Around Brooklyn: Fireworks-related complaints explode

June 17, 2020 Editorial Staff

Hungry birds get a snack from a kind Boardwalk visitor. Photo: Lore Croghan/Brooklyn Eagle

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Fireworks-related complaints explode

Complaints about illegal fireworks in the city have jumped 4,000 percent over last year. This has been particularly true since the coronavirus lockdown, especially in the 11226 zip code covering Flatbush, parts of Prospect Park and other nearby neighborhoods. Angry residents from those areas have made 300 complaints about illegal fireworks since March 18, according to data from the city’s 311 system, Patch reported.

Suspect arrested for attempted subway rapes

Police have arrested a suspect in two attempted rapes on the subway in Brooklyn and Manhattan. Bernardo Ramos of Yonkers is facing several charges, including attempted rape, sex abuse, forcible touching, unlawful imprisonment and assault. On Saturday, he allegedly grabbed a woman while she was trying to transfer between trains in Manhattan, dragged her to the end of the platform and tried to rape her. Less than two hours later, Ramos allegedly also tried to rape a woman after punching her on the F train near the 15th Street-Prospect Park station, according to ABC7.

Schumer, Gillibrand sponsor helicopter safety bill

U.S Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand co-sponsored the Helicopter Safety Act of 2020, a bill to require terrain awareness and warning systems, crash-resistant flight data, and voice recorders on all helicopters that carry six or more passengers. “Despite tragic helicopter crashes across the country and here in New York, the institution of chopper warning systems and crash-resistant flight data and voice recorders has remained an elusive, basic safety standard the federal government has failed to mandate,” said Schumer.

Cumbo pushes chokehold ban

City Councilmember Laurie Cumbo (D-Fort Greene-Clinton Hill-Prospect Heights-Crown Heights) is supporting legislation to ban the NYPD’s use of chokeholds as a restraining method. Although chokeholds were administratively banned in 1993 after an incident involving a man named Federico Pereira and a half-dozen officers, the Inspector General found in 2015 that there were numerous instances in which officers had illegally used prohibited chokeholds and that the department often disregarded the advice of the Civilian Complaint Review Board when deciding whether or not to discipline officers.

Court officers’ union head charged with maintaining racist websites

Dennis Quirk, president of the New York State Court Officers’ Association, is being investigated over accusation that he maintained a site that was a safe haven for racist speech and actions. Investigators also uncovered a civil rights case against Quirk from a Manhattan court officer who accused Quirk of planning to fill open jobs only with male officers. The officer also said Quirk referred to three Black women judges as “the three monkeys.” Quirk has denied all accusations, according to Patch.

Five-story apartment building planned for Sunset Park

Permits have been filed for a five-story residential building at 835 40th St. in Sunset Park. The site, currently occupied by a one-story garage, is a short distance from the D train’s Ninth Avenue subway station. The building is set to have 29 residences, most likely rentals, as well as a rear yard and 15 enclosed parking spaces. Yei Fei Fang is listed as the owner on the application, and Angelo Ng of Anthony Ng Architects Studio is listed as the architect of record, according to New York YIMBY.

Brooklyn to celebrate Juneteenth this Friday

This Friday, Brooklyn will host several celebrations of Juneteenth, commemorating the day when news of emancipation finally reached the people of Galveston, Texas. At noon on Friday, there will be a march from the Brooklyn Museum to Cadman Plaza. At 4 p.m., there will be a celebration involving performances, participation by Black-owned businesses and more at Irving Square Park, Bushwick. At 6 p.m., there will be a “Break the Chains with Love” march starting at Brooklyn Bridge Park, according to Brownstoner.

Affordable housing lottery opens in East NY

An affordable housing lottery has opened for 69 senior citizens’ units in a nine-story building at 10 Schroeder’s Walk in East New York. The building is one of several planned as part of the redevelopment of the former Brooklyn Developmental Center site. All of the apartments in the building are one-bedrooms, and monthly rents are calculated at 30 percent of the tenant’s adjusted annual gross income. The building will include a senior support service room, a bike room, a laundry room and an outdoor recreation area. Parking will be available for an additional fee, according to amNewYork.

Some want to rename Columbus Park in Downtown Brooklyn

For some time now, Native American groups have been calling for the removal of Christopher Columbus statues and the redesignation of sites bearing his name. Since the death of George Floyd, the Columbus controversy has been amplified in the larger controversy over symbols of racism, white supremacy and colonialism. As a result, some statues of Columbus have begun to topple or be defaced. Now, a petition has been circulating that demands the renaming of Columbus Park in Downtown Brooklyn and the removal of the figure that stands there. The petition has been posted by an anonymous group calling itself The People, according to Times Square New York. However, Mayor Bill de Blasio and Gov. Andrew Cuomo have defended monuments to Columbus, according to Time Out New York.

Goldman Sachs closes on loan for Downtown rental tower

Goldman Sachs has closed on a $57 million loan for the acquisition of the 183-unit rental tower at 1 Flatbush Avenue from Meadow Partners and State Property Group. Goldman Sachs declined to comment on the deal, but TRD reported that the firm was in contract to buy the condo tower for about $100 million. The purchase doesn’t include the tower’s retail component. “USAA Real Estate (the firm that provided the loan) had conviction about the caliber of this new property and the institutional sponsorship,” said Gideon Gil, a member of the firm that provided represented the borrower, according to Real Estate Weekly.

Man fatally shot outside Brooklyn house party

One man was fatally shot and another was injured outside a house party in East Flatbush early Wednesday. Jomo Glasgow of Queens was shot in the torso in front of the party at a home at East 49th Street near Snyder Avenue just before 2 a.m., police said. He was found unconscious and unresponsive several blocks away and was rushed to Kings County Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to the New York Post. The man who was injured went to Kings County Hospital on his own.

Crown Heights tea shop perseveres during pandemic

The owners of Brooklyn Tea are taking steps to increase their business during the pandemic. Brooklyn-born business owner Alfonso Wright and his fiancee, Jamilia McGill, created the Crown Heights tea shop in 2018. The couple have posted more videos, extended online orders and started offering delivery. “What we try to do here is make tea less pretentious, to make it simple. If you’re new to tea, we try to walk you through things that are familiar to you,” Wright told NY1 News.

Coney Island man arrested for arson

Police have arrested a man who was seen on video setting a fire inside his apartment building in Coney Island. The video shows a man coming out of the stairwell and throwing something at an apartment door that then burst into flames. The incident happened at 2780 West Fifth St. around 9:45 on Monday night, police said. Thirty-eight-year-old Yevegeniy Kotlyarov, who lives in the building, was arrested and charged. He was also arrested last week for another arson in the building, according to News 12.

Compiled by Raanan Geberer.