🌱 Flatbush Street Renaming + Renovation In Prospect Park

Rise and shine, Ditmas Park-Flatbush! Here's everything you need to know to get this Friday started off right.

First, today's weather:

Mild with clouds and sun. High: 58 Low: 41.

Here are the top 4 stories today in Ditmas Park-Flatbush:

1. A section of Prospect Park known as "The Vale" got a $40 million grant from the city Thursday. Its redesign will include an amphitheater and "sensory garden." (Brooklyn Paper)
2. The City Council approved the renaming of the intersection at East 45th Street and Farragut Road after Marie Andrée Bichotte, Assemblywoman Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn's mother. Bichotte, who died earlier this year at 82, was a well-regarded seamstress in Haiti before immigrating to the United States in the 1970s and working in the hotel industry. (Brooklyn Paper)
3. A construction company is facing $375K in penalties for unsafe working conditions at a site in Flatbush. An investigation of the site was conducted after a worker fell to their death from 60 feet high during demolition in May 2021. (SUN News Report)
4. With Omicron on the rise, New York City announced it's handing out 500,000 at-home COVID tests to be distributed by community groups in "hard hit" neighborhoods, including Flatbush. It's also handing out 1 million KN95 masks. (Gothamist)

Today's Ditmas Park-Flatbush Daily is brought to you in part by our friends at Verizon. They're building the fastest 5G network in the country. To learn how 5G is going to change life for you and your community — and to get access to this amazing technology — click here. And thank you Verizon for sponsoring this community resource in Ditmas Park-Flatbush!

Today in Ditmas Park-Flatbush:

• Shirley Chisholm Democratic Club holiday party at 1515 Nostrand Avenue (6 p.m.)
• AlFeAde Records Inc. presents "Colors of Africa" at 1374 Ralph Avenue (7 p.m.)

From my notebook:

• The African Burial Ground Coalition shared that housing is no longer being considered for development on the historic ABG site at Bedford and Church avenues. (Instagram)
• Equality for Flatbush shared that tenants in some Bensonhurst buildings currently have no heat. (Facebook)
• Here's a Hatha Yoga class with Lisa from the Flatbush YMCA! (Facebook)
• Saturday will mark the Flatbush Food Co-op's 45th birthday, and to celebrate it's giving away free vegan cookies. (Twitter)

More from our sponsors — thanks for supporting local news!

Events:

• Big Apple Circus is NOW OPEN in New York City! (December 17)
• Brighten The First Day Of Winter With 15 Percent Off FTD’s Sunniest Blooms (December 21)
• Add your event

Loving the Ditmas Park-Flatbush Daily? Here are all the ways you can get more involved:

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• Send me a news tip or suggestion at DitmasPark@Patch.com

That's it for today! I'll catch up with you bright and early tomorrow morning with a new update.

— Dashiell Allen