Package Thief Strikes Dyker Heights

Package Thief strikes Dyker Heights. 

While the video is in Chinese because it is from a Chinese News Show it’s pretty clear so it’s worth sharing. Package Thief  appears 10 seconds into the video.  Eventually the thief will be caught so keep sharing the pictures and videos!

Package stealing is apparently becoming popular – some people are fighting back with bait boxes. LOL

Topics: Brooklyn | No Comments »

Around Bay Ridge News

Robbery on 92nd Street and Ridge Boulevard around noon.  

A 23 year old Bay Ridge resident tried to buy weed and instead had money stolen from him – $2000 and his sneakers stolen from him on 70th Street between Narrows and Colonial Road.  

Who bought the 11.6 million dollar home sold in Gravesend? 

Driver Tackles Motorcyclist As He Runs From Cops on the Belt Parkway  Click here to see the video  of a chase that happened on the Belt Parkway last night. NYPD arrested the man and brought him to the 68th Precinct.  

Topics: Bay Ridge | No Comments »

Khader El-Yateem Wants to Be Our Councilman and We Have No Idea Who He Is – Bay Ridge

If you live in Bay Ridge and heard the name: Khader El-Yateem and didn’t know who that was – you are not alone! We’ve been living in Bay Ridge for seven years and we have never heard of El-Yateen until December when the Kings County Politics blog said El-Yateem was considering a run for councilman in Bay Ridge.

In 1995 when I met Vinnie Gentile, I knew he was a strong advocate of education and I was glad to see him take office. He cheered on everyone and was filled with hope and passion. Everyone from Bay Ridge to Bensonhurst knew who he was because he was at every event in the area.

Rev. Khader El-Yateem – Why do we have use Google to find out who he is and what he stands for?

Khader El-Yateem has been the pastor of the Salam Arabic Lutheran Church since 1996. The Salam Arabic Lutheran Church is on the top floor of Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church on 80th Street and 4th Avenue(see below). Before 2012, the Salam Arabic Lutheran Church had was at the Salem Danish Lutheran Church building at 345 Ovington Avenue. In 2012, the building was sold for 1.5 million, demolished and turned into condos.

El-Yateem’s Outreach in Bay Ridge?

Our Saviors is known for their pre-k program, but the Salam Arabic Lutheran Church isn’t really known for anything in Bay Ridge. Maybe Pastor Khader El-Yateem thinks he does enough because he is a pastor to an immigrant community. His church appears to have only one service on Sunday at 11 am….so must be a very small congregation. Most churches in Bay Ridge have events throughout the year or at least at Christmas time (like Xmas tree lighting ceremonies or events for families), but the Salam Lutheran Church doesn’t do much outreach in the community.

There are only two events that I know of that the Salem Arabic Church runs – The March Against Hate and The Bay Ridge Beyond Pride Meeting. If El-Yateem runs other events, he might want to do more advertising as even his church’s site only shows a small amount of events. The Bay Ridge Jewish Center next door to the Salem Arabic Church is very vibrant and has a lot of events for the community and is known for their weekly BYOBaby event in which Moms in the community meet up and have some wine together.

Although I know the organizers of the Bay Ridge March Against Hate had good intentions, marching against hate isn’t going to stop the hate. I guess it’s a nice way to show support to those who have experienced hate, but it seems trivial.  This is  the second year that good-hearted residents marched from the Islamic Society of Bay Ridge to the Salam Arabic Lutheran Church and no Arabs have publicly said they have great neighbors. Never have a heard any Arabic leader say there are few bad people in the world, but my neighbors are awesome. Pastor El-Yateem needs to realize there will always be haters. Like any neighborhood, Bay Ridge has some racists – people who have been hating for years. No one should waste time on those people. Concentrate on the great things about your community and share with the next generation the beautiful things about the Arabic culture. Strangely, the Salam Arabic Church didn’t share BR March Against Hate on January 16th event with its parishioners on it’s website or Facebook page. Is it just bad PR or did the church not see it as an event for their parishioners? The church’s facebook page has a message on Feb 3rd – and one in December asking parishioners to make a tax-deductible gift to the church – no January events (see below).

