Cops showed the tape to Komsky’s rabbi and co-worker, but neither of them have been able to identify the suspect.

Ray Fiore examines the mural he painted in the wake of September 11, 2001. (Photo: Robert Fieseler/ The Brooklyn Ink)

Behind a fence on the corner of Avenue X and Bedford Avenue in the Sheepshead Bay section of Brooklyn stands a mural on a concrete slab. More than 77 feet long and 25 feet high, the piece stretches across the wall of a handball court in Bill Brown Memorial Park.

Painted with thick, glossy outdoor paint, it flakes off in spaces where handballs repeatedly smack. Local teenagers crowd the court during the summer months. Starting in June and building into September, dried-up bouquets and melted candles line the base of the wall.

In the center of the mural is an American flag 22-feet wide and 11 tall. To the left shines the NYPD shield. To the right hovers the emblem of the FDNY. Phrases like “God Bless America” and “In Memory Of” appear beside crosses and Stars of David. Scrawled throughout are the names of more than 270 local residents who died at the World Trade Center.

The faithful who gather at this mural every September 11 call it the “People’s Memorial” or the “Wall of Heroes.” According to Ned Berke, editor of local blog www.sheepsheadbites.com, about 100 local residents usually attend the annual memorial service and candlelight vigil.

Local teens play handball on the court one August afternoon. (Photo: Robert Fieseler/The Brooklyn Ink)

A group of nine community volunteers, called the Brooklyn-Bedford 9/11 Memorial Committee, has spearheaded the event since February 2002. “It started out small in the community,” said one member Linda Errante, 61. “And it has developed into probably the one of the biggest memorials specifically for the people.”

“It’s not a beautiful mural,” admitted Regina Coyle, 60, a committee member whose son, James Coyle, 26, died in the towers. James Coyle was a firefighter for Ladder Company 3 in the East Village. His name gleams in blue and red on the wall. “It’s not chrome and glitter, you know,” she continued. “It’s just something from the heart.”

Painted in the lower-right corner of the wall is the signature of the memorial’s creator: “Mural by Rockin’ Ray, Requested by Jesus.” This handball court became a canvas for Rockin’ Ray Fiore, 47, a former boxer and lifelong South Brooklyn resident whom neighbors embraced as the catalyst for the tribute.

“Everybody in the neighborhood knows Ray,” said Tina Gray, 54, a Sheepshead Bay resident and memorial committee member. “If you don’t know the music, you know the car.” Fiore drives the unmistakable “Rockin’ Raymobile Part II,” an ’89 Ford Crown Victoria with bullhorns bolted to the roof. Hand-painted on the car is a medley of sports logos and cartoon characters.

The car reflects Fiore’s aesthetic—as loud as its driver. In 2001, Fiore owned the Total Package Boxing Club in Marine Park and worked as a member of Carpenters Local 926, the Brooklyn branch of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters & Joiners of America. Without permission from the New York City authorities, he painted the mural in a marathon session from September 17 to September 23, 2001.

The Rockin' Raymobile Part II parked on Avenue X. (Photo: Robert Fieseler/The Brooklyn Ink)

“Fourteen hours, six days straight,” said Fiore. “Just like God created the world in six days, I did that mural in six days.” He laughed, “And on the seventh day, I rested.” Neighbors like Justin Errante, 29, supported Fiore by pulling their cars into the court at night and turning on their high beams.

In the days following September 11, makeshift memorials sprung up across New York City. Congregations gathered at the Union Square “Wall of the Missing.” People hung painted tiles on a fence at the corner of Greenwich Avenue and 7th Avenue in the West Village. This fence became the spontaneous memorial called Tiles for America.

But, while unofficial memorials appeared citywide, few lasted to the present day. City officials replaced most with permanent installations, such as Union Square’s “Wall of Remembrance.” Even the future of Tiles for America is uncertain. In July 2011, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) presented a plan to the Landmarks Preservation Commission to incorporate Tiles for America into an emergency ventilation plant.

Yet almost a decade since the tragedy, the “Wall of Heroes” stands bright with a fresh coat of paint. Fiore and the Brooklyn-Bedford 9/11 Memorial Committee will host its 10th annual ceremony on September 11, 2011, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Strutting before the mural this July, Fiore pointed like a compass to names chipped away by handballs.

Wearing a sleeveless shirt, cutoff shorts and an American flag bandana, Fiore gestured and described how he touches up about 100 names every year and adds 10 more. “Those are my wall of angels,” he said. “They help keep me alive. I add new names and touch up the old names, so it’s like I’m keeping their souls alive.” The waiting list grows as neighbors continue to contact Fiore with names of coworkers and family members.

Amelia Fiore, seven-year-old daughter of Ray Fiore, points to the name she painted. (Photo: Robert Fieseler/The Brooklyn Ink)

Fiore held the first prayer service at the handball court on October 11, 2001, driving his car into the handball court and blaring songs like Bruce Springsteen’s Born in the USA. “We had a prayer service here on the 11th for five straight months,” said Fiore. “Until we froze our balls off.”

With winter’s arrival, though, attendance dropped. “Then, suddenly, there was no one,” recalled Errante. “The few of us left said, ‘We can’t let this go.’ That’s how the Brooklyn-Bedford 9/11 Memorial Park committee was born.”

Each year, the memorial committee blankets Sheepshead Bay with about 800 fliers. The time (6:30 p.m.), the logo (an eagle with a teardrop) and the message remain the same. “Bring a candle,” it says. “Bring a chair. Bring your memories, thoughts and prayers.”

The two-hour ceremony is open forum, driven by participation and fueled by patriotic music. Anyone can speak at the podium. “Our little memorial gives people courage,” said Gray. “People will stand up there and actually say, ‘I’ve never done this before.’ These are people who haven’t spoken about what they’ve been feeling for nine years.”

Every year features a surprise guest. In 2006, David Cardinelli, a New York firefighter who survived the collapse of the towers, attended the ceremony. In 2009, folk singer Tom Chelston performed his single Since September. In 2010, the honor guard of the USS New York, whose hull contains steel from the World Trade Center, marched into the handball court.

“We do the grown-up stuff,” joked Gray. “Like booking guests and getting permits. Ray provides the inspiration and the painting.” The group pauses at sundown to observe the Tribute in Light beams rising from Lower Manhattan. The ceremony closes with a rendition of Frank Sinatra’s New York, New York.

