Bike Lanes To Be Added on Bedford Ave

 

By Jean Brannum | jbrannum@queensledger.com

New York City Department of Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez announced Sept 10 that construction would begin this week on a new protected bicycle lane and other major safety improvements planned for Bedford Avenue in Bedford-Stuyvesant. 

Improvements include a 1.5-mile protected bike lane and the addition of pedestrian islands to reduce crossing distance. There will also be new loading zones to maintain curbside access for delivery vehicles. 

The DOT noted that the City has seen a 15% decrease in crashes with injuries and a 21% decline in injuries after similar redesigns. 

“The addition of a parking-protected bike lane on Bedford Avenue will create a critical cycling link in an area where bicycle ridership is booming, while making the road safer for everyone—whether you’re walking, biking, or traveling by car,” said NYC DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez. 

Rodriguez mentioned that the decision came after outreach along the street. 

The northern part of Bedford Ave between Dean St and Flushing Ave is known for speeding, and five pedestrian deaths since 2020. 

“Biking along Bedford Avenue in Bed Stuy has been unsafe for too many years,” said Councilmember Lincoln Restler. “I’m elated that DOT has embraced a sustained campaign from community members and elected officials to install a protected bike lane on Bedford Avenue.”

At the same time, more people in the surrounding neighborhoods are cycling. Community Board 3 district is home to more than 4,000 Citi Bike annual members. In 2022, 494,000 trips began within the district’s boundaries. 

During outreach over the past two years, the DOT identified and spoke with stakeholders along the corridor. The agency hosted several meetings, walkthroughs, and site visits to ensure that the Bedford Avenue project accommodates the street’s diverse needs. 

DOT workers will begin removing the top road surface, a process called milling, of Bedford Avenue between Dean St and Lafayette Avenue this week. Streets typically remain milled for two to three weeks before being paved, a period in which utilities are strongly encouraged to do work that would otherwise require digging up the pavement. The DOT expects the entire redesign process along Bedford Avenue to be completed by the end of the year. 

At more than 10 miles, Bedford Avenue is Brooklyn’s longest street, stretching from Sheepshead Bay to Williamsburg.



National Grid Gets “OK” from PSC on Rate Hike, Sparking Protests From Environmentalists

 

By Jean Brannum | jbrannum@queensledger.com

The Public Service Commission unanimously approved a rate increase for gas usage in the state on Aug 15, which will affect people in Brooklyn and parts of Queens. The PSC determined that the rate increases were necessary and consistent with Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act goals. 

The three-year plan increases the average monthly gas bill by about $30 in the first year, nine dollars in the second year, and $22 in the third year, according to department staff who negotiated the terms of the rate plan. The new rate should increase National Grid’s annual capital to $833 million, $924 million, and $960 million.

Energy company National Grid, which provides electricity and gas in certain parts of New York State, but only provides gas in Kings County, proposed a rate hike in 2023 and with minor modifications was approved on Thursday. In a press release, National Grid said that the rate hike will fund infrastructure improvements, reduce emissions, and improve customer service. The company reasoned that the funding was necessary to ensure safe and reliable gas delivery in its service areas. 

The approval process and proposal were met with opposition, primarily from environmental activism groups like Sane Energy Project, which has protested numerous times against National Grid. The nonprofit based in Williamsburg sports the slogan “We Won’t Pay to be Poisoned.” Leaders of the organization are pushing for New York to support more renewable energy projects and shut down National Grid’s Greenpoint Energy Center. 

The majority of the 2100 public comments opposed the rate hike citing concerns about affordability, and investment in fossil fuels despite the passing of the CLCPA. The joint proposal includes steps to mitigate the impact of energy affordability, according to PSC Chair Rory Christian. National Grid already has an established program to help customers burdened by energy costs. 

However, multiple labor unions and other businesses supported the increase citing that the extra cash would help National Grid meet its environmental goals and improve community safety. 

In Albany at the PSC meeting, Sane Energy Project Director Kim Fraczek and other protesters stepped in front of the commission. Fraczek’s speech was mostly inaudible. The meeting was paused after Christian warned the group that they were disrupting the meeting.  

