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Around Brooklyn: Hawk rescued from Brooklyn U.S. Attorney’s Office

January 30, 2020 Editorial Staff
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Hawk rescued from Brooklyn U.S. Attorney’s Office

On Tuesday, David Karopkin, a Flatbush attorney who is also licensed by the state of New York as a wildlife rehabilitator, received a text from a man at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District in Downtown Brooklyn about a red-tailed hawk who hadn’t been moving for a while. When Karopkin arrived, the hawk was still there, according to Gothamist. He put on a pair of gloves and was able to wrap the bird into a blanket and put it into a crate. He took the bird to the Wild Bird Fund in Manhattan, which told him it had been the victim of lead poisoning. While Karopkin has rescued geese and ducks before, this was his first raptor.

Brooklyn bakery sends senators special impeachment cakes

Since impeachment procedures began against President Donald Trump, one of the biggest concerns has been whether witnesses will be allowed to testify — especially former National Security Advisor John Bolton. This is why Brooklyn bakery Butter & Scotch (no relation to the “South Park” character Butters Scotch) sent cakes to 53 Republican senators asking them to let Bolton testify in the ongoing trial, according to New York magazine’s Grub Street. Each cake is decorated with a different message in orange icing, such as “You’re in the room where it happens,” “Don’t dessert democracy” and “This trial is half-baked without witnesses,” followed by the words, “Let Bolton testify.” The idea for the cakes came from Colin Bishop, the executive director for clean-energy advocacy group PACE, who started a GoFundMe campaign to send sheet cakes to senators.

$1K grants reward schools that have ‘green teams’

Students who have completed projects aimed at increasing environmental awareness were rewarded by the Citizens Committee for New York City, which disbursed grants of up to $1,000 each to the youngsters’ schools, according to the Brooklyn Reporter. Fifty-four public schools across the city, including 18 in Brooklyn, received grants. Each of the winning schools has a “Green Team,” a club for environmentally savvy students. At Edward B. Shallow Intermediate School in Bensonhurst, the grant will allow Green Team members to go all-out for a massive recycling effort. At J.H.S. 383 Philippa Schuyler School in Bushwick, the Green Team will use the grant money to purchase aluminum water bottles to distribute to fellow students as a way of encouraging them to cut back on single-use plastic water bottles.

Dem organization backs Diaz for Espinal’s seat

The Brooklyn Democratic Party official organization already has a candidate to replace City Councilmember Rafael Espinal, who recently resigned from office, according to City & State. That candidate is Darma Diaz, the director of housing services for Overcoming Love Ministries, a social service nonprofit based in Queens. A nonpartisan special election open to all registered voters living in the district has been set for April 28, also the date of New York’s presidential primary. The winner will serve as assemblymember through the end of 2020. A primary and general election are expected later in the year, City & State reported.

Statue of Captain America graces Brooklyn mall

Some people visit Sunset Park’s Liberty View mall to shop at Bed Bath and Beyond. However, others visit to look at a 13-foot-high bronze statue of Captain America in the lobby. Reviews for the statue on Google are ambiguous — some commenters are enthusiastic, while others say it should be in a park instead. The statue is the work of sculptor Dave Cortes, who was approached by Marvel to make it in honor of Captain America’s 75th anniversary in 2016.  It previously was installed in Barclays Center and in Prospect Park, Atlas Obscura reported.

Boyfriend in custody after pregnant woman’s death

A man was in custody Thursday after his pregnant girlfriend was shoved out of a car and found dead on a Brooklyn street on Wednesday, according to NBC4. Investigators were also questioning the man about whether he was responsible for dumping their 2-year-old son (who was later found) on another street. Tatiana Walton, 27, had been found lying unresponsive on Lorraine Street outside her home in NYCHA’s Red Hook Houses and was pronounced dead at New York Presbyterian-Methodist Hospital, police said. Cops in Suffolk County soon found the suspect and brought him to Brooklyn for questioning.

Burglar targets Canarsie

A serial burglar is targeting Canarsie homes, according to CBS2. The TV station’s Jessica Moore spoke with one of the victims on Wednesday. The night her home was burglarized, Annie Williams said she woke up and noticed that one of her windows was open. A search of her apartment revealed that credit cards, money and keys had been taken from her purse in the middle of the night. She was only one of five people whose homes have been burglarized in less than two weeks. Each time, the intruder got in through a window and stole cash and credit cards, CBS2 said. Williams also discovered that the thief had taken her car, but it was later found abandoned five blocks away. 

Brooklyn RE firm Secures $90.5M loan

JLL Capital Markets has secured a $90.5 million loan to finance a real estate folio consisting of 11 properties containing retail stores in Williamsburg, according to Real Estate Weekly. JLL worked on behalf of the borrower, L3 Capital LLC. The buildings, on North Sixth Street, North Fifth Street, North Seventh Street and Wythe Avenue, experience a considerate amount of foot traffic, Real Estate Weekly said. 

Sunset Park co-op selling for $599K

A walk-up apartment in a 1912 Finnish co-op building at 546 40th St., a block away from Sunset Park, is selling for $599,000, according to Brownstoner. The two-bedroom corner apartment has exposed original moldings, hardwood floors with decorative borders, a built-in china cabinet, a claw-foot bathtub and a built-in bookcase. These period details are balanced by modern amenities in the kitchen. The building, known as the Florence, appears to have been constructed as a rental building and converted to a co-op in the 1920s, Brownstoner said.

Affordable housing lottery opens in East Flatbush

An affordable housing lottery has opened for 75 units in an eight-story building at 310-350 Clarkson Ave. in East Flatbush, according to Brownstoner. The building includes 27 studios, 31 one-bedroom apartments, 14 two-bedroom units and three three-bedroom units. Monthly rents start at $1,721 and top out at $2,975, Brownstoner said. Building plans show that there will be 250 apartments in the building as well as stores on the ground floor, 125 parking spaces, a bike room, a game room, a screening room, a gym and a children’s playroom. The site is currently occupied by several one- and two-story garages.

Lander invites youth to participatory budget meeting

Councilmember Brad Lander (D-Park Slope-Windsor Terrace-Kensington) is inviting young people in his district to attend a meeting on the participatory budgeting process. Participatory budgeting is a way for all members of a community to choose how a portion of taxpayer money is spent. The discussion will center on how to get more people to take part in the participatory budget vote itself, which is slated for late March. The youth meeting is scheduled for Monday, Feb. 3 at Lander’s district office, 456 Fifth Ave., at 5 p.m.

Compiled by Raanan Geberer

Update: an earlier version of these briefs said Rafael Espinal is an assemblymember representing Brownsville. He’s actually a City Council member representing parts of several neighborhoods. We regret the error. 

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