AL CAPONE IN SUNSET PARK
Also: Gifts for kids recovering from hammer attack, writers who love the ’hood, where to mulch your Christmas tree, immigration, politics, crime, food and more!
There is no dedicated news coverage of Sunset Park — but Sunset Park makes news. This FREE weekly(ish) digest curates all the headlines from all the sources that touch our neighborhood, which is one of the most vibrant in Brooklyn.
In this HUGE issue
Sunset Park resident Al Capone (?!?!) arrested the day after Christmas
Brooklyn writers on why they love the borough
Kids critically injured in hammer attack get Christmas gifts, $220K in donations
Say goodbye to your Christmas trees at Mulchfest 2023
New York offshore wind project marks turning point
Connecting Brooklynites with affordable internet
POLITICS
Brooklyn state senator asks White House for help with citywide budget cuts
Brooklyn legislators look to reinforce e-bike battery safety after multiple deadly fires
IMMIGRATION
‘These are our streets:’ Finding home in Little Palestine
Commissioner of Immigrant Affairs on the agency’s role in serving communities
Job training resources for Chinese immigrants
Brooklyn Chinese-American Association offers free ESOL classes
FOOD & ENTERTAINMENT
Sunset Park restaurants continue to make best-of lists
With food pantry visits up, mobile market brings fresh food
MAP: Restaurants closed by health inspectors in 2023
Archery at Wild Captives
Maestro! Maestro! Maestro!
CRIME & PUNISHMENT
Search on for suspects in home break-in, rape
Man stabbed in the neck by stranger, police say
Suspect wanted for digging through sleeping man's pockets, punching him on train
Pedestrian struck by vehicle
Judge calls Sunset Park federal jail ‘an abomination’
NYU Brooklyn Hospital understaffed nurses 47 times last year, arbitrator rules
Sunset Park resident Al Capone (?!?!) arrested the day after Christmas
Turns out that Al Capone, the original Scarface, was arrested the day after Christmas nearly a century ago and his home was in what we now call Sunset Park. He lived at 564 54th Street.
“The mob boss liked to claim that his parents were ‘American-born and so was I,’ but Gabriele and Theresa Caponi (the surname was later changed) emigrated from Italy in 1895 and first settled near the Brooklyn Navy Yard,” according to the New York Post.
The arrest came the same year that Capone began his takeover of the mob. “In 1925, Capone became boss when Johnny Torrio, seriously wounded in an assassination attempt, surrendered control and retired to Brooklyn,” according to the FBI. “Capone had built a fearsome reputation in the ruthless gang rivalries of the period, struggling to acquire and retain ‘racketeering rights’ to several areas of Chicago. That reputation grew as rival gangs were eliminated or nullified, and the suburb of Cicero became, in effect, a fiefdom of the Capone mob.”
Here's a translation from the Instagram post of the arrest document: “Al Capone, the most famous gangster of the 1920s, was a Chicago smuggler, a city whose violent ‘beer wars’ during prohibition made him a symbol of organized crime in America … from the amazing Smithsonian catalog … https://bit.ly/Smithsonian-mlol”
Special thanks to Clay Williams for sharing this information on Instagram.
