SHEEPSHEAD BAY'S ONLY INDEPENDENT NEWS BLOG

The same can on Monday.

GARBAGE GAZETTE: As we promised yesterday, we’re keeping an eye on a newly-placed public trash bin that reappeared after more than two years at Avenue Z and East 14th Street.

This can was last emptied Friday morning as Sanitation trucks did residential pickups on East 14th Street. Public trash bins on commercial corridors not only get their own pickup days, but, to make up for a slash in scheduled pickups, are also supposed to be emptied as trucks pass them on their residential routes.

Our test case was not picked up yesterday morning, as it should have been. And the trash problem around it – previously a relatively clean corner – is now beginning to suffer from the overflow. Not only is the garbage around the can, but papers and bags have blown in the wind and cover the sidewalk behind where the photo was taken. Some trash has also gone down the sewer grate, while other bits are poised to clog the drain.

So, five days into our study (yes, we only posted it yesterday, but we’ve been watching it since it was emptied on Friday), and the presence of a public litter basket is already making the corner filthier.

GARBAGE GAZETTE: As of last week, a new public garbage can sits on the northeast corner of Avenue Z and East 14th Street – and its presence gives us a new opportunity to study a budding theory about neighborhood litter.

It’s not the first time the corner has hosted a trash can. In July 2010, Department of Sanitation placed one at that corner in response to ongoing complaints about the trash overflowing on Sheepshead Bay’s retail corridors.

Around the same time, Community Board 11 in Bensonhurst asked the city to remove all the public trash cans from commercial streets. The idea was that people would hold on to their garbage until they get where they’re going, so public cans wouldn’t overflow and clutter the streets. According to early reports, the experiment worked and streets were cleaner within weeks; but, later, business owners gave it a thumbs down when the program expanded.

Back then, we asked a community leader if it would work in Sheepshead Bay. We were told that Sheepshead Bay “isn’t Park Slope,” and that folks would just dump their garbage on the street.

So when, in 2010, the garbage can appeared on East 14th Street and Avenue Z, we decided to keep an eye on it. That corner, after all, had never really had a trash problem. In fact, it was pretty well kept. Within days, though, the can was already overflowing, and after our second post documenting it, the can mysteriously disappeared – and so did the trash problem.

The new can was placed there sometime in the middle of last week. By Saturday, it looked like the photo above, in which it’s overflowing, and at least one coffee cup made its escape. By Monday, it looked like this:

The can is slated for pickup today, along with the rest of East 14th Street’s residential trash. We’ll continue to keep an eye on it, and report back to see if adding a trash bin means adding trash, or if the corner remains as clean as it ever was.

Chernova's (winning) tree bed

Forget the London Olympics, Sheepshead Bay is in the midst of its very own turf war.  The race to win 1 Million Trees’ “My Tree NYC: Beautiful Tree Bed Contest” pits local hero Julia Chernova versus Rob Hickman, from some place called “South Williamsburg” (is that a thing now?).

The contest ends August 3, with the winner taking home a Home Depot gift card ($100 for the grand prize), an official NYC Parks tree bed plaque displaying the category in which they won, recognition at a ceremony in Central Park and true neighborhood glory.

While there are several more contestants than just Hickman and Chernova, throughout the duration of the contest it’s been neck and neck for the two competitors. And Hickman has been sending out play-by-plays announcing the dramatic twists… and sparking a green-thumb war by saying it’s a battle of “South Williamsburg versus Sheepshead Bay.”

As of now, Chernova is in first place with 149 votes and Hickman is at 136.

If you’re not sure about Chernova’s qualifications, with the help of community members, she beautified her block - East 14th Street,  between Avenue X and Gravesend Neck Road – and, more recently, Gravesend Neck Road itself, by adding several over-sized flower pots growing shrubs and colorful flowers.

Her contest entry tree bed features two hand-painted signs in it. The signs were decorated by local kids who wanted to remind passers-by that they care about Earth and their block.

