Good Morning, Brooklyn: Tuesday, September 21, 2021

September 21, 2021 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

Share this:

PROTEST AT NATIONAL GRID IN METROTECH: A group of community members from “No North Brooklyn Pipeline and Frack Outta Brooklyn Coalitions” on Monday swarmed the lobby of National Grid’s HQ in Downtown Brooklyn, where they dropped banners and held a speak-out with an Afro-Latin drum line against what they view as the company’s disingenuous sponsorship of Climate Week NYC and the COP26 Glasgow climate conference. They assert that National Grid’s North Brooklyn Pipeline is environmental racism, that it increases the disproportionate burden of toxins in BIPOC communities and worsens health disparities.

Protesting last month’s Public Service Commission’s rate hike approval, the No North Brooklyn Pipeline coalition has also launched a gas bill strike encouraging New Yorkers to withhold $66 —the per-ratepayer cost of the pipeline—from their National Grid gas bill.

✰✰✰

FIRST NATIONS INDIGENOUS GROUPS PROTEST HYDROQUÉBEC CONTRACTS: Another plan —one that would bring clean energy into New York State — is also meeting with protests, this time from the Sierra Club and allied groups. Shay O’Reilly, senior organizing representative for the Sierra Club, accused Gov. Kathy Hochul of granting one of the contract awards to HydroQuébec, a project that they claim has been rife with environmental and human rights issues.

O’Reilly charged that several First Nations peoples in the region, including the Innu Nation of Labrador, the Innu of Pessamit, the Atikamekw of Wemotaci, and the Anishnabeg of Pikogan, Lac Simon and Kitcisakik, have experienced critical damage to their traditional homelands and lifeways from massive hydropower infrastructure, with little to no compensation from HydroQuébec.

✰✰✰

BROOKLYNITES WALK TO END ALZHEIMER’S: More than 200 Brooklyn residents on Sunday raised over $120,000 in this year’s Walk to End Alzheimer’s, which was held at Cadman Plaza Park. One team in particular from University Hospital Brooklyn (UHB) at SUNY Downstate was the top fundraiser in Brooklyn this year, bringing in more than $16,000.

This year’s Walk was held in person with an option to participate from home, to prioritize the participants’ health and safety. The funds will be applied to support and research programs at the Alzheimer’s Association.

✰✰✰

FIGHTING DELAYS IN MAIL DELIVERY: A letter that Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-Greenpoint) and two Congressional colleagues sent to the U.S. Postmaster Louis DeJoy demands answers on proposed service standard changes from the “Delivering for America” plan. They are alarmed that the changes to existing delivery service standards, from three to five days for First Class Mail Letters and Flats, will delay essential mail to millions of Americans who depend on the prompt arrival of checks and other vital documents.

Expressing skepticism that the proposed changes would enable the Postal Service to uphold its commitment to reliable service, the members of Congress wrote, “The Postal Service is not an ordinary business, but an indispensable public service recognized by the Constitution as vital to the American people and to our democracy.”

✰✰✰

EXPECTED GO-AHEAD ON PFIZER BOOSTER SHOT: The Food and Drug Administration is expected to authorize Pfizer booster shots this week for many Americans who are at high risk of falling seriously ill from the coronavirus. A key advisory committee voted on Friday to recommend the measure to offer booster shots for those ages 65 and older, and to people 16 and over who are at high risk of getting severe COVID-19 or who work in settings that increase the likelihood of becoming infected.

Officials hope to soon determine whether the other two vaccines offered in the U.S. —Moderna and Johnson & Johnson — should be given as boosters. A report last week showed Moderna to be the most effective vaccine against the Delta variant.

✰✰✰

GREEN RELIEF GRANT AWARDS: More than 30 parks and green space organizations in Brooklyn have received grants from the City Parks Foundation through the NYC Green Relief & Recovery Fund’s grassroots grants program. Each of the total of 112 community groups in the five boroughs will receive a grant of up to $3,000 to support environmental stewardship and health & wellness programs in parks, gardens, and open spaces. Among the 30 Brooklyn recipients are Friends of Asser Levy Park, 1100 Block Bergen Street Community Garden, Friends of Cooper Park, 57 Old Timers Inc. for the Jesse Owens Playground, the Union Street Garden, Pacific Street Brooklyn Bears Community Garden, Prospect Heights Community Farm, Stewards for Shore Pkwy, Friends of Saratoga Park.

The grant selection process focused on Environmental Justice Areas identified through the Mayor’s Office of Climate and Sustainability, where communities are disproportionately vulnerable to environmental injustices because of systemic racism and inequitable resource distribution.

✰✰✰

FORT HAMILTLON DISTELLERY will be offering behind-the-scenes tours of its distilling operations, starting this Friday, Sept. 24 and running Fridays through Sundays, at various times from 1-7 p.m. The Industry City-based distillery will feature the hourlong “Rye Revolution Tour,” ($30 admission) during which guests will hear many more stories about the rise, fall and rebirth of New York rye, as well as have the chance to bottle their own whiskey and taste it straight from the tap.

Participants also will be introduced to exclusive distillery-only whiskey bottlings and collaborations with local artisans, including barrel-aged New York maple syrup and whiskey-infused, single-origin chocolate bars.

✰✰✰

REVITALIZED URBAN PARKS: Candace Damon, who has worked on revitalizing sustainable urban parks in NYC, including Brooklyn Bridge Park, was named to the Crain’s New York Business list of 2021 Notable Women in Accounting and Consulting. She joins more than 60 women in her field who have also worked to improve the city through their philanthropic work.

Ms. Damon has also served on the boards of Atlantic Avenue Local Development Corp., the Urban Green Council and, currently, the City Parks Alliance and the Urban Land Institute’s Placemaking Council.