Yesterday the Times profiled Franklin Avenue in Crown Heights, the rapidly gentrifying boulevard and the "epicenter of renaissance" previously seen in Park Slope and Williamsburg. Though there are plenty of residents in the historically black and Hasidic neighborhood that welcome the influx of students, young professionals and families, a Crown Heights native and Medgar Evers professor notes,"There's a social cohesion gap right now." And Nick Juravich, a Columbia grad student and Crown Heights blogger, tells us, "There definitely is to certain degrees. But there are also signs that the groups living in the neighborhood are becoming remarkably integrated." more ›

The yuppie goyim are TAKING OVER Crown Heights, turning the once idyllic neighborhood into a wicked G-dless hellhole known among interlopers as "ProCro," a veritable Sodom where they party half-naked on rooftops and corrupt the area youth! So says one local landlord, who has fired off an open letter begging fellow property owners not to rent to these licentious libertines. In a desperate missive titled "Take Back Our Neighborhood," the anonymous landlord writes: more ›

The driver who killed 38-year-old Donna Fountain as she headed to work on Christmas morning in Crown Heights remains at large, but her family says investigators have located the vehicle. According to witnesses, the driver may have been engaged in illegal street racing when he or she ran down Fountain on Eastern Parkway, leaving her to die in the street. Police are poring over traffic camera footage from the area, while the local community has come together to raise $25,000 for Fountain's orphaned son Elijah, age 8. more ›

And here is the utterly heartbreaking story of Donna Fountain, a 38-year-old home health care aide who was killed by a hit-and-run driver in Crown Heights on Christmas morning. Fountain was blocks from her home when she was run down at 7:30 a.m. Sunday, at the intersection of Eastern Parkway and Troy Avenue. Back at her apartment, her 8-year-old son waited with a babysitter for his mother to return from her morning shift and open presents with him. more ›

A 38-year-old woman was killed while crossing an intersection in Crown Heights yesterday morning, and police say she was the victim of a hit-and-run driver. more ›

The firefighter who was severely burned fighting a fire in Crown Heights yesterday morning nearly lost his life while searching for people in a brownstone that was unoccupied. The firefighter, Robert Wiedmann, 38, was with others searching for victims on the top floor when flames suddenly exploded into the front room. Video obtained by a bystander shows him on fire and leaping onto an aerial ladder just as it reaches him. “The firefighter was about to jump," witness Victor Vargas tells the Post. "He was screaming like crazy." more ›

A firefighter is hospitalized in critical but stable condition after sustaining burns over 42 percent of his body while battling a two alarm blaze in Crown Heights this morning. FDNY units responded to the scene around 9 a.m. at 1102 Prospect Place, where a three-story brownstone was engulfed in flames. Here's video of the fire, via Firefighter Nation. (Be warned, the video shows a firefighter engulfed in flames): more ›

For the third time in recent weeks a livery driver has been brutally attacked while on the job. Last night around 10:30 p.m. Dame Ndiaje was shot in the arm and chin after picking up three men and a woman outside 1373 Pacific Street in Crown Heights. Ndiaje survived but is fighting for his life, according to the New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers. more ›

A Brooklyn Hasidic man who has been in Israel for the past three years, avoiding NYC authorities, will be extradited back to the U.S. to face charges related to the beating of a young black man in Crown Heights. The Daily News reports, "A Jerusalem court Thursday approved the extradition of Yitzhak Shuchat, 28, who’s been indicted for assault as a hate crime and other counts for the alleged baton beatdown of Andrew Charles in 2008." more ›

An 18-year-old who was convicted of repeatedly stabbing her 16-year-old cousin and then stealing her sneakers and other belongings was sentenced to 15-years-to-life in prison yesterday. Tiana Browne was 15 when she stabbed Shannon Braithwaite 49 times with a kitchen knife. Browne's aunt, Marva Braithwaite, had taken Browne in and said in court, "She rewarded me by leaving me childless, reaping out my very being. When you sit behind bars, you can never say you weren't loved. Shannon loved you. I loved you." more ›

Brower Park in Crown Heights is ground zero for what the Daily News is calling a "turf battle" between residents and roving bands of teenagers who "skip school, smoke pot, and drink alcohol during the day." 13 people have been shot in the area this month, including Denise Gay, who was killed. While an NYPD spokesperson claims they "will do whatever it takes until they stop shooting," they acknowledge that "these kids are trying to take over the park. It's a problem." more ›

