SHEEPSHEAD BAY'S ONLY INDEPENDENT NEWS BLOG

Photo by Sergey Yeremenko

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.

• A man was charged with stealing a lawyer’s identity and setting up a phony law firm in Brighton Beach.
• Faberge Lounge will be changing names after they lost a trademark infringement suit filed by Faberge Limited, the jewelry company.
• Families remembered the six fighters who lost their lives during the 1978 Waldbaum’s fire.
• Coney Island Avenue, Flatbush Avenue are two of 14 major roadways across the city that will have a speed limit reduction to 25 miles per hour.
• Locals showed their support for Israel during two separate rallies.
• Cops are hunting this Avenue U chain snatcher.
• Is removing the public trash cans the answer to our litter problem?
• This building on Avenue U is on the market for $12 million.
• Night out against crime! Woo hoo!

Meanwhile, elsewhere in Brooklyn…

• Former Roberta’s chef is opening The Finch on Greene Ave. [Fort Greene Focus]
• Flatbush Avenue is getting a Gap Factory Store. [Ditmas Park Corner]
• Celebrating five years of good drinks and good sausages at a Fort Green beer hall. [FGF]
• Stop and frisk…your appetite? [Brokelyn]
• A new spot for cemitas and tacos opens in the Gowanus Whole Foods. [Park Slope Stoop]
• Guess the next indicted elected official, win a free dinner. [City & State]
• Free rides for kids on the Prospect Park Carousel every Thursday in August! [South Slope News]
• Brooklyn-born WWII vet who found Hitler’s top hat passes away. [Daily Eagle]
• Brooklyn Proper brings seasonal eats and creative cocktails to Windsor Terrace. [SSN]
• Anthony Weiner is starting a restaurant in the Rockaways. [Daily News]
• Lincoln Center is bringing performances to some central Brooklyn libraries. [Bensonhurst Bean]
• The 18th Avenue Feast in Bensonhurst is only weeks away – but its exact dates are up in the air. [BB]
• Cops are on the hunt for a groper in Bay Ridge. [BB]
• The battle of Brooklyn Bridge Park. [NY Times]
• A Brooklyn baby event for the style-conscious. [Daily News]

Ladies, meet lingerie. Magic Lady Lingerie.

The business is now open at 2025 Avenue U. It replaces In Style, a woman’s clothing store.

It’s not entirely a new business. Magic Lady used to be at 1820 Avenue M, but an employee told us today that they moved a few weeks ago.

Welcome to the neighborhood. We can always use more lingerie.

Source: Runs With Scissors/Flickr

Q LINE

There are no scheduled service advisories at this time.

F LINE

From 11:15 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday, Coney Island-bound F trains are rerouted via the M from Roosevelt Av to 47-50 Sts.

The Friends of the Sheepshead Bay Library have organized book sales.

It looks like the Sheepshead Bay branch of the Brooklyn Public Library has its own “Friends of” group, a committee of neighbors who raise funds and contribute to programming for the local site.

We’ve just received word that today, August 8, from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. there is a “carnival” at the library to bring in donations for improvements to the institution. There will be refreshments and live entertainment, and all donations go to supporting the Sheepshead Bay branch at 2636 East 14th Street.

We’re not sure how long the Friends of group has been around, but it’s happy news to us. Sheepshead Bites encourages you to get down there and spend a little money so the local library can get the improvements it so desperately needs.

UPDATE (12:24 p.m.): Sheepshead Bay Library supervisor Svetlana Negrimovskaya emailed us a little more information about the Friends group:

The most unique library “Friends” group was formed by the members of our monthly “Russian Literature Club” and very soon, teens ages 14-18 from our young adult “Books and Cooks” weekly program joined the adult Friends. (run by  Friends group President. Anna Nemirovsky – member of the Sheepshead Bay Russian Literature Club) Group was formed very recently!

Teen friends are not only helping with fundraising for their home library, but they also enjoy cooking and baking multicultural recipes in the library kitchen, as well as conducting interactive storytelling, puppets shows, arts / crafts workshops, stage readings, board games for children, teaching e-mail and computer skills to seniors.

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.

Law office of the phony Shlomo Dickerman (Source: Google Maps)

Authorities cuffed a man who they say stole a lawyer’s identity, set up a phony law firm in Brighton Beach, and represented clients in at least 11 court cases.

According to FBI investigators, a man claiming to be “Shlomo G. Dickerman” solicited clients through his 128 Brighton 11th Street office for approximately four years, despite that the would-be lawyer held no license to practice law or any law degree.

The accused, whose actual identity is still unknown to investigators according to the arrest affadavit, obtained the credentials of an actual lawyer named Stephen G. Dickerman.

The real Dickerman had allowed his New York attorney registration, which must be renewed every two years, to expire in 2008.

