Day: August 6, 2026

The U.S. Attorney’s office is seeking pre-trial detention for John Jones, a 24-year-old man facing arson charges for allegedly starting the arson fire that tore through Brooklyn’s South Bushwick Reformed Church on June 19.

In a letter to Eastern District of New York Magistrate Judge Peggy Kuo on Thursday, Assistant U.S. Attorney William Bristow argued that Jones should be detained after police recovered a notebook that seemed to contain violent threats. 

Prosecutors claimed that Jones confessed to committing the church arson during an interview with law enforcement after he was arrested for shoplifting at a Midtown CVS on Aug. 5. Jones also told police that he had recently attempted to burn down a second church in Brooklyn, according to the prosecutors’ letter.

When he was arrested on Wednesday, federal prosecutors said, that Jones had in his possession a notebook that contained an entry resembling a chart, with headings including “murder them,” “kill them,” “stab them,” “make them pay,” and “rape him.” 

“The defendant’s highly concerning journal entries… suggest the defendant’s interest in committing acts of violence against individuals or groups of individuals in the community,” Bristow wrote in the letter.

Several of the threats in the notebooks appear to include tally marks under them and repeated fragments of the word “church.”

The attorney’s office wrote that Jones’ alleged desire to burn down other churches is corroborated by parts of the journal.

The violent references in the notebook and Jones’ alleged confession factored into the prosecutors’ decision to seek detention along with the minimum five-year prison sentence for the crime he’s charged with, which could increase his flight risk. Prosecutors noted that Jones  failed to show up for a Brooklyn court date and had a warrant issued for his arrest.

Prosecutors noted that Jones lacks a stable place to live as a contributing factor to his flight risk. Jones was recently arrested in late June for damaging a television outside a Brooklyn restaurant. After being apprehended, he indicated to the police that he lived at a privately run homeless shelter in Manhattan.

Investigators allege in the criminal complaint for the arson charges that surveillance footage links Jones to the church at the time the fire was set, and shows him buying a lighter at a nearby store on Broadway before returning to church site before the fire started.

Jones is accused of starting the June 19 fire that tore through the more than 160-year-old house of worship at 855-867 Bushwick Ave. The blaze destroyed the sanctuary and toppled the landmarked church’s iconic steeple.

With reporting by Anna Bradley-Smith and Susan De Vries.

As of July 25, the Health Department had identified 612 West Nile virus-positive mosquito pools out of more than 2,000 tested.

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THE MAN WHO ADMITTED TO SETTING FIRE to a Bushwick church in June should be held without bail, Assistant U.S. Attorney William Bristow wrote.

The post Detention requested for man who admits setting fire to Bushwick church appeared first on Brooklyn Eagle.

Brooklyn retained the Verrazzano Cup after its annual golf match with Staten Island ended in a draw celebrating camaraderie.

The post Brooklyn bench and bar retains Verrazzano Cup after yearly golf match ends in draw appeared first on Brooklyn Eagle.

MTA officials announced on Thursday that the agency is finally expanding its pilot program systemwide to designate space on city buses for caregivers to stand with unfolded strollers, following years of parent advocacy and testing.

New York City Transit President Demetrius Crichlow, during an Aug. 6 Lower Manhattan news conference, said the expansion comes after a “successful” years-long pilot and is supported by funding approved by the state legislature.

“Parents will be able to ride without needing to fold their strollers,” Crichlow said. “That’s a huge win for many people who have been asking for this for many years.”

The MTA kicked off the pilot in late 2022, beginning with seven routes and expanding to several more the next year.

It followed fierce activism by a group of mothers who long argued that the agency’s policy requiring that strollers be folded on buses was a “nightmare” to navigate. They said it was difficult to collapse their strollers while also boarding the bus and holding onto their children at the same time.

State Sen. Andrew Gounardes (D-Brooklyn), one of the lawmakers who pushed to fund the pilot, recounted his own experience struggling to board the bus while ensuring his child’s stroller was properly folded.

Gounardes said when he passed funding for the pilot, he was “pushing a stroller for my second child and had to navigate the buses with my oldest, who was not in a stroller, and my youngest, folding the stroller up and trying to not have him run away from me.” 

The pilot also resulted from a review of the stroller ban by an MTA-convened working group — composed of parents, disability advocates, and transit workers.

