Good Morning, Brooklyn: Friday, August 19, 2022

August 19, 2022 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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CITY LAUNCHES ‘PROJECT OPEN ARMS’: New York City is launching ‘Project Open Arms,’ a comprehensive plan to support families seeking asylum and ensure children are provided a full range of services to start their New York City public education on the first day of school next month. This multi-agency plan, which Mayor Eric Adams, Mayor Eric Adams, New York City Department of Education (DOE) Chancellor David C. Banks, Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs Commissioner Manuel Castro, and New York City Department of Social Services (DSS) Commissioner Gary Jenkins announced earlier today, highlights wraparound services to ensure asylum-seeking families and their children will have access to critical academic, social-emotional, and language-based supports needed to be successful in New York City public schools.

As part of this plan, the city pledges to seamlessly work across agencies, simplify the enrollment process, ensure language access and support, provide academic and extracurricular programming, create supportive classrooms and schools and provide continuous coordination with community providers and community-based organizations.

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DOT ALERT: CLINTON ST. BLOCK CLOSED OFF THIS WEEKEND: A portion of Clinton Street in Brooklyn Heights will be closed to traffic this weekend, including possibly during the time that the Montague Open Street fair takes place on August 20. According to a Department of Transportation (DOT) notice issued this morning, August 19, “Clinton St. between Remsen Street and Montague Street will be closed for 90 minutes between Saturday 12:01 a.m. and Sunday 3:01 p.m., to facilitate crane operation.”

However, the notice did not specify exactly when the 90-minute closure would take place or whether there would be multiple, intermittent closures. Montague St. will also be closed off between Clinton and Hicks for the Open Street event.

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DOT ALERT: MONTAGUE ST. CLOSED OFF FOR CONSTRUCTION AND STREET FAIR: The DOT today announced also that Montague Street between Clinton and Court streets will be closed Saturday, August 20 at 12:01am to Sunday, August 21 at 3:01 p.m.to facilitate crane operation. This closure is concurrent with the Montague Open Street and the aforementioned Clinton St. closure.

This means drivers will not be able to enter Montague St. from Cadman Plaza West or from Court St. Drivers commuting into Brooklyn Heights this weekend should plan alternate routes to access their destination within the neighborhood.

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DOT ALERT FOR RED HOOK: CLINTON ST. CLOSED OFF FOR UTILITY WORK: Another closure of a portion of Clinton Street in Red Hook, between Mill Street and Hamilton Avenue will take place tomorrow, Saturday, August 20, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and again on Sunday, August 21, during the same hours, to facilitate electrical service in the neighborhood.

This closure will repeat on weekends through Saturday, September 3.

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LORIMER ST. CLOSED THROUGH 9/17 FOR SUBWAY UPGRADES: More traffic headaches are in store for commuters in Williamsburg, as Lorimer Street between Metropolitan Avenue and Conselyea Street will also be closed around-the-clock through September 17 to facilitate MTA station upgrade operation.

Work is being done on the Metropolitan Ave./Lorimer St. station to make it ADA-accessible. The station, which opened in July 1948, serves the IND L trains and the BMT G trains.

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QUESTIONS SOCIAL MEDIA OVER ONLINE THREATS AGAINST FBI: Social media companies’ handling of increasing online threats against law enforcement is under investigation from Rep. Carolyn Maloney’s office. Maloney, who serves Brooklyn’s current 12^th district in northern Brooklyn and is chair of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, has sent letters to social media companies Meta, Twitter, TikTok, Truth Social, Rumble, Gettr, Telegram, and Gab, requesting information on how these companies are responding to a spike in online threats against law enforcement officers since the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) conducted a court-authorized search at former President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club last week.

Earlier this month, the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a Joint Intelligence Bulletin warning about a sharp rise in threats against federal law enforcement. The President of the FBI Agents Association warned that the threats against FBI agents are “real” and “imminent.”

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INTERACTIVE MAP LAUNCHED OF MTA CAPITAL PROJECTS: A new, interactive map of the MTA’s capital projects, including several in Brooklyn, is available for planners, advocates and policymakers, after the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, a 501(c)(3) non-profit policy organization launched it earlier this week. These projects propose extending the W line from Whitehall St. in Manhattan through the Montague St. Tunnel to Red Hook; improving transit options along the Utica Ave. Corridor in southeast Brooklyn extending the New Lots Ave. #3 Line to a new terminal at either Flatlands Ave. or in the vicinity of Gateway Center Mall; and constructing a new transit line between Queens and Brooklyn along an existing freight corridor, connecting up to 17 existing subway lines.

The MTA still has to evaluate each of these projects – meaning they have not yet been selected or funded, but will be comparatively evaluated for consideration on a level playing field for future capital Programs, according to the authority.

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DiNAPOLI’S AUDIT CRITICIZES SCHOOLS’ MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT RECORD: The New York City Department of Education’s track record on mental health support for students could use much improvement, says the latest audit from State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli’s office. The audit found that too many NYC public schools are understaffed with mental health professionals, are not adequately training staff and too few have services readily available — and that DOE provides little oversight to ensure students receive the required mental health instruction critical to developing their awareness and resilience.

The audit also uncovered issues with the DOE’s delivery and oversight of mental health programs; and worse, discovered a false claim on the DOE’s website touting six mental health programs and implying that every school had one. Instead, auditors found that nearly 40 percent (563) of DOE’s 1,524 schools did not have even one of these structured mental health programs.

