Around Brooklyn: Man dies after jumping on tracks in Brownsville

April 19, 2021 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

An F train travels on the brief stretch of elevated track between Carroll Gardens and Park Slope. Wikimedia photo by MTAtrain

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Man dies after jumping on tracks

A man died after jumping in front of an L Canarsie subway train in Brownsville on Thursday, police said. The 37-year-old man was on the platform of the Livonia Avenue station around 9 a.m. when witnesses saw him jump in front of the oncoming train. He died at the scene, the Daily News reported.
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Feil group plans Downtown development

The Feil Organization is putting together a new development site in Downtown Brooklyn. The family-owned real estate investment and development firm confirmed it is in contract to buy a four-parcel portfolio at 360-370 Fulton St. along the Fulton Mall, including the site of the former Modell’s store. The company wouldn’t comment on the price, but sources familiar with the deal said the portfolio is going for around $32.5 million, according to The Real Deal. “We’ve been here for three generations,” said Brian Feil, head of the company noting that the family has owned 380 Fulton St. for more than six decades.
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Landlord sues school on unpaid rent

Crown Acquisitions, owned by the Chera family, filed a lawsuit in the New York State Supreme Court last week, alleging that the private Science, Language and Arts International School in Downtown Brooklyn owes $6.1 million in back rent and $18.4 million in accelerated damages, The Real Deal reported. The school signed a 10-year lease for 40,000 square feet at 9 Hanover Place in June 2018. The school then subleased one floor to a separate charter school. The Science, Language and Arts International School was founded by Jennifer Wilkin in 2011, and has another location at 132 4th Place in Carroll Gardens. Tuition for its preschool starts at $28,100 and goes up to $32,500 for the six through eighth grades, according to its website.
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New supermarket coming to Flatbush

German-owned supermarket Aldi has signed a least for its 2201 Nostrand Ave. property in Flatbush. Aldi will replace two former tenants: children’s clothing store The Children’s Place and wedding attire shop David’s Bridal. The shop will be part of the Triangle Junction retail complex between Flatbush Avenue and Avenue H, according to Commercial Observer. “Aldi is a perfect addition to the Flatbush neighborhood, providing quality grocery product to the area during a time when many are dining from home,” Esther Bukai of Ripco Real Estate, who brokered the deal on behalf of Aldi, told Commercial Observer.
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The beginnings of Prospect Park

Untapped Cities, a local history site, recently focused on the original plan for Prospect Park by engineer Egbert Viele, before the Civil War. In Viele’s plan for the park, it would be on both sides of Flatbush Avenue and would include the land now occupied by the Brooklyn Museum and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. His plan would preserve the old Brooklyn Reservoir, in the center of the park, and would have put a botanic garden at the southwest corner of the park, on 9th Street. Construction was postponed because of the Civil War. Afterward, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux were called in as consultants and revised the plan. Viele went on to become the NYC parks commissioner and was elected to Congress.
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Colton supports Medicaid program

Assemblymember Bill Colton (D-Gravesend-Bensonhurst-Bath Beach) has co-sponsored Assembly Bill A-06479, sponsored by Manhattan’s Assemblymember Dick Gottfrired, in support of the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program. “The Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP) is a New York State Medicaid program that permits consumers to hire their own home care workers. This program provides services to chronically ill or physically disabled individuals who have a medical need for help with activities of daily living. I believe that the most important part of the program is that it allows clients to appoint family members and friends’ individuals that they trust and are comfortable with,” Colton stated.

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Man punches, robs couple in Flatbush

Police are investigating after a man and woman were assaulted and robbed at a convenience store in Flatbush. The incident took place around 7 p.m. on Sunday at a convenience store by a Mobil gas station between Fort Hamilton Parkway and Caton Avenue. Surveillance video shows the suspect fighting with the man and woman inside the store. Police say he punched both in the face, then took their car keys. He was last seen leaving the scene in a white Jeep Cherokee, according to CBSNewYork.

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Woman killed by driver with new SUV

A woman on a Bay Ridge sidewalk was struck and killed Thursday by a motorist driving a brand-new Volkswagen SUV off a dealership lot, police said. The 72-year-old victim was walking in front of Bay Ridge Volkswagen on Fourth Avenue and 89th Street around 3:30 p.m. when a Volkswagen Atlas pulled out and struck her, police said. EMS crews took the woman to NYU Langone Hospital-Brooklyn, but she couldn’t be saved, according to the Daily News.

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Smithsonian features sketchbook collection

Smithsonian magazine is featuring the Sketchbook Project, sponsored by the Brooklyn Art Library in Williamsburg. People interested in submitting a sketchbook order a blank one from the website. When it arrives, they fill it with art, writing or anything else that fits them. Sketchbooks are rarely rejected after they’re submitted. People interested in browsing the collection can stop by the Brooklyn Art Library at 28 Frost St., Williamsburg, or visit the library’s website. When someone checks out a book, the artist is notified.
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DOT describes Brooklyn Bridge bike lane

At a recent meeting of Community Board 2, representatives of the city Department of Transit said that a planned bike lane on the Brooklyn Bridge would take the place of one Manhattan-bound car lane, but would be two-way for bicycles. Some people at the meeting questioned whey there wouldn’t be a lane on the Brooklyn-bound roadbed. Paul Schwartz, associate deputy commissioner of maintenance for bridges, said the agency could not build a bike lane on the Brooklyn-bound side of the bridge because workers need the left lane of that side to do maintenance work, according to Streetsblog.

Compiled by Raanan Geberer.