“This is a testament that those who hold the power to protect us from predatory corporations defying environmental justice turn on the very people they are entrusted to protect,” Fraczek said in a statement. “The financial, health, and safety costs of the climate crisis are not considered in the equation, disregarding the demands of the people.”

Julia Salazar at the protest at the Atlantic Ave Terminal

Downstate at a National Grid office across the street from the Barclays Center on the same day, Sane Energy Project Director of Communications Priscilla Grim led a rally with State Senator Julia Salazar and members of 350 Brooklyn against the rate hike. Salazar accused National Grid of trying to generate more profits. 

“They care about profits for their shareholders and do not care about our futures or our abilities as New Yorkers to make ends meet and pay our bills every month. It’s completely unsustainable,” Salazar said. 

Agreement To Go Green?

Salazar touched on the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, which was signed into law in June 2019 and mandates the state reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2030 and 85% by 2050. 

Several environmental organizations including Sane and the Newtown Creek Alliance have spoken out about closing National Grid’s Greenpoint Energy Center, saying that the center causes pollution. 

National Grid and the commission concluded that the energy center was necessary on peak usage days, but the commission recommended that the company close the center if alternative solutions are found. 

Greenpoint resident Katherine Thompson said that funding fossil fuel infrastructure will delay the city’s progress towards CLCPA goals and that there should be more investment in green energy.

Greenpoint resident Katherine Thompson.

In the proposal, the PSC disagreed that investment in gas infrastructure would take away from CLCPA-related infrastructure, and even said that infrastructure funded by the rate increase was necessary to reach CLPCPA goals. 

The Commission approved the new proposal with the agreement that the company would try to use alternative energy sources in the future. 

One of the ways National Grid agreed to reduce its environmental impact is by adding additional renewable natural gas interconnections. Renewable natural gas (RNG) is fuel derived from natural waste that emits methane. The Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant produces RNG for National Grid but commenters said the project was incomplete, according to the joint proposal. The City reported in May that the system was offline 46% of the time from April 2023 to May 2024.  

The RNG connects with existing gas lines called interconnection points. The joint proposal includes an agreement with National Grid that excess profits from RNG production will be refunded to customers. If the company does not profit from RNG, then the cost will be mostly recovered by shareholders. Another provision was that National Grid pursues non-pipeline alternatives. 

In addition, National Grid agreed to cease gas marketing to encourage customers to use alternative energy sources and will provide information to new customers. 

The environmental changes should reduce carbon dioxide emissions by an estimated 880,000 tons, according to an information presentation at the commission meeting. 

Commissioners approved the proposal with the environmental provisions saying that the rate increase was necessary to provide safe and reliable energy to National Grid customers. However, Fraczek said the PSC is continuing to listen to corporations rather than find alternative energy solutions. 

“Stop clinging to a law that favors industry, and instead follow a law that offers numerous options for releasing that grip,” Fraczek said. “The solutions are abundant. We just need leaders who are willing to lead.”

Officials from National Grid did not comment on the rate increase but did send press releases. 



Seeing the Scandinavian Light; A New Home Decor Store in Greenpoint Aims to Do More than Furnish your Living Room

 

By Alexander Bernhardt Bloom | alex@queensledger.com

 

Natural light comes streaming in through the ceiling windows by day at 34 Norman Avenue. The newly minted commercial space was once a zipper factory, more recently a warehouse for a private owner’s hoards of scraps and refuse. When Caitlin Maestrini, whose Scandinavian furniture showroom opened to the public there on Friday, first took over the lease on the space it had dirt floors.

These have been paved over with smooth, gray cement now, to give a stable setting for the feet of the sofas and coffee tables and storage shelves that populate the 4,000 square feet of store and cafe within 34 Norman Avenue’s walls, the realization of a personal dream for Maestrini.

Now the space beneath the address’s vaulted ceilings is full of soft light and soft furniture, objects that are easy on the eyes and which sit gently in a visitor’s hands. A space as such doesn’t naturally suggest the descriptor cozy, but that is the feeling, more than any other, that Maestrini has achieved there.

A major part of that achievement is in the lighting, and the natural bits of it that spill in through the skylights and broad windows are supported by lamps set up in exhibition about the store, essential to Scandinavian interior decor as they are.

