Community Corner
🌱 A Utility Update + Brooklyn's Beatnik + Tuesday To-Dos
The quickest way to get caught up on the most important things happening today in Brooklyn.
Good morning, neighbors! It's me, Carlie Houser, your host of the Brooklyn Daily. Here are all the most important things to know about what's happening locally, including:
- Cool it on the natural gas til' Wednesday, says Nat. Grid
- Notable stories of native Brooklynites
But first, today's weather:
Mostly sunny. High: 36 Low: 29.
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Here are the top stories in Brooklyn today:
1. Heads up Brooklyn, National Grid is asking customers to cut back on natural gas because of cold weather. The utility company sent out an advisory note on Saturday when customers in Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, and Long Island were effected. And while National Grid has since given the green light to return to regular thermostat settings, they are still asking customers to limit use of gas appliances, like fireplaces and clothes dryers, from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. through Wednesday.
2. Bob Dylan once called this Brooklyn native "the King of the folksingers." Ramblin' Jack Elliot spent his formative years in Flatbush where he dreamt of becoming a cowboy during his days at Erasmus Hall High School. He only made it a few years there, however, before running away from home with two future beatnik poets, Don Finkel and Carl Margulies. From there, Elliot was always on the road, from playing in Washington Square Park to hitchhiking from Jersey, to North Carolina, to Chicago, and eventually all the way out west to California. When he finally made it back to New York, he got the chance to play with Bob Dylan's life-long idol, Woody Guthrie, and eventually became his sidekick. At the think, read more about the life of this rambling Brooklynite and his folk-filled adventures.
3. And while we're reminiscing, here's another tale of a famous Brooklynite: A gangster-turned-cop who's now racing to save Chinatown's underworld history. He's not a journalist, and he's not a videographer, but the former cop (and former gangster) Michael Boy of Brooklyn has been racing around Chinatown armed with an iPhone and a microphone, trying to capture a piece of the city's forgotten history. Moy's family moved to Brooklyn when he was 5 years old, but he would still shuttle everyday from his new borough home to his school in Chinatown, Manhattan. Gang violence had plagued Chinatown in fits and starts since the 1890s when Chinese-American benevolent societies and fraternal organizations called tongs, set up to support immigrants from China by legal and illegal means. By the time Moy was in school, the tongs had started outsourcing dirty work to youth gangs. Boy got caught up in things as a youngster, and later pivoted entirely when he began a cop. Now, retired, and with experience on both sides of the story, Moy is chasing a piece of New York's history, as well as his own.
Patch deals of the day:
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(Patch may earn a commission on purchases. All deals are as of publication and could change.)
Today in Brooklyn:
- Celebrate Kwanzaa, Brooklyn Children's Museum, Today @ 10 a.m. | Details
- Queer Meditation Tuesdays, Brooklyn Community Pride Center Bed-Stuy, Today @ 5:30 p.m. | Details
- Disco Tree TuTuTuesday Open Mic, Secret Pour, Today @ 6 p.m. | Details
- Tuesday Jam Sessions, Manado's Jazz Lounge, Today @ 6 p.m. | Details
- 'Babylon' Screening, Nighthawk Cinema, Today @ 11:45 p.m. | Details
🐝 Brooklyn Buzz
- The New York Daily News has put together a photographic year in review. At the link, check out some of the millions of stories they've covered this year in and around the city in 2022—all captured in pictures. After all, they do speak louder than words. (Subscription / New York Daily News)
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That's it for today! I'll catch up with you bright and early tomorrow with your next 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 Daily? Contact me at brooklyn@patch.com
