Thursday, December 22nd, 2011
Jonathan Rubin, Joshua’s brother, sends this information about services and how people can make donations in his memory:
The funeral of Joshua Rubin will be held on Tuesday, December 27 at 10am at Temple EmanuEl, 99 Taft Avenue Providence, RI 02906 with burial to follow at Lincoln Park Cemetery, Cranston, RI.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Joshua’s memory to one of two places:
Camp Ramah New England
39 Bennett Street
Palmer, MA 01069
The Bureau of Jewish Education of RI
Israel Desk Scholarship Fund
130 Sessions Street
Providence, RI 02906
- Mary
Tags: Funeral, Josh Rubin, Whisk
Posted in Crime |
Wednesday, December 21st, 2011
Joshua Rubin, the owner of Whisk Bakery Cafe who was reported missing on October 31, has been found dead in Pennsylvania. The Associate Press is reporting that his body was identified through DNA evidence as the victim of a gunshot wound, found along a rural road in South Whitehall Township on November 1. The death has been ruled a homicide.
We’re checking with the 70th Precinct to see if they have any additional information, and will update as we hear.
This week, the landlords of the space where Whisk is located posted a notice on the gates, which have been shut since Josh’s disappearance, that they have begun proceedings to reclaim the premises.
The Find Josh Rubin Facebook page, which was set up days after his disappearance, seems to have been taken down is back up this evening, and they’ve posted that they will announce funeral services soon. We’ll see what we can find out about sending condolences, or if there will be a memorial service, and let you know. If anyone knows of anything, or would like to set something up in the neighborhood, let us know.
We cannot begin to express our heartfelt condolences to Josh’s family, friends, and customers who had gotten to know him during the brief time his shop was open.
- Mary
Tags: Homicide, Josh Rubin, Whisk
Posted in Crime |
Saturday, November 19th, 2011
It’s been 19 days since Whisk Bakery Cafe’s Josh Rubin disappeared, and his family is trying every option available to find him. At a press conference in front of the 70th Police Precinct today, just steps from the last place Josh was seen, his sister Hilarie announced that friends and loved ones are offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to finding him.
“We love Joshua very much, we are devestated that he is missing, and are frustrated that we have been unable to find him after almost three weeks of searching,” Hilarie said. “The emotional toll of not knowing where he is, not knowing if he is safe, or cold, or sick, or hungry, or worse, is simply unbearable.”
There have been no leads, and the police have been unable to uncover anything about what may have happened.
“The police have checked morgues and precincts and hosptials, and there’s been no further information,” Hilarie said.
She said she last spoke with Josh on Sunday night, the day before he disappeared, and that he sounded normal and happy, with plans to go out to dinner with friends. She added that he is very close with his family and friends, and is always on the phone with them. He doesn’t have a girlfriend, and had slept at his apartment every night.
Additionally, Josh did not have access to his car. He had left it, broken down, at his mother’s house in Rhode Island after he attended a wedding. He didn’t feel comfortable driving it back to Brooklyn, and left it there to eventually be repaired.
The last phone call Josh made was to increase the bagel order for the cafe for Tuesday morning, a day that only he was scheduled to work.
The family is most concerned that Josh disappeared without his diabetes medication, and that he could be sick somewhere, and people may not know who he is.
“With diabetics,” Hilarie explained, “if your blood-sugar gets to a certain level and it’s not maintained or taken care of, you can forget who you are, you can forget you’re a diabetic, you can go into organ failure. That is at the center of our concerns, and that’s why the hospitals are such an important part of our search.”
As for reports that Josh was planning to sublet his apartment, the family said they had never heard of Zach Boyce, and neither have Josh’s roommates or the police.
“It’s very odd to come forward after weeks of his being missing, to bring this information to light,” Hilarie said.
In an effort to work every option that is available to them, the family has hired a private investigator. Eric Lopez of Strategic Investigations worked with the NYPD for 21 years, and has been a private investigator for five–in which time he’s turned up seven missing people. Lopez said he still thinks Josh is in New York.
“Someone has to have seen him,” Lopez said. “Hopefully they come forward. We will continue going out to different locations that haven’t been covered, and putting up posters with information about the reward money.”
“The areas around where he lives and around his cafe are lively both day and night, and we are hoping that someone has seen something, anything, that can help us find him,” Hilarie said. “Our hearts are broken, and we are asking that anyone who has any information call the 70th Precinct.”
If you have any information about Josh Rubin, please call the 70th Precinct at 718-851-5560. If you are able to put up more missing posters, we will have a PDF of the new poster with the reward information soon, as will the Find Josh Rubin Facebook page, where you can continue to check for further updates.
