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What’s News, Breaking: Tuesday, December 27, 2022

December 27, 2022 Brooklyn Eagle Staff
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ONE BILLION PEOPLE RODE MTA SUBWAY DURING 2022, OMNY SYSTEM ALSO SAW USER GROWTH

CITYWIDE – Metropolitan Transportation Authority New York City Subway has provided one billion trips in 2022 and was able to identify the billionth commuter as being a Bronx resident commuting in the Yankee Stadium station, Governor Kathy Hochul said on Tuesday, December 27. The ridership data was tracked through the MTA’s OMNY fare-payment system, which itself experienced usage growth in 2022 with more than 425 million taps. This increase in subway rider market share for OMNY follows the introduction of the “Lucky 13” fare-capping program, the rollout of OMNY for the MTA’s Reduced-Fare customers and the continued expansion of OMNY cards in retail locations.

The milestone marks the first time the New York City Subway has carried one billion customers in a calendar year since 2019.

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BROOKLYN MERCHANTS HELP SET RECORD IN GIFT OUTREACH

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS/CLINTON HILL – Books Are Magic on Montague St. and Greenlight Bookstore on Fulton St. were among two local merchants and corporations that helped make the holidays brighter for children in need, as part of the Mayor’s “Secret Snowflake” initiative. Mayor Adams announced on Tuesday that NYC Service helped facilitate the donation of more than 5,500 individualized gifts given to vulnerable youth in transitional housing, foster care, shelters, family justice centers, and Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Centers, in an outreach conducted through the Secret Snowflake in-kind donation initiative — serving the highest number of children in the program’s decades-long history.

The program also engaged the most private sector businesses to date, with 32 businesses; Macy’s engaged a record number of 3,500 employees as volunteers.

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LANDMARKED DUFFIELD STREET HOUSES SOLD FOR $10 MILLION

DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN – Landmarked houses immediately adjacent to the Brooklyn Oratory Church of St. Boniface were quietly and inconspicuously sold for $10 million right before Christmas to a developer, Brownstoner reported on December 24. According to that article, the buyers of The Duffield Street Houses, as the buildings are known, were not identified in the article, but they bring experience in historic sites. Reportedly, their plan is to retain the historic structures and create “housing with an affordable component on the property.”

There have been other situations around the city in which new construction has arisen around landmarked buildings, which cannot be demolished. The Dangler Mansion, which never received Landmarks designation, was demolished last summer.

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DANGLER MANSION’S DESTRUCTION AMONG TOP MAJOR REAL ESTATE STORIES OF 2022

BED-STUY – The demolition of the Dangler Mansion made the top list of popular stories for 2022 on Brownstoner.com. The French Gothic building at 441 Willoughby Avenue, which had served as a community center, was demolished over the summer after the Landmarks Preservation failed to vote on designating the 1880s building as a city landmark; notwithstanding an outpouring of support from elected officials, preservationists, community members and renowned director Edward Norton, who had filmed part of his 2019 film “Motherless Brooklyn” at the Dangler House.

A breakdown of communication between the Department of Buildings, the Mayor’s Office and the Landmarks Preservation Commission was blamed in part for the demolition; however, the only parties testifying against landmarking the Dangler Mansion were the owners at the time, — a Masonic chapter facing bankruptcy — the developer and legal counsel representing them.

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MAYOR’S NEW RECREATION DIRECTOR BLENDS NON-PROFIT WORK WITH ATHLETICS AND MUSIC

SUNSET PARK – Jasmine Ray, the director of the Mayor’s newly-created Office of Sports, Wellness, and Recreation, founded the Wallball World LLC and the U.S. Wallball Association Inc., transforming her grief over the tragic 2009 death of her little brother, Jonathan Robert Ray, into an organization that motivates young people in underserved communities to stay in school, embrace healthy lifestyles and pursue alternatives to drug use and violence. She turned what was once a “street sport” into an internationally-recognized athletic program.

The former executive director of Cornerstone Daycare in Brooklyn, and an executive board member of the Black and Minority Chamber of Commerce, Ms. Ray is also a talented singer and member of MVP (Most Valuable Playas), a hip-hop group signed to Casablanca/Universal Records that scored hits in Europe in 2005 and 2006. A certified fourth-degree black belt in Shotokan Karate, Ray has taught martial arts in Sunset Park, Brooklyn for over 15 years.