Tina Gray visits the wall at night to leave a bouquet of flowers. (Photo: Robert Fieseler/The Brooklyn Ink)

Since 2002, when Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz attended, the memorial committee decided to close the event to politicians. Community leaders aren’t invited, with one exception: New York City Council member Lewis Fidler. “The politicians don’t matter,” said Gray. “That’s not what it’s about. Lew Fidler comes every year because he gets it. We ask him because he’s Lew.”

Fidler said he’s proud to be invited. “I attend a lot of memorials, but this one has a real grassroots feel to it,” he said. “It’s not organized by civic organizations or politicians. It’s organized by neighbors.”

According to Fiore, he put brush to paint after volunteering in “the Pit” at Ground Zero. Digging his work gloves into the rubble of the buildings on September 12, Fiore said he felt the touch of God. It’s a touch, he insists, that gave him the inspiration to paint the mural.

“I couldn’t do nothing for people that were already dead,” said Fiore, “so I had to do this.” On September 17, 2001, he loaded up on buckets of paint and headed to the handball court. It’s a mission that Fiore repeats like praying. Among the names regularly retouched is Lucy Fishman, 37, an executive secretary who worked for the Aon Corporation on the 105th floor of Tower Two.

Fishman received the same depiction as James Coyle: traced in red, printed in blue. Her sister, Mary Dwyer, 43, and mother, Mary Bracken, 69, are also members of the memorial committee. “We haven’t forgotten these people’s names on the wall,” said Dwyer, who buried the thighbone and femur of her sister. “Not hers. Not ever. As long as we have that wall, we’ll be here.”

Supporting “Mary and Mary” serves as the driving motivation for memorial committee members. Through the committee, Errante, Gray and Dwyer developed into close friends. “This is not why people should meet,” said Gray. “I would give up these friendships if it meant that Mary and Mary had Lisa back.”

On May 1, 2011, Fiore gathered at the wall with a crowd of 30. His car idled quietly. Standing in the high beams, they reflected on the death of the leader behind 9/11: Osama Bin Laden.

Fiore took up the paintbrush—guiding his hand to the center of the mural. Into the white stripes of the American flag, he scrolled: “Truly now, they can rest in peace. May 1st, 2011 – God prevails. Yes, God and goodness always win!”

Signature of Ray Fiore, the mural's creator. (Photo: Robert Fieseler/The Brooklyn Ink)

Rivera sound checks at the Marine Park Salt Marsh Nature Center on June 4, 2011. (Photo: Robert Fieseler/The Brooklyn Ink)

Ray Rivera, jazz guitarist, singer and songwriter, strolled to the mike at the Brooklyn Marine Island Salt Marsh Nature Center on a hot night this June. The pine box of a park ranger station, occupancy 50, was standing room only.

Rivera looked sharp in a brown, plaid suit. He had no set list. He sized up the audience and dove right in. The first chord reverberated through his Herb Ellis model hollow-body Epiphone guitar.

“I’ve got a crush on you,” he sang, enunciating the lyrics of the Gershwin standard. “I-I-I’ve gotta crush on you-u-u,” he elaborated, his silvery voice spreading.

Through the sticky marsh air, heads grooved to Rivera’s tunes. This concert was his fourth at the Salt Marsh Nature Center since 2010. This series is just the latest evidence that, in its modest and respectable way, Rivera’s career continues into its seventh decade.

“Ray’s guitar playing is pretty basic,” said bassist Dave Moore, 80, who closely collaborated with Rivera in a guitar-bass duo for 10 years. “The chords are always right. But his singing is really fabulous, in that he doesn’t embellish too much, but he has phrasing that is just phenomenal.”

Leading jazz critics and historians are more temperate in their judgment. To National Public Radio producer Howard Mandel, Rivera’s crowd-pleasing style of commercial jazz is “workman-like.” Dan Morgenstern, director of Rutgers University’s Institute of Jazz Studies, said Rivera stood out more as a composer-singer than instrumentalist.

Rivera pauses to chat before a set. (Photo: Robert Fieseler/The Brooklyn Ink)

Indeed, one of Rivera’s biggest songwriting hits, You’ve Been Talkin’ Bout Me Baby, was recorded in 1965 by the Ramsey Lewis Trio for their Grammy Award-winning album The In Crowd. The album peaked at number two on the Billboard 500. Another Rivera hit, Cuchi Frito Man, was featured on Latin-jazz icon Cal Tjader’s 1965 album Soul Burst.

Rivera recorded more than a dozen albums in his career. Their success was niche, even by jazz standards. Rivera’s most critically acclaimed album, the 1980 release Let Me Hear Some Jazz on Insight Records, was nominated for a Grammy Award. Rivera’s best-selling album, 1971’s The Now Sound of the Ray Rivera Orchestra on MGM, showcased performances by well-known friends like Brazilian guitarist Eumir Deodato and Latin conga player Pucho.

“They sound friendly and easy-going, direct, companionable,” said Mandel as he listened to Rivera’s work. “But ‘important?’ I’m afraid no one has invested in his career enough to raise it to the level of recognition to which the term ‘important’ could be applied.” Rivera never tracked on the Billboard charts, never ranked on the yearly Down Beat magazine poll for standout jazz artists.

Yet, Rivera has attracted a cult following among musicians and listeners. Presently, a YouTube clip (http://bit.ly/nhppXr) of Rivera in a guest performance with trumpeter Wynton Marsalis at the House of Tribes Community Theatre on January 7, 2007 has over 17,000 hits. An independent label, Meltdown Records, will soon release a backlog of recordings entitled Rare Masters of Ray Rivera. Rivera’s out-of-print 45-inch records sell on eBay for hundreds of dollars. Taken together, these elements affirm that Rivera, at age 81, is experiencing a late career renaissance.

Many who know Rivera’s music also know his life story. In 2008, he self-published a biography called Ray’s Tune: Music Is My Thing. Walking through the “Wall of Fame” hallway in his two-bedroom, South Brooklyn apartment, Rivera points to photos of himself with Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington and Francis Ford Coppola. Smiling beside each celebrity appears to solidify his status as a star beneath the radar—always on the cusp of making it.

Rivera performs with an ease that betrays none of his upbringing: four years in a foster home, five years at an orphanage, six years in an abusive household with his mother’s boyfriend. “I cast that anger down early on in life,” said Rivera.

