What’s News, Breaking: Monday, November 14, 2022

November 14, 2022 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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FIRST BLACK WOMAN APPOINTED TO CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE JUDGE ROLE: Chief Administrative Judge Lawrence K. Marks, second in command of the New York court system, has announced his retirement at the end of November, just three months after Chief Judge Janet DiFiore’s own retirement, the New York Law Journal reported on Monday. Judge Tamiko Amaker, who was named acting chief administrative judge, effective December 1, will become the first Black woman in this role. Judge Amaker, as the deputy chief administrative judge for management support of the Unified Court System since January 2022, has worked closely with Judge Marks on the trial court system’s operation.

Judge Marks, who has served 31 years in the court system and 7 1/2 years as the second-longest-serving chief administrative judge, is not due for mandatory retirement. Rather, he sensed the time was right to move on, court system spokesman Lucian Chalfen told the Law Journal.

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GOOGLE WILL PAY NEW YORK $20 MILLION IN DATA TRACKING RESTITUTION: New York users of Google’s many accounts, including Google Chrome, maps and search may be relieved to know that State Attorney General Letitia James, as part of a coalition of 40 attorneys general, today has secured $391.5 million from Google for misleading them about its location data tracking. A multistate investigation found that Google failed to notify users that location tracking services were automatically turned on for web and app activity, even though Google had informed consumers they could turn off location tracking under “location history” in their settings.

Monday’s historic $391.5 million agreement with Google requires the tech company to also reform its practices to be more transparent with consumers, and to pay New York its portion —more than $20 million — from the agreement.

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RECORDS SOUGHT OF FOREIGN LEADERS WHO VISITED TRUMP HOTEL IN WASHINGTON: Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, chair of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, has requested of the National Archives and Records Administration presidential records to determine whether former President Trump distorted United States foreign policy to serve his own financial interests, in violation of his oath of office. The request comes as the Committee released new documents obtained from Mr. Trump’s former accounting firm, Mazars USA LLP, which revealed that foreign governments—including the governments of Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, and the People’s Republic of China—spent more money than previously known at the Trump Hotel in Washington, D.C., and did so at sensitive times for those countries’ relations with the United States.

The documents were obtained from a subpoena issued by the late Chairman Elijah E. Cummings during the 116th Congress regarding investigations into former President Trump’s conflicts of interest, inadequate financial disclosures, and violations of the Emoluments Clauses.

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CITY WORKFORCE DECLINES BY 19,000; LARGEST ATTRITION WITHIN CORRECTION DEPT: New York City’s workforce is down by more than 19,000, representing the largest decline since the Great Recession of 2008, says a new report from State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. Attrition outpaces hiring among New York City’s municipal workforce, with city job vacancies standing at more than 21,000 — notwithstanding the hiring of more than 40,000 new employees in the last fiscal year.

The Department of Correction had the greatest loss of employees with a 23.6 percent decline, followed by the Department of Investigation at 22.2 percent and the Taxi & Limousine Commission at 20.5 percent.

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INVESTIGATION OPENS ON CONEY ISLAND SHOOTING: The New York Attorney General’s Office of Special Investigation is examining an incident that took place last Thursday in Coney Island between members of the NYPD and an alleged gunman. Responding to an incident near the intersection of Neptune Avenue and West 36th Street in Brooklyn, NYPD officers encountered the man, identified as Jermaine Hickson, who allegedly started firing his gun in their direction (the weapon was recovered from the scene).

The officers returned fire, and then performed first aid until EMS arrived and pronounced Hickson dead at the scene, leading to the OSI’s opening the investigation, pursuant to New York State Executive Law Section 70-b.

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NEW HOUSING REFORMS WILL PROVIDE SMOOTHER EXIT FROM SHELTER SYSTEM: A package of major new housing reforms aims to help New Yorkers exit the shelter system — or avoid it entirely —Mayor Eric Adams announced today. The reforms, which would help people and move more quickly into permanent affordable housing, including in higher-income neighborhoods that have long been out of reach for lower income families, include significant improvements to the City Family Homelessness and Eviction Prevention Supplement (CityFHEPS) housing voucher program that will ensure more New Yorkers are eligible for the program and make the voucher more flexible

The package includes a groundbreaking pilot program — “Street to Housing” — that will place New Yorkers experiencing unsheltered homelessness directly into supportive housing; and a major expansion of the city’s housing mobility program, which helps families with federal housing vouchers access apartments in more neighborhoods across the five boroughs.