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MAYOR ADAMS CREATES OFFICES OF SPORTS, NON-PROFIT SERVICES

CITYWIDE – New York City Mayor Eric Adams has appointed Jasmine Ray as director of the newly created Mayor’s Office of Sports, Wellness, and Recreation and Karen Ford as executive director of the Mayor’s Office of Nonprofit Services. As the Mayor’s Office of Sports, Wellness, and Recreation director, Ray will oversee the creation and implementation of sports and wellness initiatives to build a healthier and more active city for all New Yorkers. Ford will be in charge of the Office of Nonprofit Services engagement, and coordinating activities to advance the recommendations of the Joint Task Force to Get Nonprofits Paid on Time.

“The new Mayor’s Office of Nonprofit Services is a crucial step towards the Adams administration’s long-term vision for supporting nonprofits through cross-sector collaboration, increased coordination across city agencies, and regular communication with the sector,” said Deputy Mayor for Strategic Initiatives Sheena Wright.

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FREE KIDS WEEK EVENTS AT BROOKLYN PARKS

CITYWIDE – The Parks Department will be holding a series of free events for children of all ages over the winter break period at parks all around the city. Brooklyn highlights include an owl pellet discovery session at Owl’s Head Park in Bay Ridge on December 27, a build-a-birdfeeder class at Fort Greene Park on December 28, a sensory perception hike in Prospect Park on December 29, and a campfire storytime at Fort Greene Park on December 30.

More information about Kids Week activities and times can be found on the Parks Department website.

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BROOKLYN MAN PULLS GUN IN S.I. DISPUTE

BED-STUY – A Brooklyn man was arrested in Staten Island on Monday afternoon after allegedly pulling out a gun during a heated dispute and pointing it at three people. The man, Zyair Earps of Bedford-Stuyvesant, now faces multiple charges, including criminal possession of a loaded firearm, reckless endangerment, menacing and harassment, according to SI Live.

Gun crime and shootings are down citywide from peaks during the pandemic, as well as in Brooklyn.

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CITY TO HOLD ATLANTIC MIXED-USE PLAN MEETING

CROWN HEIGHTS – The Department of City Planning is inviting interested residents to join the first community meeting regarding the Atlantic Avenue Mixed-Use Plan, a community-led planning process for an inclusive, mixed-use stretch of Atlantic Avenue and neighboring blocks in Crown Heights and Bedford-Stuyvesant. The plan would support a mix of new and affordable housing with new businesses and services, as well as walkable streets and “investments in neighborhood improvements,” according to the city.

The first meeting will be held on Tuesday, Jan. 17 from 6 – 8 p.m. on Zoom, with registration online.

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SANTOS ADMITS TO LYING ABOUT JOB, EDUCATION

LONG ISLAND – Incoming U.S. Rep. George Santos, accused last week of falsifying his background in a New York Times investigation that sparked outrage among politicians from all across the political spectrum, has admitted to the Times to “embellishing” many key details in his past. Claims the congress member-elect has acknowledged as false or misleading include graduating from Baruch, working for Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, the deaths of four co-workers in the Pulse nightclub shooting in 2013, being a landlord of 13 properties, and being Jewish (Santos clarified in a New York Post interview that he is, in his own words, “Jew-ish,” stating that his maternal grandmother converted from Judaism to Catholicism.)

Doubts remain about numerous other claims Santos has made, such as being the grandson of Holocaust refugees; about a potential criminal past in Brazil, which he has denied; and about concerning anomalies in his financial disclosure statements.

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BQE WESTBOUND LANE CLOSED ON 28TH

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS – The NYC DOT has announced that the ongoing nighttime maintenance work on the BQE underneath the Heights Promenade has been extended. As a result, one lane will be closed in the Staten Island-bound direction overnight on December 28, from midnight until 5 a.m.

The debate around the ultimate fate of the BQE has caused consternation in Brooklyn Heights as the DOT has begun to undertake maintenance repairs, most recently with the release of the updated plans for refreshing the BQE, unveiled last week to a mixed response from the neighborhood.

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MAN WANTED FOR ANTI-HISPANIC GRAFFITI

If you recognize this man, please don’t hesitate to reach out to police with any information you can share. All tips are confidential.

BED-STUY – The NYPD is searching for a man suspected of vandalizing the sidewalk outside a Bed-Stuy apartment building with anti-Hispanic graffiti just after midnight on Tuesday, December 20. The Hate Crimes task force is investigating the event, according to police.

Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782) or to log onto the Crime Stoppers website or to Tweet @NYPDTips.

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MULCHFEST: PARKS DEPT ASKS FOR XMAS TREES

CITYWIDE – The NYC Parks Department, along with the Department of Sanitation, is offering a free bag of mulch to anyone who brings a Christmas tree to their annual Mulchfest Chipping Weekend event, which aims to collect holiday evergreens to turn into mulch for the city’s parks and street trees. Chipping Weekend will be on Jan. 7 and 8 between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. – trees can be dropped off at any other time until then too, but you won’t get the nifty bag of mulch.

Brooklyn Chipping Weekend locations include Brooklyn Bridge Park, Cobble Hill Park, Fort Greene Park, Prospect Park, Marine Park, Domino and McCarren parks in Williamsburg, Maria Hernandez Park in Bushwick and Owl’s Head Park in Bay Ridge; more information about the program can be found on the Parks Department website.

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FREELANCER BILL KILLED BY GOVERNOR

ALBANY – A bill that aimed to make it easier for freelance workers to retrieve unpaid wages from their employers has been vetoed by Gov. Hochul, according to the bill’s sponsor Brooklyn State Sen. Andrew Gounardes, who wrote on Twitter that he is “very disappointed,” but vowed to keep fighting for the rights of freelancers. In her veto, Hochul stated that she believed the enforcement of the bill would require the Department of Labor to establish a claims process for recovering lost wages that would bypass the courts and the arbitration system, and that would be too costly for the state.

Gounardes also noted that the system the bill called for is already the law in NYC, and has helped freelancers recover millions in unpaid earnings.

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POLICE SEEK ASSAILANT IN FATAL BROWNSVILLE STABBING

BROWNSVILLE – A man was fatally stabbed in Brownsville overnight Sunday to Monday, December 26, in Brownsville. Police responded to an assault in progress at Rockaway Avenue and Livonia Avenue within the 73rd Precinct around 3:45 a.m. Monday morning they found a 54-year-old male unconscious and unresponsive with stab wounds to the back and neck. EMS responded and transported the man to Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center where he was pronounced deceased.

As of press time Monday, the perpetrator was still at large and an NYPD investigation is underway.

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ROBBED ON CHRISTMAS DAY

SUNSET PARK – Police are seeking a man who robbed two victims by simulating the presence of a firearm underneath his jacket in the 25th St. R train station on Sunday morning, December 25. Around 9:35 that morning, the perpetrator approached his male and female victims (ages 31 and 30, respectively) on the southbound platform, simulated a firearm beneath his jacket and removed the victims’ property before fleeing on a southbound “R” train.

No injuries were reported.

Police seek this man in connection to a subway robbery in the 25th St. R train station in Greenwood Heights. Photo: NYPD/Crimestoppers.

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PRICE GOUGING ALERT ISSUED ON CHILDREN’S MEDICINES

STATEWIDE – During increased demand for children’s painkillers and fever reducers due to this year’s “tripledemic” of COVID-19, New York Attorney General Letitia James on Monday, December 26, cautioned consumers and businesses about price gouging, after she received reports of these medications being sold online and in stores at prices double or triple their retail value. Attorney General James urges New Yorkers to be on alert for potential price gouging of children’s painkillers and fever reducers, including Tylenol, Motrin, acetaminophen, ibuprofen and aspirin sold under other brand names, and to report any dramatic price increases (providing copies of their sales receipts and photos of the advertised prices, if available) to her office: file a complaint online or call 1-800-771-7755.

Due to the nationwide shortage, OAG advises consumers to buy only as much children’s medication as needed and not to unnecessarily stock up as such panic buying may intensify the shortage.

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FEDERAL EMERGENCY DECLARATION AS SNOW CONTINUES IN NORTHERN NY STATE

STATEWIDE – President Joe Biden called Governor Kathy Hochul on Monday, December 26, to offer the full force of the federal government in support of the people of New York as the state grapples with the impacts of a historic winter storm; and, according to early news reports, has already approved her request for a Federal Emergency Declaration for Erie and Genesee Counties. The Emergency Declaration will provide immediate federal assistance to impacted counties to support ongoing response and recovery operations as the weather forecast called heavy snow to hit that region through Tuesday.

President Biden, during the call, relayed that he has directed his team to respond immediately to any request the Governor makes for Federal assistance.

