BENSONHURST'S PREMIER NEWS BLOG

This is Bensonhurst Bean’s monthly blogwrap, where we highlight some of the stories that have affected Bensonhurst over the last month, as covered by both local and mainstream media.

Brooklyn Writer Returns To Childhood Neighborhood – Daily News

Brooklyn Waterfront Shopping Center Approved – Crain’s New York

Parents Plan Bensonhurst Protest After DOE Cuts Seats – Daily News

Beloved Coney Island Crank Shoots Self In Head – Brooklyn Paper

City Cracks Down On Illegal Apartments – CBS

Goodbye Old Parking Meters, Hello Muni-Meters – Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Parker Stepped To Savino During Closed Door Meeting – Capital Tonight

Reader Linda S. says she’s been having some major problems with rats after a recycling center opened on New Utrecht Avenue between 78th Street and 79th Street.

We’ve been trying to help Linda get in touch with Assemblyman Abbatte’s office and in the meantime asked her if she could send us over some photos to illustrate her problem.

Well, Linda came through like a champ. She braved the rat infested streets after dark to capture these images of rodents that seem to have the run of the place.

Hopefully some publicity will hasten the city to take action.

From Linda’s e-mail:

Hi Joe,

I have attached 3 pictures I took tonight outside the recycling center.  As you can see these are big rats and there must have been a dozen of them running in and out.  The gate to the recycling center doesn’t go all the way down to the ground so they just keep running in and out, back and forth to the curb.  People are trying to walk by and they can’t, women, old people and kids are all being terrified by this situation.  I will try to get a picture of the building during the day also.  You will not believe the amount of bottles being handled in there.  This is so inappropriate for a residential area

Did you know that Dyker Heights has its own opera company?

The Regina Opera, which operates out of Regina Hall – right next door to the beautiful Regina Pacis Church – on 65th Street will be performing a special ‘Pops’ concert this Sunday October 2, at 3 p.m.

According to the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, the show will include “show-stopping arias from popular operas and Broadway shows.”

While trying to get some details from the company’s website, it looked like they were having some technical problems. Luckily, you can also inquire about tickets at (718) 259-2772.

Regina Hall is located at 1210 65th Street, between 12th Avenue and 13th Avenue

It looks like someone is getting ready for Halloween early this year.

(from wikipedia.org)

While the MTA doesn’t seem to do much about the messes large numbers of pigeons tend to leave behind, it appears employees may be resorting to intimidation to keep their feathered frenemies away.

Reader Vickie P. sent in the above photos, which she snapped from the platform of the Kings Highway Sea Beach Line station, currently sometimes served by the N Train.

The hard to make out object lying on the tracks under a paperback novel is what remains of a pigeon who shuffled from this mortal coil some time ago.

Apparently, a Stephen King fan with a dark sense of humor (Shocking, I know) left a copy of the novel Pet Sematary on the poor deceased dove.

Whether the person in question flung the book or ghoulishly descended onto the tracks is unknown.

And if it was an MTA employee using a new strategy meant to make potentially pooping pigeons think twice?

Be afraid subway rats… be very afraid. Mwahahahahahaha!

Carlo Scissura (photo by Andrew Schwartz via cityhallnews.com)

A report this morning in City Hall’s newsletter says that Marty Markowitz’s chief of staff Carlo Scissura has taken another step towards a run for Borough President.

According to city election rules, chiefs of staff for elected officials are not allowed to campaign for office. Therefore, Scissura is stepping down from his position to that of  ‘special advisor’ in order to free himself up for the fight ahead.

From CityHallNews.com:

The move frees him (Scissura) from the restrictions that bar top city officials from raising campaign money or doing other overtly political acts. Scissura, who declined to comment, received Conflicts of Interest Board clearance for the move. Markowitz will not replace him as chief of staff.

Markowitz not hiring a replacement could make Scissura’s move, which includes a drop in pay from $139,000 to $124,000, look like nothing more than an empty gesture.

What do you think?

Is Scissura just doing what he needs to? Or does this epitomize the type of maneuver that makes voters more cynical?

(from overstock.com)

Marty Golden’s office has announced that the state Senator, along with the Neighborhood Improvement Association’s Community Services Network, will be hosting a basketball clinic, featuring former Knick John Starks tomorrow.

The clinic will be held Wednesday, September 28, beginning at 3:00 p.m. at I.S. 227 the Edward B. Shallow School.

75 youngsters are expected to take part in the interactive class, which will include instruction on basketball fundamentals, good sportsmanship, healthy living and proper nutrition.

Participants will receive complimentary New York Knicks merchandise.

