DA Gonzalez doesn’t think Brooklyn will need new jail if Rikers closes

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If New York City follows through on its plan to close Rikers Island within the next 10 years, it will have to build alternative jail sites throughout the boroughs to house inmates. However, Kings County District Attorney Eric Gonzalez is confident that Brooklyn will be able to use the existing prison, located on Atlantic Avenue, to house additional inmates.

“I’m lucky,” Gonzalez said during an interview with supermarket magnate and radio host John Catsimatidis. “The political issues of where a jail would go or how we can house people in the boroughs don’t really apply to Brooklyn.”

The current plan to close Rikers Island would require the city to cut down the total population of inmates at the facility and then house them in each of the boroughs.

The existing facility that Gonzalez and members of the Committee to Close Rikers Island have in mind for Brooklyn is the House of Detention, located on the corner of Atlantic Avenue and Boerum Place. However, that facility currently houses 815 inmates and would have to be expanded.

This is not the first time the first time the city has attempted to increase the size of the House of Detention. When it reopened in 2008 after being closed for several years, a renovation plan that was proposed by then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg and others would have increased its size to approximately 1,500 beds. Residents, community groups and politicians fought the expansion plan, though, and it was ultimately killed with the help of then- NYC Comptroller Bill Thompson.

At the time, Community Board 2 and other groups opposed the expansion because of concerns about visitors loitering on the streets, complaints about visitors allegedly leaving guns and contraband on nearby residents’ property, and double- and triple-parked cars.

However, in the last 10 years since the House of Detention has reopened, CB2’s District Manager Robert Perris said the jail has been a “good neighbor,” so the board wouldn’t reject an expansion plan outright. However, it has still not decided if it is for or against the proposal.

“Before it reopened, [the House of Detention] made physical changes, they built a new visitor center, so the complaint of people loitering in the street went away,” Perris said. “It’s the community board’s position that they are not a bad neighbor in a downtown setting where the courts are located.”

The biggest issue that remains is street parking. Although Perris said that double- and triple-parking hasn’t been an issue, there still is a problem with illegal parking-placard abuse by prison guards. This could be exacerbated by expanding the capacity of the jail.

Ultimately, the community board may oppose the plan out of fear of losing parking spots, which could hurt businesses on Atlantic Avenue.

Expanding on Brooklyn’s current facility would require a Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP). This complicated process requires approval from the community board, the borough president, the City Planning Commission, the City Council and Mayor Bill de Blasio.

 

Justices Eng and Silver honored by New York State Bar Association

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Judges Randall T. Eng and George J. Silver were among the four judges who were honored by the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) during its annual meeting in Manhattan last Friday.

The other two judges were Hon. Paul G. Feinman and Hon. Karen K. Peters. All were honored by the NYSBA’s Judicial Section.

“This year we recognized four judges who represent the exemplary judicial bench that this state has,” said Judge Conrad Singer, presiding member of the Judicial Section. “The Judicial Section is pleased to honor these outstanding jurists and their contributions to the legal profession.”

Eng, who retired last month as the presiding justice of the Appellate Division, Second Department, located in Brooklyn Heights, received the Lifetime Achievement Recognition. He was the second Asian-American judge to serve on the state appellate court.

Silver, who is currently serving as the interim administrative judge for the Bronx Supreme Court, received the Advancement of Judicial Diversity Award. He had previously served as deputy chief administrative judge for the NYC courts. He was honored for his work with the NYSBA’s Committee on Diversity and Inclusion; and the Torts, Insurance & Compensation Law Section’s Executive Committee. His work with the NAACP was also cited.

Feinman received the Distinguished Jurist Award after he was appointed to the NYS Court of Appeals as an associate justice last year. He is the first gay judge on the Court of Appeals.

Peters received the Lifetime Achievement Recognition after retiring as the presiding judge of the Appellate Division, Third Department. She is court’s first female presiding justice.

 

Brooklyn’s black judiciary to be honored by Metropolitan Black Bar Association during Black History Month

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The Metropolitan Black Bar Association (MBBA) will honor members of New York’s black judiciary, including Hon. Sheila Abdus-Salaam and Hon. George Bundy Smith, during a Black History Month Celebration at the Thurgood Marshall Federal Courthouse in Manhattan on Feb. 8.

