Beloved Bed-Stuy Veteran, James Been, Dies At 101 Years Old

BED-STUY, BROOKLYN — A beloved Bed-Stuy veteran who called Halsey Street home for nearly a century died recently at 101 years old, according to the local council member's office.

James A. Been, known as a fixture of his block and his neighborhood, passed away on July 2, a little more than a week after celebrating his 101st birthday on Juneteenth, Council Member Robert E. Cornegy Jr. said on Facebook.

"RIP Mr. James A Been!" Cornegy wrote. "It was an absolute honor!"

Been, a World War II veteran, had lived on his Halsey Street block for 92 years.

He was known by friends and neighbors as a source of neighborhood history, having watched Bed-Stuy change from a time of horse and buggies to the buses he would eventually drive for a living.

Been was drafted in 1942 and served as a radio operator in the 93rd Infantry Division, Headquarters Company 369th Infantry Regiment — an all-Black regiment known as the Harlem Hell Fighters.

When he returned to New York, he drove electric trolleys and then the gasoline-powered buses.

"He's our hero," his friend Debbie McClain told Patch last year at his 100th birthday party. "When I say 'hero,' I mean New York, I mean Bedford-Stuyvesant."

That hero status was evident even after his death, when more than 100 Brooklynites mourned his passing on Facebook.

"What an incredible human," one commenter wrote.

"Rest well Hero and thank you for you service," another said.

Later in life, Been made headlines when the community rallied to stop him from being evicted from his home. A fraudulent loan that had put the house in foreclosure was ultimately forgiven last year.

Also last year, Been was given a proclamation recognizing his achievements and life through the "evolution and transformation of his beloved community."

Asked that summer about the secret to making it a past a century in life, Been had nothing but gratitude.

"I never knew I would make it, but I'm glad I made it," he said. "I enjoy every second of it."

Patch reporter Matt Troutman contributed to this report.