In November 2016, the Salem Arabic Lutheran Church held a gala which raised $65,000 to do outreach in the community. The year before, the gala raised $68,000. Why are there so few events or programs on church’s website? Maybe they have them for their parishioners and just don’t advertise them because they don’t want a larger crowd. The church’s website is strange because while the Reverend claims to understand refugees, the contact form for potential church members is only in English – wouldn’t it make sense for it to be in Arabic?

In December 2015, the paper reported that Pastor El-Yateem was working on a Unity Across Bay Ridge campaign and a logo for the campaign was being developed with a graphic designer. Did anyone see the campaign or this logo? If Pastor El-Yateem was a serious leader and task-driven, he would have launched the campaign right away and had a contest for children to design the logo. Bay Ridge doesn’t need a “leader” sitting around designing campaigns and logos which never get off the ground. In February 2017, Councilman Gentile held a ‘Unity in the Community‘ event at Widdi Hall on 56th Street and 6th Avenue. It’s nice that Pastor El-Yateem attended Gentile’s event and added some seasoning to the salad and helped serve the food, but this doesn’t show that El-Yateem is a leader.

I’m sure Reverend El-Yateem is a nice person, but I wouldn’t want him as my councilman. While his congregation may recognize his religious leadership, El-Yateem failed to step in as a leader in Bay Ridge in obvious situations where his words and presence could have helped  (here, here and here). I believe Reverend El-Yateem’s mindset will remain on his agenda and commitment to Palestine and not our neighborhood. Bay Ridge needs a councilperson who can represent everyone and get things done here so our whole community flourishes.

As an educator, I don’t remain silent about these issues because this is the community my students have to live in. I majored in history in college with an emphasis on Middle Eastern History. I worked for Dr. Daisy Hilse Dwyer, author of several books on  Middle Eastern law and women. 

Topics: Bay Ridge | No Comments »

Fairy Tales Ballet at Kingsborough – March 18th

Saturday March 18th from 6:30 – 8:30 pm – tickets cost $17 – $25 each – purchase here

Topics: Brooklyn | No Comments »

John Travolta was Filming in Brooklyn Yesterday

We missed John Travolta filming his new movie, The Life & Death of John Gotti  in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn yesterday.

Ohhhh and Senator Golden also posted a link to the movie taping. WHY? Because Golden said that he sponsored the Movie Tax Credit. Psssttt here’s a secret Marty – Brooklyn doesn’t need to have a movie tax credit – people love filming here because it is Brooklyn.  The house I live in had the movie Margaret filmed in it. In the movie, they used the outside of a home across the street because it has a low stoop, but Marc Ruffalo was in my living room and Anna Paquin used the tiny bathroom in my house.

Topics: Brooklyn | No Comments »

Linda Sarsour Starts Fundraiser for Jewish Cemetery

It’s nice to see people doing good in the world. Linda Sarsour of Bay Ridge and a Muslim man named Tarek El-Messidi started an online fundraiser to repair graves at a Jewish Cemetery after they were vandalized (see photos). The fundraiser has already collected over 100K. Good work, Linda!

Later today, I read that Linda Sarsour left the Arab American Association in Bay Ridge.  I thought she must have changed jobs because she was traveling a lot. On the fundraiser page, Sarsour is listed with the company name,  MPower.

Update: Ohhh Brooklyn – this is terrible. There is no reason for this and the Brooklyn man who wrote that should apologize.

Topics: Bay Ridge | No Comments »

Thank You to the Caring Canines Program at Sloan Kettering Hospital

Caring Canines Program at Sloan Kettering Hospital

Cooper came to visit Lee on Monday night.  I called the Caring Canine Volunteer Program at Sloan Kettering  212-639-2000 in the morning because Lee was a bit down. I didn’t mention it to Lee because I wasn’t sure when/if a dog was going to be coming.  Lee had been in the hospital since his operation on Thursday and he really wanted to go home, but the doctors needed him to stay to make sure everything was okay.  Cooper came in and his owner had him sit in a chair next to Lee’s bed. Lee gave Cooper some treats and enjoyed petting his soft fur. It’s not an understatement to say Cooper’s visit was just what Lee needed! Lee loves dogs and not seeing his own dogs for several days was hard on him. Having some time with Cooper really pepped him up.

