Final Thoughts from Bushwick

I have never been one for long, drawn-out goodbyes, but I continue to struggle to find the appropriate words to adequately describe the last seven years and three months that I have lived in the greatest city in the world.

A few moments stand out—covering the protests over the 2004 Republican National Convention, working on Fire Island for six summers and riding my then-roommate Christian’s bicycle over the Williamsburg Bridge to get to my Midtown office during the 2005 Transit Strike and interviewing same-sex couples who married on the day the state’s marriage equality law took effect in July. Other perhaps less obvious moments also come to mind. These include walking through Chinatown on a Saturday afternoon, taking the subway to Rockaway Beach, strolling through the Union Square Farmers Market with a $1.25 bag of broken pretzels and simply admiring the Manhattan skyline from the roof of my building here in Bushwick on a balmy summer night.

I have had the distinct pleasure of knowing some of the most kind and generous people I have ever met in my life here in New York. I have also had the distinct misfortune of knowing some of the most self-centered and morally bankrupt people I have ever met in my life here in New York. And while the city and some of those within it have not always proven particularly kind to this New Hampshire native, I will close this chapter of my life in a few hours with absolutely no regrets.

Thank you, New York.

The View from Jefferson Street

One last view from Jefferson Street before the move to Washington, D.C., is complete.

NYC Officials Seek Information on Anti-Gay Attack in Brooklyn

New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn was among the officials who distributed flyers at a Brooklyn intersection earlier on Tuesday, Sept. 27, about a reported anti-gay attack earlier this month.

Police say Julius "Stinky" Wright sexually assaulted a 24-year-old while shouting anti-gay slurs at him on Myrtle Avenue around 3:30 a.m. on Sept. 5. Wright allegedly stole the victim's cell phone before he asked him about his sexual orientation as he pretended to hold a gun.

Photos by Robin Levine.

NYPD Identifies Suspect in Anti-Gay Attack in Brooklyn

Police say a 21-year-old man used anti-gay slurs against a man as he sexually assaulted him on a Brooklyn street earlier this month.

Julius "Stinky" Wright allegedly approached the 24-year-old man on Myrtle Avenue around 3:30 a.m. on Sept. 5. WABC reported the New York Police Department said that Wright stole the victim's cell phone before he asked him about his sexual orientation as he pretended to hold a gun. Wright allegedly proceeded to sexually assault the victim while shouting anti-gay slurs at him.

WABC reported that the man was treated at Woodhull Medical Center and released.

"We must put an end to the intolerance that breeds this hatred, said New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz and City Councilman Albert Vann in a joint statement they released after news of the attack broke late on Friday, Sept. 23. "New York City prides itself on diversity and acceptance of all its residents and this act goes against the very fiber of what our city stands for."

Quinn, Vann and City Councilwoman Letitia James plan to distribute flyers about the incident to passersby on the corner of Myrtle and Throop Avenues at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 27.

NYC Officials Condemn Reported Anti-Gay Attack in Brooklyn

New York City officials late on Friday, Sept. 23, condemned a reported hate crime against a gay man who was walking home in Brooklyn earlier this month.

The man was walking in Bedford-Stuyvesant at 3:30 a.m. on Sept. 5 when he was attacked. The man's assailant or assailants reportedly used anti-gay slurs during the attack.

“We are disgusted and horrified to hear about this incident. Hate crimes hurt everyone, and any act of violence against one member of the LGBT community is an act of violence against us all," said New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz and City Councilman Albert Vann in a joint statement. "Too often we hear about acts of violence committed against LGBT people in our city. We must put an end to the intolerance that breeds this hatred. New York City prides itself on diversity and acceptance of all its residents and this act goes against the very fiber of what our city stands for."

The New York Police Department's Hate Crimes Task Force continues to investigate the incident.

Brooklyn Councilman Detained at West Indian Day Parade

Brooklyn politicians have expressed outrage after police officers detained City Councilmember Jumaane Williams earlier today during the annual West Indian Day Parade.

The Daily News reported that New York Police Department officers handcuffed and detained Williams and Kirsten John Foy, director of community affairs for former City Councilman and Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, around 1:30 p.m. De Blasio told the Daily News that officers threw Foy to the ground before they handcuffed him. The New York Times further reported that officers detained Williams and Foy when they tried to use a sidewalk that had been cordoned off by the NYPD to walk to an event at the Brooklyn Museum.

“It’s broad daylight, they get thrown to the ground, they both get arrested,” de Blasio told the Times. “If that’s what happens to an elected official and a senior appointee, imagine what happens to a general member of the public.”

An NYPD spokesperson told the Times that "an unknown individual" had punched a police captain before the incident. Congresswoman Yvette Clark and Assemblyman Hakeen Jeffries were quick to blast the officers' actions.

Williams, who is an outspoken critic of the NYPD's stop-and-frisk policy, is expected to discuss the incident at a press conference on the steps of City Hall on Tuesday, Sept. 6.

The View from Jefferson Street

Good riddance Irene!

Video: Hurricane Irene Bears Down on Bushwick

I shot this from my bedroom window on Jefferson Street in Bushwick around 7:50 a.m. as the center of Hurricane Irene passed within 30 miles of the city.

Leaves and some tree branches have come down, while the sunflowers that were in the garden across the street from my building have fallen. There is some garbage and debris on the street, but we still have electricity.

