Good Morning, Brooklyn: Monday, August 15, 2022

August 15, 2022 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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REPS. JEFFRIES, CLARKE, ENDORSE STATE SEN. KEVIN PARKER: As early voting began last weekend, U.S. Rep Hakeem Jeffries (D-8^th District) endorsed State Senator Kevin Parker for re-election. Parker, who is fighting challengers to retain his 21^st District seat, encompassing parts of central and southern Brooklyn, including Flatbush and Mill Basin, also picked up an endorsement from Rep. Yvette Clarke, as well as labor unions and Planned Parenthood of New York.

Challenging Parker in this primary are David Alexis, Kaegan Mays-Williams, a former Manhattan Assistant District Attorney

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CATHEDRAL-BASILICA MARKS ITS BICENTENNIAL: Hundreds of people filled the pews at the Cathedral Basilica of St. James in Downtown Brooklyn on Sunday afternoon to mark the 200th Anniversary of the parish of St. James, the first Catholic Church to be built on all of Long Island. His Eminence, Timothy Cardinal Dolan, Archbishop of New York, was the homilist and main celebrant of the Mass, which Bishop Robert Brennan of Brooklyn, and Bishop John Barres of Rockville Centre, also concelebrated.

Chronicling the parish history of St James, Cardinal Dolan, preached, “The faith of an inspired layman, Peter Turner, who approached on behalf of a rather tiny Irish village, he approached my predecessor Bishop Connolly for the first church to be built on Long Island. You know in his eloquent simple letter to Bishop Connelly, he said, we just need a place, a place for prayer and the sacraments, to teach the faith and to bury our dead.”

Front center: Timothy Cardinal Dolan of the New York Archdiocese, with Bishop Emeritus Nicholas DiMarzio of the Brooklyn Diocese (hands outstretched), reciting a portion of the Eucharistic Prayer.
Photo credit: The Tablet/Jeffrey Bruno

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ALTERNATE SIDE PARKING SUSPENDED FOR RELIGIOUS HOLIDAY: Alternate side parking is suspended today, Monday, August 15, for the Feast of the Assumption, observed in the Roman Catholic Church as well as other denominations. In the Orthodox Christian branches, this observance is called the Feast of the Dormition of Mary, or the Dormition of the Theotokos.

Meters will remain in effect today.

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APPELLATE COURT JUDGE NAMED AS LIFETIME ACHIEVER: The Hon. Michelle Weston, Associate Justice of the Appellate Term, Second Department, Supreme Court of the State of New York, has been named as one of The New York Law Journal’s Lifetime Achievement Award Winners, who have made an impact on the legal community and the practice of law over an entire career. The Appellate Term, Second Department, seated on Monroe Place in Brooklyn, covers Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island and several counties in the Hudson Valley region.

These winners for 2022 will be recognized in the New York Law Journal’s upcoming Professional Excellence web presentation and honored Oct. 6th at the New York Legal Awards at the Marriott Marquis in Manhattan.

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REP. MALONEY CALLS FOR DAMAGE ASSESSMENT FROM CLASSIFIED FILES FOUND AT TRUMP RESORT: The FBI’s confiscation last week of top-secret documents from former President Donald Trump’s resort residence has prompted a Brooklyn Congress member to request an immediate assessment of the potential damage to national security. Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-12/northern Brooklyn, chair of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, and Rep. Adam Schiff, Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, are asking Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines to identity whether the nation’s security has been compromised, following reports that former President Trump removed and retained highly classified information at his personal residence at the Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida.

Trump’s possession of highly-classified documents after leaving office in January, 2021 is a potential violation of the Presidential Records Act and laws protecting national security, including the Espionage Act. The New York Times reported on Sunday that two months before the FBI removed sensitive material, a Trump attorney had signed a statement in June that all highly-classified documents stored at Mar-a-Lago had been returned.

