Good Morning, Brooklyn: Monday, December 6, 2021

December 6, 2021 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

Share this:

GROUNDBREAKING FOR NEW HOUSING IN BROOKLYN: The New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) this week broke ground for two developing projects in Brooklyn and the Bronx, and 1,221 affordable homes across two newly constructed projects in Queens. The Bed-Stuy North and Central Phase I in Brooklyn broke ground for 11 new buildings across 13 scattered lots that will create 20 affordable homes for rent and 11 affordable homeownership opportunities. This is the fourth project of SRBuild, developers, financed by HPD’s Open Door project, which will provide opportunities for families to build intergenerational wealth and take root in Bed-Stuy.

All homes will comply with Landmark District regulations and meet Enterprise Green Communities energy efficiency standards.

CATHOLIC LEADERS OPPOSE VACCINE MANDATE, SAYING THEY’RE AHEAD OF CURVE: Following Mayor Bill de Blasio’s surprise announcement last Thursday that he is expanding the vaccine mandate to private and religious schools in the city, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn has spoken out against this requirement on the grounds that they already have established strict COVID-prevention policies. Employees at yeshivas, Catholic schools and other private schools to be vaccinated against the coronavirus, which is expected to affect roughly 930 schools and 56,000 employees, city officials said. They will have to show proof they received the first dose of a vaccine by Dec. 20. “We have consistently placed great emphasis on getting the COVID-19 vaccine, all while maintaining respect for an individual to make their own decision. However, we have and continue to remain opposed to any such mandate. Our teachers and staff, of whom 93% are vaccinated, have shown true leadership in the battle against COVID-19,” said Dr. Thomas Chadzutko, Superintendent of Schools for the Diocese of Brooklyn.

Monsignor David Cassato, vicar of schools for the Diocese of Brooklyn, added, “We opened our schools as scheduled for the 2020-2021 school year, weeks before the public schools brought their students back. Since then, we have done a tremendous job keeping the Coronavirus out of our schools and I believe what we are doing, and how we are doing it, is working well.”

✰✰✰

FREE PERKS AT PARKS: New Yorkers who sign up for one-year memberships at Parks Department recreation centers by December will have free access to indoor sports courts, sports and educational programs, Shape Up NYC classes, media labs, fitness equipment, and much more. The membership term will last for one year from the registration date and grant access to facilities citywide. Centers across the five boroughs reopened to all New Yorkers — both previous and new members – in September 2021 after the pandemic lockdowns closed them in March 2020

Throughout the pandemic, centers were repurposed in support of youth education and childcare services, testing, vaccinations, and mask and food distribution hubs. Select centers remain closed for public use to continue serving as vaccination and testing sites.

✰✰✰

CAMBA OFFERS OCCUPATIONAL TRAINING: CAMBA is offering free Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) classes in construction, Site Safety Training (SST) HVAC&R Training and Security Guard Training, CAMBA Workforce Development and Community Board 16 have announced. For More Information: contact Sangita Shrestha 718-226-0437/ 929-271-4650 [email protected]

Eligible candidates who are currently unemployed, authorized to work in the U.S., are 18-24 and have a high school diploma or GED meet the following pre-requisites are invited to register.

✰✰✰

Toyana Joseph, Brooklyn McDonald’s Manager
Photo credit: McDonald’s New York Metro

MCDONALD’S MANAGER WINS RAY KROC AWARD: Toyana Joseph, manager of a McDonald’s restaurant in Brooklyn, has won a Ray Kroc Award, an accolade that recognizes the top performing McDonald’s restaurant managers globally. Joseph was one of 390 McDonald’s restaurant managers around the world, from 60 markets (representing the top 1% percent of restaurant managers) to receive the honor, which includes a cash prize and a trophy.

On Nov. 30, local McDonald’s Owner/Operator Gerald Laurino held a special celebration to honor Joseph’s achievements with nearby local McDonald’s owner/operators, McDonald’s upper management, and members of her family.

✰✰✰

CALL FOR CHOREOGRAPHERS: WHITE WAVE Dance announces a call for choreographers for the 21st Annual DUMBO Dance Festival taking place virtually from June 23-26, 2022. Permitted works are group performances of up to 8 minutes and solos of up to 5 minutes in length. Deadline for applications, which have a fee structure, is December 20; more information is available via https://www.whitewavedance.org/

WHITE WAVE scours the globe in search of today’s most innovative dancemakers, both emerging and established, and brings them to one extended weekend, all the while paying extra attention to the new, emerging, and experimental.

✰✰✰

HONORING PUBLIC HEALTH NURSES: Several Brooklyn nurse professionals were among 31 in the public health care system being honored on Friday as part of the NYC Health + Hospitals’ annual Nursing Excellence Awards. Six of the Brooklyn-based professionals received the Excellence in Clinical Nursing Awards: Fredrick Adeyemi, RN, staff nurse at NYC Health + Hospitals/McKinney; Corine Armand, MS, RN, FNP, Family Nurse Practitioner at NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health, East New York; Jawwad Butt, RN, staff nurse at NYC Health + Hospitals/Coney Island; Vernita Ellison Brown, MSN, BSN, RN, head nurse at NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health, Cumberland; Nicola Madou, MSN, MPH, RN, head nurse at NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull; and Chandrapatti Singh Reddy, RN, staff nurse at NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings. Moreover, Kendra Kartheiser, BSN, RN, staff nurse at NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County, received the DAISY Foundation’s Health Equity Award.

The second annual Structural Empowerment Award was presented to the nursing leadership and staff at NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County. This award recognizes a single facility within the greater public health care system that has demonstrated a commitment to achieving higher performance levels.

✰✰✰

IPS NEWS: INVESTIGATING PHARMACEUTICAL PRACTICES: Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, the chairperson of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, will hold a hearing on Thursday, December 9 to examine the findings from the Committee’s nearly three-year investigation into pharmaceutical pricing and business practices. The Dec. 9 hearing will examine findings from the investigation as well as the need for structural reforms to lower prescription drug prices, including President Biden’s Build Back Better Act, which would finally allow Medicare to negotiate for some of the most expensive drugs, prevent drug prices from rising faster than inflation, and place a cap on out-of-pocket costs for patients, including co-pay caps on insulin.

The late Chairman, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings in January 2019 had launched the Committee’s historic investigation into the pricing practices of drug companies that sell some of the costliest medications for patients, Medicare, and taxpayers.

✰✰✰

IPS NEWS: REP. MALONEY’S COMMITTEE APPROVES CLIMATE BILL: Congress’ Committee on Oversight and Reform voted favorably to approve a bill that its chair, Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-12^th District), sponsored. The Federal Agency Climate Planning, Resilience, and Enhanced Preparedness (PREP) Act would require each federal agency to develop and maintain a climate action plan. Climate action plans include agency efforts to reverse the disproportionate impacts of climate change on frontline communities.

The PREP Act would also establish an interagency council focused on coordinating and tracking implementation of federal action, and codify the White House Office of Domestic Climate Policy responsible for coordinating, monitoring, and implementing the policymaking process related to domestic climate policy issues.