Councilman Lew Fidler reported to Community Board 15 that he helped spearhead an effort to save the city’s volunteer ambulance corps. The city’s volunteer emergency services were barred from accessing the emergency dispatch system following an October decision from the FDNY, a move seen by some as an attempt to phase them out completely from the emergency medical response.
“I was kind of nonplussed that at a time when the president of the United States is hailing volunteerism, and the mayor of the City of New York has a volunteer action center, that we would cut off volunteer ambulances from serving the public,” Fidler told the Community Board at their February 23 meeting.
According to early reports, an emotionally disturbed person barricaded himself and his parents in an apartment building at 3021 Avenue Z.
The incident occurred some time between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. According to a reader who lives in the building, who provided information to us via Facebook status updates, a mentally unstable man on the fourth floor took his parents hostage. Witnesses, also through Facebook, said the police closed off Avenue Z between Ford Street and Batchelder Street, and there were at least three large police trucks and several other emergency vehicles.
The resident that provided information said police rescued the parents, who went unharmed. She didn’t know about the culprit, who she believes had stopped taking his medication. She also said a similar incident happened in the building four years ago, but it’s unclear if it was the same person.
By 5:30 p.m., police and emergency personnel had left the scene.
This is a breaking report. We will update as additional information becomes available.
Police and fire units were on the scene at Kings Highway and East 14th Street this morning (photo taken at 8:45 am), responding to some emergency. The officer at the scene wouldn’t say what was wrong, but it must have been pretty big because traffic was diverted at East 15th Street. Does anyone have additional information?
This afternoon, sometime around 3:30 p.m., a tan minivan collided with a silver minivan in front Sheepshead Bay High School.
One witness said that he was looking out the window at the moment when the cars collided, and he immediately came out to the sidewalk. He had said this to say about the accident: “This brown car, he went to go pull a u-turn and he crashed into him while he was coming down the street.” When asked if he thought there was any speeding involved, he said, “Nah, there was no speeding.”
Emergency response workers could be seen carefully removing an injured male victim from the tan minivan. Minutes later, he was placed on a stretcher and taken away in an ambulance. It is not known if there are any others injured in the crash.
There was police presence at spot where the crash occurred. The street did not appear to be closed to traffic, as cars could be seen passing near the injured person as he was being lifted into the ambulance.
Emergency services, including firefighters and police emergency response units, flooded Nostrand Avenue between Avenue T and Avenue U today at 12:45 p.m. According to Gothamist Newsmap, they’re responding to a “Barricaded EDP” (emotionally disturbed person) call at 3302 Nostrand Avenue. Meanwhile other units were opening and testing every fire hydrant on the block.
We’ll update this story as more information becomes available. If you know anything, please e-mail us.
At approximately 6 p.m. this evening, emergency services including two fire trucks and paramedics responded to a multiple vehicle accident at the intersection of Batchelder Street and Avenue W. At least one victim was in a stretcher on the ground with a neck brace. It appeared as if three vehicles were involved in the accident including damage to a fourth car that was parked on the corner. The cause of the accident, the number of other victims, and the extent of their injuries are unknown at the time of this writing. Have information on this accident? Post it in the comments below or send an e-mail.
A vehicle looks to have spun out of control at the intersection of Avenue Z and Coyle Avenue. As depicted in the photos there is massive damage to the fence protecting the field, and the car is totaled. The “Jaws Of Life” were used by emergency personnel to remove at least one indivual, who was taken away in a stretcher covered in blood. Witnesses at the scene speculated the driver was drunk, noting that he first hit a car at Avenue Z and Haring Street, then impacted a flatbed truck on Coyle before hitting a final car and flinging into the field. The driver was alone in the car. We’ll update you as more information becomes available.
Today’s 35 m.p.h. wind gusts have toppled over a huge tree on East 18th Street and Avenue V, crushing a car. Emergency services have closed off the avenue between East 18th Street and East 19th Street. In addition to the damage to the car, the tree – which didn’t break – yanked up the sidewalk and destroyed the northeast corner’s curb. I hope the homeowner read our article on free sidewalk repair!
Update: 1010 Wins is reporting a tree on the tracks at Sheepshead Bay train station, too.