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BROOKLYNITES CRITICIZE NEW LINKNYC WiFi TRANSMITTER TOWERS: Brooklynites are criticizing the new 32-foot-tall LinkNYC transmitters that have been installed on sidewalks around Brooklyn and other boroughs, calling the towers “monstrosities,” reports Brownstoner and the Brooklyn Paper. These transmitters, which are the next generation model of the LinkNYC WiFi kiosks, about 147 of which are expected to be installed in Brooklyn, are part of a partnership between LinkNYC and the NYC Office of Technology and Innovation to expand high bandwidth cell and Internet service throughout the five boroughs.

However, Brooklynites in Downtown Brooklyn, on Myrtle Avenue, in Prospect Heights, claim that neither they nor their respective community boards or City Councilmembers were consulted about the design or placement of the new kiosks, even though a NYC OTI spokesperson said the Public Service Commission last year completed the procedures that included public hearings and outreach to all community boards, borough presidents and council members.

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FDNY INVESTIGATING FATAL FIRE IN EASTERN BROOKLYN: A woman died in an early Friday morning fire at an apartment building in East New York. Just before 4 a.m., firefighters, responding to and extinguishing a fire inside 124 Van Siclen Avenue, near Broadway Junction within the 75^th Precinct, discovered the woman inside Apt. 2C, who was pronounced deceased at the scene.

The woman has not yet been identified and the Fire Marshal will determine the cause of the blaze.

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DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN STORE SELLS WINNING LOTTERY TICKET: A store in the heart of Downtown Brooklyn sold one prize-winning ticket in the Friday, November 11 Take 5 drawing. The 7-Eleven (store number 34495) at 395 Flatbush Avenue Extension near Fulton Street sold the ticket, worth $13,204.50.

TAKE 5 numbers are drawn from a field of one through 39. The drawing is televised twice daily at 2:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. A Lottery draw game prize of any amount may be claimed up to one year from the date of the drawing.

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NEW MODERATE HOUSING PLANNED FOR BOERUM HILL: The future of a construction lot at the corner of 4^th Avenue and Dean Street in Boerum Hill is on the agenda of Community Board 2’s next Land Use Committee monthly meeting on Wednesday, November 16. The meeting being held via Zoom, will include a presentation regarding a Mandatory Inclusionary Housing (MIH) application for 52 4th Avenue, corner of Dean St., RJ 4th AVE LLC, which plans a 12-story residential building for moderate-income tenants pursuant to Option B of the 421a Tax Exemption Program.

The building, for which construction is anticipated to begin soon —with a 2024 completion date — would have 79 total units; with the 677,030 ft residential portion including an indoor recreational facility on the first floor.

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IBO: AIDING ASYLUM SEEKERS WILL COST AT LEAST $596 MILLION: The city’s Independent Budget Office has examined the costs expected to rise from providing services to the 23,800 asylum seekers who have arrived so far, in most cases looking to escape economic and civil unrest in their home countries. At the request of four elected officials: Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella, City Council members Joseph Borelli, David Carr, and Kamillah Hanks — the lone Democrat in this group — the IBO completed the report, which estimates the city will spend at least $596 million over the course of a year, in costs related to shelter stays, public schools, basic health services, and some legal assistance.

The report also indicated that, if the city does not receive additional federal or state assistance to help defray these costs, it has some reserves of its own that it could tap—but with a shaky economic and fiscal outlook. The city’s 2023 budget includes a general reserve of $1.555 billion and a capital stabilization reserve of $250 million from the Fiscal Year 2023 budget that have not yet been allocated.

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CATHOLIC ACADEMY PRINCIPAL AUTHORS HISTORICAL FICTION TRILOGY: Gary Williams, Principal of Bay Ridge Catholic Academy, recently published his first book “Gone But Not Forgotten” which is part of a trilogy, and held a book-signing recently at The BookMark Shoppe in Bay Ridge. The book, which took him eight years to write, is a historical fiction novel, based on the events of World War I, set in the United States and Europe spanning the years 1914 to 1918.

The last in the trilogy, which is considered unique in that no other historical fiction books have chronicled the entire 20th century, is titled, “Gone But Not Betrayed,” and covers the period from 1945 to 2000.