The following night, Topsy and her owner came to visit Lee.  Topsy is the most beautiful and loving dog. Not only is she gorgeous, but she was also very snuggly and Lee loved how friendly she was. 

The dogs wore ID cards and Topsy’s owner even had a business card (so cute).

Thank you to the volunteers of Caring Canines at Sloan Kettering Hospital. These dog owners are so kind to share their dogs with us at Sloan.  When you are sitting around in a hospital all day, a few minutes of normalcy and being with furry friends can be really inspiring! I know the volunteers come at the end of their busy day and they are just incredible people for taking the time to bring others happiness.

By the way, Lee asked me to write about the Caring Canines Program at Sloan because he thinks everyone who visits there and loves dogs should call and ask for a doggy visit.

Topics: cancer | No Comments »

Sloan Kettering Hospital

As I wrote earlier, Lee had cancer and was operated on at Sloan Kettering Hospital. Yesterday, Lee told me make a post about Sloan and share anything that can help someone else going to Sloan.

Parking:

Parking under Sloan Kettering Hospital is easy. It cost about $35 a day. But here’s the thing – when you leave Sloan Kettering after an operation, they don’t want you to drive so they have someone escort you downstairs so make sure to bring someone to drive your car. When you leave, you put the ticket they gave you into a machine and pay by credit card or you can pay cash at the register.

Bring:

a) Bring some newly purchased things that your loved one would be excited about: a new book, balloons, something to hang up on the bulletin board near your loved one’s bed (there are magnets to hold up paper).

b) Bring stuff from home for your loved one – regular clothes, toiletries, a quilt and pillow.

c) Bring a sweater or sweatshirt for yourself – Sloan is chilly.

d) A deck of cards – there are so many card games to play alone or with others

e) Headphones – the hospital has headphones, but not the ones you are used to using.

f) Singles and quarters to get bottle water from the machine on your floor – if you don’t have change, you can get it from the gift shop or cafeteria, both on the second floor.

Where to Wait While Your Loved One Is Being Operated on:

a) Lee was in the 6th floor operating room. There are also operating rooms on the second floor. The nurses will tell you to wait on the first floor waiting area. But everyone was sneezing and coughing there. I went to the 15 floor and sat outside on their rooftop. The nurse goes to the second floor to speak to you every hour. If you aren’t there, she calls your cell phone.  Lee’s surgery was three hours long so I got a lot of calls and sun.

b) You can also wait in the recreation room. I sat at one of the tables, plugged my laptop in and waited for the nurse’s call. The room was mostly quiet and peaceful in the morning and louder in the afternoon.

The Hospital Has:

a) A reclining chair for you to stay the night (a nurse will get you sheets, blankets and pillows if you let her know you want to stay)

b) Great coffee and juice in the pantry (each floor has a pantry with free refreshments for patients and their families)

c) Caring Canine Program – volunteers at the hospital bring their dogs to visit you. If you are a dog lover, call the volunteer department and ask to get a visit from one of their dogs. See Lee’s dog visitors here.

d) An active recreation room on the 15th Floor – plus a young adults room too. The recreation room looks like a library with a 2 pianos, a fish tank and tables and chairs. In the closet are plenty of puzzles and games. The recreation room has an outdoor balcony that patients and guests can hang out on all day and in the evening. I brought Lee here every day so he could get fresh air and be away from the hospital for a bit. You can’t smoke out on the balcony – below is the great view:

e) A gift shop on the second floor that sells balloons, playing cards, Starbucks coffee and snacks.

Food in the area:

a) If you like Cuban food, Sofie’s is great (and inexpensive for NYC). It is at 401 East 68th Street – a lot of the nurses from Sloan go there).

b) Sloan Kettering’s cafeteria is actually good and inexpensive. They have two sections for their cafeteria (one is behind the other). The second room has a good Mongolian Grill on Thursdays.

c) Chipotle is on 1st Avenue and 69th Street.

Hotel in the area:

a) I had a hotel room in the area booked because I was able to go there to shower, change and nap. It’s hard to sleep in the hospital chair and hear all the hospital sounds every night. I booked it through my credit card because it allowed me to change the dates without penalty (it’s February so I wasn’t sure if a snowstorm would have kept Lee’s doctor away).

