A Brooklyn home that was struck hard by a sudden storm proved to be a life‑saving drama for a local resident, Aaron Akaberi, who died while trying to rescue his pets from a flooded basement.
Akaberi, 39, was a well‑known figure in the Flatbush neighborhood. In 2016 he drew headlines when he appeared in Brooklyn Supreme Court wearing a patchwork “Torah Man” costume made from religious texts.
The outfit—taped together Hebrew verses and a printed version of the Seven Commandments—was a statement after a judge denied him permission to read Talmudic passages at a pre‑trial hearing. Neighbors said he was a devoted Chabad follower and a friendly, if eccentric, member of the community.
On Thursday, over a week after a torrential rain that flooded the area, Akaberi emerged from his basement clutching his mastiff Luna and a cat, Sparky. After a neighbor’s warning that it was unsafe to go back down, he slipped beneath the water again to reach his other dog, Yala, and cat, Chuki, both of whom were still trapped.
Trying to pull Yala out, Akaberi was pulled from the water by firefighters. He survived the first escape, but died at the scene. Luna was rescued; Yala and Chuki were lost. Sparky, an older cat, was also taken home by neighbors and later reported safe.
A neighbor, 20‑year‑old Julia Tall, told reporters that while Akaberi had a “reputation,” his heart shone through his actions. “He had a heart,” she said. A friend named Joe recalled that Akaberi was a ba’al teshuva—someone who returned to religious observance—and that he would often consult Jewish law to live a moral life.
The incident underscored the risk of sudden flooding in New York’s Lower Manhattan areas. Earlier that evening, a man named Juan Carlos Montoya Hernandez, 43, was found unresponsive in a flooded boiler room in Washington Heights.
The building super, Milton Mora, said Montoya was not authorized to be in the boiler room and that he may have been electrocuted in the water.
Neighbors of Akaberi described him as a “friend of the community” who had moved into the Kingston Avenue basement only a month earlier after living in a tent behind the building over the summer.
He was known for his strong faith and his willingness to help neighbors. He left a legacy of courage, living proof that a man can be both eccentric and heroic. The Brooklyn Fire Department is investigating the flooding and how it may have contributed to the tragedies.
For updating stories on Brooklyn flooding, pet safety, or community heroes, keep an eye on local news feeds and emergency alerts.
Source: New York Post
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