The New York Police Department’s 84th Precinct, which covers Brooklyn Heights, will have a Community Council Meeting, to which all are invited, this coming Tuesday, April 16 starting at 6:45 PM at the 84th Precinct, 301 Gold Street. The “[a]genda items include a Cop Of The Month presentation, review of crime statistics to date, and Q&A.” Thanks to Brooklyn Community Board 2 for the tip.

The New York Police Department’s 84th Precinct, which covers Brooklyn Heights, will hold a quarterly “Build the Block” Meeting this Friday, February 16 at 2:30 PM at the Brooklyn Heights Branch of the Brooklyn Public Library, 286 Cadman Plaza West. PO Justin Mateo, the 84th’s Community Coordination Officer, will be there to discuss issues concerning neighborhood safety. The 84th Precinct Community Council will hold a monthly meeting on Tuesday, February 20 at 7:00 PM, at Borough Hall; enter at 209 Joralemon Street. All interested community members are welcome at either or both meetings. If there is a neighborhood safety issue you would like to raise at the “Build the Block” meeting, but cannot attend because of a work or other commitment, you may raise it at the Community Council meeting.

Local jeweler — and local dad — Alexis Bittar is holding a “Holiday Shopping Event” at his store (and online!), where all proceeds from sales will go to local elementary schools PS8 and PS307. Bittar has been holding this fundraiser event at his 162 Court Street store since 2021. Stop by between 11am and 7pm today, and pick up something nice for that special someone in your life (or not so special, we’re not judging)! If you can’t make it to the store, you can shop online, or phone your order in — just be sure to mention PS8! There will be “drinks and treats” in the store between 5pm and 7pm this evening to celebrate the fundraiser, and it’s not that cold out, so maybe you could pop in for some earrings and a free snack.

With the Eric Adams administration cutting school funding so the city can have robocops and drone armies, many schools will be looking for ways to possibly get rid of programs and reduce teaching staff to make ends meet. This fundraiser event is an effort by a concerned local parent to forestall such cuts at two of our beloved neighborhood elementary schools. So don’t just shop for your loved ones…. do it for the kids!

Ms. Frost’s story also includes an account of the October 17 meeting of the 84th Precinct Community Council at which concerns were voiced about several violent crime incidents, fortunately none fatal. One hopeful item: interim precinct commanding officer, Captain Steven Hyland, said progress was made on identfying the man who slashed another man’s hand on the Promenade, and that an arrest was likely imminent.

Has parking enforcement become more aggressive lately in Brooklyn Heights, or is the NYPD being “selectively” aggressive? We received this complaint from a long-time reader concerning the “no standing” zone on Henry and Cranberry:

We parked our car there for a brief period of time around 6:30am on Wednesday to prep as we had to get our son to the hospital by 7:15am. When we came out at 6:47 there was a ticket and a notice on the window. In my haste and worry for being late, I tried to drive and the boot punctured the tire. We had to pay a ticket, pay $375 to the tow pound, my partner had to go to the post office to get a $35 money order to pay for the boot that we ruined and we had to pay $400 to have our tire replaced. And, needless to say my partner spent the morning attending to this and wasn’t there for the surgery.

Yikes! Fifteen minutes from violation, to ticket, to boot! That’s a pretty quick turnaround time! While the reader is well aware they risked a ticket, the boot was an aggressive move. According to the NYC.gov Booting FAQ , your car will get the boot if you owe “more than $350 in parking or camera violation tickets that are in judgment”. The reader swears their record is clean! Moreover:

My bigger issue is that ALL DAY, EVERY DAY cars and trucks sit in that No Parking spot and are NEVER ticketed. Half the time they are idling and I ask them to turn off their engine. Many people get angry at me and it feels unsafe to have to do this myself. I have called 311 but nothing has been done. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander – you boot me and ticket me, then start ticketing and booting all trucks and cars, including the car with a police decal that parks there every Sunday afternoon while they eat at Noodle Pudding.

The New York Police Department’s 84th Precinct, which covers Brooklyn Heights, will have a Community Council Meeting, to which all are invited, this coming Tuesday, September 19 starting at 6:45 PM at Brooklyn Borough Hall, enter at 209 Joralemon Street. The “[a]genda includes a Cop Of The Month presentation, review of precinct crime statistics, and public Q&A.” Thanks to Brooklyn Community Board 2 for the tip.

