Ridge gang attack may be racial

By Matthew Lysiak
The Brooklyn Paper

Two men were attacked outside the V-Lounge, a popular Eighth Avenue nightclub, on Aug. 17 in a case that may have been racially motivated, police said.

The two victims, who are both black, told cops that they were standing alone when a large group of Asian men approached them outside the club at 1 am.

At some point, one of the men pulled a club and knocked the 26-year-old victim in the head while his pal, also 26, was attacked by glass bottles, according to police.

The thugs fled into a silver Mercury, and the wounded club-hoppers were treated at the scene for minor injuries. Only later were questions raised about the gang’s violent motivations.

A witness told police that the apparent ringleader of the gang, who was described as a 5-foot-11 Asian man with a heavy build, dark black sunglasses and slicked-back black hair, ordered the others to inflict pain.

“If you are my brothers, you will get them,” a witness reported hearing.

The victims were not robbed, and the senseless violence was the first of its kind at the club, which is between 62nd and 63rd streets.

Beep approves Century 21 lot

By Matthew Lysiak
The Brooklyn Paper

Borough President Markowitz signed off on Century 21’s plan to turn an old bowling alley into a six-story parking garage for 279 cars on 87th Street.

The lot could help ease parking congestion during daytime shopping hours and also at night, as Century 21 has promised to allow local restaurants to use the lot for valet parking, freeing up space on the street.

In addition to the parking garage, Century 21 hopes to add a level of retail space on 87th Street and plant six trees on the roof, according to architect David Nicholson.

The proposal needs a zoning change before it can procede, hence the Borough President’s approval last week.

The site, which is between Fourth and Fifth avenues, was once home to the Mark Lanes, a popular bowling alley.

The City Planning Commission will vote on the application within 60 days before it advances to an expected approval by the City Council.

Beep approves Depot

By Matthew Lysiak
The Brooklyn Paper

A plan to build a new Home Depot and 214 units of housing atop a vacant Bay Ridge railyard moved a step closer to reality after gaining the approval of Borough President Markowitz last week.

Markowitz gave his support to developer Andrew Kohen, who needs a rezoning so he can build the profitable residential units in the complex, which would consist of an 11-story residential and office building plus the 100,000-square-foot Home Depot.

Markowit’z approval did come with strings, however thin. He required that Kohen set aside 20 percent of the units as “affordable,” install a traffic light and crosswalk at 62nd Street and Eighth Avenue, and participate in a traffic study after the center opens. Kohen has already promised to do all of those things.

The borough president’s approval follows a recommendation by Community Board 10.

Opponents say Kohen is trying to build too much housing on the site, but the developer said housing is needed.

“Unless people stop having babies and looking for jobs, then we need development,” said Kohen.

The developer still faces a few more hurdles. The City Planning Commission has 60 days to vote on the rezoning application before it advances to the City Council, where it is backed by Councilman Vince Gentile (D–Bay Ridge).

“It will bolster the area, spruce up the surroundings and provide significant employment and housing,” Gentile said.

Even if City Planning rejects the proposal, the project would still go ahead if the Council and Mayor Bloomberg approve it as expected.

Tornado brings out the best

By Matthew Lysiak
The Brooklyn Paper

Sometimes government can work. That was the rare conclusion of this columnist, whose libertarian politics range somewhere in that tight anti-government space between Frederic Bastiat and Milton Friedman. But after the remarkably quick and efficient response by our local government officials in the wake of last Wednesday’s tornado, even I have to tip my hat.

It wasn’t easy. Yellow Hooker is naturally cynical of people deciding what I should eat, smoke and how to spend my paycheck (damn those never-ending Ratner subsidies!), never mind entrusting the same people who gave us the Department of Motor Vehicles with protecting me in a time of crisis (one word: FEMA).

Still, local officials deserve credit for an organized and well implemented plan in quickly getting Bay Ridge back on its feet and minimizing the effect of the first tornado to touch down in Brooklyn in over a century.

In short, it was an example of government at its best — at a time when the community was most in need. After all, Bay Ridge was hit by a tornado!

