Good Morning, Brooklyn: Tuesday, September 6, 2022

September 6, 2022 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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“Cousin Brucie” Morrow, as seen in 2007.
Photo credit: AP Photo/Richard Drew

SHEEPSHEAD BAY’S OWN ‘COUSIN BRUCIE’ WILL RECREATE BEATLES’ BRITISH INVASION: Legendary WABC radio host and Brooklyn native son Bruce “Cousin Brucie” Morrow will be recreating the Beatles’ British Invasion tomorrow, Wednesday, September 7, 2022 at 2p.m., to mark the centennial of WABC radio. Bruce Morrow, who was born and raised in Sheepshead Bay, attended James Madison High School and Brooklyn College before starting his storied radio career, was among the disc jockeys in the country to introduce the first Beatles record in America on-the-air to over 40 states. He also famously introduced the Beatles for their first performance at Shea Stadium, their first stop on their 1965 U.S. summer tour.

As part of this milestone, state and City officials will be proclaiming “WABC Day” in New York as “Cousin Brucie” replays the original vinyl recording of “Meet the Beatles,” the album that made history.

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NEW YORK STATE ESTABLISHES CARIBBEAN TRADE OFFICE: New York State will establish a Caribbean trade office to support and encourage new economic opportunities for New York businesses, Governor Kathy Hochul announced at Monday’s West Indian American Day Carnival Association Breakfast. This new foreign office will be established through Empire State Development’s Global NY division, which helps New York businesses launch or expand their presence in the global marketplace and promotes access to international trade opportunities and resources.

Global NY, a division of Empire State Development, offers financial and technical assistance that can offset the costs of exporting for New York businesses and organizations looking to connect to the rest of the world. Available support includes grants and loans.

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COMPTROLLER LANDER REPORTS ON NEW FISCAL YEAR BUDGET: City Comptroller Brad Lander released an analysis of the City’s fiscal year 2023 Adopted Budget of $101 billion, during remarks he made at the New York State Financial Control Board’s annual meeting earlier today. Lander pointed out that, during a time of ongoing economic uncertainty and mixed signals, record inflation, stock market volatility and rising interest rates, New York City has nonetheless benefited from stronger-than-expected tax revenue, strong job growth, rebounds in tourism levels and record numbers of new business applications.

The analysis showed also that Fiscal 2023’s budget is $10.44 billion less than in Fiscal Year 2022, in large part due to a reduction in COVID assistance from federal relief measures.

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ADVERSE MARKET IMPACTS PUBLIC PENSION RETURNS: During today’s Financial Control Board meeting, Comptroller Lander also warned the budget will start reflecting the impact of adverse financial market conditions on pension returns starting in Fiscal Year 2024. He explained that, in the first half of 2022, equities had the worst performance in 50 years, and all major asset classes except commodities incurred significant losses, resulting in a negative combined return of the five pension systems (at -8.65 percent).

However, Lander also assured New Yorkers that the pension funds remain well-funded, and the security for the City’s current and future retirees is extremely solid.

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DiNAPOLI TO CITY: ‘EXERCISE FISCAL DISCIPLINE’: State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, also speaking at the above-mentioned Financial Control Board meeting warned that New York City must exercise “fiscal discipline and preparation.” Saying that even though federal relief and higher revenues made it possible for New York City to build reserves, many of the potential fiscal issues remain outside of the city’s control.

DiNapoli also highlighted the understated importance of fiscal planning, consistency and transparency, which are fundamental components of the Financial Emergency Act.

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REP. MALLIOTAKIS WILL NOMINATE PROMISING HIGH SCHOOLERS TO MILITARY ACADEMIES: Students in Southern Brooklyn who aspire to serving in the military have the opportunity to receive nominations from U.S. Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-11^th District). As a member of Congress, Malliotakis is authorized to nominate up to ten high school juniors and seniors from New York’s 11th Congressional District for each vacant academy slot at one of the nation’s four service academies: Air Force, Army, Merchant Marine, or Navy. (Apply before deadline of Thursday, October 7, via https://malliotakis.house.gov/services/military-academy-nominations).