Brooklyn writers on why they love the borough
By THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR: Novelists in Brooklyn draw inspiration from the New York borough’s cast of thousands, and particularly from its idiosyncratic neighborhoods. … Author Hilary Leichter is an adjunct assistant professor and the undergraduate creative writing adviser in fiction at Columbia University. She’s lived in different Brooklyn neighborhoods for 16 years. Along with her husband and thousands of books, she now calls Sunset Park home. “Brooklyn is a place that’s constantly in flux, sometimes for better, sometimes for worse, and change is intoxicating and important for narrative,” she says. “Think about writing a book and how characters shift and change over time – Brooklyn is always shifting and changing.” Her new book, the four-part “Terrace Story,” is about a couple and their baby who live in a small apartment with a closet that occasionally turns into a beautiful terrace. It was inspired by … READ MORE
Kids critically injured in hammer attack get Christmas gifts, $220K in donations
By NEW YORK POST: Two Sunset Park tykes who were critically injured in a hammer attack that killed their mom celebrated the holiday season with donated gifts, as a fundraiser for them topped $220,000. Little Sophia and David — whose mother Zhou Zhou was murdered in the August attack that authorities say was carried out by her roommate Liyong Ye — posed next to a pile of Christmas presents they received in a picture posted Monday to a GoFundMe page set up for them. “Thank you for being a part of making this holiday season magical for Sophia and David,” wrote a staffer at the Sunset Park-based nonprofit Parent Child Relationship Association, which organized the fundraising page with the permission of the children’s father, Jing Hong Liu. “Here’s to a season filled with love, gratitude, and the joy of giving,” the post added. … READ MORE
Say goodbye to your Christmas trees at Mulchfest 2023
By BROOKLYN PAPER: It’s the mulch wonderful time of the year! Mulchfest, the city’s annual Christmas tree “tree-cycling” program, is returning to Brooklyn. Until Jan. 7, Brooklynites are invited to take part in the tradition by dropping their live Christmas trees off at one of 22 Mulchfest locations across the borough, including Sunset Park. From there, Parks Department staff will lovingly turn each tree into mulch, which will be used in parks and garden beds all over the city. … READ MORE
New York offshore wind project marks turning point
By INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS TIMES: Offshore wind in the U.S. received a boost following months of delays and cancellations of multiple high-profile projects, as the New York State Public Service Commission approved plans for Empire Wind I, a proposed offshore wind farm off of the southern coast of Long Island with over 800 MW of capacity. … Empire I will run approximately 17.5 miles of electrical cables from 60-80 fixed-bottom wind turbines located three nautical miles away from the coast of Brooklyn, connecting to a newly-constructed substation facility at the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal in Sunset Park and supplying enough electricity for 250,000 homes. "Empire Wind I stands to play a critical role in establishing New York as a world-class hub for the offshore wind industry by revitalizing the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal, creating jobs, boosting the local supply chain, and connecting New Yorkers to a reliable, long-term source of renewable energy," Morris said. … READ MORE
Connecting Brooklynites with affordable internet
By BROOKLYN PAPER: The Brooklyn Public Library hosted a digital resource fair at the newly-opened Sunset Park Library, where the team spent the day showing off their digital and technical resources and teaching residents about the affordable connectivity program, a city-wide initiative that connects eligible households with discounted high-speed internet. … READ MORE
POLITICS
Brooklyn state senator asks White House for help with citywide budget cuts
By BK READER: State Sen. Iwen Chu attended a White House forum last Thursday where she discussed and showcased community development opportunities for New Yorkers, her office said. Elected representatives, community leaders, and senior Biden Administration officials attended the invite-only "Communities in Action: Building a Better New York" form on Thursday. Chu, a representative of Sunset Park, Bensonhurst, Kensington, Dyker Heights, Bath Beach and Bay Ridge, talked about gun violence, rising healthcare costs, outdated lead pipe infrastructure, the migrant crisis, SNAP fraud cases and assistance for flood victims among other pressing issues affecting the residents. … READ MORE
Brooklyn legislators look to reinforce e-bike battery safety after multiple deadly fires
By BROOKLYN PAPER: … To try to improve battery safety, state Sen. Iwen Chu introduced a package of four bills for manufacturers and users of motorized bikes this month, with the support of several state Assembly Members and the Uniformed Firefighters Association. … “The dangers posed by lithium-ion batteries have gone unchecked long enough and have led to too many fires across New York City and in the communities I represent,” Chu said at a press conference in Sunset Park, at the site of a May 2022 lithium-ion battery fire. “I have five cases of e-bikes explosions which lead to hundreds of families to …” READ MORE
