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Community Corner

🌱 World Day Of Remembrance + A Stolen Deed + Amazon Vs. Red Hook

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

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(Patch Media)

Hey, everybody, happy Monday! I'm back with your new copy of the Brooklyn Daily. Here are all the most important things to know about what's happening in the community today. Today you'll read about these stories and more:

  • Families for Safe Streets remember victims the many victims of traffic violence
  • 50-year homeowner is fighting to keep his house, one that may have been stolen without his knowing
  • How new Amazon delivery hubs are causing conflict in Red Hook

But first, today's weather:

☀️ Sunny and breezy. High: 43 Low: 35.

Here are the top stories today in Brooklyn:

1. Yesterday, family, friends, and elected officials unveiled a memorial to victims of traffic violence. A living garden at Arthur S. Somers Park was christened on what marked World Day of Remembrance, as families of victims and others members of Families for Safe Streets read aloud the names of those who have lost their lives to traffic collisions. Those attending the somber event brought awareness to the sudden loss of life that happens everyday in this borough and in this city. Council Member Rite Joseph wept at the ceremony during her speech, noting that in her district alone there were 823 crash-related injuries since the last World Day of Remembrance. Jospeh has already introduced two new bills that would bring more speed bumps to Brooklyn neighborhoods.

AMNY

2. Homeowner and artist is facing eviction from his Brooklyn home of 50 years. In 1969, Ray Cortez bought a salmon-colored house on St. Marks Avenue in Park Slope with his first wife shortly after migrating from Peru. For over a decade, the now 87-years-old Cortez had no idea he has been living in a house he no longer owns. The home he purchased for around $20,000 in 1969 is now worth close to $2 million, and Cortez and his lawyers are stuck in a legal battle against what may have been a case of deed theft in the early 2000s, perpetrated by convicted felon Wilson Calle and a lawyer who was later disbarred for stealing from her clients. Now, the block association on this tree-lined street in an area where Boerum Hill and Park Slope meet is fighting to help him stay in his home, where he's lived for the last 53 years.

Gothamist

3. Red Hook residents have been eyeing suspiciously a pair of plain-looking buildings that are new to the area. The warehouse-looking structures have been the cause of quite some conflict among the close-knit waterfront community; they're a couple of delivery hubs, recent additions to Amazon's rapidly growing last-mile delivery network. Red Hook is no stranger to industry or a warehouse-populated skyline, but these Amazon buildings are unlike tradition delivery hubs. Instead, they're bustling with around-the-clock activity, attracting convoys of cars, delivery vans, and semi-trucks to a neighborhood of narrow two-lane streets. And this seems to be just the beginning, as Amazon is close to finishing yet another, larger outpost just block away from these two existing hubs. Folks are monitoring the air pollution that these new structures—and the constant stream of in-and-out traffic they've created—have brought to the area to determine how they will effect safety and quality of life.

The Guardian

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Today in Brooklyn:

  • Open Mic Spectacular, EastVille Comedy Club, Today @ 6 p.m. | Details
  • The Playlist (Open Mic), 66 Greenpoint Ave., Today @ 6:30 p.m. | Details
  • Play Date at Pete's, Pete's Candy Store, Today @ 6:30 p.m. | Details
  • Salzburg Festival Society Gala, The Union Club of NYC, Today @ 6:30 p.m. | Details
  • LCD Soundsystem, Brooklyn Steel, Today @ 8 p.m. | Details

🐝 Brooklyn Buzz:

  • Today, New York City College of Technology (Brooklyn) is celebrating Black & Solidarity Day: Tomorrow at 4 p.m., "Join City Tech's African American Studies and Gender & Sexuality Studies in an evening of solidarity, community, and remembrance as we honor the lives of the Black and Latinx victims of gender-related hate crimes. We will share some food together while we create T-shirts, buttons, and other memorabilia to honor the Black and Latinx transgender community members we have lost over the past year." Learn more at the link. (UNATION)
  • The Brooklyn Museum and Instagram have announced the recipients of the 2022 #BlackVisionaries Grants: "The program, now in its second year, aims to uplift, center, and invest in Black voices and organizations working in art and design. Last year, the program awarded five recipients, including a Black-led small design business, $205,000 in grants. This year, $650,000 in grants has been awarded to ten artists, designers, and small businesses in the United States: five $100,000 Visionary Small Business Grants for Black-led organizations focused on design and five $30,000 Emerging Visionary Grants for Black individuals focused on art and design, awarded with the support of Meta Open Arts." Learn more about the chosen recipients at the link. (City Life Org)

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You're officially in the loop for today! See you 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 Daily? 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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