Good Morning, Brooklyn: Friday, March 11, 2022

March 11, 2022 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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KANE ST. SYNAGOGUE GETS NEW RABBI IN AUGUST: Kane Street Synagogue has named Rabbi Michelle Dardashti as its next senior spiritual leader of the historic congregation, founded in 1856.

Rabbi Dardashti comes to Kane Street effective Aug. 1, after nine years as rabbi of the Hillel serving Brown University and the Rhode Island School of Design and as associate chaplain for the Jewish Community at Brown University. She received a Campus Life Staff Excellence Award from Brown University in 2020. During her tenure, Brown RISD Hillel was recognized by Hillel International with both the “Best Place to Work” and “Outstanding Campus” awards.

Historically known as the Mother Synagogue of Brooklyn, Kane Street Synagogue, in Cobble Hill, is the oldest Jewish Congregation that still serves the Brooklyn neighborhood in which it was founded,

Rabbi Michelle Dardashti
Photo courtesy of Kane St. Synagogue

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LUCY G. MOSES LANDMARKS CONSERVANCY AWARDS: The Prospect Park Alliance and Gage & Tollner are two winners of the New York Landmarks Conservancy’s 2022 Lucy G. Moses Preservation Awards. Prospect Park Alliance will receive the Preservation Organization Award, and Gage & Tollner (372 Fulton St. in Downtown Brooklyn) will be recognized with a Preservation Project Award at the April 20 awards ceremony taking place at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. The Prospect Park Alliance, being honored for excellent stewardship of its collection of historic structures and sites, has received three Moses Awards for preservation projects in the past decade: Concert Grove Reconstruction, Wellhouse and Endale Arch.

Gage & Tollner, the cornerstone of Brooklyn’s restaurant world and which originally opened in 1879, has returned in its full Gilded Age glory.

The Prospect Park Alliance
Photo Credit: Paul Martinka

Gage & Tollner in Downtown Brooklyn
Photo Credit: Gage & Tollner

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NEW GAS MAIN IN SOUTH BROOKLYN: Construction is expected to begin within the next few weeks for installation of a new gas main on 78th Street between 11th and 14th avenues, with the project expected to take approximately 90 days, reports Brooklyn Community Board 10 (Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Ft. Hamilton). Residents and local businesses should expect: Temporary disruption of street parking; painted mark-outs of underground utilities within the project scope area; excavation of the street and installation of new gas main; upgrade or replacement of customers’ individual gas service lines; relocation (at no charge) of gas meters outside of the home or business per NY State requirements.

Steel plates will be used to cover any excavations left open to allow vehicular traffic and provide access to driveways, steps, and walkways.

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BIKE LANE PROPOSAL: A Bike Lane Proposal for the border that overlaps at Stanley Avenue, Louisiana Avenue, Linden Blvd, Van Sinderen Avenue, and Dewitt Avenue in Community Board 18 is the topic of one of the guest presentations with the NYC Department of Transportation at CB18’s March 24 hybrid board meeting. During the same meeting, the NYC Department of Homeless Services will provide an informational presentation on their intent to establish its fleet of vehicles at 1427 Ralph Ave.

A link to the hybrid meeting is available through Community Board 18’s web page.

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NEW MANUFACTURING FACILITY IN NORTH BROOKLYN: New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), Evergreen Incorporated: Your North Brooklyn Business Exchange (Evergreen), and elected officials were set on Thursday morning to celebrate the opening of 500 Stagg St., a new $6.8 million and 10,000 square-foot manufacturing facility in East Williamsburg made possible with significant City and State funding.

The new space, which will house three companies, will benefit local industrial small businesses and manufacturers, offering below-market rents, and helping to create and maintain high-quality manufacturing jobs in the area.

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CANNABIS SEEDING OPPORTUNITY: Gov. Kathy Hochul has announced the first-in-the-nation Seeding Opportunity Initiative, which will position individuals with prior cannabis-related criminal offenses to make the first adult-use cannabis sales with products grown by New York farmers. This farm-to-store initiative makes sales in New York possible before the end of 2022, jumpstarts New York’s Cannabis Industry, guarantees support for future equity applicants, and secures an early investment into communities most impacted by the disproportionate enforcement of cannabis prohibition.

The Application Portal set to open on Tuesday, March 15.