The tree bed showcases marigolds and green leafy plants, all planted by kids from around the way. Chernova and her green-thumbed youth went a few steps further by putting up a dispenser with  bags for dog poop, a self-designed tree guard that guides rainwater into the tree soil, and two solar-powered lights.

Clearly, there’s no contest. Chernova from Sheepshead Bay wins by about 12 miles.

Now, go vote and make your voice heard! You can vote once a day, so be sure to return back every day between now and August 3 so we can show Williamsburg who’s boss.

If you’ve been on Gravesend Neck Road near East 14th Street in the past month, you may have noticed that the area is looking a lot more colorful thanks to some love from locals.

Several over-sized flower pots sporting shrubs and flowers debuted on the road in mid-June after neighbors on East 14th Street had enough of the area’s gritty appearance.

Julia Chernova and other residents of the block applied for and received a $1,000 from Citizen’s Committee for New York City’s Love Your Block grant, a city program to empower neighborhoods at the grassroots level to take things into their own hands.

With money in hand, they bought the planters,  flowers, and soil, as well as tree guards for their block on East 14th Street, between Avenue X and Gravesend Neck Road, Chernova told Sheepshead Bites.

This is the same group of residents who, along with the block’s civic-minded kids, worked hard to clean up their street, turning unused tree wells into mini gardens in April 2011. It wasn’t long before some heartless passerby damaged their hand-painted “Don’t Litter” signs, but that was fixed up right quick, and the kids were honored by local pols for their efforts.

This, folks, is how you take care of your community!

Broken glass littered the street on Avenue Y and East 14th Street, after a Blue Diamond oil truck struck a Kings Plaza car service van at approximately 1:30 p.m. today.

The accident happened on the west-bound side of the road as the minivan entered the intersection. No one at the scene could tell Sheepshead Bites what happened, but it appeared the minivan may have stopped short, causing the truck to strike it, shattering the rear window and tearing off a chunk of the bumper.

NYPD is currently on scene, and an ambulance left at approximately 1:45 p.m. without its sirens on. It’s believe the minivan driver was in the ambulance after suffering minor injuries. He was not on the scene when we arrived.

Traffic from the incident backed up Avenue Y in both directions.

Norman Vanigas, the 23-year-old suspected of a sex assault and firing on police officers late Sunday night, is now off the streets and in police custody.

Authorities arrested Vanigas yesterday in the Bronx, charging him with attempted murder, criminal possession of a weapon, and criminal use of a firearm, police said.

Here’s the rundown from DNAinfo:

At about 11 p.m. Sunday, a 21-year-old woman told Brooklyn cops that she had just been sexually assaulted by a man armed with a gun and knife near Oceanview Avenue in Brighton Beach, police stated. The officers then broadcast the man’s description over the radio.

Barely four blocks away, two cops in a patrol car allegedly spotted Vanigas, who fit the suspect’s description, walking east on Brighton 10th Street toward Neptune Avenue, the NYPD said. When the officers pulled their cruiser in front of Vanigas, he reportedly ran to the north side of Neptune Avenue, took out a gun and fired once at the cops.

The officers did not return fire, police said, and the Vanigas reportedly escaped on foot, sparking a two-day manhunt that ultimately led to his arrest.

Police have not charged Vanigas with any crimes pertaining to the alleged sexual assault, an NYPD spokesman said.

Source: NYPD

Norman Vanigas, 23, is wanted by police as a suspect for firing at police officers when stopped for questioning in last night’s sexual assault call. Authorities are offering a $12,000 reward for any information leading to his arrest.

Investigators are still determining if Vanigas was responsible for the sexual assault.

If you have any information regarding Vanigas, call 800-577-TIPS. You can also submit tips at www.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.

Source: NYPD

A sexual assault suspect fired on officers late Sunday night, kicking off a pursuit that lasted early into the morning and turned up no results.

(UPDATE [1:49 p.m.]: Police have released a photo of the suspect, Norman Vanigas, posted above. There is a $12,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.)

