Good Morning, Brooklyn: Wednesday, June 8, 2022

June 8, 2022 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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SAVE UPCOMING TUESDAYS FOR GOVERNMENT CUSTOMER SERVICE NIGHTS: Department of Buildings offices are now open every Tuesday 4 – 7 p.m. for homeowners, tenants, small-business owners, and building managers who seek in-person assistance in planning for renovations, construction, addressing open violations or other matters, during the DOB’s Buildings After Hours. Staff from the borough commissioner’s office, borough operations, development inspections, enforcement inspections, and plan-examinations will be available at every borough office.

The Brooklyn Borough Office is on the 8^th Floor of the Municipal Building at 210 Joralemon St., between Court St. and Boerum Place, Downtown. For other matters, or to prepare for a visit, New Yorkers can use online resources including the Buildings Information System (BIS) and DOB NOW.

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IRS WARNS OF ‘DIRTY DOZEN’ TRANSACTIONS: The Internal Revenue Service on Tuesday released its “Dirty Dozen” list for 2022, which includes potentially abusive arrangements that taxpayers and practitioners should avoid, and be wary of participating in transactions that seem “too good to be true.” The first four transactions, that are wrongfully promoted and will likely attract additional agency compliance efforts in the future, involve charitable remainder annuity trusts, Maltese individual retirement arrangements, foreign captive insurance, and monetized installment sales.

The four potentially abusive transactions on the list are the first four entries in this year’s Dirty Dozen series. In coming days, the IRS will focus on eight additional scams, with some focused on the average taxpayer and others focused on more complex arrangements that promoters market to higher-income individuals.

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The Rev. Landon Moore
Photo courtesy Episcopal Diocese of Long Island

NEW VICAR FOR DISCERNMENT PROCESS: The Rev. Landon M. Moore, priest-in-charge of St. George’s Episcopal Church in Bedford-Stuyvesant, has been appointed as Brooklyn Vicar for Vocation, a newly created diocesan part-time position. Bishop Lawrence Provenzano of the Episcopal Diocese of Long Island announced that Fr. Moore will serve as a point person for those who are considering or in the discernment process for ordained ministry as well as for those seeking specialized lay ministries, and will partner with Bishop Provenzano, other staff, and with the chair of the Diocesan Committee on Ministry to identify, encourage, and support the next generation of ordained and lay leaders in the ministry of the diocese.

Fr. Moore, who previously served as associate priest at St. Mark’s, Brooklyn, where he was ordained in 2019, is secretary of the Diocesan Black Clergy Caucus and serves on the National Youth and Young Adult Committee of the Union of Black Episcopalians.

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SUMMER SPORTS REGISTRATION OPENS: Registration is now open for the City Parks Foundation’s free summer 2022 sports programs for youths, including access to free equipment in tennis, golf, soccer, track & field and multi-sport in local neighborhood parks across all five boroughs during July and August. In Brooklyn, CityParks Everyday Play will take place at Kaiser Park in Coney Island. CityParks Golf, presented in partnership with The First Tee NYC and supporting sponsor Lacoste, also offers beginners’ programs at the CityParks Junior Golf Center, a facility in Bay Ridge.

City Parks Foundation provides free sports instruction to thousands of New York City children each year, including www.CityParksFoundation.org for more information.

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COMMUNITY CLEANUP IN NORTH HEIGHTS: The Brooklyn Heights Association and the NYC Parks Dept are teaming up for a family-friendly Community Cleanup at Middagh & Willow streets, this coming Saturday, June 11, starting at 10 a.m. NYC Parks will provide all the tools, participants need just bring their own gloves.

The Community Cleanup is billed as a family-friendly event with lots of safe activities for folks with smaller hands.

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MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID TRAINING COURSE FOR CLERGY: The New York Disaster Interfaith Services and The Salvation Army collaborate to offer free, daylong Mental Health First Aid training for community & faith leaders. Mental Health First Aid is a globally recognized, groundbreaking public education program that introduces participants to risk factors and warning signs of mental health issues, builds an understanding of their impact, and provides an overview of common treatments and interventions. The eight-hour course, being held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesday, June 15, uses role-playing, videos, discussions, and games to illuminate the material and equip participants to assess a mental health crisis, select interventions, provide initial help, and connect neighbors to professional, peer, social, and self-help care.

