Brooklyn Today January 14: Brooklyn Today January 14: Bed-Stuy Meat Market Under Fire After Racist Slur

The Lede

THE LEDE: Happy Monday! A Bed-Stuy meat market comes under fire, thousands attend the funeral of Steven Pollard, and cops warn residents of phone scams. Plus, hundreds protest the BQE rehab plan, we break down the public advocate race by the numbers, and the Jack’d date stabber gets 12 years in prison. Finally, the landmark Sears in Flatbush thrives, a Williamsburg sex toy company quarrels with the MTA, and we recommend the best heated bars in the city.

The Rundown

BED-STUY MEAT MARKET UNDER FIRE AFTER RACIST SLUR

A Bed-Stuy couple is calling for the shutdown of a local butcher shop after an employee called one of them “mono,” Spanish for monkey. “You cannot go around and disrespect the community like this. Without the community, his business would not exist,” said Venessa Kane, whose husband Demba Kane was addressed by a butcher inside Sagal Meat Market on Jan. 2 with a racial slur. Demba is a regular of the market on Broadway, and employees know he is fluent in Spanish. On that particular day, the usual workers were not present. When Demba went to pick up his order, the employee said “aqui, mono” — “here, monkey” in Spanish. (via Brooklyn Eagle)

PROMENADE RALLY DRAWS HUNDREDS TO PROTEST BQE REHAB PLAN

A vocal crowd of several hundred people braved sub-freezing weather on Saturday to demonstrate their opposition to a six-lane “highway in the sky” that would destroy the landmark Brooklyn Heights Promenade. Residents ranging in age from 9 to 90, and representing Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill and surrounding neighborhoods, carried placards, and crowded around a podium of elected officials. Leaders from A Better Way NYC joined Peter Bray, executive director of the Brooklyn Heights Association; City Comptroller Scott Stringer and an array of elected officials as they called on Mayor Bill de Blasio and DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg for transparency and community engagement around the proposed BQE rehabilitation. (via Brooklyn Eagle)

THOUSANDS ATTEND FUNERAL FOR MARINE PARK FIREFIGHTER KILLED IN BRIDGE FALL

Nearly 10,000 firefighters and other rescue workers attended the funeral for FDNY Firefighter Steven Pollard, who lost his life when he fell from a bridge, at Good Shepherd Church in Marine Park. The line of firefighters and rescuers stretched from Gerritsen Avenue to East 27th Street in Sheepshead Bay. “Steven was everything we want in a firefighter,” FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro said on Friday. (via Brooklyn Eagle)

SPECIAL ED ADVOCATES SAY SCHOOL BUS GPS WILL SAVE KIDS

Parents of special education students were paying close attention when the City Council passed a bill last week mandating that all school buses come equipped with GPS tracking devices. The GPS devices will mean that parents will have access to up-to-the-minute information on exactly where their kids are at any given moment during the trip to and from school. The issue is particularly acute to parents of special education students, who comprise a large share of the passengers riding city school buses. The bill has gone to Mayor Bill de Blasio for his signature. (via Brooklyn Eagle)

BEWARE OF SCAMS TARGETING YOUR MONEY, COPS WARN BROOKLYNITES

You get a phone call from a person claiming to be from a utility company telling you that you owe money in delinquent bills and that your service is going to be cut off unless you pay up immediately. The caller instructs you to purchase a gift card from a store for the amount owed and send it to them. Beware. They’re scams and police are warning the public not to fall prey. “People are losing thousands,” Capt. Anthony Longobardi said. In one case, an elderly woman gave $100,000 to some crooks. “She lost her life savings,” Longobardi said. Americans lost $41 million of their money to these types of scams in 2018, according to the FTC. (via Brooklyn Eagle)

HERE’S A LOOK AT PUBLIC ADVOCATE RACE BY THE NUMBERS

With the date set for the special election for New York City public advocate, here’s a look at some of the numbers surrounding the hot button race. The first is 26. As in Feb. 26. That’s the date Mayor Bill de Blasio set as the date for the special election. The number 15 million is another one to remember. The special election is likely to cost New York City $15 million, according to most estimates. But also pay attention to the number 11. Candidates who want to participate in public financing were required to submit a certification form to the CFB on Jan 11. Here are more relevant numbers. (via Brooklyn Eagle)

JACK’D DATE STABBER SENTENCED TO 12 YEARS

The family of a Fort Greene man, who was stabbed to death during a brawl with a man he met through a dating app, are “stuck in a matrix” because of their loss. “My heart breaks not to be a recipient of my baby brother’s bear hugs,” wrote Debbie Johnson, a sister of James “Koron” Johnson Jr., in a victim impact statement. Johnson Jr. was killed inside his apartment in April by David Keegan Riotto Haigh. A Brooklyn jury rejected Haigh’s self-defense claim during the two-week long trial last month. The jurors instead acquitted Haigh of murder, but convicted him of first-degree manslaughter. (via Brooklyn Eagle)

SURVIVOR OF ALLEGED POLICE RAPE GETS CRIMINAL LAWYER FOR TRIAL

A Brooklyn woman, who is expected to testify against the two former NYPD detectives who allegedly kidnapped and raped her in the back of a police van, was assigned a defense attorney ahead of the trial. As per the advice of Brooklyn prosecutors, Justice Danny Chun assigned criminal defense attorney Michael V. Cibella to represent the 19-year-old — who has introduced herself on social media as “Anna Chambers” — when she takes the witness stand later this month. (via Brooklyn Eagle)

LANDMARK SEARS IN FLATBUSH STILL THRIVING, SHOPPERS SAY

Sears hasn’t lost a step. The massive American retailer still has its original signage at its massive home at 2307 Beverley Road — a city landmark in the heart of Flatbush — and it’s still thriving in Brooklyn, despite struggling nationwide. “They talk about Amazon, but Sears goes way back. Way, way back,” one shopper said. “They used to have the thick catalogs with all the stuff in it. But I like shopping at Sears.” The Art Deco building is one of the only Sears retail stores opened by the company in the 1930s that’s still in operation. (NY1 via Brooklyn Eagle)

BROOKLYN SEX TOY COMPANY FIRES BACK AT MTA FOR AD BAN

Owners of a Brooklyn sex toy company have a bone to pick with the MTA after its carefully constructed advertising campaign was banned by the agency before its launch. The Williamsburg-based Dame Products was granted consent for subway ads depicting one of its toys in early October. However, the MTA halted its campaign about two months later, claiming that the ads promote a “sexually oriented business.” “We don’t think a state transit agency should wield so much de facto power over whether we can bridge the gap between the health perks that vibrators offer and the people who stand to benefit most from them,” Dame wrote. (Patch via Brooklyn Eagle)