SHEEPSHEAD BAY'S ONLY INDEPENDENT NEWS BLOG

Source: RomanK Photography/Flickr

In Case You Missed It (ICYMI): Here are some of the big stories you may have missed this week. You can keep up with what’s going on in the neighborhood all week long. Just follow us on Twitter and Facebook, and sign up for our daily newsletter. If you have any news tips, story ideas, questions or anything else, e-mail us at editor [at] sheepsheadbites [dot] com.

• The week’s news was dominated by the assault and robbery of an 18-year-old woman as she attempted to enter the elevator of her Midwood apartment building. With help from clear surveillance footage, cops busted the two thugs they believe are behind the crime, Tyler Hoppin and Malique Young, both 18.
• In other crime news, cops are hunting a Coney Island chain snatcher, put out photos of Brighton Beach robbery suspects, and cuffed an alleged rapist with help from a good Samaritan.
• A tow truck smashed up a row of parked cars on Ocean Avenue near Avenue Y, and the driver fled on foot before being arrested later.
• Locals are griping about the latest batch of illegal clothing donation bins popping up on public property.
• Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz spent campaign cash in Munich and Barcelona and is struggling to explain the spending.
• Councilman David Greenfield is calling for the city to deny a parking waiver requested for a new Coney Island Avenue commercial development.
• Councilman Chaim Deutsch is helping those ticketed for driving on Nostrand Avenue’s new bus lanes after the city admitted a snafu in sending them out in a timely manner.
• The Q train is the dirtiest in the system, says new report.
• Dunkin’ Donuts is coming to Neptune Avenue in Brighton Beach.

 
Photo by Erica Sherman

Police forces across the nation will celebrate National Night Out Against Crime for the 31st year, and NYPD precincts in all five boroughs will be celebrating on Tuesday, August 5. The event is celebrated in more than 15,000 communities across all 50 states, representing the communities reclaiming their streets from violence and crime.

Locally, the 61st Precinct at 2575 Coney Island Avenue is kicking off the festivities at 5:00 p.m. Clown Simon will be there!

Also, there will be music, food, rides and ice cream. There have always been some great shows put on by kids, like last year’s dragon dance and the impromptu Gangnam Style performance by this 3-year-old:

It’s also a good opportunity to meet local elected officials and our precinct’s new commanding officer, Deputy Inspector Carlos Valdez.

See the flier above for more details.

The following is a press release from Councilman Chaim Deutsch:

Council Member Chaim Deutsch is pleased to announce the success of his first community clean-up event that drew nearly 100 volunteers to Sheepshead Bay Road on Sunday. Armed with rakes, shovels and brooms, volunteers turned out to pick up trash from neighborhood streets.

“We’re taking pride in our neighborhoods – block by block across our district. Coming out and volunteering is sending a message to violators that we demand a clean neighborhood,” Deutsch stated. “Cleaner streets promote social and economic improvement, whilst giving our children and families a clean, safe place to reside.”

This event, the first in a series of clean-ups in Council Member Deutsch’s district, aims to promote unity and community activism, all the while drawing attention to the Council Member’s top priority: cleaner streets. Council Member Deutsch is proud to have funded various clean-up initiatives in this year’s budget and is actively reaching out to local small business owners to educate them on ways to keep storefronts clean.

“Many thanks to the Department of Sanitation for their commitment to working with me to promote cleanliness, as well as for the donation of gloves and garbage bags and the loan of brooms, shovels, dustpans and rakes,” said Deutsch. “Together we are making our neighborhoods an even better place to live, work, and do business.”

Please contact Council Member Deutsch’s office at 718-368-9176 to learn more about future community clean-up events or to share suggestions that will help Deutsch address problem areas.

The next Community Clean-Up Event will be held on August 17th on Avenue U.

View photos from the cleanup.

Source: timaoutloud/Flickr

Q LINE

There is no advisory scheduled for at this time.

F LINE

From 9:45 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday, Jamaica-bound F trains are rerouted via the M from 47-50 Sts to Roosevelt Av.

From 11:45 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday, Coney Island-bound F trains are rerouted via the A from W 4 St to Jay St-MetroTech.

From 12:01 a.m. Saturday to 5 a.m. Monday, F trains run local in Queens.

CompStat reports are produced by the New York Police Department on a weekly basis. We summarize the week’s statistics for the 61st Precinct reports every Friday. The 61st Precinct is the police command responsible for Sheepshead Bay, Gravesend, Kings Highway, Homecrest, Madison, Manhattan Beach, and Gerritsen Beach.

The NYPD announced the arrest of 18-year-old Malique Young yesterday evening, the second and final suspect wanted for the shocking assault and robbery of an 18-year-old woman in Midwood on Sunday.

