Credits Gag: The opening "Brooklyn 198X" is displayed as "Brrrklyn 1985".
Heel–Face Turn: The mugger on the subway is genuinely moved by his conversation with Rochelle, and while he still robs everybody, he gives her back her purse.
Heroic Sacrifice: The old man tries to take a bullet for Rochelle, but the mugger tells him not to "tell [him] who to shoot" and even Rochelle tells him not to do something so dumb* in her eyes.
Not So Above It All: Mr. Omar is tasked with looking after Drew and Tonya as Rochelle goes to work and Julius goes out to rescue Chris. At first, he is clearly disinterested and would love to be left alone with his latest widow, but eventually, he starts to enjoy playing games with the kids, which annoys the aforementioned woman.
"Shaggy Dog" Story: Chris really shouldn't have been sent to school as it was announced as closed around the time he made it there. Common sense would say to keep him home anyway considering that there was a damn blizzard outside, but this isRochelle we're talking about.. Inversely, Julius' quest to rescue Chris was for naught because Chris already made it home by the time he reached the school.
Take That!: The mugger points out that a woman on the subway of whom he just robbed has a ring that looks "pretty cheap". She explains that she's married to a man who aspires to be a movie director, and has the entire budget for his film on a credit card. The man's name is apparently Shelton, but he prefers to go by "Spike". Everybody laughs at this nickname, and after hearing his real name, the old man proposes the name "Orenthal" as a much better alternative.
Young Future Famous People: The woman on the subway is getting married to an aspiring movie director with financial issues. Based on his name being Shelton, stage name being "Spike", and the 1985 setting, he's clearly meant to be Spike Lee, and the film he's shooting is She's Gotta Have It, which is the exact film that launched his career.
