2 APRIL 21 – APRIL 27, 2017 BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP #SAVEGOWANUS INSTAGRAM CAMPAIGN LAUNCHED In conjunction with the New York City Department of City Planning’s Gowanus Neighborhood Planning Study, the Historic Districts Council (HDC) has launched an Instagram campaign "honoring Gowanus' built environment." The council is urging Brooklynites to "snap" their beloved Gowanus buildings and upload the pix to Instagram accompanied by street address and the hashtag "#SAVEGOWANUS." Participants are encouraged to tag both HDC (@hdcnyc) and Councilmember Brad Lander (@brad.lander) in their posts. PARK SLOPE LANDMARK TO BE HONORED The Montauk Club, a private social club located at the corner of Eighth Avenue and Lincoln Place in Park Slope, will be recognized at the 2017 Lucy G. Moses Preservation Awards. The Montauk Club was founded in 1889, shortly after the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge. It was designed by Francis Kimball in the Venetian Gothic style and built of brownstone and brick. The ceremony will take place on May 11 at the New York Public Library. The awards are the New York Landmarks Conservancy's highest honors for excellence in preservation. BROOKLYNITES INDICTED IN ELABORATE MONEY ORDER SCHEME Seven Brooklyn residents have been indicted for depositing the same United States Postal Service money orders into multiple bank accounts fraudulently, while also cashing the physical money orders, according to Acting Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez. According to the indictment, from about June, 2014 to March, 2016, the defendants purchased the money orders and allegedly recruited 47 bank account holders to relinquish control of their accounts at TD Bank, Santander and Bancorp for a cash reward. The defendants would allegedly deposit the money orders into the bank accounts through apps offered by the financial institutions, writing the respective account holder’s name as the payee in pencil and erasing it afterwards, to facilitate another fraudulent deposit. According to the indictment, the group would then withdraw the money, and cash the money orders at Brooklyn post offices, without disclosing that the money orders had previously been deposited. Based on the face value of the money orders, the defendants – who live in Ditmas Park, Flatbush, East Flatbush and Flatlands — allegedly stole approximately $74,951, $36,369 and $7,300 from TD Bank, Santander Bank and Bancorp, respectively. The defendants have been indicted on charges of second degree grand larceny and first-degree scheme to defraud, among others. —Meaghan McGoldrick Rendering courtesy of the MTA The Bay Ridge Avenue station will close on April 29 for some six months to allow for renovation. Bay Ridge Avenue station to close April 29, residents continue to cry foul BY MEAGHAN MCGOLDRICK [email protected] With the closure of the Bay Ridge Avenue subway station fast approaching, local residents are still calling on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to ease the blow. The station will close Saturday, April 29 for at least half a year for reconstruction. “The Bay Ridge Avenue station is scheduled to close in less than one week, and we have not received any response from either the MTA or the governor's office to our letter and petition. That's just plain unacceptable,” said local resident Andrew Gounardes, who penned a letter earlier this year calling on the MTA either to run shuttle bus service between Bay Ridge Avenue and 59th Street or temporarily boost bus service on three nearby buses – the B9, B37 and B63 – while the Bay Ridge Avenue station is closed for repairs. That letter was sent to both MTA President Veronique Hakim and Governor Andrew Cuomo alongside a similar letter signed by local politicians as well as thousands of signatures gathered by Gounardes firmly requesting the same thing. “As the second busiest station servicing commuters in Bay Ridge, the R train is a critical and affordable transportation resource for students, working professionals and seniors on a fixed income traveling to and from the neighborhood,” wrote State Senator Marty Golden and Assemblymembers Nicole Malliotakis, Felix Ortiz and Pamela Harris in their joint letter. “Additionally, the Bay Ridge Avenue station serves as a vital transfer point between the R train and the B64 and B9 buses.” “The 8,000+ residents of southern Brooklyn who use and rely on the R train and the Bay Ridge Avenue station deserve a response– even if the response is ‘sorry, we can't do anything to help,’" Gounardes told this paper. “At least then people will know they have to start to plan for alternative modes of travel. Right now, the MTA's radio silence, just like an alltoo frequent garbled train announcement, is not helpful and only adds to commuters' frustrations.” Once reconstruction is complete, the revamped Bay Ridge Avenue station will feature enhanced lighting throughout, as well as improved signage to make it easier for straphangers to navigate their stops. It will also include at least one countdown clock, improved cell service, new art and a real-time navigation system. The Bay Ridge Avenue station is just one of 31 stops citywide that will see such an overhaul, as announced by Cuomo over the summer, alongside the 53rd Street station in Sunset Park, which closed late last month. Once the station closes, it will leave just three points of access to the R train in Bay Ridge — 95th Street, 86th Street and 77th Street — and leave an 18-block gap between neighboring stops. When reached for comment, an MTA spokesperson said, “The B9 runs between Bay Ridge Avenue and 59th Street and connects Bay Ridge Avenue to 59th Street,” adding that the agency “will monitor the B9 to see if additional service is needed.” According to protesters, the shutdown will require nearly 8,379 commuters on average to travel to another stop to catch the R on a daily basis.
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