Read more details in Mary Frost’s report in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle and be careful and alert out there.

We sadly interrupt this Mother’s Day to warn everyone to lock your doors at all times.

In the overnight hours of Thursday into Friday, at about 1:55 a.m., a neighbor and her teenage son were asleep in their apartment on Poplar St. between Hicks and Henry Sts., when the mother was awakened to a stranger on top of her on her bed. She bravely screamed and fought until the intruder retreated out of their apartment. She then went into her son’s bedroom, set up a barricade at the door, and called the police. The intruder also stole her wallet. Mom and son are traumatized but physically intact.

Once again, please lock all your doors at all times. The entrance doors to your buildings and your apartment doors should always be locked. Even if you live in a doorman building, please keep your apartment doors locked. Some years ago, an intruder walked past security desks in a building on Henry St. and then a building on Livingston St. in the same night.

The New York Daily News has reported on the incident and wanted posters were seen today around Brooklyn Heights and Dumbo with a composite sketch of the suspect.

The victim has praised the police, and especially lead SVU Detective Shania Roach, for their sensitivity, diligence and quick action on this case.

Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Roach at (718) 230-4421 or the Detective Borough Brooklyn South at (718) 287-3239. All calls will be kept confidential.

This post will be updated as more information comes in.

UPDATE: NYPD has released a video of the suspect. The suspect is wanted for information only at this time.

UPDATE: Additional video footage of the individual wanted for this burglary. Have any info? DM @NYPDTips , or☎️call them at 800-577-TIPS. https://t.co/p2GIXZKsKc pic.twitter.com/1vtiLyqMi9

— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) May 15, 2023

“Beware of sticky slots,” warns Mary Frost, our intrepid neighborhood journalist. Mary reports in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle that thieves are using mouse glue traps to steal envelopes from USPS mailboxes around Brooklyn Heights. If you use the mail to send paper checks (do you still use the ledger on the back of the checkbooks too?), you may want to take the envelopes to the post office.

How do the thieves do it? They tie a string to a glue trap and slide it through the “theft-protection” slots to fish out the envelopes. The sticky goo left by the glue traps also prevent the mail from falling to the bottom of the mailboxes. A survey last week found that every mailbox on Henry and Hicks Sts., from Middagh St. to Atlantic Ave., save one, had a stickiness on the slots.

And what do the thieves then do with the checks made out to Verizon or Grandson Billy? According to Mary, they “wash” the checks with common household chemicals to erase Billy’s name and write in theirs, and add a few zeros to the amount to boot. Identity theft is also a possibility. Here is a report from a witness of the crime, posted on Nextdoor.

Tyre Extinguishers aims to “make it impossible to own a huge polluting 4×4 in the world’s urban areas” by deflating tires, with the intent of causing “inconvenience and expense” for owners, according to the group’s website. This is typically done by inserting something small (the Extinguishers seem to prefer lentils) into the tire’s valve cap, which depresses the pin and causes a slow leak when it’s partially screwed back on.

To your correspondent, who believes climate change is a major, if not existential, threat, such tactics, like defacing paintings with soup, seem more likely to enrage people against the protestors than to rally support for measures to reverse the course of climate change.

The Eagle story notes that

[a]ccording to the NYPD’s Compstat crime statistics portal burglary in the 84th Precinct [which includes Brooklyn Heights] is up 78 percent year to date.

As reported by Mary Frost in the Eagle, one or more people were victimized by robbers, at least one of whom was armed, while walking in Brooklyn Bridge Park last (Tuesday, June 7) night at about 10:45. The robbers ran off in different directions. Police from the 84th precinct responded quickly and were able to arrest one suspect who was hiding in the parking garage at 200 Cadman Plaza West.

Readers on our open thread from a few weeks back reported catalytic converter thefts on Cranberry off Hicks and Joralemon off Hicks. Nextdoor is flush with posts about thefts in surrounding neighborhoods. The 84th Precinct tweeted that there’s a rise in thefts in the Downtown area and here’s how they suggest you protect your vehicles:

Meanwhile, the crime has become such a scourge all over the state, an NYPD Detective, Maureen Stefenelli, started a new initiative with the DMV called “Who Let the Cats Out.” According to this article, the DMV will start providing kits to auto dealers to etch a traceable serial number onto catalytic converters.

