🌱 Where To Get A COVID Test + Mass For Murdered Police Officers

Happy Thursday, Sunset Park! These are the most important things happening in town today.

First, today's weather:

Sun mixing with clouds. High: 38 Low: 34.

Here are the top four stories today in Sunset Park:

1. Stephen Norman, the executive director of the King County Housing Authority, will be retiring at the end of the year. Norman began his career as a housing activist in Sunset Park, and started working for the housing authority in the 1980s when homelessness was on the rise. (Real Change News)
2. A mass was held recently at a Brooklyn church to commemorate the lives of police officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos who were murdered seven years ago. One of the officers, Ramos, grew up in Sunset Park. (Brooklyn Reporter)
3. Santa Claus made the rounds in Bay Ridge over the past week, taking a horse and carriage ride down Fifth Avenue and saying "ho ho ho!" to students at local schools. (Brooklyn Paper)
4. The city announced seven new testing sites and five new at-home test distribution centers on Wednesday. Also, starting on December 27th COVID tests will be available at Grand Central and Penn Stations. (NYC Patch)

Today's Sunset Park Daily is brought to you in part by Newrez, a leading nationwide mortgage lender. Make a smart move for your future and refinance with Newrez today. Call 844-979-1707 to connect with a Newrez loan officer. Newrez, LLC (NMLS #3013)

Today in Sunset Park:

• Throw and Glow Axe Throwing at Industry City (7 p.m.)
• Holiday Gala 2021 at 164 20th Street (8 p.m.)

From my notebook:

• With the holidays fast approaching, it's more important than ever to get COVID tested. Visit NYC.Gov/COVIDTest or text "COVID TEST" to 855-48 and find a test site near you. Thanks for the reminder Fifth Avenue Committee. (Facebook)
• You can get tested in Sunset Park for free at the Brooklyn Army Terminal and HAUP community organization. Here's a full list of free COVID testing sites in Brooklyn. (Twitter)
• As Carlos Menchaca points out, there are many accessibility limitations at testing sites in Sunset Park, including a lack of Chinese- and Spanish-language information and instructions. (Twitter)
• The NYPD held a fraud and ATM skimming prevention outreach event in Sunset Park Wednesday. (Twitter)
• It looks like there's a plan to offer free WiFi along 5th Avenue thanks to the Sunset Park BID. (NYC Capital Planning Explorer)

More from our sponsors — thanks for supporting local news!

Events:

• Operation Holiday® Calling All Donors to “Adopt A Family” (December 23)
• Save 15 Percent On FTD’s Christmas Collection (December 25)
• Add your event

Loving the Sunset Park Daily? Here are all the ways you can get more involved:

• Send a friend or neighbor this link so they can subscribe
• Get your local business listed in front of readers
• Send me a news tip or suggestion at sunsetpark@patch.com

That's it for today! See you all tomorrow for your next update.

— Dashiell Allen