At age 14, Rivera said, he was kicked out of his mother’s apartment on 103rd Street in Harlem. He caught pneumonia and almost died at Montefiore Hospital. Alone in the hospital room, Rivera began to hear music around him. “Like floating on a cloud,” he recalled. “Beyond belief, music I’d never heard. And, as I grew up, I said, ‘I wish I could write music like that.’”

Weeks later, Rivera began writing poetry for the first time. “I could write these poems,” he said. “I had a knack for writing lyrics, writing songs. It was just like a natural thing.” Rivera was 15 when left the hospital. Two years later, he’d become a rising star in the New York jazz scene.

Through the late ‘40s, Rivera bounced around as a lead vocalist. When Rivera met clarinetist Frank Gator, Gator was enticed by Rivera’s potential. He slapped an upright bass in Rivera’s hands. Rivera went for it. “I was playing by ear, ‘cause I had good ears,” said Rivera. “I could listen between the notes.”

Throughout the ‘50s, Rivera’s voice won the admiration of jazz greats. Singers Bobby Darin and Billie Holiday came to see Rivera perform at Midtown restaurant Matty’s Town Crest. Rivera recorded with jazz heavyweights Hank Jones and Toots Thielemans. He sang alongside bop vocalist Babs Gonzales, who exclaimed of Rivera’s showmanship, “Damn, Ray, you’re trying to make all the money.”

By the late 1950s, Rivera seemed poised for a breakout. Fresh off a 13-week stint on the WPIX—Channel 11 television show The Spotlight of Values, Rivera recorded with MGM and Decca Records. Performing demos at the Brill Building, a 49th Street hub for the music business, he’d earned his way into the American Society of Composers, Artists & Publishers (ASCAP).

Then, the power center of music shifted. Folk and rock ‘n’ roll achieved market dominance. Major labels like A&M Records (founded in 1962) and Capital Records (ushering in Beatlemania) lured musicians west to Los Angeles. Rivera made the choice to stay in New York City. “I probably could have made it big there,” Rivera insists now, “but I didn’t sign with anybody cause they were out there robbing people.”

Rivera tells a story, with bassist Nick Ara in background. (Photo: Robert Fieseler/The Brooklyn Ink)

In an atmosphere where many artists signed unfavorable contracts or went unpaid for recordings, Rivera’s kneejerk suspicion of managers and major labels kept from him pursuing opportunities. “I’d hear this guy or that guy weren’t paying the artists,” remembered Rivera. “So, I said, ‘Why should I record?’ I said that a lot.” Rivera walked away from projects with Cadillac Records and Charlie Parker Records.

Most of Rivera’s early recordings, such as the single Ho-Dee-Ing-Dong on Decca Records, never developed into future partnerships. Musical relationships would dissolve after one release, usually over terms of pay. “You had your music out there, and you never got paid,” said Rivera. “I’d say something. Next thing you know, they dropped the whole thing.” Rivera’s assertiveness wasn’t always welcome, and he was not a big enough star to impose it.

In 1963, Rivera switched instruments. He walked into the studio of guitarist Kenny Burrell to demonstrate a song, and the only instrument around was Burrell’s own guitar. Rivera inspired Burrell with his style of play: no single notes, all chords. Burrell sent Rivera to guitar teacher Allen Hanlon, who told Rivera, “I’m gonna bring out what you have.”

By the mid ‘60s, Rivera’s songwriting career surpassed his performing career. Writing for jazz, Latin, salsa, country, blues and rock, he became one of the early cross-genre composers. “He was writing for everyone,” said vinyl collector and seller Robert Watlington, 63. “That’s unheard of. Because you generally build up your little dynasty in your own little ghetto.” Composer Claus Ogerman, who recorded with singer Frank Sinatra, began collaborating with Rivera.

Yet, though he received ample work, Rivera collected few royalties. According to Rivera, his biggest selling song, You’ve Been Talkin’ Bout Me Baby, earned him next to nothing. “Someone was interviewing Ramsey Lewis,” said Rivera. “And he said, ‘That album sold over a million copies.’ And I said to myself, ‘I didn’t get paid for a million copies.’”

In 1981, Rivera formally acquired the rights to his songs. He inked a distribution deal with CBS Music Publishing that year and received a $7,500 advance. Through that deal, he continues to earn royalties on his catalog.

On December 1, 2011, Meltdown Records plans to release the career retrospective Rare Masters of Ray Rivera for download on Amazon.com. Rare Masters represents a masterwork of 15 out-of-print or previously unreleased albums. “It’s gonna be a surprise for people,” said Rick Russo, 53, owner of Meltdown Records, “to realize that this incredibly melodic material all comes from one mind.”

Rivera will play his fifth concert at the Salt Marsh Nature Center (http://bit.ly/nLXTSO) on August 20 at 7 p.m. Additionally, he’ll play two sessions at Adobe Blues (http://bit.ly/mORseR), a Staten Island restaurant, on August 27 at 11 p.m. and 1 a.m. Both concerts are free of charge.

Way back at Montefiore Hospital, Rivera heard a proverb that stuck with him. He recites it from memory at many performances: “No star is lost we once have seen. We may have been what we might have been.” He interprets it to mean, “If you believe in something, go for it.”

Kiteboarder Lens Kol launches Carlos Cabrera's kite on a rainy day. (Photo: Robert Fieseler/The Brooklyn Ink)

Commuting to work from his Queens home one day in 2008, Carlos Cabrera felt the wind shake his car as he crossed a bridge. He gripped the wheel with both hands, guiding his Volkswagen safely across an empty stretch of the Belt Parkway in South Brooklyn.

As he headed west, the Brooklyn Marine Park gave way to the Plumb Beach Channel and then half a mile of dirty beach before Exit 9 and Sheepshead Bay. For some reason, he glanced to his left towards Jamaica Bay.

There they were, pitching and yawing above the tree line, gliding like giant bats—florescent kites of orange, green, purple and red. “Big, peaceful kites,” recalled Cabrera, “bobbing back and forth. Huge. I had to see what was going on.”

Cabrera pulled a U-turn on the highway median, crossed over traffic and parked at the Plum Beach rest stop. Walking to the shore, he noticed the kite lines dangling into the water. “Then I saw it was attached to a human being,” said Cabrera, “and I thought, ‘Wow, I have to do this!’”

