Around Brooklyn: Wednesday, April 13, 2022

April 13, 2022 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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ACCESS CLASSIC BANNED TEXTS THROUGH BPL’S ECARD SYSTEM: Want to read Fahrenheit 451, The Giver or Catcher in the Rye? You might have previously run into trouble finding them at your local library if you live outside of Kings County, New York. Many seemingly classic or healthily thought-provoking texts from the English classroom have been removed from local libraries across the country, but the Brooklyn Public Library (BPL) has announced a new eCard system, allowing students and highschoolers age 13 to 21 to access banned texts nationwide. In coordination with Hachette, Macmillan and Scholastic, the BPL has made taboo literature ubiquitously accessible. Some books, listed, are available for unlimited (no holds) access for all patrons everywhere. More importantly, the new project allows people, ages 13 to 21, to access all of our online collections not just a few titles. Unlimited access books inlcude:The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta, Tomboy by Liz Prince, The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, The 1619 Project by Nikole Hannah-Jones, Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong, and Lawn Boy by Jonathan Evison.

For more information, visit the Brooklyn Public Library website, here.

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BROOKLYN MUSIC SCHOOL PRESENTS CHRIS YIP, NYPD SERGEANT AND MASTERFUL PIANIST: Last Sunday, the Brooklyn Music School Playhouse hosted a recital of well-known, piano-playing cop Chris Yip, opening with a solemn yet emotional tribute to current conflicts by Ukrainian composer Mykola Vilinksy, who was unmentioned on the program. Sergeant Chris Yip’s recital presented music he chose himself, expanding into Chopin’s Mazurkas, Nocturne and and other collected etudes, showcasing his professional skill and inclination to delicate and classic. The second half of the concert featured Sergeant Yip’s performance of Maurice Ravel, including the famous Menuet Antique, a fabulous Pavane pour une infant défunte and a final, seamless Sonatine.

Yip’s Ukrainian American teacher, Valentina Nazarenko, sat with him after the performance, remarking that they had taken the same photo in 2008.

NYPD sergeant, also a masterful pianist, pays tribute to his Ukrainian teacher.

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Longtime Brooklyn Heights residents Saundra Williams-Cornwell and Don Cornwell were guests of honor at the 11th Annual Brooklyn Artists Ball, shown here with fellow honoree Maria Grazia Chiuri. The event raised a record $2.4 million.

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BOROUGH PRESIDENT PRAISES NEW YORKERS’ SWIFT ACTION: Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, calling yesterday’s subway shooting “a senseless act of violence,” praised safety personnel and commuters alike for helping each other in the moments after the attack. “As always in a time of crisis, Brooklynites experienced the swift reaction of our city’s first responders, including the MTA, NYPD, and FDNY. I am deeply heartened to see the Sunset Park community coming together during this time of tragedy – Brooklyn stands with you.”

Borough President Reynoso added, “I will continue to work with local authorities and elected officials as more details of the attack are confirmed and the perpetrator is found.”

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GOVERNOR: CONTINUE EXERCISING CAUTION: New York’s governor is cautioning New Yorkers to stay safe and vigilant while law enforcement continues the hunt for a gas-masked gunman who detonated a smoke device and then shot several commuters during yesterday’s morning rush hour. Gov. Kathy Hochul warned that as long as the “dangerous and depraved” gunman is running free, he could continue to terrorize New York City.

“This is an active-shooter situation right now in the City of New York,” she said a few hours before law enforcement officials found on the scene a gun and several magazines of ammunition, a U-Haul van and the assailant’s credit card.

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‘A PEOPLE TRAUMATIZED’ BY GUN VIOLENCE: The 67^th Precinct Clergy Council, also known as GodSquad for its mission of assisting the victims of gun violence and working toward its elimination, issued a statement after yesterday’s subway attack: “Once again, our city has been terrorized by another senseless act of gun violence, this time adding to the numerous attacks we have seen in our transit system over the past several months,” the clergy group wrote. Mentioning the commuters, first responders, citizens who rendered aid and the wider community, the group wrote, “We have become a people traumatized by the visible and invisible effects of gun violence in our city and around the world.”

