2 FEBRUARY 9 - FEBRUARY 15, 2018 BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP
UNDERAGE SEX STING
NETS ARREST
A Brooklyn man who had allegedly tried to
coerce a 12-year-old girl into having sex with
him has been arrested.
Shmuel Zarzar, 30, allegedly exchanged
text messages with a 12-year-old girl over the
course of several weeks in December, 2017
after meeting in person in Brooklyn. After the
victim refused to set a time and date to meet
at Zarzar’s insistence, Zarzar allegedly went
to an area near the victim’s school in order to
see her.
Police were notified, and throughout January,
2018, an undercover officer assumed the
victim’s identity to communicate with Zarzar,
who allegedly asked for explicit photos, described
explicit activity and stood near the
victim’s school forhours.
He was apprehended by police after arranging
to meet with the victim in Manhattan on
February 1.
APPLY NOW FOR 3-K FOR
ALL AND PRE-K FOR ALL
The New York City Department of Education
is now accepting applications for free, full-day
3-K for All and Pre-K for All programs. Applications
are provided in 10 languages online,
including Spanish, Russian and Chinese, and
over 200 over the phone or in person.
Families with children born in 2015 who live
in Districts 4, 7, 23, and 27 can apply to 3-K until
the deadline on May 11. Districts 5 and 16 will
be added to the 3-K program in mid-April. All
New York City families with children born in
2014 can apply for Pre-K until March 30. All
offer letters will go out in May.
To register online, go to nyc.gov/3k or nyc.
gov/prek. To apply by phone, call 311. To apply
in person, go to http://on.nyc.gov/1r0lxJq to
find a Family Welcome Center near you.
—Victoria Merlino
PANDA EXPRESS GIVING
BACK TO NEW 'HOOD
There’s a new fast food restaurant in town
and it’s already digging in its heels.
Panda Express, 416 86th Street, which celebrated
an official grand opening on Friday,
February 2, is donating a portion of its opening
day profits to P.S./I.S. 104, an elementary-immediate
school less than a mile away.
The chain, originated in California in 1983,
encourages fundraising through its business
year-round, urging interested applicants to
raise money for their school, organization,
club, team or non-profit organization by dining
at Panda Express.
—Meaghan McGoldrick
BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP/Photos by Arthur de Gaeta
Maria “the Ice Cream Girl” Campanella with Alyssa and Gia Minucci.
“Ice Cream Girl” scoops out
more aid to Puerto Rico
BY VICTORIA MERLINO
EDITORIAL@BROOKLYNREPORTER.COM
She is helping the world, one
party at a time.
Maria “the Ice Cream
Girl” Campanella hosted her second
fundraiser for those affected
by Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico,
raising a total of $256 through
a Valentine’s Day Party filled with
desserts and fun.
The February 6 event was held
at Café Di Giorno, 62 Avenue U,
and looked to support the millions
of Puerto Rican residents
impacted by the deadly category
4 hurricane that hit the island last
September.
“We came out to try to make a
difference in the world,” Campanella
said.
The event raised $128 through
a turnout of 20 people, through
Campanella’s friend Robert Marshall
matched that sum so that
the final total raised was $256.
Campanella said she was grateful
for all the support she received,
whether people came to the event
or not.
Campanella’s first event for
Puerto Rico raised $1,082, and
Love was the motivation behind the fundraiser,
Campanella said.
featured pizza and spumoni eating
contests at the famous L&B
Spumoni Gardens.
“Just because we did it once
doesn’t mean we’re done. We’re
not done until people feel good,”
Campanella said of her choice
to host a second relief event for
Puerto Rico. She asserted that the
citizens of Puerto Rico still need
help, and called the conditions
that people are living in “chaos.”
“We can’t take it for granted
with Mother Nature, when it’s
going to strike,” she said.
Campanella said she hopes that
just as her community helps those
in need, others would return the
favor if her neighborhood were
ever in need.
“That’s real love. These days
and times, it’s not in a card, it’s not
in the mouth — it’s in the heart,”
she said. “It’s gotta come from
the heart. And to do things for
strangers, that’s heart.
“I can’t save the world by myself,
but with a lot of people, we
could help in little amounts,” said
Campanella.