Community Corner
🌱 Teen Burned To Death + Community Solar + The Notorious B.I.G.
The quickest way to get caught up on the most important things happening today in Brooklyn.
Hello all. I'm back in your inbox this morning with your fresh edition of the Brooklyn Patch newsletter. Let's get this Thursday started off right with a quick dive into everything you need to know about what's happening these days in town, including updates on...
- Special needs teen found dead in potential burn homicide
- The seasonal stagehand trying to fix BK's Christmas tree industry
- The BK-based group changing the future of community-based solar
But first, today's weather:
🌤 Breezy in the morning. High: 55 Low: 34.
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Here are the top stories today in Brooklyn:
1. An 18 year old with special needs was found burned to death in his Brooklyn home in a case that has recently been ruled a homicide. When police found Josiah Green unconscious and unresponsive at his apartment on Wyona Street near Pitkin Avenue in New Lots around 6:45 a.m. Sunday, police said he was covered in burns. The teen's father, who lived and took care of his son with cerebral palsy, said that Josiah fell in a bathtub two days earlier and was burned by the hot water. He said he was afraid to call the police or bring Josiah to a hospital, and tended to the boy's body by putting something on his wounds. However, given the severe state of the victim's body, investigators are not convinced that the teen could have endured such drastic burns from being in the bathtub for only a few moments. No one has been charged, but the case has been ruled a homicide until further evidence is found.
2. New York's first solar co-op is putting community first in Sunset Park, making a sustainable future accessible to all. UPROSE is the oldest Latino community-based organization in Brooklyn. Its Sunset Park Solar campaign is the first of its kind in NYC, a project that will allow more than 200 households and businesses to share a solar energy system without the hassle or expense of installing PV panels on their own roofs. Sunset Park Solar's 685-kilowatt energy system will be installed on the roof of Brooklyn Army Terminal and will save an estimated $20 per month for subscribers and $1.34 million of lifetime net savings. This sort of suitable access to sustainable energy is a must-have in large cities like New York to make a future of clean energy urbanity possible.
3. Changing the indus-tree: A Brooklyn Christmas tree workers co-op is hoping to fix the system. Ellis Roberts is a stagehand who has worked for artists such as Bob Dylan and Dolly Parton. He came to New York City 11 years ago to join Occupy Wall Street, and decided to stay, selling Christmas trees in Brooklyn during the off season. Recently, Roberts has utilized his passion for social justice to change the Christmas tree business in NYC, one he said is one of the most exploitative in the city. When Roberts first entered the business, he made around $3.25 an hour, working 14-hour days for 35 days straight. In 2019 he started New York State of Pine, a democratic, horizontally-organized worker-owned cooperative with absolutely no bosses in hopes that these highly relied-upon seasonal staffers will get fairer wages, better working hours, and their customers might even get a better price for their cherished trees. Read more at the link.
4. A new nine-future statue in Brooklyn Bridge Park pays homage to the 'notorious' king of New York City. Dubbed, 'Sky's the Limit in the County of Kings,' the statue, which sits on the northeast corner of Prospect Street and Washington Street, it is a tribute to Christopher 'the Notorious B.I.G.' Wallace. Creator Sherwin Banfield wanted the sculpture to be true to its subject, so he included an audio element to the public art piece. President of the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership Regina Myer hopes that the new installation will allow visitors to explore and appreciate how B.I.G.'s artistry was shaped by his native city.
5. Hoping spring 2023 is one of bustling tourism, Mayor Eric Adams has announced new cruises coming to the Brooklyn Terminal once the seasons change. Starting in April, travelers can take MSC Cruises year-round from Red Hook to Bermuda, the Bahamas and Florida or up to Canada and New England. These cruises are expected to create some 10,000 jobs in the city, while MSC Cruises plans to donate $236,000 toward Red Hook Green Thumb Gardens and to the city's junior ambassador program. According to the mayor's announcement, the anticipated 219,000 passengers per year arriving to NYC on these cruises will flush an estimated $102 million a year into the city's restaurants, shops, and bars.
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Today in Brooklyn:
- Free Admission Thursdays, Brooklyn Children's Museum, Today @ 1 p.m. | Details
- Speed Dating Single's Event, Ten Hop, Today @ 4 p.m. | Details
- 🎄 Tree Lighting, Brooklyn Borough Hall, Today @ 5 p.m. | Details
- When Brooklyn Was Queer: Illustrated Local History with author and historian Hugh Ryan, Adams Street Library, Today @ 6:30 p.m. | Details
- New York Philharmonic, David Geffen Hall, Today-Saturday @ 7:30 p.m. | Details
🐝 Brooklyn Buzz:
- Some local lit history: In "Retracing Walt Whitman's Steps Through Brooklyn and Manhattan," The New York Times remember the poet who "wandered for himself and for his various day jobs with New York City newspapers. Some of his haunts are still standing; most have been swept away with time." Keep reading at the link. (Subscription / The New York Times)
- And if you're interested, check out five open houses coming up in the Brooklyn area. (Brooklyn Patch)
More from our sponsors — thanks for supporting local news!
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Events:
- Greene Hill School Lower School Tour (December 8)
- Thievery Corporation with special guest Emancipator (December 8)
- Holidays on Atlantic Avenue (December 10)
- Christmas in Coney — 6th Annual Winter Wonderwheel Spectacular (December 10)
- You Can't Go WRONG this Holiday Season with Broadway's Funniest Smash Hit! (December 11)
- Please Give A F$%k! (A Comedy Show With A Cause) (December 11)
- Berkeley College Legal and Justice Studies/National Security Career Seminar (December 14)
- Success Academy Crown Heights and Prospect Height In-Person Tours (December 15)
- Victorian Carol Sing-Along with Two 19th Century Pipe Organs! (December 15)
- Holiday Lights At The Bronx Zoo (December 23)
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Other classifieds:
- Behind The Scoreboard — Play Hockey, Ref Hockey, Eat Pizza (Details)
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That's it for today! I'll see you around.
— Carlie Houser
About me: I'm a recent grad based in Brooklyn, NY. I love to write, run, read, and find new restaurants and venues around the city.
Have a news tip or suggestion for an upcoming Brooklyn Patch newsletter? Contact me at brooklyn@patch.com
