Good Morning, Brooklyn: Wednesday, July 7, 2021

July 7, 2021 By Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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GOV. DECLARES GUN VIOLENCE EMERGENCY: Governor Andrew M. Cuomo on Tuesday Declares First-In-The-Nation Statewide Gun Violence Disaster Emergency as part of a comprehensive strategy to build a safer New York. Cuomo’s executive order also creates an Office of Gun Violence Prevention to coordinate efforts and direct resources to emerging gun violence hot spots, requires the Department of Criminal Justice Services to gather and share incident-level data from local police departments, creates a new state police gun trafficking interdiction unit to stop the flow of illegal guns into New York. Moreover, the executive order partners with John Jay College of Criminal Justice to strengthen police-community relations and invests $138.7 million in intervention, prevention and jobs programs to steer at-risk youth and prevent gang violence.

Although not specifically mentioned in the report, these goals coalesce with those of the 67^th Precinct Clergy Council’s GodSquad, whose two virtual summits this year have included Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul as a guest panelist.

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MOVING FORWARD PLAN: The public is invited to join a virtual public review session and provide input on the long-range vision for the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council planning area’s transportation system, titled Moving Forward. Participants can visit https://www.nymtc.org/planmovingforward to register for virtual public review sessions scheduled for the council’s next long-range regional transportation plan, selecting either an afternoon or evening time slots on July 8, 14 or 22. The afternoon slot for each of these days is from noon to 1:30 p.m. and the evening block from 7 to 8:30 p.m.

Each public review session will have a presentation and interactive question session. It is suggested that participants join by desktop or laptop computer.

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NEW TEAMS LAUNCHED ON CIVIL RIGHTS AND ENVIRONMENT JUSTICE: The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York in June launched two new teams in its civil division, allowing more assistant U.S. attorneys to work with the office’s preexisting subject matter chiefs of civil rights and environmental justice, in response to President Joe Biden’s emphasis on these two priorities. The environmental justice team is among the first of its kind in a federal prosecutor’s office, Acting U.S. Attorney Jacquelyn Kasulis said, noting that the Eastern District is diverse in its geography as well as in its population.

While Kasulis’ office, which covers Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island and Long Island, has long handled civil rights and environmental justice cases, the four attorneys assigned to the new civil rights team and the six attorneys on the environmental justice team will have a chance to “really focus and dig into these complex areas of law.”

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MEN IN BLUE AS HOMETOWN HEROES: Marching in tomorrow’s Hometown Heroes Parade will be another kind of Men in Blue. Known for their iconic uniforms and their presence cleaning streets throughout New York City, the Men in Blue—participants in The Doe Fund’s Ready, Willing & Able reentry program for homeless and formerly incarcerated men—have served as frontline heroes, donning PPE and providing enhanced sanitation services to 115 miles of NYC streets daily. Now, they will expand further through their participation in the City Cleanup Corps, the mayor’s new initiative to supply 10,000 New Yorkers for comprehensive beautification efforts across the city. Founded in 1985, The Doe Fund has provided over 28,000 individuals with the tools to break the devastating cycle of poverty, homelessness, and incarceration.

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WORKSHOPS START THIS WEEK FOR NYC STREETS PLAN: The NYC Department of Transportation is envisioning a future where everyone has access to reliable and environmentally friendly transit options, as well as safe and welcoming streets and public spaces. This vision is expressed in the NYC Streets Plan, a five-year transportation goal—developed in response to Local Law 195 —that involves an in-depth analysis of the current state of New York City’s streets and respond equitably to the uniqueness of the City’s many neighborhoods and local needs. The first step is public outreach, with workshops being scheduled starting this week to focus on all five boroughs; register via https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0oceurrTIiGdeDPIETgxaPDgpUxfJBJL_W.

In Brooklyn, the first workshop takes place this morning at 8:30 a.m., and focused on for Inner Brooklyn, (Community Boards 1 through 9). The next workshop takes place Thursday, July 8 at 6 p.m. for Outer Brooklyn, encompassing Community Boards 10-18.

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“CAPTURING PROTEST: A PHOTOGRAPHER’S PERSPECTIVE on a Year in the Movement for Black Lives” is the topic of a free virtual program that the Center for Brooklyn History presents next Thursday, July 15. Those interested are invited to tune into a conversation with three photographers who documented the past year of protest in Brooklyn and whose works are now part of CBH’s exhibition titled, “Brooklyn Resists.” Bob Gore, Madison Swart and Terrence Jennings joined Brooklyn rallies and marches, turning their gaze and cameras to the history being made. Their conversation, starting at 6:30 p.m. and for which pre-registration is required, explores where the personal and professional meet in documenting the movement for racial justice.

This program is presented in connection with CBH’s project “Brooklyn Resists,” which looks at the past and present of Black protest and resistance in Brooklyn. Brooklyn Public Library’s Center for Brooklyn History, formerly the Brooklyn Historical Society, is home to the most expansive collection of Brooklyn history in the world, democratizes access to Brooklyn’s history to students, scholars, and the general public through programming, educational resources, and its archives.

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“TRIED AND TRUE”: Five Roman Catholic priests in Brooklyn officially became incardinated last week during a ceremony at the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn’s Chancery. Incardinated priests are men who belong to other dioceses but serve in the Diocese of Brooklyn. Under incardination, the bishop of their original diocese releases them from his jurisdiction and Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio agrees to accept them, after the priests sign documents and recite a pledge of faithfulness.

“Most of you have been here for a while, so you’re tried and true,” Bishop DiMarzio told the five priests. One of them serves a Brooklyn parish: Father Jose Agustin Orellana, I.V.E., administrator of St. Catharine of Alexandria Church in Borough Park.

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LAW WOULD PROTECT PETS’ WELL BEING: A bill that would consider the needs of pets in a divorce proceeding, and treat them as more than property, is awaiting Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s signature. S4248 (also indexed as A05775), which has passed both houses of the New York legislature, would amend the domestic relations law, requiring the court to consider the best interest of a companion animal when awarding possession in a divorce or separation proceeding. This amendment was legislated on the grounds that, for many families, pets are the equivalent of children and must be granted more consideration by courts to ensure that they will be properly cared for after a divorce.

This issue is covered in a book published last year and titled, The New Rules Of Divorce: 12 Secrets to Protecting Your Wealth, Health, and Happiness. Its author is matrimonial attorney Jacqueline Newman Reel.