According to the NY Post, Willowtown has recently been plagued by flowerpot theft. Two stoops on Willow Place were hit last Friday, but homes in the area have been seeing their potted plants disappear since December 2020. The NYPD appears to be on the case, looking for local surveillance footage that may have perhaps caught the thief (or thieves) on camera.

Have you or your neighbors recently had their flowerpots, or planters, or some other type of receptacle stolen? Are these thefts specific to Willowtown, or is it a problem across all the Brooklyn Heights micro-neighborhoods (Fruit Streets, Montague BID, Columbia Heights, etc.)? Let us know! And if you have any information (or video!) concerning these recent thefts, you can email the local Neighborhood Coordination Officers (Det. John Condon and PO Donovan Hunt), or call the 84th Precinct at (718) 875-6811.

Photo: C. Scales for BHB

The NYPD is investigating after a man was stabbed outside a Brooklyn [Heights] deli Tuesday morning.

Authorities say the 49-year-old victim was leaving the bodega on Clark Street in Brooklyn Heights around 6:30 a.m. when he was stabbed in the chest.

He was rushed to New York Presbyterian-Brooklyn Methodist Hospital in stable condition.

A man in his 20s or 30s fled on foot.

Police recovered a folding knife at the scene.”

The blog contacted the 84th Precinct for a comment and was directed to call 1 Police Plaza. No comment is available at this time. We will continue to update you as more information becomes available.

The 84th Precinct tweeted a warning earlier this evening to put the cellphones away and pay attention when walking, as there have been robberies (plural) reported at Sidney Place and Joralemon St.

Another tweet warns pedestrians to put away all electronics, including wireless headphones.

Let’s all stay safe.

UPDATE: The teen’s mom confirmed to PIX 11 Jenna was found on Tuesday evening and is safe at home. It has not been made public where the teen was during the time she was missing.

URGENT! The 77th Police precinct, CB2 and, numerous news outlets are seeking help in finding Jenna Hospedales, a Brooklyn Tech High School freshman, missing since Thursday, January 9th.

CBS New York reports, “Jenna Hospedales is 5-foot-8 and weighs 118 pounds. She was last seen wearing blue jeans and a black jacket.

Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74682), logging onto the Crime stoppers website at www.nypdcrimestoppers.com, or by texting tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enterings TIP577.”

On behalf of the blog, we send our love and support to Jenna’s family and friends and sincerely hope she is returned home swiftly and safely.

We need your help to locate missing 14 year old Jenna Hospedales. She was last seen at approx 3:00pm today entering the G train station in Fulton Street. If you know anything about her whereabouts please call the 77pct at (718)735-0611. pic.twitter.com/DoNpSKh20U

— NYPD 77th Precinct (@NYPD77Pct) January 10, 2020

Cover Photo Credit: Instagram @___niama___

The 84th Precinct Community Council invites all to the National Night Out Against Crime- Neighborhood Safe Streets Rally, at the Pier 5 Picnic Peninsula in Brooklyn Bridge Park, on Tuesday, August 7 at 4:30 p.m. There will be entertainment, refreshments, ice cream, games, and face painting, as well as bicycle and scooter registration. Bicycle accessories will be distributed by the Department of Transportation. See flyer and video below.

This Tuesday it’s “National Night Out Against Crime” #NYPD has 70 locations find one close to you & join us in celebrating this special night where we interact with the community & you can connect with your local cops. We will be at the #BrooklynBridgePark pier 5 at 4:30 PM. pic.twitter.com/0opuU0urDn

— NYPD 84th Precinct (@NYPD84Pct) August 4, 2018

A message from Officer John Kenny:

Patrol Borough Brooklyn North will be rolling out its new literacy initiative on Monday, June 25, 2018. Each precinct will dedicate a small area as a free children’s library. This library will be available to any child who wishes to read or keep these books as a way of promoting reading and making books easily accessible. The 84th Precinct is in need of used children’s books ASAP, so anyone who has books they would like to donate, it would be very much appreciated. Books can be dropped off at the lobby or can be picked up if necessary.

