SHEEPSHEAD BAY'S ONLY INDEPENDENT NEWS BLOG

Courier-Life is reporting that FDNY officials regard the fire at Loehmann’s Seaport Plaza as “suspicious” and possibly arson:

The early-morning fire that ate through a Loehmann’s Seaport Plaza restaurant may have been arson, FDNY officials said this week.

An FDNY spokesman said that fire marshals are treating the fire at XO Creperie, 2027 Emmons Avenue, as “suspicious” as they try to determine how the blaze was sparked.

Firefighters were called to the restaurant at 5:30 a.m. on November 21 after the flames triggered a fire alarm inside the restaurant, officials said. The blaze was put out within 50 minutes.

No one was inside the eatery when the fire broke out, although a firefighter suffered a strained shoulder as he doused the blaze.

(Courtesy of Lisanne Anderson)

Reader Lisanne Anderson spoke to one of the workers who was involved in the cleaning operation at XO Creperie in Loehmann’s Seaport Plaza after yesterday’s fire, who said that he didn’t believe that that there was much damage to the restaurant. Much of the damage was caused by putting out the fire, which included breaking the windows. Apparently the fire occurred when no one, including workers, was in the restaurant at approximately 5:30 a.m., rather than 6:20 a.m. as we reported earlier. He acknowledged that investigators were there yesterday, but doesn’t believe that they’re sure yet of the origin of the fire.  Loehmann’s will be closed through Monday for cleanup, as there is still water residue and a pervasive smell of smoke on the second and third floors. The businesses on the ground floor, such as the Seaport Buffet, are open today.

We just got word from a tipster that XO Creperie, located in Loehmann’s Seaport Plaza (2027 Emmons Avenue), has burned down. The second-floor restaurant has been in the building for several years and is one of the oldest, continuously-operated businesses in the plaza. The tipster says crime scene investigators were at the building earlier today, and that Loehmann’s was closed due to the fire. Based on the blurb from Gothamist Maps, it appears the fire occurred around 6:20 a.m. today. We’ll let you know as we find out more.

(Photo courtesy of FDNYTrucks.com)

There will be a party cruise leaving Pier 2 in Sheepshead Bay this Saturday, October 3, 2009, to benefit New York City Firefighter Richie Manetta and his family.There will be a DJ affiliated with the Golden Sunshine catamaran operators onboard providing music, as well as the live bands Underwhelmed with Mike Russo and The Square Rooters. Even if you can’t make it to the party cruise (tickets are selling out fast), you can still get raffle tickets. Each one costs $100, but you have an excellent chance of winning. Contact anyone at the numbers listed below for information about the cruise, raffle tickets, or to make a donation.

Here are the details from the 911 Families website.

Engine 276/Ladder 156 “The  Highway” Present
A Cruise for Richie
Saturday October 3, 2009
Boarding 6:00pm; boat leaves at 7:00pm sharp
Brooklyn, NY
Richie Manetta, age 44, is a 13-year veteran of the New York City Fire
Department. He is a beloved member of  “The Highway” Engine 276/
Ladder 156/Battalion 33 and also rotated  through E-224, E-8 and L-2.
Richie spent many days working at the World Trade Center site.

In September 2008, Richie was  diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer
which has yet to be properly  diagnosed. Richie is now in a fight for his life.
His firehouse is putting  together a fundraiser and reaching out to the entire
FDNY brotherhood and their  friends to help relieve the financial burden that
he and his family are dealing  with.

Join them and board the Golden Sunshine charter  boat at the corner of
Bedford and Emmons Avenues in Sheepshead Bay Brooklyn.

Tickets are $100.00 per person.  Reserve your spot as soon as you can,
for seating is limited. Any donations would be gratefully accepted. All
proceeds will go directly to Richie and his wife Maria and their two-year-old
son Christian.

Please make your check payable  to: Ladder156 Manetta Fund.
Please send your contribution to:
Ladder 156 Manetta Fund
1635  East 14th Street
Brooklyn NY 11229

There will be 3 raffles to be  drawn on the night of the cruise.

