INSIDE: BROOKLYN TOMORROW SHOWS THE FUTURE! 9IFFBCPE KFDFIIFN ;LD9F K_\e\okg_Xj\]fik_\Yfifl^_Ëjdfjkjg\ZkXZlcXieXY\)%' June 24–30, 2016 Your Neighborhood — Your News® FREE SERVING BAY RIDGE & DYKER HEIGHTS MIDNIGHT TRAIN! MTA: Overnight R train to run borough-wide starting this fall BY DENNIS LYNCH sky, who has at least once given up on the It’s about to get a lot easier coming home to shuttle. “My longest wait was 30 minutes, Bay Ridge late at night. and I actually took an Uber — I said ‘I’m not The after-hours R train will make all waiting for this train.’ ” stops in Brooklyn starting this fall, con- Soon, the late-night “Rarely” will make necting nocturnal Ridgites to six addi- all the Brooklyn stops it does in the day- tional subway lines, Metropolitan Trans- time, connecting Ridgites to the 2, 4, A, F, portation Authority offi cials announced G, and Q trains — in addition to the N and D on June 16. Right now, Bay Ridge’s lone that the shuttle currently reaches. locomotive only chugs between 36th and The new service will still run every 20 95th streets, so the change can’t come minutes, but offi cials claim it could cut soon enough for locals who endure long, some commuters’ wait times “by nearly witching-hour waits in Sunset Park to half,” because they won’t be forced to take catch one, said one rider. an N or D train to reach the overnight R. “They should’ve done And it will run in both directions, so people it a while ago … this fl ocking to Bay Ridge for its storied night- is the only train we life can get home easier, too. have in Bay Ridge,” The shuttle will also go one stop into YOUR TRAIN IS COMING IN: Late-night R trains will make all Brooklyn stops starting said Rachel Jerman- Manhattan, a neighboring borough. this fall, making it easier to get to and from Bay Ridge. Photo by Paul Martinka Building a case ‘Illegal conversion’ bill introduced to Council BY DENNIS LYNCH Critics say it’s a dicey move. Brooklyn lawmakers introduced a long-awaited bill on June 21 to combat illegal home construction that activists say is tearing apart Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights, but critics say it could put immigrant families in a bind. A legal snag sig- nificantly delayed the legislation, so lawmakers dropped a sticky pro- vision that created a relief fund for All’s fair in love and Gwar residents of diced-up homes who are displaced by city-issued vacate or- Founding member and costume-maker from shock-rock act Gwar proposed to Brooklyn’s own Bambi the Mermaid at Saturday’s ders. But cracking down on illegal Mermaid Parade. For more — plus plenty of parade photos — see page 3. Photo by Georgine Benvenuto housing without a safety net will Continued on page 10 A CNG Publication Vol. 71 No. 26 UPDATED EVERY DAY AT BROOKLYNDAILY.COM Welcome to the Brooklyn Bavarian Biergarten Rain or Shine, We’re Open! "ÕÌ`ÀÊÕà Ê/Àiii`Ê>À`iÊUÊ`ÀÊ7ÌiÀÊ>À`i Inspired by the Grand Prospect Hall’s historic Bavarian roots, the Brooklyn Bavarian Biergarten makes beer lovers “dreams come true” with a collection of German and New York brews, winery varietals, and traditional German Cuisine and American specialties. Open No smoking Original 1892 photo of Biergarten with a theatrical stage, 7i`iÃ`>ÞÊ in the garden ready for action. & / ÕÀÃ`>ÞÊ 4 pm – 11 pm; Please reserve À`>ÞÊ for 7+ guests 4 pm – 1 am; ->ÌÕÀ`>ÞÊ Some parking Noon – 1 am; available -Õ`>ÞÊ Noon – 11 pm ÓÈxÊ*ÀëiVÌÊÛiÕi]Ê ÀÞ]Ê 9Ê££Ó£xÊ­ iÌÜiiÊxÌ ÊEÊÈÌ ÊÛiÕiîÊUÊÇ£nÇnnä{ää ÜÜÜ°LÀÞL>Û>À>LiÀ}>ÀÌi°V 2 COURIER LIFE, JUNE 24–30, 2016 M MERMAIDS AND BASEBALL — IT’S GETTING HOT IN BKLYN! SUMMER ROMANCE! Shock-rocker pops question to burlesque queen at Mermaid Parade BY MAX JAEGER It’s a match made in Sodom by the Sea! A burlesque luminary and a founding member of shock- rock outfi t Gwar announced their engagement at Coney Is- land’s 34th Mermaid Parade. Beau Chuck Varga — an art director and costume-maker who portrayed Sexecutioner in the macabre metal act — popped the question to Bur- lesque at the Beach founder Bambi during the Mermaid Parade on Saturday, and she said yes. They met marching last year, but theirs is a love story as timeless as the pa- rade itself, Varga said — boy meets girl, girl helps boy don mermaid costume, boy helps girl out of costume after the parade. “I shucked her oyster,” he said. “We met at a dress re- DOWN ON ONE FLIPPER: (Clockwise from above) Chuck Varga proposes hearsal. She wanted to