Video: Hurricane Irene Bears Down on Bushwick

The brunt of Hurricane Irene continues to bear down on Bushwick.

The lights have flickered a couple of times here on Jefferson Street, but we thankfully still have electricity. A tree in our backyard continues to lean. The wind has also shredded a canopy that covered an outdoor patio in the building next to mine.

I shot this video from my bedroom window around 6:20 a.m.

Outer Bands of Hurricane Irene Reach Bushwick

The outer banks of Hurricane Irene have begun to reach Bushwick.

A steady and increasingly torrential rain began about 20 minutes ago. The breeze has begun to freshen, but it remains well under 20 mph.

The checkout lines at the Associated Supermarket on the corner of Knickerbocker Avenue and Starr Street were more than a dozen people deep earlier this morning. They were even longer at the dollar store on the corner of Knickerbocker Avenue and Troutman Street, but everyone was calm and orderly as they stocked up on canned foods, candles and other supplies. I even purchased some Bacardi Gold at a nearby liquor store to make some hurricanes during the storm.

Several windows on my block on Jefferson Street have tape on them, but restaurants, Chinese take-outs, the supermarket and even the laundromat on Knickerbocker Avenue were open around 6:30 p.m.

Earthquake Shakes Bushwick

An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.9 shook large swaths of the East Coast shortly before 2 p.m.

The earthquake’s epicenter is near Charlottesville, Va., but I certainly felt the tremor here in Bushwick. I was actually on the phone with my boyfriend in Dupont Circle in Washington, D.C., when the pots and pans hanging above my stove suddenly began to sway. I initially thought that a gust of wind had caused them to move, but I realized it was an earthquake when the floor started shaking. I grabbed my keys, walked outside and watched several other people come out of buildings on Jefferson Street.

Aside from no cell phone service, everything appears to have returned to normal here in Bushwick. Social media networks remain uninterrupted. And the tremor managed to push Dominique Strauss-Kahn from the headlines.

Back to work...

The view from Jefferson Street

It's 9:12 a.m., and it's already hot!

An Excessive Heat Warning will be in effect in the five boroughs from noon to 8 p.m. The temperature could reach 95-degrees in Bushwick today, while the heat index could eclipse 102. Tomorrow's high temperature in the city could surpass the century mark.

Let's hope that I get everything done the to-do list so I can make a hasty retreat to Fire Island in the morning.

The view from Jefferson Street

Good thing I found my keys!

A sudden downpour descended upon Bushwick shortly after 7 p.m. I had just arrived home from the supermarket when a strong gust front forced me to frantically shut my bedroom and office windows. And then the rains came--and hard for about 10 minutes.

So what does any good journalist do when a sudden downpour inundates his neighborhood?

The view from Jefferson Street

It's a sultry summer morning here in Bushwick with thunderstorms on tap throughout the day.

The view from Jefferson Street

A hot and humid day is on tap here in Bushwick.

The view from Jefferson Street

The storms that passed near the city earlier today thankfully did not produce tornadoes like those that tore through Brooklyn last September, but they did leave a beautiful sunset in their wake.

I took these two pictures from my bedroom window shortly before 8 p.m. The second picture is a bit crooked because I was simultaneously on the phone with my parents in southern New Hampshire. The cells that spawned tornadoes in Massachusetts earlier today passed roughly 35 miles south of their home. They are fine.

Another dank Bushwick morning

When will this rain finally go away?

The lettuce in the garden may appreciate the Seattle-like weather that has enveloped the five boroughs in recent days, but I am certainly ready to hit the beach without a sweater!

The morning after in Bushwick

It's eerily quiet here on Jefferson Street after last night's shootout that left a suspected gun trafficker dead.

Two NYPD patrol cars were in front of 193 Knickerbocker Ave. about 45 minutes ago, while a television station's van was parked in front of a nearby bodega. A handful of candles have been placed in front of the building in which the shooting took place, but it was an otherwise normal Thursday morning in this part of Bushwick.

Undercover police officer kills suspected gun trafficker in Bushwick

It was certainly anything but a quiet night here in Bushwick!

Police officials told the New York Times that an undercover NYPD officer shot and killed a gun dealer shortly after he opened fire shortly after 8 p.m. The incident took place inside a building at 193 Knickerbocker Avenue while the undercover officer was reportedly trying to purchase weapons from two men.

I came across the scene as I was walking home from a grocery store on Bogart Street. Officers were quickly cordoning off Knickerbocker Avenue between Jefferson and Troutman Streets, and dozens of uniformed and apparently undercover NYPD officers had already converged on the scene when I happened upon the intersection. Officers placed one handcuffed man into a police car, and a second man was brought out of the building on the corner of Knickerbocker and Jefferson. I also saw several young men who were also apparently handcuffed sitting along a chain-link fence on Jefferson. I arrived home on Jefferson Street around 8:30 p.m. after I walked down Melrose Street and onto Irving Avenue.

The view from Jefferson Street

It was so cold here in Bushwick this morning that the heat in my apartment actually turned on!

The cool breeze has brought a distinctly autumnal feel to the borough on this Cinco de Mayo. And while I may have to pull out my sweater this morning, local meteorologists expect warmer weather will arrive before I head to Fire Island on Saturday morning. Summer is (hopefully) just around the corner!