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GOV. HOCHUL SAYS ‘IT’S TOO EARLY’ TO DECLARE STORM IMPACT OVER

STATEWIDE – As the death toll from the historic blizzard in western New York State rises to 27 after causing at least 48 deaths across the United States, Governor Kathy Hochul warned during a virtual press briefing on Monday, December 26, that “it’s way too early to say this [storm] is at its completion.” She said that an additional 200 members of the New York National Guard have been deployed (bringing the total to approximately 433 members) to assist New Yorkers facing emergencies and those who are unable to travel.

A priority was keeping open the access roads to the Erie County Medical Center; in one case, that medical center’s chief of surgery was trapped in a vehicle with his elderly mother and running out of fuel, until the State Fire Teams rescued them.

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CITY CALLS ON REAL ESTATE INDUSTRY TO FIND TEMPORARY HOUSING FOR MIGRANT INFLUX

CITYWIDE – The Adams administration wants the real estate industry to help house the influx of asylum seekers who arrive daily into New York City, The Real Deal reports. A Request for Proposals that the NYC Economic Development Corporation has released calls on developers to pitch space that can “accommodate congregate-style housing,” such as industrial space — which must comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act and be free of any health hazards — that provides at least 60,000 square feet, emergency exits, electricity and the capacity to add kitchens, bathrooms, fire alarms, heat and hot water.

As of press time, the RFP left open the possibility of considering hotel, office and residential space.

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PRICE GOUGING FORBIDDEN, WARNS STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL

STATEWIDE – Consumers and businesses across New York State are reminded to be on alert against price gouging during and in the aftermath of Winter Storm Elliott. State Attorney General Letitia James warns that New York’s price gouging statute prohibits vendors, retailers and suppliers from hiking prices on essential goods and services necessary for the health, safety and welfare of the consumers or the general public; such goods and services include food, water, gasoline, generators, batteries, flashlights, hotel lodging and transportation options. Consumers should report any incidence of gouging to her office online or by calling 800-771-7755.

The powerful storm has already brought heavy wind, ice, snow and freezing rain to New York and other regions of the Eastern seaboard, and is forecast to continue through the weekend.

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GUNS WITH PEANUT BUTTER SPREAD GETS PASSENGER ARRESTED AND FINED

JFK AIRPORT – A nutty passenger is under arrest for hiding components for a .22 caliber gun jammed inside two plastic jars of peanut butter. After the passenger’s luggage triggered an alarm on Thursday, December 22 at John F. Kennedy International Airport, a TSA agent checking the bag found and removed the jars, each containing parts of a disassembled semi-automatic handgun artfully concealed inside — wrapped in plastic, the gun’s magazine loaded with bullets.

TSA officials notified the Port Authority Police, who came to the checked baggage room in JFK’s Terminal 8, confiscated the items, tracked down and arrested the traveler, who now faces a stiff financial civil penalty for carrying a weapon that was recently increased to a maximum of $15,000.

These peanut butter jars had more than food in them: TSA found gun parts, now confiscated with the owner under arrest. Photo: Transportation Security Administration.

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CONGRESSIONAL OMNIBUS BILL BENEFITS BROOKLYN

BOROUGHWIDE – Several Brooklyn organizations will benefit from the bipartisan $1.7 trillion fiscal year 2023 Omnibus Appropriations bill, with U.S. Rep Yvette D. Clarke (D) whose 9th District encompasses several neighborhoods, and other Congressmembers from the borough’s delegation voting in favor of the legislative package. Among the top funding awards were: $3,000,000 for the Capital Improvements for CAMBA Headquarters; $2,200,000 each to Kings County Hospital Center and New York Community Hospital for facilities and equipment; $2,200,000 for the Brownsville Community Development Corporation for facilities and equipment; and $1,250,000 for the Brooklyn Children’s Museum to do upgrades to Interior Exhibit Spaces’ HVAC System.

Also receiving funds will be a pre-law and literacy programs that the Research Foundation of the City University of New York in Brooklyn are offering.