Three years, one lesson and seven kite purchases later, Cabrera is a kiteboarder. Twice a week, Cabrera dons a wetsuit and harnesses himself to an 11-meter kite. He digs his feet into the grips of a wakeboard and lays back into the waves, awaiting the force of the kite to surge his body upward and then forward.

Kites crisscross the sky on a Saturday at Plum Beach. (Photo: Robert Fieseler/The Brooklyn Ink)

Cabrera kiteboards at Plum Beach five to 10 times a month. He’s not alone in his devotion to the sport. The 12-year-old pastime is touted by SBC Kiteboard magazine as one of the fastest growing sports in the world. A boom of recent beginners, guided by International Kiteboarding Organization-certified instructors and encouraged by safer kite technology, have supplanted the extreme, windsurfer origins of the sport and opened kiteboarding to all ages.

The International Kiteboarding Organization network now includes over 130 affiliated kiteboarding schools in 38 countries. Its 4,000 instructors have certified more than 410,000 kiteboarders worldwide.

Among the schools affiliated with the International Kiteboarding Organization is Plum Beach’s own New York City KiteClub (www.nyckiteclub.com). Founded in 2009 by instructors Mike Preis, 40, and Franz Kol, 28, the school teaches over 80 students a season, which lasts from April to October. Students range from pre-teenagers to 30-somethings to seniors. A 12-hour package of lessons costs $1,100, equipment provided. A beginner board, harness and kite cost an extra $2,000.

The steep price tag doesn’t stifle demand. Most days at Plum Beach, Preis and Kol are out flying three-meter training kites with first-timers. “Everyone wants to be that guy out there on the water,” said Kol. “Once they get the bug, you can’t shake them off. They’ll call you 10 times a week.”

Kiteboarding instructor Franz Kol walks the kite lines with a first-time student. (Photo: Robert Fieseler/The Brooklyn Ink)

Most kiteboarders describe the sensation of kiting as a mixture of meditation and adrenaline. “You feel like you’re getting away with something huge,” said Cabrera. “You get away from reality, no phones, no stress, nothing,” said Angelo Theologias, 34, a third-year kiteboarder at Plum Beach. Kiteboarding attaches the rider to the kite through a safety line on a harness. The rider steers the kite, like a bicycle, through a control bar tied to the kite’s 20-meter lines.

Kiteboarding regulars credit New York City KiteClub with building the kiteboarding scene at Plum Beach. “When Franz started kiting here three years ago, it was five people,” said Lens Kol, 29, Franz’s brother. “Now, with good conditions, it’s 50 people.” Plum Beach is known for supporting a tight-knit community. “We all have each other’s numbers,” said Franz Kol, “so you’re never alone out there. Not even in the winter.”

Avid kiteboarders describe Plum Beach as the ideal location. Southerly thermal winds, cooled by the Atlantic Ocean and sucked inland towards the heat of Manhattan, frequently produce gusts of 15 to 25 mph. “You get thirsty for winds like that,” said Paul Glezer, 27, a five-year kiteboarding veteran. These winds, combined with the flat water of Jamaica Bay, create a playground in which riders can learn, do tricks and perform aerial jumps.

Unique wind conditions also make Plum Beach attractive to kiteboarders in the winter. “We ride until there’s ice on the bar and icicles on the lines,” said Lens Kol. Lens Kol and other diehards purchase specially designed wetsuits and dry suits that buffer the skin from cold, like seal blubber.

“The first thing I tell people is that this is more addictive than any drug you’ll ever try,” said Preis. “The second thing I tell people is be careful about divorces.” Many kiteboarders at Plum Beach have been known to choose favorable conditions over dates and anniversaries. When asked how much time he personally spends at Plum Beach, Preis joked, “Ask my wife how much time I spend here.”

Some local kiteboarders also find the sport usurping their work. They’ll scrutinize wind forecasts. They’ll watch the flutter of flags and trees from inside office buildings. “Some kiters just don’t go to work anymore,” said Peter Lee, a two-year veteran who owns over 30 kites. The kiting lifestyle often necessitates a career with flexible scheduling. Preis is a fashion photographer. Franz and Lens Kol do computer-graphics animation. Cabrera works as a freelance construction contractor.

Franz Kol lands a jump in cold weather. (Photo: Mike Preis/New York City KiteClub)

Few authorities visit Plum Beach. It exists in what Preis calls a legal deadlock of overlapping city, state and federal agencies. To ride for the year, most kiteboarders purchase a $50 “Hand-Launched Boating Permit” at the Floyd Bennett Field Ranger Station of the Gateway National Recreation Area.

Crowds often gather at Plum Beach to watch the kiteboarders jump 25 to 30 feet in the air. The process, called “powering up,” involves swinging the kite up- and down-wind in the shape of a figure eight, gathering energy until the final swing, when the kite takes over. The jump can last for 15 seconds and look like a video game maneuver, quickly up and slowly down, softly landing in the water.

When asked to describe a great jump, most kiteboarders search for the words to sum it all up. “You’re powering up the kite, edging on your board and getting set to change,” explained Glezer. “Then, you pivot. You pop off, floating into air, and it’s pure quiet. It’s that moment looking down where things are small. Then you crash back down into the waves.”

816 Avenue U establishment straddles two names. (Photo: Robert Fieseler/The Brooklyn Ink)

At 2 p.m. on a Saturday in June, the front door to Pleasure Island stood open. Yet, the sidewalks of the establishment at 816 Avenue U were deserted. It was quiet enough to hear the radio playing through the firehouse window of Engine Company 254 across the street.

Beneath the print letters of the sign spelling “Pleasure,” the entrance loomed in a shadow. Inside Pleasure Island, owner Mark Shteynshlyuger, 55, sat by himself. A glance down the street revealed many businesses in the East Gravesend section of Brooklyn—kosher delis, groceries, pharmacies—closed for Shabbat.

Inside Pleasure Island, Shteynshlyuger perched on a barstool. He’d been working with contractors to remodel Pleasure Island since fall of 2010.

Pleasure Island smelled like a new car. Black leather booths had been newly installed. Wrought iron murals were accented by colored lights. Beneath tables and chairs in the 2,000-square-foot main room spread a wooden dance floor. At the far end rose a three-foot balcony with VIP seating. In the back was a stainless steel kitchen.