I.S. 227 the Edward B. Shallow School is located at 6500 16th Avenue, between 66th Street and 65th Street

State Senator Marty Golden represents District 22, which includes Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Gerritsen Beach and Marine Park; as well as parts of Bensonhurst, Midwood, Gravesend and Sheepshead Bay

(from wikipedia.org)

Bay Ridge Journal is reporting that the Brooklyn Public Library, along with Queens Public Library and New York Public Library – NYC’s other two library systems, will be offering amnesty to underage cardholders who owe fines on overdue books.

The program, which is being funded by publisher McGraw-Hill, includes anyone under 18-years-old who cannot currently borrow books because of outstanding fines totaling $15 or more.

From Bay Ridge Journal:

Local Council Member Vinnie Gentile, who chairs the Council’s Select Committee on Libraries, praised New Chapter as a fresh start for kids and teens at the beginning of the new school year. An estimated 100,000 are expected to bring back their overdue books and materials under New Chapter, which runs until October 31.

This past Sunday, I decided to stop by and check out the New Utrecht Reformed Church. I knew the parish house would probably still be showing some signs of a fairly recent fire, so I half-expected to see the blue tarp covering its apex.

What I didn’t expect to see was the church’s bell tower still undergoing repairs. According to both a Daily News article and the sign out front, restoration work on the roof began two whole governors ago.

Unfortunately, it looks like funds dried up before the repairs could be completed.

Due to the dangers of the unstable steeple, the church’s congregation has been meeting for Sunday service in the parish house since 2003.

If you’d like to inquire about helping in the repair of an historic landmark which goes back to the Revolutionary War, please e-mail the Friends of Historic New Utrecht at mail [at] historicnewutrecht [dot] org or call (718) 256-7173.

The New Utrecht Reformed Church is located on 18th Avenue between 83rd Street and 84th Street. For more information on the church’s history, please visit Historic New Utrecht.org

Here's the church, but what about the steeple?

Rendering of 1752 Shore Parkway (from GlobeSt.com)

Joe Sitt’s proposed Bay Center got another green light last Thursday, when the City Council voted to approve the project.

Bensonhurst Bean had written about the the development – slated for 1752 Shore Parkway – in June, including concerns about increased automobile traffic, as well as a decrease in foot traffic on our area’s main streets, which lay further inland.

According to Sitt, the shopping center – whose main retail space would be occupied by a BJ’s Wholesale Club – will include a 2.4 acre waterfront esplanade, as well as provide around 250 high paying temporary construction jobs, plus more permanent, albeit less lucrative, retail positions once it opens .

From real estate website GlobeSt.com:

“We are thrilled,” says Joseph J. Sitt, CEO of Thor Equities, who expects construction to begin by the end of the year. “This significant development along the Brooklyn waterfront will immediately create much needed well-paying jobs and provide low-cast goods to residents currently struggling in a tough economy,” he adds, noting that the company will launch a local hiring initiative for residents of the community. It is expected to create 250 unionized trade, construction and planning jobs.

In an acknowledgement of concerns over increased congestion on Bay Parkway and on the currently two-lane Shore Parkway, Assemblyman Peter Abbate is currently trying to secure state funding for traffic mitigation. Possible steps to calm car traffic include relocating the Belt Parkway’s Bay Parkway exit east of its current location.

State Assemblyman Peter Abbate represents Assembly District 49, which includes Bensonhurst, Bath Beach and Dyker Heights

City Councilman Domenic Recchia represents Council District 47, which includes Coney Island, Brighton Beach, Gravesend, as well as part of Bensonhurst. He also serves as Chairman of the City Council’s Finance Committee.

Below is a press release sent to Bensonhurst Bean last Friday by Rep. Jerrold Nadler’s office:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, in a history-making moment, Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) announced that the Respect for Marriage Act – his legislation to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) – is now officially a bipartisan effort to end discrimination against LBGT Americans. Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), a prominent defender of human rights and equality, will become the 125^th cosponsor of the bill.

 “I voted against the constitutional amendment defining marriage so I’m pleased to co-sponsor the repeal of DOMA and work with my colleagues on marriage equality,” said Ros-Lehtinen.

 “It is with great joy that I welcome my friend and colleague, Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, as the 125^th cosponsor of the Respect for Marriage Act,” said Nadler. “Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen has long been a tremendous ally in the world’s struggles for freedom and against oppression and discrimination. She is widely recognized as a champion of human rights and human dignity. And her support reminds us that the march to repeal the discriminatory DOMA is not a partisan issue. Just as New York showed the nation this summer in its bipartisan embrace of marriage equality, the drive to end DOMA is – and must be – a collective, nonpartisan effort that unites Americans behind a simple push for equality. Our coalition grows stronger and larger every day.” Continue Reading »