Good Morning, Brooklyn: Tuesday, September 14, 2021

September 14, 2021 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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Photo courtesy of DeSales Media/Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn.

FDNY BATTALION 57 SALUTES FALLEN BRETHREN: Members of the FDNY’s Battalion 57 in Brooklyn led a procession over the Brooklyn Bridge to the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph on Saturday to commemorate the 20^th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. The marchers, pictured on Pacific St. near the Co-Cathedral, carried 25 flags: 23 representing the 23 members of Battalion 57 who were lost at the World Trade Center, one representing the brother of a member of the Battalion who also died that day, and one American flag. A noon Mass followed the procession, with Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio as the main celebrant.

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REMOTE LEARNING OPTION FOR CATHOLIC SCHOOLS: St. Thomas Aquinas Online Catholic Academy is offering a fully online K-8 program as an option for families who want or need to continue in a remote learning environment. The school offers the same Catholic education students are receiving in the classroom, with registration and financial aid information for the 2021-2022 academic year remaining open via http://stacoa.org/ . Dr. Thomas Chadzutko, Superintendent of Catholic Schools for the Diocese in Brooklyn and Queens, which includes 70 schools and academies, made the announcement on Monday.

St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Online Academy is chartered in New York State under the Diocese of Brooklyn’s Department of Education.

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CORTELYOU LIBRARY REOPENS: Assemblymember Robert C. Carroll joined BPL President Linda E. Johnson and the Friends of Cortelyou Library to celebrate the branch’s reopening on Monday. The Cortelyou Library had undergone a brief closure to improve the layout, create a new teen space and brighten the children’s section.

The refurbishment was made possible thanks to the Friends of Cortelyou Library, which raised more than $40,000 through a community fundraising drive, and a $250,000 grant from New York State for the improvement of the branch.

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MILESTONE: BISHOP SPONG DIES: Bishop John Shelby Spong, a controversial figure who for two decades led the Episcopal Diocese of Newark, died on Sunday, September 12 at age 90. Shortly after his book Why Christianity Must Change or Die was published in 1998, Bishop Spong was the scholar-in-residence at the annual interfaith weekend with Grace Church and the Brooklyn Heights Synagogue. His many other books included Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism and, in 2018, of Unbelievable: Why Neither Ancient Creeds Nor the Reformation Can Produce a Living Faith Today.

Raised in a theologically-conservative environment in North Carolina, Bishop Spong embraced a more liberal stance and questioned major points of faith. He received both harsh criticism and strong support for his viewpoints.

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BROOKLYN SCHOOLS GET REFURBISHED: Eleven new schools, building additions and pre-K facilities — three of these sites in Brooklyn —have been completed for the 2021-2022 academic year, as projects of the School Construction Authority. Each location was opened on schedule despite work being temporarily forced to pause due to the COVID-19. The Brooklyn schools that got new classrooms, playground spaces, gyms, lunchrooms, and libraries in addition to the brand new East New York Family Academy covered last week, are P.S. 97 on Stillwell Ave. in District 21, and on 78^th St. in Dyker Heights, District 21.

The mission of the School Construction Authority, an entity that the NY State Legislature established in 1988, is to design and construct safe, attractive and environmentally sound public schools for children throughout the many communities of New York City.

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ONE-WAY STREET CONVERSION TALKS POSTPONED: An agenda change for the Brooklyn Community Board 7 meeting scheduled for next Tuesday, September 21 postpones the DOT proposal for the one-way conversion of two major Brooklyn thoroughfares. The DOT presentation on its proposal for the one-way conversion of 7th & 8th avenues will be rescheduled to a new date. The Sept. 21 agenda will now deal with a DOT presentation for pedestrian safety improvements around Our Lady of Perpetual Help Basilica and PS 169, a street renaming for a portion 57^th St., and the presentation on a Revocable Consent to add an access ramp at 5502 5th Avenue.

No translation services will be available for this Transportation Committee Meeting, taking place virtually via Zoom.

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HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH: The Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn will kick off Hispanic Heritage Month with two special celebrations of faith and community this week, one each in Brooklyn and Queens. This evening, September 14, Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio will celebrate a special Mass at 7:30 p.m. in honor of the 200th Anniversary of Guatemalan Independence at St. Finbar Roman Catholic Church in Bath Beach, with the Consul General of Guatemala in New York City, Nivia Rosemary Arauz Monzón, expected to be in attendance.

The Mass readings will be proclaimed in the native languages of Ki’Chee and Garifuna, and music will incorporate the traditional Marimba instrument.

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CHINESE HERITAGE DAY BOROUGH HALL PLAZA: The borough’s Chinese community invites fellow Brooklynites to celebrate China Day/the 2021 Autumn Festival, taking place this coming Sunday in Borough Hall Plaza. Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams has partnered with the Sino-America New York Brooklyn Archway Association for this celebration, on Sunday, September 19 from noon to 4 p.m., featuring live cultural performances and children’s activities.

The Autumn Festival will take place rain or shine.