Around Brooklyn: Man sets himself on fire

March 9, 2021 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

Swans are a-swimming by Emmons Avenue in Sheepshead Bay. Photo: Lore Croghan/Brooklyn Eagle

Swans flocked for food near Emmons Avenue in Sheepshead Bay. Photo: Lore Croghan/Brooklyn Eagle

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Man sets himself on fire

A 46-year-old man died after setting himself on fire in Sheesphead Bay, police said. Police responded to a 911 call on the morning of March 9 to find the man ablaze in the backyard of his house on Bedford Avenue near Avenue Y. Firefighters put out the flames shortly after arriving, but EMS personnel declared the man dead soon afterward. Eyewitnesses told police they saw him putting a liquid accelerant on him before he set himself on fire, according to published reports. Neighbors said they never noticed any domestic problems at the home.
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Ridgewood man arrested in Brooklyn murder

Cops arrested a man from Ridgewood, Queens and charged him with shooting a woman to death outside a Brooklyn catering hall on Sunday, police said. Jose Ortiz, 26, of Madison Street was charged with attempted murder, criminal possession of a weapon and reckless endangerment. Police said Ortiz allegedly opened fire at the Celebration Events and Party hall at 3443 Atlantic Ave. on March 7. Stephanie Munoz, 28, of Gates Avenue in Bushwick sustained a gunshot wound to her abdomen and later died of her injuries at Jamaica Hospital, according to published reports. A second victim, a 26-year-old man, was shot in the torso and was listed in stable condition in Woodhull Hospital.

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East New York Farms profiled

East New York Farms, an urban garden in East New York, was recently profiled on the Vice website. The garden, overseen by Iyeshima Harris, works with a network of student interns to grow and sell fresh produce at their own weekly markets. Among the crops grown on the half-acre site are okra, bitter melon, kale and more. Harris said she got the idea because in her native Jamaica, “I could go out in my yard and have mango, soursop, June Plum.”
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Brooklyn middle school adjusts to pandemic

A year after the pandemic shut down M.S. 88 in Brooklyn, students are now lining up outside the building. “They wash their hands, they take their temps, and they go straight to class,” said principal Ailene Altman Mitchell. The year of school shutdown has been a giant experiment, and it is unclear to what degree online learning has caused students to fall behind. Like other middle schools, M.S. 88 reopened in October, closed in November, then reopened again in February. Still, with all the problems, students here say they are happier in class than online, according to NY1 News.
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Candidate receives Council endorsements

Ari Kagan, one of several candidates running for City Council in the 47th C.D. (Bensonhurst, Gravesend, Coney Island) has gained several endorsements during the past week or so. One is Councilmember Justin Brannan (D-Bay Ridge-Dyker Heights), who said, “Southern Brooklyn deserves real, dedicated representatives who are fighters for neighborhood often overlooked and underserved by City Hall, and Ari Kagan is that guy.” In addition, he received the support of community leaders Lakeisha Bowers, of Coney Island; Stephanie Wong, of Bensonhurst; Raisa Ross, of the Russian-speaking community; and Lina Chen, an Asian-American activist.
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Brighton activists slam homeless shelter

A group of Brighton Beach demonstrated protested on Sunday outside Gracie Mansion against an incoming homeless shelter. The proposed shelter is part of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s “Turning the Tide” initiative, which seeks to spread the city’s homeless-shelter capacity evenly across the city, rather than clustering them in low-cost neighborhoods. The 170-bed men’s shelter proposed for 100 Neptune Ave. near Brighton 10th Street has been controversial since it was announced in late December. Local residents say the shelter would lower property values and pose a threat to children who attend nearby schools, according to published reports. More than 100 protesters attended the demonstration, mainly from Manhattan Beach and Sheepshead Bay.
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Allentown suspect found dead in Brooklyn

A 30-year-old man who wanted in connection with a shooting early Saturday morning in Allentown, Pa., was found dead in Brooklyn several hours later. Police responded to a call of a shooting at 10:40 a.m. at 114 E. 53rd St., East Flatbush, and found an unconscious man in the alley. EMS technicians pronounced him dead, and cops later identified him as Allentown resident Emilary Milien Jr., according to the Allentown Morning Call. The shooting took place around 12:30 a.m. on West Greenleaf Street in the Pennsylvania city.

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Plywood artwork coming to Williamsburg

A sculpture made from plywood that businesses used to board their windows during last summer’s racial justice protests will be coming to McCarren Park this spring. The sculpture consists of two wooden obelisks arranged into a form resembling a caltrop, a spiked metal object thrown onto the ground during some protests. Zehoski drew inspiration from seeing demonstrators in Child making caltrops out of twisted nails. The piece is one of several citywide sponsored by an arts installation studio known as Worthless Studios, according to published reports.

Compiled by Raanan Geberer.