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Around Brooklyn: Jerrold Nadler protects organ donors

March 3, 2021 Brooklyn Eagle Staff
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Jerrold Nadler protects organ donors

At the start of National Kidney Month, U.S. Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-Brooklyn-Manhattan) and several other congresspeople and senators introduced legislation designed to protect the rights of living organ donors. The Living Donor Protection Act would project living donors from high insurance premiums, remove barriers to organ donation and provide certainty to donor and recipients. “When an organ donor decides to donate one of their organs to someone else, they aren’t just saving someone’s life, they’re making one of the most selfless, difficult decisions anyone could ever make,” said Nadler.

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Architect moves into his own building

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The architect of a new Downtown Brooklyn tower has moved into the same tower. FXCollaborative, previously known as FXFowle, is the anchor tenant at JEMB Realty’s nearly finished One Willoughby Street in Downtown Brooklyn. The 34-story, 500,000-square-foot structure next to the DeKalb Avenue subway station is the borough’s tallest new office building and is slated to open later this year, according to the New York Post.

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‘Moonstruck’ house for sale

The Brooklyn Heights home at 19 Cranberry St. that was the home of the Castorini family in the 1987 Cher film “Moonstruck” is now for sale, according to published reports. The brownstone’s interior, not used in the film, has period details such as pocket doors, moldings, mantels and ceiling medallions. The house was built in the 1830s, but a mansard roof was added in the late 19th century. More recently, the house underwent a renovation project. The house also had its own real-life notoriety — in the 1880s, Dr. Herman Richardt was accused of bamboozling owner Catherine A. Valentine into handing her the deed to the property. Although “Moonstruck” was filmed in the Heights, its characters and storyline are more consistent with Carroll Gardens, which was a solidly Italian-American area in the ‘80s.

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Crown Heights building finished

CIM Group announces the completion of 111 Montgomery, which it bills as the first newly built, full-service luxury condo in Crown Heights. The building has already welcomed the first residents to the 12-story, 163-unit building. It is located near the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and Prospect Park and features oversize windows and an exterior brick façade. The building also features a doorman, onsite parking, a resident lounge, a children’s center and bike storage, according to the Business Wire.

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Suspect arrested in gambling den killing

An ex-con who did time in prison for homicide has been charged with fatally stabbing a good Samaritan trying to break up a fight outside a Sunset Park gambling den, police said. William Smith, 45, of Brownsville, is charged with murder for allegedly killing Yong Zheng, 46, during the melee. Smith, caught on surveillance video, confessed to the murder, a police source told the Daily News. A witness took a picture of the license plate of Smith’s Mercedes and gave it to police. Zheng was apparently trying to break up the fight when he got stabbed. Three other people, who survived, were also stabbed during the free-for-all, which happened on Friday night at 57th Street and Fourth Avenue.

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Group donates 2,500 winter coats

On Friday, 2,500 winter coats were distributed at Downtown Brooklyn’s Atlantic Terminal Mall to be donated to people in need. The coats were handed out by New York Cares as part of its 32nd annual coat drive to local community organizations, which, in turn, will give them to community residents. Before the pandemic, New York Cares did its annual mass coat distribution at its warehouse, and the partner organizations came to the warehouse to receive the coats, according to BK Reader.

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Brooklyn librarian becomes star

When Brooklyn librarian Tenzin Kalsang’s story time for kids, in which she reads in Tibetan and English, moved online, she was nervous. Kalsang was used to reading stories in person at the Brooklyn Public Library. However, Kalsang set up a corner of her apartment with potted plants and kids’ books, then streamed her stories live on Facebook. Her story times soon attracted viewers from around the world. Since the pandemic hit, the Brooklyn Public Library has been offering a number of bilingual story times online, including ones in Russian, Spanish and Chinese, according to NPR.

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Man shot in car in Brownsville

A 31-year-old man who was sitting in his car was shot in a hail of bullets in East New York on Tuesday morning, police said. The shooting took place around 7 a.m. on the corner of East New York Avenue and East 98th Street in Brownsville. The victim was sitting in his Nissan when the gunman got out of a blue car, walked up to the Nissan and began firing multiple shots through the car windows. The victim was shot in the torso. EMS crews rushed him to Brookdale Hospital, where he was reported in stable condition. The gunman took off in his car and has not yet been found, published reports say.

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Smashburger gives away free burgers

On March 3, Smashburger’s new Brooklyn location at 5210 Kings Highway in East Flatbush will celebrate its opening day by giving away free burgers. The first five customers in line for breakfast, lunch and dinner will win free burgers for a year. In addition, the first 200 people to arrive will receive Smashburger’s signature Backyard Seasoning. This will be one of the first Smashburger locations in the country to serve breakfast, according to published reports. “Brooklyn’s creative energy and cultural diversity have made way for a spirited food scene, which is why we decided to open our newest, state-of-the-art concept in the dynamic borough,” said Carl Bachmann, the chain’s president.

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Jumaane Williams details school safety plan

NYC Public Advocate Jumaane Williams recently released a report detailing his proposals for reforming school safety and protecting students and school staff. He said that the city must work toward removing police infrastructure from its schools, such as metal detectors and the presence of law enforcement except in extreme circumstances. The model would include the hiring of up to 3,500 social workers and guidance counselors. In addition, students must have access to a process to request that their schools expunge their disciplinary records once they have graduated from or left a school. The public advocate recognizes that for the time being, battling the COVID pandemic must take a front seat.

Compiled by Raanan Geberer.


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