Around Brooklyn: Meatless Mexican restaurant premiers in Greenpoint

December 31, 2020 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

This public waterfront space is located in front of a residential tower called The Greenpoint on the Greenpoint waterfront. Photo: Lore Croghan/Brooklyn Eagle

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Meatless Mexican restaurant premiers in Greenpoint

Justin Bazdarich, former proprietor of pizzeria Speedy Romeo and of Mexican restaurant Oxomoco, has now opened a meatless, regional Mexican spot, Xilonen, at 905 Lorimer St. It may be the first upscale Mexican restaurant in the city to debut with a meat-free menu. Among his dishes are a green chorizo quesadilla using tofu, mushrooms and pecans; a tostada featuring braised carrots; and more. Xilonen sources its corn through Tamoa, a company that connects small farmers in Mexico to restaurants across the U.S. For its coffee, Xilonen has partnered with Cafeologo, a coffee company based in Chiapas, Mexico.

Firm offering COVID shot struggled with debt

ParCare, the Brooklyn-based health care company accused of fraudulently obtaining and distributing COVID vaccine, was struggling with crushing debt, according to a report the firm filed with the state. The company reported a cash crunch after it bought out the operation of another health care company and took on debt to acquire and open new facilities, the not-for-profit group’s audit filed with the attorney general’s charities bureau shows. ParCare reportedly had a net operating deficit of $1.4 million in 2018. On Sunday, ParCare said it “pro-actively returned” its remaining doses of the Moderna vaccine amid the state probe, according to the New York Post.

Police fatally shoot machete-wielding man

A man was shot and killed by police near a park in Brooklyn after he attacked a woman and her dog with a machete, police said. Police received a call around 6 p.m. about a man acting erratic with a machete near Betsy Head Park at the intersection of Dumont Avenue and Strauss Street in Brownsville. Callers said the 18-year-old suspect was roaming the neighborhood while breaking windows, damaging parked cars, lying on the ground, trying to break into a front yard and chasing people, police said. As he was walking down the street with a machete in his hand, he attacked a woman who was walking her dog. The woman suffered deep cuts to her hands as well as a head injury, and the dog was also slashed. Both are expected to recover, according to NBC New York.

Jeffries praises CASH Act

U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-Brooklyn, Queens) issued the following statement after the House of Representatives passed the CASH Act of 2020, legislation to secure $2,000 direct payment checks for everyday Americans: “2020 has been a rough year filled with trials and tribulations, anchored in the fact that America is dealing with a public health crisis and an economic crisis at the same time. Americans need comprehensive financial help to make it through this storm. For months, House Democrats worked hard to secure increased direct cash payments,” he said.

Urban Park Rangers’ Brooklyn tours are a hit

The NYC Department of Parks and Recreation has released the five most-watched online tours by the Urban Park Rangers, and two of them were of Brooklyn. The online tour program, Parks@Home, was launched to promote mental and physical health for New Yorkers staying home because of the coronavirus pandemic. The Coney Island Boardwalk tour got 24,000 views, and the Gerritsen Creek-Marine park tour got 19,000 views. They were followed by online tours of Northern Manhattan’s Inwood Hill Park and two tours of Staten Island parks. “For years, we have been keeping New Yorkers connected to the natural world, but this year more than ever we learned just how important that connection is and reimagined our role to be of greater service to the people of this city and beyond,” said NYC Parks Director of Urban Park Rangers Bonnie McGuire

‘Free stores’ are open in Williamsburg

It looks like an ordinary sidewalk stand, but everything inside the Williamsburg spot has been donated and is free. Right now, you can pick up winter jackets, books, and school supplies from store on Leonard Avenue. “There’s people who bake bread and leave it for their neighbors. People bring TVs, crockpots, even hand-made paintings,” said the founder, a woman named Myles. There are three other free stores. All four are fully funded, continually restocked, and closely maintained thanks to support from the community and North Brooklyn Mutual Aid, according to PIX 11.

4-month-old’s death ruled a homicide

Police have classified a 4-month-old girl’s death in Gravesend earlier this month as a homicide, the NYPD said Tuesday. On Dec. 12, officers responding to a 911 call found 4-month-old Madeline Makhnovsky inside an apartment on West 3rd Street in Gravesend with trauma to her head, the department said. The girl was taken to NYU Tisch Hospital, where she was pronounced dead on Dec. 16, police said. An investigation is ongoing, according to 1010 WINS.

Speeding driver crashes into scaffolding, dies

A speeding driver crashed into scaffolding in the Coney Island area and died, police said Sunday. Marvins Edouard, 25, lost control of his 2012 Infiniti while trying to make a left turn off eastbound Surf Ave. onto W. 20th Street about 9:30 p.m. Saturday. He ran onto the sidewalk and crashed into a building’s scaffolding just across the street from Coney Island’s famed Parachute Jump amusement park ride. Edouard, who was from Williamsburg, was rushed to NYU Langone Hospital-Brooklyn but could not be saved. His passenger, a 23-year-old man, was unhurt, according to the New York Daily News.

Broken lock may have led to rape

Police are searching for a suspect wanted for holding a woman at knifepoint and raping her, and neighbors believe that a broken front door to the Brownsville apartment building may have contributed to the attack. Surveillance cameras captured the suspect, wearing a beige jacket and a red hoodie, moments before the rape. Police say that after midnight on Monday he grabbed the 190-year-old woman from behind at the corner of East New York and Ralph avenues, threatened to kill her if she resisted, then led her into 672 Ralph Ave., known as the Ralph Avenue Houses. Residents said that NYCHA, which manages the building, needs to fix the lock to protect people in the building, according to CBS New York.

Pedestrian hit by car in Borough Park

A 29-year-old man was seriously injured after he was hit by a car early Tuesday morning. The accident took place at Fort Hamilton Parkway and 41st Street at approximately 2:30 a.m. on Tuesday. The victim, identified as Benzion Ben Chanah Chayah, was rollerblading when he was hit. He sustained serious head injuries and was taken by EMS crews to Maimonides Hospital. The driver tried to escape, but a police officer who witnessed the hit-and-run chased and arrested the suspect, who was allegedly driving under the influence, according to Hamodia.

Brooklyn woman charged with theft from fire alarm co.

A Brooklyn woman is accused of stealing $1.1 million from the Secaucus, N.J.-based fire alarm company where she worked for eight years. Sophia Diakomihalis, 35, was arrested Monday at her home in Brooklyn following a months-long investigation into the alleged theft at Firetronics in Secaucus, Police Chief Dennis Miller said. Diakomihalis was charged with three counts of second degree theft and one count of criminal attempt. In August, a representative of the company told police that large sums of money had been electronically withdrawn from an account. Police subsequently learned that $1.1 was stolen from the account and identified Diakomihalis as the person responsible, Miller said. Diakomihalis worked as an office manager for the company, according to NJ.com. The Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office aided in the investigation.

Williams praises eviction, foreclosure act

Assemblywoman Jaime Williams (D-Canarsie-Georgetown-Mill Basin-Marine Park) recently praised the Assembly for passing the Emergency Eviction and Foreclosure Prevention Act. Williams stepped up in the legislation to expand the definition of tenants entitled to notice of rights from those who were lawful tenants at the time a foreclosure was commenced to those who are lawful tenants during the pendency of a foreclosure action. “With this revised definition put into place tenants can take solace in being afforded a further protection and in truth a little peace of mind,” she said.

Compiled by Raanan Geberer.