Before she was a furniture store owner Maestrini was a product specialist and education manager with an Italian designer lighting company, and traveled the US teaching sales representatives about the installations they sold. Before that, Maestrini was an educator who taught high school students about the fine arts and expression. In each of these varied stations there seems to have been something central in common: Ms. Maestrini wants to help people better understand how to use design to enhance their lives.

* * *

The Danish concept called hygge (hooe-gah) had its moment of popularity in the US in the 2010’s, and a fair amount of ink had been spilled and a fair number of marketing campaigns mounted, with hygge their focus, long before anyone had uttered the words covid and nineteen together.

The pandemic changed the situation some. Hygge is all about creating cozy spaces and cozy moments, burrowing in with the ones that you love and a glass of wine or hot cocoa under the flicker of candlelight while darkness and terrorizing storms haunt the world outside.

After March, 2020 that sounded just about right. People started investing more in their homes as they increasingly confined in them and many spent the contents of their stimulus checks on carefully selected objects that they hoped would brighten their lives inside and under quarantine.

It was a couple of years before all of this that Maestrini had traveled the constellation of Scandinavian countries north of Europe where she was studying a part of her master’s program in interior design. Her base was London, but she became fixed on the design principles and styles she began to discover further north, – later she would also discover Scandinavian ancestry in her family – and when she made her return to the US the images of Mid-Century Modern furniture and fixtures made it with her.

She founded Teak in 2021, to begin with, in order to bring Scandinavian home furnishings to the US that she hadn’t been able to find here since her return.

* * *

On the afternoon of the day before Teak would first welcome visitors inside its new location the sound of pneumatic drills pierced the interior air. There was the smell of fresh paint and a frenzy of activity as Maestrini and the ten employees who make up her team and a host of others sought to finish stocking shelves and straightening wall hangings and all of the other big and small details that go into making a new place feel like a new home.

She made her way to a quiet corner and put her phone face down on a coffee table, empty otherwise save for a simple vase with a buoyant bouquet of flowers, and sat on the sofa beside it, one among the models recognizable from the company’s website.

Once a pop-up shop, she’d moved the business to a little storefront space in Greenpoint about a year ago and now in the new, expanded space, – which will include a cafe and Scandinavian-styled deli run by her friend and collaborator Leah Flannigan – Maestrini felt Teak could finally set down and realize its real purpose.

“There are two main missions:” she explained, looking out into the room heaped with imported domestic products, “Educate people on hygge and Scandinavian lifestyle, and inspire them to create a beautiful space at home.”

“This place, New York, is chaotic,” she went on, “we’re always in a rush, we’re always in chaos – when I come home I just want a place to decompress.”

It was a notion not incongruous with the New Yorker mentality, Maestrini argued, even if the focus on minimalist, utilitarian living often called for in hygge seems to be at odds with New York’s striving, competitive, race-to-the-top attitude.

“When you’re trying to survive in this city you still need a place to land at the end of the day.”

Her project, she would allow, does in any case present some quietly transgressive ideas. To begin with, it is a physical showroom in the digital age, a brick and mortar store to which people are invited to come to touch and spend time with the things they might otherwise click on and have delivered.

Also, the products Maestrini and her team sell are meant to last, nothing of the turn-and-burn of conspicuous consumption of goods Americans generally use in their households and otherwise.

“In Scandy countries you would save for the pieces that you knew that you wanted to have in your home,” finally buying them with purpose and treating them with care. “You would have people passing down furniture to you, and you would also be buying your chairs and your tables and things to ultimately pass down to someone else as well.”

Maestrini’s is a woman-owned and led business focused on equitable pay and direct-sourcing from other small business manufacturers and artisans. The furniture and products her shop sells in turn are far from cheap, but they’re meant to be used a great deal and to last and each has a story to tell.

More important than anything, she explained, is the importance of changing peoples’ perspective on domestic life. Hygge encourages simple comforts and physical togetherness which are often missing in the age of increased isolation and virtual narcissism and vicarious living through screens and headsets. A home shouldn’t be just for crashing, a home shouldn’t be a lonely place, according to the hygge principles.

Ever the educator, Maestrini returned the meandering conversation to its origin question, objective: “I’m here to talk to New Yorkers about small space solutions, to talk to New Yorkers about Hygge. I want people to create a home that they’re happy with, where they feel cozy, where they feel calm.”

