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What’s News, Breaking: Wednesday, March 1, 2023

March 1, 2023 Brooklyn Eagle Staff
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NOW-DISBARRED LAWYER STOLE SETTLEMENT FUNDS FROM HIS BROOKLYN CLIENTS

DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN — Brooklyn clients of a New Jersey lawyer who stole significant funds have received compensation, and the attorney has been sentenced to one to three years in prison, with State Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun presiding. The defendant, whom Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez identified as Raleigh Douglas Herbert, 61, pleaded guilty to second- and third-degree grand larceny in December 2022 and has been disbarred. The defendant stole approximately $575,000 in settlement funds from two dozen of his clients in Brooklyn, as well as approximately $96,000 in COVID-19 relief funds, by filing fraudulent loan applications through the COVID-19 Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) run by the U.S. Small Business Administration.

As of this date, the Lawyers’ Fund for Client Protection of the State of New York has reimbursed a total of approximately $470,000 to 16 of the defendant’s victims.

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‘MAKING BROOKLYN BLOOM’ CONFERENCE FOCUSES ON URBAN FORESTRY INNOVATIONS

BROOKLYN BOTANIC GARDEN/CROWN HTS —“Deeply Rooted: Traditional Knowledge, Equity, and a New Era in Urban Forestry,” is the topic of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s annual Wilbur A. Levin Keynote Address, as part of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s Making Brooklyn Bloom conference on March 11. Dr. Vivek Shandas, professor of climate adaptation, Portland State University, will give the address, raising the question: “Can urban greening projects address historic injustices, respond to community aspirations, and draw on traditional ecological knowledge?” The 41st annual Making Brooklyn Bloom conference is themed “Tapping the Power of Trees: How the Urban Forest Will Save Cities,” and celebrates the Garden’s year-long focus on urban trees.

The Wilbur A. Levin Keynote lecture is named for a longtime Brooklyn Botanic Garden board member, Clerk of the Supreme Court, banker and philanthropist who died in 2005.

The Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s Japanese garden, pictured in August 1936, some 26 years after its founding, continues to exemplify an ecosystem surrounded by the city. Photo: Municipal Archives, City of New York.

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SHOW & TELL CONEY ISLAND HISTORY

CONEY ISLAND — “Vanished Attractions,” an exploration of past amusement icons, is the theme of this month’s Coney Island History Show & Tell, an interactive reminiscence event presented by the Coney Island History Project via Zoom, being held on Thursday, March 16. Participants will discuss Steeplechase Park and Astroland, fun houses and dark rides, Fascination parlors, bungalow colonies, and the mechanical Laughing Lady. The Show & Tell will also explore what made these vanished attractions so beloved, and the reason they disappeared.

Brooklynites wishing to share historical or personal objects or stories related to Coney Island may also sign up to “show and tell” their story by emailing [email protected].

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TEN PERCENT OF NEW YORK HOUSEHOLDS COULDN’T AFFORD FOOD

STATEWIDE — Approximately 10%, or about 800,000, New York households experienced food insecurity at some point between 2019-21, according to a report from State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. The report found that the number of households facing food insecurity —  the inability to obtain adequate food for everyone in the home due to a lack of resources  —declined during the COVID-19 pandemic due to federal relief programs and the expansion of federal food assistance programs. DiNapoli raised the concern that food insecurity may grow as federal benefits lapse. Notably, additional Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits expired on March 1.

DiNapoli recommends that Federal Child Tax Credit Expansion be renewed, that SNAP, WIC and school meal programs be expanded, and that support for state nutritional programs be continued. He also urges the state to implement the White House Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition and Health.

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BILL ADDRESSING DYSLEXIA PASSES ASSEMBLY EDUCATION COMMITTEE

STATEWIDE — Notwithstanding a veto on the matter from Governor Kathy Hochul, legislation from Assemblymember Robert Carroll (D-44) on screening and support for the learning disorder dyslexia has passed the Assembly Education Committee. The legislation will require the New York State Education Department Commissioner to establish a task force consisting of experts in diagnosis, specially-trained teachers, a dyslexic student(s) and parent(s) of a dyslexic child that will examine appropriate and effective evidence-based screening methods, reading interventions and other educational supports for dyslexia and related disorders for students in kindergarten through grade five.

