Vacant Storefronts, Rezoning Woes: Park Slope 2020 Year In Review

PARK SLOPE, BROOKLYN — It was a year that started out like any other.

With familiar woes like the mayor's morning Park Slope YMCA trips, the Gowanus Canal's impending clean-up and strange crime moments like a pro-pigeon graffiti display on Grand Army Plaza, this thing called the "coronavirus" was not yet at the forefront of Park Slopers' minds.

But that would soon change.

A once-in-a-century pandemic, a reckoning over race and policing, massive economic disruption and a contentious presidential election all made 2020 a year New Yorkers and the world will not soon forget.

As 2021 begins, Park Slope Patch is taking a look back at the neighborhood's top stories of 2020:

Park Slope Largely Weathers Coronavirus, Data Shows

The coronavirus pandemic understandably dominated the headlines for all of New York City this year, as the city became the nation's "epicenter"of the pandemic.

Park Slope was among the neighborhoods in New York City least hard-hit by the virus, which laid bare the city's inequity when it came to race and income. As we close out the year, Park Slope's 11215 ZIP code is second-to-last in New York City based on its total cases per 100,000 people.

But that doesn't mean Park Slope didn't feel the devastation the virus brought to 2020.

Park Slopers mourned loved ones, celebrated frontline heroes while staying painfully apart and watched as the unforgiving virus took hold of some of its most vulnerable neighbors.

Coronavirus Crisis Doubles Empty Stores On Park Slope's Fifth Ave

The devastation of 2020 was felt especially by the neighborhood's businesses, who were forced to shut down, and then adapt to pandemic restrictions.

In Park Slope, the economic toll of the coronavirus crisis left a record-number of empty storefronts on its main commercial corridor and took, or threatened to take, some favorite neighborhood spots, including 200 Fifth, Dizzy's Diner, a neighborhood dry cleaners or a generous pet store.

The year also meant a new-found outdoor dining destination on Fifth Avenue, where the streets opened to help restaurants survive.

NYPD, Protesters Clash At Rally Over George Floyd Killing

As New Yorkers joined in nationwide protests after George Floyd's killing at the hands of police in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the Barclays Center quickly became a makeshift town square, including the first night of demonstrations when an now-familiar scene of violence erupted as police and protesters clashed.

Throughout the summer, at least one police van was set on fire, an NYPD officer was filmed violently shoving a woman to the ground and walking away, among many other violent scenes throughout the day and night.

Brooklynites took to the streets a second time in November to celebrate the win of President-Elect Joe Biden.

Industry City Withdraws Historic Rezoning Application; City Reveals Start Date For Gowanus Rezoning Plan

It wouldn't be Brooklyn without at least some debacles over development plans.

2020 saw movement in opposite directions on two of the city's largest and most controversial rezoning proposals, one by a private developer in Sunset Park and another led by the city in Gowanus.

Brooklynites also clashed over a smaller rezoning proposal on Fourth Avenue, celebrated a long-sought project at Seventh Avenue subway station and watched as dredging finally began on the Gowanus Canal.

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