A fire broke out at approximately 11:30 a.m., and at least one person was carried out of the 1203 Avenue Y building by EMS, reports neighbor Karen D.
The call came over the police scanners shortly after 11:30. By 11:50 a.m., a second call came over explaining that the fire was on the second floor of a private dwelling. Karen reports to us that the smoke has stopped gushing from the building, but the scanner call indicated that the trucks on scene might need additional support to keep it under control.
Firefighters took one person out the building, Karen said. FDNY EMS began “working” on the person, but she couldn’t say if they were performing CPR.
This is a breaking news story and may contain inaccuracies. We will update it as more information becomes available. If anyone has more information or additional photos, please send them to tips (at) sheepsheadbites (dot) com.
The team at Sheepshead Bites wishes the Chabad of Sheepshead Bay (1315 Avenue Y) a terrific birthday, as they celebrate their 20th year in the community.
The chabad celebrated with a gala dinner last night, attracting about 150 members of the shul and other neighbors.
During the dinner, they aired the above video, made by shul-member, reporter and videographer Daniel T. Allen (who has produced work for Sheepshead Bites). The video shows some of the great work the chabad does in the community, the spirit of its congregants, and the challenges they faced (and overcame) following Superstorm Sandy.
Once again, happy birthday, Chabad of Sheepshead Bay!
A large police response has turned out for what initial reports indicate is a self-inflicted gunshot wound suffered by a retired NYPD officer at East 17th Street and Avenue Y.
Scanner reports indicate that the unidentified officer mistakenly shot himself herself in the leg. EMS has removed the victim from the scene and the Emergency Services Unit is now set up in the Petco parking lot on East 17th Street and Avenue Y. The 61st Precinct commander Captain John Chell is also on scene with community affairs, and police units from the 60th Precinct are also present.
We have no additional information at this time about the extent of the officer’s injury.
UPDATE (2:10 p.m.): The officer has been transported to Lutheran Hospital for treatment.
UPDATE (2:32 p.m.): The incident occurred shortly after 1:00 p.m. in the Petco parking lot, and two vehicles (seen above) are taped off in connection to the shooting. There is a small pool of blood near the rear driver’s side wheel of the white Volkswagon.
The victim is female, and expected to survive. The victim’s status as a police officer or retired police officer has not yet been confirmed.
Detectives are on the scene, investigating the circumstances around the firearm’s discharge. Officers are telling Petco customers to return in about an hour, when the store will reopen.
Emergency Services left the scene, and it appears the incident is wrapping up. NYPD’s press office does not yet have information about the incident.
This is a breaking news story and may contain inaccuracies. We will update it as more information becomes available. If anyone has more information or additional photos, please send them to tips (at) sheepsheadbites (dot) com.
Bit by bit, inch by inch, Sheepshead Bay’s residents are banding together and cleaning up the streets of debris and other filth. We are looking less like the disaster zone we became after Hurricane Sandy twisted many of our homes around, and left us shocked and dismayed.
But we’re glad to see we’re not all losing our senses of humor.
One resident decided that a painting in his flood ravaged home was worth salvaging – and could be put to good use prettying the neighborhood up a little.
So he hung it from a tree on Avenue Y, just off East 15th Street.
When power returned unexpectedly to huge swaths of the neighborhood yesterday, it brought fires with it as electricity surged into broken power lines and flooded homes.
In the video above, Sheepshead Bites reader Marina captured a tree on East 21st Street between Avenue Y and Avenue Z that burst into flames when a broken power line draped across it came alive.
In Manhattan Beach, much of it still under inches of water and with homes flooded, the return of power led to what one described as an “underground explosion.” Police were reportedly telling people to leave their homes and blocked off sections as fire crews responded across the area.
Homes in Manhattan Beach and Sheepshead Bay lit up, and sparks flew from home power lines and caused basement fires.
If your power has not yet been restored, make sure to manually shut off power to your home using your circuit breaker. If your circuit breaker was soaked from the floods, you should have an electrician evaluate it before turning it back on. If you do it yourself, use rubber gloves and rubber soled shoes, and only turn individual sections of your home so you don’t overload your system.
