Good morning! On Thursday evening, as a storm brought a tornado to the city, a plane circled JFK, stuck in a holding pattern. On that plane, a woman with mild to severe flight anxiety practiced box breathing like her life depended on it. Reader, it was me.
That same storm brought nearly 22 inches of rain to Gowanus, Red Hook Star-Revue reports, noting 24 inches is the threshold for cars to get swept away. This week, within days of one another, Brooklyn Eagle ran a feature on Gary Francis, who has diligently measured the canal’s quality for the past three years, while Grub Street likened the canal to Paris’ Canal Saint-Martin. To be fair, Le Canal Saint-Gowanus is a funny name.
I digress. When our plane eventually landed, the man next to me did something. He’d been disheveled the whole flight, stuffing various papers and books into the seat pocket in front of him; dropping his laptop charger and other belongings repeatedly; and watching videos at high volume, no headphones, off his laptop.
When wheels met ground, he clapped. And then I clapped. And the whole plane clapped. The lead flight attendant got on the PA to say he was touched because “people don’t clap anymore” at what is truly a forgotten miracle. I don’t think it would have mattered to my seat mate if anyone else followed suit. It wasn’t why he did it. Still, I told him I was glad he did.
“The pilot deserved it,” he said.
The Roundup
The Bloom Room, a floral shop, opened at 180 W 9th Street, a former martial arts studio, in Carroll Gardens last week. Senia, the owner, previously worked at a floral shop on Avenue X in Coney Island before taking a chance on herself. She plans to host floral arrangement workshops — “flowers and wine,” she says.
Stacked containers in the Columbia Street Waterfront District made room for crane assembly on Pier 10, according to a comment from PortSide quoting Mike Stamatis, President & CEO of Red Hook Terminals.
The Atlantic Avenue BID addressed last Wednesday’s dangerous car crash, in which a car went through an empty retail space at Nevins and Atlantic, in their newsletter this week:
These crashes at Nevins Street are often attributed to a particular problem: the left hand turn from Atlantic onto Nevins. While we do not yet know the exact nature of this accident other than the clear evidence of excessive speed, we are stunned by the sheer force of the collision which partially destroyed the facade of a building.
Our board has renewed a call to DOT Commissioner Keith Bray about the lethal nature of this intersection, and we thank CM Restler and Hanif for their continued pushing for better outcomes here.
The Department of Housing Preservation and Development plans to add 6,185 new homes to Carroll Gardens and Park Slope, a nearly 11 percent increase in home growth, over the next five years, according to a draft fair housing growth strategy.
Red Hook businesses say the coastal resiliency project is costing them customers.
Terreno Realty Corporation bought an industrial distribution building in Red Hook for $26.3 million.
Crew’s two ships that sank in Red Hook waters in July might be too expensive to rescue.
Diversions
An affordable housing lottery for a Red Hook building still under construction launches amidst a political scandal.
Is the city so overrun with dog poop, it is going to start composting it?
Andrea Strong got the scoop on Osteria Radisa, which reopened this week under new ownership.
NCIS: New York filmed in Brooklyn Heights and Brooklyn Bridge Park last week.
Goings On
Hatchet and Vivobarefoot will lead a neighborhood walk through Brooklyn Heights and Brooklyn Bridge Park next Saturday, Aug. 29.
Talea in Cobble Hill is hosting a “beers and braids” workshop for parents on Monday, Sept. 14.
The Merchants of Smith Street are hosting a community cleanup day the morning of Sunday, Sept. 20.
Atlantic Antic returns on Sunday, Sept. 27.
Judgy Baby in Gowanus is hosting a marathon reading of The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York by Robert Caro from Thursday, Nov. 12 to Sunday, Nov. 15. Hundreds of readers are needed to fill 10-minute slots. Sign up here.
One Last Thing
If you are in the mood for a dramatic read, I suggest this story about a man who found the toilets below his condo in Brooklyn Bridge Park so noisy, he sued.
Unless there is more than one paper stuffer I sat next to this guy on a plane once in 2017