Community Corner

Good News: Prospect Park Getting Ice Rink in December

Some stories put a smile on your face. Here's our wrap-up from around NYC.

As a local news organization, Patch covers stories of all kinds, from heartbreaking tragedies to nitty-gritty breakdowns of government and school district issues. But some stories are simply inspiring, often showing that at the heart of our communities is a desire to do good. Here are some of the touching headlines from the past seven days.

Historic Dorchester Road Church Gets A New Ceiling

The Flatbush-Tompkins Congregational Church's will celebrate the construction of a new ceiling on Sep. 8, the blog Brownstonerreported.

Part of the church's ceiling was damaged in April 2012. Check out the new ceiling on the restoration company PRESERVinc's Twitter.

Find out what's happening in Fort Greene-Clinton Hillwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Community Fundraises for Brooklyn Bike Patrol Founder's Medical Bills

Locals have started an online campaign to help an instrumental member of the community get back on his feet.

Jay "Rocket" Ruiz is the founder of the Brooklyn Bike Patrol, an organization whose sole mission is to make sure the women of the borough make it home at night safely.

Find out what's happening in Fort Greene-Clinton Hillwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Ruiz, who is a 48-year-old dispatcher at a Manhattan bike messenger company by day, started Brooklyn Bike Patrol in 2011 to combat the spate of sexual assaults in Park Slope and South Slope by walking women from the subway to their homes safely. Despite his daily exercise, which includes 100 pushups a day and riding 150 to 200 miles a week on his bike, Ruiz suffered two heart attacks—one on June 9 at 1 a.m. and the other in the middle of the day on June 10.

Ruiz was uninsured. To help Ruiz pay his medical bills, community member Ellen Baxt created online campaign "Medical bills for Jay Ruiz" ongofundme.com, a crowd sourcing and fundraising website reliant on donations by those interested in the campaign's mission.  

Prospect Park Ice-skating Rink to Open This December, Really

Prospect Park's long-awaited Wollman ice-skating rink is officially scheduled to open this December, a park official confirmed Monday.

The rinks will be part of Lakeside Center, the $74 million, 26- acre project also slated to open mid-December.

"It is anticipated that Lakeside will accommodate three times the number of visitors as compared to the former rink," a release about Lakeside on Prospect Park's website notes.

Upcoming Barber Shop Seeks To Help Troubled Teens

The owner and contractor of a barber shop on Washington Avenue set to open next week are hoping to help local Brooklyn kids caught up in gangs by teaching them a trade.

Owner Kream Waters, originally from a violent area in California referred to as "the Jungle," said he wanted to build Star Status to teach teens how to make honest money.

"You've just got to take the hustle and use it the right way," he said. "I want to show New York kids that it can be done."


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