Speaking at the funeral of Denise Gay, the 56-year-old Crown Heights woman who was killed by a stray bullet on her stoop, Reverend Al Sharpton issued a stern plea for the seemingly senseless violence to stop. "Somehow you must reach inside you and stand up for what's right." Gay may have been killed by one of the 73 bullets fired by NYPD officers in their attempt to subdue shooter Leroy Webster, who had killed Eusi Johnson around 9 p.m. on Labor Day. Ballistics results remain pending. According to the Daily News, Sharpton said, "Whatever the results of that investigation, there's no doubt you must stop shooting." more ›

The Reverend Al Sharpton has vowed to find out who killed 56-year-old Denise Gay, an innocent bystander who was shot and killed in a fierce Crown Heights shootout on Labor Day. "We don't know where the bullet was from," Sharpton said as he stood with the Gay family on Friday, "We know where it wasn't from—the guy at the shootout. We will not give up until we find out what happened to Denise." more ›

A day after the Daily News columnist Michael Daly (and a News editorial) demanded that the NYPD release video of the shooting between a murder suspect and police that left an innocent bystander dead, the NYPD has made the video public. It shows suspect Leroy Webster exiting a building on Park Place, shooting and killing Eusi Johnson, and then how police fire at Webster as he tries to reenter the building. However, it does not show slain neighbor Denise Gay, who may have been killed by a police bullet. more ›

The violent Crown Heights shooting left two people dead—Eusi Johnson, who was allegedly killed by Leroy Webster, and Denise Gay, a neighbor sitting on her stoop. Webster's gunfire attracted police, who fired 73 times at him, hitting him twice. Initially police believed that one of Webster's shots killed Gay, but now ballistics tests reveal that the bullets do not match Webster's 9mm and they are more similar to bullets from a Glock—which is what the police use. more ›

During an intense shootout in Crown Heights Monday night that left two dead, police fired 73 bullets in their attempts to subdue gunman Leroy Webster, who shot and killed Eusi Johnson and injured two police officers. Authorities say that Webster also killed innocent bystander Denise Gay as she sat on her stoop with her daughter, but the Times reports that "a ballistics analysis had yet to conclude where the bullet came from." Gay's cousin tells the paper, "She was well known on this block. You could say her name and people know exactly who she is, what she stood for. She was an awesome person, with an awesome spirit." Gay, who told others she was afraid for her safety, died in her daughter's arms after being shot in the head. more ›

An innocent bystander who was shot and killed on her stoop in Crown Heights feared gun violence at the West Indian Day parade. 56-year-old Denise Gay was shot in the head by a stray bullet fired by gunman Leroy Webster, who also shot and killed Eusi Johnson after a dispute. Webster, who also shot two police officers in a massive firefight on Franklin Avenue at Park Place, remains in critical condition, and did not die as was originally reported. "She was afraid to go outside because of the parade," Gay's sister tells the Daily News, "Denise was always worried about gun violence." Gay reportedly collapsed into her daughter's arms after being shot. "She thought her mother tripped. Her mother died in her arms," Gay's sister said. more ›

[UPDATE BELOW] Over 40 bullets were fired last night in a Crown Heights shooting near the intersection of Franklin Avenue and Park Place, leaving three two people dead, injuring two NYPD officers, and putting a bloody exclamation point on a very violent Labor Day weekend. Police say career criminal Leroy Webster, 32, emerged from a Park Place building around 9 p.m. and opened fire on Eusi Johnson, 29, who was walking with his cousin. Johnson was fatally shot in the neck, and bystander Denise Gay was shot in the head as she sat on her stoop with her daughter. Gay, 56, died from her wounds. more ›

Friday was the 20th anniversary of the divisive Crown Heights riots, three days of violence and chaos which were spurred by the death of a 7-year-old black boy—killed by a Hasidic driver—and then, three hours later, the death of a 29-year-old Orthodox Jewish scholar, who was stabbed by a black man. The Rev. Al Sharpton, who recently decided to bow out of a panel about the riots, has an opinion piece reflecting on the tumultuous incident in the Daily News, which also published a 1991 photograph of Sharpton in one of his colorful track suits to go with the essay. And Sharpton admits he made some missteps, "I'd like to share a few of my reflections about the choices I made, including the mistakes, with an eye toward advancing racial understanding and harmony." more ›

