Fleamarkets.net Comes to Bensonhurst, Brooklyn
2092 Stillwell Avenue will soon become a new Bensonhurst retailer. The website and storefront venture will feature space to rent for independent booths as well as an online inventory of merchandise. Fleamarkets.net is set to open at the end of the month.
Source: Rotational via Wikimedia Commons
Medical marijuana is legal in 16 states. Is New York on track to become number 17?
That could be the case as New York lawmakers are getting ready for a legislative push in Albany, where similar bills have been stalled before.
Co-sponsor of the bill, local Democratic State Senator Diane Savino hopes so.
The bill states that patients would have to be certified by a doctor for “serious medical conditions” only. The issued licenses would expire after a year. Also, the medical marijuana could not be consumed or displayed in public.
Savino’s support of the bill stems from watching her parents and grandfather die of terminal cancer.
“This is not about getting high; this is about getting relief,” Savino told the Wall Street Journal. “It’s incredibly painful. You only have morphine. You get to the point where nothing works.”
In 2010, Quinnipiac University ran a poll that showed a 71 percent rate of support from New York’s registered voters for medically prescribed marijuana usage.
Governor Andrew Coumo’s legislative session ends in June, allowing for only a small window of time for the bill to pass.
When asked by Capital Tonight about the possibility of passing the bill by then, Governor Cuomo replied, “I understand the benefits, but there are also risks and I think the risks outweigh the benefits at this point. I understand there’s more research and there’s more evidence and it can always be re-evaluated. I don’t think there’s going to be time this legislative session to analyze that issue.”
Readers, what do you think? Is this the way forward for New York?
Linder's Flora of Bensonhurst Public Art Project
Brooklyn artist Joan Linder‘s paintings of Bensonhurst’s flora have been turned into a permanent public art exhibit. The large laminated glass installation called The Flora of Bensonhurst can be seen on the platform of the 71st Street D-train stop.
The work is inspired by wild plants growing within a six-block radius of the station. The images are done by hand, using quill pen and ink on stained white glass, made to resemble a lightbox, which changes the shades of the plants according to the time of the day.
“My subjects include…the close scrutiny of natural and man made structures. This diversity of subject matter is a critical element in my attempt to express the complexity and variety of contemporary life,” says Joan in her artistic statement.
Whaddya think? Ain’t that perdy?
Less tickets with roll-over parking minutes
Brooklyn drivers may finally get a reprieve from parking tickets with a bill aimed at clarifying the issue of roll-over paid minutes at muni-meter spots, something that local Assemblyman William Colton has been working towards for some time.
The bill states that drivers who purchase time from a muni-meter parking spot can keep the receipt and use remaining time on another muni-meter spot in the city. The transferred receipt must be for spaces that are equal or lesser value than the original paid spot.
Colton attempted to introduce similar legislation in February but it did not go far because the City Council wanted a crack at leading the initiative.
Residents had already thought that roll-over minutes were allowed, but received parking tickets when they attempted to use leftover minutes, as previously reported by the Bensonhurst Bean.
The bill has the backing of Council Speaker Christine Quinn and Mayor Bloomberg. Quinn told the NY Post that the bill is “plain and simple. You buy the time, you get to use it.”
Colton said that he’s “pleased the council is finally responding to concerns many of my constituents have been raising for some time.”
"NYPD - Blue" via Flickr by Alejandro MejÃa Greene
On October 10, 2010, at 20th Avenue and 65th Street, Brooklyn firefighter Pat Quagliariello struck and killed 25-year-old Guatemalan immigrant Manuel Tzajguachiac. He immediately fled the scene.
Last week, Quagliariello pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor of fleeing the scene of a crime and received a slap-on-the-wrist plea deal. His sentence includes speaking at 35 high schools about driving safety and accident prevention. He does not have to serve any jail time.
The firefighter was texting and speeding in his BMW SUV when he struck Tzajguachiac, who was crossing the street. He surrendered to police four hours later, after he stopped to pick up his brother, NYPD detective Anthony Quagliariello. When questioned by officers at the 62nd Precinct, he refused a breathalyzer test.
The accident was captured by a nearby surveillance camera.
Quagliariello is assigned to Ladder 172, located a few blocks from the scene of the crash. He was initially suspended for 30 days without pay and has been on desk duty since the investigation began.
According the Daily News, he has a rap sheet for a 1992 felony attempted assault and served one day in jail and five years’ probation. His EMT certification was also suspended in 2005 for a year because he did not reveal his conviction when applying for the certification.
Yusef Hawkins (l) and Treyvon Martin (r)
In the aftermath of Trayvon Martin’s death, many are left wondering how far our country has actually gone in terms of racial equality.