We might yet see our domestic space in a different light.

 

 

 

Rent prices continue to rise in Brooklyn, reports say

 

By Jean Brannum | jbrannum@queensledger.com

Real estate reports show that rent in the city continues to increase with little end in sight, and the number of apartments available is decreasing ahead of the busy summer moving season. 

In Brooklyn, the median rental price for April rose about four percent in the last month, according to a Douglas Elliman report. This increase was slightly less than Manhattan, which rose 4.2 percent in April. 

Molly Franklin, a real estate agent for The Corcoran Group, said that while the Brooklyn market has always been hot, the number of affordable units, especially in Greenpoint, is dwindling. 

“Brooklyn isn’t an affordable borough anymore,” Franklin said. 

The Corcoran Group released a report with similar findings. According to its report, rent in Brooklyn increased ten percent since April 2023. One and two-bedroom apartments increased by over ten percent in the last year. 

Real estate agents are noticing more competition for places. While April is typically busy, this year’s market shows uniquely high competition. 

“I like to call it the Hunger Games,” Elina Golovko said, referring to the fierce competition for places in the summer months. Between new people moving to the city for jobs or school, and people looking to upgrade or downgrade within the city, there are so many people looking and fewer units available. Golovko is a real estate agent for Elliman. 

And she does not see it improving in time for summer, or even in the slower fall and winter months. 

Golovko said that the decrease in inventory has led to tense bidding wars between buyers and sellers. She has seen apartments rent for twenty to thirty percent over the asking price because the area is in high demand. She also noticed that more people are renting to move in up to 90 days in advance, the average earlier was up to 45. 

Jonathan Miller, president of appraisal and consulting firm Miller Samuel who created the Elliman report, said that since mortgage rates in April were the highest they have ever been, would-be home buyers are “camping” in the rental market. This increases competition for everyone looking for a place to rent. Those wanting to buy a home also have to afford a down payment and interest, which drives more people to rent, according to Golovko. 

“High mortgage rates are not the friend of would-be homebuyers, but they’re also not the friend of renters,” Miller said. “Higher rates push more people from the sales market to the rental market and the economy.”

Surprisingly, average rent in Northern Queens, which includes Astoria, Long Island City, Sunnyside, and Woodside decreased slightly. Miller suspects that it is due to the expectation that prices will be lower. The number of units has remained steady in the area. 

But even though rent prices are declining in the area, many units rented for about 20 percent over the asking price, indicating another area for tight bidding wars, according to Miller. 

Miller clarified that he can only make educated guesses for the future, but he does not see rent prices declining or more home buying in the next season. As long as mortgage rates are high, more people are likely to stay in the rental market. 

“It’s become clear that we’re not expecting mortgage or interest rate cuts, imminently, as was the thinking just a month ago,” Miller said. 

For those looking to rent or buy, the realtors shared some helpful tips. 

Start early, Golovko said. Due to the competition, starting earlier and creating a game plan will allow you the best chances of finding a place by the time you need to move. The summer rush is starting now. She also advises looking specifically for apartments available on your start date. 

Before you start searching, get documents ready and find a realtor. Co-op units usually have a longer approval process, while rental properties have the fastest. 

Franklin advises her clients to keep an open mind when looking for a place. Don’t be afraid to look into areas you never thought about, or consider moving to commuter cities if you work from home or don’t commute to the city daily. 

Franklin had two clients, a couple, who were dead set on living in Astoria. She found a place for them in Jackson Heights, and they were happy with their choice to live in a spacious apartment in the neighborhood. 

If you want to stay in an area with higher rent prices, be ready to downgrade or live with a roommate. 

Overall, Franklin emphasized that a “strong stomach and an open mind” will make the process survivable. 



Blaze Strikes Brooklyn Church During Easter Service

Courtesy New York City Fire Department

Firefighters battled a five-alarm fire at Our Lady of the Rosary Pompeii Church in Williamsburg on Easter Sunday, March 31, as heavy smoke billows from the building

By MOHAMED FARGHALY

mfarghaly@queensledger.com

Firefighters battle a five-alarm fire at Our Lady of the Rosary Pompeii Church in Williamsburg on Easter Sunday, March 31, as heavy smoke billows from the building

A five-alarm fire broke out at a Catholic church in Williamsburg on Easter Sunday on March 31, causing injuries to multiple individuals within the vicinity.