If you need books to be picked up, email your Neighborhood Coordination Officers at:

Officer Donovan Hunt | donovan.hunt@nypd.org

Officer John Condon | john.condon@nypd.org

(Lead photo courtesy wikimedia/Kalamazoo Public Library.)

A message from 84th Precinct Sector A’s Neighborhood Coordination Officer Donovan Hunt:

Hello All,

This Tuesday, June 12, we are having our next Neighborhood Safety Meeting at Brooklyn Borough Hall, 209 Joralemon St., 2nd Floor, at 6:00pm. Come by and join the discussion going on in and around the community, ask questions, or just listen to what others are talking about. Refreshments will be served. Please forward to your neighbors and colleagues. Hope to see you all there.

File this story under “you can’t make this stuff up!” With the arrest and arraignment of “Smallville” actress, Allison Mack on sex trafficking and other related charges, The Brooklyn Daily Eagle reports an offshoot of the pyramid scheme”self-help” group and purported cult Nxivm (pronounced NEKS-ee-əm) took up residence at “111 Hicks St., a Brooklyn Heights tower, where up to a dozen [sex] slaves allegedly stayed for various rituals over the past year, according to Frank Parlato, a former publicist for Nxivm who has turned whistleblower.”

Among the women allegedly housed in Brooklyn Heights are daughter of Dynasty actress Catherine Oxenberg, India. Artvoice blog reports Canadian “Battlestar Galactica” actress Nicki Clyne recently married Mack in order to remain in the United States and hold sway over the Brooklyn “slaves.” Mack leveraged her celebrity status to recruit victims at events held at a private residence in Williamsburg. The reported “rituals” are likely to have subjected the victims to the group’s known tactics of blackmailing with “collateral” of incriminating photos, videos or other damaging information, the branding of their bodies, starvation diets, forced labor all leading up to sexual encounters with leader Keith Raniere.

Spurred by Frank Parlato’s accounts, many news outlets have published in-depth exposes on the group’s exploits including  The New York Times,20/20, Rolling Stone and Vanity Fair. Founded in Albany, NY by Keith Raniere and associate Nancy Salzman in 1998, the group touts itself as a “multi-level marketing organization” offering “Executive Success Programs” as a series of seminars. Attendees were required to address Raniere and Salzman as “Vanguard” and “Prefect” respectively. The group has boasted billionaire Richard Branson, Dynasty actress Lynda Evans, daughter of former Mexican President Vincente Fox, Ana Cristina Fox and BET Co-Founder Sheila Johnson as patrons.

Seagram’s heiresses Sara and Clare Bronfman, are also among the group’s most entrenched devotees. Raniere was arrested in Mexico last month and Parlato reports Clare Bronfman, “a true fanatic,” has moved to South Brooklyn to be near her svengali, fund and run the organization while he is held in federal lock up in Marine Park. If convicted both Raniere and Mack face mandatory 15 years to life.

And it just gets weirder and weirder. Unsurprisingly, a television show is already in the works.

Our tireless resident journalist Mary Frost of the Brooklyn Eagle reports that a 2005 GMC Envoy jumped the curb on Montague St. and crashed into a “bishop’s crook” lamp post outside TD Bank today at about 1:15 p.m. The lamp post likely spared the lives and limbs of jurors, court staff, students, and others who descend on Montague St. for a banh mi or burger right around that time. The driver seems fine too, but no telling what made him lose control of a vehicle on a clear day, on a one lane street, when he legally could not be driving over 20 mph.

Less lucky was the lamp post which was unceremoniously disassembled and carted off to its final resting place. RIP “bishop’s crook” lamp post, we hardly knew ye.

DNA Info’s Alexandra Leon reports that about ten to twelve street-facing security cameras will be placed on residential buildings on Joralemon Street between Clinton and Furman streets this spring. This is in response to residents’ complaints about an increase in crime because of Joralemon’s becoming the principal entrance to Brooklyn Bridge Park. The DNA Info story quotes Brooklyn Heights Association Executive Director Peter Bray as saying the cameras will be placed on the buildings of residents who volunteer to have them there and agree to make footage available to the NYPD as needed. Mr. Bray also said this constitutes a expansion of Borough President Eric Adams’s “Safe Shoppers” program, originally targeted only on commercial areas.