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NEWLY-DEDICATED NYCHA PARK IN GRAVESEND: The New York City Housing Authority has dedicated Marlboro Houses Recreational Area in Gravesend as Sara Lee McWhite Park. Assemblymembers Steven Cymbrowitz (D-45) and Colton (D-47) gave a $2 million grant to refurbish the space, known locally as “the skatepark, at West 11 Street and Avenue X, is now dedicated in honor of a Marlboro Houses changemaker. The newly-named Sara Lee McWhite Park received new benches, trees, fencing, pavement and barbeque pits.

Assemblymembers Cymbrowitz (Brighton Beach, Manhattan Beach and Midwood, and Colton (Bath Beach, Bensonhurst, Gravesend, Dyker Heights and Midwood) are both actively involved in community initiatives at Marlboro Houses, frequently touring the facilities with NYCHA leadership; providing meals to residents and participating in Family Days at the development.

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SHAM ROBOCALL COMPANY STOPPED: A robocall company involved in a scheme to dissuade and intimidate Black voters has been stopped, through a settlement that New York Attorney General Letitia James announced on Friday with robocalling platform Message Communications, Inc. The company was involved in sending out an illegal, harassing robocall that conspiracy theorists Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman formulated to prevent Black New Yorkers from voting by mail ahead of the 2020 election, through their “Project 1599,” found to be a sham organization.

The harassing and discriminatory calls reached nearly 5,500 New Yorkers and included false claims that mail-in voters would have their personal information disseminated to law enforcement, debt collectors, and the government.

POLIO VACCINATION RATES CONTRAST BETWEEN ADJACENT BROOKLYN NEIGHBORHOODS: Greenpoint has one of the highest polio vaccination rates in the city, at greater than 99 percent; while neighboring communities of Williamsburg, and East Williamsburg have among the lowest number of vaccinated residents. These figures are from a report released after the polio virus was detected last week in the city’s wastewater.

Williamsburg’s (11206) polio vaccination rate is 56.3 percent; East Williamsburg/Williamsburg (zip code 11211) is 65.4 percent. Bedford-Stuyvesant/Ocean Hill/Brownsville (11233) had the second lowest rate in the borough at 58.4 percent vaccinated and Bedford-Stuyvesant/Clinton Hill/Fort Greene (11205) came in at only 58.4 percent.

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INCREASE IN EXTREME RISK PROTECTION ORDERS: A major increase in applications for Extreme Risk Protection Orders has occurred under New York’s Red Flag Law—with substantially more ERPOs filed in the last three months than in all of 2021, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on Friday. The increase comes after Governor Hochul took decisive action in the wake of the mass shooting in Buffalo, issuing an Executive Order requiring State Police to expand their use of the Red Flag Law and working with the legislature to pass a new law requiring all law enforcement agencies in New York to increase the use of these potentially life-saving orders.

On July 6, a new state law signed by the Governor took effect, expanding that order to all law enforcement agencies and district attorneys, and adding to the list of those who are authorized to file orders.

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MORE MONKEYPOX VACCINES BEING MADE AVAILABLE: More than 9,000 additional Monkeypox vaccine appointments are being made available via the city’s vaccine portal https://vax4nyc.nyc.gov/patient/s/monkeypox and by calling 877-VAX-4NYC (877-829-4692) starting this weekend. The 9,000 appointments include 4,000 doses which New York State re-distributed to the city from the most recent allocation as well as around 5,000 appointments that were previously booked but unused.

Unfilled appointments include people who did not show up for appointments, ineligible people who booked or who double-booked appointments.

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WILLIAMS: WON’T SIGN FISCAL YEAR PROPERTY TAX WARRANT: New York City Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams has informed the Mayor, Speaker, and Commissioner of the Department of Finance that, in accordance with Section 1518 of the City Charter and in light of the ongoing court battle over the Department of Education budget, he will not be signing the Fiscal Year 2023 property tax warrant at this time.

The recent State Supreme Court ruling in Williams v. City Of New York confirmed that the administration has in the past been out of compliance with the City Charter through filing improperly executed warrants without the Public Advocate’s signature, and that the Public Advocate has a responsibility to “investigate and otherwise attempt to resolve” public complaints.

