4 Brooklyn Paper • www.BrooklynPaper.com • (718) 260-2500 March 6–12, 2020
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Emergencies treated promptly
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and insurance plans accommodated
Espinal endorses Diaz for his council seat
Duo of goons assault school guard
POLICE BLOTTER
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PIGEONS...
Downtown, where he works
as a repairman fixing radios
for the Fire Department.
As it stands, the bird’s repertoire
of tricks is limited, but
Pirog plans to teach them more
in the future. Most birds are
content to gorge themselves
from a safe distance, while
only a few are willing to take
a perch on their two legged
benefactor. Pirog calls these
his “A” students.
“They stay on the ground.
They don’t do any extra credit
work with the teacher,” he
said. “They’re content, they
don’t mind getting less feed
than the ‘A’ students.”
Pirog adopted his quirky
past time after a friend bet
him $10 that he couldn’t get
a bird to land on his arm. Despite
the lack of any formal
training, the radioman soon
found himself a few dollars
richer — and with an irresistible
new hobby.
While many enjoy the spectacle
surrounding the local
bird enthusiast, some business
owners are less than thrilled
by his antics. One chef at an
Italian eatery in Windsor Terrace
tossed him with a knife
and threw bleach at him for
using a nearby fire hydrant as
a perch for his pigeons.
Another local, blaming
Pirog for the white poop
dotting his property, almost
punched him, but Pirog
maintains the feces came
from other people feeding
the birds.
For the most part, the bird
lover’s adversaries have gotten
used to him at this point,
and Pirog says he’s generally
only confronted by the money
to afford something worth getting
upset over — if its covered
in poop.
“The only main problem
are people with beautiful cars
and houses,” he said. “They
usually get very upset with
pigeons.”
But most people enjoy
his show and he plans to expand
it after his retirement
in the next months to raise
more awareness for the common
birds.
“I see them as New York
City citizens, I think they’re
part of the city,” he said.
Continued from page 1
84TH PRECINCT
Brooklyn Heights–
DUMBO–Boerum Hill–
Downtown
Schooled
A pair of delinquents assaulted
two school safety
agents at George Westinghouse
High School on Tillary
Street on Feb. 24.
The victims told police
that they were trying to escort
the punks off the school
property at Bridge Street at 11
am when the bruisers started
punching the guards.
First responders took one
of the victims to Brooklyn
Hospital for treatment of facial
lacerations and a swollen
knee, according to police
reports.
Dental goons
Police arrested two men
for allegedly assaulting a victim
at a Schermerhorn Street
courthouse on Feb. 24.
The victim told police
that the suspects allegedly
punched him in the face near
Smith Street at 11:30 pm,
knocking out his tooth.
Police arrested the two
men at the building 15
minutes later, and slapped
them with felony assault
charges, according to police
reports.
Close call!
A woman narrowly escaped
a pair of carjackers on
Adams Street on Feb. 25.
The victim told police
that she was sleeping in her
parked car near Sands Street
at 9 pm when one of the scumbags
smashed her passenger
side window while the other
tried to get into the car.
The woman managed to
speed off and escape before
the villains could get in, according
to police reports.
Botched burglar
Police arrested a man for
allegedly attempting to rob a
State Street construction site
on Feb. 29.
A patrolling officer allegedly
saw the man go in and
out of the site between Bond
and Hoyt streets at 2:20 pm,
and told the site’s manager
about it, who said he wasn’t
The man entered the store
at the intersection of Atlantic
Avenue around 1:11 pm and
allegedly tried to make off
with the ill-gotten goods —
but cops arrived in time and
arrested him in the store.
Upon his arrests, officers
allegedly found a crack pipe
and crack cocaine in the suspect’s
possession, according
to police reports.
Gold digger
A freebooter snagged a
gold chain and cash from
a Lorraine Street home on
Feb. 29.
The victim told police that
the burglar broke into their
home at the intersection of
Henry Street sometime before
11 am and made off with
the $200 necklace, which had
been stored in a drawer.
— Jessica Parks
78TH PRECINCT
Park slope
Beatdown
Three punks jumped a
14-year-old girl on Fifth Avenue
on Feb. 26.
The victim told police
that the three girls kicked
and punched her near Fifth
Street at 4 pm, resulting in
multiple cuts and bruises.
Art critic
Two rapscallions harassed
a girl in a Fifth Avenue park
on Feb. 24.
The victim told police that
the two girls stole her artwork
and threw it in the trash in the
park near Third Street at 4:25
pm, before slapping her.
Spitting image
A suspect allegedly assaulted
a police officer in a
Sixth Avenue police station
on Feb. 25.
The officer claims that
the man spat on him as he
walked past the suspect, who
was in police custody for an
unrelated, offence inside the
station near Dean Street at
around 11:47 pm.
Dressed to a T
A thief shoplifted from an
Atlantic Avenue convenience
store on Feb. 24.
An employee told police
that the thief made off with
$50 worth of Hanes T-shirts
from the store near Flatbush
Avenue at around 8:30 pm.
— Ben Verde
supposed to do that.
The cop then stopped the
suspect walking out with construction
tools, keys, and a
jacket, and arrested him on
felony burglary charges.
