Good Morning, Brooklyn: Thursday, July 22, 2021

July 22, 2021 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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FREE CITI BIKE RIDES THIS WEEKEND: Citi is offering a Free Day Access Pass this Saturday, July 24, to help get more New Yorkers outside and back to their favorite local spots. Using their Citi Bike app, riders can use the promo code FREEPASS to redeem a Day Access Pass in the Citi Bike app which, once activated, includes free unlimited 30-minute on Citi Bike classic bikes and four localized ride guides that highlight routes and destinations in four boroughs (Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan and the Bronx) that spotlight local businesses. and offer fun giveaways at four participating NYC Citibank branches.

The free Citi branch giveaways in Kings County will be available at the Brooklyn East Citibank branch,430 Myrtle Ave., from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.: Suggested destinations include lunch and a game at Putnam’s near Clinton and Myrtle avenues, a beverage from Coffee Spot at Classon and St. Marks avenues, as well as exploring exhibits at the Brooklyn Museum and riding through Prospect Park.

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ORTHODOX UNION WELCOMES INCREASE IN GRANTS: The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America (OU), the nation’s largest Orthodox Jewish umbrella organization, on Wednesday welcomed Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’ recent announcement that the $180 million in federal Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP) awards for fiscal year 2021 have been allocated to synagogues and other houses of worship, parochial day schools, summer camps and a variety of other nonprofit organizations across the United States. The allocation represents a 100 percent increase over that of the previous year, which was $90 million. The latest allocations follow a dramatic surge in anti-Semitic incidents and attacks nationwide.

In Brooklyn, about 37 percent of Jews consider themselves Orthodox, with Williamsburg, Crown Heights (worldwide headquarters of Chabad), and Borough Park considered to be Brooklyn’s Hasidic centers.

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HOUSE COMMITTEE PASSES EQUAL ACT: U.S. Rep Hakeem Jeffries (D-8 NY), chairman of the Democratic Caucus, joined other members of Congress to applaud the passage out of the House Judiciary Committee of the Eliminating a Quantifiably Unjust Application of the Law (EQUAL) Act by 36 to 5 votes. This bipartisan legislation would eliminate the federal crack and powder cocaine sentencing disparity and retroactively apply it to those already convicted or sentenced. The sentencing disparity between crack and powdered cocaine, at one point as high as 100 to 1, helped fuel the mass incarceration epidemic; 77.1 percent of crack cocaine trafficking offenders were Black, whereas most powder cocaine trafficking offenders were either white or Hispanic, according to a Fiscal Year 2020 report from the U.S. Sentencing Commission.

Rep. Jeffries, who has long advocated for restoring justice to America’s drug laws, co-authored the bipartisan FIRST STEP Act, which retroactively applied the Fair Sentencing Act, limited the use of juvenile solitary confinement and reduced mandatory minimums, among other important improvements.

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REQUIRES VACCINATION PROOF OR A TEST: A new policy goes into effect for healthcare workers on August 2 when the City of New York will start requiring proof of vaccination or weekly COVID-19 tests for all employees at city-run health care facilities. Mayor Bill de Blasio, Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Commissioner Dr. Dave A. Chokshi and NYC Health + Hospitals President and CEO Dr. Mitchell Katz on Wednesday announced the Health Worker COVID-Safe Requirement, mandating that employees of NYC Health + Hospitals and those working in Department of Health and Mental Hygiene clinical settings provide either a one-time verification of immunization, or weekly proof of a negative COVID-19 test.

“Now we must do everything possible to protect our patients and each other. We hope the example of health care workers protecting their patients and protecting others will inspire others who have not yet gotten vaccinated to do so,” said Dr. Katz.

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RETURN OF SUMMER MOVIE UNDER THE STARS: Summer is back in Prospect Park with the return of its annual outdoor series, A Summer Movie Under the Stars, this year presented by SHOWTIME® and hosted by Brooklyn Magazine, Prospect Park Alliance and the office of the Brooklyn Borough President. The series kicks off Thursday, July 29 just after sundown, and runs for four consecutive Thursdays through August 19, at the north end of the Prospect Park Long Meadow.

This year’s series dives into nostalgic classics and feel-good fan favorites for all ages, with a lineup that includes Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, The Goonies, Jumanji: The Next Level and Black Panther. The themes throughout deal with connectivity, perseverance, friendship, self-empowerment, creativity and fantasy.

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VIOLINIST ROOTED IN MUSIC, FASHION AND PSYCHOLOGY. St. Ann & the Holy Trinity Pro-Cathedral continues its second annual Summer Concert Series this evening, July 22, with violinist Molly Fletcher. A classically trained violinist with a dual degree in Violin Performance and Psychology from New York University, Ms. Fletcher is a member of several New York-based orchestras and chamber ensembles, and has enjoyed a unique career that centers her in both the music and fashion realms.

The 45-minute concerts begin at 6 p.m., with the series continuing Thursdays through Sept. 2.

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SUSTENANCE GRANTS FOR WORKING ARTISTS: City Artist Corps Grants will distribute one-time awards of $5,000 grants to more than 3,000 artists who will engage the public with arts activities across New York City’s five boroughs. City Artist Corps Grants is a program intended to support NYC-based working artists who have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 and who may have been left out of other local and federal funding opportunities. Artists working in any discipline are eligible to apply.

Applications for Cycle 3, for engagements from September 3 to October 31, open on Tuesday, July 27 at 10 a.m. and will close on Tuesday, August 10 at 10 a.m. Visit NYFA’s website for more information: https://www.nyfa.org/awards-grants/city-artist-corps-grants.

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VOYEUR INDICTED ON 36 COUNTS: A voyeur who had the tables turned on him was arraigned on an indictment Wednesday at Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez’s office. A 57-year-old Greenpoint photographer and apartment building superintendent is charged with 36 counts of unlawful surveillance for allegedly having planted numerous recording devices that secretly recorded two women, 24 and 33, without their knowledge, in a spare bedroom he had rented to the 24-year-old. Becoming suspicious of someone entering her bedroom, the 24-year-old had placed her own camera in her bedroom and, when she reviewed the first day’s footage, she noticed what appeared to be an infrared light, which she recognized as a camera light, coming from her bedroom wall.

The man was released without bail and ordered to return to court on August 18.