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Brooklyn Today January 29: Golden’s ‘Ghetto Drug’ Remark on Opioids Sparks Outrage

January 29, 2018 Brooklyn Daily Eagle
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THE LEDE: Happy Monday, Brooklyn! A Brooklyn legislator wants to ban ‘bump stocks,’ Marty Golden’s in hot water, and a new report says Brooklyn is the best borough for families on a budget. Plus, 311 is now taking 24/7 complaints on Twitter, this is one of the worst flu seasons of all time, and Las Vegas tycoon Steve Wynn is accused of sexual misconduct. Finally, a fire in a South Korean hospital kills at least 37 people, 30 Somali and Ethiopian refugees drown off the coast of Yemen, and President Trump receives a golden toilet. Have a great week.
 
IMPRINT: Saoirse Ronan, Greta Gerwig and Laurie Metcalf stand side-by-side on the latest cover for Entertainment Weekly.

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The Rundown
 

~GOLDEN’S ‘GHETTO DRUG’ REMARK ON OPIOIDS SPARKS OUTRAGE: A statement made by state Sen. Marty Golden to the Brooklyn Eagle earlier this month recently went viral after Newsweek, the New York Post and the Daily News reported on the remark. The comment has since sparked outrage among Golden’s constituents and others across the city. “It’s not a ghetto drug. It’s happening to doctors’ kids,” Golden said of opioids. “They cut heroin from fentanyl. The kid is addicted by the second or third hit of heroin.” The remark has since been labeled “classist,” “racist” and “shameful” by Brooklynites and professionals in the drug and alcohol field. Sheila Vakharia, a Bay Ridgeresident and assistant professor of social work at Long Island University Brooklyn with expertise in substance use, treatment and addiction, said Golden’s comments were “classist,” “racially coded,” “alienating” and “divisive.” “Using a word like ‘ghetto’ is code for poor and black,” Vakharia told us. “Using a term like ‘doctors’ kids’ is code for middle class and white. He used that language to somehow make it seem like addiction has become a white issue, however, decades of epidemiological data suggests that black and white people have been using drugs at comparable rates.” (via Brooklyn Eagle)
 
~BROOKLYN LEGISLATOR SEEKS BAN ON ‘BUMP STOCKS’ IN NEW YORK STATE: Most people didn’t even know what “bump stocks” were before a gunman killed 58 people in Las Vegas in October of last year. Now, legislation backed by Assistant Speaker Felix Ortiz (Red Hook, Sunset Park) to banthe firearm modification is moving through the New York state Assembly and Senate. Bump stocks attach to semi-automatic rifles and accelerate their firing rate, simulating an automatic firearm. After the mass shooting, many people, including Gov. Andrew Cuomo, said they believed bump stocks were already illegal in New York. But this was not the case. It turns out that while using a bump stock is illegal in New York, owning or selling one is not. “There is no legitimate reason for any person to possess the functional equivalent of a machine gun,” Ortiz said on Friday. Not everyone agrees with the proposal, however. After state Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie called for a ban in January, NYS Rifle and Pistol Association President Tom King called the idea “the usual knee-jerk response,” according to the Daily News. The Brooklyn Eagle has reached out to NRA for official comment but has not receive a response at this time. (via Brooklyn Eagle)
 
~BROOKLYN IS BEST BOROUGH FOR FAMILIES ON A BUDGET: If you’re starting a family and looking for a place to move, Brooklyn may be your best bet. A new report from real estate website StreetEasy showed that the Brooklyn apartment market provides the city’s best options for couples with a newborn looking to add a room, with the average asking rent for two-bedrooms 14 percent greater than studios and one-bedrooms. “High rents and the financial demands of raising children lead many New Yorkers with children to rent only the space that they need,” the listing wrote. Bushwick is the top neighborhood for expanding families with the most available two-bedrooms, while other prime hoods include East New York, Red Hook, Sunset Parkand Bed-Stuy. (via amNewYork)
 
~CITY’S 311 TWITTER WILL TAKE 24/7 REQUESTS: With a record number of 311 requests coming in, the service’s Twitter account will now be taking 24/7 queries. The initiative began with a pilot program launched last year that allowed users to send complaints via Twitter on weekdays, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. When the service saw a 76 percent jump in the platform’s interactions, it led to the new nonstop availability. “With more and more New Yorkers using Twitter to talk to us, we’re strengthening our digital presence and increasing service to make sure your questions get answers,” said Joseph Morrisroe, 311’s executive director. A plan to roll out a chat function for 311’s roughly 500 services is also in the works. (via amNewYork)

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Staff Picks:   
 

LONG READ: Larry Nassar’s case may have come to an end, but Michigan State has a lot more to hide.  (via ESPN)
 
ANOTHER LONG READ: “The Noose Beneath the Waves: Fishing gear can pose a deadly threat to whales—and to those who try to save them.” (via Hakai Magazine)
 
CARTOON: Lady Liberty vents to special counsel Robert Mueller. (via The New Yorker)
 
EAT: Here are some of NYC’s most delicious dishes that won’t break the bank, like a killer calzone in Carroll Gardens. (via Eater)

 
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NATIONAL BULLETIN: A total of 37 children across the country have died since flu season began in October…Las Vegas tycoon Steve Wynn is accused of sexual misconduct…And President Trump wanted a Vincent van Goghpainting in the White House, but he got a golden toilet instead. (via CNN, WSJ and WaPo)           
 
FOREIGN FLASH: Thirty Somali and Ethiopian refugees drown off the coast of Yemen…African leaders are still upset about Trump’s “shithole countries” remark…And a fire in a South Korean hospital kills at least 37 people. (via NYT, WaPo and USA Today)     
 
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 ROYAL WATCH: From Cyprus to the Caribbean, here are the top placeswhere the Royal Family likes to go on their honeymoons. (via HuffPost)

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BROOKLYN TONIGHT   
 

8:15AM — 148th CityLaw Breakfast Featuring Former New York City Traffic Commissioner and Chief Engineer Samuel Schwartz at New York Law School.Details.
 
10:00AM — Jerome Robbins Symposium at New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. Details.
 
12:00PM — Where Do We Fit? Choreographers Address Gender, Sexuality & Race at 92nd Street Y. Details.
 
1:00PM – 6:00PM — Jeanne Liotta Break The Sky at Microscope Gallery.Details.
 
5:00PM — Book Talk: Jeremi Suri’s “The Impossible Presidency: The Rise and Fall of America’s Highest Office” at Poly Prep Country Day School. Details.
 
6:30PM — Michelangelo at the Medici Chapel at Metropolitan Museum of Art.Details.
 
6:45PM — Celebrating Fred Bass: A Life Well-Read at The Strand. Details.
 
7:00PM — Teaching Kids What Matters: A Talk for Parents and Educators at Trinity Church. Details.
 
7:30PM – 9:30PM — Independent Publishing in a Time of Disruption: Mag Mob Panel at Quimby’s Bookstore NYC. Details.
 
11:00PM — Whiplash at Bell House. Details.

 

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 EAGLE SPORTS: “Nets seeking winning formula for all of their nail-biters”(via New York Post)

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MILESTONES
 
Happy birthday to Sara Gilbert, Heather Graham, Germaine Greer, Dominik Hasek, Sam Jaeger, Ann Jillian, Andrew Keegan, Stacey King, Adam Lambert, Greg Louganis, Bobbie Phillips, Katharine Ross, Tom Selleck, Nick Turturro and Oprah Winfrey!


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