The blaze ignited at approximately 1:45 p.m. at Our Lady of the Rosary Pompeii, situated at 225 Siegel St. in Williamsburg, engulfing the church’s second floor.

According to the New York City Fire Department (FDNY), the inferno led to minor injuries for three civilians and three firefighters. Heavy smoke billowed across the vicinity for several blocks, with flames fiercely consuming the church’s rooftop.

Efforts to quell the flames persisted into the late afternoon, with firefighters finally gaining control of the situation at around 5:18 p.m. However, the cause of the fire remains undetermined, prompting an investigation by the fire marshal.

The incident disrupted Easter services, triggering a substantial FDNY response. Emergency crews swiftly descended upon the scene, cordoning off Seigel Street to facilitate firefighting operations.

Eyewitnesses recounted the harrowing scene, noting the presence of individuals within the church celebrating the Easter holiday as the fire erupted. Reportedly, approximately 100 worshippers had gathered for the afternoon mass.

Despite the ferocity of the blaze, FDNY officials commendably managed to salvage the church structure. However, a section of the second floor collapsed during the ordeal, resulting in a minor injury for one firefighter.

Tragically, the church’s rectory suffered extensive damage, with investigations underway to ascertain the cause of the conflagration.

 

Courtesy Our Lady of the Rosary Pompeii Church Facebook page

Amid Easter celebrations, firefighters battled a fierce blaze at Our Lady of the Rosary Pompeii Church in Williamsburg.

 

Bill to Expedite New Bike Lanes Passed

By Oona Milliken | omilliken@queensledger.com

Bikers can pedal easier knowing that new bike lanes are coming to the city faster than before. On Dec. 6th, Councilmember Lincoln Restler, alongside Borough President Antonio Reynoso, passed legislation that would eliminate the three month waiting period before bike lanes can be put in. The legislation, Intro 417, cuts that waiting period down to 14 days instead of 90. 

Aside from the 90 day waiting period, the Department of Transportation also had to wait 20-15 days for approval from Major Transportation Projects before beginning construction of bike lanes. Now, that waiting time is also repealed. In a statement from Restler, the Councilmember said that the new legislation would go toward building infrastructure for protected bike lanes, reduce cars on the road and aid in preventing the climate crisis. 

“Every day, New Yorkers make more than 550,000 bike trips,” Restler said in a press release. “Each trip helps us reduce the number of cars on the road and combat the climate crisis. The best way to encourage more biking is to make it safer by building a truly protected network of bike lanes.” 

Jon Orcutt, Director of Advocacy for Bike New York, an organization that seeks to empower New Yorkers through bicycling, said the bill removes an extra burden on creating new bike networks throughout the city. Orcutt said the 90-day waiting period was initially put in place in 2011 during a period bicycle activists call the “Bike Lash,” when community members were reacting to the Bloomberg administration implementing a lot of protected bike lanes at a fast pace. The 2011 legislation, Intro 412, required the DOT to give due notice to community boards when any bike lanes were constructed or removed. 

“They tried to slow bike lane development down with this additional set of rules for notifying community boards about the project,” Orcutt said. “The legislation that Councilmember Restler put together basically repealed that and so now bike lanes are treated like any other change in street configuration.” 

Though Orcutt said the bill was a win for bike advocates across the city, he said the current mayoral administration has been opposed to creation of new bike infrastructure in places like Grenpoint, Fort Greene, Clinton Hill and Prospect Heights. 

“The most bittersweet part of it is that now that we sort of have this streamlined bike lane production in terms of the procedural part, we have an administration who’s been intervening in bike lane development in a bad way,” Orcutt said. “It’s fantastic that Lincoln was able to push this through. But, now it’s sort of back in the city administration’s court to use this new procedure to get more done.” 

Elizabeth Adams, Deputy Executive Director for Public Affairs at Transportation Alternatives, also gave her support for the bill. Transportation Alternatives is a New York based organization that seeks to prioritize walking, biking and public transportation for the city, rather than relying on cars. In a press release, Adams said that the bill would go towards helping bikers stay safe in New York. 