Few community members have seen Pleasure Island but many already expressed resistance to its opening. On May 17, South Brooklyn residents and leaders banded together in opposition to Pleasure Island at a 500-Foot Hearing at the New York State Liquor Authority office in Harlem.

The onslaught of objections – including letters from New York State Assembly member Steven Cymbrowitz and New York City Council members David Greenfield and Domenic Recchia – cautioned the State Liquor Authority against issuing the new “On-Premises Liquor” license.

In New York State, establishments falling under the “500-foot rule” – those operating within a 500-foot radius of other liquor establishments – must demonstrate that it’s in the public interest to issue a license. With vocal opposition on record, administrative judge Raymond DiLuglio advised Shteynshlyuger to make amends with the community.

In recent weeks, Shteynshlyuger has made inroads by meeting with local leaders and residents. However, some members of the community feel that they’ve already heard enough.

Awaiting a liquor license hearing, Pleasure Island stands empty during peak summer months. (Photo: Robert Fieseler/The Brooklyn Ink)

The State Liquor Authority will make a decision on Pleasure Island at a full hearing later this year. Allotting time for both sides to reach a resolution, the State Liquor Authority did not include Pleasure Island on the June or July hearing calendars. Denial of the license would quash Shteynshlyuger’s chances to open the new business.

“The community board is going to oppose it 100 percent,” said Theresa Scavo, chairperson of Community Board 15. Scavo said that Community Board 15, covering the Brooklyn district where Pleasure Island resides, received over 300 calls from residents opposing the establishment. In response, the Community Board sent five letters of objection to the State Liquor Authority.

Scavo and many others believe that the application for Pleasure Island is an attempt to resurrect Pleasure, a nightclub open at 816 Avenue U from 2006 to 2008. In its short tenure, Pleasure attracted a club-going clientele to an Orthodox Jewish neighborhood. “They just thought they were going to reapply,” said Scavo, “come back as the same rowdy crowd, and no one was going to notice.”

Owners of Pleasure received violations for parking, noise, serving alcohol after hours and failure to permit an inspection, among many infringements. “It was lots of problems, lots of drugs, lots of drunk kids,” said Konstantin Krivonos, 42, owner of the building next door at 824 Avenue U.

Shteynshlyuger, who identifies himself as the 90 percent owner of Pleasure Island, has defended himself by saying he was never affiliated with the previous nightclub. “Nobody talked to me,” he said. “Nobody asked me a question. We invested more than $40,000 to create a nice place. Suddenly, we were an adult club.”

He chose the name Pleasure Island for several reasons. “I’m from Russia, formerly,” said Shteynshlyuger. “And in Russia, ‘pleasure’ means something else. It’s not ‘pleasure’ in the American way, connecting with sex objects and everything else. It just means: ‘Have a good time.’”

A 20-year resident of Sheepshead Bay, a nearby Brooklyn neighborhood, Shteynshlyuger calls this community home. He raised two daughters here and made his career in product wholesale and distribution. Although he has over 10 years’ experience in the restaurant business, Pleasure Island is Shteynshlyuger’s first stint as an owner.

Multicolored light display specially designed for Pleasure Island. (Photo: Robert Fieseler/The Brooklyn Ink)

Shteynshlyuger and Marat Zagorin, 57, who identifies himself as the 10 percent owner of Pleasure Island, said they envisioned the establishment as an upscale cocktail lounge. For musical décor, they said, they intend to hire a vocalist and DJ. The proposed menu featured entrées ranging from roasted duck breast with truffle corn porridge ($20) to tapioca-crusted tuna steak ($26).

At the 500-Foot Hearing, Shteynshlyuger learned that residents had submitted petitions insinuating that his business was a topless dance club. Authored anonymously, the petitions objected to the opening of an “Adult Establishment at 816 Avenue U” and assailed the “degenerating effects” on the neighborhood’s children. He said the allegations came as a shock.

Joseph Cayre, 69, chairman of the business Midtown Equities Group and member of the local Jewish community, took issue with the implications of the term “Adult Establishment.” “Mark is a great guy, who’s invested a lot to make his business upscale,” said Cayre. “Nothing rowdy, nothing topless. Those things are terrible, and I think people smeared his name who said them.”

Several facts in the public record support Shteynshlyuger’s assertions. Pleasure Island applied for an “On-Premises Liquor” license, the standard bar license in New York State. Adult dancing venues must apply for a special “Cabaret Liquor” license. In their “New Certificate of Occupancy” approved by the New York City Department of Buildings, “No” is checked in the section labeled “Adult Establishment.”

Some other facts in the public record, however, appear to challenge Shteynshlyuger. In the floor “Plan Exam” approved by the New York City Department of Buildings, “Pleasure,” the name of the previous nightclub, is entered in the section labeled “Name of PA Establishment.” Many, such as chairperson Scavo, cite these instances as reason for distrust.

“They say, ‘Oh no, it must be a mistake,’” said Scavo. “I say nothing is a mistake. Please.” Scavo cited another obstacle: 10 percent owner Marat Zagorin. Listed as a principal on Pleasure Island’s license application, Zarogin was also a principal on Pleasure’s old liquor license.

At the Community Board meeting on June 28, George Karp, attorney for Pleasure Island, acknowledged that Zagorin received and paid penalties for alcohol beverage control violations while owner of Pleasure. “So, because they’re paid off,” said Scavo, “we’re supposed to act like they didn’t happen?”

Shteynshlyuger vouched for Zagorin as an associate, saying that the violations pertained to the previous business and not to Zagorin personally. He said he has known Zagorin for 14 years and endorsed Zagorin’s work by making him part owner and manager. “He is a decent person,” said Shteynshlyuger. “For him to work for me, you have to compensate him somehow. So, I gave him 10 percent.”

Shteynshlyuger said he hopes that his community outreach will clear the atmosphere of suspicion. “I don’t want a strip club in my community, too,” he explained. “I’m a regular person. I don’t want that because there are kids around. But people who start these rumors, they have to realize that they don’t know what’s inside.”

On Sunday, two days after Maksim Gelman fatally stabbed three people in Sheepshead Bay, the neighborhood was quiet. The sole physical evidence of the events that happened the previous day was at the local news stand in Sheepshead Bay. Tagged as “Brooklyn’s madman” by New York City tabloids, Gelman’s face was splashed across the front pages on display, as well as the on the Facebook pages of residents that lived in the area surrounding his rampage.

