Source: audio-luci/Flickr

This is a paid announcement from Coney Island Hospital (2601 Ocean Parkway) and the NYC Health and Hospitals Corporation:

As parents and kids across New York City get ready for the new school year, the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC) reminds New Yorkers to follow 10 tips for “back to school” health and to visit any HHC primary care center or child health clinic in the community to receive needed physicals, immunizations and other wellness support available at little or no cost.

“Each new school year is a good reminder to parents to make sure their kids are up to date with immunizations and yearly health exams,” Warren Seigel, MD, Chairman of Pediatrics, HHC Coney Island Hospital. “If a child’s health is compromised, chances are it will impact their ability to succeed in school.”

HHC offers parents 10 health tips to help kids get ready for a new school year:

1. Annual Physicals: Yearly physicals are important to ensure children are growing and developing properly. Physicals should start at birth and continue into early adulthood.
2. Vision and Hearing Tests: Children should have their hearing tested before starting school, and vision exams starting at 6 months of age. Parents should watch for signs of hearing or vision loss and consult their child’s pediatrician right away for testing.
3. Flu Shots: Flu vaccination is recommended every year for everyone over 6 months of age. The flu is dangerous to children and sometimes results in death.
4. Childhood Vaccinations: Vaccines are necessary to help protect children and others against disease, and often required for children to attend school. Common immunizations for school-aged children could include meningitis, Tdap (Tetanus, Diphtheria, and Pertussis), measles, mumps, rubella, polio, chicken pox, and HPV. Talk to your pediatrician to determine which immunizations your child needs and how often. Visit the NYC Department of Education for a full list of immunization requirements.
5. Nutrition: It’s important to help kids make healthy food choices that include five servings of fruits and vegetables each day and limit added sugars found in candy and juices. Starting the day with a good breakfast may help kids focus better in school and be more productive.
6. Sleep: Adequate sleep helps keep kids focused each day at school. Preschoolers typically require 11-13 hours each night and children aged 5 to 12 need about 10-11 hours of sleep. To keep a consistent sleep schedule kids should sleep in the same room each night and TV should stay out of the bedroom.
7. Routines: Consistent routines help keep children alert and productive during the school year. Afterschool routines should consist of a healthy snack before homework, at least an hour of physical activity, no more than two hours of TV or video games, and at least eight hours of sleep each night.
8. Physical Activity: Parents should encourage their kids to do a variety of activities each day to keep them active. It’s recommended that kids get 60 minutes of play with moderate to vigorous activity every day to maintain a healthy weight.
9. Street Smarts: Kids need to be reminded about pedestrian safety. Review the importance of stop, look and listen when crossing the street, being alert and not distracted while walking, and always make sure children are accompanied by an adult walking to and from school.
10. Limited Screen Time: It’s easy for kids to go overboard with the amount of time spent in front of TV, computers, and video games. Parents should monitor the amount of time kids spend in front of the screen and limit it to no more than two hours each day.

Talk to your child’s pediatrician if you have questions about your child’s health or immunization status. To locate health services near you visit www.nyc.gov/hhc.

The above is a paid announcement by Coney Island Hospital and the NYC Health and Hospitals Corporation. Sheepshead Bites has not verified the claims made in this advertisement. If you own a business and would like to announce a special offer to tens of thousands of locals, e-mail us at advertising [at] sheepsheadbites [dot] com.

The scene of the fire at 2007 Surf Avenue (Source: Google Maps)

The confession offered by 16-year-old Marcell Dockery was coerced by cops who “broke him the same way prisoners of war are broken,” according to the teen’s lawyer.

Dockery (Source: Facebook)

Dockery is facing several charges including murder, assault and robbery after the April 6 fire in Coney Island left one police officer dead and another in critical condition. Dockery is accused of setting the fire, and hours after his arrest he allegedly confessed in writing and on video that he sparked the blaze because “he was bored.”

But now his lawyer is arguing that the confession should be tossed, and is also requesting that a specialist on coerced confessions be brought in to interview Dockery.

Daily News reports:

Defense lawyer Jesse Young said his client “at the tender age of 16″ was no match for seasoned homicide detectives who grilled him for eight to 10 hours in an interrogation room.

“They broke him the same way prisoners of war are broken,” Young said Thursday in Brooklyn Supreme Court. “It doesn’t take much to break a 16-year-old and they did it.”

