INSIDE: A SPECIAL SECTION CELEBRATING LABOR IN THE BIG APPLE Yo u r World — Yo u r News BrooklynPaper.com • (718) 260–2500 • Brooklyn, NY • ©2018 Serving Brownstone Brooklyn, Sunset Park, Williamsburg & Greenpoint 20 pages • Vol. 41, No. 36 • September 7–13, 2018 • FREE TROLLEY DODGERS Feds to mayor: Don’t count on our money for your big transit plan By Julianne Cuba Brooklyn Paper HELLO, TROLLEY! Mayor DeBlasio shouldn’t count on getting the federal cash he needs THE STREETCAR PLAN to roll out his beloved Brooklyn– Queens waterfront trolley line — cerns in transportation deserts, but which he said on Aug. 30 will now as with everything, the devil is in cost more money, include fewer the details,” she said. “I would need stops, and take years longer to more information about the traffic, build — the city’s lone Repub- neighborhood and environmental lican congressman said. impacts of the plan.” “We have many more viable And even if the city does man- projects that need federal funding age to score funds from the Feds, a — if I was the mayor, I wouldn’t File photo by Georgine Benvenuto File photo by Stefano Giovannini Photo courtesy Nydia Velazquez slew of other projects — including be holding my breath,” said Bay Representatives Dan Donovan, Carolyn Maloney, and Nydia Velazquez all agree: Congress improving bus service and ensur- Ridge Rep. Dan Donovan, a pal of won’t be financing the mayor’s ambitious trolley plan any time soon. ing enough alternative-transpor- DeBlasio critic President Trump , tation options are in place before who would need to sign off on ised an infrastructure package, but only change to the light-rail plan car — whose new route to Queens the L train’s Brooklyn–Manhat- any future federal budget. “Try- we haven’t seen it yet,” said Rep. following the study’s release. The through Red Hook, Gowanus, tan tube closes for 15 months next ing to kick the costs to the fed- Carolyn Maloney. city announced its original 14-mile Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill, April — deserve the money before eral government appears to be a DeBlasio first announced plans track would shrink to 11 miles, Downtown, Williamsburg, and the streetcar, according to a spokes- last-ditch attempt to revive a dy- for the Brooklyn Queens Connector skipping Dumbo entirely, and ter- Greenpoint often mirrors that of man for Maloney’s Democratic ing project.” streetcar in 2016 , claiming that its minating in Red Hook instead of the below-ground G train — show it colleague Rep. Nydia Velázquez, Along with the commander then $2.5-billion price tag would Sunset Park — likely a relief to may require overhead cables to help whose district includes many of the in chief, Donovan and his fellow be funded entirely by tax reve- the neighborhood’s Councilman power it, after previous iterations de- trolley’s Brooklyn stops. House Republicans, as well as their nue generated by increased de- Carlos Menchaca, who panned the picted a rail-only system. But may- “The congresswoman is focused counterparts in the Senate, would velopment along its original 14- project due to fears it would accel- oral spokeswoman Jane Meyer said on addressing immediate transpor- dictate spending in a future budget mile track, after a consortium of erate displacement in the already the city has “always explored” the tation challenges, like establishing given their majority. But Hizzon- builders put together an initial pro- gentrifying enclave . overhead-cable option. an enhanced B71 bus route that helps er’s Brooklyn Queens Connector posal for the scheme. Construction of the infrastruc- Maloney, who helped secure Red Hook, and expanding alter- streetcar isn’t likely to get federal But last week the city’s Eco- ture is now slated to begin in 2024 $670 million to replace the old Ko- natives for commuters affected green even if a blue wave hits Con- nomic Development Corporation — the year it was initially meant to sciuszko Bridge and $700 million by the L train closure,” said Alex gress this November, according to revealed the project’s cost had shot be up-and-running — and wrap in to fix the L train, said she won’t Haurek. Photo by Jason Speakman a Democratic Williamsburg pol, up to $2.73 billion, and that local 2029, meaning work would almost be pushing for cash for the trol- The city plans to begin an envi- who noted how Trump has yet to officials want the Feds to kick in certainly overlap with looming re- ley until she gets more details that ronmental review for the Brook- fulfill his promise of passing a more than $1 billion towards the pairs to the Brooklyn–Queens Ex- convince her of its benefit. lyn Queens Connector project Look, ma, no hands massive infrastructure bill even trolley after