IMMIGRATION
‘These are our streets:’ Finding home in Little Palestine
By INDYPENDENT: For Palestinians who can’t return to their homeland, Little Palestine is the next best thing. … Before the notion of diaspora ever existed in the United States, the indigenous Canarsee people of the Lenape tribe occupied the territory extending from the Upper Hudson Valley to Delaware Bay — thus encompassing what is known today as Bay Ridge. On this land, the Canarsee chiseled a sprawling trail system that spanned the entirety of present-day Brooklyn. Two of their settlements were anchored in Sunset Park — one along the waterfront pathway near Third Avenue and 37th Street, the other one four blocks to the east. Master fishers, the Canarsee hunted and gathered for sustenance. … “For us, the children of Arab immigrants,” contended Egyptian-American community organizer, Abdallah Akl, “Bay Ridge is the closest that we can get to home.” Akl, who was born and raised in Sunset Park, is … READ MORE
Commissioner of Immigrant Affairs on the agency’s role in serving communities
By NYC.GOV: When Manuel Castro crossed the Mexican border at 5-years-old with his mother, he never imagined where life would take him. Fast-forward to arriving in New York City, living in Sunset Park and Flatbush in Brooklyn, learning a new language, and earning a Bachelor of Arts in Urban Anthropology from Hampshire College, and a Master of Public Administration from the School of Public Affairs at Baruch College, City University of New York. Today, Manny Castro is the commissioner for Mayor Eric Adams’ Office of Immigrant Affairs. Prior to joining the Adams’ administration … LISTEN TO PODCAST
Job training resources for Chinese immigrants
By DOCUMENTED NY: … Founded in 1988, the Brooklyn Chinese-American Association is a community-based not-for-profit human service organization in response to the expanding needs of the Asian-American populations in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park, Borough Park, and Bay Ridge neighborhoods. Employment services offered include vocational-technical courses such as completing individual job search resumes, job interviewing and job search skills. Address: 4204 8th Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11232. Phone: 718-438-0008. … READ MORE
Brooklyn Chinese-American Association offers free ESOL classes
By DOCUMENTED NY: The Association primarily serves immigrants living in Sunset Park, Borough Park and other neighborhoods by providing a variety of free adult education classes and services. Classes provided include English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), citizenship ESOL and citizenship interview preparation classes. Check out this website for more information. Address: 5000 8th Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11220. Phone: 718-438-0008. Email: esol@bca.net. … READ MORE
FOOD & ENTERTAINMENT
Sunset Park restaurants continue to make best-of lists
HELL GATE: The Top $20 Dinners of 2023
EATER: The Dishes That Defined 2023
With food pantry visits up, mobile market brings fresh food
By PATCH: A mobile food distribution akin to a farmers' market hit Sunset Park this week ahead of the holidays, bringing the neighborhood fresh produce for free.The City Harvest mobile market sat outside the Cohen Community Food Rescue Center on 52nd Street — where the organization has passed out fresh fruits and vegetables since September, according to the New York City-based food rescue and distribution organization. "Unlike other mobile market locations, many of which take place next to NYCHA developments, the Sunset Park location is relatively remote," said a representative of City Harvest. … READ MORE
MAP: Restaurants closed by health inspectors in 2023
By PATCH: Some neighborhood eateries are dirtier than others. Each year, New York City's Health Department inspects thousands of eateries across the city. In 2023, inspectors looked for roaches, mice, grime and missing toilets at over 17,000 restaurants. … But the worst performing neighborhood, despite only having eight closures ordered, was in Community Board 12 in south Brooklyn, an area that includes Borough Park and parts of Kensington, Sunset Park and Midwood. Their closure rate from 181 inspections? 4.42 percent — more than double the city average. … READ MORE
Archery at Wild Captives
By TIMEOUT: Archery is no longer just something you did at summer camp as a kid. Instead, a new archery company in Sunset Park's Industry City is changing the game for this sport. Wild Captives, led by Kendall Tichner, is the nation's first female- and LGBTQ-owned archery studio where she hopes everyone can "be their own superhero." I definitely felt that way while learning how to shoot the bow to pop a balloon pinned onto the target. The studio in Brooklyn’s Industry City offers an hour-long introduction to archery classes every weekend for … READ MORE
Maestro! Maestro! Maestro!
