Around Brooklyn: Construction underway at Angel Guardian site

February 28, 2020 Editorial Staff

DUMBO’s Washington Street. Photo: Lore Croghan/BrooklynEagle

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Construction underway at Angel Guardian site

Construction is well underway at the old Angel Guardian Home site on a residential building that will contain 115 market-rate units, according to the Brooklyn Reporter. The property, which stretches from 12th to 13th avenues between 63rd and 64th streets in Dyker Heights, is also slated to get a 600-seat elementary school within the next few years. Plans have not been finalized for the exact use of the community facility that would be established within the original Angel Guardian Home at 7301 12th Ave.

Real Deal announces panelists for its co-working event

The Real Deal has announced the panelists for its March 5 event, “The Evolution of Co-Working: Banking on Brooklyn,” at Spaces DUMBO. Panelists will include Kia Brooks, director of membership and strategic partnerships at the Made in New York Media Center; Michael Berretta, vice president of network development for the Americas at IWG; and Charlie Robinson, senior vice president for Servcorp, a company that provides co-working and flexible workspaces, in the United States. The panel will be moderated by David Jeans, who reports on real estate for the Real Deal.

Brooklyn distillers up for James Beard award

A pair of Bedford-Stuyvesant distillers found on Wednesday that they are among the New York City finalists for the 2020 James Beard award, according to Patch. Forthave distillers Aaron Fox and Daniel de la Nuez have their small-batch distillery in the former Pfizer Building on Flushing Avenue. Among its products are amaro, apertivo and American dry gin. “At Forthave Spirits, we believe in crafting spirits that are natural and delicious,” the company’s website says.

Black-themed antique store opens in Bed-Stuy

New York magazine’s “The Strategist” has profiled the recently opened Blk Mkt, a store at 465 Marcus Garvey Blvd. in Bedford-Stuyvesant selling Black-related antiques. The store was founded by Jahnnah Handy and Kiyanna Stewart, who met at Rutgers University. Among the items they have on sale are issues of Jet magazine, 1970s Afro picks, an Angela Davis button, protest posters, an African wedding cloth and more.

Man who stole ownership of home gets sentenced

A man who scammed an 80-year-old former teacher out of the deed to her $1 million Bed-Stuy brownstone was sentenced to 1.5- to 4.5 years in prison on Wednesday, according to Patch. The woman lived at 260 Clifton Place for three decades until a fire in 2010. Her family then left the building, but she continued to be the owner. Without her knowledge, the man, Craig Hecht, formed a company and bank account to sell the property, then forged her signature on a deed, according to Kings County District Attorney Eric Gonzalez. The ex-teacher only learned of the theft after someone told her that a man who claimed to be the new owner was working on the house.

Hot Bread Kitchen moves to Flushing Ave.

The former Pilotworks incubator space at 630 Flushing Ave. is being taken over by well-known restaurant industry nonprofit Hot Bread Kitchen, according to New York Eater. Hot Bread Kitchen, previously located in East Harlem, has a food business incubator program, a training arm for novice bakers and a wholesale bakery. It supplies bread to grocery stores and restaurants across the city. The company plans to expand the training program, which currently sends more than 100 women each year to food-industry employers.

Off-duty paramedic killed when motorcycle strikes truck

An off-duty paramedic was killed Thursday when her motorcycle struck the rear of a double-parked truck and burst into flames in Bath Beach, according to amNewYork. The paramedic, assigned to Maimonides Medical Center, was riding northbound on Bay 35th Street when she struck an empty double-parked truck, causing the bike to burst into flames. When rescuers arrived, they found the bike in flames and the paramedic sprawled out on the pavement. She was pronounced dead at the scene, amNewYork said. Fellow EMTs and paramedics gathered at the scene and saluted her as an ambulance took her away.

Scaffolding collapse injures three workers

Three workers were injured when several floors of scaffolding collapsed in Brooklyn on Thursday afternoon, according to amNewYork. The three workers were not seriously injured, and all were taken to Woodhull Hospital. The collapse occurred at around 3 p.m. at 566 Grand St. in Williamsburg, a six-story building now under construction. Firefighters raced to the scene, and the three workers were found immediately. The city Department of Buildings was called upon to inspect the site, and the agency issued a stop-work order pending further investigation, according to amNewYork.

Gas leak Downtown shuts local schools

A gas leak in Downtown Brooklyn caused dozens of students ages 4 to 13 to leave their classrooms on Thursday morning, according to the Brooklyn Paper. A witness called the FDNY, complaining about an odor of gas on Hanover Place near Grove Street, and firefighters rushed to investigate the hazard. After they confirmed the leak, they ordered the nearby Science, Language and Arts International School and the Hanover Place Learning Center to evacuate. Emergency responders called National Grid to repair the gas leak, the Brooklyn Paper said. It was fixed by 1 p.m.

Featured houses are taken off the market

In what may or may not be an indication of the real estate market in general, Brownstoner’s four featured listings from six months ago did not sell and were taken off the market. The first was a renovated three-story family row house in the Crown Heights North Historic District. The second was a recently built duplex condo in Bushwick that had two bedrooms and an attractive garden. The third was a well-preserved row house in Crown Heights that was owned by the same family since 1966. The fourth was a single-family standalone Edwardian house in East Flatbush with a front porch, curving bay windows and a gable.

Would-be-crooks flee when victim’s son arrives

Police are looking for a pair of would-be thieves who tried to rob a woman at gunpoint, according to amNewYork. Police say that around 10 a.m. on Feb. 4, the two men forced their way through the front door of a home near the intersection of Boerum Street and Union Avenue, pointed a gun at the 48-year-old woman and demanded her property. The victim’s 17-year-old son came out of a rear bedroom, amNewYork reported. The suspects fled empty-handed. On Feb. 27, police released photos and video footage of the incident.

Boerum Hill townhouse is selling for $3.79 million

A large, ornate 19th century townhouse at 425 Pacific St. in Boerum Hill was last week’s most popular Brooklyn listing on Brownstoner. The four-story Italianate brick house needs some work, but the Department of Buildings has approved a renovation plan. Many original details, such as marble mantels, ornate crown moldings, floor-to-ceiling windows, an original staircase and a pier mirror, are intact. The home is selling for $3.79 million, Brownstoner said.

Cobble Hill restaurant concentrates on ramen

Karazishi Botan, a new Japanese restaurant at 255 Smith St., Cobble Hill, is the first solo effort from Japanese master ramen chef Foo Kanega, according to InsideHook, which describes itself as a luxury lifestyle website for the “affluent, on-the-go gent.” At Ippudo in Midtown Manhattan, he was in charge of crafting more than 600 types of ramen varieties. Here, he concentrates on five. Among the special dishes are Chef Special Iron Men (a pork-bone soup blended with chicken and oxtail), Okonomi Foo pancakes, a deep-fried chicken dish called Botan Zangi and what the website describes as the “super-spicy Captain Brooklyn.”

Ortiz doesn’t want pension funds to get down and dirty

Legislation sponsored by Assemblymember Felix Ortiz (D-Sunset Park-Red Hook) that would require New York State to divest pension-fund dollars from fossil fuel companies recently was endorsed by the New York State Climate Reality Chapters Coalition. “My bill would mean that our state pension fund dollars would no longer be used to support dirty, fossil fuel companies that produce climate warming emissions from the fuels they sell such as oil, coal and natural gas,” Ortiz said.

Compiled by Raanan Geberer.