SHEEPSHEAD BAY'S ONLY INDEPENDENT NEWS BLOG

Bennett Castello. Source: New York State Division of Criminal Justice via nbcnewyork.com

A man suspected of attempting to rape a 13-year-old girl in a Gravesend elevator last week has been arrested. According to a report by NBC NY, the police arrested 40-year-old Bennett Castello, a registered sex offender.

According to authorities, on April 30 at a Gravesend building located on Avenue Z and West 2nd Street, Castello was riding down an elevator with the victim when he allegedly pulled a pair of scissors and attempted to rape her. When the elevator door opened, he ran off and the girl was unharmed.

Castello was charged with criminal possession of a weapon, burglary and rape.

In 1998, Castello was convicted of sex crimes against a victim who was over 21. As a result of his conviction, he was classified as a violent sex offender.

The crook who robbed a 7-Eleven earlier this week is wanted for hitting up four other businesses across Sheepshead Bay and Gravesend.

News 12 is reporting that the wanted man is cutting a path of crime through the area, robbing bodegas and convenience stores. His first target was a different 7-Eleven located at 133 Avenue U, which he robbed on April 15. Three days later he hit up the Universal Grocery store on the same street, hauling in close to $1,000 according to the store’s owner. He then returned to rob the same 7-Eleven (133 Avenue U) this past Saturday before striking the 7-Eleven located at 2702 Knapp Street in Sheepshead Bay.

The NYPD is doing all they can to nab the thief before he acts again. If you have any information regarding the crime, the NYPD urges you to call the Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). You can also text tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577. You can also submit tips to www.nypdcrimestoppers.com. All calls are kept in strict confidentiality.

The NYPD issued a Silver Alert for Simona Ortiz, an 80-year-old Hispanic woman who was last seen leaving her residence near West 12th Street and Avenue W wearing a black jacket, black pants, and black shoes in Brooklyn.

Ortiz went missing yesterday at 6:00 p.m. She is described as being 4’6″ tall, 85 pounds, grey hair and brown eyes.

If seen, please call 911 immediately.

Source: NYPD via Daily News

The NYPD released surveillance camera photos of an alleged rapist they have been hunting since September, according to a report by the New York Daily News.

The alleged sleazeball is described as a 5’8 muscular man with a shaved bald head. He spoke with a Russian accent.

According to the NYPD, he lured a woman to Bensonhurst’s Harbor Motor Inn (1730 Shore Parkway) on September 2, 2012, with the promise of a job interview. After paying for the room, he attacked and raped the victim, a 39-year-old woman.

Anyone with information regarding this crime is urged to contact Crime Stoppers. All callers to Crime Stoppers remain anonymous. Crime Stoppers can be reached at 1-800-577-TIPS, via the website, or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then entering TIP577.

Eliza Hittman, Bottom Center, via Facebook

Eliza Hittman, a 33-year-old filmmaker and former Edward R. Murrow Graduate, is submitting her first feature-length film, It Felt Like Love, to the Sundance Film Festival. Her film, which is a coming-of-age story about a 14-year-old girl from Gravesend, also features a slew of current Murrow students and recent graduates, according to a story in the New York Daily News.

The film has a really cool premise, especially for all us Southern Brooklynites. It focuses on the impressionable and inexperienced Lila (Gina Piersanti) and her crush on an older, tattooed Rockaways boy named Sammy, played by Ronen Rubinstein. The film follows Lila’s awkward and dangerous obsession with Sammy, as well as her desire to experience sexuality no matter what the consequences.

Hittman, a native of Flatbush, went back to her stomping grounds at Murrow to find feature players and extras.

“I wanted to pass along an opportunity for students to try something that I was interested in when I was 17 or 18,” Hittman told the Daily News. “I hope this motivates them and instills in them what’s possible in this world.”

Locals in the film include 18-year-old Andrew McCord of Sheepshead Bay and 19-year-old Jesse Cordasco of Mill Basin.

“I feel pretty lucky. If [Hittman] had never reached out to the school, none of this would have happened,” McCord said to the Daily News.

I personally can’t wait to see this film, not just because I think its going to be good, but because its exciting to see all your favorite local spots emblazoned on the silver screen. It’s fun to be that annoying guy that leaps up and shouts, “I GOT PIZZA THERE! IT WASN’T THAT GREAT!”

Best of luck to the cast and crew at Sundance. Here’s hoping It Felt Like Love becomes a big, beautiful hit.

Source: GK tramrunner229 via Wikimedia Commons

When the staff here at Sheepshead Bites combs through the daily news alerts for mentions of our area, we are inundated with a deluge of photographs, videos and news items from our similarly named haunts in Great Britain.

Sometimes we come across fantastic stories for Gravesend that we can’t believe we haven’t covered, only to quickly realize that they are for the British Gravesend located in the South East English County of Kent. Apparently, the writers of Gravesend Reporter, a local UK website, probably have had the same problem and decided to just see what life is really like for Gravesend residents located on our side of the Atlantic.