The event will recognize those two judges along with the rest of the black members of the judiciary. Two Brooklyn judges, Hon. Ruth Shillingford, president of the Judicial Friends Association, and Hon. L. Priscilla Hall, a past honoree of the MBBA, will give speeches during the event.

 

Survey says: Subways, schools and quality of life among top concerns of 43rd district

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Councilmember Justin Brannan on Tuesday, January 30 released the results of a 2017 survey in which constituents of the 43rd City Council district – which encompasses Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Bath Beach and Bensonhurst – voiced what they believe the top priorities of the City Council should be.

Over 500 residents responded to the open-ended survey, the point of which, Brannan said, is to bring more people into the process.

“There’s a feeling sometimes that government does not listen to the people. I want to make sure that is not the case here in our neighborhoods,” he said. “We need to bring more people to the table and I believe that means we need a bigger table in this diverse district.”

Unsurprisingly, Brannan said, public transportation took the cake with nearly half of respondents claiming the subway as their primary source of transportation.

Improving public schools was the second most common response with quality of life coming in a close third. Other prominent issues included public safety, homelessness, bike lanes, the opioid epidemic, protecting immigrants and the lack of street parking.

“Not only do I want people to know their voices are heard, I really value what they have to say. Elected officials think they know what people want but sometimes there is a disconnect,” said Brannan. “I want to cut through the noise and take what people are really concerned about to City Hall to get things done that matter to people in Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Bensonhurst and Bath Beach.”

To view the full report, visit https://council.nyc.gov/justin-brannan/resident-survey/.

Bed-Stuy man indicted in connection to alleged Christmas day hate crime

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A 40-year-old Brooklyn man was indicted earlier this month on charges of assault as a hate crime after he allegedly hit a transgendered woman with a chair inside a Bed-Stuy homeless shelter on Christmas day.

According to the investigation, at approximately 6:15 p.m. on December 25, the victim – a 31-year-old trans female and resident of the shelter, located at 357 Marcus Garvey Boulevard – was walking down a hallway towards the bathroom when she heard someone running toward her from behind.

She then allegedly turned and saw the defendant – Kane Sekou, of Bed-Stuy – running toward her with a chair, which he is said to have used to strike the victim across the back. He allegedly did all this while yelling homophobic slurs at her, which he is said to have continued making even when police arrived.

Sekou was ordered held on $20,000 bail and is to return to court on March 14. He faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted of the top count.

“This cowardly and unprovoked attack in which an innocent woman was assaulted simply because she is transgendered is despicable,” said District Attorney Eric Gonzalez. “In Brooklyn, we will not tolerate bias-motivated crimes of any kind. We now intend to hold the defendant accountable.”

The case was investigated by New York City Police Department Hate Crimes Task Force.

Local pol backs legislation to ban “bump stocks” in wake of continued mass shootings

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A local pol is co-sponsoring legislation within the Assembly to help strengthen the city’s gun laws.

If passed, the bill – which is being backed by Assemblymember Felix Ortiz of Sunset Park and Red Hook – would prohibit the possession, manufacture, transport or shipment and sale of “bump stock” attachments meant to accelerate the firing rate of semi-automatic rifles, such as those used in last year’s deadly Las Vegas shooting.

The legislation – which is already making its way through the Assembly and the Senate – would completely ban this type of gun modification, with New York joining the likes of California, Massachusetts and, most recently, New Jersey.

“We have seen the devastating impact of these devices and too many deaths in mass shootings,” said Ortiz. “The possession of machine guns by civilians has been prohibited in the United States for close to a century. There is no legitimate reason for any person to possess the functional equivalent of a machine gun.”

Cab driver arrested for allegedly colliding with NYPD vehicle

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A 43-year-old man was arrested and charged with reckless endangerment, DWI and refusal to take a breathalyzer test following a vehicle accident on the Prospect Expressway over the weekend.

Cops say that on Saturday, January 27 at around 2:14 a.m. along the Prospect Expressway between Fifth and Fourth Avenues, the suspect — who was driving a cab — was involved in a collision with a NYPD vehicle, resulting in a physical injury.

