Good Morning, Brooklyn: Tuesday, May 31, 2022

May 31, 2022 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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CEASE-AND-DESIST ON AGGRESSIVE REAL ESTATE SALESPERSONS: The New York Department of State will be hosting a public hearing at Brooklyn Borough Hall on Cease-And-Desist zones, which are designed to prevent aggressive real estate solicitation from brokers, agents, or real estate speculators that target private residences. The public hearing, announced through Community Boards 7 (Sunset Park and Windsor Terrace), and 9 (parts of Crown Heights, Prospect-Lefferts Gardens and Wingate), and being conducted in accordance with Chapter 581 of 2021, will enable DOS to continue collecting evidence as part of an investigation to see if a Cease-And-Desist zone is warranted for all or part of Brooklyn.

Brooklyn residents wishing to testify at the public hearing on Thursday, June 9, from 6-8 p.m., are invited to email [email protected].

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NY WILL COVER GAP IN STORM RECOVERY ASSISTANCE: New York State will fully cover the required non-federal share of FEMA’s Public Assistance program for local governments impacted by Tropical Storm Isaias, Tropical Storm Fred and Hurricane Ida, all which brought devastating flooding impacts to New York in the last two years. In announcing the coverage, Gov. Kathy Hochul pointed out that this funding is essential to delivering projects which help local governments rebuild public infrastructure, and to easing the financial burden placed on the municipalities working to recover.

Once projects are approved and completed, the federal government typically reimburses the project sponsor up to 75 percent of costs, while the recipient is required to cover the remaining 25 percent. New York will now cover the gap.

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NEW GENDER OPTION ON DMV CARDS: New Yorkers will have the option to choose “X” as a gender marker on their driver license, learner permit, or non-driver ID card at all Department of Motor Vehicle offices statewide. This landmark legislation provides expanded protections for transgender and non-binary New Yorkers through this change at the DMV and by making it easier for people to change their names, change their sex designation and change their birth certificates to reflect their identity.

This change, which Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on Friday, is being implemented in accordance with the State’s Gender Recognition Act, which takes effect on June 24.

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TWO JUDGES APPOINTED TO BROOKLYN CLAIMS COURT: Two new judges have been appointed to the New York State Court of Claims in Kings County, as part of a group of 12 appointments that Gov. Kathy Hochul has made statewide. The Brooklyn judges are Joanne Quinones, who has been Acting Justice of the Supreme Court-Kings County since 2017 has held judicial roles in other court divisions as well; and Maureen Heitner, a Principal Law Clerk/Court Clerk in the New York State Supreme Court in Queens County.

Quinones is president of the Latino Judges Association. Heitner is the treasurer at The Network of Bar Leaders, a coalition of more than 50 bar associations in the Greater New York Metropolitan area.

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RETAILERS WARNED TO STOP PRICE GOUGING ON BABY FORMULA: New York Attorney General Letitia James has issued warnings to more than 30 online and brick-and-mortar retailers across the state to stop overcharging for baby formula after consumers reported unreasonably high prices. New York’s price gouging statute prohibits merchants from charging excessive prices for essential goods or services during abnormal market disruptions and shortages, yet hiked-up prices were reported in several locations.

Attorney General James, in her cease-and-desist letters, ordered these businesses to immediately stop overcharging for baby formula, and warned them of the legal consequences of price gouging.

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PUBLIC MEETING ON HOMELESS SHELTER: City Council Member Lincoln Restler and Brooklyn Community Board 2 (Downtown Brooklyn/Heights/Navy Yard) will hold an online community forum this evening, Tuesday, May 31, regarding the opening of a new shelter at 316 Atlantic Avenue. The city Department of Homeless Services (DHS) and the shelter operator, Black Veterans for Social Justice, will give presentations about their plans and include a Q&A session.

Public questions and comments are welcome in advance. Submit by email to [email protected] no later than 10 a.m. Event registration is also required: www.tiny.cc/316atlantic, Reference: 2017 – “Turning the Tide on Homelessness”

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SUMMER ON GOVERNORS ISLAND: New York City Mayor Eric Adams and the Trust for Governors Island have announced a robust calendar of exciting and wide-ranging programs on the Island for this summer, including the return of late nights on Fridays and Saturdays. The expansion on weekends is considered another critical step in New York City’s economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Governors Island remains one of New York City’s most unique locations for events of all kinds — including, for the first time ever, Pride Island, New York City Pride’s weekend-long music festival in honor of Pride Weekend, featuring performances from Kim Petras, Papi Juice, Lil’ Kim, and more.

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SCHOOLS TESTING PROGRAM REACHES 2 MILLION MILESTONE: New York City’s in-school surveillance testing program has administered over two million PCR COVID-19 tests to students and school staff this school year, Mayor Eric Adams and Schools Chancellor David Banks announced on Friday. Besides supporting the city’s “Stay Safe, Stay Open” plan, an additional four million at-home tests will be delivered to schools each week until the end of the school year.

The city’s school surveillance testing program, an interagency effort coordinated by the DOE, DOHMH, and Test & Trace, manages testing at over 1,900 school locations, conducting nearly 80,000 tests per week to ensure city schools were and continue to be the safest place for young people to be during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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BROOKLYN CHURCH RECEIVES PANDEMIC-RECOVERY GRANT: Open Door Church of God in Christ, part of a historically Black Pentecostal denomination, and located in Bedford-Stuyvesant, is one of 10 churches that received $10,000 through the Churches Helping Churches initiative, as part of a fundraising campaign to help small churches during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Churches Helping Churches initiative started early in the pandemic in 2020 with an emphasis on larger congregations helping smaller ones at risk of closing. The relief fund benefited recipients in low-income neighborhoods disproportionately affected by the resulting economic shutdown.

Even though the active fundraising for the campaign ended, its success continued, with money still coming in over the past year, with $3,000 grants distributed to 450 U.S. congregations, totaling $1.4 million.

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Maimonides Nurses Jenna Cardone (left) and Inna Kofman flank Msgr. Jamie Gigantiello. Photo courtesy of Maimonides Medical Center.

Msgr. Jamie Gigantiello holds a certificate naming him as Honorary Nurse. Standing with him are Michael Brincat, director of special events and corporate sponsorship at Maimonides Medical Center, and Douglas Jablon, the hospital’s Executive Vice President of Patient Relations.
Photo courtesy of Maimonides Medical Center.

POPULAR MONSIGNOR IS ‘NURSE FOR A DAY’: Monsignor Jamie Gigantiello, the Vicar for Development for the Diocese of Brooklyn, recently served as a “Nurse for a Day” at Maimonides Medical Center, as part of a special tribute to the nursing staff at Maimonides during National Nurses Week. The daylong event gives civic and community leaders the opportunity to shadow a Maimonides registered nurse, and introduce them to the daily routine and responsibilities of this vocation.

Earlier this year, Monsignor Gigantiello, who is pastor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel – Annunciation Parish, in Williamsburg, was sworn in as an FDNY Chaplain.