South Brooklyn pols praise Cuomo on Coney Island reopening
Southern Brooklyn lawmakers representing Coney Island including City Councilmember Mark Treyger, U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries and State Sen. Diane Savino, and Alexandra Silversmith, Executive Director of the Alliance for Coney Island recently praised Gov. Cuomo for setting the reopening date of April 9 for outdoor amusements statewide. “The outdoor amusement district in Coney Island has been closed for almost a full year, with an estimated $100 million dollars in lost revenue due to the cancellation of the 2020 summer season. This closure–the first time in over a century–has created a dire and unstable financial situation for many struggling, local businesses, and has led to thousands of lost jobs ,” they said.
Former Modell’s store for sale
The Henry Modell Company, which owned the bankrupt Modell’s retail chain, and a neighbor on Fulton Street are marketing four buildings at 360-370 Fulton St. The four addresses held Modell’s Fulton Mall store in Downtown Brooklyn until last year. The Real Deal says the sale may lead to another high-rise tower in the Fulton Mall area. One developer that has reportedly shown interest in the site is the Feil Organization, which owns a corner lot next door to the Modell’s properties, according to The Real Deal.
7-story building planned in Bensonhurst
Permits have been filed for a seven-story mixed-use building at 1801 66th St.in Bensonhurst. Located at the intersection of 66th Street and 18th Avenue, the corner lot is two blocks from the N train’s 18th Avenue subway station. Benjamin Clyburn is listed as the owner behind the applications, and Angelo Ng and Anthony Ng are listed as the architects of record. The site is now occupied by a two-story commercial building, according to New York YIMBY. The new building is slated to have 20 apartments, most likely rentals, and 20 enclosed parking spaces.
Menchaca announces hearing
City Council Member Carlos Menchaca (D-Sunset Park, Red Hook) announced that the City Council next week will hold a public hearing on the proposed 14-story mixed-use building at 737 4th Avenue (corner of 25th Street) in Sunset Park. The development calls for 135 apartments with ground-floor retail. Of these apartments, 33 will be reserved for households earning 30% – 60% of Area Median Income (AMI). In other words, a family of three making $30,000 to $60,000 a year should be able to afford them, said Menchaca.
Elderly man mugged in subway
A 68-year-old man was mugged on a Bay Ridge subway platform, police said Friday. The victim was walking on the platform for the southbound R train at Fourth and Bay Ridge avenues around 3:30 p.m. Thursday when an unknown man and an accomplice clocked him in the back of the head, according to police. The attacker and his sidekick then robbed the victim of his wallet and MetroCard, cops said. One of the robbers ran onto the R train while the other ran out of the station, according to the New York Post.
Cops collide with livery car
Two NYPD officers were hurt after their patrol car hit a livery car and then smashed into an elevated train pillar in East New York on Saturday morning, police said. The cops were responding to reports of shots fired when they got into the crash at the intersection of Pennsylvania and Livonia avenues in East New York around 6:30 a.m. A video shows the police car speeding, with lights and sirens blaring. A livery cab was in the midst of making a turn at the intersection when the NYPD SUV raced through the same spot, the video shows, clipped the car and then ran into the pillar for the elevated 3 train at the Pennsylvania Avenue station. Both officers were seriously hurt, including one who suffered two broken leg bones, but both are expected to survive, according to the New York Post.
Gay bar offers delivery with drag show
A Williamsburg gay bar, the Rosemont, known for its dance parties and drag shows, has offered weekend food and drink delivery service accompanied by performances by a drag queen, known as Magenta. Magenta and bar manager Troy Carson use Carson’s Jeep to make deliveries on Friday and Saturday evenings. They typically make two or three stops each night. Carson came up with the idea last fall when it became apparent that business would slow down during the colder weather, according to New York Eater. Before the pandemic, Magenta would host 10 to 20 drag queens every week.
Cops charge woman in infant dumpster death
The mother of an infant who was found dead in a dumpster outside a Brooklyn apartment house on Wednesday was booked on criminal charges Thursday night, police said. Jahmika Small, 27, of West 28th Street in Coney Island has been charged with reckless endangerment and acting in a manner injurious to a child. Cops said Small contacted police on Wednesday afternoon and said she had given birth but could not locate her child. A search by the NYPD emergency service unit found the infant dead inside a dumpster outside a high-rise apartment building near Small’s residence, according to published reports.
Edwards receives matching funds
Khari Edwards’ campaign for Brooklyn borough president has received $491,182 in public matching funds. Edwards said he was the only non-elected official in the race to qualify for matching funds. His endorsements include Assemblymember Nick Perry, Councilmember Alicka Ampry-Samuel, former Brookdale Hospital President Mark Toney and Sheepshead Bay Tenants Association president Barbara McFadden. Edwards served eight years as vice president of external affairs at Brookdale Hospital Medical Center, according to Caribbean Life.
Driver charged with killing child
A driver who fatally struck a 4-year-old boy and left another child in critical condition after dropping them off at a Bensonhurst religious pre-school last month has been arrested and charged, cops said Thursday. The driver, identified as 76-year-old Yehiel Guzi, drove a group of children to the Yeshiva K’tana (“little yeshiva”) on 67th Street near 20th Avenue around 9:20 a.m. on Jan. 4, but after he let them out he allegedly hit the two children and drove away, police said.
Satmars host huge indoor event
A large group of Satmar Hasidim packed into their Williamsburg synagogue Saturday night, not wearing masks or social distancing, to celebrate the arrival of a new Torah scroll. An estimated 3,000 people attended, with Grand Rebbe Aaron Teitelbaum presiding. A member of a different Hasidic group, who was upset at the flouting of COVID regulations, sent the video to PIX News. Isaac Abraham, a spokesperson for the Satmars, protested the media coverage. “Why is every Jewish wedding political, but when they’re dancing in the streets for Biden, it’s OK?” he asked.
Compiled by Raanan Geberer.