Court hearing on Pier 6 towers has been rescheduled–see below. At Monday evening’s annual meeting of the Brooklyn Heights Association, BHA President Patrick Killackey (photo) began by asking, rhetorically, what a neighborhood association can do in a time of political turmoil. He answered by arguing that the nature of the times requires more action at the local level. We might not, he said, be able to bring about the disarmament of North Korea, but we can do, and have done, things that can improve our lives and perhaps inspire others to do more, both in our community and in others. As examples, among others, he cited the Promenade Gardeners and those who fought to reduce helicopter noise in the Heights and nearby.

Mr. Killackey noted some new developments. The BHA House Tour, which ended in 2015, will be replaced with a new Designer Showhouse event to take place in September of this year. More details are forthcoming. On Monday, March 6, there will be a hearing in court on the BHA’s lawsuit to prevent construction of two high rise residential buildings near the Atlantic Avenue entrance to Brooklyn Bridge Park. Update: The new hearing date before NYS Supreme Court Justice Lucy Billings will be Friday, March 17th at 11:00 AM at 71 Thomas Street, Room 203, in Manhattan.

Mr. Killackey noted with regret the departure of DCI Centa as commander of the 84th Precinct, but expressed confidence in his replacement, Capt. Roberto Melendez. Mr. Killackey reviewed the progress that had been made under DCI Centa, including the installation of cameras on Joralemon Street and the appointment of two community affairs officers to Brooklyn Heights.

Awards for community service were presented by Heights resident and Channel 13 personality Tom Stewart (photo above), who got a good laugh for announcing that the first award went to La La Land. The real first award for community service went to Irene Janner, who served on the P.S.8 PTA during the years of the school’s transition from struggling to desirable, was instrumental in laying the groundwork for Brooklyn Bridge Park, and was treasurer and office manager for the BHA. The second was to Love Our Pool, a group of parents who fought to keep the Pop-Up Pool in Brooklyn Bridge Park open for at least another summer, while the Park finds another way to provide a swimming venue. The third was to community activists Judi Francis and Ren Richmond, and to the law firm Jenner & Block, which has donated its services pro bono, for their fight to keep high rise towers from being built near Pier Six in Brooklyn Bridge Park.

The BHA’s top award, the Martha Atwater Award, went to Seth Phillips (photo above), who became principal of P.S.8 when it was still a struggling, underperforming school to which local parents tried to avoid sending their children, to one so successful that it now has an overcrowding problem. He was also instrumental in expanding the school, and in establishing a new middle school, I.S.8, to relieve the shortage of nearby, attractive middle school options for local students.

The meeting concluded with a panel discussion, moderated by New York Times writer Jim Dwyer, and featuring experts on transit matters. The topic was the proposed “Brooklyn-Queens Connector,” a streetcar line that would connect Sunset Park in Brooklyn with Astoria, Queens. The panel members were. in general, skeptical of the project. The notion that the project could be financed by property tax increases on adjacent properties was questioned because the properties along the line were either fully developed or too small to produce the needed revenue. Engineering problems related to the route being mostly within a flood plain, and lacking a dedicated right of way, which would mean traffic delays. Concerns were also expressed about the ability of the proposed route to connect with other means of transit, such as subways and buses. Finally, it was argued that money would better be spent on improvements to transit on underserved areas like East New York and others on the City’s edge. One panelist said that underserved areas near the proposed BQX route, such as the Red Hook Houses and other NYCHA housing near the Queens waterfront, could be served more economically by providing better bus service connecting to subways.

The audience seemed mostly hostile to the BQX proposal, as each criticism of it from the panel attracted a vigorous round of applause.

All photos by Andrew Porter.

According to Alexandra Leon in DNA Info, the rash of burglaries in Brooklyn Heights that began in December has continued into January. Of the seven burglaries reported in the first week of January, at least one may have occurred earlier. A theft of $66,410 worth of jewelry and accessories from an apartment near Hicks and State streets was reported on January 2, but could have taken place between December 21 and then, apparently the time the victim was away on vacation. Police say the burglar got in using a key left in a mailbox. Other early January burglaries occurred on Henry Street (two apartments in the same building near Henry and Joralemon were hit on the same day), Montague Street (Montague Street Bagels lost $1,000 in an early morning break-in), Remsen Street, and Sidney Place. Most of the residential burglaries took place during the day, when the apartments weren’t occupied.

