Around Brooklyn: Persaud to provide legal services amid pandemic

August 24, 2020 Editorial Staff

Handsome homes line Bay 25th Street on the corner of Benson Avenue. Photo: Lore Croghan/Brooklyn Eagle

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Persaud to provide legal services amid pandemic

State Sen. Roxanne Persaud (D-Canarsie-East New York-Brownsville, Mill Basin-Sheepshead Bay) has partnered with the New York Legal Assistance Group to provide free civil legal services to New Yorkers in need. In the past, this service was performed in their Mobile Legal Help Center, but consultations are now held by telephone appointment to follow COVID-19 social distancing protocols. The next session will be held on Aug. 27.

‘Brooklyn Utopias’ at Old Stone House

A new art exhibit that debuted Thursday at the Old Stone House in Park Slope displays artworks presented by artists who were asked to create a new vision for Brooklyn. Some of the exhibits are outdoors in Washington Park, right outside the old Stone House. Among the topics addressed are rooftop farming, the threat of displacement to immigrant communities, environmental activism, and the redevelopment of places like the Brooklyn Navy Yard and the Domino Sugar Factory, according to Patch.

City to spray for mosquitoes

The city Health Department plans to spray for mosquitoes that carry the West Nile virus tonight in Brooklyn and in Staten Island. Trucks will spray very low concentrations of several pesticides. Neighborhoods to be sprayed for West Nile in Brooklyn include Bath beach, Bensonhurst, Dyker Heights, Fort Hamilton, Gravesend, Homecrest, and Sheepshead Bay, according to amNewYork.

Man killed outside McDonald’s on Fulton Street

One of several recent fatal shootings in New York City recently took place in Downtown Brooklyn, where a man was shot and killed outside a McDonald’s on Fulton Street and Flatbush Avenue. Police say the 23-year-old victim got into a fight with the shooter just after 10 p.m. on Thursday. Then, the gunman opened fire and hit him in the head before he fled the scene. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene, and police recovered a weapon that they believe was left behind by the victim, according to WABC.

Homeless men moved into boutique hotel

Dozens of homeless men were moved into the Hotel Indigo on Duffield Street on Friday, and several yellow buses were seen dropping off homeless people and their belongings. Sources said the hotel is being converted into a men’s shelter. A worker from the Bowery Residents Committee, a nonprofit organization that helps the homeless, was seen moving boxes with computers and other supplies inside, while another worker was setting up metal detectors. Area residents, who have already seen another hotel turned into a temporary homeless shelter, complained. “I’m no one to say where these people have to go. The only problem I have is that they’re very dirty,” Belen Lopez told the New York Post. Lopez added that “You can always smell the smoke every time you come out.”

Union leads to fracas at Friends School

A union representing faculty at the private Brooklyn Friends School, which is rooted in Quaker beliefs, may be dissolved by school administrators who say the union conflicts with their Quaker values. Staffers at the school voted in May 2019 to unionize with UAW 2110. Crissy Caseres, who took over as head of school around that time, said in an email sent to teachers last Friday that the union goes against the school’s “Quaker values,” which include direct interactions with teachers when discussing working conditions. “Working through a third party to communicate with all of you hinders us in hearing from you, in your words, about issues you may want to raise directly with the School concerning your working conditions and professional experiences,” Caceres wrote. One parent, Dan Magaziner, called the letter “morally abhorrent,” according to the New York Post.

Woman shot at nail salon in ENY

A 68-year-old woman was shot in the ankle while sitting in a nail salon in East New York on Friday morning, police said. The shooting took place at 11:50 a.m. on Pitkin Avenue. The woman was sitting in the salon when a group of men who were shooting at Pitkin Avenue and Milford Street accidentally shot her. She was not the intended target, authorities said. Then men fled west on Pitkin Avenue, and the victim was taken to a local hospital, according to WPIX11.

Uber driver shot by bicyclist in Coney

An Uber driver was sitting in his car near the corner of West 24th Street and Mermaid Avenue on Friday night when a bicyclist rode up to him and demanded his belongings. The two started to argue, and the bicyclist pulled out a gun and started shooting, hitting the driver in the arm and upper chest. The wounded Uber driver sped off, then stopped a block away at an NYPD Housing Police station to tell officers what happened. EMT crews took the Uber driver to NYU Langone Hospital in Bay Ridge, where he was listed in stable condition after treatment. The gunman, who pedaled away afterward, is described as a Hispanic man in his 20s wearing an orange hooded sweatshirt, light-colored shorts and a fanny pack over his shoulder, the Daily News reported.

Couple gets married at BLM mural in Bed-Stuy

Makeita Wilson and her fiancé Shancton Thompson recited their wedding vows on Saturday at the Black Lives Matter mural on Fulton Street in Bed-Stuy. The couple, who have been together for more than 10 years, became engaged on April 19 and had originally planned to marry in June. The social-distanced ceremony, held outside the Billie Holiday Theater, was attended by about 30 people. “Through all the tragedies that’s going on in the world, I thought, let’s put some happiness and love back into the universe,” Wilson said, according to the New York Post.

Three-story building planned for Sheepshead Bay

Permits have been filed for a three-story building at 2902 Emmons Ave. in Sheepshead Bay. The site, located on the bay’s waterfront between East 29th Street and Webers Court, is now occupied by a one-story restaurant building and is within walking distance of the Q and D trains’ Sheepshead Bay station. The building is slated to have 41 residences, most likely rentals, a rear yard and 53 enclosed parking spaces. Igor Zaslavskiy is listed as the architect of record, and Alexander Levin is listed as the owner, according to New York YIMBY.

Youths rob 14-year-old of $7

Police are searching for three youths who are suspected of robbing a 14-year-old boy of $7 in Sunset Park. The NYPD on Saturday released surveillance video footage of the suspects, who look Hispanic and appear to be about the same age as the victim. Police say the young man was near Fourth Avenue and 62nd Street on Monday evening when he was surrounded by the suspects, who demanded money. The victim handed over $7 and was not hurt, according to 1010 WINS.

Williams demands alternatives to EMT layoffs

Assemblymember Jaime Williams (D-Canarsie-Mill Basin-Marine Park-Gerritsen Beach) recently criticized Mayor Bill de Blasio after reports that he is planning to lay off nearly 400 emergency medical technicians and paramedics due to budget shortfalls. Williams noted that nearly 6,500 calls per day were taken by EMTs and paramedics during the height of the COVID-19 outbreak. “It is an unfortunate reality that New Yorkers may face a further outbreak, or likely second wave; and the elimination of even a few EMTs and paramedics will equal the possible death of many,” she said.

Four-story building planned for Williamsburg

Permits have been filed for a four-story mixed-use building at 168 N. 10th St. in Williamsburg. The site, now occupied by an auto body shop, is located between Bedford and Driggs avenues, three blocks north of the L train’s Bedford Avenue subway station. The building is slated to have seven units, most likely rentals, as well as a rear yard. Yisroel Greenfield is listed as the owner, and Noel Wong is the architect of record.

Compiled by Raanan Geberer.