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What’s News, Breaking: Thursday, February 2, 2023

February 2, 2023 Brooklyn Eagle Staff
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BROOKLYN’S CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK VISITS FEATURE ROBOTICS LAB, RELIGION FAIRS

SUNSET PARK & WINDSOR TERRACE — A robotics lab and a religion fair are part of the Brooklyn Diocesan Bishop Robert J. Brennan’s tour of parochial academies in the borough as part of Catholic Schools Week. Bishop Brennan is set on Friday, Feb. 3, to visit a Religion Fair at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Academy in Sunset Park; and later that morning, will visit the robotics lab at St. Joseph the Worker Catholic Academy in Windsor Terrace, where the students of a First Lego League Robotics team will demonstrate a project based around energy.

Since 1974, National Catholic Schools Week has been observed annually to “discover and celebrate” Catholic education. This year’s theme for the schools in Brooklyn and Queens is: “Ignite the Catholic Imagination.”

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OWNER OF SPYING APP COMPANIES PENALIZED FOR MONITORING PEOPLE WITHOUT CONSENT

STATEWIDE — Spying software may have tracked New Yorkers without their knowledge — particularly if they are involved in messy relationship situations — but now the owner of at least 16 companies based on Long Island and in Florida must make restitution for illegally promoting spyware that allowed individuals to secretly monitor another person’s device. State Attorney General Letitia James on Thursday, Feb. 2,, secured $410,000 from Patrick Hinchy and 16 of his companies selling software products that allowed users to secretly monitor activity on another device: including call logs, text messages, photos and videos, social media activity, and browsing history.

The companies’ advertisements and promotions deceived customers into believing these software products were legal. As a result of this agreement, Hinchy’s companies must pay $410,000 in penalties and modify their apps to alert device owners that their devices are being monitored.

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NOTIFY NYC: PERSON REPORTEDLY STRUCK BY LIRR TRAIN

EAST NEW YORK — Another person has been struck by a train in Brooklyn, this one on the Long Island Railroad’s eastbound track between East New York and Far Rockaway. ‘Notify NYC’ issued an alert at 3:19 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 2, that customers should expect delays and possible cancellations on the eastbound LIRR Far Rockaway Branch, and to consider alternate routes.

However, the MTA’s own website announced shortly thereafter that an extra eastbound train would run to Far Rockaway departing Jamaica at approximately 3:32 p.m., making all local stops to Far Rockaway. No update was given on the commuter or injuries sustained, except that an eastbound train had been canceled due to police activity at East New York.

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NEW TORTILLERIA PLANT IN SUNSET PARK WILL CREATE JOBS, EXPAND SUPPLY

SUNSET PARK — Tacombi’s new 30,000 square-foot, state-of-the-art food manufacturing facility at The Whale Building in Sunset Park, has been completed, allowing the company to expand its tortilleria-production. Governor Kathy Hochul on Thursday, Feb. 2, announced the completion of the plant, and Tacombi’s commitment to create at least 90 new full-time jobs as part of this expansion, with support of up to $1 million in performance-based Excelsior Jobs Program tax credits from Empire State Development.

Vista Hermosa was created when Tacombi, unable to find tortillas that met their standards of authenticity, quality, and freshness, started making their own. Now manufactured in Brooklyn, Vista Hermosa products are sold at more than 2,000 stores across 40 states and served in Tacombi’s 15 taquerias across New York City, Greater Washington D.C., and Miami.

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SUNY DOWNSTATE HEALTH AND MAIMONIDES LAUNCH NEW PARTNERSHIP TO EXPAND ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE

EAST FLATBUSH — The common themes of health care equity for central Brooklyn, a welcoming community, and diversity among patients and their doctors were celebrated during the official launch of a hematology-oncology partnership that will strengthen SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University in Flatbush and Maimonides Medical Center in Borough Park. The partnership, the fruit of collaboration with doctors, administrators and elected leaders, will enable patients and their families to seek top cancer care here in Brooklyn.