RAFFLE 1: Win a blue 1968 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme. 350, 4 speed,
mag wheels, V8

RAFFLE 2: Win a gold 1966 Oldsmobile Delta 88. All original, V8 automatic
power steering and brakes

RAFFLE 3: A chance to win $10,000.

Only 200 tickets will be sold for  each car, and 400 tickets will be sold
for the $10,000 raffle.

For additional information, contact Kevin Lunny at 646-338-2951,
Mike Cassidy at 917-363-1405, or Brian Williams at 347-234-2915.

Who is Mr. Hassan and why does he feel that he has a right to post his flyers on top of fire safety signs?

No legitimate real estate agent would do such a thing. If you’re in need of an apartment and get tempted to call Mr. Hassan, don’t do it. We should not reward these illegal advertisers with our business. Besides, the apartment is most likely gone, by now — judging from the looks of the flyer.

We’re thinking that once the FDNY sees this post, they’re headed right over to the Staples store (2892 Ocean Ave, corner of Ocean Avenue and Avenue Y) to find out who would so irresponsibly post their own flyer over the fire safety signs — at the exact location where so many of their very own went down in the Waldbaum’s fire, years ago.

Firefighters responded to a call on East 19 St between Avenues X and Y yesterday afternoon. There were four firetrucks and a control station van sent to what turned out to be a false alarm.

The firefighters dispatched had plugged the hoses into the hydrants, readying for a fire, but thankfully, there was no fire.

I’m not sure if the fire call from yesterday had anything to do with the outdoors or barbequing, which yesterday’s weather was quite conducive to — but this is a good time to remind Sheepshead Bay residents to exercise fire safety.

The New York City Fire Department has a very good website with lots of information about barbeque safety and fire prevention.

Let’s remember that fire department workers at Engine 246 Ladder 169 dispatched from the firehouse at 2732 E 11 St are working hard to keep us safe, but they need our cooperation.

(NBC News Coverage from Saturday, March 14, 2009)

A Saturday morning fire rushed through the legendary Totonno’s Pizzeria. The restaurant was a mainstay in the Coney Island community and people traveled from far and wide to get a taste of the Napolitano style pizza with ingredients imported from Italy. For 85 years, the pizzeria had been serving the pizza by the pie in its old-style dining room located at 1524 Neptune Ave near West 14 St.

Members of the community spoke to NBC news reporters on the scene and expressed the devastation they feel at the loss of Totonno’s. Based on the damage, there is no talk at the moment of rebuilding the famed establishment.

This is a very sad day for original Brooklyn-pizza lovers and we offer our sympathy to the owners and workers of Totonno’s, because while no one was hurt in the blaze, watching the building go down with all of the memorabilia and original decor must have been heartbreaking.

This fire hydrant is on Gravesend Neck Road, somewhere near East 28 St.

Residents whose homes are near this fire hydrant should take advantage of Mayor Bloomberg’s 3-1-1 and call this one in — that is, if they are concerned about what will happen, in case of fire.

The city has now been informed about this possibly non-working fire hydrant. If 3-1-1 passes the message on about this case (a reference number has been issued) to the appropriate department, ideally, it should be fixed (or at least investigated) by next week.

Those of you who are familiar with the hydrant, let me know when the job gets done.

I had seen the Gothamist Map listing an unusual fire in Brighton Beach at Oceanview Ave and Brighton Beach Ave on Tuesday, January 13, 2008, but couldn’t get out there in time to get you any significant information.

Then, I happened on Early Addition, Jen Chung’s summary list on the Gothamist News and got interested, again, about the unusual fire. Does anyone have any information about this unusual fire that they can share with us?

(Photos by Ray Johnson)

The FDNY responded quickly to a fire on Avenue X, between East 18 and East 19 Streets. Bystanders said that the fire had been started by teenagers who were hanging around the dumpster that was parked in front of 1807 Avenue X.

The fire happened at about 5:45 p.m., yesterday, and took about a half-hour to be extinguished. Immediately after the fire, the refuse container was left open with garbage strewn about. By this afternoon, the garbage was cleaned up, the container closed, and a clean, blue tarp covered it.

The FDNY prevented this fire from becoming a major incident and Gaeta Interior Demo, the Staten Island-based company that placed the dump truck at the location, was none the wiser. Thank you, New York City Fire Department Personnel!