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Since 1978 • (718) 260–2500 • Brooklyn, NY • ©2019 12 pages • Serving Brownstone Brooklyn, Sunset Park, Williamsburg & Greenpoint Vol. 42, No. 27 • July 5–11, 2019
Bunny side up
Children’s book author Mo Willems shows off the statue to his famed character Knuffle Bunny.
Park Slope Library unveils statue of famed rabbit
By Aidan Graham
Brooklyn Paper
More than 150 Brooklyn bookworms
flocked to Park Slope Library
on June 27 to celebrate the unveiling
of a bronze shrine of the famed literary
rabbit “Knuffle Bunny.”
The carrot-chomping character is the
brainchild of Park Slope native Mo Willems,
who first debuted the bunny in
his 2004 picture book “Knuffle Bunny:
A Cautionary Tale.” The book tells the
tale of a grief-stricken little girl named
Trixie who traumatically loses Knuffle
Bunny — her stuffed animal best
friend — which forces her parents on
a heroic mission through Park Slope
to rescue the toy.
The legend of Knuffle Bunny developed
a cult-like following in the years
since its original debut — spawning
two sequels, a musical, and an animated
short film.
Willems said the erection of the statue
represents the physical enshrinement
of the heartwarming message behind
the Knuffle Bunny tales.
“The Knuffle Bunny books were
created as an ode to the small stories
that are the building blocks of a family’s
grand narrative and to the idea of
Brooklyn,” said Willems. “That these
small stories have now become a physical
part of Brooklyn is an honor that
cannot be expressed in words.”
The 18-inch bronze monument —
sculpted into Knuffle Bunny’s likeness
by Chad Rimer — now permanently
resides on a stone bench in the Reading
Circle and Storytelling Garden outside
the library at 431 Sixth Ave., ensuring
that no more children will lose
Knuffle Bunny again.
The bronze-bunny’s installation
marks the end of a years long fight to
get the monument installed, as library
reps fought to secure adequate funding
and approval from the city’s Public
Design and Landmarks Preservation
Commission.
CYCLIST KILLED
Mayor under pressure after Williamsburg death
A cement truck driver struck and
killed a 28-year-old cyclist at the
intersection of Boerum Street and
Bushwick Avenue in Williamsburg.
SECOND CYCLIST
DEATH IN A WEEK
SEE PAGE 9
Fidel: A 15-year-old chihuahua mix was recovered by his
owner after being stolen from Prospect Park on June 29.
A ruff rescue
Owners safely recover stolen pup
By Kevin Duggan
Brooklyn Paper
Cycling advocates accused Mayor Bill
de Blasio of failing his own Vision Zero
street safety initiative — a citywide mandate
to prevent any traffic-related fatalities
— in the wake of back-to-back
fatalities that claimed the lives of two
Brooklyn bikers in one week.
“New Yorkers on bikes are being
killed at a record rate,” said Transportation
Alternatives spokesman
Marco Conner in an emailed statement.
“It is clear that Vision Zero is
in a state of emergency and Mayor
de Blasio is in denial about his signature
program faltering under his
neglect.”
The safe-streets advocates at Trans
Alt are leveraging the recent cycling
fatalities to promote a package of
bike-friendly bills, which include
Council Speaker Corey Johnson’s
plan to add 50 miles of protected
bike lanes a year until 2023, in addition
to clearing parking near intersections
to improve visibility or
“daylight” the junctions, according
to Conner.
De Blasio — who’s currently running
for President of the United States
— released a statement saying he will
step up police enforcement against
motorists and that he has tasked the
Department of Transportation to come
up with a new cyclist safety plan,
adding that he would have to ramp
up efforts to ensure his five-yearold
Vision Zero initiative achieves
its goal of no traffic deaths.
“We are seeing a dangerous surge
This storytime turned into a real drag
Anti-drag queen protesters drowned out by supporters in Crown Heights
Cops charge teen in pool scuffl e By Aidan Graham
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Photo by Caroline Ourso
By Kevin Duggan
Brooklyn Paper
Police cuffed a man for allegedly
body slamming a patrolman
outside Commodore Barry Pool on
June 27, charging the suspect with
felony assault, despite numerous
eye-witnesses who claim that the
suspect’s badge-wearing victim
exaggerated his account.
Cops cuffed Kamel Hawkins,
18, for allegedly slamming Officer
Frank Reddington to the ground
near the Flushing Avenue public
bath, which Parks staffers closed
for the day after the incident .
The incident occurred as dozens
of exasperated Brooklynites
lined the pool’s N. Elliott Place
entrance following a mid-day
break at around 4:20 p.m.— 20
minutes after the pool was scheduled
to open.
Hawkins and his friend got into
an argument, and at one point a city
Parks worker grabbed the teen in an
effort to break up the fight, according
one witness, Daequa Turner,
who’s a friend of Hawkins.
Reddington, joined by several
other uniformed officers, arrived
shortly after and moved to intervened
in the argument. As Hawkins
walked away, the officer followed
him.
The policeman attempted to
grab Hawkins, who told him not
to touch him, before he lifted Reddington
by his arms and threw
him over his back, causing him to
plummet to the ground, according
to Reddington’s complaint filed
with Brooklyn District Attorney
Brooklyn Paper
¡Vive Fidel!