Several elected officials, the chairman of Community Board 17 Rodrick F. Daley and Pastor Kirkpatrick G. Cohall were present to give testimony on the life-saving treatments that they and family members have received from SUNY Downstate Health and Maimonides Medical Center.

Left to right: Eugene Keilin, board chairman of Maimonides Medical Center; Kenneth Gibbs, president and CEO of Maimonides Medical Center (at podium) SUNY Downstate president Wayne J. Riley, M.D. (behind Mr. Gibbs); State Senator Zellnor Myrie (D-20th District) and the Rev. Kirkpatrick G. Cohall, D. Min., Ph.D., who is SUNY Council Chair and senior pastor of neighboring Lenox Road Baptist Church. Photo: Vimeo screenshot of Downstate Health Sciences University and Maimonides Medical Center.

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HEMATOLOGY-ONCOLOGY PARTNERSHIP WILL EXPAND ACCESS TO CANCER CARE

EAST FLATBUSH & BOROUGH PARK — Maimonides Health and Downstate Health are set to announce Thursday morning, Feb. 2, the launch of a hematology-oncology partnership, strengthening the ability of both organizations to expand access to cancer care in Central Brooklyn. The partnership with Downstate Health, which is the clinical enterprise of Downstate Health Sciences University, Downstate University Hospital and University Physicians of Brooklyn, will allow patients at the University Hospital of Downstate to access a broader range of specialists from the Maimonides Cancer Center, with the combined program immediately becoming the most extensive hematology-oncology practice in Brooklyn.

This agreement builds on previous collaborations in Neurology and Pathology, where Maimonides and Downstate have also established combined regional programs over the past six years.

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NY POLS CHEER MIGRANT FUNDS IN GOVERNOR’S BUDGET

CITYWIDE — City politicians reacted positively to Governor Hochul’s decision to allocate funding to support migrants and asylum-seekers in NYC in her budget proposal for the upcoming year, although some remain concerned that the support may not go far enough. Mayor Adams thanked the governor in a statement while calling for increased federal funding; Public Advocate Jumaane Williams expressed gratitude but urged her to speak out more strongly moving forwards; and, state Sen. Andrew Gounardes said that the city could no longer bear the cost alone, welcoming any aid sources.

The governor’s budget was otherwise met with a lukewarm response and is expected to face tough challenges in the legislature.

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MAYOR ANNOUNCES COMPOST PROGRAM TO EXPAND CITYWIDE

CITYWIDE — Mayor Adams on Wednesday, Feb. 1, announced that NYC’s curbside compost pickup program would expand to cover the entire city, becoming the largest such program in the nation. Service is expected to start first in Brooklyn in the fall of 2023 and expand throughout the rest of the city by the end of 2024, on which day, the mayor promised, “the rats will be cowering in fear.”

While the city has had a patchwork of different compost collection efforts for years, the expanded version will be based on a trial program in Queens begun last October, which saw simplified procedures lead to rapid adoption by residents for lower costs, with areas like Jamaica and St. Albans out-composting legacy eco hotspots like Park Slope — referred to by Sanitation commissioner Jessica Tisch as “the beating heart of the composting belt” — three to one.

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GOLDMAN CALLS FOR INVESTIGATION INTO TRUMP’S DUNHAM AND BARR

BROOKLYN — Congressmembers Dan Goldman of NYC and Ted Lieu of California on Tuesday, Jan. 31, sent a letter to Department of Justice inspector general Michael Horowitz calling for an investigation into possible misconduct by Trump administration officials Special Counsel John Durham and then-Attorney General Bill Barr. The congressmembers assert that there is reason to believe that Mr. Barr and Mr. Durham, at Trump’s behest, abused prosecutorial powers and weaponized the DOJ throughout a fruitless four-year investigation into the origins of the 2016 Russia inquiry, in an effort to conceal an allegation of a financial crime by the former president.

