Good Morning, Brooklyn: Monday, February 7, 2022

February 7, 2022 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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SENTENCING IN ID THEFT: A Brooklyn man has been sentenced to three to nine years in prison following his guilty plea to grand larceny for stealing or attempting to steal over $1 million from the Pentagon Federal Credit Union. The defendant, whom Kings County District Attorney Eric Gonzalez identified as Joseph Batrony Jr., 31, of Crown Heights, used stolen personal information of more than 178 individuals to apply for loans and credit cards in their names and then transfer money to his own accounts.

Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun presided at Batrony’s sentencing, as the defendant had already pleaded guilty to second-degree larceny on August 5, 2021.

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NYC CITIZEN COMPLAINT REVIEW BOARD The CCRB will host its next public board meeting on Wednesday, February 9, at 4 p.m. on Webex. Schedule and registration are accessible via the CCRB website: https://www1.nyc.gov/site/ccrb/about/news/board-meeting-schedule.page\

The CCRB welcomes all New Yorkers to participate in this discussion about police-community relations, and to learn more about civilian oversight of the NYPD.

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THE TIME OF GREEN MAGIC: The Brooklyn Public Library marks two milestones this year: its 125^th birthday and its billionth book loan. That book is The Time of Green Magic, by British author Hilary McKay.

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GREENTHUMB GROW TOGETHER: The 38th Annual GreenThumb GrowTogether Conference, which is free and open to the public is approaching, with a full week of virtual panels and webinars from Feb. 19-26, and a ‘How to Join a Community Garden’ session Sunday, Feb. 20, from noon to 1:30 p.m. Hands-on workshops and activities in community gardens across the city will also take place from April 20-23, 2022. More information: https://greenthumb.nycgovparks.org/news.html?news_id=513

The program on April 20-23 coincides with Earth Day, observed each year on April 22.

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NETS CELEBRATE BLACK HISTORY, MERCHANDISE LINE: The Brooklyn Nets will celebrate Black History Month during each of the team’s five home games at Barclays Center in February by honoring the legacy and impact of Black pioneers across a range of industries. The celebration tips off Tuesday, Feb. 8, when the Nets take on the Celtics, where Black pioneers of the past will be honored on the arena’s center-hung and outdoor glass LEDs.

The first of the Nets’ Black History Month merchandise collaborations will also debut at the Feb. 8 game. The merchandise, for purchase exclusively in the Nets’ team store at Barclays Center, Brooklyn Fanatics, is designed by TIER, a Brooklyn-based creative fashion brand whose vision is guided by the motto “Art Never Dies”.

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ADIDAS JOINS NYC RUNS AS SPONSOR: The athletic gear company, Adidas, considered one of the world’s most respected and innovative brands, has joined the NYCRUNS Brooklyn Marathon & Half Marathon as the event’s first-ever Official Footwear and Apparel Partner. They’ll also be the presenting sponsor at the race expo, and will produce gear for everyone racing, volunteering, and working to make the event a success.

Founded in 2011, the NYCRUNS Brooklyn Marathon & Half Marathon now has an iconic new route originating in North Brooklyn, Fulton St. and Flatbush Avenue, Grand Army Plaza and Brownstone Brooklyn. The next date is Sunday, April 24.

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MORE HONORS FOR TANDON PROFESSORS: NYU Tandon School of Engineering’s Professor Juliana Freire is a newly elected Lifetime Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The fellowship is an acknowledgement of a comprehensive body of work that includes building user-friendly, AI-based data analysis frameworks designed to be accessible to researchers in any field.

Freire is professor of Computer Science and Engineering and Data Science, Director of the Visualization and Data Analytics (VIDA) Research Center, member of the NYU Center of Data Science, and affiliated faculty at NYU Courant.

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MINDWATCH: Tandon School of Engineering’s Professor Rose Faghih, a new member of the Department of Biomedical Engineering, has a project —acronymed as MINDWATCH, — standing for ‘Multimodal Intelligent Noninvasive Brain State Decoder for Wearable AdapTive Closed-loop arcHitectures’. She has likened her innovation as “a navigation system for the brain.” meaning that a simple, smart watch-type device could, in effect, perform the functions of an expensive and intrusive electroencephalogram, which requires attaching electrodes to the scalp and which is limited to clinical settings. The signal processing and control algorithms that she has developed enable the device to monitor respiration level, sweat level, stress or relaxation levels.

There are varied applications for the project — which garnered Faghih a prestigious 2020 CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation.

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IN MEMORIAM: SISTER MAUREEN STOCK, CSJ, REACHED 100^TH BIRTHDAY: Word comes from the diocesan newspaper, The Tablet, that Sister Maureen de Lourdes Stock, CSJ, a member of the Sisters of St. Joseph for 79 years, died on Dec. 12, 2021, just a few weeks after celebrating her 100th birthday. She attended Nativity School, Brooklyn, and Bishop McDonnell High School, Brooklyn, and earned a BS in Education from St. John’s University, Queens.

In 1942, Maureen entered the Sisters of St. Joseph and taught for 53 years in elementary schools of both the dioceses of Brooklyn and Rockville Centre.

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IPS NEWS: Democrat Congressional candidate Max Rose has picked up an endorsement from State Assemblymember Charles Fall (AD-61). Rose, who is campaigning to win back his seat in the current 11^th District from Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, is a combat veteran and Purple Heart and Bronze Star recipient. “When Max Rose was in Congress, the North Shore of Staten Island had someone in Washington, DC who fought to make their lives better every day,” stated Assemblymember Fall.

The Assemblymember added, “Together, we worked to reduce gun violence, held the management at Park Hill Houses and all NYCHA buildings accountable, and improved the quality of life for everyone – no matter if you lived in Westerleigh, West Brighton or Stapleton.”

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Mayor Eric Adams visited St. Brigid-St. Frances Cabrini Catholic Academy in Bushwick on Friday as part of this week’s national celebration of Catholic Schools Week. The mayor met with students from kindergarten to 8th grade who presented his honor with a plaque, cards, photos and handwritten personal letters, in which they wrote about their favorite subjects in school, with many pledging to pray for him.

Mayor Adams, who shared with the students the fact that he prays every day, also spoke at a school assembly, telling the students that Catholic education has always been a great foundation for inner-city young people.

VIDEO: Courtesy DeSales Media

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COMPARING JANUARYS: New York City saw a 38.5% increase in overall index crime compared with a year ago, according to a statistics report from the NYPD, released on the same day that President Joe Biden visited the city to discuss his administration’s efforts to combat crime and gun violence. During the month of January 2022, every major index crime category saw an increase for the month of January 2022 with the exception of murder (five fewer than in January 2021). Citywide shooting incidents increased by 31.6% (100 v. 76) in January 2022 compared with the same period last year.

Hate crime incidents also rose 72 percent, from 18 to 31, police say, with nearly half (15) of those being anti-Semitic crimes.