Kayak Mystery Solved
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INSIDE: GET THE RIGHT RESULTS WITH OUR CLASSIFIEDS SECTION Yo u r World — Yo u r News BrooklynPaper.com • (718) 260–2500 • Brooklyn, NY • ©2016 Serving Brownstone Brooklyn, Williamsburg & Greenpoint AWP/12 pages • Vol. 39, No. 30 • July 22–28, 2016 • FREE THE BLAME GAME Locals fi nger Bridge Park ‘basketballers’ for crime uptick By Lauren Gill Brooklyn Paper Members of a Brooklyn Heights civic group stormed Brooklyn Bridge Park’s community meeting last Tuesday night, demanding officials do something to stop the criminals they claim are plagu- ing their once-quiet neighborhood while Photo by Jordan Rathkopf going to and from the green space, with Some Brooklyn Heights residents say park-bound foot traffic on Jora- one attendee hurling racially charged lemon Street is bringing crime to their neighborhood. remarks about the park-goers. The speaker, who refused to give his ble at the basketball courts, which are full name, insisted the best way to fix the ALSO IN BROOKLYN HEIGHTS on Pier 2. Police have closed the courts problem is to tear down the basketball six times since April due to fights courts and grills at the bottom of Jora- WHO IS STEALING amongst teens there, including one lemon Street — often, but by no means ‘BLACK LIVES MATTER’ where a 20-year-old man pulled out exclusively, used by people of color — a gun and opened fire — though he and replace them with amenities that BANNERS? didn’t hit anyone. will attract a different crowd. SEE PAGE 3 Players acknowledge there have been “They need to get rid of the basketball a few fights, but say the competition courts and replace them with tennis or and atmosphere is generally friendly badminton and get rid of the grills,” said fear of the incident happening again — — which locals would know if they’d the Willow Place resident, who identi- and another longtime resident claimed just come down to say “hi” instead of fied himself as Jonathan. “The crimi- the influx of foot traffic keeps her hiding judging from afar. nals will go away.” indoors once the sun goes down. “If they took the time to come out Jonathan insisted his idea was “crim- “There are people screaming for here and see us play ball and see how inal profiling,” not racial profiling, but their lives,” said one 43-year resident. much fun we have they won’t always also that anyone could recognize the “I don’t feel safe walking outside after get that idea that it’s all crime,” said bad guys based on looks alone. dark with my two children.” Bedford-Stuyvesant resident Aaron “Look at the tennis courts and see who Crime data doesn’t really back up their Heron, who plays at the park twice a is playing, look at the basketball courts claims — it shows seven more larce- week. “But to them, they see a whole Community News Group / Lauren Gill nies on Joralemon Street this year com- and see who is playing,” he said. Bedford-Stuyvesant resident and basketball enthusiast Aaron Heron says he doesn’t see much trouble at bunch of thugs, a whole bunch of mean- pared with the same period in 2015, but And he isn’t the first local to sug- Brooklyn Bridge Park’s courts and locals should come down to meet the players for themselves. looking faces.” gest demolishing the basketball court two fewer burglaries, one less car theft, Other basketballers say the courts in response to a perceived crime prob- and the same number of assaults. Stats actually keep teens out of trouble by lem — others have proposed it at po- Members of the Willowtown Asso- Furman streets — claimed crime on Jo- One 90-year-old woman said that on vandalism and general harassment giving them something to do. lice precinct community council meet- ciation — which covers the south-west ralemon Street has skyrocketed in the someone threw a rock through her cen- are not available on the Police Depart- “To knock down basketball courts ings and on local blogs, according to a pocket of the nabe, bounded by Atlan- past few months as park-goers commute tury-old glass door — which she will ment’s online database , however. would probably increase crime because Gothamist report . tic Avenue and Joralemon, Hicks, and through their brownstone blocks. now only replace with Plexiglas out of There definitely has been some trou- See BASKETBALL on page 4 Kayak mystery solved Police launch waterfront manhunt — owner found in pizzeria By Lauren Gill Brooklyn Paper Authorities launched a mas- sive manhunt for a missing person after locals discovered an empty kayak and life jacket on the rocks off Dumbo last Wednesday, but it turned out the vessel’s out-of- towner occupant was safe and dry all along — he had just ducked into the neighborhood for a slice. “I wanted