Freshman Rep. Goldman, who was recently seated on the House Oversight Committee, campaigned on his firm opposition to Trump and the G.O.P. following his work as lead Democratic counsel during Trump’s first impeachment trial.

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EMERGENCY MEDICAL SUPPLY BILL PASSES STATE SENATE

ALBANY — A new law that would require the state to develop a coordinated plan to deliver medical supplies to care centers during states of emergency has been passed in the state senate. The bill is related to a separate assembly bill calling for similar action, which has received unanimous support in the legislature.

“Coming from Staten Island and Southern Brooklyn, where Hurricane Sandy impacted our borough so severely, ensuring that our pharmacies, hospitals and nursing homes are equipped with life-saving medical supplies can be the difference between life and death during a natural disaster,” said bill sponsor state Sen. Jessica Scarcella-Spanton in a statement.

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CDC WARNS OF BACTERIA OUTBREAK IN ARTIFICIAL TEARS

NATIONWIDE — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a health advisory about infections with an extensively drug-resistant strain of bacteria in 12 states among people who reported using artificial tears, most prominently those from the brand EzriCare, whose product is preservative-free. CDC laboratory testing identified the presence of the outbreak strain in opened EzriCare bottles with different lot numbers collected from two states.

The CDC recommends that patients and healthcare providers immediately discontinue using EzriCare artificial tears pending additional guidance from the CDC and the Food and Drug Administration.

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PARKS BUDGET CUTS COULD THREATEN CITY’S TREE COVERAGE

CITYWIDE — Conservationists and Parks Department officials are concerned following Mayor Adams’ announcement that he intends to cut yet more funding from the Parks Department in the upcoming year, as revealed in his preliminary budget released in January. City Limits reports that as Adams made campaign promises to increase the parks budget to one percent of total city spending and to plant 20,000 new trees a year during his tenure as mayor, this move represents a significant step away from those goals, and leaves the department without a clear path to maintaining the city’s green spaces — which could ultimately lead to tree losses and other problems.

A significant amount of NYC tree care and planting is already done by volunteers, such as Councilmember Lincoln Restler’s new Street Tree Fund, which will work in concert with the Parks Department and other conservation groups to keep urban flora healthy.

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BROOKLYN LUXURY HOME MARKET SURGES

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — The market for Brooklyn’s most expensive homes caught fire in 2022, reports Bloomberg, with sales of homes valued at over $10 million jumping from just 3 in 2021 to 13 last year, mostly in brownstone Brooklyn. Corporate broker Leonard Steinberg said that what high-rolling buyers are drawn to is “quality of life, a sense of community and just that small town, big city feel that you can really only achieve there.”

Brooklyn’s popularity has risen across all price points, with home sales and rentals surging in 2022 and median prices hitting record levels.

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MAYOR’S MANAGEMENT REPORT SHOWS BK AREAS HOTSPOTS FOR GUNS

BROWNSVILLE — A newly released report from the Mayor’s office shows that 27 percent of all city gun crime is taking place in just six precincts, including Brooklyn’s 73rd Precinct, which covers Brownsville and Ocean Hill, and 75th Precinct, which covers East New York and Cypress Hills. The New York Post reports that while shootings are down 16 percent overall in NYC this fiscal year, gun crime impacts the city’s neighborhoods unevenly, with the 75th even recording an increase in gun crimes between 2021 and 2022.

An officer interviewed by the Post said that suspects were typically repeat offenders, and called for stronger sentencing.

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BAM TO HOST BAMKIDS FILM FESTIVAL THIS WEEKEND

PROSPECT HEIGHTS — BAM is inviting parents and children to the 25th annual BAMkids Film Festival on Feb. 4 and 5, which will feature kid-friendly films for a variety of age groups as well as in-person activities like circus performances, acrobatics, arts and crafts, dancing, board games and more. Families who can’t make it in person also have the option of viewing the festival’s film selections online for a lesser fee.