A helicopter circled the area from approximately 11:30 p.m. and police cars and foot patrols swarmed the streets around Shore Parkway and East 14th Street, where the attack is believed to have occurred.

DNAinfo reports:

Shortly before midnight, officers received a report that a woman in her 20s had been sexually assaulted near Shore Parkway and East 14th Street, police said. As cops canvassed the area, they encountered the suspect, who fled the area on foot.

“The suspect did at one point turn around and fire something in the general direction of the officers,” a police source said. “It’s unknown if it was a firearm or a pellet gun or a firecracker. It did make a noise of some sort.”

The suspect was not caught, despite that the search went on until at least 2:00 a.m., according to neighbors who live in the area.

The increased level of police activity was first reported by Sheepshead Bites, drawing residents in the area who helped fill neighbors in.

One reader, Mickie W., sent in the following report:

However according to sources on the ground in Zephyr’s Superette, the commotion began with an attempted rape in or near Brighton Beach during which the perpetrator pulled a gun and fired a round either at or within the vicinity of law enforcement, prompting an intense neighborhood wide manhunt.  The target of air and ground search were trees and bushes along the elevated tracks running between Brighton Beach and Sheepshead Bay.  An individual was allegedly taken into custody for identification and questioning but again, no confirmation from police.  Air and foot support appeared to stand down around 2 a.m. although the command vehicles stationed on east 14th and 15th Streets remained.

A commenter on the original post added:

I live on Ocean & X my fiance and I were stopped by officers while walking our dog. They asked for identification and let us go. I can still hear the helicopters circling the area. Hope they find who they are looking for.

Reader Andrew Kent was following chatter on the police scanner, submitting the following:

They were looking for someone supposedly hiding in a dumpster behind Reynolds, but now they’re trying to get access to the school to search.  The original call may have come from a porter inside the school.

Another resident living near the focal area of the search described part of the scene:

They circled over shore parkway and east 13th & Homecrest for about 40 minutes. A police van drove over a pile of garbage as though they were trying to scare somebody who was hiding in the pile and then walking officers came over and kicked the trash cans.

More officers were searching the bushes behind a building on Homecrest. Helicopter is still flying in the vicinity of the Belt Parkway and East 14th street.

And here’s a little more info from a reader that helps pinpoint the location:

E12th has half of the block closed off with yellow tape … from what the cops are saying shots happened right under the bridge on Neptune side.

(THIS POST HAS BEEN UPDATED HERE: Sheepshead Bay Sex Assault Suspect Fires At Cops, Sparking Five-Hour Pursuit)

There is currently heavy police activity in Sheepshead Bay, near Emmons Avenue and East 14th Street.

A helicopter circles above the Belt Parkway, expanding and contracting its search as police vehicles roam the streets at least as far north as Avenue Y.

We’ve received messages from readers with conflicting accounts. We are working on discovering the details, but here’s how one tipster described it:

Sunday 11:35 pm: Five squad cars and at least one unmarked suv patrolling east 14th &15th … Pedestrians of a young male description were being stopped on emmons according to several young neighbors returning from the store. Foot patrols of 4 and 6 officers walked East 15th and checked alleys and vacant lots. NYPD Helicopter was brought in to circle overhead. Entire brigade moved off towards Coney Island Avenue around 11:50 pm although what seemed to be more than one helicopter continued to sweep the neighborhood until after midnight.

UPDATE: A Facebook reader points us to these alerts on Twitter, from: @AlwaysAction. However, it says West 12th Street, and we haven’t yet verified a connection:

Screenshot taken 12:10 a.m.

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.

I took a photo of it taking a photo of me taking a photo of it.

We got a call a few minutes ago that the Google Maps Street View vehicle, with mounted phallic-cam, just turned from Ocean Avenue onto Avenue Z. Being near Avenue Z, I snagged my camera and got outside and caught it at East 14th Street just in time. It turned up East 13th Street.

Thank you, Google. I’m sure I’ll be using your new photos soon.