Good Morning, Brooklyn: Wednesday, May 11, 2022

May 11, 2022 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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CRIMINAL COMPLAINT OPENED ON HACKING AND FRAUD: Computer intrusion, securities, bank and wire fraud are among the charges in a criminal complaint that was unsealed yesterday in Brooklyn federal court, against Idris Dayo Mustapha, a citizen of the United Kingdom. The alleged criminal conduct occurred between 2011 and 2018, during which Mustapha gained access to U.S.-based computers, including email servers and computers belonging to U.S. financial institutions, in order to steal money from online bank accounts and securities brokerage accounts.

The United States is seeking Mustapha’s extradition to the Eastern District of New York, since his arrest last August in the United Kingdom.

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PUBLIC ADVOCATE RESPONDS TO LATEST DEATH AT RIKERS: Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams is repeating his calls for urgent action to reform the Rikers Island correctional facility, just days after Dashawn Carter became the fourth person to die this year on Rikers. During a hearing of the Board of Correction Tuesday, Public Advocate Williams again emphasized that years of mismanagement have created danger for people on both sides of the bars and that systemic changes are needed, rather than simply adding more officers.

The public advocate also spoke about impending legislation he is set to introduce in the City Council to prohibit solitary confinement, and said of the upcoming deadline, for the Department of Correction to present a plan for Rikers reform.

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NEW ACADEMIC PROGRAMS AT ST. FRANCIS COLLEGE: St. Francis College has unveiled new academic programs designed to position students as leaders in competitive careers that address today’s most pressing social issues. The new and expanded programs, including master’s and bachelor’s degrees in the disciplines of exercise and sport science, and bachelor’s degrees in entrepreneurship and global studies, are all available starting in Fall 2022 and will give St. Francis College students the opportunity to explore and grow in fields that confront public health, global matters and economic trends.

Moreover, the college in Downtown Brooklyn has also launched an interdisciplinary minor program, Studies in Human Rights, to augment an existing lecture series, and has debuted two new programs designed to provide qualified pre-medicine and pre-veterinary students with streamlined admission to St. George’s University Schools of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine in Grenada.

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NY INVESTS $35 MILLION TO PROTECT ABORTION RIGHTS: New York is leading the nation in protecting abortion rights, with a $35 million investment to directly support abortion providers in anticipation of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade. Gov. Kathy Hochul, who made the announcement on Tuesday, has directed the Department of Health to create a $25 million Abortion Provider Support Fund to expand capacity and ensure access for patients seeking abortion care in New York, and $10 million for reproductive health care centers to ensure the safety of the providers performing this care.

“New York has always been at the forefront of the fight for abortion rights, and as the first female governor of New York, I will not let us go backwards,” Governor Hochul said.

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VIRTUAL MEETING ON OWLS HEAD FACILITY IN GOWANUS: A virtual public meeting about the development of the Gowanus Canal “Owls Head” combined sewer overflow facility planned for the Gowanus Salt Lot, is scheduled for this Thursday, May 12, at 7 p.m. During this second meeting on the issue, the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the design team will report back on the feedback received at the February 10 public-engagement meeting, and how it has informed the design approach for the City’s facilities and opportunities for public open space and ecosystem restoration. (Register in advance: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/public-engagement-meeting-gowanus-canal-owls-head-cso-facility-tickets-321448550267).

The team is expected to provide detail on the design approach for the CSO tank, public open space and ecosystem restoration, with the expectation that they will have heeded community feedback from a previous meeting on February 10.

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SCHOOLS TEAM UP FOR NEW PANDEMIC RESPONSE INSTITUTE: The New York City Pandemic Response Institute (PRI) has been launched as part of a new partnership with two area universities, Mayor Eric Adams announced on Tuesday. Columbia University and The City University of New York Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy (CUNY SPH) will coordinate with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, working with New Yorkers in communities across the five boroughs to develop locally-tailored health solutions, information, and resources to prepare for, respond to, and recover from future health crises.

The PRI, which has receiving critical Economic Development Corp. funding, includes diverse partnerships with dozens of nonprofit, community, faith-based, research, and corporate entities.

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SHOWCASING NYC’S BLACK BUSINESSES: The United Way of NYC’s Together We Thrive: Black Business Network this week hosts 40 Black designers as a part of the 10th Annual NYCxDesign Festival, running through Friday, May 20. The Brooklyn event, on Saturday, May 14, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., will be the Black Design Market at Restoration Plaza, 956 Marcy Avenue, featuring a flea market-style outdoor event, selling creations of Black designers. No pre-registration is required for this particular site.

Together We Thrive is a broad coalition of government, nonprofit and corporate partners to support Black-owned businesses in New York City.

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NYCxDESIGN MARKS 10^TH ANNIVERSARY: This weekend, FAD Market joins NYCxDESIGN to celebrate its tenth anniversary, with a special pop-up market at The Invisible Dog Art Center in Boerum Hill. A grassroots initiative to empower and promote the city’s diverse and creative community has evolved into NYCxDESIGN; a not-for-profit organization empowering local designers since 2013.

Featuring a curated selection of home furnishing, tableware, apparel, and jewelry from more than 50 boundary-pushing designers, FAD Market’s NYCxDESIGN pop-up showcases the region’s rising makers and creators.

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IPS NEWS: CLIMATE ACTION ROADMAP LAUNCHED: City Councilmember Lincoln Restler (D-33^rd District/Brooklyn Heights/Downtown) is launching Climate Action Roadmap, in accordance with his campaign promise last year, to achieve carbon neutrality in the area he represents. Restler’s plan has five main goals: reducing building emissions; curbing vehicular emissions by reimagining our streets for alternative modes of transportation and activating our waterways; expanding green spaces and green infrastructure to mitigate extreme heat; achieving Zero Waste, by diverting garbage from landfills and supporting alternative streams like compost and e-waste recycling; and preparing for climate changes with a surge-ready shoreline and resilient neighborhoods.

The roadmap’s purpose is to use every tool the New York City Council has available to ensure that every neighbor and business can collectively drive down emissions.

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IPS NEWS: HONORING POLICE WHO SACRIFICED THEIR LIVES: Gov. Kathy Hochul on Tuesday honored the lives of 49 police officers from six police departments who were remembered at the New York State Police Officers Memorial Remembrance Ceremony in Albany. The officers’ names have been added to the memorial’s black granite wall, which now includes the names of 1,717 men and women from 150 police departments across the state and six federal agencies who sacrificed their lives in service to New Yorkers.

Governor Hochul also directed that state buildings and landmarks, including the Kosciuszko Bridge that links Brooklyn and Queens, be illuminated blue to honor the sacrifice of the officers whose names are included on the Memorial and recognize the service of all police officers across the state.

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IPS NEWS: MALONEY: REPLENISH COVID RELIEF FUNDS FOR BUSINESSES: Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-12/northern Brooklyn) sent a letter to New York’s Congressional leaders, calling for future Coronavirus relief packages to replenish the Small Business Administration’s COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program. The letter, sent to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California), points out that 340,000 small businesses in New York State – and countless more across the country – have benefited from the EIDL program; and that Rep. Maloney’s district is home to over 58,000 small businesses, the largest concentration of small businesses in any congressional district.

Maloney stated, “Multiple constituents have confided in me and my office about facing the closing of a business their parents or grandparents had started; one asked for advice about how to tell his daughter she would have to switch schools because they could no longer afford it; and others expressed deep regrets about having to finally lay off the employees they helped keep afloat throughout the pandemic.”