Young said the detectives extracted the confession in part by falsely promising Dockery that his mother would not be evicted from her apartment if he owned up to torching the mattress.

During a brief pre-trial hearing, Justice Danny Chun authorized funds for the defense lawyer to hire Richard Ofshe, an expert on the subject of coerced confessions, to interview Dockery and review the evidence.

The article also notes that the New York City Housing Authority has kicked off eviction proceedings against Dockery’s mother.

Bay View Houses (Source: Google Maps)

Lawrence Walden, 27, was found shot in the head last night outside of Coney Island’s Bay View Houses, across from Kaiser Park.

Police were called to 3112 Bay View Avenue at approximately 9:30 p.m. Thursday after being tipped off to an assault. They arrived to find Walden sprawled across the housing project’s walkway. He had suffered a gunshot wound to the head.

Unresponsive and unconscious, EMS rushed Walden to Coney Island Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

No arrests were made, and the investigation is ongoing.

Walden’s listed address, according to police, is on Howard Avenue on the Crown Heights – Brownsville border.

As of June 29, the 60th Precinct, which covers Coney Island, Brighton Beach and Gravesend, has seen nine shooting incidents in 2014, with 11 victims. It’s a decrease from this time last year, when the precinct saw 13 incidents with 18 victims.

Source: Gregory Maizous

Coney Island Hospital (2601 Ocean Parkway) nabbed Healthgrades 2014 Maternity Care Excellence Award, marking the third consecutive year it has been recongized as one of the best hospitals for mothers and their offspring during and after childbirth.

Healthgrades is an organization that evaluates and ranks healthcare services at hospitals across the nation. The rankings for maternity care are based on an analysis of complications due to vaginal deliveries and C-sections, newborn mortality rates and percentage of newborns with low birth weight.

The Maternity Care Excellence Award is given to the top 10 percent of best performing hospitals for services to mothers and for the care of their newborn babies. According to Healthgrades, patients treated at Coney Island Hospital had a 54.4 percent lower risk of complications during natural delivery, and a 77.6 percent lower risk during C-section deliveries than those treated at low-ranking hospitals. It won the same recognition in 2012 and 2013.

“We are extremely proud to receive this distinction for the third year in a row which shows our consistency of providing high-quality care for women in Brooklyn during their pregnancy and childbirth, and the care of their newborn babies,” said Arthur Wagner, Coney Island Hospital’s executive direct, in a press release.

The hospital operates a dedicated Women’s Health Center, basically a one-stop shop for in- and out-patient needs, including labor and delivery, general obstetric and gynecological care, family planing and more.

Photo of the crime scene this morning (Photo by Evelina G.)

A man was stabbed to death early this morning on Brighton 4th Street and Brighton Beach Avenue, police say.

Authorities were called to the scene at 2:17 a.m., arriving to find an unidentified male, unconscious and unresponsive in the street. As they went to give help, they found a stab wound in his torso.

EMS arrived and brought him to Coney Island Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

After investigating, police took two men in custody at approximately 8:00 a.m. this morning, and charges are pending. The investigation is still ongoing.

As of 10:00 a.m. the street was still closed off as a crime scene. Eastbound Brighton Beach Avenue is currently closed off to vehicular traffic between Brighton 4th Street and Brighton 6th Street.

Photo by Evelina G.

Photo by Mike G.

Source: Marie Berne/Flickr

New York Police Department and Fire Department divers rushed to the scene early this morning after receiving a call that a man jumped from Steeplechase Pier and never came up for air.

The 29-year-old man jumped into the water from the West 16th Street pier at approximately 2:30 a.m. to “join two women who were swimming in the ocean nearby,” according to the Daily News. He did not surface.

It took the divers nearly an hour to locate the man and pull him from the water 14 blocks away at West 30th.

He was taken to Coney Island Hospital and listed in critical condition, according to the Post.

Coney Island’s beach, like all city beaches, are only open between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day. Swimming is prohibited when lifeguards are not on duty. Jumping from Steeplechase Pier is strictly prohibited at all times.

Source: dtanist/Flickr

A man died early Friday morning after he jumped in front of a Q train in Brighton Beach, the Daily News reports.

The man, who police said was in his mid 40s, apparently threw himself in front of the southbound Q train as it rolled into the Ocean Pkwy. station shortly after midnight on Friday, police said.

The man was pronounced dead at Coney Island Hospital.

Associate Executive Director Robert Cooper speaks with one of the student artists.

