The 70th Precinct Community Council held its monthly meeting on Wednesday, and here are some highlights from Deputy Inspector Eric Rodriguez’s presentation:

• There have been two shootings so far in 2012, both in the area of Newkirk and Flatbush. The most recent was on Tuesday on Flatbush and Ditmas, which a reader asked about–two people were injured, one the intended target and another a bystander, neither critically, and though the shooter has been identified, he hasn’t been picked up yet.

• Because of that uptick in crime in that area, and because the old Impact Zone (roughly Albemarle-Parkside, E 18th-Bedford) hasn’t been broken up yet, some of the 47 new rookies for the Impact Zone have been moved to the area around Newkirk/Flatbush, so you will see more of a physical presence out there.

• Unfortunately, while the meeting was in progress last night, there was another report of shots fired, this time on Tennis Ct. Thankfully no one was injured, and the shooter was arrested.

• In more positive news, the 70th got three guns off the street on New Year’s Eve.

• Following several reports of home break-ins, three men were arrested while … Read the rest

Dozens of friends and neighbors attended a memorial service for Joshua Rubin, the murdered owner of Whisk Bakery Cafe on Newkirk Ave, at Temple Beth Emeth on Sunday, January 8 to share memories and celebrate his life.

Rabbi Heidi Hoover put together a lovely service that included a number of sweet, and some quite funny, recollections from his family and friends, which painted a picture that anyone who met him would recognize: an energetic, friendly young man with a passion for his budding business. Keith Murray, friend of his from college, also spoke, sharing the rather ribald tale of how the two first met.

Neighbor Mark Hiney was kind enough to film the service, so those who were not able to attend would be able to see it. Many thanks to him for filming, to Jan Rosenberg for suggesting the service, and to Rabbi Hoover for hosting.

The sale of Whisk’s assets took place this morning, and when I stopped by just as the sale began, there were already several people stopping in, and several items had already been sold. Though it was supposed to run to 3pm, they seemed … Read the rest

If you have some other cable and/or internet provider, please share your thoughts on those. Personally, I have Optimum/Cablevision, and I pay for the upgraded internet speed, and it still stinks, stopping frequently during Netflix streaming, etc.… Read the rest

The City Council approved a parking legislation package yesterday that aims to make parking enforcement fairer and to eliminate excessive ticketing. The three parts are:

* Being able to cancel a ticket on the spot if you have a muni-meter receipt that’s time-stamped five minutes within the ticket’s time.

* Freezing late fees on tickets until 30 days after they’ve been issued, to give you a chance to contest them.

* Banning the city from placing parking stickers on cars that are said to be violating alternate side parking rules.

It’s those stickers that got under the nails of nearby Councilman David G. Greenfield, who wrote that legislation. The Sanitation Department has used neon stickers in cases of alternate-side parking violations since 1988, issuing about 400 each day alternative-side parking rules are in effect for street cleaning. The City Council argues that the stickers are attached even before motorists are given the chance to prove their innocence.

“Punishing drivers with these impossible-to-remove stickers is unfair and unnecessary,” said Greenfield in a statement. “New York City doesn’t employ methods of public humiliation and shame for those who violate serious crimes, yet has no problem defacing private property with neon stickers because … Read the rest

The contents of Whisk Bakery Cafe will be sold in a one-day-only sale this Saturday, January 21. The family of owner Joshua Rubin asked that we spread the word about the sale, which will take place at the cafe at 1119 Newkirk Avenue between 10am and 3pm.

The entire contents of the cafe are for sale (you can see a list of available items at this Craigslist post), from restaurant equipment to furniture, to the wooden art piece shown above, which was just one of many things about the cafe that Josh was so enthusiastic about back when I first met him. Besides losing a positive member of our community, we’ve lost a lovely, burgeoning business. Josh, and Whisk, will be deeply missed.

For those who were unable to attend the memorial service held last week at Temple Beth Emeth, a neighbor was kind enough to film it. When Rabbi Heidi Hoover sends it over, we’ll be sure to post it for those who couldn’t make it.… Read the rest

Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, January 17 at 11am at the Weinstein-Garlick-Kirschenbaum Chapel at 1153 Coney Island Avenue, Brooklyn, New York (southeast corner at Avenue H), phone 718-377-4848.

The family will be sitting shivah on Tuesday, January 17 from 1:30-4:30pm at their home at 266 Marlborough Road. In addition, they will be sitting shivah on Wednesday, January 18 and Thursday, January 19 from 4-7pm at their home.

Memorial contributions can be made to The Brooklyn Parkinson Group:

Brooklyn Parkinson Group
Olie Westheimer, Executive Director
P.O. Box 24583
Brooklyn, NY 11202-4583… Read the rest

Guys, it was just snowing.

On top of that, you may have noticed the wind is insane. We’re under a strong wind advisory until 7pm. Winds may gust up to 50 miles per hour, so use caution when you’re out walking around under our big trees.… Read the rest

On Saturday, January 28, the 77th Precinct is hosting the program at the Bedford Central Presbyterian Church, located at 1200 Dean Street at Nostrand. The cash-for-guns program will exchange $200 bank card for operable handguns and $20 bank card for operable rifles and shotguns.

For more information, call the 70th Precinct Community Affairs Office at 718-851-5557.… Read the rest

Whether you think it’s a good thing or a bad thing or are not even sure what it is, the process of drilling for natural gas called hydraulic fracturing (or “fracking”) could be coming to New York State. The Department of Environmental Conservation has issued a revised Draft Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement on the Oil, Gas and Solution Mining Regulatory Program after public comments received in 2009, and today is the last day they will be accepting public comments on it.

According to the New York Times blog:

On Tuesday, gas industry representatives and supporters of the extraction process known as horizontal hydraulic fracturing hand-delivered thousands of letters to state officials in Albany arguing for the economic benefits of horizontal hydraulic fracturing. The drilling method involves injecting chemically treated water into shale formations underground under high pressure to release natural gas.

Not to be outdone, environmental and grass-roots groups hand-delivered more than 12,000 comments, nearly 500 letters and a petition with more than 20,000 signatures to the state Department of Environmental Conservation and Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office. The gist of the feedback was that the state proposal is still deficient after revisions and needs significant further work.

… Read the rest

* Deputy Inspector Rodriguez from the 70th Precinct reported that crime for 2011, when finally compiled, will be down about 2-3%. He also continues to stress that people be careful with electronics, especially on the subway. He reported that the Impact Zone (a designated high-crime area that receives extra officers to deter and fight crime) received 47 additional officers, bringing the total to around 100. Finally, he thanked the community for their concern about the officer injured on CIA on Friday night–he said at first they thought he might lose his leg, but now it thankfully doesn’t look that way, but he’s still got a long recovery ahead.

* The Flatbush Junction BID has a new interim Executive Director, Patti Hoff, who grew up in the area, and who is replacing Lisa Solomon who recently left the position.

* A reminder that if you need to throw out a mattress, you must put it in a clear plastic bag before you leave it on the curb for sanitation. CB14 has received a number of complaints from people who have been … Read the rest