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7th CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT PROJECTS GET $16+ MILLION FOR COMMUNITY PROJECT FUNDING

NORTH BROOKLYN – Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez (D) has secured $16,025,453 in Community Project Funding for New York’s 7th District, covering western Brooklyn and the waterfront in the 2023 government funding bill. Some of the larger grants will go to $2,000,000 for the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation, to renovate an existing kitchen and office spaces, bathrooms, patient room doors, and the replacement of surveillance cameras at Woodhull Mental and Medical Center in North Brooklyn; $1,500,000 for the St. Francis College nursing simulation lab for the education of future nurses in coordination with The Brooklyn Hospital Center; $1,000,000 for the North Brooklyn Anti-Violence Initiative in collaboration with St. Nicks Alliance, Riseboro and The Wick/Los Sures, that work to prevent violence and improve the quality-of-life in North Brooklyn with innovative strategies.

The twelve-bill government funding package, which now goes to President Biden’s desk for signature, will create good-paying American jobs, grow opportunity for the middle class and small businesses, and provide a lifeline for working families.

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NEW LAW BOLSTERS CYBERSECURITY PROTECTIONS

STATEWIDE – New legislation that Governor Kathy Hochul signed on Friday, December 23 creates the strongest-in-the-nation cybersecurity protections for the state’s energy grid, an action, taken during a global surge in cyberattacks against critical infrastructure. Legislation A.3904B/S.5579A, which passed unanimously in both the New York State Assembly and New York State Senate, strengthens protections for the local distribution system, requires utilities to secure critical infrastructure against cyberattacks and to prepare for such in their annual emergency response plans — similar to what utilities do to prepare for storms.

Over the past decade, including recently in North Carolina, cyberattacks have proven capable of shutting down electric grids.

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FEDEX TO TRIAL NEW ELECTRIC CARTS IN BROOKLYN HEIGHTS

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS – This holiday season, Heights residents will be seeing FedEx Express couriers pushing a sleek four-wheeled electric cart on their sidewalks as part of a pilot program aimed at improving deliveries in major metropolitan areas. FedEx claimed on their website that a previous test of the program was able to reduce the number of vehicles on its routes and cut the curbside idling time of its trucks in half, giving locals the greatest gift of all – less traffic.

“By furthering the use of these carts on real routes in Manhattan and Brooklyn, FedEx hopes to shape what the future of efficient urban delivery could look like,” said senior station operations manager Michael Salerno.

Photo: FedEx.

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BROOKLYN FILMMAKER’S SHORT MAKES OSCARS SHORTLIST

BROOKLYN – The short film “Shut Up And Paint,” which focuses on the work and struggle of activist painter Titus Kaphar, has been placed on the Oscars shortlist in the Documentary Short Films category. The film was co-directed by Brooklynite Alex Mallis, who Tweeted, “It’s been the honor of a lifetime to co-direct this film alongside Titus. His genius led me towards a deeper understanding of what it means to be an artist.”

“Shut Up And Paint,” which won Best Short at the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival, can be viewed online on PBS’s website.

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PLANS FOR FLATBUSH REC CENTER UNVEILED

FLATBUSH – NYC Parks and NYC Department of Design and Construction proudly announced the design completion for the Shirley Chisholm Recreation Center, set to be built in Nostrand Playground using the new “design-build” process, which will allow the city to work with the designers to build the facility two years ahead of schedule. The new Rec Center will be approximately 62,000 square feet, have a green roof and offer a host of programming options and amenities like multipurpose rooms, a gymnasium and walking track, an indoor swimming pool, exercise areas and a teaching kitchen.

The planned recreation center is named for the Brooklyn-born first African American woman to serve in the United States Congress and seek the United States presidential nomination, Shirley Chisholm, a daughter of Guyanese immigrant parents who rose to political prominence.

A concept image for the Shirley Chisholm Recreation Center.

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STATEN ISLAND FERRY CATCHES FIRE, HUNDREDS EVACUATED

BATTERY PARK – A fire broke out in the engine room of the brand-new Sandy Ground ferry on Thursday afternoon while it was traveling from Manhattan to Staten Island, forcing more than 800 passengers to evacuate through a thick haze of smoke after the boat managed to complete its trip. Only five people suffered minor injuries in the disaster, three of whom were taken to an area hospital to be treated after the boat docked in the St. George Ferry Terminal.

ABC News has footage of passengers scrambling with life vests in the smoky interior of the ferry.

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GILLIBRAND AND SCHUMER SECURE $1 BILLION FOR 9/11 HEALTH PROGRAM

WASHINGTON – Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Chuck Schumer announced on Thursday that they had secured $1 billion for the World Trade Center Health Program, which provides health benefits to 9/11 first responders and survivors. The program would have had to start denying new enrollments and cutting services to sick responders and survivors starting October 2024 without the crucial funding provided by Sen. Gillibrand’s amendment to the end-of-year spending bill.