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BIKE AND BOOKS AT THREE LIBRARIES: The EASTBKBIKECLUB is having another family fun community ride named in partnership with the BPL’s Brownsville Library this Saturday, August 20. Books & Bikes, a guided bike tour for all ages, will start at 10:30 a.m. from the Brownsville Library at 61 Glenmore Avenue. (Participants need to bring their own helmets, bike lock and other supplies. More information via Instagram for more biking updates! @Eastbkbikeclub)

Held in celebration of the Brooklyn Public Library’s 125^th anniversary, the tour will explore through one of the BPL’s oldest library branches: Arlington, Brownsville & Stone Avenue Libraries.

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I-PEDAL CITYWIDE BIKE TOUR: Another non-competitive self-guided bike tour will take place in various parts of Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and the Bronx this Sunday, August 21, from 7 a.m. – 4 p.m., according to an announcement from Community Board 10 (Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights). The tour route will necessitate many full street closures throughout Community Board 10, including: 2nd Avenue between 50^th and 65^th streets; Ridge Blvd. between 2 Avenue and 67 Street; 67 Street between Ridge Blvd. and Colonial Road; and Colonial Road between 67 Street and Shore Road.

Cyclists are reminded to ride the correct side of the road in the same direction as vehicular traffic.

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PLATFORM CONSTRUCTION AT PACIFIC PARK TO IMPACT BUS SERVICE: Construction work continues on the Pacific Park (also known as the Atlantic Yards) project, just east of Downtown Brooklyn, during the weeks of August 22 and 29, according to updates from the New York State Empire Development Corp. Block 1120, which is bounded by Sixth and Carlton avenues, and Atlantic Avenue and Pacific Street, will undergo platform construction, temporarily suspending availability of the MTA’s B45 bus stop at Atlantic and 6 Avenues. The next active bus stop is at Carlton and Atlantic Avenue.

Protocols and facilities have been put in place to ensure an orderly, safe workplace by following LIRR requirements and permits Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to approximately 3:30 p.m.

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QUAKER PARROT TURF FIELD CLOSES AUG. 29 FOR RECONSTRUCTION: The Department of Parks will begin work the week of August 29 to reconstruct the synthetic Quaker Parrot turf field at the Dust Bowl, at 65^th Street & 8^th Avenue in Bay Ridge.

The repair work will require roughly one month for completion, during which time the field will be closed.

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SUMMER STROLL ON THIRD AVE. TODAY: Summer Stroll returns to Bay Ridge as the Merchants of Third Avenue Civic Association hosts a strolling pedestrian plaza today, Friday, August 19 from 6-10 p.m. along Third Avenue from 83rd Street to Marine Avenue.

The avenue will be transformed into an open street summer evening extravaganza filled with food, spirits, entertainment and local merchants.

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SPEAKEASY BOOKMOBILE AT GRAND ARMY PLAZA: The SpeakEasy Bookmobile visits the Brooklyn Public Library this Saturday for the annual Small Press Flea! Swing by the concourse of the main branch at Grand Army Plaza from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. to say hello and hear what’s new, buy a book by a recent House of SpeakEasy writer courtesy of BPL bookselling partner Greenlight Bookstore!

Co-presenters are BOMB Magazine and Brooklyn Public Library.

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GODSQUAD HOSTS COMMUNITY BABY SHOWER: The GodSquad/67^th Precinct Clergy Council is hosting a community baby shower next Thursday, with a giveaway to expectant mothers and newborns. Rugby Deliverance Temple at 4901 Snyder Ave. will host the shower from noon to 4 p.m., while supplies last.

Co-sponsors are Empire Blue Cross & Blue Shield, Brooklyn Center for Quality Life, Single Parents University and Mothers for Safe Cities.

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COLTON: KEEP SCHOOL HOLIDAYS HONORING ITALIANS, ASIANS: School holidays should not be renamed or eliminated from the 2022-2023 school year, declares Assemblymember William Colton (D-47) who is angry about the city’s decision to do that despite the numerous petitions generated. Colton, who serves Gravesend, Bensonhurst, Bath Beach, and Dyker Heights) said he is outraged, particularly about the renaming of Columbus Day, which he said is an insult to Italian American New Yorkers, and of the Asian Lunar New Year, which was eliminated altogether since it falls on a Sunday.

“It is outrageous that after years of divisiveness directed against Chinese children BOE doesn’t respect Chinese cultural tradition. It is easier for the city administration to eliminate the holiday instead of allowing children to keep their tradition by celebrating it with their families on Monday, January 23,” Colton said, demanding that the DOE re-evaluate its decision and reinstate the Lunar New Year to be a Monday holiday in 2023.

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BRINGING CROWN HEIGHTS TOGETHER: One Crown Heights, a coalition of Black, Jewish, and Caribbean residents of the historic Brooklyn community, presents a day of fun and entertainment at the #OneCrownHeights Neighborhood Festival, Sunday, August 21, 2022 from noon to 5 p.m. in Brower Park, Brooklyn Ave. and Prospect Place. The event kicks off with the exciting DrumLine Brooklyn United, singer Dovid Pearlman, former member of the Miami Boys Choir, performing music with themes of harmony and community engagement.

The event, sponsored by a diverse coalition of community leaders, was initiated three decades ago to bridge the cultural differences and highlight the common values and goals of Crown Heights residents.

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STATE’S TUITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM EXPANDED FOR PART-TIMERS: Governor Kathy Hochul has announced the launch of the historic $150 million expansion of New York State’s popular Tuition Assistance Program, which will now provide TAP to approximately 75,000 additional students who are pursuing their degrees part-time. Expanding Part-Time TAP to fully part-time learners creates pathways to an affordable education for individuals of all ages who are often balancing other responsibilities such as a family and work.

Full-time TAP awards can be up to $5,665 annually; part-time TAP will be available on a pro-rated basis to eligible students taking six to 11 credits per semester with no full-time prerequisite.