COURIER LIFE, S 16 EPTEMBER 10-16, 2021
Man arrested
for suspected
arson at feast
The charred ticket booth.
FDNY
Winning lotto ticket
sold in Flatlands
BY JESSICA PARKS
A Brooklynite who
chose to test their luck
in the wake of Hurricane
Ida’s fl ooding got to cash
in after winning almost
$25,000 from the New
York State Lottery.
The winning Take 5
ticket was purchased at a
convenience store inside
the Flatlands Shopping
Center on Ralph Avenue
between Flatlands Avenue
and Avenue J for the
Sept. 2 midday drawing,
the New York State Lottery
announced Friday.
The ticket buyer was
the only winner with
all fi ve numbers — 3,
12, 18, 23, 36 — to show
up in the midday drawing
giving the unnamed
person the top prize totaling
$24,442. That’s
thousands more in prize
money than the 91 second
place winners with
four matching numbers,
who won $402 each.
An owner of the store
told Brooklyn Paper he
was thrilled for the big
winner.
“We are a lucky
store,” he said, adding
that the shop sells a lot
of lottery tickets to local
chance-takers. “We are
very happy for the winner.”
BY JESSICA PARKS
City fi re marshals arrested
a 28-year-old man
suspected of lighting a
ticket booth on fi re at the
18th Avenue Festival in
Bensonhurst on Aug. 24.
“Arson is not only a
serious crime but also an
extremely reckless act
that can have devastating
effects on the entire community,”
said Fire Commissioner
Daniel A. Nigro
in a statement. “Our
Fire Marshals quickly
apprehended this individual
before he caused any
further damage or harm
to New Yorkers.”
Surveillance footage
from the scene on Aug.
24, released by the FDNY
on Sept. 5, shows a man
dousing fl uid on a ticket
booth and then setting it
afl ame around 1 am. The
incident occurred after
the streets had cleared
out from that night of the
10-day festival, which ran
from Aug. 19 to Aug. 29.
Fire Marshals apprehended
the suspected fi reraiser
on Sept. 2 — nine
days after the incident —
on charges of arson, criminal
mischief and reckless
mismanagement.
The 18th Avenue
Feast, also known as the
Feast of Saint Rosalia,
returned this year to celebrate
Bensonhurst’s
strong Italian history
after a one-year hiatus
attributable to the ongoing
pandemic, just like
many other street festivals
across Brooklyn and
beyond.
The event’s organizers
could not be reached
for comment by press
time.
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