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MOSQUITO SPRAYING THIS WEEK: Brooklynites should be on the alert for mosquito spraying on Wednesday through Friday of this week, when the city Health Department, working to prevent the transmission of West Nile Virus, conducts the third aerial larviciding treatment of the season to marshes and wetland areas of the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island. The larviciding helicopter will treat only nonresidential areas. As of press time, no human cases of West Nile virus have been reported this season.

While three days are allotted for the aerial larviciding, the application may be completed in less time. In case of bad weather, application will be delayed until Monday, August 22 to Wednesday, August 24, during the same hours.

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NYC VOTES YOUTH CONFERENCE SEEKS TO EMPOWER CITIZENS IN THEIR TEENS, TWENTIES: All New Yorkers ages 14 to 25 are invited to discuss and learn about voting and local government, at the fourth annual NYC Votes youth-led hearing of the Voter Assistance Advisory Committee. Scheduled for this Wednesday, August 17, at 5:30 p.m., the meeting will be under the leadership of the NYC Votes Youth Ambassadors, an internship program for public school students who are committed to increasing youth voter participation in local elections by organizing get-out-the-vote events in their schools, places of worship, and local libraries.

The youth-led VAAC hearing is a chance for young people to voice their thoughts about elections in New York City and use their political power, where they might otherwise be excluded from civic-oriented participation.

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‘BACK TO SCHOOL BASH’ HAS WIDE SPONSORSHIP: Several long-standing Brooklyn community stakeholders are partnering to celebrate the promise of the new school year and the youth of Brooklyn with the first annual “Back to School Bash” on Saturday, August 27 at the Atlantic Terminal Plaza, 139 Flatbush Avenue, Brooklyn from 1 to 4 p.m. The YWCA Brooklyn, Atlantic Terminal, EmblemHealth, St. Joseph’s University, New York, Stop & Shop and national sorority Gamma Sigma Rho, are co-sponsoring the event to help prepare students for a new academic year.

The Back to School Bash will feature backpack giveaways, wellness check-ins with doctors, free haircuts, free dental screenings courtesy of Kells and nearly a dozen entertainment options for all age groups.

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SCHOOL SUPPLY DRIVE: Another Brooklyn organization, the Arab American Family Support Center, is holding a school supply drive to support low-income immigrant and refugee families in the community. The September 1 event will also feature a youth showcase.

Supplies such as backpacks, notebooks, pens/pencils, art supplies, are being collected for low-income immigrant and refugee families, who face the highest economic pressure to provide school supplies and essential items for their children. Donors can visit the AAFSSSC at 384 Atlantic Avenue (between Bond and Hoyt) in Boerum Hill, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays-Fridays, making sure to let the front desk know that the errand is a school supply drop-off.

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CHOOSE THE CLOSING FILM AT BROOKLYN BRIDGE PARK: Viewers will have a chance to select the closing film of Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Movies With A View season. The choice is left to Public Choice with a vote between Back to the Future (PG), Mamma Mia! (PG-13), or Mission Impossible (PG), with voting closing on Wednesday, August 17, at 5 p.m.

The winning selection (to be shown on Thursday, August 25) will be announced the next day at the August 18 Movie With A View: The Mitchells Vs. the Machines. For all movies, the lawn opens at 6:00 p.m., and the film at Pier 1 Harbor View Lawn, begins at sundown. Smorgasburg is on site at 5:00 p.m. serving delicious food and beverages.

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OVINGTON AVE. OVERPASS UNDER REPAIR: Commuters through Bay Ridge should be aware that the New York State Department of Transportation is currently working on repairs beneath the Ovington Avenue overpass above Interstate 278 (also known as the Gowanus Expressway.) A “Weight Limit 6 Tons” sign has been placed on the overpass while work is taking place beneath.

The work is expected to be completed in late fall.