Thieves stole a woman’s
15-year-old chihuahua mix from
Prospect Park on Saturday —
only for the owner and her friend
to recapture the pilfered pup the
following day!
Owner Jess Gray’s beloved
tail wagger, Fidel, was roaming
free during off-leash hours in the
Long Meadow section of Brooklyn’s
Backyard at 8 a.m., when a
fiendish pooch pirate snatched
the furry comrade while Gray’s
back was turned, according to a
friend, who helped lead the adhoc
search-and-rescue operation
for the dog.
“There were a lot of people
around. Everyone had their dogs
off the leash,” said Danielle Marveal.
“Jess heard him yelp, and
then he disappeared.”
A jogger informed the worried
dog-owner that he had wit-
Danielle Marveal
By Aidan Graham
Brooklyn Paper
Locals flocked to support a drag
queen who read children’s books to
kids at Brooklyn Public Library’s
Crown Heights branch on Thursday,
overwhelming a small group
of protesters.
Just five people gathered on
June 27 to express outrage over
Harmonica Sunbeam’s presence at
“Drag Queen Story Hour,” while
more than 50 colorfully dressed
proponents sang songs and chanted
in support of the event.
One protester shouted biblical
references into a megaphone to
warn of the potential dire consequences
of the drag queen’s
presence.
“God wiped out cities because
of this,” said the man who asked
only to be identified as Tag. “We’re
almost there. It’s getting worse
now than it was back then.”
Supporters brushed off the ominous
alarms, calling the protesters
intolerant and a poor representation
of the Crown Heights
community.
“We’re here to stand against big-
Around 65 children listened to drag queen Harmonica Sunbeam
read books inside of the Crown Heights Library. Outside,
more than 50 people showed up to support the event
in face of small but vocal opposition.
Photos by Aidan Graham
otry in whatever form it takes,” said
Alice Tracey. “And look at how much
we outnumber them by. I think that
tells you all you need to know.”
The demonstration came on the
heels of a similar clash outside of a
June 6 installment of the story hour
program at the Gerritsen Beach Library,
where anti-story hour protesters
mobilized in much larger
numbers than the miniscule showing
in Crown Heights.
The protest organizer chalked
up the weak attendance to the intolerance
of pro-drag queen demonstrators.
“Obviously, we didn’t have the
turnout we’d hoped for,” said Rick
Knight. “I think that if you express
any conservative views, people just
jump on you. People are afraid to
speak against this.”
Knight suspected that the story
hour program was the beginning
of an elaborate indoctrination effort
on the part of drag queens everywhere.
“They can’t reproduce, so
they’re recruiting,” he said. “I’m
not a conspiracy theorist, but I
think a lot of this ideology is from
the cultural Marxists.”
The demonstrators, who Knight
described as fighting a global culture
war, were attempting to draw
the line before society slid down
a “slippery slope,” he said.
“Pedophilia is next,” Knight
said. “You have to realize that
drag queens were a fringe group
just 10 years ago, but now they’re
mainstream. Next they’ll be defending
pedophilia.”
Their efforts to hijack the event
failed, as police cordoned off the
unevenly matched groups of demonstrators
on either side of the entrance
to the library — where approximately
65 kids listened to the
guest of honor read a number of
children’s books uninterrupted by
the commotion outside.
See DOG on page 9
Cops arrested a teenager at
Commodore Barry Pool.
Photo by Kevin Duggan
See POOL on page 9
Citizen App
in cyclist deaths on our streets, and
we are taking action,” the mayor said
in the prepared statement. “I have
directed the NYPD to immediately
launch a major enforcement action
that will encompass every precinct
and crack down on dangerous driving
behavior like parking in bike lanes.
At the same time, I have charged the
Department of Transportation with
developing a new cyclist safety plan
to make biking in our city safer.”
The Police Department’s chief announced
Tuesday that it just launched
a three-week enforcement blitz of
misbehaving drivers with the aim
to reduce bike-related injuries and
fatalities.
“The NYPD will work with all
of our city partners to implement a
comprehensive plan to reduce and
ultimately eliminate bicycle fatalities,”
said NYPD Commissioner
James O’Neill in a prepared statement.
“The NYPD vigorously supports
Vision Zero, and enthusiastically
promotes safety for everyone
on our city’s streets.”
The new plan will focus on violations
including speeding, running
lights, not yielding to bikers and pedestrians,
parking in or otherwise
obstructing bike lanes, and double
parking, while also offering educational
outreach to drivers, bikers, and
pedestrians from July 1–21.
In Brooklyn’s most recent cycling
tragedy, 28-year-old Devra
Freelander was pedaling east along
Boerum Street at 12:19 p.m., when
the 70-year-old driver of a United
Transit Mix cement truck struck the
biker as she crossed Bushwick Avenue,
cops said.
Paramedics pronounced Freelander
dead at the scene, according
to police.
Cops have not cuffed the driver,
who remained on the scene following
the collision, and the investigation
remains ongoing, according to
the department spokeswoman.
Freelander is the 15th city cyclist
killed by motorists this year, compared
to 10 in all of 2018.
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