Dec. 30, 2016–Jan. 5, 2017 Including Brooklyn Courier, Carroll Gardens-Cobble Hill Courier, Brooklyn Heights Courier, & Williamsburg Courier FREE FESTALSO SERVING PROSPECTOF HEIGHTS, WINDSOR TERRACE,HEIGHTS KENSINGTON, AND GOWANUS Kensington Slope’s giant signs call mayor lights non-Muslims Slope’s giant ‘infi dels’ menorah BY COLIN MIXSON Someone seems to be trying BY COLIN MIXSON to drive a wedge between They got a whole latke love! Kensington’s Muslims and A record crowd congre- their neighbors by amend- gated in Grand Army Plaza on ing signs posted along Saturday to watch our Church Avenue that read gigantic mayor “We love our Muslim neigh- light the fi rst bors” with ones that say “We candle of a gi- love our infi del neighbors” gantic meno- and describes such residents rah for the fi rst as “fi lthy creatures that pol- night of Ha- lute their bodies with alco- nukkah. The hol and pork.” organizers say Local leaders think the they know the new placards were probably turnout was one some bigot’s attempt to make for the books because they the area’s large Bangladeshi handed out more than 2,000 community look bad, but say free potato pancakes on the if they were put there by a night — more than ever be- Muslim, they will fi nd out fore. and turn them in to police. “It went extremely well,” “This is not what we said Rabbi Shimon Hecht, Continued on page 24 leader of Chabad of Park Slope. “The crowd was much bigger Plus: Menorahs than last year.” Six-and-a-half-foot-tall vandalized! Mayor DeBlasio and his simi- see page 10 THE POTATO CAKE COUNT: Roughly 2,000 free latkes were handed out during the fi rst night of Hanukkah larly towering son Dante — celebration at Grand Army Plaza on Dec. 24. Mayoral Photo Offi ce Continued on page 24 A CNG Publication Vol. 36 No. 53 UPDATED EVERY DAY AT BROOKLYNDAILY.COM North American & European End of Year Clearance! 50+ ¢ Varieties Laminate from 59 sqft EVERY FLOOR 40+ Waterproof Wood-Look ¢ Varieties Flooring from sqft in stock 59 is ON SALE! 200+ Prefinished $ 49 + STACK-OUT DEALS! 200 IN YOUR LOCAL STORE! “We’d rather sell it than count it!” Varieties Hardwood from 1 sqft Dec. 21st - Jan. 3rd + Prefinished While supplies last. Product prices 30+ $ 79 & availability are subject to change. 1-800-HARDWOOD • lumberliquidators.com Varieties Bamboo from 1 sqft See store for details. INSIDE NNN%9IFFBCPE;8@CP%:FD GL9C@J?<;9P:E>(D<KIFK<:?:<EK<IEFIK?('K?=CFFI9IFFBCPE#EP(()'( THE BIG BROOKLYN It’s fashionable to talk about 2016 as an absolute disaster of a year, but it wasn’t all doom and gloom in the Borough of Kings. Sure, beloved businesses closed, the L-pocalypse began, and the outcome of the presidential election wasn’t exactly what many Brooklynites would have preferred, Amped: Brave bathers rush toward the nearly freez- ing Atlantic Ocean at a previous Polar Bear Plunge in Coney Island. File photo by Paul Martinka but we also had lawn-mowing goats, nude Shakespeare, and happy endings to several pesky law- An ice gesture suits. Here is our annual look back at the highs and lows of the past 12 months: New Year’s ‘Polar Plunge’ raises $ for sick kids By Caroline Spivack physically can’t think about rent, or bills, or become a part of Coney’s living history, old sneakers to wade through the wintry hey’re freezin’ for a reason. rush hour — just the water.” said Thomas. waves — Thomas suggests neoprene boots Come New Year’s Day some Steel-nerved swimmers assemble on the “Coney Island historically has been the — as well as a towel and plenty of warm T2,500 hot-blooded swimmers will Boardwalk each year — some clad in polar center of weirdness in the universe, and clothes to bundle up in once you emerge. usher in 2017 by diving into the People’s bear suits or dressed as King Neptune and we’ve realized we’re contributing to the Afterwards, stay in the nabe for some Playground’s frigid shore for charity at the Baby New Year. Participants charge down history here,” he said. “We’ve been around post-plunge festivities, including after-par- January Polar Bear Club’s 113th annual New Year’s the beach in waves of 500, toss themselves longer than the Wonder Wheel, longer than ties at the Coney Island Brewery and the Day Plunge. The Jan. 1 dunk will raise in the frigid sea, weather the winter waters the Cyclone — we’re the oldest living land- Steeplecase Beer garden, and freaky per- cash for Camp Sunshine, a Maine retreat for as long as they can bear, and proudly mark, and people really embrace that.” formances at Sideshows by the Seashore. for sick children and their families, and dash out after a few minutes — bragging Organizers say the club’s popularity has Deno’s Wonder Wheel will be up and run- will expose thrill-seeking Brooklynites hot- rights in tow. surged in recent years, and attendance on ning — weather