Schedule information can be found on BAM’s website, and adult tickets for in-person attendance will cost $14 ($9 for members), with kids’ tickets costing $10.

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PERMITS FILED FOR EASTERNMOST BLOCK OF LIVINGSTON ST.

DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN — Permits have been filed for a 22-story mixed-use building at 370 Livingston Street in Downtown Brooklyn, the website YIMBY (Yes in My Back Yard). The site, at the southwest corner of Livingston Street and Flatbush Avenue, is currently a four-story building, with commercial establishments at street level. The proposed building, for which zoning description documents and a certificate were filed involving the companies 372 Livingston LLC (a domestic limited liability company formed in April 2022 according to the NYC Dept. of Finance’s ACRIS site) would be 235 feet tall, with 186,076 square feet, with about 105 condos.

Demolition permits were filed in September 2022 for the four-story building on the site. However, a Google Maps photo from last May shows a beauty salon called Express She Repair at 370 Livingston, and other merchants including a tax preparation service.

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MAYOR UNVEILS CITY’S EXPANDED COMPOSTING PROGRAM 

CITYWIDE — A new roadmap will implement what Mayor Eric Adams aims to become the nation’s largest composting program, he and NYC Sanitation Commissioner Jessica Tisch announced officially on Wednesday, Feb. 1. Mayor Adams laid out details, over the coming 20 months, for weekly collection of compostable material that will become an automatic, guaranteed, free, year-round universal weekly collection of leaf and yard waste, food scraps, and food-soiled paper products for every resident in the five boroughs, and will be the first-ever specific plan and commitment to reach 100 percent coverage citywide.

The Adams administration developed an effective, cost-effective pilot plan for curbside composting that began in Queens on Oct. 3, 2022, and which he highlighted in last week’s State of the City address.

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REP. CLARKE URGES FEDERAL AGENCIES TO EXPAND AND EVOLVE CYBERSECURITY

CENTRAL BROOKLYN — Congressmember Yvette D. Clarke (D-9th District), Senior Member of the Committee on Homeland Security and the Committee on Energy and Commerce, has responded to the GAO’s report of cybersecurity vulnerabilities. “The persistent cyber threats facing federal agencies demands that we be able to dynamically grow and evolve the programs aimed at defending and building resilience of federal networks.  I trust the dedicated public servants behind our federal agencies will heed this vital call for action,” said Clarke.

“For my part, as a Member of the Homeland Security Committee, I will do everything in my power to ensure that the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) expeditiously implements its reorganization plans so that it is well-positioned to lead federal network security efforts,” she added.

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SEVERAL CATHOLIC CHURCHES IN BROOKLYN VANDALIZED SINCE 2020

BOROUGHWIDE — More than 275 attacks on Catholic churches —including several within the Diocese of Brooklyn — have taken place since 2020, report CatholicVote, a political action group based in Wisconsin and, locally in this borough, by The Tablet. There have been 281 acts of violence — protests, vandalism, smashed windows and theft — some of them in the wake of last year’s U.S. Supreme Court decision that reversed the Roe v. Wade landmark case on abortion.

New York had the second largest number of church attacks; the eight Brooklyn parishes affected included Guardian Angel Church in Brighton Beach — where pro-abortion graffiti was found, St. Athanasius Church in Bensonhurst; and, famously, St. Augustine Church in Park Slope, whose historic tabernacle was stolen and the Eucharist was desecrated.

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MIGRANTS PROTEST MOVE TO CRUISE TERMINAL SHELTER

RED HOOK — The asylum seekers who were forced out of hotel rooms last week and moved to temporary shelters at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal are continuing to protest outside of the Watson Hotel in Manhattan, reports PIX News, even as temperatures threaten to drop precipitously over the coming days. The city says single adult male migrants need to be moved to the group shelter at the cruise terminal to make room in the hotel for families with children, but the protesters counter that the terminal has no heat or hot water, and is lacking in basic supplies, as well as being isolated from support networks and potential jobs in Manhattan.