UPDATE: Please click here for a PDF of the new missing poster.
This story has been updated to remove a conversation between the family and a Brooklyn Paper reporter.
- Mary
Tags: Josh Rubin, missing, Whisk
Posted in News |
Wednesday, November 16th, 2011
It’s been over two weeks since Josh Rubin, owner of Whisk Bakery Cafe, went missing, and unfortunately there haven’t been any leads that the police or the family have been able to share. Additionally, the shop has remained closed since being open briefly on November 2.
The Facebook page that was set up following his disappearance notes that while people have put posters in locations all over the city, some have been torn down–and now with today’s rain, even more are getting damaged. They ask that people replace them where appropriate. You can download a poster here, and there are additional versions available in multiple languages here.
Meanwhile, the Brooklyn Paper spoke with a man who claims he was arranging to sublet Josh’s room in his apartment. He says Josh showed him the room the day before he disappeared, but Josh’s roommates say they know nothing about this.
If anyone has any information that might help with the investigation, please contact the 70th Precinct detective squad at 718-851-5553.
- Mary
Tags: Josh Rubin, missing, Whisk
Posted in News |
Monday, November 7th, 2011
As more missing posters go up around the city (see the full map for locations already covered and those where the family hopes people can still put up flyers), more media outlets have been picking up the story of Josh Rubin, including the New York Times, Huffington Post, and Gothamist. At the request of the 70th Precinct, family and friends are being asked not to speak to the media, so there’s no more info available at the moment.
Meanwhile, many have asked about an update on another man reported missing recently, a man whose disappearance hasn’t seemed to have gotten as much attention. Maximiliano Huales of East 9th Street was last seen on October 27, but unfortunately we have been unable to get any more information on his whereabouts. We’ve been checking with the 66th Precinct, and have been unable to contact any relatives. As soon as we hear anything more, we’ll let you know.
If anyone has any information that might help with the Josh Rubin investigation, please contact the 70th Precinct detective squad at 718-851-5553. Anyone with information about Maximiliano Huales is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS.
- Mary
Tags: Josh Rubin, missing, Whisk
Posted in News |
Saturday, November 5th, 2011
A group will be meeting today at 570 Westminster Rd to hang “missing” posters of Josh around the neighborhood, according to the Find Josh Rubin Facebook group.
Neighbors are welcome to join. Bring tape, and meet in front of the building at 1:30pm.
- Mary
Tags: Josh Rubin, missing, Whisk
Posted in News |
Friday, November 4th, 2011
A Facebook page has been created to help spread the word about Josh Rubin’s disappearance. One helpful thing they’ve created is a map of locations where people have already put up missing posters. If you put any up around the area, email the streets to findjoshrubin@gmail.com and include the word ‘poster’ in the subject line.
- Mary
Tags: Josh Rubin, missing, Whisk
Posted in News |
Thursday, November 3rd, 2011
The doorman at 570 Westminster, the building above Whisk, has “missing” posters with Josh’s picture on them, and his family hopes neighbors can pick them up and post them all around both Ditmas Park and Kensington–remember to bring tape when you pick up the posters. UPDATE: Click here for a PDF that you can print out, as well.
Additionally, a friend of Josh’s sent along a couple of photos, please click these to view them larger. He’s not wearing his glasses in the pics, but they give you an idea of how tall he is.
- Mary
Tags: Josh Rubin, missing, Whisk
Posted in News |
Thursday, November 3rd, 2011
Josh Rubin was not behind in his rent on his cafe, Whisk, reports the Ditmas Park Blog.
They spoke with the landlord, who said he hadn’t missed a payment, which contradicts information stated in a Brooklyn Paper story this morning.
Additionally, the Police Department is expected to have some more pictures of Josh later, and we’ll share them when we have them.
- Mary
Tags: Josh Rubin, missing, Whisk
Posted in News |
Thursday, November 3rd, 2011
Whisk Bakery Cafe did not open this morning, and there’s still no news on where Josh Rubin, the shop’s owner, is.
Now trouble with money and bipolar disorder are coming to the front, as the Brooklyn Paper explains:
In addition to the mental disorder, Rubin was also traumatized by falling behind on the rent on his two-month-old establishment.
An employee at Whisky [sic] confirmed that Rubin had been trying to sell the café in recent days.
Had anyone heard about that? Any time I’ve been in there, it hasn’t been incredibly busy, but it’s not empty either.
If anyone has thoughts on what more we can do to help, please share in the comments. One reader suggested organizing to put up posters around the area. If you are interested or have more photos of Josh that might help in the search, please email us at kensingtonprospect@gmail.com or post it in the comments.
- Mary
Tags: Josh Rubin, missing, Whisk
Posted in News |
