Around Brooklyn: Man fatally shot in Crown Heights

April 13, 2020 Editorial Staff

Located the corner of Cranberry and Willow streets is the house where Cher lived in “Moonstruck.” Photo: Lore Croghan/Brooklyn Eagle

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Man fatally shot in Crown Heights

A man who just a day earlier had been arrested for trying to break into some cars was killed on Saturday in Crown Heights, according to the New York Post. Paul Hoilett was walking down Buffalo Avenue near Sterling Place just after 8 p.m. when a man wearing a red hoodie walked up behind him, shot him the back of the head, then quickly jumped into a Jeep Renegade and fled the scene. “It all happened within 30 seconds,” a source told the New York Post. Hoilett had been arrested earlier after threatening a man who caught him trying to break into parked cars, police said. It was unclear whether the two incidents were related.

Five-story building planned for Bushwick

Frankl Associates recently unveiled the first renderings of 377-383 Harman St. in Bushwick, according to New York YIMBY. The structure will top out at five stories. Construction broke ground in 2019 and appears to be close to completion. It will include 32 rental apartments, some of which will offer either a balcony or open-air terrace. The exterior of the building is comprised of gray-and-white masonry with yellow accents and floor-to-ceiling windows. Louis Yeung is the developer, New York YIMBY said.

Hasidic rabbi dies from coronavirus

Rabbi Yaakov Perlow, a leading ultra-Orthodox rabbi in Brooklyn, died of the coronavirus at his Borough Park home on Saturday, according to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Last month, as the virus started spreading rapidly, Perlow urged members of his community to take the advice of medical arrests seriously. Since 1998, Perlow had been the president of Agudath Israel of America, an umbrella organization of ultra-Orthodox Jews. He succeeded his father to become the rabbinic leaders of the Novominsker Hasidic dynasty and also founded the Yeshivas Novominsk Kol Yehuda, a yeshiva in Borough Park.

Yemen Café provides free meals to health workers

Yemen Café, which has locations in Downtown Brooklyn and Bay Ridge, has been providing meals to workers at two major hospitals in Brooklyn, NYU Langone in Sunset Park and NYU Langone in Cobble hill. Owner Akram Nassir, who also serves as captain for a major airline company, has been transporting medical supplies and personnel around the country for the past month. “On behalf of myself, my family and Yemen Café, we would like to thank every first responder not only locally, but worldwide for their bravery and sacrifices.” The freshly prepared meals change by the day — one day a worker might receive chicken kebab, the next day lamb kebab.

Ambulances delayed by up to two hours

Ambulances in Brooklyn are being delayed by up to two hours as emergency rooms are overrun with a massive number of coronavirus patients, according to the Brooklyn Paper. “Generally an ambulance used to get in and out between 20 to 30 minutes, now it’s like an hour to two hours depending on the severity,” said Vinny Variale, FDNY EMT and president of the Uniformed EMS Officers Union. Protocol requires the city’s paramedics to wait with patients until the hospital has an available bed — and the above-average wait times force crucial emergency services to be held up in hospital parking lots, rather than responding to other emergency calls, the Brooklyn Paper said. To make things worse, Variale said that 24 percent of first responders are out sick.

Bed-Stuy Restoration still offering services

The Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Center has suspended some of its operations, but the outdoor plaza and related business are still open, according to Brooklyn Reader. Many of Restoration’s commercial tenants provide essential services, such as the supermarket, financial services and postal service. Restoration Economic Solutions Center is still available by phone to help people who need to speak about their finances. The Job Training and Placement Team is still making telephone appointments to help people with their resume or interview coaching.

Family Dollar’s loud messages draw complaints

Around-the-clock warnings from a Family Dollar store in Bedford-Stuyvesant have been drawing complaints from neighbors, according to Patch. The Park Avenue store’s outdoor speaker tells people to practice social distancing and warns against shoplifting, even when the store is closed for the night. Residents have lodged 12 noise complaints against the store. Local resident Rebecca Horne said, “The Sumner Houses is literally being blasted every day on the hour.” The message also says, “All activities around this location are being monitored and recorded,” according to Patch.

Sahadi’s open for pickup or delivery

Sahadi’s, the famed Middle Eastern food emporium on Atlantic Avenue, is closed for shoppers because the narrow aisles do not afford space for social distancing, according to the Brooklyn Heights Blog. Orders for pickup or delivery can be made on the store’s website. The earliest deliveries, however, are on Monday, April 24, while pickup times start on Friday, April 17, with limited slots available. Sahadi’s new Industry City store remains open for shopping from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Compiled by Raanan Geberer.