Briefing 8/5: NYC To Set Up Checkpoints, Gowanus Rezoning & Wellness Checks

Zainab Iqbal -
A fallen tree on a car. (Photo: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office.)

It’s Wednesday! It’s much calmer outside compared to yesterday, don’t you think? We hope you’re doing well. And we hope you have your power.

  • Was Brooklyn prepared for Tropical Storm Isaias? Local officials and neighbors say no.
  • Redistricting is a partisan nightmare – can New York’s new system do it better?- we questioned.
  • Should a neighborhood’s interests trump those of a city at large when it comes to a rezoning? Check-in with the latest on Industry City.
  • James Powers, a Brooklyn gallerist who nurtured Black artists, dies at 80, the NY Times reported.
  • “Pete Hamill, a streetwise son of Brooklyn who turned a gift for storytelling, a fascination with characters and a romance with tabloid newspapers into a storied career as a New York journalist, novelist and essayist for more than a half century, died on Wednesday in the borough of his birth. He was 85.”
  • “Local Assemblywoman Jo Anne Simon is calling on city officials to pause the planned Gowanus rezoning, arguing that the COVID-19 pandemic has stripped locals’ ability to weigh in on the hotly-contested proposal,” the Brooklyn Paper reported.
  • “Mayor de Blasio announced NYC will set up checkpoints for the bridge-and-tunnel crowd to comply with the state’s mandatory 14-day coronavirus quarantine rule for those arriving from COVID-19 hotspots,” the Daily News wrote.
  • NYC sees three straight days without any COVID-19 deaths, the Post reported.
  • NYC is now the only big U.S. school district planning in-person classes.
  • “NYC misses goal to bring coronavirus testing to all homeless shelters,” NY1 wrote.
  • “A staggering 25 percent of mail-in ballots cast in Brooklyn for June’s primary elections were declared invalid, it was revealed on Tuesday,” the Post reported.
  • “Faced with the uncertain future of New York’s restaurants and bars, industry professionals have flocked to Brooklyn’s second-largest public park to sell homemade cocktails,” Eater wrote.
  • Police are searching for a woman who randomly punched a 6-year-old child in the head in Brooklyn last week.
  • NYCHA is conducting wellness checks on residents, prioritizing those in buildings without power. NYCHA residents can call 718-707-7771 to report their power issues or any weather-related issues.