Good Morning, Brooklyn: Monday, June 28, 2021

June 28, 2021 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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TODAY IS THE 179^TH day of the year and day 6 in the vote-counting ordeal that will continue for another two weeks in our local mayoral primary… and the world watches with us.

Today is also the birthday of the late Gilda Radner, ground-breaking genius of SNL fame, as well as Elon Musk, entrepreneur and inventor who proved he, also, could be a stand-up comedian when he recently hosted SNL.

NEWS UPDATE: The latest ULURP hearing on a development that would block sunlight at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden will take place TOMORROW, Tuesday, June 29, instead of Thursday as originally announced. Sponsored by Borough President Eric Adams, the hearing will feature BOTH in-person and remote participation.

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FEDERAL RECOGNITION of Brooklyn’s first charging super-hub for vehicles: U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm will visit Brooklyn Navy Yard tomorrow, Tuesday, for 10 a.m. ribbon cutting at 630 Flushing Avenue.

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BROOKLYN WILL BENEFIT LATER: Mayor Bill de Blasio on Friday announced the beginning of construction activities on the parking garage and community space alongside a new jail in Kew Gardens, a project marking the first major activity in the Borough-Based Jails Program. This program is part of a $8.3 billion effort to construct four new, smaller, and more humane jails in Manhattan, the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens, to replace the jails on Rikers Island.

Later this year, DDC expects to award a contract to dismantle the Brooklyn House of Detention and construct a temporary swing space to facilitate the DOC’s transfers for court appearances until construction of a new jail at the site is complete.

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COMPUTER APP CONTEST FOR STUDENTS: Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-Greenpoint) is calling on all middle and high school students in New York’s 12th Congressional District to participate in this year’s Congressional App Challenge. The CAC accepts computer program apps written in any programming language, for any platform (desktop/PC, web, mobile, raspberry Pi, etc.). The Challenge’s submission portal is now open, with a deadline of November 1. 2021.

The student winners will be selected by panels of judges drawn from the local community and honored by their Member of Congress, and their apps will be eligible to be featured on display in the U.S. Capitol building, on house.gov, and on the Congressional App Challenge website.

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THE VACCINATED GET FREE BAGELS: Panera Bread, in support of the White House’s National Month of Action, will give a free bagel daily to anyone who has chosen to get the COVID-19 vaccine. The promo runs July 2-4 in participating bakery-cafes for in-store pickup only.

The Panera store on Adams St. near the Marriott hotel confirmed via phone that they are participating.

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NEW FIRE CHIEFS APPOINTED: Fire Commissioner Daniel A. Nigro on Thursday appointed Thomas J. Richardson as Chief of Department, the highest-ranking uniformed position in the FDNY, Chief Richardson, a 40-year veteran who has served as the Chief of Fire Operations since 2019, will oversee the Department’s 16,000 uniformed Firefighters and EMS personnel and four major agency Bureaus. He has been cited for bravery six times in his career, including for the rescue of a 15-year-old boy from a fire in Brooklyn on January 10, 1989. Chief Hodgens is a 35-year veteran who has most recently served as Assistant Chief of Fire Operations. As Chief of Fire Operations, Chief Hodgens will oversee the day-to-day work of more than 11,000 Firefighters, Fire Officers and Chiefs. He will also oversee the Department’s highly trained special units including Hazardous Materials.

John J. Hodgens as Chief of Fire Operations will oversee the daily work of more than 11,000 firefighters, officers and chief, and the department’s highly trained special units, such as Hazardous Materials.

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TAKING THEIR HOMES BACK: Tenants on St. Johns Place and Dean Street are sparking a new movement: They’re taking the buildings back from the slumlords. Availing themselves of NYC Housing Code 7A, the tenants’ group is forcing needed repairs on landlords whose buildings are in foreclosure.

The tenants’ group will hold a rally and March at 567 St. Johns @ Classon, this Sunday, June 27, starting at 5 p.m.

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PREVENTIVE MOSQUITO LARVICIDE: The NYC Health Department will conduct this season’s second aerial larvicide treatment of non-residential wetland areas and marshes in Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens and Staten Island from Thursday, July 1 to Friday, July 2, and Tuesday, July 6 between the hours of 6 a.m. and 7 p.m., weather permitting. The Health Department monitors mosquitoes that carry the West Nile virus, of which no human cases have yet been reported this season.

While three days are allotted for the aerial larviciding, the application may be completed in less time.

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MELDING OF MUSICS: Americana and Near Eastern Classics are on the program for a pre-Independence Day benefit at St. Ann & the Holy Trinity Church and Pro-Cathedral (Montague and Clinton streets) to celebrate the first anniversary of the parish’s Pop-Up Pantry. Sandcatchers Yoshie Fruchter on oud and Myk Freedman on lap steel present their concert on July 1, at 6 p.m., as part of the Pro-Cathedral’s [email protected]’s Thursday series.

Concertgoers are asked to donate food items or make a financial donation to St. Ann’s Pop-Up Pantry, which was launched in June 2020 in response to the financial fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.

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DEDICATE NEW CHURCH AND ARTS CENTER: Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio, leader of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn, will officially dedicate the new Saints Peter and Paul Roman Catholic Church in Williamsburg, and consecrate its altar during a Mass of Dedication this coming Tuesday. June 29. Following the 7 p.m. Mass, Bishop DiMarzio will also bless the new parish building and The Emmaus Center, the new diocesan arts hub.

The newly renovated 600-seat theater, at Berry and S. 3^rd street, is housed in the Historic Williamsburg Opera house which was built in 1897.