Judge Phillips Is Dead

A real loss to the community. Judge Phillips in his day was a battler for the downtrodden. He fought the Democratic machine and beat them for years. He also had a black belt in karate. Hence his nickname "the kung fu judge". In his later years he was increasingly senile and out of touch. I spent about an hour talking to him a few years ago. A lot of interesting stories.

His theaters The Slave on Fulton in Bed Stuy and the Black Lady on Nostrand in Crown Heights are up for tax auction.

I first heard of his death in the Park Slope Paper. Nice to see they're picking up some Crown Heights and Bed-Stuy news. Here's the link.

http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/8/31_08_john_phillips.html