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I was recently looking over our Community Board's "Statement of Community District Needs" for 2010, a sort of governmental wish-list of things the board would like to happen. This bit caught my attention:
There appears to be an increase in the proliferation of illegal postings on light poles, street trees and traffic signals in the district. The [sanitation police] agency must be more aggressive in enforcing against this abuse that creates blight in our community.
If it were up to me, I'd get rid of all outdoor advertising and billboards, but commercial posters attached to street lights, sidewalks, and trees deserve their own place in hell. I don't know how many times I've walked by the giant water bottle hanging outside the Parkside Station and grumbled to myself about it. But instead of waiting for the Sanitation Dept. to do something, I found a better solution: a Swiss Army Knife. It's cheap, portable, and all you need to liberate a street light or tree from the chains of invasive advertising.
It has been a bad week for prosecuting cop killers. The Brooklyn DA was able to convict only one of the three men involved in the Timoshenko killing for murder (with the caveat that Lee Woods is likely to be retried) and Lilio Brancato was acquitted of felony murder in the shooting of Officer Daniel Enchategui during an attempted burglary in the Bronx. In response, Senator Adams said: "We cannot allow police officers to be shot in the street and not ensure that we receive justice for that. It sends the wrong message." Long a critic of the NYPD, particularly with regards to its treatment with the African-American community, Adams was himself an NYPD officer for 22 years, retiring as a Captain. Via Brooklyn Ron
The trial for Lee Woods, the last of the three defendants to go on trial for the murder of Officer Russel Timoshenko, was declared a mistrial today. A juror had been out for a long time during deliberations due to a health problem and was advised by her doctor that the deliberations were bad for her health. Because the jury had already begun its deliberations, she could not be replaced on the panel. His retrial will take place next year.
The birdie who whispered in my ear about the possibility of a Dunkin' Donuts at Flatbush and Westbury has just whispered again that the faltering economy gave the franchisee cold feet. I've been told that the person walked away from the deal, leaving a deposit of $18,000 behind. In other news, Lime is open again. I have no idea about whether it is open for the holidays or permanently or whether there has been a change in ownership ( at any price). Either way, I'm happy to see the bar open.
Apologies for turning this blog into a police blotter, but there is more on the assault of Michael Mineo in the Prospect Park station. According to the Daily News, Mineo's attorney's have provided the city with a notice of intent to sue and the early line on the amount of the claim is ... $200,000,000. Mineo's claim is $25 million more than Abner Louima asked for. In reality, however, the amount of the claim isn't a serious number; it is meant to grab headlines and keep the media focussed on the case. Despite considerably worse abuse and far more severe injuries, Louima ultimately settled for $8.5 million. Two things I have learned about the case since last posting: (1) Officer Richard Kern has been accused of excessive force before and (2) Mineo's DNA was found on the baton allegedly used in the assault. Officer Kern continues to deny the allegations.
Dexter Bostic, the second of the three defendants tried for the murder of Officer Timoshenko to receive a verdict, was found guilty on all counts on Friday. He faces a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The jury for the third defendant, Lee Woods, is still out. Woods was charged with aggravated murder for being a part of the events that led to the shooting but was not himself believed to be a shooter; prosecutors believed that Woods was the driver of the car. Robert Ellis, who was believed to be a shooter by the prosecution, was acquitted of the same charge because he claimed to be the driver. It makes you wonder, given the way the prosecutors charged Woods, if they should have spent more time arguing that it didn't matter if Ellis was the shooter or not for a murder charge to stand. Instead, they focused on proving that Ellis was culpable as a shooter and in failing to convince the jury of that beyond a reasonable doubt, the jury apparently didn't see fit to convince Ellis on a different standard. The Woods prosecutors, focused specifically on proving that the driver should be found guilty of murder, paradoxically, may stand a better chance of convicting Woods.
Robert Ellis, pictured, one of three suspects accused of murder in the shooting death of Officer Russel Timoshenko has been acquitted of murder charges. He was also acquitted of attempted murder for the non-fatal shooting of Officer Herman Yan.
Ellis' attorneys argued that he couldn't have been one of the shooters because he was the driver of the car. This is the same defense used by codefendant Lee Woods, who is still waiting for his verdict, along with third defendant Dexter Bostic. The three defendants were tried simultaneously, but to different juries. Ellis was convicted of three counts of weapons possession. Those charges carry a maximum penalty of 15 years; the aggravated murder charge carried a maximum penalty of life without parole.
You would think with the massive mortgage crisis that we'd stop seeing property listings with sky-high asking prices. Ha! says the owner of 60, 62, and 64 Hawthorne Street, who is asking $4.5 million for three contiguous homes on the block between Flatbush and Bedford (which happens to be our own). Nevermind that the highest price for a townhouse sold on this block is $1 million — and that that place was in great shape. The owner expects a payload for these messes, which are being sold as a lot because they all share a boiler. Bummer. We have friends who have been looking to buy a multifamily home in the nabe, but it seems like the only people selling are comedians.
On the bright side, there's little risk of a teardown; R6 zoning prevents that from being profitable.
According to the Daily News, Officer Richard Kern will be indicted for an assault in the Prospect Park subway station during which he allegedly rammed his baton up Michael Mineo's behind. More later when the indictment is opened on Tuesday.
The Prospect Lefferts Gardens email list has been relaunched in order to allow new people to easily subscribe. If you're on the list and want to keep receiving emails, you'll have to subscribe again. If you haven't been on the list but want to join, well, now's your chance. Here's how: Send a blank email to lefferts-subscribe@yahoogroups.com. You'll then need to confirm your subscription by replying to the auto-responder. You do NOT need to register with Yahoo. You can do this with any kind
of email account.
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