Briefing 6/17: Street With Black Lives Matter Mural To Be Pedestrian-Only Plaza & More

It’s Wednesday! We hope you are well and staying safe. We hope you are social distancing while outside and remembering to wear face coverings!

• There were 448 new positive confirmed coronavirus cases in NYC, compared to the 324 cases from yesterday. There were 32 new coronavirus-related deaths in the city, compared to the 22 deaths from yesterday.
• NYC is on track to enter Phase 2 of reopening on Monday, Governor Cuomo said this morning. For more information on what that entails, please visit here.
• Cuomo has signed an Executive Order recognizing Juneteenth as a holiday for state employees. He said he will advance legislation to make it an official state holiday next year.
• Robert Berrios, a candidate for District Leader in District 51 (Sunset Park, Red Hook, Bay Ridge, Borough Park and parts of South Park Slope), who is also endorsed by the Brooklyn Democratic Party, shared the names and photos of Black Lives Matter protestors to cops, Gothamist reported.
• The block with the new Black Lives Matter street mural in Bed Stuy (Fulton between Marcy and Tompkins) will become a pedestrian-only plaza for the duration of the summer, the Mayor announced.
• VLP and Brooklyn Bar Association is offering free attorneys to settle family estates amid the coronavirus pandemic, the Brooklyn Eagle reported.
• Inmates at the Metropolitan Detention Center are reporting inhumane conditions, the Brooklyn Paper reported.
• “The New York City board that sets rents for the roughly 2.3 million residents in rent-regulated apartments is expected to vote on Wednesday to freeze rents for one-year leases, a slight reprieve for tenants struggling in the worst economy in decades,” the NY Times reported.
• The U.S. Open will take place, without fans, in Queens from August 31 to September 13.
• All NY hospitals are now allowed to have visitors at their individual discretion. They must follow state guidelines, including time-limited visits, required PPE for visitors, and mandatory symptom and temperature checks for visitors, Cuomo announced.
• Democratic Socialist candidates for state legislature in Brooklyn are counting on a new, more personalized, but unproven, form of voter engagement, known as “friendbanking,” to turn out votes in their districts and win them seats in Albany in the June 23 primary, we reported.
• An early morning shooting in East Flatbush left one dead and one injured.
• A Black teacher questioned Eva Moskowitz’s response to George Floyd’s death. Now, Success Academy is facing bigger questions about race, Chalkbeat reported.
• Mayor Bill de Blasio announced this morning that steps are being taken to speed up the investigations within NYPD in cases where there’s a substantial injury to a civilian, and outlined how police disciplinary records will be made public.
• We spoke to Rubie Inez Williams, a woman who believes in a strong community. She believes that the youth will excel if there a community to love and support them. She believes in investing in the Black youth, something she’s been doing for years.