12 AWP Brooklyn Paper • www.BrooklynPaper.com • (718) 260-2500 May 31–June 6, 2019
Spacious condos in Slope
Prices start at $1.7M with occupancy expected soon
The 19 residences at Parlour blend the comfort and scale of a townhouse with the conveniences of
condominium living.
A second chance
Mentally ill man’s 2012 rape conviction dismissed
following review conducted by district attorney’s offi ce
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FROM THE PAGES OF BROWNSTONER.COM
Stephen Zacks
Brownstoner
Parlour, a boutique condo
development in Park Slope,
reimagines brownstone living
with modern appeal. The
19 residences at Parlour blend
the comfort and scale of a
townhouse with the conveniences
of condominium
living.
Located at 243 Fourth
Ave., Parlour is the first new
development condominium
in Brooklyn designed by INC
Architecture & Design. It offers
expansive, light-filled
residences with multiple exposures,
each with at least
one private outdoor space and
two-to-five bedrooms.
Living, dining and entertainment
areas are open
plan; bedroom suites provide
ample private space. Homes
have high ceilings and range
in size from 1,300 square feet
to more than 3,200 square
feet.
Parlour debuts a new standard
for kitchen design with
an expanded pantry area,
Miele appliances including
dual ovens, in-sink garbage
disposals, and wine coolers
or wine refrigerators. Kitchens
also feature a wall of custom
Italian cabinetry with
a combination of rift-sawn
white oak veneer and white
lacquered millwork.
Amenities abound, including
an attended lobby, common
terrace with a full outdoor
kitchen, lounge, fitness
center, children’s playroom,
bicycle storage, resident storage,
and dedicated package
storage. Private rooftop terraces
and parking are available
for select residences.
Prices start at $1.7 million
and occupancy is expected
this year.
Private appointments are
available at Parlour’s sales
lounge at 249 Fourth Ave.
Halstead Development Marketing
| The Aguayo Team
is exclusively handling sales
and marketing.
To learn more, visit the
Parlour website at www.parlourbrooklyn.
com.
Binyan Studios
By Colin Mixson
Brooklyn Paper
A Kings County Supreme
Court justice dismissed a
Brooklyn man’s 2012 conviction
for raping a then 32-
year-old mentally disabled
woman on Thursday, after a
review conducted by District
Attorney Eric Gonzalez’s office
discovered the defendant
also suffered severe mental
handicaps.
Assistant District Attorney
Mark Hale, who heads
Gonzalez’s conviction review
unit, moved to vacate the second
degree rape conviction
against Livingston Broomes,
70, in Kings County Supreme
Court on May 23, saying the
defendant’s attorney failed to
bring to light his client’s mental
illness, dooming him to
be prosecuted as an ableminded
man.
“We find it is likely that
had this disability of his been
known that he likely would
have been successful in defending
himself against this
charge,” Hale told Justice
Matthew D’Emic. “However,
his appointed counsel
made no inquiry, no investigation,
no effort to determine
whether this defense
was viable, and, frankly, it
was his only defense to the
charge.”
The defendant was arrested
in 2011 after the victim became
pregnant and told police
that Broomes, then 63 years
old, had forced her to have
sex with him on several occasions,
and he pleaded guilty
to second-degree rape — a
charge relating to intercourse
with a person unable to provide
consent — the following
year.
Broomes completed a
four-year prison sentence in
2014, and would have faced
post release supervision until
2024, in addition to spending
the rest of his life as a registered
sex offender — unable
to visit his son — if the conviction
review unit created
under Gonzalez’s predecessor
Ken Thompson hadn’t probed
the case, according the attorney
who represented Broomes
in his appeal.
“For the past few years Mr.
Broomes’ life has been torn
apart,” said lawyer Lisa Napoli.
“His family was torn
apart, he was separated from
his child, who he wasn’t allowed
to have contact with,
and he served time in prison.
Today the conviction review
unit took a case that was difficult
to take on their part, and
they righted a wrong that was
done all those years ago.”
In the district attorney’s review,
investigators discovered
that the Barbados-born defendant
was involved in a motorcycle
accident as a teen,
which resulted in severe head
trauma and left him in a coma
for six months.
Relatives told investigators
that Broomes was “slow,” and
he was diagnosed with dementia
a few weeks after his
arrest — a fact his attorney
never considered when strategizing
a defense, according
to Hale, who said that not only
was the defendant likely unable
to comprehend his rights,
he was also incapable of understanding
the issue of consent,
or the victim’s inability
to provide it.
Investigations by the district
attorney’s review unit
have resulted in 26 convictions
being vacated, while upholding
80 convictions. There
are 80 additional cases pending
review.
Livingston Broomes, center, with his attorney Lisa Napoli, left.
Photo by Colin Mixson
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