Around Brooklyn: Brooklynites raise cash for dog injured in crash

March 16, 2020 Editorial Staff

The Vendome was the first multi-family apartment building constructed in Brooklyn. Photo: Lore Croghan/Brooklyn Eagle

Share this:

Brooklynites raise cash for dog injured in crash

Charitable Brooklynites have raised more than $7,000 for the dog who survived a March 5 crash that left her owner dead, according to the Brooklyn Reporter. Stormy ran off after her 66-year-old owner, Frank Decolvenaere, was struck, but she was found near her home the same night, and was taken to an emergency veterinarian, VERG Brooklyn, at 196 Fourth Ave. “Stormy is doing much better,” Dr. Amy Brida, who treated her, told this paper. “She is making a fantastic recovery. She was obviously very unstable, coming in, but over the last few days, she has gotten better and better. We anticipate that she will make a full recovery.”

Rep. Clarke seeks Census extension

U.S. Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-Crown Heights-Flatbush-Kensington-Midwood) led members of the New York Congressional Delegation in a letter to the U.S. Department of Commerce to extend the data-gathering period for the 2020 Census to September due to social disruption caused by COVID-19. “We must do everything we can to set our communities up for success by having the most accurate Census count. However, the current climate of practicing social distancing deepens the challenges of Census collection, and so I and my New York colleagues are requesting an extension to best allow for accurate collection of Census data,” said Clarke.

Con Edison suspends service shutoffs

As New Yorker face the challenges presented by the coronavirus, Con Edison is suspending temporarily any electric and gas service shutoffs involving customers having payment difficulties. Any service terminations will proceed for reasons of safety, such as a gas leak. “We are committed to helping our customers and employees get through this difficult time safely and encourage everyone to follow U.S. Centers for Disease Control [directives]. We also will continue to work to provide safe and reliable service to our customers,” a statement from the utility company said.

Brooklyn College student tests positive for virus

A student at Brooklyn College tested positive for coronavirus, according to the New York Post. On Thursday night, the student was in the hospital recovering from the illness, as the college was about to close. “Our thoughts are with her for a full and speedy recovery,” said Brooklyn College President Michelle J. Anderson. The patient was last on campus on Tuesday, March 3, but the spread of the virus appears to be low risk because she didn’t exhibit any symptoms at that time, the school said. The CUNY and SUNY systems, like public and private schools, have canceled all in-person classes and instituted remote learning.

Luxury development opens in Coney Island

Coney Island’s first luxury high-rise apartment house has officially opened, offering hundreds of ocean-view apartments, according to the Brooklyn Paper. Ocean Drive, at West 37th Street near the Boardwalk, has a 50-foot pool and a sun deck in addition to 425 apartments. Billionaire John Catsimatidis, the head of Gristede’s supermarkets, is the developer. Among Ocean Drive’s amenities are a children’s playroom, an underground parking garage, the pool, a gym and a games room with billiards and foosball. A free bus made to look like an old-time trolley is planned to shuttle residents between the building and the Stillwell Avenue subway terminal, the Brooklyn Paper said.

Lawyer calls for probe of Canarsie cop attack

Attorney Sanford Rubenstein is calling for an investigation in the case of a young man who was attacked by several cops at a playground in Canarsie, according to Black Star News. Fitzroy Gayle is heard on video asking, “What crime did I commit? What did I do?” However, the officer didn’t respond to Gayle, and by the end of the video eight other officers are seen piling on top of Gayle, the video shows. “These police officers acted like thugs. They do deserve to get locked up,” Rubenstein said.

Catholic schools close in Brooklyn and Queens

Starting this week, Catholic elementary schools in Brooklyn and Queens are closed, the Diocese of Brooklyn announced on Friday, according to amNewYork. The decision came before Mayor Bill de Blasio decided to close the city’s public schools. Teachers are using today to develop distance learning plans, and students are expected to begin online classes tomorrow, amNewYork reported. The decision came a day after the Archdiocese of New York, which is responsible for Catholic churches and schools in Manhattan, Staten Island, the Bronx and several suburban counties, announced that its elementary schools would close.

New sake brewery opens in Bushwick

The market for imported Japanese sake has grown dramatically in the U.S., and the number of domestic sake breweries is growing as well, according to Forbes. The first in New York City was Brooklyn Kura, located in Industry City, Sunset Park. Following on its success, a second sake brewery, Kato Sake Works, is now opening in Bushwick, Forbes reported. Its founder and brewmaster is Shinobu Kato, who grew up in Tokyo. “I had plenty of cheap sake and horrible hangovers when I was in college,” he said. Then, “I had a glass of Kokuryu Shizuku, which was a really expensive sake. It was the moment that I realized what good sake really meant.”

Brownstoner spotlights Bay Ridge ‘bungalow’

Brownstoner last week showcased a four-bedroom Dutch Colonial wooden house in Bay Ridge, which it calls both a “bungalow” and a “cottage.” The home, at 262 77th St., is selling for $1.525 million. A porch, described as “the prettiest stone porch in the neighborhood,” is framed at either end by large wooden trellises that would be good for climbing plants. The living room and dining room both have large picture windows, and the dining room leads to a large, landscaped back yard. The second floor has four bedrooms, two bathrooms and a small covered terrace, Brownstoner said.

Brooklyn developer faces multiple problems

The Real Deal recently profiled Brooklyn developer Toby Moskovits and her partner Michael Lichtenstein, principals of Heritage Equity Partners, who are fighting off foreclosure at a Bushwick development site. One of their flagship projects, the Williamsburg Hotel, is in receivership. “No fewer than a dozen lawsuits have entangled Heritage in the past nine months, raising doubts about the future of the business,” The Real Deal wrote. In a lengthy statement to The Real Deal, Moskovits said the creditors she is fighting simply do not understand or appreciate how entrepreneurship works and described one of her creditors, Fortress Investment Group, as a “notorious predatory lender.”

DiMarzio releases faithful from Mass obligation

The Most Rev. Nicholas DiMarzio, bishop of Brooklyn, has dispensed the faithful from the obligation to attend Sunday Mass until further notice, according to Bklyner. “Sunday Public Masses will still be celebrated; however, the faithful are to exercise caution if they are to attend,” an official statement from the Diocese read. Weekday Masses will continue as usual, with the normal precautious people should take when gathering in public places. While celebrations such as weddings and funerals may take place, “attendance should be limited,” the Diocese said.

Collision pins woman to side of building

A woman was pinned to the side of a Downtown Brooklyn coffee shop on Friday afternoon after two cars collided, according to Gothamist. One observer, who was working at the corner of Livingston and Bond streets, said, “I thought it was like an explosion somewhere, but I didn’t react until I saw the people on my left and right look in my direction, then I jumped up and said, ‘Oh my God! Oh my God!'” FDNY sources said the woman and the driver of an SUV were taken to New York Methodist Hospital with non-life-threatening conditions. An NYPD spokesperson said that the SUV driver was traveling west, and the driver of a silver Ford was traveling east when they crashed.

Man found dead of gunshot wound

A man was found dead of a gunshot wound to the head in the passenger’s seat of a car in Bushwick on Saturday, according to the Daily News. Officers found the man, 53, at the intersection of Palmetto Street and Broadway after receiving a 911 call shortly after 8 p.m., the News said. EMS workers declared the man dead at the scene. The car, a white Hyundai, was parked on Palmetto Street north of the Gates Avenue station on the J and Z lines.

Compiled by Raanan Geberer.