According to witnesses, two officers sustained minor injuries in the incident.

Sunset landlords sued for discriminating against Latino, minority tenants

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Cracking down on discrimination on immigrant tenants in Sunset Park.

The Legal Aid Society, a not-for-profit legal services organization that advocates for low-income individuals and families across a variety of civil, criminal, and juvenile rights matters, has filed a class action lawsuit against Little City Realty LLC and Little Boy Realty LLC.

The lawsuit, announced on Wednesday, January 24, claims that the two companies, operated by landlords Adel and Lina Eskander, discriminated against Latino tenants at two buildings in Sunset Park, 601 40th Street and 614 40th Street.

The suit alleges that the Eskanders used intimidation and discriminatory practices, along with displacement, for years. The Legal Aid Society also claims the couple fraudulently reduced the local stock of affordable units.

According to the lawsuit, Abel Eskander allegedly said, “I don’t like having Latinos, blacks or Chinese here because they’re sedentary. They never move. I need people to move.”

Legal Aid alleges that the Eskanders’ company was sued in 2003 by Legal Services of New York for demanding that tenants provide immigration documentation upon renewing their leases.

Subsequently, Legal Aid alleged, the landlords also made, or threatening to make, frivolous complaints to city agencies, including the NYPD and the Administration for Children’s Services.

Supervising Attorney of the Tenant Rights Coalition at the Legal Aid Society Sunny Noh contended that the injustice has been ongoing for years.

“For decades, the Eskanders have bullied rent-regulated immigrant tenants to vacate their homes and refused to make much-needed repairs to bolster their bottom line,” she said. “Their unchecked reign of terror on vulnerable Brooklynites stops today. Years of unconscionable, malevolent and illegal behavior will catch up with them and they will soon reap what they’ve sown in federal court.”

Legal Aid also claims than 50 percent of the apartments in the two buildings identified in the lawsuit have been fraudulently deregulated by management from 2007 to 2009.

Tactics allegedly also include baseless eviction proceedings against Latino tenants, subjecting residents to derogatory and offensive statements, and demanding that tenants provide immigration documentation upon renewing their leases.

“I’m proud to support the Legal Aid Society’s work for Sunset Park residents who are standing up for their rights with a class action lawsuit,” said Councilmember Carlos Menchaca via Facebook. “The Eskanders and their like have flouted the law and forced people from their homes for far too long. Thanks to new laws created by the City Council and signed into law by Mayor de Blasio last year, tenants have new, stronger protections against harassment and displacement.”

According to a press release from Legal Aid, the litigation “seeks declaratory, injunctive and equitable relief, namely enjoining the Eskanders from further discrimination and harassment of Latino tenants and recognizing the rent-stabilized rights of all tenants; as well as damages.”

“Our affordable housing crisis is accelerated when rent-stabilized apartments are lost through unethical and unlawful landlord tactics,” stressed Menchaca. “’Eviction by construction, withholding heat and hot water, failure to make basic repairs and tenant bullying must stop. The landlords’ unscrupulous behavior flies in the face of city, state and federal laws including the New York City Human Rights Law, the New York City Housing Maintenance Code, the Rent Stabilization Law and Code, and the federal Fair Housing Act.”

The lawsuit was filed in conjunction with Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP serving as pro bono counsel.

At the time of press,  Little City Realty LLC and Little Boy Realty LLC have not provided a comment.

Barclays Center, Nassau Coliseum get dual custody of Isles

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Having a home in Downtown Brooklyn and one out on Long Island isn’t the least bit uncommon for the lawyers, judges and other business people teeming around our fair borough these days.

But for an NHL franchise, it’s a bit unusual.

As reported in last week’s Eagle, the New York Islanders, the Brooklyn-based franchise that moved here from Uniondale, N.Y., in 2015, will spend the next three seasons splitting their home games between Downtown’s Barclays Center and their former longtime home, the Nassau Coliseum, now known as NYCB Live.

After some playful prodding from Gov. Andrew Cuomo last month and some serious pushing behind the scenes from Barclays Center and NYCB Live owner Mikhail Prokhorov the past few years, the Islanders and NHL finally agreed to let the team return to the arena where it was founded in 1972.