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FEEDING KIDS FESTIVELY: The benefit named City Harvest Presents The Virtual Winter Family Carnival 2022: Around The World, which took place on Wednesday, March 9, raised enough to help feed 154,000 NYC children and their families for a day and sent 230 Party Boxes to children whom City Harvest serves through Brighter Bites. City Harvest, New York City’s first and largest food rescue organization, partnered with Brighter Bites to distribute grocery bags filled with fresh fruits and vegetables, along with 230 party boxes to students at PS151K in Bushwick, Brooklyn

The party boxes included a craft kit provided by New York City favorite, The Craft Studio; a kid-friendly, spiced hot chocolate kit from master mixologist and City Harvest Food Council Member Cody Goldstein of Muddling Memories; a dried mango snack and coloring activity courtesy of Whole Foods Market. Students were also given access to dance and entertainment videos featuring On The Move Entertainment’s talented DJs and performers.

City Harvest Brighter Bites. Photo by Lori Cannava.

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HONORING FOOD SERVICE WORKERS No Kid Hungry New York joined the NYC Department of Education this week to recognize 32 “Hunger Heroes” across every one of the city’s school districts, including 12 in Brooklyn. One of the honorees, at P.S. 8 in Brooklyn Heights (District 13), is Glenys Gonzalez, “one of the first employees in and the last to leave every day, preparing and serving breakfast, lunch, and supper to students with a kind smile, making sure students receive nutritious meals.”

With 1 in 4 children in New York City facing hunger, the people who prepare, serve and plan school meals are some of the most important people confronting this crisis. New York City’s food services staff serve more than 800,000 meals every day.

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SNAP SUPPLEMENTAL BENEFITS: All New Yorkers enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program will receive the maximum allowable level of food benefits for March, and will receive a supplemental allotment this month, which will result in New York State’s economy receiving roughly $232 million in federal funding, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced yesterday. The emergency assistance supplement is to be provided to households that do not ordinarily receive the maximum allowable benefit per month on SNAP — a federally funded program overseen by the state Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance

New Yorkers continue to rely heavily on SNAP, with about 1.6 million households throughout the state enrolled in the program in January, a nearly 1 percent increase over the previous month. Roughly 2.8 million New Yorkers received benefits in January, the most since June 2021.

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CONGRESSIONAL FUNDING FOR 9^TH DISTRICT: Late Wednesday night, Congressmember Yvette D. Clarke (NY-09) voted to fund $17,700,000 in community projects that she championed for New York’s 9th Congressional District. This crucial funding for local projects, included in the FY22 appropriations government funding package that passed the House of Representatives with bipartisan support, responds directly to some of the most pressing needs throughout New York’s 9th Congressional District in Brooklyn.

Among the ten projects: Crisis Management System; GMDC Brownsville Industrial Center; Bringing Brooklyn Museum’s Arts of Africa Collections Back on View; Girls Club Community Center; SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University; New York Community Hospital of Brooklyn, Inc; One Brooklyn Health System, Inc.; Brownsville Community Development Corporation dba BMS Family Health and Wellness Centers; Brooklyn Communities Collaborative, Inc.; $1,000,000 for West Indian American Day Carnival Association.

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$11.2 MILLION FOR PROJECTS IN SOUTHERN BROOKLYN: U.S. Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-11^th District) has secured $11,276,560 for various projects across Southern Brooklyn and Staten Island and as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2022, the federal government’s operational budget. In July, Malliotakis was able to get funding for nine local projects reported out of the House Appropriations Committee. Today, the bill was passed out of the House and Senate and is expected to be signed by the president.

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REVERSING MATERNAL MORTALITY CRISIS: New York City Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams has reintroduced two bills aimed at combating the maternal mortality crisis in New York City and supporting maternal health and wellness. The legislation, which is particularly focused on reducing Black maternal mortality and deep disparities in maternal health, includes measures for both during and post-pregnancy.

Last month, after a long fertility struggle, a difficult pregnancy, and premature delivery, the Public Advocate and his wife welcomed their newborn daughter, Amani Elisadora. They have shared their story publicly in recent weeks and months in the hopes that it helps other New Yorkers feel supported, heard, and receive the care they need.

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SIX TO CELEBRATE: The Historic Districts Council (HDC), New York’s citywide advocate for historic buildings and neighborhoods, has announced 2022 Six to Celebrate, its annual program honoring historic New York City neighborhoods and cultural sites and the local community groups working to preserve and enhance them. In this borough, the winners include caribBEING-Little Caribbean, and the Crown Heights North Association-Crow Hill, Brooklyn

Applications for Six to Celebrate were submitted by neighborhood groups around the city. The winners were chosen on the basis of architectural, cultural and historic merit, the presence and level of threats to the area, and the commitment shown by local advocates to promote their work. Another important element was an assessment of where HDC’s citywide preservation perspective and assistance could be the most meaningful.

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DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME: Daylight Savings Time begins this Sunday, March 13 at 2 a.m. on Sunday. Remember to set your clock ahead one hour to Spring Forward before going to bed on Saturday evening.