Congress established the WTCHP in 2011 to provide lifetime medical treatment and monitoring for over 120,000 people suffering from the effects of the toxins at Ground Zero and elsewhere, including responders to and survivors of the attacks, children who were in schools in downtown Manhattan on 9/11 and during clean-up and anyone with adverse health effects that are linked to the attacks now and in the coming years.

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POLICE SEARCH FOR TEENS IN ARMED ROBBERY

CYPRESS HILLS – Three teenage boys armed with a gun held up a smoke shop in Cypress Hills during the early morning hours of Friday, December 16, according to the NYPD. Police have released a partial video of the incident, showing the boys, who are all described as being between the ages of 14 and 18 with dark complexions, entering the store, where they would go on to brandish the gun at the clerk and demand entrance to the store’s back room before fleeing to parts unknown.

Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782) or to log onto the Crime Stoppers website or to Tweet @NYPDTips.

A photo of the gunman. If you recognize these individuals, please don’t hesitate to reach out to police with any information you might have. All tips are strictly confidential.
Photo credit: NYPD/Crimestoppers

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GOV. HOCHUL SAYS ‘IT’S TOO EARLY’ TO DECLARE STORM IMPACT OVER

As the death toll from the historic blizzard in western New York State. rises to 27 after causing at least 48 deaths across the United States, Governor Kathy Hochul warned during a virtual press briefing on Monday, December 26 that “it’s way too early to say this [storm] is at its completion.” She said that an additional 200 members of the New York National Guard have been deployed (bringing the total to approximately 433 members) to assist New Yorkers facing emergencies and those who are unable to travel.

A priority was keeping open the access roads to the Erie County Medical Center; in one case, that medical center’s chief of surgery was trapped in a vehicle with his elderly mother and running out of fuel, until the State Fire Teams rescued them.

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FEDERAL EMERGENCY DECLARATION AS SNOW CONTINUES IN NORTHERN NY STATE

President Joe Biden called Governor Kathy Hochul on Monday, December 26 to offer the full force of the federal government in support of the people of New York as the state grapples with the impacts of a historic winter storm; and, according to early news reports, has already approved her request for a Federal Emergency Declaration for Erie and Genesee Counties. The Emergency Declaration will provide immediate federal assistance to impacted counties to support ongoing response and recovery operations, as the weather forecast called heavy snow to hit that region through Tuesday.

President Biden, during the call, relayed that he has directed his team to respond immediately to any request the Governor makes for Federal assistance. 

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PRICE GOUGING ALERT ISSUED ON CHILDREN’S MEDICINES

During increased demand for children’s painkillers and fever reducers due to this year’s “tripledemic” of COVID-19, New York Attorney General Letitia James on Monday cautioned consumers and businesses about price gouging, after she received reports of these medication being sold online and in stores at prices double or triple their retail value. Attorney General James urges New Yorkers to be on alert for potential price gouging of children’s painkillers and fever reducers, including Tylenol, Motrin, and acetaminophen, ibuprofen, and aspirin sold under other brand names, and to report any dramatic price increases (providing copies of their sales receipts and photos of the advertised prices, if available) to her office: filing a complaint online or calling 1-800-771-7755.

Due to the nationwide shortage, OAG advises consumers to buy only as much children’s medication as they need and not to unnecessarily stock up as such panic buying may intensify the shortage.

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ROBBED ON CHRISTMAS DAY

Police are seeking a man who robbed two victims by simulating the presence of a firearm underneath his jacket in the 25th St. R train station on Sunday morning, December 25.  Around 9:35 that morning, the perpetrator approached his male and female victims (ages 31 and 30, respectively) on the southbound platform, simulated a firearm beneath his jacket and removed the victims’ property before fleeing on a southbound “R” train.

No injuries were reported.

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POLICE SEEK ASSAILANT IN FATAL BROWNSVILLE STABBING

A man was fatally stabbed in Brownsville overnight Sunday to Monday, December 26 in Brownsville. Police responding to an assault in progress at Rockaway Avenue and Livonia Avenue within the73rd Precinct around 3:45 a.m. Monday morning found a 54 year-old male unconscious and unresponsive with stab wounds to the back and neck. EMS responded and transported the man to Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center where he was pronounced deceased.

As of press time Monday, the perpetrator was still at large and an NYPD investigation is underway.

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