“To combat the rising levels of bike riders killed in traffic crashes, achieve the legal mandates of the NYC Streets Plan, and meet our climate goals, New York City needs to build more protected bike lanes. Yet, current law makes it harder to build a protected bike lane than other street safety projects. New Yorkers cannot afford delays,” Adams said. “We applaud Council Member Restler and the City Council for passing Intro 417 so bike lane projects are no longer singled out with arbitrary delays and waiting periods that other street projects don’t face.” 

Residents Launch Last Minute Effort to Save Park Church

By Oona Milliken | omilliken@queensledger.com

The fight to keep Park Church on 129 Russell Street in Greenpoint alive has been ongoing for years ever since the Metropolitan New York Synod, a chapter of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, announced Dec. 2021 that it would pull funding for the church due to declining membership. Currently, MNYS is in the process of selling the building, originally built in 1907, to GW Equities LLC, led by developers Avraham Garbo and Berish Wagschal. On Thursday Aug. 31, activists and community members gathered in a Zoom public hearing in front of Judge Richard Latin to halt the sale and attempt to repurpose the building for community use. In a statement from MNYS, Robert Lara, Assistant to the Bishop and Officer of Communications for the synod, said that the decision came after considerate deliberation.

“The Metropolitan New York Synod Council approved the sale of the former Messiah Lutheran Church building, where Park Church Co-op operated, following careful evaluation,” Lara said in an email. “This decision was made due to declining worship attendance and safety concerns with the building’s structure. The sale proceeds will support the growth of viable congregations, particularly those serving marginalized communities, in alignment with the synod’s commitment to anti-racism. ”

Other community members disagree. Jeremy Hook, a long-time Greenpoint resident working to keep the church in place, said that the sale of the church would be incredibly detrimental to the community, and that the synod is behaving like a developer rather than a religious organization.

“It’s ironic that they identify as Lutherans when you recall where Lutherans come from, what the 101 Lutheran theses actually were about, which was Martin Luther saying, ‘Hey, the Catholic Church is just kind of acting a whole lot like a business here and just about making money,’” Hook said. “And I would say that there’s a bit of a similar thing going on with the ELCA.”

According to Hook, the Church was not just a spot for religious worship, but a place for Greenpoint residents to gather, organize events and create a community space. Community members at the hearing gathered and shared their favorite stories and events over the years, including dance parties, Drag Queen Reading Hour, drives to give out free food and shelter as well as birthday parties for children.

Kaki King, a Greenpoint resident and the creator of a silent disco event at McGolrick Park, said at the hearing that there were many spaces for adults to hangout in the area, such as bars and restaurants, but almost none for children. According to King, the church was a place for her family to hangout in.

“Some of my happiest memories of raising my children are definitely from the inside of the park church and I truly hope that our words are heard and that something can be done to help the sale or in future events, you know, preserve the community spirit that is very strong in this in this community,” King said.

As the sale moves forward, this is a last-ditch effort to halt the process, according to Hook. Community members submitted a request for a hearing to the Attorney General’s office, and were approved by Assistant Attorney General Colleen McGrath, who wrote in a letter that Attorney General Letitia James had no objections to the sale but was open to hearing the dissenting voices of the community. According to McGrath, the sale is valid according to New York state law, so there could be no objection to the transaction on that front, but still wanted to raise the concerns of Greenpoint residents.

However, the Attorney General’s Charities Bureau has received a number of complaints objecting to the proposed sale of the Property due to its perceived negative impact on the Greenpoint, Brooklyn community, where the Property is located,” McGrath wrote.

GW Equities have not announced their plans for the church, but have several large-scale projects under their belts, including 13-story residential and commercial development in Downtown Brooklyn. Greenpoint Assemblymember Emily Gallagher said at the hearing that the church was affordable and accessible for all types of community members, and that Greenpoint had enough large developmental projects.

“We have quite a lot of luxury and high end housing that is being developed in this community that is not providing for the same number and diversity of people. So I’m here to ask you to think about justice, rather than nearly law, and see if we can preserve something that is such a vital space for our wonderful community,” Gallagher said. “We really do not have many free spaces in this community where people can meet and gather and have important discussions, especially in the long winter months.”

Other community members do not see the church sale as a loss. Stefan Rysek, a longtime Polish resident of Greenpoint, said that churches were valuable to the community, but did not oppose the residential project.

