Around Brooklyn: Seven-story building planned for Bedford-Stuyvesant

May 11, 2020 Editorial Staff

The eye-catching facade of National Sawdust, a music venue in Williamsburg. Photo: Lore Croghan/Brooklyn Eagle

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Seven-story building planned for Bedford-Stuyvesant

The city Department of Housing Preservation and Development has submitted permits to construct a new seven-story residential building in Bedford-Stuyvesant, according to New York YIMBY. The proposed property, located at 633 DeKalb Ave., would have 37 rental units. The site is now occupied by a vacant one-story industrial building. Magnusson Architecture and Planning is listed as the applicant of record and would most likely serve as the executive architect for the building, New York YIMBY said.

Hotel, office building planned for theater site

The Joyland Group and local design studio Archimera have collaborated on proposals to construct at 26-story mixed-use hotel and office development in South Williamsburg, according to New York YIMBY. The site, at 107 South Sixth St., is currently occupied by four-story 19th century building that was once a theater and that now houses a fitness center. Permits don’t specify whether the old building, which is not landmarked, will be totally demolished or retrofitted to become part of the new project. Regardless, the new hotel is slated to include about 240 rooms and have a 94-car parking garage. An office component is also planned, New York YIMBY said.

Man charged with sexual abuse

A man has been arrested in Clinton Hill and charged with a series of seven cases of forcible touching, according to WPIX. Kevin Jenkins was taken into custody on Saturday and was charged with 10 counts of sexual abuse, eight counts of forcible touching and one count of acting in a manner injurious to a child. The most recent incident took place on April 28 on the corner of Vanderbilt and Lafayette avenues, where Jenkins allegedly approached a young woman from behind, grabbed her buttocks and fled.

‘Mother’ of emergency room dies of COVID-19

Maria Guia Cabillon was the head nurse at Kings County Hospital’s emergency room, according to ABC7. Her four daughters are also nurses. At the end of March, she came down with a fever, but was sent home. Two days later, she started experiencing shortness of breath. She was sent to the ICU, where she spent 26 days. After she died last week, the NYPD, EMT and FDNY honored her with sirens. “She loved fiercely, and was able to run that place like a household,” said another nurse, Shane Degracia.

Brooklyn man charged in Mount Vernon murder

A Brooklyn man has been accused of killing a Mount Vernon, N.Y., man, who was found with a gunshot wound to his chest, according to LoHud. Otis Adams of Mount Vernon was taken to Brookdale Hospital in Brooklyn, where he was pronounced dead. Police say Rondell Russell of Brooklyn was charged with the murder. The murder occurred at 110 Powell St. in Brooklyn.

Neighborhood favorite honored with procession

Lloyd Cornelius Porter, an actor and entrepreneur often called the “Mr. Hooper of Sesame Street” of Bedford-Stuyvesant, died of complications related to coronavirus last week. A candlelight procession in his honor stretched around the block. People in masks, many of them in Porter’s trademark bow tie and hat, paraded past the house where he lived with his wife Hillary and daughter MacLemore. Porter and his wife ran the Bread Love neighborhood bakery. A neighbor sang a gospel song, and someone started playing songs by his brother, Grammy award-winning jazz singer Gregory Porter, according to Buzzfeed.

Brooklyn Diocese opens cemeteries for Mother’s Day

Catholic cemeteries of the Diocese of Brooklyn maintained expanded visiting hours on Mother’s Day, according to the Diocese. In general, the Diocese has continued to open its cemeteries during the COVID-19 pandemic. The cemeteries are Holy Cross Cemetery in East Flatbush; St. John’s Cemetery in Middle Village, Queens; St. Mary Cemetery in Flushing; and St. Charles and Resurrection Cemeteries in Farmingdale, Long Island. The Diocese of Brooklyn also operates several parish cemeteries, including Most Holy Trinity in Brooklyn and St. Mary Star of the Sea in Lawrence, Long Island, according to the Queens Chronicle.

Brooklyn wine shop thrives during pandemic

Bloomberg News recently wrote about how a Brooklyn wine shop, Leon and Son of Clinton Hill, has thrived during the coronavirus pandemic. First, the owner extended the working day so that if someone became ill, another person could cover for them. Then, the store built capacity, ordering more and more cartons of wine in case the supply chain broke down in the future. Finally, the store hired sommeliers who had been laid off from local restaurants and upgraded its website, Bloomberg reported.

Two charged with tearing masks off Brooklyn Jews

Police say that two people have been arrested and charged with tearing face masks off people in Williamsburg. It’s not clear when the incident occurred, according to NBC, but police confirmed reports that the suspects were arrested near Bedford Avenue and Ross Street. Video posted to social media on Sunday showed a large police response with crowds gathering.

Rapper shot dead in Prospect-Lefferts Gardens

Rapper Nick Blixky was found shot dead on a Brooklyn street on Sunday, according to Fox 5. Police responded to a 911 call about a man shot in front of 200 Winthrop St. around 9:30. They discovered Blixky, whose real name is Nicklaus Thompson, with multiple gunshot wounds to his torso and buttocks. He was taken to Kings County Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Blixky’s brother, Nasir Fisher, mourned the rapper’s death on Facebook, Fox 5 said.

Mystery Brooklyn barber speaks out

A Brooklyn barber who has been giving sidewalk haircuts told the New York Post that he has moved to a new secret location after his efforts went viral. The barber, whose name is Joel Munoz, insisted that he’s been taking safety precautions and spends 10 minutes disinfecting his equipment between clients. He also said he wears a mask and gloves and doesn’t take “walk-up” appointments. “Everything I made went to Pampers and milk. All I buy is food, and I still gotta pay rent,” he said.

Booted from subway, homeless move to bus

The overnight shutdown of the New York City subway situation on Thursday night caused 20 homeless people to take shelter on an MTA shuttle bus in Coney Island, according to ABC7. The bus driver called police, but several of the homeless refused to go willingly and were eventually taken off the bus. An extensive cleaning operation then took place. Mayor Bill de Blasio insists that the city’s homeless outreach plan is working, but MTA officials say it’s a work in progress, ABC7 reported.

Missing Newark teen may be in Brooklyn

Police say a missing 17-year-old Newark teen could be in Brooklyn, according to the Essex Daily Voice. Bradlee James of Isabella Avenue was last seen on Friday wearing a white T-shirt, brown cargo pants and Adidas slippers. He may have taken NJ Transit or the PATH train to Brooklyn, where his father lives, police said.

TV, film studio offers space to anti-hunger drive

A Greenpoint-based TV and film production studio has offered help to charitable organizations during the pandemic, according to the Brooklyn Paper. Broadway Stages has leased its East New York space to the Campaign Against Hunger on a pro-bono lease, allowing the hunger-fighting group to get its message out. At Broadway Stages, the campaign is able to repackage thousands of meals a week for distribution across the city. The three-month lease is worth more than $100,000.

Compiled by Raanan Geberer.