The clergy group expressed hope that people of various religions might find peace this week in which three Abrahamic faith mark principal observances of Ramadan, Passover and Holy Week.

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MULTIPLE CHARGES FOR SEX TRAFFICKING RING: In other news: Nine members and associates of nationwide sex trafficking and prostitution enterprise indicted were indicted yesterday in Brooklyn federal court on racketeering and related charges. Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Michael J. Driscoll Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI) and NYPD Commissioner, Keechant L. Sewell announced the arrests and charges of the Queens-based enterprise members, who are accused of orchestrating violent assaults of women across the United States, punishing any resistance with beatings, as well as of robbery, racketeering and sex trafficking.

Eight of the group members were arraigned Tuesday before United States Magistrate Judge Roanne L. Mann.

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COMMUNITY IFTAR IN DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN: Now for some good news: Drive-Thru, an installation of Soft-Firm, has showcased film and video by eight Brooklyn-based artists and filmmakers that highlight Brooklyn communities and explore themes of urban life. The final film. which coincides with Ramadan, has provided an opportunity for Downtown Brooklyn Partnership to partner with the students of neighboring Khalil Gibran International Academy High School for a Community Iftar, taking place tonight, just before sunset, at The Park at 300 Ashland.

The closing film of the series is Aisha Amin’s “Friday” (2019), a portrait of a historically Black mosque as it fights gentrification in Bed-Stuy.

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STUDENTS LEARN CULINARY SKILLS ON CHEF’S NIGHT: Chef Al of Brooklyn Beso will lead a group of student sous chefs at PS-IS 178, 2163 Dean Street in Brownsville to serve the community as part of Chef night: —when a professional chef with students transforms a school kitchen and a cafeteria into a Michelin restaurant – farm to table. Every Wednesday, sustainable-food organization Seeds in the Middle hosts the only year-round farm market in central Brooklyn’s food-insecure neighborhoods.

Chef Al is general manager and lead chef at Brooklyn Beso, one of Seeds in the Middle’s participating restaurants in the first-ever Tastes of Brooklyn Tastes of Bed-Stuy on Saturday, April 30th – a fundraiser featuring amazing diverse culinary talent and supporting small business.

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FLATBUSH’S OWN ‘STRATFORD UPON AVON’: Stratford Road in Ditmas Park-Flatbush becomes the borough’s own Shakespeare jubilee on April 23. Brooklyn’s Brave New World Repertory Theatre (BNW) holds its annual festival Shakespeare on Stratford, a live FREE family-friendly community celebration in honor of Shakespeare’s birthday on Saturday, April 23 from 2-4 p.m., (rain date, April 24) choosing the Flatbush namesake to honor Shakespeare’s birthplace, Stratford Upon Avon.

The multi-faceted Shakespeare on Stratford will provide four 20-minute showtimes for up to 200 people at a time and include Shakespeare’s Sonnets performed on 6 Victorian porches, a Madrigal singalong, and a Haitian dance finale all in celebration of spring. Masks are encouraged but spectators are free to wander from porch to porch.

IN MEMORIAM: GILBERT GOTTFRIED: Comedian Gilbert Gottfried, a Brooklyn native and standup comic recognized for his shrill voice, died Tuesday at age 67. Born in Brooklyn to a hardware store owner and a stay-at-home mom, Gottfried started performing amateur standup at 5, and went on to appear on Saturday Night Live,” “The Cosby Show,” and his signature voice was heard in Disney’s “Aladdin” franchise and the TV series “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.” He also got notoriety for what many considered his tasteless jokes about 9/11 and a Japan earthquake; the latter of which comment got him fired from his Aflac commercial.

Gottfried, who had a heart ailment, may have unwittingly presaged his own death, when on January 21, he posted a photo on Twitter showing him standing alongside comics Louie Anderson and Bob Saget, both of whom both died that month. As news of Gottfried’s death circulated yesterday, the Twitter post regained renewed attention.

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