Fifth-grade students from Manhattan Beach’s P.S. 95 (131 Irwin Street) today donated a dozen framed watercolor works they painted to Coney Island Hospital (2601 Ocean Parkway), and they will soon hang in patient areas to help lift patients’ spirits.

The works were produced by the students in Mr. William Lawson’s art class as part of a project called “The Art of Giving,” an annual program coordinated by the United Federation of Teachers to connect elementary school art classes with local hospitals.

Student artists pose for a photo with Cooper and teacher William Lawson.

The Art of Giving, now in its fifth year, was inspired by the late Sharon Coates, a teacher at P.S. 156.While Coates was hospitalized, she was presented with student art.

“Seeing the children’s artwork on the walls lifted my spirits,” Coates later said, according to UFT Vice President for Elementary Schools Karen Alford, who was Coates’ union representative at the time. Alford later launched the program and continues to oversee it.

A hospital staffer heaps praise on one of the student artists.

While at the hospital for the unveiling ceremony today, the students were treated to cookies and juice – as well as showered with gratitude from hospital staff including Associate Executive Director Robert Cooper and Chief Nurse Terry Mancher.

Mancher in particular was rigorously interrogated by the students, some of whom said they’d like to be doctors or nurses. She told them of the tremendously rewarding experiences she’s had, explained the difference between medical school and nursing school and clarified that, no, doctors are not bosses to the nurses.

She also talked about the vital role Coney Island Hospital nurses played during Superstorm Sandy, when much of the staff stayed on-site even as power in the facility failed, and how they assisted in the evacuation after the storm.

Well, there goes my dream of reopening the long-shuttered Beefsteak Charlie’s, sitting back, and wasting away the rest of my life with an endless supply of cocktail shrimp.

After two attempts to get medical facilities off the ground, 3121 Ocean Avenue, the former home of Beefsteak Charlie’s, was purchased by Chestnut Realty for $5.1 million on April 24.

And just in case you thought maybe they’d like to realize my dream for me, well, nuh-uh. They’re looking to bring in a national chain or a bank. If that doesn’t work, office space it is.

“The current owner is considering developing the site for an office building or to lease to a national anchor tenant. We are currently in negotiation with a financial institution as well as a few other chain tenants, so we will see what will come of it,” said Arsen Atbashyan, CEO of Commercial Acquisitions. Commercial’s Denis Abayev served as listing agent on the deal.

There’s quite a bit they can do with the property. It’s a 21,113 square foot lot, and the building currently there takes up 9,500 square feet. Located in a C1-2/R4 zoning district, they could double the current building’s size and pack it with both commercial and residential units.

Regardless of what happens, it’s likely to be better than the unkempt, derelict lot it’s been since Maimonides Medical Center struggled to get a medical center off the ground in this spot. That followed an attempt to do the same by Coney Island Hospital, which was forced to retreat due to budget cuts.

And, of course, before both those attempts… the Beefsteak, which closed in the late-90s:

2007 Surf Avenue (Source: Google Maps)

Marcell Dockery, charged with setting the Coney Island fire that led to the death of police officer Dennis Guerra and the severe injury of Rosa Rodriguez, pleaded not guilty last week to several charges, including murder.

According to the Daily News, Dockery spent May 1 in court, wearing a brown prison jumpsuit with handcuffs around his wrists to enter a plea of not guilty to charges of second degree murder, assault and robbery.

The defense attorney representing the 16-year old, Jesse Young, told the media that the confession Dockery made to authorities on the day of the incident should be disregarded.

“I was bored,” Dockery supposedly said to police soon after he allegedly lit a mattress in the 2007 Surf Avenue building’s hallway on fire. “I was bored and I felt like doing it, so I lit the mattress.”

But the defense lawyer said  that he “adamantly denies any alleged statements attributed to him in an oral statement, in a written statement, in a videotaped statement made to prosecutors,” adding that “the confession was not voluntary.”

The Daily News reported from the scene of the Brooklyn court:

“Marcell Dockery disregarded the safety of those who lived in that apartment house and of those who would respond to the fire that he set,” said Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association head Patrick Lynch.

“His indifference to the well-being of others makes him a danger to society and he must be … held punished for the irreversible loss to the families of these two police officers.”

Dockery’s rap sheet includes a prior arrest for lighting a fire. He also faces robbery and larceny charges for using a razor in a March 7 mugging of a 60-year-old neighbor.

His next court date is set for May 29.