The rare twister that ripped through our community came like a thief in the morning.

Residents were awakened between 5:30 and 6 am by the sound of car alarms, thunder, and trees crashing down to the ground as the powerful wind attacked.

Tornadoes have hit New York City before, but not often. The National Weather Service had records of at least five, but none was as strong as Wednesday’s twister, which had winds as high as 135 mph. The last reported tornado sighting in Brooklyn was in ’89 — 1889, that is.

Given that roofs were ripped off houses and trees were flying all over the place, you’d think residents would be in a state of sheer panic. But actually, they weren’t. Most residents could be found calmly waiting for emergency personnel to arrive. Some were going door-to-door to check on their neighbors, while others waited next to their smashed-up cars in their housecoats and robes drinking their coffee.

Perhaps residents knew something about local emergency crews that this columnist did not. It was a thing of beauty.

Fire trucks and police cars immediately arrived at the hardest-hit spots.

Workers were in a state of constant motion, first making sure people were safe, then clearing debris and directing traffic. A full-blown symphony was taking place right before my eyes with the entire community in full harmony.

By 2 pm, almost all the streets were cleared and life in Bay Ridge was beginning to have a feel of normalcy again.

Of course, for residents who no longer have a roof to sleep under, it may take some time before normalcy really takes hold, but Bay Ridge was quickly back in business.

At the risk of losing some of my libertarian street cred, this columnist must admit a newfound confidence in those commissars of local government.

But then again, I didn’t have to use public transportation that morning.

The Kitchen Sink
The Red Cross is now accepting donations for those in need after last Wednesday’s tornado. Stop by Councilman Vince Gentile’s office, located at 8703 Third Ave., for more info. …

Take comfort, women. Rep. Vito Fossella (R–Bay Ridge) called on the Japanese government to apologize to the 200,000 “comfort women” who were forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese Army in the 1930s and ’40s. …

Our pal Chiu Tran was just named to the Dean’s List at SUNY Binghamton. …

So, you think you can dance? Check out the guy in the wheelchair. Local legend Carmine Santa Maria may find it hard to walk, but that hasn’t stopped him from his work as a dance instructor. “I can’t walk too well, but I know how to teach it,” said Santa Maria. For more info, call (718) 946-0234. …

The Brooklyn Chapter of the American Institute of Architects is helping homeowners whose properties were damaged in last week’s tornado to find architects to do the repairs. Call (718) 259-0070. But before doing any work, get a permit from the Department of Buildings, which can be reached at (718) 802-4035. …

State Sen. Marty Golden (R–Bay Ridge) hosted a public hearing at Fort Hamilton Army base on Wednesday to discuss local homeland security issues, such as the safety of the Buckeye jet fuel pipeline that runs through the neighborhood. Community Board 10 Chairman Dean Rasinya was also there.


©2007 The Brooklyn Paper

FEMA inspects damage

By Matthew Lysiak
The Brooklyn Paper

Five days after an extremely rare tornado caused millions of dollars of damage in Bay Ridge, officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency — you remember them from Hurricane Katrina — surveyed the area to determine if some residents are eligible for federal aid.

But the agency made no promises.

“They looked at the damage and told us we make a good case for assistance,” said Carole Marlines, who works at the badly damaged Fourth Avenue Presbyterian Church, at 67th Street, which got a visit from FEMA inspectors at around noon on Monday.

The church lost of its historic stained-glass windows, including a 25-foot-tall religious scene installed in 1951, to the tornado’s 136-mile-per-hour gusts, which touched down around the corner of 67th Street and Fourth Avenue last Wednesday at around 5:30 am and damaged 100 cars and 60 homes — half of which suffered serious structural damage, according to state Sen. Marty Golden (R–Bay Ridge).

FEMA spokeswoman Kristina Simpson made it clear that none of the inspectors, who went door-to-door at one point, was toting a checkbook.

“This is the gathering of information,” said Simpson. “When walking up and down the streets and talking to folks here, the thing that became clear is there was all this confusion about whether they should call FEMA. The answer is no. The first step they need to take is call their insurance companies.”

