Around Brooklyn: Rose wants more social security offices

September 14, 2020 Editorial Staff

Fort Greene Park. Photo: Lore Croghan/Brooklyn Eagle

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Rose wants more social security offices

U.S. Rep. Max Rose (D-Southern Brooklyn-Staten Island) is calling on the Social Security Administration to open more offices in Southern Brooklyn and in Staten Island. “Brooklyn and Staten Island are the only two boroughs in New York City without a Hearing Office, forcing those who are sick or injured to travel long distances to the offices in Queens, the Bronx or Manhattan to have their case heard. We’ve made real progress in reducing the Social Security backlog, but it’s still outrageous that after waiting months for a hearing, my constituents also have to drive hours out of their way just to have their cases heard,” Rose said.

Pols comment on Century 21 bankruptcy

State Sen. Andrew Gounardes (D-Bay Ridge-Dyker Heights-Bensonhurst-Bath Beach-Gravesend-Marine Park) and Assemblymember Nicole Malliotakis (R-Bay Ridge-Staten Island) both commented on the retail store Century 21 filing for bankruptcy. “Yet another business that has been vital to our community and has supplied many New Yorkers with jobs will shut down. The reason, according to the co-CEO Raymond Gindi, was the failure of their insurance company to honor Century 21’s business interruption insurance,” said Malliotakis.

Housing Works staffers say they were fired for union effort

Several former employees of Housing Works say that the Brooklyn-based nonprofit fired them in retaliation for their involvement in an ongoing unionization drive. The Housing Works organizing group, which is affiliated with the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, filed unfair labor practice complaints with the federal National Labor Relations Board on Friday. “I feel that I was targeted in a lot of ways because after we did go public [with our union drive], I was not reserved and quiet about my involvement,” Rebecca Mitnik, a former Housing Works employee, told amNewYork.

Four-story building planned for Park Slope

Permits have been filed for a four-story apartment building at 341 13th Street in Park Slope. The lot, currently occupied by a two-story wooden-frame building, is four blocks from the F and G trains’ Seventh Street subway station. The building is slated to have four residences, most likely condos, as well as a 39-foot-long rear yard. Atrem Goynkin is listed as the owner on the applications, and Igor Zaskavskiy of Zproekt is listed as the architect of record.

Two BPL branches reopen near Downtown

Brooklyn Public Library has reopened several of its branches for limited grab-and-go service. In the Community District 2 area (Heights, Downtown, Boerum Hill, Fort Greene, DUMBO), these branches include the Walt Whitman branch in Fort Greene and the Annex, a temporary branch in Brooklyn Bridge Park that has been established for local residents as the new Adams Street library branch is being constructed, according to Community Board 2.

Tenant groups endorse Council candidate

City Council candidate Crystal Hudson has announced that tenant leaders from four New York City Housing Authority developments have endorsed her candidacy. Council District 35, which Hudson seeks to represent, includes the Ingersoll and Walt Whitman Houses, Lafayette Gardens and Atlantic Terminal NYCHA developments. “Crystal Hudson is one of us. As a third generation resident of this district, she knows our community and has taken the time to truly listen and build relationships,” said Darold Burgess, president of the Residents’ Association at Ingersoll Houses in Fort Greene.

Cyclist protest ends with clash with police

A vigil for Sarah Pitts, the Brooklyn cyclist who was killed after getting struck by a bus driver last week, ended with a clash with police at McCarren Park. The vigil for Pitts, who was a prosecutor with the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office, began with riders cycling from Fort Greene to McCarren Park. In addition to cyclists, the vigil was also attended by members of the Black Lives Matter movement. Police accompanied the marchers and cyclists. However, as the protest ended, witnesses said police prevented cyclists from exiting the park, resulting in a scuffle, according to Gothamist. Police say no one was arrested and no summons were given out.

Cops charge Bronx man with ENY robbery

A 38-year-old woman was robbed at gunpoint on Thursday in East New York. Investigators say the robber approached the woman from behind around 11:30 p.m. on Crystal Street near Pitkin Avenue, then assaulted her and stole $12. The suspect then told her to get on the ground and pulled down her pants, but he then ran off. Later, police arrested Seth Roman, 20, of the Bronx and charged him with the crime. He was charged with attempted rape, criminal possession of a weapon, sexual abuse, forcible touching and menacing, according to 1010 WINS.

RE industry hails Amazon Music lease deal

Players in the commercial real estate industry are hailing Amazon Music’s signing a lease at 25 Kent, a new Williamsburg commercial building. So far, streetwear brand Kith and Randolph Beer have also signed leases in the building, owned by Rubenstein Partners and Heritage Equity Partners. Ofer Cohen, founder and president of TerraCRG brokerage, said, “It’s consistent with everything we thought about the market and about Amazon needing to be here. Companies like Amazon have for years had the understanding that the creative media talent lives and loves Brooklyn. Another partner at TerraCRG told Commercial Insider, “People are going to want to go back to an office, but they’re not going to want to go back to an office in Manhattan.”

Gun buyback in East New York

The NYPD and the Brooklyn DA’s Office held a joint gun buyback on Saturday in East New York, and anyone who turned in a gun earned a $200 gift card. During the six-hour event, which was held at St. Paul Community Baptist Church, 33 guns were turned in, according to Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez. The DA said that guns are often stolen during burglaries and later used in crimes. However, Michael Thomas, a retired cop who lives in the neighborhood, said, “If the cops are taking the guns off street and the criminal system and the judges are allowing them to come right back on the street, this is going to continue,” according to the New York Post.

Two Brooklyn shootings on Saturday night

Police are investigating two fatal shootings in Brooklyn on Saturday night, one in Dyker Heights and the other in Downtown Brooklyn. Police say Arfan Butt, 33, was shot three times while he was sitting in a gold-colored BMW around 5:20 p.m., possibly by fellow passengers in the car. One neighborhood resident said the BMW almost ran him over a week ago. The victim was taken to Maimonides Medical Center, where he later died. Officials also said that a 23-year-old man was shot and killed in a separate incident on Hudson Walk in Fort Greene, according to ABC7.

16-year-old opens beauty business

Paris McKenzie, 16, has opened a store, Paris Beauty Supplyz, on Church Avenue in Flatbush. In an interview, Paris said she’s been helping her mother run her own boutique since she was small. Her mother said that even then, she could leave the store and trust Paris to do anything. For the future, Paris has other plans — she plans to go to med school so she can become an orthopedic pediatric surgeon. She’s an A student and is already taking some college courses, according to CBS News.

Firefighter loses own home in blaze

An off-duty firefighter on Saturday went into action to rescue his family and neighbors from a fire that swept through three Dyker Heights homes, but lost his own home in the conflagration. Firefighter Piotr Orlowski went into action when the fire broke out shortly before midnight at the home on 74th Street. He had lived in the house with his immigrant parents and sister for 20 years. After he rescued them and his dog, he started helping his neighbors, who soon started a fundraiser which had collected more than $18,000 by 4 p.m. on Sunday, with a goal of $30,000, according to the New York Post.

Compiled by Raanan Geberer.