A collapsed tree in HVK traps four

Hey all,

It was such a delight to meet readers at the Greene Ave block party on Sunday — a relief to realize I am not simply typing into the abyss.

This week: the tragic loss of baker Noni Yarema, residents hold the collapsed tree in Herbert Von King to free those trapped underneath, BEM pivots, Su’juk turns 14 and September hosts a Brooklyn x Cabo Verde block party.

Warning: some of the descriptions of injuries are a bit graphic

Parkgoers worked together to provide aid and lift an enormous branch that fell from a towering Pin Oak tree, injuring four people in Herbert Von King Park Saturday afternoon.

“I hear this thunderous crash — so loud — followed by many immediate screams,” Hillary Libby, a yoga teacher who had just sat down on a blanket to read her book when the tree fell, told Bed-Stuy Stoop. “It was pandemonium.”

Hillary joined neighbors in rushing to the scene to immediately try and help those injured, which included two older gentlemen and a young mother.

“An elderly man was under the biggest part of the tree and pinned down,” she explained. “That was terrifying. So many, many hands helped to lift the tree. We were trying to not move him. It was unclear what his injuries were, he wasn’t really able to move.”

Actor Abby Wheeler gave a rather horrifying eyewitness account of the scene:

“I was one of the first to reach the wounded when the branch fell and we held a man’s head together as it gushed blood and showed bone, comforted a man who had knocked out several teeth and was bleeding profusely, and calmed a gentlemen who could barley breathe, was in intense neck pain, and assured a mother who was screaming asking if her children had been crushed,” wrote Abby, in a comment on Chi Ossé’s Instagram about the incident.

The FDNY confirmed that it responded to a call at 3:58pm and four people were transported with minor non-life threatening injuries to Kings County Hospital in East Flatbush. If you or someone you know was among those injured, please reach out to Bed-Stuy Stoop.

The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation arborists do a monthly check of trees in the city’s parks and are responsible for maintaining the health of the city’s park trees.

“It couldn’t have happened at a worse time,” Hillary said. “The middle of the afternoon on an absolutely beautiful Saturday, the park was bustling — so many people about and there was just no warning. No wind, no storm, no nothing.”

According to the city’s tree map, the tree was inspected by a forester on April 11, 2025 and a branch removed on April 16, 2025. The tree map says the trunk diameter was 33 inches, while the Parks Department says the tree it removed had a 37 inch truck diameter.

A Pin Oak with that size trunk would usually be around 70-90 feet tall. It was the biggest Pin Oak tree in the park. Another tree outside the park, a callery pear with a 14 inch trunk diameter, also had to be removed after getting damaged when the Pin Oak fell.

“We take the safety of New Yorkers seriously, and our trained expert foresters work diligently year-round to care for trees in our parks and along the city’s streets,” the city’s Parks Department said in a statement. “We utilize state-of-the-art methodology, informed by the International Society of Arborists and the U.S. Forest Service, and a robust risk inspection protocol to determine tree health.”

Abby wrote on Instagram that the Pin Oak had been “sick” for months before it fell. “This specific tree has had a massive hole at the base for at least six months that was then filled with mesh and gravel (presumably by the parks department),” she wrote.

The Parks Department did not respond to specific questions about what issues, if any, were happening with the tree and how Parks were managing it.

Several people, including Abby, also criticized the actions of police, who were the first responders on scene.

“When the cops arrived they repeatedly shouted “how many hurt”, we pointed them out and began giving details, then they walked off to the park entrance to wait for EMTs and did NOTHING,” wrote Abby. “A few of us tried to calmly tell cops what had happened and how we witnessed people being injured. They pushed us away yelling ‘if you aren’t hurt, move back’ and refused to take statements.”

Neighborhood resident Jordan Sargent agreed. “I was there also and want to echo the statements above about the cops being absolutely useless. slow moving, uninterested, disorganized, and ineffective,” Jordan wrote. “you would think that with a police station essentially at the corner of the park, you would have had cops sprinting to the site of what was mass hysteria, but that was not what happened in the slightest. anyone who was there saw that.”

Hillary said she saw police providing some initial first aid to victims, but then were “escalating” a situation when they tried to tell one of the injured people’s loved ones to leave.

The NYPD responded to the criticisms of their response through a DPCI spokesperson: “Several members of the NYPD were first to respond and immediately began to render aid to multiple victims. This is all documented on Body Worn Camera.”