a piece of pizza from Brooklyn,” said Tyler Jor- dan, who travelled from Virginia to kayak 38 miles around New York. “I hadn’t had a good slice in a long time.” Around 30 officers from the po- Photo by Elizabeth Graham lice, fire, and parks departments The Squibb Bridge has been closed for years, but Brooklyn Bridge Park honchos say it swarmed the waterfront adjacent will be back in 2017. to Main and Plymouth streets with four boats and several ambulances, searching for the kayak’s owner after receiving a dozen calls from people worried about the aban- doned kayak, which also contained Bridge scared stiff! energy bars, a water bottle, and an empty container of trail mix, according to Jordan. Squibb back next year with far less bounce But it was much ado about noth- ing, Jordan says — he had just By Lauren Gill lion suit against it for creating wrap up on the controversial Pier- docked his ride there at around 1 Brooklyn Paper an “inherently flawed” design house condominium complex — pm so he could sate his craving for This’ll take some spring out that became so deformed after which is rising on either side of an authentic Kings County slice of your step. it opened in March 2013, they the Squibb — though park big- at Dumbo’s best pie joint , Front Brooklyn Bridge Park hon- had to close the bridge in Au- wigs have long denied specula- Street Pizza. chos claim they will finally re- gust 2014. tion that there is any connection In fact, the pizzeria is such open the long-shuttered Squibb The zig-zagging pathway — between the bridge’s closure and a neighborhood institution, it Park Bridge — the famously designed by celebrated bridge its proximity to the private de- should have been the first place bouncy walkway that connected brainiac Ted Zoli — then stayed velopment. the cops looked, according to the the green-space to the Brooklyn off-limits for 17 months while The park will still have to se- proprietor. Heights Promenade until it be- the semi-private organization that lect a construction manager — “The cops should have just came dangerously unstable two runs the park refused to tell cit- which will then go before its come here to find him!” said piz- years ago — next spring, but with izens what was wrong with it, board of directors for approval zaiolo Larry Leonardi (nee Leon- Photos by Paul Martinka and missed multiple reopening — and then put out a request for (Top) Kayaker Tyler Jordan far less bounce this time. ardo). “We were very happy to left his kayak on some rocks And locals are happy to finally deadlines, before it pointed the proposals from interested con- have him here and we’re satisfied finger at HNTB in January for struction firms, according to a he chose us to have pizza.” as he went to go charge his take a walk on the mild side — phone and grab some pizza, one area mom said traversing the creating a crummy design then spokeswoman. Jordan indulged in two hard- old wobbly walkway used to leave failing to fix it. But some park-goers say of- earned pepperoni slices, but sadly but came back to find an all- her tot trembling. The park then recruited en- ficials should have stepped in to missed out on tasting the Gersh out police search over the “That will be a good thing,” gineering outfit Arup Group to fix the bridge years ago, instead — an inexplicable combination of empty vessel. said Kathryn Ali, who has lived in devise a way tame the Squibb, of keeping residents without an- chicken parmigiana and spinach Brooklyn Heights for three years. which it says will involve using swers or an easy route from the named for former Brooklyn Paper noticed his kayak parking spot lyn Bridge,” he said. “I saw tons He said he was happy that peo- “I have a 3-year-old son who used clamps and steel pins to subdue Promenade to Pier 1. editor Gersh Kuntzman. had turned into a crime scene. of people there and thought, ‘Uh- ple came to his rescue, but didn’t to be terrified to use it.” the shaky span. “I just wish they could have He then walked over the Brook- He thought perhaps someone had oh, maybe they’re actually look- regret a second of his excursion News of the bridge’s re- The firm told the Times it will gotten it repaired sooner,” said lyn Bridge to check out the 9–11 gotten into his boat and acciden- ing for me’ ” to Front Street Pizza. turn date — first reported by be a “relatively simple” repair, a recent visitor to the park, who memorial, planning to make tally injured themselves — only Jordan spoke to officers at the “I thought it was good citizenry, the New York Times — comes though it will nevertheless be identified herself as a Brooklyn it back within an hour-and-15 to find that he was the man they scene — who eventually saw the people were concerned,” he said.