Lee Sustar of the Indypendent recently wrote about the 1989 Bensonhurt murder of 16-year-old African American youth Yusef Hawkins, as an example of a legacy of racial profiling.
For those who need a memory jolt, Hawkins had gone to Bensonhurst with two friends to purchase a used car. A group of local Italian-American youths had assumed that Hawkins was part a gang. They chased and beat Hawkins and his friends and Hawkins was shot in the chest.
Most of the members of the mob that attacked Hawkins were tried, including the two leaders. Joseph Fama, who pulled the trigger, was convicted of second degree murder while others received minor punishments and acquittals.
The light sentencing sparked protests throughout the neighborhood, led by the Reverend Al Sharpton.
George Zimmerman, Trayvon’s killer, is still under investigation. Unlike Fama, Zimmerman may have the law on his side, specifically Florida’s controversial homicide self-defense provision, “stand your ground.”
What do you think – does the murder of Trayvon echo racially-motivated murders of the past, including the 1989 death of Hawkins? Is Yusef Hawkins Bensonhurst’s Trayvon Martin?
Councilman Greenfield and Sanitation Department's Iggy Terranova
Bensonhurst, Borough Park and Midwood residents blasted the city’s handling of garbage-related issues in their areas, including fines, holiday pickup schedules and overflowing trash cans along commercial boulevards, at a town hall hosted by Councilman David Greenfield.
Greenfield spoke to an auditorium full of residents at the St. Athanasius School on March 29. The meeting was called to address sanitation and parking issues for Bay Parkway and the surrounding blocks—an area Greenfield dubbed the city’s “largest growing community.”
He began by making mention of his recent accomplishments.
“He wants to be a sanitation superhero,” quipped one elderly resident.
She’s not far off. Among other efforts, Greenfield has plunked down $1 million in capital funds to purchase snow removal equipment, including snow-ready trucks fitted with plows for the sanitation garages in his district 44 neighborhoods. He’s also responsible for writing a bill that recently became law: A ban on the impossible-to-remove neon yellow stickers stuck on car windows for violating alternate-side parking regulations.
“I know the issues here,” he said. “I live three blocks away.”
Among the residential gripes is the area near McDonald Avenue and 60th Street, which is considered by most to be an illegal commercial truck stop. Greenfield has been working with the NYPD and DOT to setup sting operations in order to catch truck drivers and stop them from leaving their commercial vehicles overnight.
He’s also urged the NYPD to put up clear signage warning of towing and ticketing for illegally parked trucks.
“Before, police were reluctant to give out tickets without the signs,” said Greenfield.
Read more about the specific complaints, and what Sanitation reps and Greenfield had to say.
Verrazano Bridge Suicide Stopped by Hero Officer Grimm
During a routine nightly highway patrol, Bridges and Tunnels Officer Edward Grimm noticed a man driving erratically on the lower level of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.
The car was moving slowly, almost stopping traffic headed into Brooklyn.
“I thought he might be having car trouble because he was driving so slowly so I pulled up behind him and put my emergency lights on,” Grimm said, according to a report on mta.com.
When the driver noticed Grimm, he jumped out of the car and tried to climb over the railing. Grimm, who had already radioed for help from a nearby NYPD Emergency Services truck, knew he had to act fast.
He instructed the other officers to help him subdue the man and then handcuff him, preventing a potential suicide.
“We applaud Officer Grimm’s life-saving efforts,” said Bridges and Tunnels Vice President and Chief of Operations James Fortunato. “Our patrol officers are trained to be especially vigilant and we are pleased this incident ended positively.”
The man was taken to a nearby hospital and admitted for psychiatric evaluation.
“People are calling me a hero but I don’t think of it that way,” said Grimm. “I think I was just doing my job, and I’m glad I was there.”
As first reported by Sheepshead Bites, firefighters discovered the body of an apparent suicide victim while putting out a fire at 2281 Ocean Parkway in Gravesend.
An FDNY EMT on the scene said that the man may have lit the fire prior to shooting himself. NYPD has not yet confirmed the cause of death.
The man who was in his mid-40s lived above ABC Plus Day Care and a gastroenterologist’s office. No other civilians were harmed as both businesses were closed for the weekend.
We received the following e-mail this morning. If you have any information, please help out:
My name is Masha, I wanted to let your blog know about my mother in law who has been missing since Tuesday (4/3/12) night.
Her name is Ludmila Tulman, well known in the Russian community as the previous owner of Restaurants Stolovoya/Pelmennaya on Ave U and Da-I-Net on 86th Street.
She is about 5’7, 160lbs, short red/brown hair, light eyes. Last seen on Brighton. Left home at around 12am and never returned. I am attaching a picture, if there is anything you can do to help us find her, it would be greatly appreciated.
You can contact me via email (mashatulman@gmail.com) or cell 917-699-7576.