On a part-time basis, of course.

The Isles will play 12 of their games at the Coliseum next season and at least 20 per season in Uniondale over the following two campaigns until the franchise’s new state-of-the-art, 18,000-seat facility in Elmont, N.Y., adjacent to the legendary Belmont race track, is completed in 2021.

“There are about 120 games; three seasons,” Cuomo said during Monday’s press conference at NYCB Live.

“The number of games over those three seasons will be split, half at played Barclays Center and half played at the coliseum.”

How the Isles will split their potential postseason contests has not yet been addressed.

This certainly doesn’t qualify as a divorce between the Isles and Barclays, which has been an ill-fit here virtually from the start.

Think of it more as a trial separation that will conclude with both parties getting exactly what they want.

For Prokhorov, the Isles’ transition out of Brooklyn will open dates for more lucrative events to be held at the arena, including concerts, boxing cards and college basketball games, along with the Nets’ full home slate.

The Russian billionaire also won’t have to fret about dishing out upwards of $50 million per year guaranteed to the Isles, as per terms of the original lease agreement, which seemed a far-fetched figure for the NHL team with lowest home attendance numbers in the league.

The Isles will now have to endure the logistical discomfort of splitting their home dates over the next three seasons, but should see attendance numbers swell at the coliseum, where fans have been aching for their return.

They sold out “The Old Barn” back in September for a one-off exhibition contest and averaged more than 15,000 fans per night during the original swan song campaign on Long Island.

Also, the moaning about poor ice conditions and sight lines at Barclays will doubtlessly quell now that there is an official exit strategy.

“The [Coliseum] has obviously got a tremendous sense of history and tradition” Isles co-owner Jon Ledecky said, referring to the four Stanley Cup banners the team put up during the 1980s.

“Our fans are so excited to be here. I think if there were no seats, and they had to stand, 14,000 would come and stand here, that’s how excited they are.” 

Also, a state-funded $6 million re-renovation of the arena should make it more suitable to host NHL games, previously thought of as the main sticking point in completing this deal due to NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman’s long-standing mantra that the Coliseum wasn’t a “viable” place for the team to play.

“The coliseum will undergo some basic structural modifications, so it meets the specifications of the Commissioner” Cuomo added Monday

“It will also give us an opportunity to welcome back the Islanders to the place where they belong, which is Long Island.” 

 

Other than the faithful Long Islanders who have taken the LIRR to Barclays over the last two-plus seasons, the franchise never truly caught fire as a must-see attraction here in Downtown Brooklyn.

After winning their first playoff series since 1993 here during the inaugural campaign, the Isles have regressed, both on the ice and at the ticket window.

Going home for a spell before moving into their new home feels right, especially to the players who have experienced both arenas.

“The team really belongs on Long Island,” Isles team captain and pending free agent John Tavares noted during last weekend’s All-Star festivities in Tampa.

“That’s where the team was born, created its identity and really who it is. I think if that’s the case it’ll be a great opportunity, a great experience to go back there and relive and create some more great history in that place.”

Tavares, who has the option to depart the only organization he has ever known this summer, was at the coliseum press conference and continues to insist that the Isles’ split-home schedule over the next three seasons won’t factor in his decision come unrestricted free agency in a few months.

“We know how our fan base felt about this place and us as players too,” Tavares said Monday.

“It’s really exciting with the development at Belmont, what that’s going to mean to the franchise long-term and then on the short-term basis, being able to come back to somewhere where really the heart of the franchise is.”

Isle Have Another: Tavares played in his fifth career All-Star Game last weekend, but after 10 years in NHL, Josh Bailey finally got his first trip to the annual midseason classic. Bailey, who ranks third in NHL with 42 assists this season playing alongside Tavares, soaked up the All-Star experience. “It was a good experience,” he said. “I think everyone was just out there having a good time and it’s nice getting to know some of the guys and it seemed like the fans enjoyed it too. I wouldn’t say I was overly enthused about doing fastest skater [during Saturday’s skills competition], but it is what it is. I tried to make the most of it.” … The Islanders returned from the All-Star break by hosting the Florida Panthers at Barclays on Tuesday night before hitting the road for the completion of a back-to-back at Toronto Wednesday.