Left to right: John Quaglione, Jenna Lai, Director of UPK at Bay Ridge Catholic Academy, Gary Williams, Lynette Azar, and Lourdes Burdo, teacher at Bay Ridge Catholic Academy.
Photo courtesy-DeSales Media

Bay Ridge Catholic Academy Principal and author with one of his first-graders
Photo courtesy-DeSales Media

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POPULAR FERRY RETURNING TO GREENPOINT COMMUTERS: NORTH BROOKLYN: “At long last, Greenpointers can get their sea legs again.” That’s the way AMNY expressed it, and City Councilmember Lincoln Restler (D-33^rd District) confirmed in a tweet that service is restored, effective Monday, November 14, docking at the NYC Ferry stop on India Street, and taking the East River route, with stops in DUMBO and Wall Street, although the ferry’s own website does not yet provide a timetable for this particular stop. East River route timetables are now live, here.

Subsidized pricing for this ferry ride, currently at $4 for commuters, was the source of controversy earlier this year, after an audit by City Comptroller Brad Lander showed that the city had under-reported the cost of running the ferry.

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SALVATION ARMY HOSTS TURKEY DISTRIBUTION IN BUSHWICK: The Salvation Army and shipping firm CMA GCM Group are partnering to distribute 1,000 turkeys from The Salvation Army Brooklyn Bushwick Corps Community Center. Families are invited to pick up their free 14- to 16-lb. turkeys on Tuesday, November 15.

Led by Rodolphe Saadé, the CMA CGM Group, a global player in sea, land, air and logistics solutions, serves more than 420 ports around the world across 5 continents, with a fleet of 583 vessels.

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TURKEY DISTRIBUTIONS AT KINGS PLAZA: Responding to a rise in turkey prices, three Brooklyn churches have teamed up with retail operator Macerich for turkey distributions next week for local communities at the company’s NYC area malls, including Kings Plaza. Mary Queen of Heaven Food Pantry, Grant House Unity Food Pantry, Emmanuel Baptist Church, and Solid Rock Baptist Church, all with Brooklyn addresses, will be giving out 4,000 turkeys to families in need, and the Teacher’s Preparatory High School in Brownsville also offloading and distributing turkeys, at the Kings Plaza event taking place on Wednesday, November 16, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

According to some consumer estimates, turkey prices have risen more than 20 percent since last year.

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LIU HOSTS NATION’S PREMIERE CONFERENCE ON REGENERATIVE MEDICINE: Long Island University will host the first-ever Biobridge International Scientific Conference in the nation next Saturday, November 19. The conference, being held at the LIU Brooklyn campus, 1 University Plaza, will focus on the latest research and advances made in regenerative medicine and bring together more than 500 world-class physicians and researchers focusing on orthopedics and sports medicine, skincare and women’s health and prophylactic treatment to prevent postoperative infections.

The event will also announce collaborative research frameworks between Long Island University, which the Carnegie Classification has designated as being in the top seven percent of research institutions in the United States and RegenLab, in the areas of medical devices, precision medicine, regenerative medicine and the development of innovative therapies.

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NEW YORK ATTORNEY GENERAL LEADS CHARGE IN CHALLENGING TRANSGENDER SPORTS BAN: New York Attorney General Letitia James is co-leading a coalition of 17 state attorneys general in filing an amicus brief in the case of A.M. v. Indianapolis Public Schools to protect the rights of a transgender student athlete in Indiana. They are challenging an Indiana statute that bans transgender female students from participating in girls’ sports in K-12 schools.

The student in question, A.M. had already been part of her school’s team without a problem before the ban was legislated.

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HELPING LOWER-INCOME NEW YORKERS RUN MARATHONS FOR FREE: The New York Road Runners club is reaching out, through its Race Free program, to city residents who meet certain income requirements to participate in our races for free. The Race Free program include eligibility for running in the TCS New York City Marathon, United Airlines New York City Half, and the RBC Brooklyn Half Marathon, as well as our many community races held throughout the city, with NYRR allocating complimentary race entries among Race Free program-accepted runners via drawings held three times per year, in December, February, and May.

Applicants who are at least 18 years old as of January 1, 2023, are NYC residents and who meet NYCHA Section 8 Housing Income requirements (but are not required to live in NYCHA buildings) may apply before the Friday, November 18 deadline, via https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/VM8RYJL