Day: December 31, 2024

A LOCAL ANARCHIST GROUP IS set to hold a “noise demo” New Year’s Eve rally outside the Metropolitan Detention Center in Sunset Park.

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THE BROOKLYN MUSEUM AND DOUBLESOUL recently teamed up to collaborate on a new art-inspired sock collection.

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THE FDNY RESCUED two residents and a dog from a fourth-floor fire at 1233 East 19th Street in Midwood late Monday morning.

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The NYPD is seeking to identify a man accused of mugging a teenager at knifepoint aboard a Q train earlier this month.

The incident occurred at 1:20 p.m. on Dec. 14, when a 17-year-old boy was riding a northbound Q train approaching the Sheepshead Bay station.

According to police, a man approached the teen, displayed a knife, and demanded his phone. After the teen complied, both exited the train, where the suspect allegedly ordered the victim to surrender his sweater and backpack. The suspect then fled the station on foot with the stolen belongings.

The teen was not injured, authorities said.

On Tuesday, police released security camera footage of the alleged suspect and requested the public’s assistance in identifying him. He is described as a man with a medium complexion and braids. He was last seen wearing a blue jacket, a dark-colored hooded sweatshirt, and a black-and-white bandana.

According to the latest Police Department data, robberies are down 19% year over year in Sheepshead Bay’s 61st Precinct, where the Dec. 14 incident occurred. So far this year, there were 139 reported robberies as of Dec. 29, when the most recent data is available — down from 173 during the same period in 2023.

However, reports of transit crimes within the precinct, which also includes Kings Bay, Gravesend, and Manhattan Beach, have risen 71.4% in 2024, with 24 recorded incidents compared to 14 the previous year.

Anyone with information is encouraged to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or 1-888-57-PISTA (74782) for Spanish speakers. Tips can also be submitted online at Crime Stoppers or on X @NYPDTips. All information will be kept confidential.

A 16-YEAR-OLD WAS LEFT IN IN CRITICAL CONDITION at Kings County Hospital after being stabbed in Lincoln Terrace Park.

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Police say they have identified on Tuesday the woman who was burned to death aboard a Brooklyn F train in a shocking arson attack last week.

Debrina Kawam, 57, was so badly burned it took authorities several weeks to put a name to her body. Sources familiar with the investigation say that forensic investigators were able to identify Kawam through her fingerprints. Her last known address is listed as Toms River, NJ.

Law enforcement sources said Kawam appeared to be sleeping aboard the train at the Coney Island station, a well-known place of shelter for homeless individuals, when the suspected arsonist — identified as Guatemalan migrant Sebastian Zapeta-Calil, 33 — allegedly set her ablaze using a lighter.

Sources familiar with the case said Zapeta-Calil appeared to be inebriated at the time of the attack. He was caught on video tape allegedly attempting to fan the flames after the woman was set ablaze.

“This gruesome and senseless act of violence against a vulnerable woman will be met with the most serious consequences,” Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said in a Dec. 24 statement following Zapeta-Calil’s arraignment on charges of first and second-degree murder, and arson. He remains held in jail without bail, and faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment without parole if convicted of first-degree murder.

The grizzly fire death shocked the city, heightening many commuters’ sense of safety underground — even as the NYPD and Mayor Eric Adams, citing official crime statistics, maintain the subways are safe.

The incident has also prompted the controversial return of the Guardian Angels, who have begun patrolling the subways following the killing — with the volunteer group’s founder, Curtis Sliwa, questioning the accuracy of public safety reports. 

“Stop with the nonsense of the analytics crime is down — what a joke,” Sliwa told amNewYork Metro. “We’re going to show the city and the state what they should be doing. And maybe we can shame them into action, shame them into doing something instead of just talking about it.”

  

As 2024 draws to a close, we’re taking a moment to look back at the year through the lens of some of Brooklyn Paper’s most thought-provoking, engaging, and downright stunning photos. From historic moments to breathtaking sights, our photographers captured the pulse of Brooklyn in all its beauty.

This year saw Brooklynites celebrating victories and facing challenges together. The New York Liberty’s WNBA Championship win at Barclays Center brought fans to their feet, while the 2024 Mermaid Parade dazzled with its vibrant costumes and wild creativity. And let’s not forget the awe-inspiring solar eclipse, as Brooklyn’s skyline became the backdrop for a celestial phenomenon.

Here are just a few of the unforgettable moments our reporters and photographers have immortalized in 2024:

SEVERAL CATEGORIES OF DRIVERS are eligible for congestion pricing discounts or even total relief, according to MTA.

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