Bed-Stuy Residents Take On Rent-A-Center

Some Bed-Stuy residents used Black Friday’s shopping binge as an occasion to call out Rent-A-Center on its high prices and ask others to boycott the store.

The protesters included the Rev. Al Sharpton and other representatives from the National Action Network. The demonstration started outside of the Rent-A-Center store located at Bedford Ave. and Fulton St. and concluded at the corner of Marcus Garvey Blvd.

Though Rent-A-Center, which has 38 stores in New York City, claims that it allows customers to rent appliances at reasonable prices, activists and shoppers alike claim that the store preys on lower-income customers and takes advantage through high prices and fees.

One example, cited by a Bed-Stuy pastor in the Daily News, was when Rent-A-Center asked for a payment of $1,600 in order for the church to rent a big screen television for election night festivities. Activists also claim that these payments often increase the actual cost of appliances by three or four times their actual value.

Rent-A-Center CEO Mark Speese has a different view on the situation and maintains that the company allows cash-strapped individuals to purchase items they might not otherwise be able to afford. He also claims that customers can return items at any time, and that most people end up paying similar fees when purchasing items with credit cards at stores like Best Buy.

Shakoor’s Sweet Tooth Is A Thanksgiving Hero

Shakoor Watson, co-owner of Shakoor’s Sweet Tooth bakery in Bed-Stuy, was recently named one of The Brooklyn Paper’s Thanksgiving heroes for his unique culinary creation: the sweet potato cheesecake.

Watson created the recipe a few years ago, and the dessert is now one of their most popular items.

Diabetes-related Deaths On the Rise in Crown Heights and Bed-Stuy

Residents in southern Crown Heights have seen a 141 percent increase in deaths caused by diabetes in the past 16 years, according to statistics released by the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

Out of every 100,000 residents, 51.5 in Crown Heights and 48.1 from Bed-Stuy die from diabetes-related illnesses each year.

Health advocates point to the lacking availability of healthy foods and exercise as some of the causes of the increase.

Bed-Stuy Second Grade Students Visit Medgar Evers Campus

A group of second grade students from Bed-Stuy’s Brighter Choice Community School visited Medgar Evers campus in Crown Heights today.

A total of 17 students–who won’t even be sending out college applications until 2019–was set up by Brighter Choice’s Principal Fabayo McIntosh in an effort to get students thinking about college early.

Brighter Choice is in it’s first year, and currently offers classes for students in grades K-5.

Affordable Housing in Bed-Stuy

The Pratt Area Community Council’s latest development project pledges to bring more affordable housing to Bed-Stuy.

The Gates Cooperative, a 34-unit co-op located at 566 Gates Avenue between Tompkins Ave. and Throop, will set aside 50 percent of its apartments for residents of Community Board #3. Municipal employees and the disabled will also be given priority.

The cooperative will target households with annual incomes ranging from $47,500 to $84,000.

The apartment costs are broken down as follows: 11 two-bedrooms at $87,035, 10 one-bedrooms at $150,713, and 13 two-bedrooms at $167,253. Apartment price tiers are based on the tenant’s income. For a more details, go here.

The co-op showcases green design features, such as energy star appliances and energy efficient light fixtures, that will reduce resident’s energy costs.

The project is part of the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development’s Cornerstone Program. The program aims to facilitate the construction of mixed income housing on city-owned land.

Applications for the apartments are due today, and will be accepted as long as they are postmarked with today’s date. Future tenants will be determined through a lottery system. Go here for an application.

Crown Heights Store Owner Defends Himself With Robber’s Gun

The latest news on the attempted robbery of a variety store in Crown Heights on Monday night is that the store’s owner defended himself with a gun taken from one the burglars.

The New York Times reports that Youssouf Drame, the store’s owner, was unarmed and “wrested a gun away from one of the men and fatally shot two of them.”

One of Drame’s employees at the 1051 Nostrand Ave. store, Drummond Bignott, told Newsday “He took the guy’s gun. Everyone started shooting. He saved my life.”

Drame, 35, was shot several times, and is still in critical condition at Kings County Hospital’s intensive care unit.

Crow Hill Section of Crown Heights Trying for Landmark Status

The Crow Hill Community Association is meeting tonight to discuss the possibility of landmarking this section of Brooklyn that lies between already-landmarked Crown Heights North and Prospect Heights, which is awaiting designation.

The meeting is at 7:30 p.m. at the Haitian American Daycare Center, 1491 Bedford Avenue.

Mark Winston Griffith Running for City Council

In an interview with the Brooklyn Rail’s Nicholas Jahr earlier this month, Mark Winston Griffith mentioned that he plans to run for City Council’s 36th district office, which includes parts of Bed-Stuy and northern Crown Heights.

Currently, Councilman Albert Vann is the incumbent for the district.

Griffith, a Brooklyn native, has been a central figure among activists in Central Brooklyn since the 1990s. The co-director of the Neighborhood Economic Development Advocacy Project from 2005 to 2007, Griffith is currently a fellow at the Drum Major Institute for Public Policy.

I Smell A Rat…

Bedford-Stuyvesant, along with Stuyvesant Heights, have been unofficially ranked as Brooklyn’s second most most rat-ridden neighborhood.

With a whopping 595 rats spotted between 2006 and 2007 by New York City Health Department inspectors, the only section of Brookyln to beat the Bed-Stuy area is the Bushwick/Ridgewood neighborhood, with 770 rodent sightings.

Chief causes of the high tail count include construction and poor garbage pick-up and disposal.

If you have some pesky critters, or just want to stop them from entering your apartment, check out New York City Health Department’s Rat Information Portal for more info.

Two Robbers Killed Outside of Store in Crown Heights

Last night a store owner in Crown Heights was wounded in an attempted robbery. The owner shot and killed two of the robbers, while the rest fled the scene, police said.

The police said that the two men were armed. The store is located at 1051 Nostrand Ave., between Sterling and Lefferts.

The owner was taken to Kings County Hospital, where he remains in critical condition.

For more info on the shooting, go here and for photos of the crime scene go here.

Photo courtesy of the New York Times.