Greenpoint Star Newspaper

A 22-year-old man from Midwood has been arrested in connection to a homicide incident dating back to last year.

Police have arrested Franklin Paredes from 1569 Ocean Avenue and charged him for attempted murder, assault and criminal possession of a weapon.

The incident occurred on December 11th, when authorities found two men with stab wounds in front of 215 Heyward Street in Williamsburg, which happens to be in front of Juan Morel Campos Secondary School.

The first stab victim, later identified as 31-year-old Delvin Martinez, had wounds in his torso and neck. The second victim was a 29-year-old man, who had wounds to his torso, neck and face.

They were both taken to Woodhull Hospital, where Martinez was pronounced dead. The second victim was listed in critical but stable condition.

Now, police have nabbed Paredes for the alleged attempted murder of these two men.

This is why you must lock your car if you leave it, even just for a quick minute.

Police say that on January 1, at about 7 a.m., a car was robbed in front of 350 Roebling Street in Williamsburg.

The suspect, pictured here, opened up the 29-year-old victim’s “unattended and unsecured” vehicle and removed his property.

What did he get? Roughly $1,100 in cash, two checks and some clothing.

Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime stoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577. All calls are strictly confidential.

NYC Parks and the Department of Sanitation (DSNY) is kicking off the 21st annual MulchFest to encourage New Yorkers to drop by their local parks and recycle their Christmas trees.

The tree-mulching demonstration will be held at McCarren Park on Thursday, November 5 at 1 p.m. It will also be broadcast live on NYC Park’s Periscope account.

MulchFest will officially kick off this Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Bring your holiday tree to a designated city park to be recycled into mulch that actually nourishes plantings across the city.

Here are some sites in North Brooklyn:

• Maria Hernandez Park (Suydam Street and Knickerbocker Avenue)
• Transmitter Park (Greenpoint Avenue between West Street and the East River)
• McGolrick Park (Monitor Street and Driggs Avenue)
• McCarren Park (Larimer Street and Driggs Avenue)

For more information, visit the NYC Parks website here.

The L train has had its share of problems (including that impending 2019 shutdown), but it’s far from the worst in the subway system.

Actually, according to the latest Straphangers Report Card, it’s actually one of the best.

NYPIRG’s Straphangers Campaign releases an annual report ranking the MTA’s 20 subway lines. This year, three trains tied at the top of the list: the 1, 7 and L trains.

The worst trains in the system are the A and 5 trains.

According to the campaign, the report is based on “an extensive review of official transit data on six measures of subway service.” Those measures are: scheduled service, service regularity, breakdown rate, crowding, cleanliness and announcements.

The 1, 7 and L lines were ranked the highest because of its frequent morning and evening rush hour service. The report also noted that the L had a “nearly perfect score” for accurate and understandable subway car announcements.

“Passengers on the top lines – such as the 1, 7, and L – hands down get a much better ride for their MetroCard than those on its worst, such as the 5 or A,” said Gene Russianoff, senior attorney for the campaign. “Disparities abound throughout the system.”

The G train also did fairly well, tying for 7th best of the 20 lines. The Straphangers Campaign said the G is less crowded, cleaner and arrives with more regularity than other lines.

However, cars on the G train break down more often, and their in-car announcements are subpar, the report says.

It’s a stark improvement for the line, which placed seventh to last in last year’s report.

See the entire report here.

As New York City prepares to ramp up its ferry service by opening up new terminals throughout the five boroughs, the city’s Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) released new data showing that ferry ridership has hit an all-time high.

In 2016, New Yorkers traveled by the East River Ferry a total of 1,584,149 times. That represents an 8 percent increase from 2015.

The data showed that the North 6th Street terminal in North Williamsburg had the highest activity during the weekdays. Meanwhile, the Brooklyn Bridge/DUMBO terminal had the most weekend activity.

NYCEDC estimates that with 19 vessels operating at 21 landings across the city, the ferry service will carry approximately 4.6 million trips per year across six routes soon.

“This growing demand is one of the reasons we’re expanding ferry service citywide in 2017,” said Maria Torres-Springer, president of NYCEDC. “More and more New Yorkers are looking to our waterways to get to work or school, and that’s led to an increased East River Ferry ridership for the fourth year in a row.”

The city is set to launch the Rockaway, South Brooklyn and Astoria routes by summer 2017. Soundview in the Bronx and Lower East Side terminals will be ready in 2018.

The ferry will be another option for north Brooklyn commuters reeling from the impending L train shutdown in 2019.

Alternate side parking and meter rules are suspended in observance of New Year’s.

That means street cleaning and parking meter regulations will not be in effect on both Sunday, January 1 and Monday, January 2.

Be aware of the changes so you don’t have to wake up extra early to move your car or go digging for quarters when you park to celebrate the new year.

Have a happy and safe New Year!

A 22-year-0ld man was robbed and assaulted on Sunday, December 18, according to police.

Authorities say at approximately 4 a.m. that morning, near Porter Avenue and Flushing Avenue, an unidentified man confronted the 22-year-old victim.

He punched and and kicked him in the head multiple times before taking the victim’s Apple iPhone 6 device.

Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).  The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime stoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577.

At the Greenpoint YMCA’s Spirit of Community Service Award Dinner last week at Giando on the Water, Investors Bank presented the Y with a $10,000 check.

The contribution will be used to support the Y’s swimming lessons, which are given after school. It will also be used to enhance the early childhood education program.

In the photo above, children from the Greenpoint YMCA join members of Investors Bank’s team in Brooklyn, including: Greg DeFreitas-Lee, Donata Jozefacka, Biagio Madaio, Debbie Hootam, Ana Oliveira and Rad Suchowolak.

Three rowdy, and possibly drunk, millennials caused a religious angel statue to break earlier this month.

Police say that on Saturday December 10th, at about 11:55 p.m., two men approached the front of Our Lady of Consolation Catholic Church at 184 Metropolitan Avenue.

As you can see in the video they stood on the platforms and lost balance, causing the smaller angel statue to fall and break.

Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).  The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime stoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577.

In every season throughout the year, Catholic Charities meets the needs of the poor and vulnerable throughout the Archdiocese of New York.

Your gift will help them to meet the growing demand for all our areas of service.

If you would like to give a gift online, click here.

While Catholic Charities continues to help Sandy survivors, we cannot forget those in need every day. Catholic Charities need your help to provide help and create hope.

If you would like to make an offline gift, you may mail your check or credit card information to:

Catholic Charities
Office of Development, 11th Floor
1011 First Avenue
New York, NY 10022

If you would like to make a commitment that lasts all year:
BECOME A MONTHLY DONOR

For help with online donations, contact the CC Development Office:

646-794-2051
ccinfo@archny.org