Good Morning, Brooklyn: Wednesday, April 20, 2022

April 20, 2022 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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ALTERNATIVE-SIDE PARKING RETURNS: Alternate side parking will be fully restored beginning July 5 and, in an effort to reduce New York City’s carbon footprint, funding has been allocated for both equipment and personnel to perform year-round street cleaning on protected bike lanes and other narrow infrastructure, Mayor Eric Adams and (DSNY) Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch announced yesterday. The full restoration of alternate side parking will allow DSNY’s mechanical brooms to sweep litter more effectively from along the curb on thousands of miles of New York City streets.

DSNY will begin piloting sweeping operations this summer using a fleet of 10 Micromobility Operations Machines, similar to the ones used to plow bike lanes effectively during winter 2021-2022, and expects to have several dozen of these units in —two different sizes — by the end of next year.

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FAMILIES PROTEST PROXIMITY OF SLAUGHTER MARKETS TO SCHOOLS: A coalition of parents, students and advocacy organizations, protesting what they say are unhealthy and smelly hazards located too close to schools, have launched a digital media campaign and sent a letter to Gov. Hochul, Mayor Adams and others calling for a temporary halt on live animal slaughter markets in New York City neighborhoods, until a risk assessment is conducted. The coalition cited the current spread of H5N1 avian flu throughout New York State and the possibility that it could mutate into a strain that infects humans as the main reason to suspend the slaughter markets, which health experts have described as “breeding grounds for the spread of diseases

More than 100 schools and playgrounds are located near these retail slaughter markets, the latter of which are in areas whose customers require kosher or halal meat products, which musts be slaughtered in a specifically humane way by a butcher from one of the three Abrahamic faiths, in order to be so designated.

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FREE COMPUTERS AND WiFi FOR SENIOR CITIZENS: Senior citizens and older adults will be provided with free Wi-Fi equipped computer tablets, as part of an effort to bridge the digital divide and help connect them with city services, many of which are now handled online. Mayor Eric Adams and New York City Department for the Aging (DFTA) Commissioner Lorraine Cortés-Vázquez announced the distribution of a thousand tablets, with free internet service from T-Mobile through December 31st, and preloaded with applications, including Zoom, Gmail, and the NYC COVID Safe app

The older adults will also be provided with free training on their new tablets at local senior centers, and learn how to connect to DFTA virtual programs. During the distribution event, DFTA is referring tablet recipients to the nearest senior center that offers the training.

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BUILDING WORKERS WON’T STRIKE, HAVING WON FAVORABLE CONTRACT: Residents of apartment buildings around Brooklyn can breathe a sigh of relief now that a strike of building workers and doormen has been averted. Building workers belonging to one of the city’s largest unions, 32BJ SEIU and the Realty Advisory Board have reached a tentative agreement that achieves historic wins for the union’s membership in what will be the first post-pandemic contract between the two sides. The new contract delivers highest raises in 32BJ SEIU history, with almost 12.6% wage increases over four years; a $3,000 bonus for essential workers at this high inflation time, maintenance of 100% employer-paid healthcare; and the protection of paid sick leave and paid vacation time.

The tentative agreement, which must first be ratified by the 32BJ SEIU membership, was reached before the expiration of the current contract, averting what would have been the first strike of residential building service workers in New York City since the 12-day strike of 1991.

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E-WASTE RECYCLING EVENT FOR COMPUTERS AND TVs: Community Board 6 (Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill, Gowanus and parts of Park Slope, announce an E-Waste Recycling event taking place this Sunday, April 24, at the John Jay Educational Campus in Park Slope. Residents can bring working and non-functional consumer electronic equipment such as computers (desktops, tablet and laptops, servers, monitors, network devices, peripherals; as well as TVs, VCRs, Blue-ray, audio visual equipment, music players and phone equipment. The drive runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on April 24.

No longer accepted, however, are batteries, or media, such as disks, DVDs, VHS tapes, cassette tapes, etc.

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NEW TV NETWORK FOR MULTICULTURAL NON-PROFIT THE BRIDGE: Multi-Cultural Project, based in Flatbush, has launched BRIDGE TV NETWORK, a programming channel highlighting the voices of the community. This mixed media programming channel will focus on our emerging communities, politics, immigration, nonprofit organizations, and local businesses across cosmopolitan and national communities.

The Bridge TV Network aimss create cultural programming that is genuinely accessible, enabling the nurturing of individual expression while presenting exceptional cultural experiences.

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BROOKLYNITE WINS FELLOWSHIP FOR SOCIAL INNOVATION: D’Seanté Parks, founder of 1000 MORE, LLC (Brooklyn, NY) was one of 18 selected for the Spring 2022 Fellows with Echoing Green, a leading global fellowship program for emerging social innovators. The Fellowship program will help to further the work of 18 social entrepreneurs advancing innovative solutions for entrenched social problems, from systemic racism to health inequity, economic disparity, and poverty.

This Fellowship, whose alumni include former First Lady Michelle Obama, political commentator Van Jones (’94), and the organization’s own President, Cheryl L. Dorsey (’92) will be the first of two groups for the year, with each Fellow receiving $80,000 over 18 months, a community of practice, and a continuum of support valued at $200,000 per Fellow, including leadership development, wellness programming, and access to a network of industry peers.

Nancy Soto
Photo credit Anita Salzberg, American Red Cross in Greater NY

LONGTIME RED CROSS VOLUNTEER HONORED: Nancy Soto, a Brooklyn-based volunteer with the American Red Cross in Greater NY for over 20 years, received recognition and a citation from Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, as part of National Volunteer Week, Soto, a Bay Ridge resident of over 30 years, was recognized for her selfless service to New Yorkers as a Disaster Response Manager, a role in which she helps provide comfort and care to individuals affected by home fires, floods, building collapses and other emergencies that upend lives every day in Greater NY.

The Borough President’s citation, which hasn’t yet been formally presented to Ms. Soto, commends her for the outstanding contributions she has made over the years.