The following year, a man claiming to be Dickerman showed up at the registration office in Manhattan asking to renew the registration. He was shown a copy of the delinquent notice sent to the real Dickerman – which shared his name, birth date, address, Social Security number, the law school he attended and other private information.

Using a section of the form to update the information, the phony Dickerman changed his first name to Shlomo, claiming it was his Hebrew name, and entered a new home and business address. After paying a $350 registration fee, he went on his way as a registered attorney, and continued to renew the registration every two years.

The con artist then went on to represent clients, including a pair of undercover agents who recorded a meeting with him as recently as July 29. The phony Dickerman asked the pair for a $10,000 retainer, in addition to his $400-an-hour fee, before generously knocking it down to just $5,000.

They also recorded a court appearance on July 15, in which the accused man claimed to be the lawyer whose identity he duped.

FBI agents raided the office earlier this week, seizing computers, files and other documents belonging to the so-called Dickerman. The other lawyers at the same office are not suspected of wrongdoing and appear to be unaffiliated with the accused man, except for having rented space to him.

The Sheepshead Bay community came together with police from the 61nd Precinct Tuesday to celebrate National Night Out Against Crime.

NYPD precincts in all five boroughs celebrated the event, a symbolic gathering initiated 31 years ago to show neighbors reclaiming their streets from violence and crime. New York City’s police force is joined by more than 15,000 communities across all 50 states.

Check out the photos from the event.

Councilman Mark Treyger

The following is a press release from the offices of Councilman Mark Treyger:

To help make sure that every parent has an opportunity to enroll their child in a pre-kindergarten program for this coming school year, Council Member Mark Treyger is hosting a NYC Department of Education enrollment specialist at his Bensonhurst district office (2015 Stillwell Avenue) this Monday, August 11, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

The enrollment specialist will help provide parents with information needed to enroll their children in free pre-kindergarten programs in local public schools or community-based organizations for the 2014-2015 school year. In order to serve the entire community, interpreters will be available to assist parents who speak Spanish, Russian or Chinese. All New York City children who were born in 2010 and turn four years old by December 31 are eligible to enroll this year. As a former public school teacher for eight years before taking office, Council Member Treyger is urging all parents of eligible children to take advantage of this great chance to have their child enrolled in a free program right in the community.

“As a former educator, I am thrilled that our city is making these vital pre-kindergarten programs a priority for our children. This is a great opportunity to give your child a head start and a great foundation for their education. I am hosting this service to make sure that every family has the information needed to make an informed decision for their child and get them enrolled in a program for the coming school year. Anyone who hasn’t yet located a suitable program should stop by Monday’s information session for information about the different options available for local families,” said Council Member Treyger.

In addition, Council Member Treyger is publicly thanking Assembly Members Bill Colton and Alec Brook-Krasny, Senator Diane Savino and all of his colleagues in state government for passing a budget that provides funding for this critical city initiative.

For more information, please visit www.nyc.gov/prek or contact Dilyora Rahimova in Council Member Treyger’s office at (718) 307-7151.

Police have issued a Silver Alert for the disappearance of Giovanni Chiovari, an 85-year-old white male last seen yesterday near McDonald Avenue and Quentin Road.

Chiovari speaks Italian and no English, and has trouble hearing. He walks with a silver cane, is balding and has blue eyes. He is 5-feet-tall and 140 pounds, and was last seen wearing a blue checkered shirt, black pants and black shoes.

Chiovari was reported missing from his home at Crawford Avenue near Coney Island Avenue yesterday morning. He was seen later in the day, at approximately 12:30 p.m. near McDonald Avenue, and has not been seen again.

If you see Chiovari, please call 911 immediately. Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) and then entering TIP577.

Source: MyTudut/Flickr

The following is a press release from the offices of State Senator Marty Golden:

State Senator Martin J. Golden (R-C-I, Brooklyn) today is announcing that he has joined forces with Catholic Charities of Brooklyn and Queens to host a back to school collection drive for local students in need.

Residents are being encouraged to donate new school supplies including notebooks, crayons, back packs, pens, pencils, crayons, rulers, highlighters, washable glue sticks, 2-pocket folders, 3 x 5 line Index cards, etc.

Senator Marty Golden stated, “As we turn the calendar on the month of August, we begin to prepare our students and families to go back to school. For some families, the need to get their kids ready to learn and participate in another school year poses a financial challenge, and so we are being asked to help out and make a donation of some essential items. This year I hope that this community will again come together to support our neighbors in need so their children can have the same opportunities this year in the classroom. I hope you will join me in making a donation.”

Those wishing to make a donation of items can drop them off on or before Friday, August 15th at either of Senator Golden’s district offices at 7408-5th Avenue or at 3604 Quentin Road. For more information, please contact the Senator Golden’s office at (718) 238-6044.