On East 27th, an unremarkable street lined with bare trees and red brick apartments, the blinds were down at number 2830. The building was like any of the others with small balconies crammed with kids toys and barbeque grills. Except of course that 2830 was cordoned off with yellow tape sealing shut the precise details of the events leading up to the morning of February 11.

Here is what we know. Following an argument over use of the family Lexus, Gelman fatally stabbed his stepfather, Aleksandr Kuznetsov, 54. He then went on to the home of his ex-girlfriend, Yelena Bulchenko, 20 at 2466 East 24th Street, where he fatally stabbed both her and her mother, Anna Bulchenko, 56. The brazen nature of his rampage which involved two carjacking incidents led one person, on a local news blog to say, “Its like he is playing Grand Theft Auto.” Only he wasn’t.

On Facebook, local kids implored each other to stay safe. They compared the killings to those by the 1970’s serial killer David Berkowitz, known as the Son of Sam. By the time police caught up with Gelman in a northbound number 3 train on Saturday morning, he had fatally stabbed three people, stabbed and injured another four, and had been involved in a hit-and-run accident that claimed another life.

In Sheepshead Bay, on the quiet street bookended by a highway, bundled up passersby stopped and speculated. “He jumped out of the car, he was smart,” said one woman to her three companions in reference to a victim of Gelman’s carjacking. Two boys with a skateboard who had been debating the merits of the weather in Florida discussed how to get past the cordon to their house on the other side.

A woman with auburn hair briefly came out from the neighboring apartment. She smoked her cigarette quickly and went back indoors. Others walked past and paused to survey the scene in silence. But most of those walking down Emmons Avenue did not turn to look but continued on down quietly past the Applebees with its hearts pasted on the window advertising its Valentine’s day sangria specials.

But in the days that followed the incident, Sheepshead Bay’s streets remained silent while an angry chorus erupted on Facebook. Friends of Bulchenko posted statuses in memorial, along with creating groups such as “Maksim Gelman Deserves the Death Penalty” and “R.I.P. Yelena Bulchenko and her mother.”

The emotional responses range from sympathy to anger, spurring the organization of a rally on the steps of City Hall on Friday, February 18. One person sympathizing with Gelman on the wall of the rally started an argument on the page. The rally was put together, according to the Facebook event, to reinstate the death penalty in New York due primarily due to Gelman, who did not attend his arraignment on Monday.

According to the police, the suspect walked up to the teller and passed a note through the window demanding money. When the teller walked away, the suspect fled.

Police say the suspect is a white male, 50 to 55 years of age, 5’10″ to 6′ tall and weighing 200 to 250 pounds, with a salt and pepper goatee. He was last seen wearing a plaid jacket, blue jeans and brown work boots.

Fans attending Saturday's PSAL playoff game in Coney Island saw undefeated Abraham Lincoln roll to a 38-14 victory over Sheepshead Bay. (Evan MacDonald/The Brooklyn Ink)

In the end, there were no surprises. Goliath had David’s number on Saturday afternoon in Coney Island, as undefeated Abraham Lincoln rolled to a 38-14 win over Sheepshead Bay yesterday in the first round of the PSAL playoffs.

With the drama virtually settled after the opening period, the emotions on each side of the stands were polar opposites. For Lincoln, it was the celebration of impending victory. For Sheepshead, it was the painful wait for the inevitable, the toll of the final bell.

“This is going to be an easy, easy smack-down,” said one thirty-something Lincoln man wearing a wool cap and hooded sweatshirt.

Sheepshead fans sat glumly dejected on the other side of the stands, but they had a different view of how the events on the field were unfolding.

“Call the game both ways, ref,” yelled one fan dressed in a bright-orange jersey and black hooded sweatshirt.

Meanwhile, some of the younger fans began to divert their attention to more exciting matters once the game was out of reach.

“I looked down, and when I looked, I saw 20 dollars,” one delighted and curly-haired boy whispered to his friend.

The conversation caught the attention of a JV player in front of them who turned around and asked what the boy had whispered.

“We found a—“ the boy started, before realizing that he didn’t want to disclose his treasure. “No, we’re not telling you.”

A few hundred fans were on hand to witness the game. Some of the older spectators who filled the back row were disappointed that a school with about 2,500 students couldn’t fill the seats for a playoff game.

“It’s a shame. There’s no school spirit today,” said one middle-aged man wearing a Lincoln sweatshirt. “Where are the kids? Probably at home scratching their heads.”

Things got testy in the final period with Lincoln holding a comfortable lead. The JV team from Sheepshead Bay exchanged words with the Lincoln JV squad as they walked by.

But the police officers on site to supervise the game quickly stepped in and had the Sheepshead contingent head back to its own side of the stands. The tension was dissipated before it had a chance to escalate.

Eventually the final gun sounded and the players shook hands on the field. Fans from each side slowly filed out. No more words were exchanged.

But spirits on the two sides of the stands were quite different. One middle-aged Sheepshead fan wearing a Sharks jersey sighed as she rose. She picked up her seat cushion and dusted it off for the last time this season.

But Lincoln fans will see another day. The Railsplitters moved on to the PSAL quarterfinals next Saturday against defending champion Clinton. Lincoln fans started singing the chorus to “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye,” and waved a taunting goodbye.

Sheepshead Houses Heating Plant (The Brooklyn Ink/Shlomo Friedman)

One day last winter Clara Cortes was strutting around his apartment in the Sheepshead Bay Houses shirtless, windows flung wide open. The odd thing, he recalled recently, is that the temperature outside that day was five degrees.

Cortes wasn’t alone in his sauna-like experience.  Many residents of the same public housing development say that intense heat of their apartments, even during the coldest season, has forced them to open windows, turn on fans and, in extreme cases, blast air conditioners to cool down the steam being pumped in from the building’s boilers.

Adding more heating capacity to the housing complex, say those residents, makes about as much sense as installing air-conditioners in the Arctic Circle. Nevertheless, courtesy of the Obama Administration’s economic-stimulus plan, more heat is on the way this winter in the form of a  $2.05 million heating upgrade.