This video the hospital made was pretty good too:

Topics: cancer | No Comments »

Cancer

Wooooooooo hard week – thank God it’s over.  I didn’t write about it before because everyone we know didn’t know what was going on.  Lee didn’t want family/friends worrying or traveling to visit him, so he didn’t say anything until after the operation and he was recovering. Lee’s relatives are amazing and will hop on a plane immediately if they know someone in NY is ill.

 

Lee had stomach cancer and just had 2/3 of his stomach removed at Sloan Kettering Hospital this week.

Last Spring after returning from vacation, Lee felt pain in his abdomen. At first, we thought it was something minor like food poisoning or a flu. Even after blood tests and other tests returned normal for months, I knew something was seriously wrong. Lee rarely gets sick and he never complains, so I knew something was really wrong and the tests weren’t showing it.  After several endoscopies, a very small carcinoid tumor was found in his stomach (thank you to the Bay Ridge doctor who was persistent with endoscopies). We headed up to Sloan Kettering and got an amazing doctor. This week, Lee was scheduled for a  hemigastrectomy (1/2 stomach removal), but they removed 2/3 of it as the doctors found a second smaller carcinoid during the operation. 

Lee is doing well, looks healthy and is very grateful. He was out an about today with friends and doing normal things with very little pain.

Topics: cancer, recovery | No Comments »

Peter Abbate Is Playing Politics to Get a Bigger Retirement Check

In November, Assemblyman Peter Abbate said:

Abbate KNOWS Bay Ridge has Justin Brannan. He knows Brannan is experienced and well loved in Bay Ridge because he’s been helping his neighbors for years!

It’s obvious that Abbate is playing politics because he wants the $145K salary before he retires so his retirement check can be beefed up. If Abbate wanted to be our councilman, he would have ran for the position YEARS AGO. Justin Brannan is known as the Mayor of Bay Ridge and he goes out of his way to help residents. Brannan is at every Bay Ridge event because he loves Bay Ridge. 

This December, Abbate threw some money to a company to produce some personalized Christmas cards. The company used a strange stamp to represent a company (which hasn’t been in business for years). Bay Ridge got blanketed with Christmas cards from a man that never did anything in our area. Abbate didn’t even know how much the company charged him for the cards.  I don’t think anyone in Bay Ridge wants to see money wasted like this. We want to see money going to schools and funding community projects.

Yesterday, Peter Abbate announced he is running to be my Councilman. SMH.  You would think he would want all the publicity he can get, but when a Kings County Politics writer reached out to him:

And that is the type of councilman Peter Abbate will be – a non-responsive one. I personally tried to contact Mr. Abbate in the past and his staff doesn’t  respond at all, even to say they received the message.

Go back to sleep Peter Abbate.

Topics: Bay Ridge, Politics | No Comments »

If you have a dog or cat, order a free sticker & magnet

Click here to get a free pet safety sticker for your window and a magnet.

Topics: Uncategorized | No Comments »

February 16th

Written on 2/16, but published on February 22nd because Lee didn’t want to alarm family and friends about the procedure.

Five years ago today, my brother passed away. While I don’t believe in good or bad luck because I believe people make their own luck, I’m sitting in Sloan Kettering Hospital waiting for the next three hours as doctors attempt to remove half of Lee’s stomach and the cancer residing in it. I guess February 16th just isn’t my day.

Many people have asked me if I am scared or nervous. I’m not. Years ago when people said they are leaned on their faith in times when they felt weak, I didn’t understand what they meant. But now I do.

When I asked Lee if he was scared, he said No and then joked that God doesn’t need another carpenter. As they were prepping Lee for the procedure this morning, a nurse came and asked if she could pray for Lee or give him good wishes. He responded Yes. She asked: “Which one – a prayer or good wishes?” He said wish me well. I was surprised because who wouldn’t want a nun to pray for them. After she went on to the next patient, I asked Lee why he didn’t want her to pray for him. He told me that he never prays for himself and he wasn’t going to start today. I’ve known Lee for 20+ years and I never realized he didn’t pray for himself. He does pray several times a day….just not for himself.

Topics: cancer, recovery | No Comments »