permitting — with all headed enough to brave the icy waters to a But for those who are too scared — or New Year’s day has swollen as a result. proceeds going to the Sunshine Camp. All Yo, baby: Brooklyn did it new level of intensity, according to the club’s too smart — to take the plunge, you can just These days, the dip can get a little chaotic, registered swimmers also get free admission president. dunk a toe in the “Chicken Dip.” but preparation is a shivering swimmer’s to the New York Aquarium. “There’s a sense of absolute intensity you But if being submerged in near-freezing best hope for success. Polar Bears New Year’s Day Plunge don’t get in day-to-day life,” said Dennis water is more your speed, join the club for There’s no locker space — so either bring (Riegelmann Boardwalk at Stillwell Avenue Thomas. “There’s a lot of stress in the city, its weekly plunges — which draw up to a friend to watch your gear, or throw caution in Coney Island, www.polarbearclub.org) but when you go into the water, you’re just 100 cold-ocean cannonballers on Sundays to the wind and leave it on the beach. Jan. 1 at 1 pm. All swimmers must register feeling the intensity of the moment. You between November and April — and Participants will want to bring a pair of in advance. Free. again! The new year got off to a lively start as adorable Your entertainment Zayden Noel made his world guide Page 29 debut at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Day at Coney Island Hospital, making him Police Blotter ..........................8 the city’s fi rst baby of 2016, Standing O .............................16 and the borough’s second such Photo by Georgine Benvenuto Letters ....................................20 bragging right in as many Rhymes with Crazy .............21 years. The strapping sweetie — born to Coney Islanders Sports .....................................35 Stephanie Diaz and Paul Sta- ley — weighed in at 7 pounds 1 ounce. A black and white is- sue: Local leaders v oted to go ahead with a controversial plan to rezone Vinegar Hill’s PS 307 — which has long served kids at a neighboring Photo by Paul Martinka public housing project — to WHAT A YEAR: (Clockwise from above) Joey Chestnut and Miki Sudo won HOW TO REACH US include all youngsters living the Nathan’s Hot-Dog Eating Contest. Hillary Clinton and Rep. Nydia Ve- in Dumbo, one of the wealthi- lazquez visit Sunset Park. Sweet’N Low workers were out of a job. Mail: est neighborhoods in the city. Photo by Jason Speakman Courier Life The move was intended to ease in 2019 , by which point all local employees out of a job. and Downtown since 1989. Publications, Inc., overcrowding at the well-to- the hipsters say they’ll have Choppers chopped: After 1 Metrotech Center North do PS 8 in Brooklyn Heights, moved to Crown Heights. February years and years of complaints 10th Floor, Brooklyn, but turned into a city-wide Tropical storm: In the He swears it’s Brook- from Brooklyn Heights resi- discussion about school de- ultimate act of neighborli- lyn’s only choice: Mayor De- dents, the city announced a N.Y. 11201 segregation as PS 307 parents ness, residents of a Brooklyn Blasio unveiled his plan to plan to halve the helicopter- General Phone: feared an infl ux of white yup- Heights co-op building re- bring trolley-dodging back tour traffi c thundering in (718) 260-2500 pies taking over their school, jected a developer’s $130-mil- to the Borough of Kings by and out of the heliport across News Fax: and the white yuppies griped lion offer to buy land on their building a $2.5-billion street- the river by 2017 — pre-empt- (718) 260-2592 that their kids could no lon- property so it could erect a car line from Sunset Park ing the passage of a popular ger attend the higher-achiev- 40-story tower there. Deni- to Queens. The early plan- bill from Councilman Carlos News E-Mail: ing PS 8. zens of 75 Henry St. stood to ning process of the so-called Menchaca (D–Red Hook) that [email protected] L no: Someone leaked make $120,000–$260,000 from Brooklyn–Queens Connector would have banned the egg- Display Ad Phone: news that the Metropolitan the sale of Pineapple Walk rattled along throughout the beaters altogether. (718) 260-8302 Transit Authority is plan- with little impact on their own year but kicked up plenty of Display Ad E-Mail: ning a years-long closure housing situation, but turned controversy — not least of all March [email protected] of the Hurricane Sandy- the windfall down because because the whole plan was RIP Sunny: Iconoclastic battered L-train tunnel to it would block views at the created and backed by devel- Red Hook dive-bar owner and Display Ad Fax: Manhattan — sparking six neighboring Cadman Towers opers and businesses along artist Antonio “Sunny” Bal- (718) 260-2579 months of panic in Kings co-op.