Good Morning, Brooklyn: Wednesday, June 1, 2022

June 1, 2022 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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BROOKLYN COLLEGE GRADUATES MORE THAN 4,000 SCHOLARS: Brooklyn College celebrated the achievement of more than 4,000 students at its 2022 commencement at Barclays Center in Downtown Brooklyn, which marked the first in-person commencement in two years, with 3,195 baccalaureate and 966 master’s degrees, along with 96 advanced certificates. Valedictorian of the Class of 2022 was Carina D’Urso, who received a Bachelor of Arts degree in the CUNY Baccalaureate for Unique and Interdisciplinary Studies. Leymah Roberta Gbowee, who served as the honorary degree recipient and keynote speaker, is a 2011 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and renowned human rights leader who led the Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace that worked to end the 14-year civil war in Liberia.

The college also welcomed several distinguished guests, including Mayor Eric Adams; U.S. Sen. Charles E. Schumer; New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams; Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso; and the president of New York State Higher Education Services Corporation Dr. Guillermo Linares.

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NYCHA EARNS CERTIFICATE FOR FINANCIAL REPORTING: New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) has earned a Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for its annual comprehensive financial report for the fiscal year that ended on Dec. 31, 2020. The Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) of the United States and Canada awarded this highest form of recognition in governmental accounting and financial reporting.

The conferral of this certificate marks the eighteenth straight year that NYCHA has been recognized by the impartial panel for meeting the program’s high standards and demonstrating a constructive “spirit of full disclosure” to communicate its financial story.

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PUBLIC COMMENT INVITED FOR NEWEST ‘OPEN STREETS’: Public comment is invited on the addition within Community Board 2 of three new Brooklyn roads that the DOT has approved for the Open Streets program New BKCD2 Open Streets: Remsen Street between Henry and Clinton streets during hours for the Brooklyn Heights Synagogue Pre-School, Lexington Avenue between Grand and Classon avenues for the Brooklyn Bazaar Festival running on weekends from noon to 8 p.m., and Smith St. between Union and Wyckoff streets on Saturdays between 10 a.m. and 10 p.m. Comments will be received through Friday, June 17 via https://www1.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/contact/contact-form.shtml?routing=bk.shtml.

Full Closures allow for a range of car-free (no vehicle access or parking) activities that support local businesses and neighborhoods, and create a safe place for New Yorkers to gather. These Open Streets support multiple uses, including outdoor dining, and community programming.

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NYC COMPTROLLER: RATE YOUR STREET’S CLEANLINESS: City Comptroller Brad Lander wants to know how Brooklyn residents rate their street’s cleanliness. A virtual conversation via Zoom that he has scheduled for next Tuesday, June 7, at 7 p.m. will be a chance for Brooklynites to share feedback on sanitation, property taxes, and other pressing issues (Link https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sanitation-and-property-tax-town-hall-virtual-via-zoom-tickets-325026201117?aff=ebdsoporgprofile.

Lander points out that while he was happy to see additions to Sanitation’s budget, he does not like the $48 million cut to the Fiscal Year 2023 budget from the Preliminary Budget.

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MORE THAN 80 MILLION COVID OTC TESTS GIVEN OUT: More than 80 million COVID-19 over-the-counter tests have been distributed to date by New York State as part of the administration’s ongoing efforts to keep New Yorkers protected throughout the pandemic, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on Tuesday, May 31. At-home rapid tests are being provided regularly to schools and nursing homes in the state.

Of the over 100 million tests procured, nearly 20 million tests have been stockpiled to help prepare for any potential surges later this year.

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NEW MOBILE SPORTS WAGERING SETS REVENUE RECORD: New York’s recently launched mobile sports wagering has generated a record-breaking amount of tax revenue in less than six months, surpassing states that have offered sports wagering for years. According to New York State data that Gov. Kathy Hochul announced yesterday, the state has generated over $267 million from sports wagering since January, with mobile sports wagering accounting for $263 million since January 8.

According to some reports, New York has collected more in sports wagering revenue in five months than the total revenue any other state has generated over several years.

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JUNETEENTH IN BROOKLYN: The 13th Annual Juneteenth NY Festival — considered one of New York’s biggest and longest-running annual events commemorating the country’s newest federal holiday – returns for a three-day celebration, kicking off virtually on Friday, June 17. Then, at Linden Park/Gershwin Park, in-person gatherings in Brooklyn take place on Saturday, June 18, and Sunday, June 19, with Community Day featuring performances from local talent, a wide range of vendors and a Festival Food Market hosting a diverse selection of local, Black-owned restaurants.

This year’s theme spotlights “Unity in the Black Family Unit,” and will feature the best in Black culture and will include an array of live performances, exhibitions, authentic local cuisine, wellness and other fun family activities.

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PRESIDENTIAL SCHOLAR HAILS FROM ZIP CODE 11206: Tenzin Kinzom of Brooklyn’s 11206 zip code was named a Presidential Scholar for the spring 2022 semester at Clarkson University. A rising senior majoring in biology, Kinzom has achieved a minimum 3.80 grade-point average and carries at least 14 credit hours to earn this award.

Clarkson is a private, national research university, in Potsdam, (upstate NY) and is considered a leader in technological education and sustainable economic development through teaching, scholarship, research and innovation.

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DEAN’S LIST STUDENT FROM NORTHERN BROOKLYN: Francesca Rutherford, a psychological science major, has been named to the dean’s list for the spring 2022 semester at the University of Vermont (founded in 1791). Rutherford, who hails from Brooklyn’s zip code 11206 is enrolled at UVM’s the College of Arts and Sciences.

Students at UVM must maintain a grade point average of 3.0 or better and rank in the top 20 percent of their class in their respective college or school.

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IPS NEWS: BROOKLYN STATE SENATOR SPONSORS JUNETEENTH EXHIBIT: State Senators Roxanne J. Persaud (SD19/Central Brooklyn) and Andrea Stewart-Cousins, Majority Leader of NYS Senate (SD35) have opened an exhibition in the New York State Legislative Office Building titled “From Slavery to Juneteenth”, chronicling the atrocities of slavery, the fight for freedom and the effects of Emancipation. The exhibition, produced in collaboration with the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture at The New York Public Library, will be on display on the large wall in The Well of the Legislative Office Building, through Tuesday, June 21. Juneteenth is observed on June 19.

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IPS NEWS: LEWIS VOTING RIGHTS ACT PASSES STATE SENATE: As NY Senate voted on Tuesday to approve the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act of New York), several civil rights advocates call for final passage from the Assembly before the session ends June 2. State Sen. Zellnor Myrie (D20/Crown Heights and Central Brooklyn) is primary sponsor of the bill, which would launch a “preclearance” program that requires local governments with records of discrimination to prove that proposed voting changes will not harm voters of color before they can go into effect, among other voter protections.

More than 70 organizations recently sent a letter to Governor Hochul, Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins and Speaker Heastie urging the swift passage of the NYVRA before the end of the legislative session.