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The Voice of Common Sense and Conservative Values VOLUME 90 NUMBER 33
AUGUST 23-29, 2019
WHAT’S NEWS TRASH TALK
The glorious Dyker Heights Christmas lights display is expected to draw more than 150,000 visitors this year but the tourists won’t be tossing as much litter on the sidewalks as they have in the past if a local lawmaker gets his way. Councilmember Justin Brannan, a Democrat who represents Dyker Heights, Bay Ridge and parts of Bensonhurst, introduced a bill on Wednesday, August 14 to ban vendors from a section of Dyker Heights during the weeks the Christmas lights show takes place.The idea behind the legislation is to cut down on the amount of litter and trash that accumulates on local streets and sidewalks during the month-long holiday lights display, Brannan said. Go to brooklynreporter.com.
BASHING THE BAN
Rep. Max Rose came to Bay Ridge on Friday, August 16 to meet a Yemeni man whose ailing wife gained entry to the United States with the lawmaker’s help so that she could receive life-saving medical treatments. The lawmaker used the occasion to speak out against the controversial Trump administration travel ban that prohibits immigrants, even refugees, from entering the U.S. from seven countries: Yemen, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria, North Korea and Venezuela. Yemen is currently engulfed in a bloody civil war that “has produced one of the largest humanitarian catastrophes,” according to Rose, who added that people fleeing the bloodshed can’t obtain permission to come to the U.S., even if they have family here, because of the administration’s strict ban. Go to brooklynreporter.com.
CALLING OUT MAIL THEFT
PROTECTED BIKE LANES ARE COMING TO SUNSET PARK
Fourth Avenue in Sunset Park will have protected bike lanes by the end of the year. The city’s Department of Transportation has made significant progress on the project, according to DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg and Councilmember Carlos Menchaca. The announcement comes during a particularly dangerous time for Brooklyn cyclists. Nineteen people have been killed while biking so far this year, and 13 of those deaths occurred in Brooklyn. Last year, 10 cyclists were killed citywide over the course of the whole year. “This is a victory for our neighbors and members of the cycling community who live and work in and around Sunset Park,” Menchaca said. See page 9.
PORTRAIT OF A CONSERVATIVE Jerry Kassar, a longtime Brooklyn activist, shares his perspective on politics and policy IN-DEPTH INTERVIEW: PAGE 2
Subscribe to our expanded DIGITAL EDITION: Email editorial@brooklynreporter.com!
ebrooklyn media/File photo by John Calabrese
Overflowing mailboxes, lost checks and identity theft have plagued areas of south Brooklyn for some time. Earlier this month, Assemblymember William Colton called for the postal service to install theft-proof mailboxes to address the problem. “There have been a number of problems with the United States Postal neighborhood mailboxes, where people’s identity have been stolen due to fishing in mailboxes,” Colton said. The assemblymember demanded that the postal service’s inspection service not only install theft-proof mailboxes, but investigate overflowing mailboxes in the area, which residents say is an issue caused by the post office’s failure to stick to scheduled daily pick-ups. See page 4.