Locals say they are disappointed, but not totally surprised, that a Bay Ridge bar with a rowdy reputation was connected to a fatal stabbing over the weekend.
Following the deadly attack of 37-year-old Daryl Dawkins outside of Catch 22 on April 7, neighbors are wondering if the Third Avenue bar needs to be looked at with a closer eye.
“Neighbors were understandably very upset to learn about the fatal stabbing that was reported,” Josephine Beckmann, district manager of Bay Ridge’s Community Board 10, told Brooklyn Paper. “Our heartfelt condolences go out to the family of the victim.”
At around 2:50 a.m. on Sunday morning, police from the 68th Precinct responded to a 911 call of a stabbing at the 72nd Street watering hole. Cops arrived to find the victim — a Pennsylvania father with three kids and one on the way — with a stab wound to the torso. Paramedics rushed Dawkins to NYU Langone-Brooklyn, where he was pronounced dead.
“Although it is still early in the NYPD’s investigation, we have every confidence that those responsible for this senseless act of violence will be swiftly apprehended,” Beckmann said, noting that Catch 22 has been on the board’s radar for quite some time.
Over the past two years alone, the business has racked up nearly 47 noise complaints, Beckmann said, with locals often calling her office to decry the bar’s late night partying, rowdiness and general misconduct.
Council Member Justin Brannan, who represents the area, said his office has already been in touch with local law enforcement and the New York State Liquor Authority concerning the incident.
Crime still on the decline
Bay Ridge’s 68th Precinct is one of the safest in the city, according to police department data.
So far this year, the 68th Precinct — which encompasses Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights and Fort Hamilton — has seen a 3.14% decrease in overall crime year-over-year, according to the latest crime statistics.
However, the location of Sunday’s stabbing (including Catch 22 and its predecessor, am Bar) is no stranger to similar incidents.
In 2016, four men were shot outside the deli across the street after an altercation spilled outside of the bar, as reported by ABC7. And in 2022, 22-year-old Anthony D’Onofrio was fatally stabbed outside the notorious Catrina’s Bar and Grill, less than a block away from Catch 22.
Catch 22 did not respond to Brooklyn Paper’s request for comment.
Another stabbing
Less than 24 hours later, and not far from the scene of the fatal knifing at Catch 22, a 53-year-old man was stabbed in the neck with an unknown object near the corner of Bay Ridge Avenue and Third Avenue at around 12:18 a.m. on April 8.
EMS rushed the victim to NYU Langone-Brooklyn in stable condition.
No arrests have been made in either case, and both investigations remain ongoing, according to a police spokesperson. Authorities are looking for three young men in connection to the April 8 stabbing, who were last seen fleeing west on Bay Ridge Avenue.
“Wanton brutality must never be normalized,” a rep for Brannan’s office said. “Bay Ridge values and respects businesses that value and respect the safety of their neighbors.”
