Day: March 20, 2025

AN ON-DUTY MTA bus driver was hospitalized last month after an unruly passenger shattered the bus’ windshield, throwing glass into his eyes.

The post Bus driver injured after thrown bottle smashes windshield appeared first on Brooklyn Eagle.

More than a dozen people were injured and nine hospitalized after a large fire at NYCHA’s Brownsville Houses on Wednesday night. 

Firefighters responded to reports of a fire on the fourth and fifth floors at 268 Osborn St. just after 7 p.m. on March 20, according to the FDNY. Multiple residents of the six-story building were trapped by the flames when crews arrived on the scene.

At least 12 units were engulfed in flames, per officials. Roughly 60 firefighters were able to bring the fire under control by 8 p.m. 

A total of 13 civilians were injured, and nine were transported by ambulance to local hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries. Four refused medical attention on the scene. 

The cause of the fire was not clear on Thursday morning, and is still under investigation by the FDNY fire marshal. The New York City Housing Authority declined to comment on the fire or how many people, if any, had been displaced by the blaze. 

Brownsville Houses was completed in 1948, and has a total of 1,338 units with about 2,810 residents. 

Several NYCHA developments in Brooklyn have experienced destructive fires since the end of 2023, and all have resulted in a number of serious injuries or deaths.

On New Year’s Eve in 2023, a four-alarm fire injured seven people and displaced 80 at Boulevard Houses in East New York. Just over a month later, a fire at Gowanus Houses left one person dead and three critically injured, and another fire at Langston Hughes Apartments in Brownsville injured 12 people just days later. 

Another blaze at Langston Hughes left nine people injured — one critically — in December 2024. 

Brooklyn-based fashion brand West X East is stitching its way to success.

Founded by Tania Kottoor, a first-generation Indian American, West X East is a “tech-forward fashion brand that elevates cultural fashion” by creating customizable South Asian-inspired outfits.

As a child, Kottoor spent hours in the corner of her local library, flipping through fashion magazines while her mother assumed she was checking out books. She was particularly drawn to Vogue India during summer visits to her native country.

“There was so much amazing design,” she said. “So many amazing collections that weren’t coming back to America.”

Before launching West X East, Kottoor studied fashion design at Condé Nast College of Fashion & Design in London, where she was recognized as “one of the next leaders of luxury fashion.” She started her business in 2020, designing and producing 75 outfits for her wedding, showcased by most of her family.

“I almost died of stress,” she said. Her wedding creations were later featured in “Over the Moon” by Vogue.

Like many entrepreneurs, Kottoor faced significant obstacles, from production slowdowns during the pandemic to securing funding. In 2024, she re-launched West X East with a billboard in Times Square and has since sold 2,000 pieces.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Looking to expand, Kottoor entered SCORE’s 60th Anniversary Pitch Competition. SCORE, a nonprofit that provides free mentoring to small business owners, received more than 2,200 applications, narrowing the field to 60 competitors. Kottoor was one of 45 finalists and, as a reward, was paired with SCORE New York City mentor Carolyn Katz.

“I think she’s amazing,” said Katz, a former venture capitalist. “I thought she had such a great company and product.”

West X East’s business model is constantly evolving. Initially, the brand allowed customers to dictate every aspect of a garment’s design, but Kottoor found that approach unsustainable. She shifted to a more collaborative process, giving customers creative input while ensuring the final design stayed true to the brand’s aesthetic.

“It’s customizable with parameters that we set and what we think will look good at the end,” she said.

As the brand grows, Kottoor hopes to find an angel investor to help scale production. She is also exploring collaborations with larger brands such as Brooks Brothers to expand West X East’s visibility.

Parts of the city will soon have metered parking in select areas for trucks and other commercial vehicles as part of a new pilot program, transportation officials announced on Thursday.

The NYC Department of Transportation (DOT) launched the Overnight Truck Parking Pilot, which features metered parking in select industrial business zones for commercial vehicles, including large tractor-trailers. The one-year pilot will provide about 45 new legal spaces in Brooklyn, Bronx and Queens. 

The program’s goal is to support truck drivers in complying with federally mandated rest periods and reduce illegal overnight parking in residential areas. 

“Truck deliveries are important for NYC’s economy, with nearly 90% of goods in NYC moving by truck,” DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez said at a press conference in Maspeth. “While we are doing more to accommodate the movement of freight through different means, we need safe places for truckers to park so that drivers don’t park illegally in residential neighborhoods.”

The trucks can use the metered parking to park in 8-hour increments in three locations as part of the program: Maspeth, Queens; Hunt’s Point, Bronx; and Flatlands, Brooklyn.

“Too many working-class and middle-class communities bear the burden of illegal and dangerous residential parking by tractor-trailers and other large trucks,” DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez said.

However, the commissioner noted that the trucks are plentiful because there is a strong demand for deliveries by New Yorkers. 

“But all New Yorkers should know that the reason there are so many trucks in our streets is because there is a heavy demand by our consumers,” he added.

More than 84% of New Yorkers place an order through Amazon, UPS or FedEx once a week, and 24% of New Yorkers place an order four times a week, Rodriguez said. 

Zach Miller, president of government affairs at the Trucking Association of New York, said there are 11 trucks on the road for every parking space nationally. The situation is worse in dense urban areas like NYC, he added.

“The consequences of this shortage force truck drivers to either violate federal hours-of-service regulations that mandate rest breaks or park in unsafe or unauthorized locations,” Miller said. 

He added that parking in unauthorized areas is not only dangerous but also “unfair to both the driver and the residents and communities” that are impacted. 

“This pilot program represents a meaningful step in the right direction—ensuring that drivers have access to parking during their rest hours so that freight can continue to move safely and efficiently throughout the five boroughs, while providing relief to neighborhoods that are impacted by overnight truck parking,” he said. 

Drivers can use the ParkNYC mobile app to pay $10 for each session. It is available all day, Monday through Saturday. The city does not charge for parking on Sundays.

The pilot is the latest initiative from DOT to address challenges presented by increased ordering of goods online. Other efforts have included loading zones to reduce double parking and blocked bike/bus lanes and microhubs that provide dedicated spaces for truck operators to transfer deliveries onto safer and more sustainable modes of transportation for the last leg of delivery.