Courthouse cad
Cops cuffed a woman for
allegedly punching another
woman at a Schermerhorn
Street courthouse on Feb.
28.
The victim told police that
the woman, who was in police
custody at the time, allegedly
struck the victim near Smith
Street at around 2:45 am.
First responders took the
victim to a nearby hospital
for treatment and slapped the
suspect with felony assault
charges, according to police
reports.
88TH PRECINCT
Fort Greene–Clinton Hill
Nasty nana
A brute attacked her granddaughter
with a broomstick
and strangled her on Fleet
Walk on Feb. 24.
The victim told police that
the villain and her boyfriend
repeatedly smacked her in the
head with a broomstick and
choked her, and later put her
in a headlock between Prince
and Navy streets at 5 pm.
First responders took the
victim to Brooklyn Hospital
for her injuries, according
to police.
Choked!
Police arrested a man for
allegedly attempting to assault
another man at a Prince
Street shelter on Feb. 26.
The victim told police that
the suspect allegedly grabbed
the victim’s neck at Tillary
Street at 1:15 am, leaving him
with cuts and red marks.
Cops arrested the man
just after 2 am and slapped
him with felony assault
charges.
Zoomed off!
A bandit hijacked a cyclist’s
e-bike on Adelphi
Street on Feb. 27.
The victim told police that
he was about to lock his bike
when the wretch pushed him
to the ground between Dekalb
and Lafayette avenues at 8:40
pm, before speeding off on
the battery-powered twowheeler.
Storage swine
A sneaky marauder looted
more than $10,000 worth of
valuables from a storage unit
on Grand Avenue between
Feb. 1 and March 1.
The victim told police that
the sneak cut the lock on the
victim’s storage unit near
Park Avenue, before making
off with several pairs of
sneakers, a laptop, cameras,
and jewelry and replaced the
lock.
Restaurant raid
Some filcher raided a Fulton
Street eatery on Feb. 27.
The victim told police that
the criminal hurled a wooden
chair through the glass front
door and ransacked the eatery
near S. Elliot Place at
around 3 am, before fleeing
the scene.
— Kevin Duggan
76TH PRECINCT
Carroll Gardens-Cobble
Hill–Red Hook
Container cons
Two suspects allegedly
swiped $97,900 worth of property
from a container truck
parked on Lorraine Street on
March 3.
The victim told police
that he returned to the truck
parked at the intersection of
Otsego Street around 9:17 am
and allegedly found the various
household items were
missing.
Police caught up with suspects
and slapped them with
felony charges, cops said.
Burglar Joe’s
A suspect allegedly
snagged an assortment of
meats from a Court Street
grocery store on March 2.
CALL TO ADVERTISE: (718) 260-4552
By Kevin Duggan
Brooklyn Paper
Former Bushwick Councilman
Rafael Espinal endorsed
area District Leader Darma
Diaz in an upcoming special
election to replace him.
The former legislator confirmed
his support for Diaz.
saying her long experience in
the district makes her the right
candidate for the job.
“I’ve known her for many
years, she’s been an underground
advocate who’s taken
on the establishment throughout
my career,” Espinal said.
“And she can connect with
the constituents because she’s
been living in the district.”
Despite Espinal’s allusions
to Diaz’s anti-establishment
credentials, however, the candidate
quickly garnered support
from Brooklyn Democratic
Party leadership, with
the new head of the party, Assemblywoman
Rodneyse Bichotte
(D–Flatbush), backing
her just two days after Espinal’s
resignation.
Diaz is running for Espinal’s
seat for the special election
on April 28 — the same
day as the state’s presidential
primary — for the 37th Council
District seat, representing
parts of Bushwick, Cypress
Hills, Brownsville, Ocean
Hill, and East New York.
Born in Williamsburg and a
resident of Cypress Hills, Diaz
is the director of housing services
for the Queens nonprofit
Overcoming Love Ministries
and currently serves as the female
district leader for the 54th
Assembly District, which almost
completely overlaps with
the 37th Council District.
Assemblymember Erik Dilan
(D–Bushwick) is the male
district leader for that area.
Her campaign focuses on
issues like housing, education,
healthcare, and jobs, according
to her website.
She got involved in local
housing issues during the 2016
rezoning of East New York and
she said that the city should revive
the recently-tossed Bushwick
rezoning and better involve
local stakeholders about
the plans.
“Bushwick’s failed rezoning
plan should be brought
back to the table, with stakeholders
present from day one,”
Diaz said.
She also advocates for tax
credits to help small businesses
along the corridors
of Broadway, Fulton Street,
Atlantic Avenue, and in City
Line, and for dealing with
overcrowded schools in Cypress
Hills.
Espinal, who was termlimited
by December 2021,
stepped down suddenly on Jan.
26 to take up the position of
executive director at the nonprofit
Freelancers Union.
Diaz faces a handful of
candidates, including upstart
Bushwick community
activist Sandy Nurse, who
is running to take on big developers
in the district.Other
candidates vying for the seat
include Misba Abdin, Christopher
Durosinmi, and Kimberly
Council.
Darma Diaz
Photo by Jonathan Ortiz
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