced that it had raised a fundraising round of $150 million, bringing it to a total of $250 million in capital. Investors included some pretty big names, including the Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund, Kimbal and Christiana Musk, Van Jones, and NBA star Russell Westbrook, among others. Since its founding, BlocPower has been working to "decarbonize America's urban core, develop the green economy's workforce, and bring climate justice to underserved and vulnerable communities," said Baird in Wednesday's press release. BlocPower hope to improve the quality of life for city residents, as well as aid low-to-moderate income communities in gaining access to President Biden's green economy investments.
3. As BQE redesign renderings get a second look, talk of a temporary highway through Brooklyn Heights is giving residents flashbacks to a previous plan that "went down in flames." Back in 2018, the Brooklyn Heights Association's chosen architect, Marc Wouters, proposed that a temporary roadway be built near Brooklyn Bridge Park to divert traffic during the BQE cantilever rebuild. After much controversy, the plan was dropped. Fast forward to Tuesday, officials from the Department of Transportation are proposing an eerily similar plan: a bypass road to function as a temporary highway adjacent to the existing BQE, which would run atop a residential street on the edge of Brooklyn Heights. According to the proposal, the temporary road would take just about a year to complete and would be in service for two or three years while the new BQE is being built. Locals have already taken up arms against the proposal — many argue that a temporary roadway in extraneous, a waste of time, and would significantly imply residents' lives for the worse. Learn more at the link below.
Today in Brooklyn:
- Free Admission Fridays, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Today @ 10 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. | Details
- Weekly Specialty Tour: Guided Beer & Food Pairing, Coney Island Brewery, Today @ 6 - 7 p.m. | Details
- Friday Ryeday Game Night, Time Out Market, Today @ 6 - 10 p.m. | Details
- Eric Bellinger, Music Hall of Williamsburg, Today @ 8 - 11 p.m. | Details
- Brooklyn Poets Friday Night Open, 144 Montague Street, Today @ 11:30 p.m. | Details
🐝 Brooklyn Buzz:
- In the mood for art? Check out the Queen's Artillery's debut exhibit: "My upbringing in Brooklyn is a driving force behind my artistic inspiration," said [artist] Sandy Clafford. "Through my work, I want to challenge and defy the narrow perspectives of modern Black culture and speak to the celebration and self-expression that are so important to the Black community." Read more at the link! (AMNY)
- The best from across the pond comes to Brooklyn: "St. John, the nose-to-tail restaurant that opened in London by Fergus Henderson and Trevor Gulliver in 1994, considered to be one of the city's most acclaimed, is heading to Brooklyn for the next couple of weeks." Learn more at the link. (Eater NY)
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Featured events:
- The Simon & Garfunkel Story (March 3)
- As Quiet As It's Kept, We Thrive: Stories & Portraits from the Heart of BedStuy (March 4)
- Tony Newbury Live in Brooklyn with Special Guests. (March 4)
- Comedy Special Taping (BYOB + Free Dinks) - Nick Hopping (March 4)
- Success Academy Presents: NYC Elementary School Admissions Webinar with Alina Adams (March 8)
- Lower School Tour (March 9)
- Fine & Decorative Arts Auction | Jewelry | Artwork | Furniture | Silver (March 9)
- Add your event
Now you're in the loop and ready to start this Friday off right. See you all tomorrow morning for another update!
— Carlie Houser
About me: I'm a recent grad based in Brooklyn, NY. I love to write, run, read, and find new restaurants and venues around the city.
Have a news tip or suggestion for an upcoming Brooklyn Patch newsletter? Contact me at brooklyn@patch.com