The DNA Info piece quotes Brookyn Heights Association Executive Director Peter Bray as urging residents to “take the common-sense steps to secure their apartments.”

This just in from Brooklyn Heights Association:

The 84th Precinct notified the BHA today that seven burglaries of homes and apartments have taken place in the Heights over the last two weeks. The break-ins occurred during the work week when apartments and homes were unoccupied. The NYPD believes that they took place during daytime hours.

Since one burglary occurred in a doorman building, a fire escape may have been used to gain access through unlocked windows. Doors were forced open in some instances.

The NYPD cautions residents to lock their doors and windows whenever they are away from their dwelling. There will be extra police officers patrolling the Heights in response to this situation, but the NYPD needs your help to apprehend the perpetrator. Be alert and call 911 immediately if you see any suspicious activity.

Hate is on our doorstep, where our children play. On Friday afternoon a resident alerted Senator Daniel Squadron’s office that Adam Yauch Park playground had been defaced with swastikas and the message, “Go Trump.”  The Daily News reports The NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating the incident and the Parks Department is in the process of removing the offensive graffiti.

Image courtesy Office of Daniel Squadron

In response, elected officials and community leaders immediately organized an event for this Sunday to “Stand Up Against Hate.” 

State Senator Daniel Squadron, Congresswoman Velázquez, Councilmembers Brad Lander & Stephen Levin, elected officials, community and faith leaders invite the community to denounce hate in our neighborhood and across the country. 

The gathering  is scheduled for this Sunday at 11:30 am at Adam Yauch Park, located on State Street between Columbia and Willow Place.

UPDATE: Per a press release on Sunday morning, the blog can confirm the attendance of Beastie Boys’ Adam Horovitz (Ad Rock), the Anti-Defamation League, Comptroller Scott Stringer, Public Advocate Tish James and Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams.

Numerous music industry publications have reported the incident including Billboard and Pitchfork. Adam Yauch, a.k.a MCA was a founding member of the seminal hip-hop group, The Beastie Boys.  Like his two surviving band mates, Adam Horovitz (Ad-Rock) and Michael Diamond (Mike D), Yauch was Jewish.  The park was posthumously renamed in Yauch’s honor in 2013 after his death from cancer in May 2012. Horovitz is scheduled to attend.

Officials announced the event via social media.  In one of several tweets, Daniel Squadron invited the President-Elect.

Councilmember Brad Lander released a statement via his Facebook page, “Yet more hatred and anti-Semitism from Trump supporters. Swastikas on the playground equipment in Adam Yauch Park in Brooklyn Heights.

*Cover photo Flickr Creative Commons/Sam Beebe

Did anyone walk by Cadman Plaza yesterday and get an icky feeling all over? That’s because Martin Shkreli, aka the Pharma Bro, was stinking up the Eastern District federal courthouse. And what does Pharma Bro do after a hearing on his securities fraud case that could land him in federal lockup for many a years? Tweet to his “fans” to meet him for happy hour at the nearest neighborhood bar, of course.

But, our very own Henry St. Ale House was having none of it. CNBC was the first to report the twitter shut-down by the Ale House of the “fan meet-up” that was planned there. Here’s the twitter exchange:

The Ale House’s manager told CNBC, “We’re a small place, and we operate a restaurant. We’re not a big bar. This has nothing to do with politics, but this is a controversial figure. We’re a low-key place, we needed advance notice.”

So, you’re asking – Pharma Bro has fans? Apparently, yes. And Gothamist reports that one even called for a boycott of the Ale House.

Oh, thank you, WineNot. Please do get yourself and all of your kind to boycott and never step foot in our Ale House.

Next BHB meet-up at the Ale House? All in favor, say aye.

Update: After being turned away from Henry Street, Shkreli tweeted that the meetup would be at Brooklyn Public House, 247 DeKalb Avenue in Fort Greene. Instinct reports that the owner of Brooklyn Public responded by tweeting that the price of all drinks was being increased by 5,000% (the same percentage by which Shkreli increased the price of an AIDS drug).