After a few days of uproar over his possible participation at a panel about the 1991 Crown Heights riot, the Rev. Al Sharpton has decided not to attend. He sent a letter to organizer Rabbi Marc Schneier, explaining his decision, but also took a few shots at critics. In praising Schneier as "One who can provide a fair forum even if your congregants may question or disagree with the speaker, whether it's Hillary Clinton coming to your Synagogue after kissing Arafat's wife's cheek or Glenn Beck last week," Sharpton said, "Please do not let shallow petty people reduce you from your coveted role in this nation. However, there are those who want to distort and rewrite history for their own purposes." more ›

Yesterday, a judge sentenced three men involved in a horrific rape and robbery to over 150 years in prison. Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Albert Tomei was so troubled by the crimes, which included the rape of three women—a woman, her 17-year-old daughter and a teenage family friend—that he said to the man who was convicted of the rapes, Glendon Jackson, "Somebody wrote a book, Dante Alighieri, where he ranked the crimes and this has to be one of the worst crimes and you have to be one of the worst offenders," and sentenced him to 260 years. more ›

A 14-year-old boy was killed in front of a Crown Heights bodega last night. Tyrek O'Hara-Morris was out with friends when he was shot at Park Place and Troy Avenue. His mother Althea O'Hara told WCBS 2 that detectives came to her home just a few blocks away with the news, "My son was shot, was shot. Got shot in the left eye,” she said. more ›

In certain circles, Crown Heights just doesn't have the same cachet as Prospect Heights. But it's not as easy for apartment hunters to find good deals in the ProHigh these days! Thankfully, realtors have come up with a solution for those trendy New Yorkers who find a place in Crown Heights (or on the border of the two neighborhoods) but wish they lived in Prospect Heights. They're now calling the increasingly nebulous border region between the two neighborhoods ProCro. Please make a note of it. more ›

Early this morning eight-year Iraq vet Nigel Edinborough moved his 2002 Ford Escape to a new spot on Empire Boulevard in Crown Heights and headed home. And only moments after he walked away the manhole beneath the car went KA-BOOM. By the time he returned to his vehicle it was a smoldering, burned out mess. "It was like back in Iraq," the vet told the Post. Yes, we're in the middle of exploding manhole season, but that doesn't make stories about them any less jaring. more ›

The Rabbinical court that governs the insular Lubavitch Hasidic sect in Crown Heights has issued an edict [pdf] telling its estimated 10,000 subordinates to stop snitching. The Beth Din of Crown Heights decreed last week that, "No one shall bring to any media outlet information about any resident that could, if publicized, lead to an investigation or intensified prosecution by any law enforcement agency." They're not supposed to talk to reporters, either, but we read about this in the Daily News and on the blog "Who Is Shmira?", where they're calling for Zaki Tamir, Chairman of the Vaad, to resign! Vaad the hell is going on here?! more ›

Residents are mourning the murder of Mervyn Johnson, who ran the West Indian bakery Merv's Bakery in Crown Heights. Johnson was apparently walking from his Nostrand Avenue business back home when he was shot in the head at Lefferts and Brooklyn Avenues on Tuesday night. Police have reportedly found the gun used: WABC 7 reports, "Sources say police have surveillance video that may show the suspected killer stashing the gun on a light box on nearby Sterling Street." more ›

Mervyn Johnson, who owns Merv's Bakery on Nostrand Avenue, was killed outside his Crown Heights home. According to the Daily News, it's believed he was waking home from the bakery when he "was confronted at 8:30 p.m. at Brooklyn and Lefferts Avenues, and shot in the head, just feet from his Brooklyn home. Police said it's possible the murder is connected to a recent robbery attempt." Just last week, Johnson was robbed of $50 in the lobby of his apartment building; police are looking to see if the shooting is connected to the robbery. more ›

You can take the caffeine out of Four Loko, but you can't take the caffeine out of caffeine! Just try, FDA. Anyway, according to the Daily News, The Pulp & The Bean in Crown Heights is serving up a 10-shot espresso drink, which the owner—Tony Fisher—likens to "jet fuel." The drink, dubbed Dieci, just went on sale this week, and the sign outside the shop says it's "coffee porn in a cup" (whatever that means). The jolted up drink will cost you 8 bucks, and Fisher says "it's never been done before"... though warned of his creation, "I drank a third of it. I'm still spinning." So now you know where to go after tonight's vigil. more ›