Students who are accepted make a commitment to serve in the U.S. military for at least five years upon graduation.

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MAJOR DECENTRALIZING SHAKEUP AT DEPT. OF EDUCATION: About 1,000 Department of Education staff members and $100,000,000 in associated resources will be reassigned from the Department’s Central Division and Borough-Citywide Offices to more closely support schools where they are, and with access to the financial resources, Schools Chancellor David C. Banks announced on Friday. They are being re-assigned as a result of Chancellor Banks’ focus on putting Department of Education directly in support of students and schools.

This includes deploying over 100 social workers to district offices to support students and families – with a specific focus on high-need communities like students in temporary housing.

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Alleged assailant pictured on surveillance video, in connection with an incident last Saturday on Fulton Mall.
Photo credit: NYPD/Crimestoppers

ATTACK ON FULTON MALL: Police are asking the public’s assistance identifying an individual who assaulted a woman at Fulton Mall last Saturday around 10 a.m. The female assailant, described as having a dark-skin complexion medium to heavy build with black hair, (and wearing a pink-tee, black pants, black sneakers and carrying a black purse) approached a 70-year-old woman in front of 458 Fulton St. and pushed her to the ground in an unprovoked attack, before fleeing on foot.

Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477).

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ACCOUNTABILITY: PRESSURE MOUNTING FOR CREDIT CARD DATA ON GUN SALES: New York State Attorney General Letitia James and California Attorney General Rob Bonta today called on three of the largest credit card companies in the nation to do their part to help end illegal gun trafficking and tackle gun violence. Their action follows similar calls by several New York City elected officials, including Mayor Eric Adams, City Comptroller Brad Lander, state senators, and the shareholders of three major New York pension funds — the New York City Employees’ Retirement System, the Teachers’ Retirement System and the Board of Education Retirement System.

Up to now, the International Organization for Standardization’s Registration and Maintenance Management Group (RMMG), whose members represent senior industry experts, including representatives from major credit card companies, have repeatedly denied applications from Amalgamated Bank asking for a new category code for standalone gun and ammunition retail stores.

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REPORTS SHOW INCREASE OF SEXUAL ASSAULT INCIDENTS IN MILITARY: Following the release of the Department of Defense’s (DoD) Fiscal Year 2021 Annual Report on Sexual Assault in the Military, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, chair of the Subcommittee on Personnel, declared, “This data shows a military in a crisis. We are betraying the trust of service members and their families and failing the most heroic among us.”

The survey showed that 8.4 percent of active duty women and 1.5 percent of active duty men reported at least one unwanted sexual contact in the prior year, amounting to an estimated 35,900 total active duty service members – a disturbing rise from previous years.

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CITY PAID OUT MORE THAN $67M IN POLICE MISCONDUCT LAWSUITS: Following a report last month that revealed New York City paid out $67 million in lawsuits alleging police misconduct from January 1 to July 26, 2022, the Legal Aid Society has released a list of New York City Police Department (NYPD) officers who garnered the highest lawsuit payouts and who were defendants in the most civil rights lawsuits alleging police misconduct, during the same time period. This amount surpassed the $62,093,491 paid out on lawsuit settlements and verdicts in all of 2020, but doesn’t account for matters that were settled with the Office of the New York City Comptroller prior to formal litigation, which brought the total payouts for claims of NYPD misconduct to $206.7 million in Fiscal Year 2021.

At this rate, the City could potentially payout over $115 million in lawsuits alleging police misconduct for calendar year 2022 — with many of the officers still on active duty, with gun and badge.