“People need some kind of mental help from the churches, for example, the Polish churches,” Rysek said. “You know what? I’m not against the apartments being built.”

Park Church had a declining congregation for years, a national trend as Gallup reported that church membership in the United States dipped below majority for the first time in 2021. Churches across the country are closing their doors because there are not enough people to create a significant congregation. Hook, who describes himself as allergic to religion, said that he understood the difficulties MNYS must have faced in keeping their parish open, but advocated for keeping the church as a secular community space.

“In fact, the problem that I will address tomorrow is that, you know, I acknowledge that the congregation itself was shrinking, at the end of the day they probably only had about 15-20 tiding congregations,” Hook said. “So I understand that it must have been a lot of trouble from that end. But the building simultaneously was thriving as a community center.”

Curbside Composting to Arrive in Brooklyn in October

Curbside Composting is coming to Brooklyn stoops Oct. 2, according to a schedule released by the Mayor’s Office. The program, which includes free bins for all Brooklynites who sign up before Oct. 13, is a part of a larger rollout to make composting mandatory across all five boroughs. 

Gil Lopez, an urban ecologist, compost applicator and educator for Big Reuse, said the program is important in making composting accessible to all New York residents. 

“The great thing about the brown bin, and the reason that I’ve been wanting to mandate compost forever, is until everyone in New York City, undocumented or documented, has access [to composting] and they don’t have to do anything special to get it, there is inequity built into our system,” Lopez said. 

The program began Oct. 2022 in Queens and resumed services in the borough in March after a winter hiatus. In 2024, brown bins will start to appear regularly in Manhattan, Staten Island and the Bronx. The Curbside Composting initiative, sponsored by Park Slope Councilmember Shahana Hanif, is just one part of the Zero Waste Act initiative passed by the City Council in June of this year. 

The Zero Waste Act is a five-bill initiative that also includes annual reporting measures on the 11,000 tons of waste created in New York daily, community food scrap collecting centers, new construction of recycling facilities, as well as the city’s general efforts to withstand climate change. Under the new legislation, composting will be compulsory by the year 2025, when fines will be imposed on NYC residents who decline to sort out their organic waste. The fines will increase after each violation, starting at $25, then $50, and finally $100 for every following fine. According to Michael Whitesides, the communications director for Councilmember Hanif, the plan is to reduce the carbon footprint of the city and expand composting access to a broader range of people. 

“We’ve also really been focusing on getting multilingual outreach. A lot of the areas that we have composting right now tend to be white, wealthier, mostly English speaking communities,” Whitesides said. “The Councilmember has been really involved in trying to get some translated materials, not only about what is composting but also how to sign up for brown bin. We’re not just going to communities that already have access to curbside compost but really doing our work to expand it citywide.” 

The composting collection will be handled by the Department of Sanitation of New York and will be picked up on the same day that recycling is gathered. According to Whitesides, DSNY is putting in the work to let Brooklanites know about the brown bin rollout, including putting up flyers, doing social media outreach, and knocking on people’s doors. On Twitter, DSNY shared that more than 23,000 people have signed up for a brown bin in Brooklyn, and urged more people to participate in the program. 

According to an email response by Vincent Gragnagi, the DSNY press secretary, the compost will be sent to one of five locations across the city: the DSNY’s Staten Island composting facility, the Department of Environmental Protection’s waste management location in Newton Creek, an organic processing facility in Massachusetts, and Nature’s Choice composting plant in New Jersey. Gragnagi said the curbside composting initiative makes it easier for residents in the city to do their part in combating climate change, and in turn, also allows the city to reuse the organic material collected from community members. 

“We all share the goal of making it easy for New Yorkers to do the right thing and compost — and that is exactly what universal curbside composting does,” Gragnagi said in an email. “The goal of the procurement is to ensure that material collected in our curbside composting program goes to a variety of facilities, each of which will process the material and turn it into something beneficial, either renewable energy and fertilizer, or compost for parks and gardens” 

Whitesides said that composting organic material alone can reduce the city’s environmental impact by a third of its current carbon footprint. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, composting will reduce the amount of organic waste going to landfills, which produce a significant amount of harmful methane gas. Pilot composting programs in cities such as San Francisco have managed to reduce the amount of trash going to landfills by 80 percent, where the municipality has managed to compost 255,500 tons of organic waste each year, according to the Public Interest Network. According to Lopez, though the fight to increase composting has been active amongst grass-roots environmental circles in the area since the 1990s, this is NYC’s first large-scale initiative to enact mandatory food waste processing. 