A new neon-green, cylindrical Johnson boiler, boiling water like a huge tea kettle, and packing the capacity to blast 20,000 pounds of steam an hour, has been added to the complex’s heating plant.  In addition, all the apartment’s radiators are having their valves and traps replaced.  The new boiler’s steam output is double that of any of the other seven older boilers, ratcheting up the heating plant’s capacity to produce steam by almost 25 percent.

For its part, the New York City Housing Authority said that Sheepshead Bay Houses had an excessive amount of heating complaints and overran its heating budget by 30 percent.

But the nature of those complaints is not clear. Some residents speculated that the heating complaints logged by the authority were due to too much heat.

Steam heating a large complex is a tricky business, “more art than science,” according to Hershel Weiss, past president of the Society of Plumbing Engineers, and a member of Mayor Bloomberg’s Green Codes Task Force. Even if some residents are cold in winter, Weiss said that the extra boiler would “probably not” resolve the development’s heating issues. “Rarely are heating problems a problem of capacity,” he said.

The tale of the heating upgrade in Sheepshead Bay Houses is the story of many projects funded by the stimulus plan — an attempt to achieve simultaneously energy efficiency, the upgrade of a fraying infrastructure, and job creation. But it is also has elements that have brought the measure criticism by Republicans who argue that some projects have marginal value and fall short of creating the promised number of jobs.  Republicans have also condemned the speed with which government agencies were prodded to spend vast amounts of money, saying that the rush to spend contributed to such boondoggles as the $210,000 allocated to study the learning patterns of honeybees or the $390,000 granted to the University of Buffalo to study students who drink malt beer and smoke marijuana.

The money trail of the $2.05 million for the Sheepshead Bay Houses began when Congress first passed and President Obama then signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act on Feb. 17, 2009.  The legislation earmarked billions to the federal Department Housing and Urban Development.  The money granted to the housing department was to be used for the nation’s housing projects – upgrading heating systems, replacing roofs, repairing brickwork and elevators.

To determine which housing authorities got what, HUD used a complicated formula that divided up the stimulus package.  The biggest variable in the equation was the number of housing units each municipality oversaw:  the more units, the larger the piece of the pie.  New York City’s 178,000 public housing units dwarfs the amounts of any other city in the nation.  The formula would ensure that New York’s housing authority would get a generous slab – the most of any other municipality — of the pie in April 2009: $423 million.

But the money came with bureaucratic strings attached.  With the nation’s economic heartbeat faint, Congress required that fund recipients spend the money quickly, hoping to resuscitate a faltering economy with a rapid jolt of cash.  For any projects funded by the stimulus, the housing authority had to be able and ready to take bids within a year of the legislation and have 60 percent of the money spent in the second year.  One hundred percent of the money had to be spent by 2011.

In May 2009, only one month after HUD granted the city housing authority the funding windfall, the contract for the Sheepshead Bay Houses heating upgrade was granted to two firms. TR Pipe, Inc., of College Point, Queens, was to replace the valves and traps in every apartment in the complex; Kordun Construction Corporation, also located in Queens, won the bid to install a new Johnston boiler in the heating plant on the corner of Batchelder Street and Avenue W.

A New Boiler Courtesy of the Stimulus (The Brooklyn Ink/Shlomo Friedman)

During that same month, decisions were also made and bids accepted to spend $1.18 million on repairing elevator locks throughout the housing system as well as $4.1 million on a roof replacement for Wyckoff Gardens Houses.  Only a few weeks later, in July, STV Construction won a $5.4 million contract to repair brickwork at Middletown Plaza Houses.

Housing authority officials can’t say how much money the investment in the complex’s heating system will save, perhaps because of the pressure to spend quickly. There “was no cost-benefit analysis” done for the Sheepshead Bay heating project, said Myriam Ayala, media relations specialist for the authority.  Lisa Roberts, the authority’s deputy assistant director for capital projects, said that the decisions to pick projects for the stimulus money “were done in a very short time frame” by the board. Stimulus projects were picked from a list of that had design plans in place as part of the housing authority’s five-year capital plan.

Weiss, the plumbling specialist, says that heating capacity is usually not the source of heating complaints because engineers deliberately designed the heating systems of New York City’s housing projects with overcapacity.  Given the built-in overcapacity and that insulated windows have replaced older single-pane ones, the original complement of boilers in Sheepshead Bay Houses should provide more than ample heat to the complex.

Weiss also said that steam heat follows the path of least resistance so it’s possible that one room in an apartment could be stifling while another could be freezing.  That’s the experience of Sharon Retkinski, director of the senior center at the development, who said the facility suffers from “inconsistent heat,” with some rooms too hot and others not heated at all. But uneven heat, Weiss said, would not be addressed with additional boiler capacity, but rather is more indicative of a valve problem.

Since the spring, a white truck bearing “TR Pipe” on its sides has been driving through the complex where workers are unloading boxes of new valves and then installing them in every apartment.   TR Pipe has replaced 75 percent of the valves in the complex, receiving $1.2 million for the work.  But the replacement has some residents scratching their heads.  Eddie Allan, a plumber and 10-year resident at the development, said he worked on replacing the valves five years ago for TR Pipe.

“We changed the valves, the hot water, the return valves,” he said, adding that the current replacement funded by the stimulus was done “just to waste money.” He went on, “If they really want to do something they should work on the brickwork.”  There was nothing wrong with the old valves, some residents said.  They just had been encrusted with layers of paint, easily removable. The housing authority said it was “unable to confirm” whether the valves had been replaced five years ago.  Weiss said that valves and traps should have a lifespan of 15 to 20 years.

The stimulus plan also was geared to fund projects that would be greener, reducing fossil-fuel dependency, but according to Michael Beatty, vice president of ACS, the vendor that sold the boiler to Kordun Construction, the new boiler is only about three percent more efficient than the seven older ones in the heating plant.

Other residents shared Allan’s assertion that the development had more pressing issues than the steam heat.  A ring of blue scaffolding surrounds the development since last October, apparently as precursor of a brick repair project, but no brickwork has been done.

At 2952 Avenue W, Richard Johnson, a building resident, pointed to the upper stories of the seven-story building where the brickwork is clearly buckling.  “When it rains that water seeps in, bubbles up and cracks the plaster on the inside,” he said.  “We had our walls done twice. It’s going to happen again, and again and again,” until the brickwork is done, he added.