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PUBLIC ADVOCATE REPORTS DEPLORABLE CONDITIONS AT NYCHA HOUSING: Today, after inspecting New York City Housing Authority developments in all five boroughs earlier this year, New York City Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams has released a new report, How the Other Half Lives in Public Housing, based on his meetings with dozens of tenants paying rent for uninhabitable homes, highlighting the deplorable and often dangerous conditions at NYCHA and calling for several key changes in the nation’s largest public housing system. Across the city, elevator outages plagued thousands of residents; water damage destroyed walls, ceilings, and floors; and heat and hot water disappeared in colder months. The report makes several recommendations including that NYCHA should hire a proportional number of live-in supers to make repairs as needed; and that complaints to 311 must immediately trigger a city inspection process for NYCHA apartments and buildings.

Recalling the 1890 book of the same name by Jacob Riis which took readers inside the city’s tenements, this report shines a harsh spotlight on the conditions faced by hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers.

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WEST INDIAN DAY PARADE DAY APPROACHES: Various street closings along and near Eastern Parkway will be in effect starting Sunday night, September 4, in preparation for the West Indian Day, J’Ouvert and related festivities. J’Ouvert, an opening celebration, begins at 6 a.m. on Labor Day, Monday, September 5, in front of Grand Army Plaza; and the main parade itself kicks off from the intersection of Eastern Parkway and Ralph Avenue at 11 a.m., heading westbound to Grand Army Plaza before wrapping up at 6 p.m.

Bringing weapons, backpacks or large bags of any kind will be prohibited.

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JUNIOR CARNIVAL PARADE REVS UP FOR SATURDAY: Another festivity, the Junior Carnival Parade, tomorrow is a harbinger of Monday’s West Indian Day celebration. Large crowds will be gathered in an area from Kingston Avenue and St. John’s Place to Washington Ave. and Eastern Parkway, on Saturday, September 3, from 7 a.m., according to an alert broadcast via Notify NYC.

Commuters are advised to consider alternate routes.

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FORT HAMILTON ARMY BASE HOLDS 9/11 CEREMONY: U.S. Army Garrison Fort Hamilton will host a 9/11 Commemoration Observance for members of the military community, next Friday, September 9. A brief ceremony will precede a wreath laying in honor of this solemn occasion. Guest speaker is Pamela Newman, Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army and PJN Strategies President and CEO.

Nearly 3,000 people lost their lives 21 years ago during the tragic events of September 11, 2001. The ceremony is viewable via livestream on USAG/Fort Hamilton’s Facebook page.

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COBBLE HILL DEVELOPMENT COULD FACE FORECLOSURE BEFORE IT IS BUILT: The threat of foreclosure is getting in the way of Fortis Property Group’s development plans for the former site of Long Island College Hospital, reports The Real Deal. The lender, Madison Realty Capital, has initiated a UCC foreclosure sale for the equity interests on development sites at 350 Hicks Street and 91-95 Pacific Street, the location of two future condo buildings — 1 River Park, on Hicks St., and 2 River Park, on Pacific St., totaling 150 units. The cause of the default was still unclear as of press time on Friday.

The sale is set for Sept. 29, although The Real Deal indicated the possibility of Madison and Fortis working to restructure the debt or to agree on an extension.

NEW PUBLIC ONLINE WEBSITE TOOL REPORTS STREET-LEVEL FLOODING IN REAL TIME: Researchers from Brooklyn universities and colleagues have teamed up with FloodNet, https://www.floodnet.nyc/, a government and community consortium, to develop a first-ever free online tool that will help communities and government agencies to know where, when, and how quickly flood waters are rising. The research team includes Brooklyn College’s Brett Branco, who is also the executive director of the Science and Resilience Institute at Jamaica Bay; Ricardo Toledo-Crow of CUNY’s Advanced Science Research Center (ASRC), the NYU Tandon School of Engineering, and the NYC Mayor’s Office of Climate & Environmental Justice, and the NYC Office of Technology & Innovation. It was developed by a team of researchers including Branco, as well as Andrea Silverman, Charlie Mydlarz Tega Brain, and Elizabeth Hénaff of NYU Tandon.

Launched today — the one-year anniversary of the devastating and deadly flooding from Hurricane Ida — the new mobile-ready web dashboard presents real-time data collected by the expanding FloodNet system of low-cost, open-source sensors in flood-prone areas across the city