Their article is a fascinating exposè on the ins and outs of Gravesend life, its local history and what connection, if any, the British Gravesend has with the American one.

In reading the article I learned that the connection is dubious at best. The American Gravesend was named by British colonist Lady Deborah Moody in 1645 after a town in Holland (s-Gravenzande) oddly enough. On the one hand it makes sense that Gravesend would be given a Dutch name since its earliest (European) inhabitants were Dutch, yet the town was still founded by a British colonist. (Another fun fact, Lady Moody was the first female landowner in the New World, and the only woman to ever found a settlement in colonial America. According to Wikipedia, she was considered “a dangerous woman.”)

The only real link dredged up by our neighbors in Kent was when (English) Gravesend councilor Peter Dyke made a visit to our American home over 30 years ago, carrying the declaration, “To designate June 9, 1979, as Gravesend, Brooklyn, New York, and Gravesend, England, Twin Communities’ Anniversary Day.” Sadly, the twin city status no longer exists and is barely remembered.

City Council analyst John Lisyanskiy officially threw his hat in the ring for Coney Island’s 47th District on December 16 with an e-mail blast to supporters, making him one of two candidates for the district to forego the political hand-wringing over redistricting and jump in the race. Meanwhile, others in what was expected to be a somewhat crowded field for the Democratic nod, are reconsidering their runs – and almost all are urging constituents to turn out to tomorrow’s Districting Committee hearing to oppose the plan.

Lisyanskiy is one of four Democratic contenders vying to replace term-limited Domenic Recchia that have registered committees with the Campaign Finance Board. Lisyanskiy is joined by activist Todd Dobrin; Michael Treybich, an attorney and deputy legal director for the New York State Young Democrats; and Brian Gotlieb, former chairman of Community Board 13.

Lisyanskiy, who serves as a legislative budget aide in the City Council under Speaker Christine Quinn, jumps in the race with tens of thousands of dollars collected for a 2009 run that ultimately fizzled after term limits were extended. The campaign’s announcement came weeks before the council’s district lines are set to be finalized, a process which could see a campaign’s key constituencies flung into a neighboring district.

But Lisyanskiy said the latest district lines were of little concern in determining whether or not to run.

Continue Reading »

Source: Friends of Ocean Parkway

Our friends at the Friends of Ocean Parkway blog tipped us off to the soon-to-be-constructed Edmond J. Safra Synagogue, coming to Ocean Parkway at Avenue U.

We called over to Rabbi Elie Abadie of Congregation Edmond J. Safra in Manhattan, but he told us the new building was not officially affiliated with his flock, but just that they share the same name.

According to the Manhattan congregation’s website, Edmon J. Safra was a “Lebanese-born [Sephardic] Jew who rose to prominence in the banking industry, [and] supported a remarkable diversity of institutions and charities during his lifetime.”

Welcome to the neighborhood, Safra Synagogue.

Source: Rita M.

Reader Rita M. has tipped us off again to the emergence of a new restaurant on Avenue X. The last restaurant to occupy 377 Avenue X, Rotisserie Heaven, seems to have shuttered its doors and been replaced by a gyro shop almost as soon as it opened – if it ever did open.

Just like Rita, we are also wondering if this new gyro shop will last longer than its predecessor. Only time, and the deliciousness of the gyros, will tell.

Looking for that centralized place to take care of various Hurricane Sandy-related claims, get some advice, sign up for food assistance, streamline repairs to your home and to recover lost personal records? New York City is opening for “restoration centers” throughout the city today, with counselors to help guide you through the various agencies and processes to get back on your feet after the storm.

NYC Restore helps New Yorkers in the areas most affected by Hurricane Sandy get access to important information and services to help them recover. Four NYC Restoration Centers provide the following types of assistance:

• NYC Rapid Repairs
• Food and Nutrition Assistance
• Temporary Housing Information
• Health and Medical Benefits
• Business Restoration
• Counseling Services
• Financial Assistance
• Personal Records and Information

NYC Rapid Repairs is a new program to send teams of contractors and city inspectors to neighborhoods affected by Hurricane Sandy to quickly repair damaged homes. It’s meant to streamline the process of finding a contractor, getting the work done, and paying him with FEMA reimbursement funds. More information can be found here.

NYC Restoration Centers are open every day from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

NYC Restoration Centers are located at these addresses:

Coney Island
Our Lady of Solace
2866 W. 19th St.
Brooklyn, 11224

Gravesend
SSA Building
10 Bouck Ct.
Brooklyn, 11223

Far Rockaway*
10-01 Beach 20th St.
(At Cornaga Ave.)
Queens, 11691

Staten Island
1976 Hylan Boulevard
Staten Island, 10306