Many cheered the federal officials, but some thought their fact-finding mission needed a bit more, how you say, cash.

“Insurance is only going to give so much,” said John Quaglione, a Golden aide. “We’re hoping the federal government does intervene to give financial assistance to homeowners and car owners.”

Others blasted the federal bureaucracy for moving too slowly.

“This is ridiculous that help is so slow to come,” said Hassan Hakmoun, who was busy moving his relatives out of their house at 339 Bay Ridge Ave. “They’ll be fine staying with me, but there are a lot of families who may not be so fortunate.”

Hakmoun said that his relatives, a family of eight, had received only $120 for food from the American Red Cross. He thinks the problem is red tape.

“We try to call people but we keep getting rerouted and it is hard to find anyone who really knows what is going on,” Hakmoun added. “We all pay our taxes, but the government doesn’t like giving it up.”


New York State’s Insurance Department has set up a disaster hotline. Call (800) 339-1759.

©2007 The Brooklyn Paper

Flotilla with a message: Boaters protest waste-transfer station

By Matthew Lysiak
The Brooklyn Paper

Almost 232 years to the day after the British crossed The Narrows and began “the Battle of Brooklyn,” another flotilla — albeit smaller — declared war on a proposed waste-transfer station in Gravesend.

“We are here to protest by land and by sea,” said Assemblyman William Colton (D–Bensonhurst) at last Saturday’s boat-borne battle. “The flotilla is an innovative protest that has remarkably pulled together all of the concerned parties that will be gravely affected by the construction and operation of a waste dump in Bensonhurst.”

The transfer station would be located at the Marine Basin Marina, on Shore Parkway at the foot of 26th Avenue.

About 40 boaters, many hoisting banners bashing the transfer station, participated in the flotilla, sailing along Gravesend Bay toward the Verrazano Promenade where they were met by elected officials.

“There needs to be a better plan then having it … next to an amusement park for children,” said Assemblyman Alec Brook-Krasny (D–Coney Island), referring to the former Nellie Bly theme park, which is under new management.

The proposed waste station is one of several included in the mayor’s waste management plan, which was passed by the City Council and now must be approved by the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

To construct the marine transfer station, Gravesend Bay would have to be dredged to permit bigger barges. Protesters say such dredging would release lead, PCBs, mercury, toxic ash and other contaminants into the water, spoiling boating and fishing in the bay.

But the Sanitation Department, which would operate the new facility, has said that the construction would be safe and that safeguards are in place to prevent odor.

But the city argument isn’t swaying activists who are determined to hold their ground, even if it means waging their own Battle of Brooklyn.

“There will be no surrender and no retreat,” said Colton. “We are in this for the long haul.”


©2007 The Brooklyn Paper

‘Great’ stench still vexes neighbors

By Matthew Lysiak
The Brooklyn Paper

This great wall needs more mending.

Last month, Great Wall Supermarket on Fort Hamilton Parkway near 67th Street agreed to remedy community concerns about trash, traffic and noise — but two weeks later, the situation still stinks, according to neighbors.

The grocer did address some of the problems, like silencing the beeping forklifts and getting rid of some of the produce bins, but residents say the issues of traffic and stench still lurk.

“Efforts have been made,” said resident Nina Batiato. “But the garbage maintenance, traffic and smell remain a serious problem.”

The trouble began in June, shortly after the Chinese market opened and began selling fish and produce on the sidewalk. The smell of the seafood, combined with the garbage from the grocer, caused a stench that permeated the surrounding blocks. The noise of the air conditioner and traffic problems caused by deliveries also irked residents.

Locals quickly mobilized a petition drive and took their case to Community Board 10, where they hammered out an agreement with the supermarket, which agreed to change its smelly ways, according to Dana Beecher, who is representing Great Wall.

Despite the neighbors’ ongoing complaints, the market insists it is doing what it can, and at the end of the day believes it will come out smelling like roses, according to Beecher.

“We are not going to fault residents,” said Beecher. “There are still a lot of loose ends that need to be tied up, but this is a work in progress.”


©2007 The Brooklyn Paper