Hillary said despite the horror scene, it was “heartwarming” to watch everyone come together to rescue their neighbors. “So many people were helping,” she said. “If there were just one, two, three, or even five people, they couldn’t lift that tree.”

• BEM pivots: The Black food bookstore at 373 Lewis Ave is pivoting and will pause its in-person bookselling and cafe from August 9. Instead, it will focus on events.

• Malcolm X returns to Bed-Stuy: A new statue in honor of the civil rights revolutionary is being erected on the corner of Malcolm X Boulevard and Fulton St. Led by GrowHouse NYC, the structure will appear as a series of “X”s from certain angles and will be lit up at night.

• New name loading: Congratulations to editor-in-chief of Marie-Claire and proud Bed-Stuy resident, Nikki Ogunnaike-Fonzin, on her beautiful wedding at Prospect Park Boathouse over the weekend. Photos of the couple posing on the stoop the day of their civil ceremony were particularly sweet. <3

A huge loss for the neighborhood this week with the news that Anthony “Noni” Yarema, owner and head baker at two Bed-Stuy cafes, Bakery by Textbook and Part Two, has died.

Noni, a trans/non binary native New Yorker who infused their baked goods with the taste of the Middle East, northern Africa and the Mediterranean they discovered through travel, was just 30 years old.

“Their love language was food,” Meghan Palmer, a member of Noni’s family, told Bed-Stuy Stoop. “They were quiet and thoughtful. They would share their love in the food they made. I knew Noni had love for me when they began to work on almond croissants, because they’re my favorite.”

Time Out magazine had named Noni one of their Best Young Chefs in New York City in 2025.

Bakery by Textbook is hosting a celebration for Noni’s life on Friday from 5-9pm at 874 Hancock Street.

“Please join us as we gather to remember and celebrate Noni—an extraordinarily kind person who loved animals, their friends, good food, and the world around them with their whole heart,” reads the bakery invite.

A lover of art, live music, poetry, cats and community, Noni previously worked at Queen restaurant and House of Yes in Bushwick.

Noni’s values and community care was woven into the business, such as the “name your price” offering for a loaf of bread at both bakeries, and a grab bag of leftover pastries and bread available for free for anyone experiencing food insecurity.

“Noni often reminded me a full belly means a happier heart,” Meghan said. “They never wanted to see suffering.”

“They were dreaming of writing a recipe book about the people they loved and the food that inspired them,” she added.

On Noni’s Instagram profile, they had a pinned post of their writing. It begins: “If you’re alive and breathing, congrats. You’re taking part in something incredible, something miraculous and mystical.”

Chef Chaz at Frog: After bad weather cancelled initial plans, Chef Chaz will be at Frog Wine Bar on Friday and Saturday from 4pm at 358 Marcus Garvey Boulevard serving up creole food — think jambalaya and crawfish beignets.

Drinks only: Prima on Greene Ave in Clinton Hill is beginning a new monthly event tonight, July 31, called “No Dancing Allowed”, inspired by the old NYC cabaret law that prohibited dancing in certain liquor establishments. Wines curated by Emmanuel Muhammad of Aware Wine and Œnology.Prjts will be served from 6-10pm.

Fundraiser to help Bar Birba rebuild: Disco Bottles, formerly Bondi Wine, is hosting an event to raise money to help rebuild sister business Bar Birba after a recent fire. They’ll be serving Argentinian wines plus snacks on the grill next Wednesday from 6-9pm, in the garden of 305 Franklin Ave, the first time Bed-Stuy Stoop has even heard there WAS a backyard at the wine shop. Tickets are $45.

Su’juk turns 14: The vintage store on Greene Ave is celebrating its anniversary with a party including Golden Ratio cocktails and DJs from 3-8pm this Saturday, August 1.

Brooklyn meets Cabo Verde: September on Saratoga Ave, the only Cape Verdean cafe in all of New York, is continuing its World Cup festivities with a block party this Saturday, August 1. There will be a lot of dancing!

That’s all for this week. If you like what we’re doing, please forward it on to a friend or neighbor. If you don’t have a friend or neighbor, great, use needing their email for this as as an excuse to meet someone.

This week I got 2.5 hours of a part-time nanny, 1 hour at House of Wonder (the only mom on the laptop in the baby section, tsk tsk) and 2 hours at YMCA childcare. A godsend and the only way this got sent, since it’s already a day late and I’m finishing it after midnight. Your paid subscriptions truly make this possible to get childcare and finish the reporting, so if you’re been thinking of upgrading, I highly encourage it!

Until next week.