The Day: A Hammer Attack Arrest and LIU’s Proposed Athletic Field Expansion

Good morning, Fort Greene and Clinton Hill.

How did you spend the hot summer weekend, locals? Maybe you took a walking tour of the nabe on Saturday with the Municipal Art Society of New York, called Clinton Hill: The Old and the New. Whatever you did this weekend, we’d like to see your photos in The Nabe’s Flickr group.

After last week’s heat wave, temperatures are expected to cool down a bit this week, the National Weather Service reported. But don’t forget your umbrella, as there is a chance of thunderstorms for most of the week.

• Clifford Price, who allegedly bludgeoned Fort Greene musician Dru Barnes in the face and neck with a hammer two weeks ago, was arrested on Friday evening, police told DNAinfo. Barnes was walking home from visiting a friend in Bedford-Stuyvesant on June 11 when he got lost, NBC 4 New York reported. Price allegedly followed him for a block before he attacked him on Jefferson Avenue between Howard and Saratoga Avenues, the news station reported. Barnes was then rushed to Kings County Hospital, where the doctor said he would lose his left eye, according to DNAinfo. Barnes’ friends have set up a support page to help fund his hospital bills. Price was charged with assault in the first degree and attempted assault in the first degree, police told DNAinfo.
• Community Board 2 is holding a public hearing today regarding Long Island University Brooklyn’s application with the Department of City Planning to expand its athletic field. If enacted, the expansion would result in the closure of a portion of Willoughby Street between Fleet Place and Ashland Place, and Ashland Place between Willoughby Street and DeKalb Avenue, among other changes. The meeting will take place before the community board’s executive committee meeting, which will be held at LIU’s Zeckendorf Health Sciences Center, in Room 121 at 5 p.m.
• The Department of Transportation will mill – or removing the top layer of asphalt – from local streets this week. On Wednesday and Thursday evenings, the department will mill Fulton Street from Hudson Avenue to Greene Avenue. The milling is taking place at night because these streets are heavily trafficked during the day. The department asks for locals’ patience and understanding, as milling can be noisy and disrupt sleep. Daytime paving will also take place at previously milled streets this week. Today and tomorrow, the department will pave Washington Avenue from Park Avenue to Fulton Street. Tomorrow, Wednesday and Thursday, Irving Place from Gates Avenue to Fulton Street will be paved. If you’ve parked your car on any of these streets, remember to move it to another block. If your car is still there when the DOT begins work, it will be relocated within three blocks. If your car is relocated, the DOT recommends calling (718) 222-7285.