Young, of Flatlands, is charged with robbery in the second degree. His alleged accomplice, Tyler Hoppin, 18, was busted Wednesday night and charged with robbery, assault and criminal possession of stolen property.

Hoppin and Young are accused of following an 18-year-old woman into her Avenue M and East 18th Street apartment building. The video shows the woman enter the elevator, followed by two men who abruptly drag her into the hallway by her hair and begin pummeling her with their fists before making off with her bag. They then tossed the bag into bushes outside of the building.

In the video, the man believed to be Young is the first to grab the woman, and the two knock her to the ground. Young holds her down while the man believed to be Hoppin begins punching her repeatedly. As the woman continues to struggle, it does appear that Young kicks and punches the woman.

It is not yet clear why the cops have hit Young with a lesser charge.

Tyler Hoppin (Source: Instagram)

Councilman Chaim Deutsch praised the police for the quick capture of the suspects, and said the incident highlights the role clear surveillance footage can play in crime fighting. He sent the following statement:

I commend Deputy Inspector Richard DiBlasio and the NYPD’s 70th precinct for their dedication and commitment in the apprehension of the second suspect in the July 27th assault in Midwood. The timely arrest of the two culprits in this vicious crime is also due in part to the existence of clear, quality surveillance footage that was obtained of the attack. Security cameras are becoming increasingly significant in the policing and safety of our neighborhoods, as is demonstrated again in this most recent crime. I will be reaching out to Brooklyn DA Ken Thompson to share my concerns and I am confident that he will prosecute the two perpetrators to the fullest extent of the law.

A lovely email from the photographer:

My nephew was visiting me in Bklyn this week and his favorite part was the go carts — great place to go in the summer — Coney Island Raceway!!

Photo by Annmarie Mauro

Morning Mug is our daily showcase of photographs from our readers. If you have a photograph that you’d like to see featured, send them to [email protected].

Well, Q train riders, we apparently are making our treks on the dirtiest subway line in the city, according to a new report by the Straphangers Campaign.

We also are less likely to get a seat on the Q than on other trains – but, on the bright side, the Q doesn’t break down as often as, say, the B, according to the report that used data from 2013 to assess 19 subway lines.

In the Straphanger Campaign’s 16th annual “State of the Subways Report Card,” the advocacy group takes a look at a number of issues on our trains, including breakdowns, cleanliness, and in-car announcements to assess what are the best, and worst, performing lines in the five boroughs.

The 7, which runs between Flushing in Queens to Times Square, was named the best subway line by the group, thanks to its frequency of service, few delays caused by mechanical breakdowns, and more seat availability.

As for the worst subway line? That honor goes to the not-so-illustrious 2 – which basically never has any seats and breaks down more often than other lines. The 2 operates between Brooklyn College and Wakefield in the Bronx.

When it comes to the Q (which tied with the B for the 13th best subway line and has been lauded and slammed by riders), its subway cars have become dirtier in recent years – as have the 1, 6, 7, E, and G. According to the report, the Q had 17 percent of its cars rated moderately or heavily dirty – a rate more than four times higher than the city average. The C and J/Z lines were named the cleanest lines, with just 4 percent of its cars being listed as moderately or heavily dirty.

While the Q’s car breakdown rate has worsened since the findings in the last report card, it still runs far better than other lines. The Q travels about 410,568 miles between delays caused by mechanical failures – compared to the citywide average of 153,382.

We all know how incoherently garbled some announcements sound on the subway – but this isn’t the case on the Q, which garnered a perfect performance for accurate and understandable in-car announcements. (The C line was the worst.)

The B, meanwhile, had more cars break down in 2013 than in the past and fared worse in this report than the previous one when it came to accurate and understandable in-car announcements. It did, however, improve when it came to car cleanliness.

“For riders, the subways can range from daily trips on a lucky 7 to being stuck with a terrible 2 – and everything in between” Gene Russianoff, Straphangers Campaign senior attorney, said in a press release. “Disparities abound and have come to define our city’s subways.”

If you feel like reading the full report, you can do so here.

– Anna Gustafson

Brighton Beach will be home to a new Dunkin’ Donuts in the near future, with construction set to wrap up soon at 361 Neptune Avenue, on the corner of Brighton 3rd Street.

The lot has been home to the shell of an old gas station and garage for quite a number of years, and it looks like plans for the franchise coffee and sweets shop have been in the works since late 2012, judging from Department of Buildings records. The plans were finally approved in January and work began thereafter.

It doesn’t look like they’ll have a drive-through operation, but there will be parking for as many as 13 cars in the lot – which has yet to be paved. It looks like they’re still working on the interior, too, and the cracked, weed-covered sidewalk around the perimeter will probably be redone as well.

What do you think – good place for a Dunkin’ Donuts?