Interested clergy and faith leaders may learn more via https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mental-health-first-aid-mhfa-training-registration-255464740917?aff=ebdsoporgprofile. All participants who complete the training and short test receive a certificate that is valid for three years.

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LEGISLATURE PASSES BILL TO EXPAND SNAP ELIGIBILITY: Families with two heads-of-household will be better able to utilize their SNAP benefits, thanks to a bill that the New York State Legislature passed during the closing days of its scheduled legislative session. The bill, whose sponsors were Senator Julia Salazar (D-18), whose district stretches from Williamsburg to Cypress Hills and Assemblymember Simcha Eichenstein (D-48^th A.D), who represents Borough Park, Midwood and parts of Bensonhurst, requires that two electronic SNAP benefit cards be made available to households in which more than one parent or guardian resides on a full-time basis.

This legislation will make it easier and more convenient for SNAP participants to purchase necessary provisions by allowing both heads-of-household to use the card and utilize the benefits. Cards will continue to be issued to adults only and the second card will not entitle recipients to additional benefits.

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COVID TEST KIT DISTRIBUTION SITE: Bay Ridge Connects’ office at 7609 Third Ave. is now a COVID-19 test kit distribution site. The organization is receiving an abundance of self-administered COVID-19 test kits from NYC Test & Trace on a monthly basis.

Local businesses wanting batches of tests for their employees or customers, can call Gabriela at 718-333-5782 (Mondays-Fridays, 9 a.m.-5p.m.) to schedule a pick-up of test kits.

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CUNY’S KINGSBOROUGH MAKES FINALIST LIST FOR PRESTIGIOUS PRIZE: Kingsborough Community College in Brooklyn’s Manhattan Beach section is one of two CUNY schools, along with Hostos Community College in the South Bronx, to be named among 10 finalists for the highly competitive 2023 Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence. Last fall, a record-setting six CUNY community colleges were selected among 150 schools to compete for the $1 million prize.

They represented 86 percent of CUNY’s community colleges, the highest percentage of schools from any university system in Aspen Prize history, with three of the six schools advancing to the semifinals round of 25 in April,

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One of the works from Fruin’s latest installation
Photo Credit Mike Szpot

STAINED GLASS ART INSTALLATION OPENS: Two new installations from Brooklyn artist Tom Fruin, and titled “From Sea to Shining Sea”, and showcasing Fruin’s renowned stained-glass sculptures are now visible along the Brooklyn waterfront near DUMBO. The ICON series now includes dozens of pieces inspired by the original Kolonihavehus, named for the garden sheds found in Copenhagen, and the experimental sculpture in this series, and seminal work that kicked off Fruin’s ICON series of large-scale plexiglass and steel sculpture.

Many viewers are already familiar with Fruin’s Watertower, visible from DUMBO and overlooking the New York Harbor.

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IN SOLIDARITY WITH MASS SHOOTING VICTIMS: Students, faculty and staff at St. Joseph the Worker Catholic Academy in Windsor Terrace have raised over $3,000 in support of the Robb Elementary School community in Uvalde, Texas.

The Academy community dressed in orange on Monday in solidarity with the victims of the recent school shooting in Uvalde, and to mark National Anti-Gun Violence Awareness Day.

Students at a Catholic academy in Windsor Terrace wear orange to mark National Anti-Gun Violence Awareness Day.
Photo courtesy Diocese of Brooklyn.

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CATHOLIC ACADEMY STARTS A GARDEN: Students at Our Lady of Trust Catholic Academy in Canarsie partnered with Cornell University and 4-H last Friday to launch a vegetable garden planting initiative. Working with Cornell and 4-H, both known for their agricultural extension educational programs, and under the guidance of their principal, Muriel Wilkinson, created a healthy, living agricultural program and planted different seeds to grow tomatoes, onion, basil, parsley, collard greens and carrots.

Upon completion of the planting, students also painted a mural that reads, “God’s Love Grows at OLTCA,” and clouds featuring the words: Friendship, Kindness, Love, and Respect. Canarsie, in eastern Brooklyn, has a history of hosting garden and produce markets.