Brooklyn Heights: St. Francis College’s former president, Frank Macchiarola, got a nice surprise at last week’s graduation ceremony — his successor Brendan Dugan announced that the school’s academic center was being renamed for him. Macchiarola stepped down this year after 12 years at the head of the Remsen Street college. …
It’s one thing to love the Torah, but it’s another thing to read its entirety in one sitting. But that’s what Congregation B’nai Avraham on Remsen Street will be doing, starting at 11:30 pm on Sunday, June 8. The “Torah-thon” is a temple tradition that honors Shavuot, which, we’re guessing here, is a holiday celebrating the Torah. Call (718) 596-4840 X15 for info. …
Good news for Heights Councilman David Yassky in his run for Comptroller next year: Lovable Councilman Simcha Felder (D–Borough Park) now says he’s bailing on the race to run for a state Senate seat currently occupied by Kevin Parker, who is expected to run for re-election. …
Bensonhurst: Our friends at the High School of Sports Management will field a team — with the “help” of our light-hitting editor — against the Brooklyn Cyclones’ front office on June 7 at Keyspan Park. …
Bay Ridge: In their first full season, Bay Ridge Prep’s varsity baseball team won its league championship last week. Our pal Tony Campbell, the school’s athletic director, credited senior Jonathan Goeringer, who batted .529, with three HRs, 12 RBIs, 13 runs and 17 stolen bases in just 10 games. Oh, and he also pitched 42 innings, striking out 72. Freshman Jesse Merrill is batting .545. …
Fort Greene: Former neighborhood pickling legend Rick Field called us the other day to say he’s now pickling ramps! No, he’s not drinking on the entrance to the BQE — he’s bringing those fern-like roots that Anthony Bourdain is always going crazy about. Field calls them “On-Ramps.” …
Park Slope: Our friends at the Brooklyn School for Collaborative Studies sent a group of seventh-grade students into the belly of the beast — the Gowanus Canal — and the kids concluded that the so-called “Lavender Lake” should be dredged to remove toxins and that our sewage system should be completely overhauled so that millions of gallons of raw sewage no longer flows into the canal every year. Ah, the glory of youth! So energetic! So naïve! …
Councilman Bill DeBlasio is the Jolly Green Giant of city government. Park Slope’s towering Democrat has introduced a bill to force public schools to recycle more of the 50,000 tons of annual trash they generate. …
Cobble Hill: Lucky Boy Development, the developer who wants to convert the landmark Lamm Institute building at the corner of Amity and Henry streets, plus build four neighboring townhouses, won the support of Community Board 6’s Landmarks and Land Use Committee last Thursday by removing unpopular zinc siding from the townhouses in favor of a more traditional look, plus some changes to the facades and penthouses.