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Community Corner

🌱 Magnolia Tree Center + A New Little Tokyo + February Brings Chill

The quickest way to get caught up on the most important things happening today in Brooklyn.

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(Patch Media)

Happy Saturday, Brooklyn! I'm here with your fresh copy of the Brooklyn Patch newsletter, filled with all the things you need to know about what's happening in town. Including updates on...

  • Black-owned, life-giving institution seeks help from BK community to stay afloat
  • The Nets face a future without Kyrie Irving, sources suggest
  • Better late than never? Low temps ring in February, finally bringing winter to BK

But first, today's weather:

Cold; breezy in the morning. High: 27 Low: 9 🥶

📢 I'm looking for business owners and marketers in Brooklyn who want to build awareness, connect with customers and increase sales.

I have a limited number of sponsorships available to introduce our readers to local businesses they need to know. If that's you, then I invite you to learn more and secure your spot now.

Here are the top stories in Brooklyn today:

1. The Magnolia Tree Center is asking Brooklyn to help it stay afloat so it can keep Bed-Stuy beautiful and flowering. Over the course fo her life, environmentalist pioneer Hattie Carthan is said to have planted nearly 17,000 trees. Between plantings, she also managed to found the Magnolia Tree Earth Center in Bed-Stuy, a group of three brownstones that function as a hub for folks to learn about gardening and planting trees, and even offers cheap rental space. But the pandemic wiped out the Magnolia Tree Center's cash stores, and now it's yet another Black-owned institution in jeopardy. In a press conference on Thursday, local officials including Council Member Chi Ossé, expressed concern over possibly losing the historic center, especially at a time when Bed-Stuy is facing major environmental threats. The Magnolia Tree Earth Center is trying to raise $350,000 to stay afloat and are asking all who are able to pitch in; that's like paying founding member Hattie Carthan $20 for every tree she planted in her lifetime. Visit the links below to learn more and donate support.

Brooklyn Patch / Support the Magnolia Center

2. Despite an impressive win streak these last few months, Kyrie Irving has allegedly requested to trade from the Brooklyn Nets. Yesterday, a source close to the team announced that Irving was looking for a new address after a contract discussion with the Nets didn't go to his liking — although Irving is eligible for a contract extension, the Nets refused to give him one last summer. The star point guard asked the Nest for a trade just a week before the trade deadline — a deal that could be made either before or after this season is over. Irving's agent and stepmother, Shetellia Irving, offered the team a new deal earlier this week, the ball now in the Nets' court to communicate if their wish is the same as Irving's.

The Associated Press

3. A Little Tokyo may be emerging in Greenpoint as new businesses start cropping up serving modern Japanese fair. Japanese immigrants and entrepreneurs drawn to Greenpoint for creative scene are part of a new cultural shift in the area, making the northernmost Brooklyn neighborhood a Little Tokyo contender. Restaurants like Acre on Guernsey Street, a Japanese cafe and shop, are already creating buzz and drawing out-of-towners to feast on bento boxes and sip green tea. There is also 50 Norman, a renovated warehouse space housing three different Japanese businesses, as well as high-end goods store Cibone. The cluster of new modern Japanese businesses all occupy a seven-block area roughly between Greenpoint and Norman avenues and Guernsey and West streets — this area has, for a while, been known as Little Poland, seems to be experiencing a cultural shift.

Subscription / The New York Times

Today in Brooklyn:

  • Brooklyn Heights + Brooklyn Bridge + DUMBO Food Tour, 128 Pierrepont St., Today @ 4 - 7 p.m. | Details
  • 'Saturday Night Live!', EastVille Comedy Club, Today @ 6 - 10 p.m. | Details
  • EIGHT LOVING WOMEN, Essence Theatre Studio and Talentland Children's Theatre, Today @ 6 p.m. | Details
  • Dirty Circus Variety Show, House of Yes, Today @ 6:30 - 9:30 p.m. | Details
  • 🕺 Gimme Gimme Disco: An ABBA Dance Party, 61 Wythe Ave., Today @ 11 p.m. | Details

🐝 Brooklyn Buzz:

  • 🥳 Happy 103th birthday to BK's Jeanette Bigelson! On Thursday, Brooklyn resident Jeanette Bigelson celebrated her 103rd birthday with a group of close friends in Coney Island. "I hope you all live long lives," Bigelson said, "because life is beautiful!" (Brooklyn Patch)
  • Also celebrating a birthday is the Brooklyn Museum — let's hear it for 25 years of First Saturdays! "'Because it's free, it opens up the space for people who otherwise can't walk into certain gallery spaces without being side-eyed,' said Yaya Bey, a musician who will join a diverse group of artists on Saturday, when the museum begins its 25th year of First Saturdays, the no-entry-fee evening events held on the opening weekend of most months." (Subscription/ The New York Times)

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Thanks for following along and staying informed! I'll see you soon.

— 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

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

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