a much-anticipated pressway’s triple cantilever, which “Clearly people living in the por- this winter, ahead of sending the A cyclist pedaled his one-wheeler across the Brooklyn with his party in control. study of the financial model re- are set to take place between 2021 tions of Brooklyn and Queens that scheme through the Uniform Land Bridge during the ninth-annual New York City Unicycle “Securing federal funding is vealed a surge in construction alone and 2026 and alone will cause mas- I represent need more transpor- Use Review Procedure in 2020, one Festival, which drew fans of the quixotic contraption to much harder under this adminis- won’t fully subsidize it. sive headaches for commuters . tation alternatives, and the BQX year before DeBlasio concludes the borough for a 13-mile ride from the span to Coney tration, which has repeatedly prom- The new price tag wasn’t the And new renderings of the street- could alleviate some of the con- his second term as mayor. Island on Aug. 31. A cultural cornucopia! Costumes, cuisine delight crowd at annual Caribbean parade By Alexandra Simon including Gov. Cuomo and Mayor Brooklyn Paper DeBlasio. This parade packed tons of Ca- “Sometimes we would yell ribbean flavor! ‘break!’ and start dancing for a Millions of revelers queued up while,” Warner said. “And our cus- along Eastern Parkway on Mon- tomers would dance with us.” day for the 51st-annual West In- The first marchers in the West dian Day Parade, which offered Indian Day Parade began stepping spectators a feast for the eyes — around 11 am, but many revelers and stomachs, according to a ven- hit the streets far earlier for the an- dor who peddled homemade cui- nual J’Ouvert parade, which kicked sine along the route. off as dawn broke at 6 am under “We were selling faster than we heightened security that returned could make some of the food,” said this year after the strict measures Carol Warner. implemented in 2017 prevented fa- Warner and her sister Ramona talities that plagued previous cel- Warner Alexander hawked delica- ebrations . cies from their native St. Kitts — The beefed-up police presence led including fish cakes, a sausage dish to no deadly incidents along the pa- of black pudding, and a savory “goat rade’s zig-zagging route from Flat- water” stew — that the cooks spent bush Avenue to Midwood Street for Photo by Paul Martinka hours preparing for the affair’s more Celebrants young and old waved the national flag of Gre- the second-straight year, but did not than three-million expected attend- nada at the West Indian Day Parade. stop violent behavior entirely. ees , many of whom came out looking A shooter fired a bullet into the for a taste of home, she said. buttock of a 25-year-old man on “Some of these recipes are te- ing it as observers and sometime Prospect-Lefferts Gardens. Nostrand Avenue between Pros- dious, but a lot of people don’t make marchers with the mas-and-steel And although business boomed pect Place and St. Marks Avenue it back a lot, so we wanted to bring bands that process along the route, throughout the hours-long festivi- blocks from the festivities around that to them,” Warner said. which runs along Eastern Park- ties, the vendors made a point to 7:30 am, according to cops, who Photo by Paul Martinka The sisters said they took their way from Schenectady Avenue to step out from behind their cart and said the victim was taken to Kings Some masqueraders donned larger-than-life costumes that needed the support of culinary turn at the parade five Grand Army Plaza, where it pro- into the carnival celebration itself, County Hospital for treatment and wheels. years ago, after regularly attend- ceeds on Flatbush Avenue towards which featured appearances by pols is in stable condition. seems reasonable to me,” Levin said public-private lot, he said. after a meeting with the developer on Levin previously accused the De- Aug. 27. partment of Education of forcing him The pol recommended axing the com- to make a Sophie’s Choice between the Take a little off the top plex’s commercial space as a way to re- schools and the polarizing towers they duce its density while keeping as many would sit inside, blasting the agency for of its planned public benefits — which not being more proactive in bringing Boerum Hill pol: 80 Flatbush tower must shrink by a third include a new 350-seat elementary school more desks to his overcrowded district and much-needed new classrooms for during his eight years in office. By Julianne Cuba newly built 986- and 560-foot towers relative to the size of the land it is on high schoolers enrolled at the Khalil But following the pol’s critique, Mayor Brooklyn Paper along with three rehabilitated build- — from 6.5 to 18.