Tenants cite other problems that did not receive any stimulus money. Residents complain that the doors to buildings don’t lock, permitting drug dealers to enter at will and peddle marijuana, and that housing police are usually nowhere to be found.  In an apartment bathroom in the 4th floor at 2946 Avenue W, dark mold is crowding out the white paint of the shower wall.  Holes pockmark the walls, floors, ceilings.  The lobby door to the building slams shut with stunning force, as if it’s being pushed close by hurricane wind.

“There are a lot, a lot of things that could be fixed in this development,” Retkinski said.  “There are a lot of neglected things.  We have overloaded circuits because when this place was built there weren’t fax machines, computers and air conditioners.  Right now, my seniors are sitting in the heat without air conditioning.”

With unemployment at his highest sustained level since the Depression, the stimulus plan was touted as a jobs bill, putting millions of Americans back to work on “shovel ready projects.”  The Obama administration has claimed the plan has saved or created three million jobs, a number scoffed at by the plan’s critics.

As part of the auditing process of the stimulus funds, the housing authority had to report on how many jobs were to be created per project.  The projected number of jobs created or sustained at the Sheepshead Bay Houses heating upgrade was at first estimated at five for the duration of the project.  But for any reporting quarter the number of jobs has never exceeded 3.14.
The pattern of predicting far too rosy job creation numbers is true with other housing authority projects.  A $21 million roof-replacement project at the Armstrong Housing developments in Brooklyn was initially projected by the authority to create 131 jobs; the most recorded was 4.14.  The roof replacement at the Beach 41st development in Far Rockaway, Queens, was calculated to produce 55 jobs; the tally never topped 2.12.  A similar project to Sheepshead Bay Houses, a boiler upgrade at Kingsborough Houses in Brooklyn, slated to create 18 jobs, has never created more than 2.65 per quarter.

The housing authority said that it did not verify on its own the number of jobs created or sustained: “The jobs number is derived from information given by the contractors,” Ayala said.

In the case of Sheepshead Bay Houses, Kordun Construction bought the boiler from Analytic for $150,000.  That means Kordun had approximately $570,000 for the installation.  According to Beatty, the boiler took only three months to install.  If four engineers worked on the project, pro-rated over one year, only one job was created for the cost of $570,000.

Shaking his head, Johnson said, “The heat is O.K. People just gotta learn to turn the knob.  I would have spent the money on the brickwork and on security.”

Protesters show their concerns on Voorhies Avenue. Photo: Vegas Tenold

by Vegas Tenold

It was supposed to be a rally about parking. Somehow it turned into praise for Qu’ran burning, declarations of war and enough vitriol to warrant almost 20 police officers.

Almost before it began, it became clear that the crowds lining Voorhies Avenue for last Sunday’s rally against a proposed mosque had different concerns than the local residents.

Earlier this year, the Muslim American Society bought a lot on a residential part of Voorhies Avenue announcing that they wanted to build a community center with an after-school program and prayer rooms.

Neighbors oppose the plan, saying that the area is residential and that the street can’t handle the additional cars that the community center will bring. They also fear that the mosque will bring down the value of their homes.

On Sunday, houses on Voorhies Avenue were plastered with signs reading “Religion is not an excuse for zoning violation” and “If it doesn’t fit then don’t build”. Bay People, a group of residents, had arranged the rally. Their arguments, however, quickly drowned out.

At noon, at least 100 people crowded the sidewalk, with more people arriving. Many were holding American flags. Others had draped themselves with them. Signs reading “NO M.A.S.” referring to the Muslim American Society, were ubiquitous. Several signs linked the M.A.S. to Hezbollah and Hamas, and a large banner announced the presence of the Brooklyn Tea Party. Across the street were the supporters of the community center, holding signs that said “We Say No To Racist Fear” and “Muslims Are Welcome Here”.

Few of Sunday’s speeches mentioned the concerns heard earlier about parking and home values. John Kenneth Press of the Brooklyn Tea Party said in his speech that “Islam has been fighting the West for 1400 years. Do they believe in freedom in the Middle East?”

People shouted “Hell No!”

“Do we believe in it here?” asked Press

“Yes!” screamed his supporters.

After Press had left the podium a woman who identified herself as a realtor, claimed to oppose the mosque because the M.A.S. had overpaid for the site. “Let me get you a better deal!” she pleaded with the demonstrators across the street.

A young man pointed at the mosque supporters across the street. “Unlike these terrorists, I stand in front of you unmasked! This is a war! And we’re all soldiers!” He then praised the burning of the Qu’ran calling it a miracle of free speech and asked the crowd if “we need to see Brooklyn and America raped by people who aren’t from this country?”

The next speaker gave his speech in Russian.

The mood became increasingly vitriolic. A woman with a sign saying “NO MOSQUE 1 GOD” screamed at two Muslim girls with American flags. “Let go of the flag and get back to your own country!” Shouts of “Racist!” from the other side became louder. More police arrived.

Steven Peskin, who lives nearby, stood with the people supporting the mosque. “I don’t think the mosque should be built.” he said. “This is a residential area, and I think it will be too crowded. But I don’t agree with those people. It’s not about Islam and the West. It’s about parking. Why are these people here?”

The rally ended with the loud speakers repeatedly playing an audio clip from 2000, where Muslim American Society’s Mahdi Bray appears to be supporting Hamas and Hezbollah.

Ibrahim Anse, the community center’s project manager, was not surprised by what happened on Sunday. “It’s all politics, and they’re using these people for a public show.” He said that many of the protesters are outsiders brought in by the Brooklyn Tea Party. “The Tea Party are using the people on Voorhies Avenue.”

John Press said that the concerns of the Brooklyn Tea Party are the same as those of the residents on Voorhies Avenue. “We are all worried about people teaching hatred in our communities.”

Press says that the Muslim American Society are affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, an Egyptian organization that supports Hamas and Hezbollah. The FBI have found no such links, but Press says that he has his own evidence.

“It does not make us safer to have the vanguard of Muslim conquest in our communities,” he said. “There is a clear and concerted effort to increase the Muslim population in America. These people don’t like us.” He does acknowledge that it is unlikely that the people who demonstrated against him on Sunday, most of whom were women and children, are actual terrorists. “Most Muslims are law abiding citizens. They don’t have the energy to do violent jihad, just like most Christians don’t have the energy to live like Jesus.”