Katie Cunningham, a Park Slope resident, said she wanted her neighbors to do their part to reduce methane gas from landfills by composting their organic material, and hopes that the brown bin program will increase the number of people who take the time to do so. After 15 years of living in the area, she said she has just started composting because of the readily available service, and in part, she said because the sign-up process to get a brown bin delivered to her home was so simple. 

“I’ve only been composting recently, I hate to admit. I’m excited that they’re invested in expanding this program and bringing it to Brooklyn,” Cunningham said. “The sign-up process is straightforward, you just go online and order the bin that you need. I’m hoping it will motivate more people in the neighborhood and more people in Brooklyn to start composting.” 

Lopez said many residents in cities assume that they are far away from the harm occurring to forests, oceans and other ecosystems and that New Yorkers should do anything they can to reduce their environmental impact. According to Lopez, composting is a big part of that. 

“We are part of the ecosystem. Period. We never separated from the ecosystem,” Lopez said. “People assume that they are not a part of the natural world. If that were true, we wouldn’t be experiencing the tripartite climate catastrophe that we’re in right now … We live in a world where everything is connected, and there’s no way you can sever that connection, no matter how big, bad, rich or elected you are.”

Thomas Leeser, a Park Slope resident, said he is glad that composting is coming to Brooklyn, and that he has been composting since he moved to the area three years ago. Leeser said that he had no issue with the program being mandatory, as composting is good for the environment. 

“It’s a good thing, you know, I’m happy that it’s happening,” Leeser said. “We should all do our part for the environment.”

On the Record: Halil Kaya

By Oona Milliken | omilliken@queensledger.com

Despite the gray weather in Downtown Brooklyn, Halil Kaya was smiling inside the ice cream truck parked outside Albee Square. After selling five strawberry smoothies to a large family and one rainbow sprinkled cone to a mother-daughter duo, Kaya stopped serving and said he loves selling ice cream because of how happy it makes people. 

“I just love to make people happy, you know? To see the kids happy. That’s the best job I want to do,” Kaya said. 

Kaya, whose favorite ice cream flavor is chocolate vanilla twist, said it can sometimes be hard to stay positive in such a hectic area. According to Kaya, Albee Square is bustling with people from all over Brooklyn, and people can be rude and abrasive when he’s working the window. 

“Sometimes people like to give you a hard time about the ice cream, or the prices, but otherwise I like it,” Kaya said. 

Because of this, Kaya said he wanted people to spread positivity, and remind people to stay polite during ice cream rush hours. 

“Just be polite to others with whatever you do. You should just try to make people happy everyday. Yeah, just be polite,” Kaya said. “Share the happiness.”

On the Record: Siyuri Zen and Ange Musoni

By Oona Milliken | omilliken@queensledger.com

Siyuri Zen and Ange Musoni in McCarren Park

Taking a deep breath can be a luxury sometimes, according to friends Siyuri Zen and Ange Musoni, who met up to spend quality time together and relax in inflatable bean bags at the entrance of McCarren park.

“It’s kind of a friend’s date, we met when we were working, so we were always in spaces of working and being on a schedule so we don’t often get the time to catch up and get to know each other, so when we have those days, it’s really nice,” Musoni said.

The pair met working for a security company at Yankee Stadium, but have since switched to other roles at different companies. Now, their schedules can be conflicting, so they said that they appreciate the time to hangout. According to Zen and Musoni, carving out time for leisure is important. Zen said that it’s rare for her to be able to take some time to slow down her breathing.

“Relaxation to me is a moment to take a deep breath, it’s like being in a situation where you don’t have to take shallow breaths, if that makes sense,” Zen said.

According to Musoni, relaxation can be a way for her to access parts of herself that she does not get to on a regular basis.

“For me, relaxation can be a way to tap into certain parts of yourself that you don’t get to tap into everyday in your routine. I’m personally learning how to just be by myself alone, and relaxation plays a big part of that,” Musoni said.