March 13–19, 2020 Brooklyn Paper • www.BrooklynPaper.com • (718) 260-2500 3
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The B.I.G. read
Library unveils ‘Biggie Smalls’ bookcase
Shocking attack on young girl
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By Kevin Duggan
Brooklyn Paper
Talk about some notorious
stacks!
Book-lenders at the Brooklyn
Public Library unveiled
a new catalog of hip-hopthemed
material on Sunday,
which will now live in a bookcase
dedicated to rap legend
Biggie Smalls in the library’s
Clinton Hill branch.
“There’s many young people,
and young adults, who love
hip hop — but not a lot of them
have read a book on hip-hop,”
said Brooklyn native LeRoy
McCarthy, who had lobbied
for the creation of the new section.
“This will encourage them
to pick up a book on that, and
maybe pick up some other subject
in the library instead of
playing video games.”
The Washington Avenue
library dedicated the musical
section to the late rapper, a
Clinton Hill native, two days
before the anniversary of his
death. He was fatally shot in
1997 at the age of 24.
The new catalog will host
books about hip-hop music,
fashion, graffiti, and Brooklyn’s
role in the history of the
musical genre — which will
help the city remain in touch
with its local artistic history,
said McCarthy.
“Hip-hop was born here,
but I don’t believe that New
York has honored hip-hop
like other cities have honored
their indigenous music,”
he said.
The Clinton Hill resident
had also spearheaded a campaign
calling on the city to
co-name the block where
the rapper once lived on St.
James Place between Gates
Librarians at the Clinton
Hill branch of the
Brooklyn Public Library
dedicated a bookcase to
legendary rapper Notorious
B.I.G. on March 7.
Photo by Brooklyn Public Library
Avenue and Fulton Street —
which city officials did last
June, following years of contentious
debate.
“I grew up in Brooklyn
during the time of the emergence
of hip hop, it’s good to
see that the arts and culture
that I grew up with is a part
of Americana at this time,”
said McCarthy.
City parks officials also
erected Biggie’s name above
the basketball courts at the
Crispus Attucks Playground
on Fulton Street, where the
rapper frequented for games
of pick-up.
And Biggie Smalls is
not the only musical legend
who McCarthy has fought
to honor.
In 2014, a Manhattan Community
Board barred the musical
activist from applying
for street co-namings after
rejecting his plea to name a
street corner after the Beastie
Boys.
McCarthy also installed
“Respect” signs in the Franklin
Avenue subway station in
Crown Heights as a tribute to
the late singer Aretha Franklin,
claiming that his work
serves as a reminder of the legacy
of the musical genre.
“I feel pleased to be a part
of putting hip-hop on the map
in New York City and elsewhere,”
he said.
By Todd Maisel
Brooklyn Paper
Family members of the
15-year-old girl who was
beaten and robbed of her Air
Jordan sneakers by a group of
young men say they are horrified
by the broad daylight attack
in their community.
Local leaders gathered
Saturday at Utica Avenue
and Sterling Place in Crown
Heights, where on Thursday,
the young girl was beaten and
robbed. The rally was attended
by Councilman Robert Cornegy,
who represents the area,
and led by community activist
Tony Herbert, who is also
the victim’s uncle.
“We are here to talk about
violence in our community,
not police-on-police violence,
but black-on-black crime,”
Herbert said. “That’s the
problem for us now because
our community has to step
up and understand we are our
own worst enemies when it
comes down to this kind of
stupidity.”
Cops say the young girl
was walking along Utica Avenue
at around 4 pm Thursday
when the group of young
men attacked her. The assailants
were caught on camera
punching and kicking the victim
in the back of the head
until she lost consciousness,
after which one of the suspects
robs the young girl of
the Air Jordan sneakers she
was wearing. Police believe
up to a dozen teens or more
were involved in the attack.
According to authorities, five
suspects have been arrested so
far, all of them juveniles.
Emily Leitch, the godmother
of a 14-year-old suspect,
apologized to family
members at Saturday’s
event.
“His mother didn’t raise
him to come out and do these
things,” Leitch said. “I stepped
up to apologize to this family,
to the young lady because it
was not right.”
Leitch said the suspect’s
mother walked her son into
the precinct following the attack.
“She was one of the
first to step up and have him
deserve the justice for whatever
he did,” the godmother
said. “We will work together
with the cops and the community
to make sure this doesn’t
happen again.”
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