Neighbors in the News

A few notable neighbors made headlines for this week for…well, for all sorts of reasons.

Park Slope wouldn’t be Park Slope without legendary preservationist Everett Ortner, who died on May 22nd. The Times remembers the pioneer of the 1960s brownstone revival movement, who, along with his wife, Evelyn, was devoted to restoring the then-neglected houses to their 19th-century splendor. “Brownstones were acceptable but certainly not fashionable,” Ortner once told a reporter. No more. That those same houses are now worth millions is a testament to Ortner’s incredible impact.

Meanwhile — lest we get too sentimental — local teacher Erin Sayar, 36, has just been charged with eight counts of third-degree rape and criminal sexual conduct after a month-long affair with one of her 16-year-old students. The Park Slope resident had been teaching at James Madison High School in Marine Park, which, Gawker points out, was also the site of a high-profile sex scandal last year.