do my fi ngernails. During that con- to Bambi the Mermaid. Parade founder Dick Zigun declares the beaches versation, we just started to open for summer. A marcher dressed as a plastic bag monster in sup- nibble on each other, and I saw port of the so-called “bag tax.” King Neptune Carlo Scissura and Queen her heart and she saw mine. I Mermaid Hailey Clauson are all smiles. Photos by Georgine Benvenuto saw her at this after-party too, and I took her home with me. I crowned Queen in 2006. family around us was really two-foot engagement ring for will perform the sacred rite. told her I was abducting her.” “It was like a dream come epic. It was the most beautiful his larger-than-life proposal. “It may be the mayor of Co- And there was no bet- true — the parade is my fa- thing that’s ever happened to The pair plan to get married ney Island who marries us,” ter place for a proposal, said vorite day of the year, and it me.” next year, and are hinting that Varga said. “We’re consider- Bambi, who has attended the means a lot to us,” she said. Varga sculpted an elabo- parade founder and licensed ing him, and he has made the parade for 23 years and was “To have all of our friends and rate costume and fashioned a wedding offi ciant Dick Zigun offer.” Reporter’s notebook: ‘I got a ticket for drinking at the Mermaid Parade’ BY MAX JAEGER you can quote me on that.” I got a ticket for drinking a Perhaps he was exaggerat- LONE STAR: Emmanuel Zabala led off the season with a homer — then beer at the Mermaid Parade ing, but there’s no disputing the team tanked to the Yanks. Photo by Jordan Rathkopf — Brooklyn’s largest and that thousands of mermaids most beloved public assem- publicly imbibe at a rate that bly of drunken perverts. would make Bacchus dizzy. Clones drop home opener Sure, I’m guilty — I ac- Marchers lavish parade cept that I broke the law — judges with hooch on Surf BY DENNIS LYNCH out the fi rst pitch, his mother but longtime patrons of the Avenue to curry favor — it’s They dropped the ball. said. 34-years-and-running art practically in the charter . An- The Brooklyn Cyclones “He almost hit the plate, he party say the citation is to- other attendee for nearly two opened the season at MCU really loved it,” said Rachel tally unheard-of, and proof Nanjira Dan decades said she’d seen every- Park in a spectacular — but Gangemi Gallagher, mom to that Sodom by the Sea is los- GUILTY!: Deputy editor Max Jae- thing at the annual parade — ultimately losing — 20-inning the 6-year-old hurler. “It was ing its edge. ger with open-container sum- except a summons for suds. effort against the hated Staten just a great night, everyone “Man, this place has mons and the offending pilsner. “This is the fi rst time Island Yankees on June 17. had fun.” changed,” said Dan Nanjira, that I’ve heard someone get- The fi ve-and-a-half hour game Young Gallagher got to toss who has been attending since were taking pictures with ting ticketed for a beer,” said was a thrill for everyone at the season-opening pitch be- the mid-aughts. “We were topless women and open bot- Marine Parker Tara Wil- the park, especially for local cause he and his classmates at Cha Chas once — it isn’t tles of vodka. I am annoyed liams, who was drinking budding ballplayer William at PS 114 in Canarsie raised there anymore — and cops they issued you that ticket — Continued on page 6 Gallagher, who got to throw Continued on page 6 M COURIER LIFE, JUNE 24–30, 2016 3 INSIDE NNN%9IFFBCPE;8@CP%:FD GL9C@J?<;9P:E>(D<KIFK<:?:<EK<IEFIK?('K?=CFFI9IFFBCPE#EP(()'( PRIMARY GUIDE 2016 By The Courier Life Intra-party Intrigue Bureau Ball’s in his court now: In the basketball opera “Bounce,” Aaron Ramsey plays Future, a player jealous of the main character’s meteoric rise to the top of Who will rep Brooklyn in Washington? Three borough legislators face primaries ahead of congressional elections this fall, the squad. Inset: Jonathan Kirkland, who plays lead Ike “The Flight” Harris, talks with creative director Grethe Barrett Holby and tenor Todd Wilander, who plays Coach Ellis. Will Ehrenreich and these contests — all Democratic — will all but decide the election in three districts that routinely go blue. So here they are: Taking the shot Basketball opera centers on gun violence By Dennis Lynch with those lifestyles to change and focus it’s very ambitious to run around the full The performances at Paerdegat Park his show is a courtside drama.