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Around Brooklyn: Ortiz comments on ballot misprints

October 1, 2020 Editorial Staff
Bright flowers bloomed on Daffodil Hill the day before Brooklyn Botanic Garden closed to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Photo: Lore Croghan/Brooklyn Eagle
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Ortiz comments on ballot misprints

Assistant New York State Assembly Speaker Felix Ortiz (D-Sunset Park-Red Hook) released a statement after a misprint by a third-party vendor caused 100,000 Brooklyn voters to receive absentee ballot return envelopes with the wrong names and addresses. “Recent reports of absentee ballots sent out with the wrong return addresses and ballots that were marked for the military may have been caused by a vendor’s error. But the buck stops with the Board of Elections (BOE) that runs our city’s elections. The BOE is one of the most error-prone and inefficient government agencies in recent times,” he said.

Police seek Prospect Park eel man

Cops are trying to find a man who dumped dozens of eels into Prospect Park Lake. Witnesses say that on Sunday morning, he took two large garbage bags filled with more than 100 live eels. Several people in the park started to tell the unidentified man to stop and that dumping the eels into the lake was illegal. The man responded that he was there to save the eels’ lives. An animal technician told WLNY-TV in Philadelphia that the eels, being native to a warmer climate, probably wouldn’t survive our colder winters, so the man wasn’t saving their lives after all.

Borough Park mass gathering ignores social distancing

A large, festive gathering of Hasidic Jews in Borough Park on Tuesday apparently ignored social distancing and other preventive measures, according to footage posted on Twitter. When asked on Wednesday about the mass gathering, Mayor Bill de Blasio said he was unaware of it, but added that “what we will do in any case like that is follow back to who was involved, how can we reach those people or, if we expect a recurrence, to make sure we have personnel to address this.” Gov. Andrew Cuomo, meanwhile, said the state is engaging in coronavirus testing in this area, according to the New York Post. “I spoke to the leaders of the Orthodox community this morning and we had a good conversation,” Cuomo said.

Location of mobile testing centers

Hamodia, a publication whose main readership consists of Orthodox Jews, has published a list of new mobile coronavirus testing centers installed by the city. Among them (mainly in Borough Park and Midwood) are 4002 Fort Hamilton Parkway, 6315 14th Ave., ParCare at 6010 Bay Pkwy.,  Kamin Urgent Care at 4502 13th Ave., the McDonald Playground, Gravesend Park, the Kolbert Playground, the De Hostos Playground in Williamsburg, Seth Low Park, Leif  Erikson Park, the Herman Dolgon Playground, and others in Queens.

Adams holds African Immigrant celebration

Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams on Wednesday held the first-ever commemoration of African Immigrant Heritage Month at Brooklyn Borough Hall. African immigrants have been coming to the U.S. in record numbers. The ceremony featured a display of flags, drumming, singing and remarks by a representative of the Ghana Mission to the United Nations. Adams also gave posthumous recognition to Caribbean-American Chamber of Commerce and Industry founder Dr. Roy Hastick.

Nadler denounces Trump on refugee admissions

U.S. Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-Brooklyn-Manhattan) has criticized the Trump administration for not setting the number of refugees that will be admitted to the country during the upcoming fiscal year, despite the fact that Section 207 of the Immigration and Nationality Act requires the president to set the number for the coming fiscal year. “This president has shown on countless occasions that he believes he is above the law. This time, refugees, including many who served alongside our troops, will be the victims of the Trump Administration’s lawless approach,” he said in a joint statement with U.S. Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-California). Nadler is the chair of the House Judiciary Committee.

Man dies after his car strikes tree

One man died and another was injured after their speeding vehicle struck a tree in Kensington, police said. The collision took place at the corner of Ocean Parkway and Newkirk Avenue just after 12:30 a.m. on Wednesday. Officials found a 24-year-old man and a 21-year-old man pinned inside the car, both with severe body trauma. The 24-year-old man, later identified as Nuvakh Ilishayev, was unconscious and was later declared dead. The other man, who was the front-seat passenger, was listed in stable condition, according to PIX 11.

Seagram’s heiress sentenced to 81 months

Seagram’s heiress Clare Bronfman was sentenced to 81 months in prison in Brooklyn Federal Court for her role in NIXVM, described as a sex cult. Bronfman, 41, admitted last year that she harbored someone who was living in the U.S. illegally for unpaid “labor and services” and that she committed credit card fraud on behalf of Keith Raniere, the leader of the group. Many of the witnesses read statements describing how Bronfman and Raneire had played a part of stripping them of their finances and all of their resources. As part of a plea agreement, Bronfman agreed to forfeit $6 million from a fortune prosecutors have said is worth $200 million. They also are seeking a $500,000 fine, according to News 10 Albany.

Senators’ federal funding includes Brooklyn groups

U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer and U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand on Wednesday announced $20,110,750 in federal funding for 35 Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) across New York. The funding was allocated by the Department of the Treasury through the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund. “The CDFI Fund is a vital stream of investment that supports economic development and financial services to New York’s most vulnerable communities,” said Senator Schumer. Brooklyn organizations receiving funds include BOC Capital Corp., $707,000; Brooklyn Cooperative Federal Credit Union, $500,000; and Concord Federal Credit Union, $125,000.

Another Brooklyn school forced to close

Another Brooklyn public school has temporarily been closed after two people in the building came down with the coronavirus, according to the Department of Education. P.S. 811 in Sheepshead Bay, also known as the Connie Lekas School, was among 13 Brooklyn schools that reported new coronavirus cases between Friday and Monday. It was the only building among the 13 schools that reported two cases of COVID-19; the other schools reported just one case of the coronavirus. City protocol requires any school with two or more cases of coronavirus to close for seven days, according to Patch. This is the third Brooklyn school that has been ordered to close; the other two have since reopened.

Not all restaurants yet open for indoor dining

Of eight restaurants which BK Reader visited on Wednesday, none of them had yet opened up for indoor dining, although several were preparing to do so. Bed-Stuy restaurant Saraghina was preparing to open for indoor seating the next day. At Brooklyn Beso, also in Bedford-Stuyvesant, acting manager Kimane Phillips said the restaurant was getting prepared with personal protective equipment and temperature check devices. Samantha DiStefano of Mama Fox said the restaurant was going to “ease into” indoor dining during the next few days, starting by seating one or two tables near its open doors. Her restaurant has invested in new air purifiers and HVAC filters.

Brooklyn fugitive arrested in Virginia

A woman sought by police for fatally shooting her former boyfriend in Brooklyn in August was arrested in Virginia on Tuesday, police said.  Charlene Morris, 34, was tracked to Newport News, where she was arrested by the NYPD’s Regional Fugitive Task Force. She was accused of killing Jamel Copeland on Aug. 15 by shooting him in the chest during a domestic dispute near East 39th Street and Avenue D in Flatbush. Morris had a firearm with her when she was picked up, although it was unclear whether it was the murder weapon, the New York Post reported.

Compiled by Raanan Geberer.

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