There’s been a lot written recently about Bradley Cooper's “Maestro,” which follows the life of legendary composer Leonard Bernstein, as well as his relationship with his wife Felicia Montealegre. They were laid to rest together in Sunset Park’s Green-Wood Cemetery.
What Carey Mulligan's Felicia Montealegre Died Of In Maestro
The True Story Behind Leonard Bernstein and Felicia Montealegre From Maestro
Conducting lessons: How Bradley Cooper became Leonard Bernstein in Netflix's 'Maestro'
CRIME & PUNISHMENT
Search on for suspects in home break-in, rape
By ABC 7: Police are searching for the suspects wanted for breaking into a home in Sunset Park and raping a woman inside. The break-in happened Saturday around 6 p.m. in the area of 59th Street and Ninth Avenue. Authorities say the suspects forced their way into the home and a 49-year-old woman inside was raped by one of the suspects. … The suspects are described as males in their 30s, about 5'9" to 6 feet tall, with a medium complexion, slim build, black hair and facial hair. … READ MORE
Man stabbed in the neck by stranger, police say
By PATCH: A 44-year-old man was stabbed in the neck by a stranger in Sunset Park, police said. The 44-year-old was talking to his suspected attacker inside a building on 5th Avenue between 40th and 41st Street about 11:15 p.m., police said. The stranger pulled out a knife and stabbed the man in the neck, sending the 44-year-old to an area hospital in stable condition, police said. … READ MORE
Suspect wanted for digging through sleeping man's pockets, punching him on train
By NEWS 12: The NYPD is asking for help tracking down a man who went through a sleeping man's pockets in Sunset Park. Police say a 38-year-old man was sleeping on a D train when the suspect started rummaging through his pockets. The victim woke up and the suspect punched him in the face before running away. … WATCH VIDEO
Pedestrian struck by vehicle
By PATCH: A pedestrian was struck by a vehicle in Sunset Park but the extent of his injuries was not immediately known, according to preliminary information from the NYPD. A male pedestrian of unknown age was struck by the vehicle about 6:45 a.m. near 51st Street and 12th Avenue, police said. He was rushed to an area hospital but his condition was unknown, police said. … READ MORE
Judge calls Sunset Park federal jail ‘an abomination’
By NEW YORK DAILY NEWS: A furious federal judge described staff of Sunset Park’s Metropolitan Detention Center as “contemptuous of human life and dignity” after jailers defied her order to send an inmate with a severe contagious infection to a medical facility. Brooklyn Federal Court Judge Dora Irizarry ripped into federal prosecutors and lawyers representing the troubled jail’s management in a tense Wednesday morning hearing after she learned how the MDC handled the treatment of detainee James Young, who’s battling a MRSA infection. … READ MORE
NYU Brooklyn Hospital understaffed nurses 47 times last year, arbitrator rules
By THE CITY: … The hospital is required to have no fewer than six nurses per 30 patients, according to their union contract, but it fell short of that standard 47 times in just four months. … In a Dec. 1 decision, arbitrator Howard Edelman found that the medical-surgical unit at the Sunset Park hospital was understaffed 47 times from May to August 2022. The collective bargaining agreement between the union and Langone dictates that the unit may have no fewer than six nurses per 30 patients. … READ MORE
It's been 8 months of outstanding coverage of our neighborhoods news. Thank you for providing such a needed service to our lives in Sunset Park. Keep on keeping on! We so appreciate all you do for us. Happy New Year!