According to the Con Edison outage map, thousands in the area are still without power. While the map does not currently show estimated restoration times, you can get that by using the tool here.
If you’re a bicyclist or pedestrian who makes Ocean Parkway a part of your routine, you’ve probably noticed how nice the pavement is above Avenue O. And you’ve probably noticed how cruddy it is south of that spot. That’s because the Parks Department, which oversees the Ocean Parkway malls, rehabilitated the malls with fresh pavement, benches and plantings several years ago, but halted construction when funding dried up in 2010.
But that work is scheduled to resume in 2014, according to Councilman David Greenfield’s office.
We first got word of the expected renovations from Friends of Ocean Parkway. According to the group’s website, both the east and west malls are slated for repairs from Avenue O down to Avenue Y. They say the area is “extremely hazardous for pedestrians and bicyclists and require immediate attention.”
Greenfield’s office confirmed the information for Sheepshead Bites, and sent us information from the Parks Department saying that the project is currently in the design phase, which will wrap up by December. It will be put to bid in the spring, and construction is expected to begin in spring 2014.
We asked the councilman’s office if they were aware of the 130-year-old historic milestone that sits near Avenue P on the western mall. It’s the last of 11 markers that once guided tourists and early commuters, starting at the circle at the southwest corner of Prospect Park and ending just before the ocean at Brighton Beach. The second to last stone is believed to have been ripped out by Department of Transportation or CEMUSA contractors when they built a new bus stop at Neptune Avenue, and preservationists fear that the same may happen during Ocean Parkway rehabilitation.
The councilman’s office said they’re looking into the issue and will report back.
A child was struck by a car at approximately 3:00 p.m. today while crossing Avenue Y at East 19th Street, reports tipster Allan Shweky.
A witness told Shweky that the boy was crossing from the south side and was hit by a vehicle going eastbound.
It’s unclear how severe his injuries are. It’s also unknown if he is a student at P.S. 254 Dag Hammarskjold elementary school, located right across the street.
This is a breaking news story and may contain inaccuracies. We will update it as more information becomes available. If anyone has more information or additional photos, please send them to tips (at) sheepsheadbites (dot) com.
A fabulous addition to any home — a map of Coney Island Hospital and surrounding environs, circa 1929. Source: Fab.com
The people behind the modish website Fab.com, whose mission in life is to make their “customers, partners and employees smile,” as well as “to help people better their lives with design,” invite you to better your life with the design of an “Authentic 1929 Vintage Brooklyn Map” of Coney Island Hospital — because nothing says “hip and trendy” like a map of Coney Island Hospital hanging on the wall of your living room.
Fab is open to everyone and is free to join. They offer exclusive access to daily curated design sales. Here’s their take on the circa 1929 Coney Island Hospital map:
“Let’s take a trip back in time. A time before fixed gear bicycles, ironic moustaches, and artisanal mayonnaise. Before Spike Lee did anything, let alone the Right Thing, and ‘gentrification’ was used to describe white people in Brooklyn. It’s time you hang some real history on your wall, and this Authentic 1929 Vintage Brooklyn Map is just the thing. As colorful as the borough it depicts, this slice of Bucktown is authentic and one of a kind.”
I’m sorry, but… Bucktown?
In either event, the humble beginnings of the hospital — the biggest employer in Southern Brooklyn as of 2011 — dates back to 1875. It opened its doors as “a first aid station on the oceanfront beach nearWest Third Street,” mostly tending to those whose feet were cut by broken bottles.
We’ve received several e-mails already from passers-by stunned at the long lines, as residents look for deals and giveaways for the clothing store’s opening celebration.
Reader Elaine L. sent in these photos, which show the line wrapping around the building, up East 17th Street, as security keeps watch and slowly let people in. Management, meanwhile, appears to be distributing raffle tickets to the crowd.
The celebration continues until 10:00 p.m.
Are you planning a visit to Marshalls today for the grand opening?
