Briefing 8/4: Massive Power Outage, New Bike Lane & A Collapsed Building

Briefing 8/4: Massive Power Outage, New Bike Lane & A Collapsed Building
A fallen tree on Lincoln Road in Flatbush. (Photo by Kenneth Lee, with permission)

It’s Tuesday! And it’s windy outside– the effects of a storm. There’s a massive power outage affecting all five boroughs. As of now, over 64,000 households are without power in the NYC area, Con Edison is saying. Intense winds are also causing trees to fall, so please stay indoors if you are able to and stay safe! As of now, the Tornado Watch and Flash Flood Watch for NYC have both been canceled. To report an outage or fallen tree, call 311.

  • NYC Health Commissioner Dr. Oxiris Barbot, who clashed with the mayor amid the pandemic, suddenly announced her resignation this morning.
  • Two motorcyclists are dead after crashing into cars in a span of just 11 hours in the same 75th Precinct.
  • At smaller actions, the necessity for Black Lives Matter comes into focus, we reported.
  • “Reopening New York City from its coronavirus lockdown will also mean reviving the battle over development plans like the city-led proposal to rezone Gowanus. Advocates looking to stop or change the plan to transform the neighborhood are gearing up for a restart to the city’s ULURP —Uniform Land Use Review Procedure — in September, after a pause on the process was put in place in March,” Patch reported.
  • “Civic gurus at Windsor Terrace’s Community Board 7 voted in favor of the city’s plan to install a parking-protected bike lane along Fort Hamilton Parkway on Monday,” the Brooklyn Paper reported.
  • Adam Max, “an investment manager who became a leading patron of Brooklyn cultural institutions, notably the Brooklyn Academy of Music, where he had been board chairman since 2017, died on July 27 at his home in East Hampton, N.Y. He was 62.”
  • “Brooklyn commuter slashes man in the face during fight on [Jay Street, Metrotech subway] platform,” the Daily News reported.
  • “Jay-Z’s Roc Nation entertainment company is partnering with Brooklyn’s Long Island University to launch the Roc Nation School of Music, Sports & Entertainment,” Hollywood Reporter wrote. “The new school will begin enrolling students for the fall 2021 semester, and 25% of the incoming freshmen class will receive Roc Nation Hope Scholarships; Hope Scholars will graduate without any debt.”
  • There is a webinar this Thursday at 7 p.m. to talk about how schools could make use of outdoor space and how to build the momentum needed to get streets, parks, and tents for NYC schools to use.