The wave of asylum seekers has become a divisive topic in the city as local agencies struggle to cope, prompting Mayor Adams to visit the Mexican border in January while city officials and nonprofits debated potential solutions.

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BK POLS URGE GOVERNOR TO ALLOCATE FUNDS FOR MIGRANTS

RED HOOK — In a Jan. 27 letter to Governor Kathy Hochul, who is set to reveal her new budget proposal on Wednesday morning, a majority of NYC elected officials led by Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams and Comptroller Brad Lander called on the state government to allocate critical funding to the city to support arriving asylum seekers. The letter states that New York’s constitution guarantees the right to shelter, and that currently the state is not meeting its obligation to pay for the migrants’ housing, rendering it an “unfunded mandate” and forcing the city to pay instead.

The officials, including Brooklyn BP Antonio Reynoso, as well as Brooklyn Councilmembers Lincoln Restler, Jennifer Gutiérrez, Crystal Hudson, Sandy Nurse, Alexa Avilés and Shahana Hanif, also ask the state to fund case management, resettlement and legal assistance services for the asylum seekers.

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BOY, 12, INJURED IN BROWNSVILLE AFTER POSSIBLY SHOOTING SELF

BROWNSVILLE — A 12-year-old boy was found wounded in the lobby of a Brownsville apartment building on Tuesday night, reports ABC News, who say the boy was taken to Maimonides hospital for treatment of a gunshot wound in his shoulder and is expected to survive. Police say that there is a possibility the boy shot himself accidentally and that they are investigating.

The Daily News reports that a gun was recovered from the lobby by police.

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CRYPTO FRAUDSTER SENTENCED TO 60 MONTHS

DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN — Convicted cryptocurrency scammer John DeMarr was sentenced on Tuesday in Brooklyn federal court by United States District Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall to 60 months in prison, in addition to being ordered to pay more than $3.5 million in restitution to his victims. DeMarr had served as the face of an international scheme that involved promising investors massive returns in exchange for purchasing a supposed new cryptocurrency called B2G, while in actuality funneling money to the overseas accounts of a Serbian partner in crime, whose location is currently unknown, in addition to purchasing luxury goods for himself.

DeMarr’s elaborate scam robbed investors of over $11 million, was endorsed by actor Steven Seagal, and fell apart after DeMarr attempted to fake his own assault and disappearance while supposedly completing a business transaction in Montenegro, before being found safe at his California home.

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CENTURY-OLD BED-STUY HARDWARE STORE TO CLOSE

BED-STUY — Macon Hardware in Bed-Stuy, one of the neighborhood’s oldest black-owned businesses, has been put up for sale after the death of its owner, Clara Hayes, 93, who worked in the store for more than 70 years, reports Brownstoner. Son Warren Hayes, who returned to the city ten years ago to assist his mother, said that while “it breaks my heart” to have to sell the building, he has no choice, as he cannot run the store alone.

The store was opened in or before 1930 by Polish immigrant Samuel Pelner, who became a mentor and father figure to Hayes’ husband Peter, who took over the store after the Pelners retired and bought the building in 1987.

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COMMUNITY TECH LAB OPENS IN WILLIAMSBURG: EL PUENTE

WILLIAMSBURG — On Thursday, Jan. 26, El Puente, a youth-led arts and human rights organization, in partnership with digital justice organization Community Tech NY, officially opened the doors to NYC’s first Community Tech Lab, intended to serve as a bridge to fulfill the tech access needs of underserved communities, on the Southside of Williamsburg. The launch event — which included training and skill-building sessions on topics such as creating and maintaining wireless networks, internet navigation and security, and various technology skills — brought together community members, youth, partners and elected officials to explore the lab and its offerings.

“As a Boricua and a former tech worker, it feels so special to have this resource in my district, and I want to thank El Puente and Community Tech NY for leading on this issue,” said State Senator Kristen Gonzalez at the event.

Youngsters inspect electronic equipment at the new Community Tech Lab. Photo: El Puente.

