The Day: A Round-Up of Our 2013 Stories

Good morning, Fort Greene and Clinton Hill.

A new year will soon be upon us. Here at The Nabe, we’ve decided to say goodbye to 2013 and ring in 2014 by reflecting on all the work we’ve done over our first year of existence. Which stories did you like this year, and what local issues do you hope we’ll report on in the new year? Let us know in the comments.

• Two Fort Greenes: Spaces in a Changing Community: This multi-part project, put together by CUNY Graduate School of Journalism students, takes a thorough look at gentrification in Fort Greene and its effects on local people and places. The stories delve into the impact of the Barclays Center, the inadequate repairs at Fort Greene Park and the state of disrepair at the Paul Robeson Theatre, among other issues.
• Video: Brooklyn Biketrain Attracts New Riders: We spoke with a new informal group of commuters, known as a biketrain, who ride from Red Lantern Bicycles to Midtown, usually on Thursdays. The biketrain is helpful for newbie cyclists, who become more comfortable when they’re surrounded by experienced riders.
• State Liquor Authority Launches Investigation of Club Touché: We looked into complaints of violence, drunkenness and loud noise at Clinton Hill’s controversial Club Touché, and learned that the State Liquor Authority launched an investigation to determine whether to revoke the nightclub’s liquor license.
• Resurfaced Fort Greene Park Tennis Courts Re-Open; Players Donate to Future Projects: The Fort Greene Park Tennis Courts got a facelift this summer, in which a contractor filled in cracks and depressions that made it dangerous to play on the courts. Once the community-funded project was completed, 44 tennis players turned out for the first fundraising groundstroke tournament of the season.
• Four Months After Devastating Fire, Pratt Students Display Work Again: Although a four-alarm fire devastated the top two floors of Pratt Institute’s Main Building last February, destroying many pieces of student artwork, the school’s graduating class was able to regroup and display their senior theses at showings held in Manhattan during the summer.
• Video: Auburn Shelter Residents Lament Living Conditions: We took an in-depth look at the unsafe, unsanitary conditions at Fort Greene’s Auburn Family Reception Center – ranging from broken elevators to water leaks, rotten food and gnats in the showers – all of which residents and advocates say have neither gotten sufficient attention nor the necessary aid from the city’s Department of Homeless Services.
• Live Blog: Make Music New York: This was The Nabe’s first foray into live blogging. Our reporters took to the streets this summer and provided real-time updates on a music festival that spanned all corners of the nabe. We listened to rock, country, hip-hop and Latin music, among other genres.
• A Green Roof Grows in Brooklyn: We got the scoop when a sustainable roof garden, financed through a quarter-million dollar grant from the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, came to Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School this summer.
• Video: Locals Find Waldo at Neighborhood Businesses: Remember that elusive striped sweater-wearing character, Waldo, that you searched for in picture books as a child? He was hiding in neighborhood businesses this summer, and it was up to locals to find him.
• Politicians and Post Office Officials Discuss Pratt Station Post Office Closure: Representative Hakeem Jeffries, Senator Velmanette Montgomery and two United States Post Office officials came together to field community questions about the Pratt Station Post Office, which is closing to make way for a new housing development.
• Master Sabu, Local Martial Arts Instructor, Forced to Close Business: We spoke with Master Sabu, a martial arts instructor known in the community for his kindness and generosity, whose business, The Humble School of Martial Arts, was forced to close because of a 200 percent rent hike. Sabu’s story is part a wave of small business closures and relocations in the nabe, especially on Fulton Street and Myrtle Avenue.
• Geezer Project Helps Seniors Turn Neighborhood Retirement Community: We attended a pre-launch meeting for Good Neighbors, also known as “the Geezer Project,” a private, membership-based nonprofit organization born from the Fort Greene Association that connects elderly Fort Greene and Clinton Hill residents to local resources that help them continue living autonomously.
• On Furlough? Cochinita Has a Burrito With Your Name: Were you furloughed during the U.S. government shutdown this fall? If so, you may have been able to enjoy a free burrito at Cochinita Tacos in Clinton Hill.
• Brooklyn Neighbors, Friends and Colleagues Gather in Memory of Alfred Chiodo: We covered the memorial service for Alfred Chiodo, Public Advocate-elect Letitia James’ urban affairs director during her tenure as City Council Member. Chiodo’s friends and family said he was passionate about Brooklyn, affordable housing and the Franklin Avenue shuttle.
• The Untold Stories of Fort Greene Park Benches: Whether they’re named after dogs who had passed away or they bear handles from the 1939 World’s Fair, Fort Greene Park’s benches have unique stories – and we learned about some of them in this post.
• In Wake of 9-Year-Old’s Death, Locals Demand NYPD Traffic Enforcement: Fort Greene and Clinton Hill residents marched to the November 88th Precinct Community Council meeting, demanding better traffic enforcement following the death of 9-year-old Lucian Merryweather, who died when he was pinned under an out-of-control SUV two weeks earlier.
• Parks Department Repairing South Oxford Park Tennis Courts: Parks Department workers began bulldozing the surface of the South Oxford Park tennis courts last month – the first step in a previously unannounced city-funded project to completely remake the eroding and sinking courts.
• Army Veteran Continues Service With Local Cooking and Food Education: We profiled Darrell Robinson, a U.S. Army veteran who now dedicates his time to cooking, and educating locals about food and nutrition.
• NYPD to Restrict Journalists’ Access to Crime Reports at Local Precincts: For two weeks, The Nabe could not post its weekly 88th Precinct crime blotter because of a new NYPD regulation to prevent citywide journalists from looking at the weekly crime reports in their local precincts. We were told that we must first go through the Deputy Commissioner of Public Information to gain access to this information. Through much communication with DCPI, the precinct and the help of a letter from CUNY Graduate School of Journalism Dean Stephen B. Shepard, we have access to the reports once again and are able to post weekly blotters.
• Next Year to Be Last Year for Pratt Steam Whistles Tradition: Yesterday, we reported that next year will be the last year for Pratt Institute’s annual New Year’s Eve steam whistle-blowing tradition. The news, confirmed by a Pratt spokeswoman, contradicts previously circulating rumors that this would be the last year.