Crichlow said the areas for stroller-pushers are separate from the ones set aside for wheelchair users, in response to concerns from disability advocates that the two would conflict.

“This program means that buses will have clearly marked places that separate from existing priority seating for those using them for wheelchairs and walking devices at separated accessibiliy locations,” Crichlow said.

Quemuel Arroyo, the MTA’s chief accessibility officer, said part of the reason why the program had been in the pilot stage for so long was that the working group had to ensure that the spaces for strollers did not take away from space designated for disabled riders.

“It took us exactly the time it needed to take us for us to ensure that we heard every voice, that everyone’s needs were met, and that we were able to provide something that was helpful to every rider,” Arroyo said. “Every rider’s needs were taken into account here.”

The space for those with strollers on buses is most commonly found across from the back doors, but can also be in other locations depending on the bus class, Crichlow said. On some bus models, the area is created by flipping up a pair of seats, similar to the wheelchair accessible space at the front of the vehicles, but on others, seats are removed to clear the spot.

“It’s just across from the rear door and you’ll see the two flip-up seats that are easily accessible and designated as such,” Crichlow said.

“Depending on the model [of bus], they have different configurations,” Arroyo said. “Some of them you have to flip up the seat, others, it’s already an open space. … Where two people used to sit, four can stand.”

Officials said that those with strollers still must board and pay their fares at the front of the bus before proceeding to the back.

Crichlow said that around 75% of the buses in the MTA’s nearly 6,000-bus fleet are already outfitted with space for those with strollers. He added that buses without the spaces are being retrofitted to include them and that the areas are now built into all new buses.

The NYC Transit boss said the system-wide expansion could be completed by early next year.

The 10 daylong event features rides, live music, games, drinks and food. It will also include the annual cannoli eating contest

The post Feast of Santa Rosalia begins Aug. 20 appeared first on Brooklyn Eagle.

John Jones, 24, admitted in an interview with law enforcement Wednesday that he was responsible for the burning of the South Bushwick Reformed Church.

Pop star Olivia Rodrigo, known for chart-topping hits including “drivers license,” “good 4 u” and “vampire,” is throwing an intimate one-night-only concert in Greenpoint.

The surprise performance is set for the evening of Aug. 6 at Warsaw, the iconic concert venue on Driggs Avenue.

The venue announced the show on Instagram at 10 a.m., telling fans that tickets would be available exclusively at the Warsaw box office on a first-come, first-served basis. Warsaw has a capacity of about 1,000 people, making the performance one of Rodrigo’s smallest New York City shows. 

 

 

 

 

 

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The announcement prompted an immediate rush to the Greenpoint venue. Alondra, a fan who lives in Williamsburg, said she saw a social media post about the show around 10:15 a.m. and quickly called an Uber to Warsaw.

“There were around 100 people in front of me,” she told Brooklyn Paper. “People were running around when I got there, and were showing up with laptops from work too.”

She said she waited about 45 minutes to buy a ticket, describing the process as “super easy and quick.” She added that all tickets were $25. 

Alondra appeared to be one of the lucky ones — at around 12 p.m., just two hours after tickets became available, Warsaw posted that the show was sold out. 

Another fan who was not as lucky, Frederic Panen, said he received a notification about the surprise show while commuting to work and had to change his plans.

“I received a notification while I was on the way to work from X, and honestly I freaked out but headed straight there,” Panen said. “I got there an hour after the announcement so almost 11 a.m. It was packed!”

Panen said he waited about two hours in the scorching heat as the line wrapped around the block, but the experience was worth it because of the sense of community among fans.

“My experience was really a lot, it was scorching hot outside. The line was wrapped around the block. But I did meet a lot of lovely people,” he said. “I do think it was just a memorable time for us to be there and support each other.”

Panen confirmed that tickets cost just $25, but while fans were still waiting in line, they began seeing social media posts from people attempting to resell their tickets at significantly higher prices.

The Brooklyn appearance comes just weeks before Rodrigo launches The Unraveled Tour, which kicks off next month.

Brooklyn Paper reached out to Warsaw for comment but did not receive an immediate response.

Homeless man who admitted torching Brooklyn church listed violent crimes in notebook: feds  New York Daily News

Homeless man who admitted torching Brooklyn church listed violent crimes in notebook: feds  New York Daily News