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REP. GOLDMAN TAPPED TO SERVE ON ‘SELECT SUBCOMMITTEE ON WEAPONIZATION OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT’

WESTERN BROOKLYN — U.S. freshman Congressmember Dan Goldman (D-10th District), who serves a large swath of Brooklyn, has been tapped to serve on the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government. Goldman was chosen based on specific skills and experience he brings to Congress, including work as lead counsel for the first impeachment investigation of former President Donald J. Trump and, earlier in Goldman’s career, for 10 years as a federal prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (Manhattan, Bronx and six lower Hudson Valley counties.)

Although it was not revealed who selected Goldman for the Select Subcommittee, his role will be to “serve as a bulwark against Republican overreach and politicized investigations.” He got praise even from Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), overseeing the Select Subcommittee, who called Goldman a “worthy adversary” from their experience on opposite sides of former President Donald Trump’s first impeachment inquiry.

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FEDERAL AGENTS MUST IMPROVE CYBERSECURITY MEASURES, SAYS NEW GAO REPORT

NATIONWIDE — The federal government’s technology systems are still vulnerable to cybersecurity threats, even though nearly 79% of the agency’s public recommendations since 2010 have been implemented, warns a new report from U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). The report, titled “Cybersecurity High-Risk Series: Challenges in Securing Federal Systems and Information (GAO-23-106428)” found that while the majority of the advice was followed, “federal agencies will still be more limited in their ability to protect private and sensitive data entrusted to them” until there are more critical actions to address cybersecurity challenges.

GAO added recommendations on improving implementation of government-wide cybersecurity initiatives, addressing weaknesses in federal agency information security programs, and enhancing the federal response to cyber incidents to better protect federal systems and information.

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CITY EXPANDS RAPID TEST DISTRIBUTION SITE NETWORK

CITYWIDE — The NYC Test & Treat Corps, which has distributed over 77 million free at-home COVID tests to New Yorkers to date, announced on Tuesday the opening of 34 additional walk-up at-home test distribution sites, further expanding the city’s network of over 280 test pick-up locations. The new walk-up distribution sites will receive an initial allocation of nearly 150,000 at-home rapid tests and include SBS’s Workforce1 Career Centers and Business Solutions Centers in every borough, providing free testing to job seekers and small business owners.

The new Brooklyn test distribution locations are the career center and business center at 9 Bond Street in Downtown Brooklyn, the Coney Island career center at 1906 Mermaid Avenue, the ITC at the Brooklyn Army Terminal in Sunset Park, the D.O.F. business center and City Register at 210 Joralemon Street across from Borough Hall, and the East New York career center at 2619 Atlantic Avenue.

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NY STATE TO LAUNCH NEW ONLINE NOTARY PROGRAM

STATEWIDE — The New York State Department of State on Tuesday announced the availability of an online application and registration portal for notaries starting Feb. 1, 2023. Notaries can now, if they choose, register the capability to perform electronic notarial acts through a new online portal that currently allows notaries to easily apply for a credential online and will soon allow notaries to quickly perform many related transactions, such as changing a name or address and scheduling an examination, as well as checking the status of applications.

For more information, licensees can contact the Department at 518-474-4429 or go to https://dos.ny.gov/notary-public#remote-notarization-faqs.

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YOLANDA VEGA AND FAMILY TO COMPETE ON ‘FAMILY FEUD’

BROOKLYN — Brooklyn native Yolanda Vega, the iconic face of the New York Lottery for more than 30 years, will be making a return to the small screen on Feb. 2, when she and her family will appear on ‘Family Feud,’ which airs at 7:30 p.m. on CBS. The long-running game show features two families competing against each other to correctly predict the answers to survey questions and win prizes.

Vega, 66, who became nationally famous for her cheerful and larger-than-life personality on air while presenting billions in checks to lottery winners over the course of her career, retired in 2022 to spend time with her family after the birth of her first grandson.

The Vega family.

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