Around Brooklyn: Brooklyn real estate rebounds

February 18, 2021 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

Bergen Street takes you past lovely Crown Heights homes, like this cluster of landmarked residences on the corner of New York Avenue. Photo: Lore Croghan/Brooklyn Eagle

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Brooklyn real estate rebounds

Manhattan and Brooklyn real estate lease signings have seen the highest surge in 13 years. In a new Douglas Elliman report, the month of January was very active in both Brooklyn and Manhattan. This was the fourth month in a row in which landlords have seen gains in tenants. Jonathan Miller, who wrote the report, said this is a good first step to getting the city back on its feet, but there is still a long way to go, according to the New York Post.

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Brooklyn ADA dies after medical problem

A 30-year-old prosecutor in the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office died last week. Assistant District Attorney Brittany Heaney, 30, who was engaged to be married, died Thursday after having a “medical episode” Wednesday night, according to Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez. Gonzalez added that she was a special victims prosecutor. “The world is a darker place without the light of her spirit brightening our lives,” said her mother, Lisa Mazzaro Heaney, according to the New York Post.

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Woman beaten inside Kings Plaza

Police have released video of a brutal beating inside Kings Plaza Mall in Flatlands, with the hopes of catching the suspect. Authorities say a man started throwing punches after getting into an argument with a 22-year-old victim inside Kings Plaza Shopping Center on February 6, then threw her to the ground. Video taken at the scene shows a man wearing a black sweater, blue jeans and a blue jean jacket, as well as a black beanie hat, according to ABC 7.

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Boerum Hill building nears completion

The finishing touches are going up at 11 Hoyt St., a 57-story residential skyscraper in Boerum Hill. The building is being developed by Tishman Speyer and was designed by Jeanne Gang of Studio Gang with Hill West Architects. The building will have 481 residential units, designed by Michaelis Boyd Associates. Edmund Hollander of Hollander Design is in charge of landscaping, according to New York YIMBY.

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Central Brooklyn neighborhoods among least vaccinated

Neighborhoods in central Brooklyn are among the least-vaccinated communities in the city. Data released on Feb. 15 by the city’s Department of Health shows that only 4 percent of the adults in Zip codes 11213 and 11221, covering eastern Crown Heights, Bushwick and Bed-Stuy, have received a first dose of the vaccine. In 11213, 1,939 adults have been partially vaccinated, while 1,329 adults have been fully vaccinated. In the 11221 zip code, 2,552 adults have been partially vaccinated, while 1,569 have received both doses, according to published reports. The zip codes have populations of 64,000 and 79,000 respectively.

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Bay Ridge no, Korea yes?
Bay Ridge-headquartered Century 21, a department store chain that went bankrupt in September, plans to open a 100,000-square-foot store in South Korea, where it has a strong following, according to Women’s Wear Daily. The firm was owned and operated by the Gindi family for 60 years. The Gindis blamed the bankruptcy on their insurance company for not paying the company’s “business interruption claim” last year after coronavirus regulations shut it down for a number of months. The Gindis may open another New York City store, but for the time being they are focusing on opportunities overseas.
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Brisport Joins Parole Reform Movement

State Sen. Jabari Brisport (D-Fort Greene, Boerum Hill, Red Hook, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Sunset Park, Gowanus, Park Slope) today will join state legislators and criminal justice advocates in a virtual press conference to commence a Parole Justice is Racial Justice Advocacy Day. The advocacy day is being organized by The People’s Campaign for Parole Justice, a grassroots campaign backed by nearly 300 groups across New York State advocating for passage of the Elder Parole and Fair & Timely Parole bills, as well as a fair and fully staffed Parole Board.

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Eric Gonzalez Launches Re-election Campaign

Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez recently joined with elected officials, labor leaders, clergy and community leaders, for a virtual press conference to launch his re-election campaign 2021. Among the electeds joining in on the launch were Brooklyn Congressmembers Yvette Clarke, Hakeem Jeffries and Nydia Velazquez; State Senators Kevin Parker and Julia Salazar; and City Councilmember Brad Lander.

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Staten Island man missing in Brooklyn

Police are seeking a 60-year-old man from Brighton Heights in Staten Island who was reported missing from Maimonides Medical Center in Borough Park, according to the city’s Notify NYC alert system. Padilla was last seen on Monday around 7 p.m. at the hospital. Padilla is described as being Hispanic, with brown eyes and salt-and-pepper hair and a gray moustache. He is missing his top front teeth. He was last seen wearing a gray sweater, blue jeans, a blue baseball cap and black sneakers, according to the Staten Island Advance.

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Another subway slashing

Four suspects are being sought after one of them cut a male commuter on the hand aboard a train on the No. 2 line at the Hoyt-Schermerhorn Street station in Boerum Hill on Monday morning. The crime came two days after a suspect was nabbed in the deaths of two people on the A train in Upper Manhattan. The victim was taken to St. Barnabas Hospital for treatment, according to the New York Post.

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Crab chain comes to Brooklyn

Crab du Jour, a national franchise-based food chain that began in Raleigh, North Carolina, has opened 10 individually operated franchises across Brooklyn. The seafood is prepared in a Southern, sometimes Cajun, way, as opposed to the Maine style of Red Hook Lobster Pound or the Italian seafood pastas and stuffed clams at Randazzo’s. Another chain, Crabby Shack, has also been expanding into New York and recently opened in Barclays Center, according to Bklyner.

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Fire safety bill still intact

A City Council bill written after a 2018 fire on the set of the film “Motherless Brooklyn” killed a firefighter won’t include last-minute amendments that the FDNY and the Firefighters Union said would compromise fire safety. Firefighter Michael Davidson, 37, was killed while battling the five-alarm fire at 773 St. Nicholas Ave. on March 23, 2018. Edward Norton’s film company put up partitions in the basement, unknown to city authorities, that trapped Davidson inside when he was overcome by toxic smoke. The sprinkler system also failed and there were highly flammable materials on the set, according to the Daily News.
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Sex abuse on subway

A woman riding the No. 2 train in Brooklyn became the victim of abuse when a stranger unzipped his fly and ejaculated onto her jacket. The incident happened just before the train neared Flatbush Avenue, and when it stopped, he fled. Surveillance images show the suspect wearing a red mask, a black cap, and a black jacket with red stripes, according to the Daily News.

Compiled by Raanan Geberer.