Daily Archives: February 3, 2017

Man charged with robbing and choking Stuy Town woman

June23 sign

Stuyvesant Town (Photo by Sabina Mollot)

By Maria Rocha-Buschel

A Stuyvesant Town woman was attacked inside her apartment by a man she met on the street earlier that night at the end of last month.

Police said that the 52-year-old victim met three men in the neighborhood on the night of January 22 and invited them back to her apartment at 5 Stuyvesant Oval around 12:45 a.m. Two of the men left the apartment shortly after to buy cigarettes and once they were gone, 23-year-old Shadi Torres allegedly grabbed the victim and threw her to the ground.

According to the District Attorney’s office, Torres also attempted to pull down her pants and allegedly attempted to strangle her, putting a hand around her neck and forcefully squeezing her throat, causing substantial pain and swelling. A criminal complaint said that the victim attempted to call 911 but Torres grabbed the phone and threw it against the wall. When the victim tried to call 911 on her cell phone, Torres allegedly grabbed the device and ran out of the apartment. It was unclear if the victim’s phone was recovered.

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Pigeon-napper strikes again, says PCV woman

Pigeons like these have been getting sold for target practice. (Photo by Sabina Mollot)

Pigeons like these have been getting sold for target practice. (Photo by Sabina Mollot)

By Sabina Mollot

Last month, Town & Village reported that a ring of bird-nappers have been seen trapping and then selling local pigeons to customers out of state who then use them for target practice. While they have yet to be arrested, one bird-napper was caught last year on Stuyvesant Town’s surveillance cameras as he worked to catch birds on East 14th Street and First Avenue.

And now, he’s back, according to a woman who said she watched in horror as a man caught pigeons in a net in Peter Cooper Village on Saturday.

The witness, a resident of Peter Cooper who asked that her name not be published, said it happened in broad daylight at around 12:10 p.m. on First Avenue between 21st and 22nd Streets.

She said she watched as he put out some seed, and following a few birds’ immediate interest, quickly scooped them up. He didn’t get more than those few, however, since the woman said she screamed at him to stop.

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Stuy Town sisters open Portuguese restaurant in former Yaffa Café space

Owners Raquel and Patricia Sanguedo (Photos by Maria Rocha-Buschel)

Owners Raquel and Patricia Sanguedo (Photos by Maria Rocha-Buschel)

By Maria Rocha-Buschel

What started as the hunt for a new kitchen for a catering business turned into the debut of a Portuguese comfort food restaurant in Taberna 97, opened on St. Mark’s Place just after Thanksgiving by two sisters living in Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village.

Raquel Sanguedo and her sister Patricia run Noz Catering, which provides services for the fashion industry. When looking around for a kitchen, they found out through Little Missionary’s Day Nursery director Eileen Johnson, a neighbor, that the space formerly occupied by Yaffa Café was available. In addition to the catering business, Raquel and Patricia own St. Dymphna’s, an Irish bar down the block, along with Patricia’s husband, Eric Baker, and the three own the new business together.

Raquel said that she and her sister didn’t necessarily have a lifelong dream to open a Portuguese restaurant — although they are Portuguese — but Baker had aspirations to open up a tavern. So when they found out about the space, it seemed like a good opportunity.

“I never thought I would own an Irish bar either but sometimes you just go with the flow,” Raquel said.

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