The moment a car destroyed a building on Fulton St

Hey all,

Happy Thursday and welcome to the newest edition of Bed-Stuy Stoop, a weekly newsletter about the news, politics and businesses of Bed-Stuy.

In this edition we speak with the prize-winning Greenest Block gardeners on Jefferson Ave, chat to Noir Yoga owner Dr Mason Mason (what a powerful name) about the road rage incident that set his second location back from opening and ask for volunteers to help plan a block party in five days.

The new Noir Yoga studio on Fulton Street is being rebuilt again after a terrifying road rage incident destroyed the front of the building just days before its opening.

Owner Mason Mason had planned to unveil the second location of his Bed-Stuy yoga studio at the corner of Fulton and Marcus Garvey Ave on August 1.

The signage had been installed. New floors had just been put in and the buildout finished. The mats and yoga blocks were due to be delivered the next day.

Then he got a text at 12:38am on July 8 from his property manager: “We had two cars just crash into the building. I’m afraid there might be damages in the commercial space.”

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Shortly afterwards, he got sent a surveillance video — which quickly went viral — that shows two cars driving straight into the building, injuring a pedestrian.

Another video shows a car driving through the lobby of the building, absolutely demolishing the front door and facade.

“That’s when I knew how bad it really was and how crazy the whole incident was,” Mason said. “My text reaction was literally just ‘holy crap’.”

The facade of the building was shattered and the front door completely gone. Concrete and brick pillars were taken out. The structural wall between the residential part of the building and the commercial space was destroyed. The incident caused the sprinkler system to go off, bursting a pipe, and covering the brand new floors with a pool of water. And all the freshly painted black ceiling was covered in white debris.

Right now contractors are in the middle of rebuilding what was destroyed.

The outside is nearly finished and then the Department of Buildings has to come and give the approval — possibly as early as next week — that it’s all structurally sound, so that the contractors can start on the inside, again.

“Our contractors are going to go in and redo the same work they finished the Friday before the accident happened,” Mason said. “But dealing with the DOB and city government is not always the fastest.”

However, all publicity is good publicity, notes Mason. He’d been struggling to get coverage of the opening of the Black-owned studio which focuses on mindful movement before the accident. On Wednesday, Bed-Stuy Stoop was the third journalist he’d spoken with that day. A UK reality show, Unbelievable Moments Caught on Camera, is coming to film on Sunday.

And most importantly, he’s thrilled to have a big new space in the heart of Bed-Stuy, with a garden for outdoor classes, heated yoga facilities and more room to build on what he’s been doing at his Ralph Ave location.

“I want us to be an anchor in the Bed-Stuy community,” he said. “I’m so thrilled to have the opportunity to get a space in that location.”

• Bed-Stuy Stoop revealed that Well Nice is opening up in the old Fancy Nancy spot on the corner of Bedford and Lafayette. The bar has 10 days to raise an extra $10,000 to meet its $25,000 target on Kickstarter for opening (they’ve chosen an ‘all or nothing’ fundraiser, which means they lose everything they have so far if they don’t hit the target). Kickstarter doesn’t allow businesses to advertise alcohol as a reward which makes it difficult for a wine bar but if you choose the $500 reward for a 4 person dinner, you will not be leaving thirsty. Same obviously goes for the $2000 wine tasting and tarot class for 10 people (a great bachelorette).

Last week we reported that Jefferson Ave, between Lewis and Stuyvesant, had tied for second in Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s Greenest Block Competition. One of the gardeners and organizers, Robin Lester-Kenton, spoke to Bed-Stuy Stoop about how the competition is “possibly the nicest thing I have been involved in in NYC”.

Their block’s Green Team was made up of neighbors across different generations, races, and backgrounds. This year they leveled up: adding community herbs, making self-irrigating planters by hand and creating signage all around the block.

“The absolute best part of participating in this competition is how much it has brought neighbors together,” Robin said, who has lived on the block for 16 years.

Bed-Stuy Stoop had a delightful wander along the block during a morning run, finding humor and fun details amongst the greenery. “The ‘moonlight garden’ was conceived after someone found a condom in the tree pit!” Robin said.

For the Kinfolk, which curates events to celebrate culture and Black communities, is putting together a last minute block party on Quincy Street this Sunday.

“We got approved yesterday for our permit,” founder Jaylin Sutherland told Bed-Stuy Stoop on Wednesday.

She’d begun the permit application back in May. “I don’t think it’s super clear on what you need to do to complete the process,” Jaylin said. “The people who approve or deny them aren’t super forthcoming.”

With the last-minute permit acquired, they have a lot to organize in just a few days. DJs got finalized yesterday, local artists will be doing activations and a speaker system — the biggest cost of the day — has been booked thanks to The Laundromat Project’s Create and Connect Fund.

Jaylin is now calling for volunteers and local businesses to help with the block party, to be held on her grandparents block between Malcom X and Patchen.

A passport system will exist in order to receive the free goodies available, such as the NA cocktails available from Medase Cocktails, with people being rewarded for interacting with the small businesses and art activities involved.

“You have to interact. We’re not just gathering for the hell of it,” Jaylin said.

• Peak summer block party time continues

  • On Saturday, Hancock St between Bedford and Nostrand has its block party from 11am-7pm. As well as the classic bounce castle and music, there will be pickleball and an international potluck station.

  • On Sunday, August 16, the 300 block of Halsey is hosting their block party from 8am-7pm.

• Commune dines again: Commune on Lexington Ave is launching a new communal dinner series, where strangers come together to share tables, conversations and meals together. Kicks off on Sunday night, with tickets costing $65 for three courses and two glasses of wine.

• Free stuff for kids: Still Good, the organization which collects donations from the community and gives them away, is putting on a free shop for kids. The event, co-hosted with Kin & Clove, takes place this Sunday from 11am-2pm at the Jackie Robinson Park Playground, and will include free kids toys, clothes and books.

The Italian owner of Corto on Halsey St (readers had recommended their focaccia sandwiches in the Bed-Stuy Stoop chat and they were correct, A+) for live streaming the solar eclipse from Spain on a laptop.

That’s all for this edition! And yes that write-through of Clementine is on its way for paid subscribers — it got delayed by extra interviews and a teething baby but will be out this week.

Thank you for reading Bed-Stuy Stoop. We wrote this edition in the Bed-Stuy YMCA, at Brooklyn Tea (loved the Honeybush), at a shared table at Corto and in bed at 1am, because that’s one of the few times I can work without a baby trying to chew every wire and shoe in sight. Your paid subscriptions quite genuinely pay for a day of childcare so I can work on this, so if you’ve been thinking about upgrading, let this be your sign.

And if you like what you’re doing, tell your friends about it — we’ve heard of people forwarding it to the listserv of their building!

Until next time.