Around Brooklyn: Some Brooklyn hospitals nearing capacity

January 13, 2021 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

The Brooklyn Hospital Center. Photo courtesy of The Brooklyn Hospital Center

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Some Brooklyn hospitals nearing capacity

Data released this week by the federal government shows how close Brooklyn hospitals are to reaching capacity, according to Patch. Health experts have said that the share of each hospital’s beds devoted to coronavirus is key to understanding the strain on its resources. At the Brooklyn Hospital Center, the percent of inpatient beds used by confirmed and suspected COVID-19 patients is 13.18 percent. At Coney Island Hospital, that percentage is 25.84 percent. At Kings County, the rate is 7.96 percent. At Maimonides, it’s 16.07 percent, at New York-Brooklyn Methodist Hospital it’s 18.7 percent, and at Downstate Medical Center, it’s 13.29 percent, according to Patch.

Man helps homeless in North Brooklyn

Last summer, Benjamin Adam started working with North Brooklyn Mutual Aid, a community organization that began in March 2020 and soon grew to hundreds of volunteers. Later, to further support homeless neighbors coping with the pandemic and the winter chill, he launched NBK Essentials, an arm of his other group that helps people residing under the BQE in Greenpoint-Williamsburg and nearby. His work in coordinating a winter coat drive led to the Essentials Initiative. The most requested items, Adam says, are insulated winter coats, MetroCards, iPhones, power banks, and battery-powered lanterns or flashlights, according to Greenpointers.

Brooklyn Army Terminal renews leases

The Brooklyn Army Terminal has renewed several leases, including one with the Guggenheim Museum, according to the New York City Economic Development Corp., the BAT’s owner. The Guggenheim renewed its lease for 31,200 square feet of storage space. In addition, IEH Corp., which manufactures electronic parts for aerospace and military technologies, renewed its lease for its 20,400-square-foot space, and eyeglass make Lowercase NYC renewed 2,160 square feet, Commercial Observer reported. Several new companies also signed leases such as Cohen Mattresses and Pick N Pack Hub.

Some want Malliotakis to resign

On Saturday, hundreds of people gathered outside the Brooklyn offices of new U.S. Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-Staten Island-Southern Brooklyn) to protest her vote to consider the objection to election proceedings in two states — a measure backed by President Donald Trump. They felt that her stance enabled the recent riot at the Capitol. “Nicole Malliotakis took an oath. Within 72 hours, she sold us out,” Bay Ridge Councilman Justin Brannan said, according to published reports. “This isn’t about politics; it’s about your moral fiber as a person.” For her part, Malliotakis said there still needed to be a hearing into charges of unconstitutional rule changes, irregularities and fraud, as she explained on Twitter. Another official, Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon, demanded that Malliotakis support the use of the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office.

Frontus charges racial profiling

Assemblymember Mathylde Frontus (D-Coney Island, Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Gravesend) held a press conference on Jan. 11 with six Coney Island teens and their families to protest what they call racial profiling at the Bay Parkway subway station. The boys, ranging in age from 12 to 17, were returning home from Burger King on Dec. 27 after having used gift cards Frontus had given them for their community service. On entering the Bay Parkway subway station, the boys said the station attendant announced that he was calling the police, accusing the youths of intending to board the train without paying the fare. MTA officials told Frontus that the agency has opened a formal investigation.

Adams wants improved vaccine distribution

Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams recently joined with local officials to improve coordination in distributing and administering COVID-19 vaccines, and prioritize vaccinations for high-risk individuals and populations, as well as institute a system to track vaccine racial distribution data in real-time and ensure they’re being distributed on an equitable basis. “The COVID-19 pandemic has, in reality, been a tale of two pandemics, with the virus taking the worst toll on Black and Brown communities. As I have stated previously, inefficiency leads to injustice. Part of the reason for these deeply disparate impacts is that the city and state failed in the early stages to collect real-time data illustrating the severity of what these communities were facing,” Adams said.

Library puts together D.C. riots book list

The Brooklyn Public Library has put together a list of books to help people understand the recent riots in Washington D.C. Among the books are: “All-America: The Rise of the Radical Right,” “Unmaking the Presidency: Donald Trump’s War on the World’s Most Powerful Office,” “Impeachment: A Citizen’s Guide,” “Fault Lines in the Constitution: The Framers, Their Fights and Their Flaws,” “Playing with Fire: the 1968 Election and the Transformation of American Politics” and “The Oath and the Office: a Guide to the Constitution.”

Radio show host slams East New York pols

On her weekly Sunday Livestream show, “Voices of East New York,” host and City Council candidate Nikki Lucas rallied against local officials and the part she said they play in the city’s homeless crisis. She displayed a chart showing that East New York has the highest rate of homelessness in the city. Attorney Ed King joined the show as a guest to talk about evictions and foreclosures as well as what tenants and landlords can do to be proactive before the eviction and mortgage moratoriums end.

Juliana’s offers refrigerated pizzas

Juliana’s pizza in Fulton Ferry is now offering refrigerated pizzas baked in the stores’ coal-fired ovens in DUMBO. The pies can be ordered starting Thursday. Choices are margherita, pepperoni, white and Special No. 1 with cheeses, pancetta and olives. They can be ordered either from the pizzeria itself or from Fresh Direct, according to The New York Times.

Animal lovers care for Columbia St. cats

A colony of more than 30 feral cats has existed at the Columbia Street District waterfront since the 1990s, and a group of animal lovers have taken care of them ever since. The group, known as Brooklyn Waterfront Cats, provides fresh food and water, gets the cats spayed or neutered, and provides small waterproof shelters for the cats to go into during rain and snow. Most of the cats are not socialized and aren’t suitable for adoption, but they all respond when someone comes for them with food, according to published reports.

Louis slams sexual exploitation

City Council Member Farah Louis (D-Flatbush, East Flatbush, Midwood, Marine Park, Flatlands, Kensington) wants to raise awareness about National Human Trafficking Awareness Day to help end sexual exploitation. “The lack of reporting data has hindered our ability to identify trends and hot spots, inform the public, or bolster resources that will help the NYPD prevent and pursue any perpetrators responsible for the disappearance of our loved ones. Girls and young women of color are being targeted, followed, harassed, or abducted on their way to school, work, home, and especially in the shopping centers,” she said.

Compiled by Raanan Geberer.