Bridging Brooklyn: Your Weekly Roundup of Big Stories

Prospect Heights

Charter School Furor

Parents are still hopping mad over the city’s plan to close M.S. 571 and eventually replace it with Brooklyn East Collegiate Charter School. The process means that for a period, three schools would be in the same building on Underhill Avenue — a notion that outrages parents who feel teachers are already lacking in resources and space. Interestingly, the charter school is not the only target in this all too common showdown between parents and the city’s Department of Education. Parents from both M.S. 571 and P.S. 9 — the schools currently occupying the building — were also occasionally at odds, as parents felt that P.S. 9’s popularity made it deserving of more room to expand.

Park Slope

Marty Not Buying Prospect Park West Bike Lane

Borough President Marty Markowitz hates the Prospect Park West bike lane so much that he doesn’t even believe data gathered by the city’s Department of Transportation. Two weeks ago the city presented statistics that it said proved that the bike lane had fulfilled its purpose: drivers were going slower and there were fewer accidents involving cyclists and cars. But that didn’t satisfy Markowitz. “I question the validity of any data coming from the very agency that installed the lane,” he said. Of course, this comes as no surprise, given that Markowitz has long criticized the department as being run by a “zealot” who wishes to stigmatize drivers.

Carroll Gardens

Another Plan to Clean the Gowanus

The city was none too happy about the Feds coming in to clean the Gowanus Canal. Now, they’re trying to get in the action — a little. The city’s environmental agency presented a plan to Community Board 6 last week that outlined ways to reduce the rainwater pouring into the fetid waterway — thereby reducing the combined sewage overflow (human waste) that spills into the canal when the city’s sewers reach capacity during heavy rains. The plan involves “green” measures like tree plantings and natural water collection, as well as more traditional improvements of sewers.

Bedford-Stuyvesant

Lacrosse Camp in Bed-Stuy

You likely wouldn’t think of Brooklyn as having a popular lacrosse scene, but a group of youngsters are gearing up for the 2011 season right now. The Brooklyn Crescents Lacrosse Club is one of two leagues in the city, and parents say the sport has taught their kids the values of teamwork and a little friendly competition.