Wednesday’s committee green-light marks the first action this session on Carroll’s three-bill package on literacy and dyslexia. Although both houses of state legislature passed the bill last year, Governor Hochul vetoed it last November.

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CUNY WAIVES APPLICATION FEE FOR HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS

CITYWIDE — The City University of New York is waiving the $65 application fee for New York City public high school seniors who apply between March 1 and April 15 to attend a CUNY college this coming fall. This six-week initiative, for which all New York City Public Schools seniors graduating between now and August are eligible, is part of University’s historical mandate to expand access to higher education — particularly to first-generation college students, immigrants and working-class Black and Latinx New Yorkers who bore the brunt of the pandemic’s most severe effects.

“This initiative is an example of how the University and the New York City public schools have a powerful partnership and are working together to help make the transition from high school to CUNY a seamless one,” said CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez.

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VEHICLE COLLISION CAUSING EXTENSIVE DELAYS

GOWANUS EXPRESSSWAY — A vehicle collision on the eastbound Gowanus Expressway is causing extensive traffic delays, reported Notify NYC at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, March 1. The city advises motorists to find alternative routes away from the collision, which is in the vicinity of 3rd Ave.

An interactive traffic map published on the New York 1 News website shows red (for traffic tie-ups) in the vicinity of the interchanges with 3rd Ave. and the 17th St. entrance to the Prospect Expressway. The alert area in red stretches all the way back to Bay Ridge.

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GILLIBRAND, SCHUMER, GOLDMAN JOIN ON 9/11 HEALTH CARE BILL

WASHINGTON — On Tuesday, Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Charles Schumer and U.S. Rep. Daniel Goldman, along with Reps. Andrew Garbarino, Jerrold Nadler and Anthony D’Esposito and Sens. Bob Menendez and Cory Booker, 9/11 health program advocates, and 9/11 responders and survivors announced the bipartisan “9/11 Responder and Survivor Health Funding Correction Act of 2023” to close the funding shortfall in the $1 billion World Trade Center Health Program. The bill, sponsored by Gillibrand in the Senate and Garbarino in the House, will address the long-term funding shortfall, allow excluded Pentagon and Shanksville responders to join the program, and make technical corrections to the program.

Congress established the WTCHP in 2011 to provide lifetime medical treatment and monitoring for 9/11 responders and survivors suffering from the effects of the toxins at Ground Zero, now including responders and survivors of the attack on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, the Shanksville crash site, children who were in schools in downtown Manhattan on 9/11 and during clean-up, and those who have since experienced, or are expected to experience, adverse health effects that are linked to the attacks in the coming years.

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CYBERSECURITY ACT ADVANCES IN NY SENATE

ALBANY — On Tuesday, the Secure Our Data Act, sponsored by Brooklyn’s Kristen Gonzalez, passed the New York state Senate Internet and Technology Committee. This legislation would prepare and protect New York state entities against ransomware attacks by requiring the Office of Information and Technology Services to develop data protection standards for state agencies; requiring state entities to engage in regular vulnerability testing of information systems; requiring each state entity to create an inventory of its information systems; and requiring each state entity to develop an incident response plan for ransomware and other malware attacks.

The legislation follows a ransomware attack on One Brooklyn Health’s hospitals late last year that severely impacted patient care, according to doctors and staff at the affected hospitals.

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COUNCIL TO HOLD MEETING ON VIOLENT NYPD ANTI-PROTEST UNIT

CIVIC CENTER — The City Council is set to conduct an oversight hearing on the NYPD’s controversial Strategic Response Group Unit on Wednesday morning, following a postponement in January. The group, founded in 2015 ostensibly as a counterterrorism unit, has faced legal action and criticism from politicians and activists after its conduct during the 2020 summer protests led to numerous injuries and arrests; with several councilmembers signing on to an open letter calling for its disbandment, including Brooklyn’s Crystal Hudson, Jennifer Gutierrez, Chi Ossé, Lincoln Restler, Shahana Hanif, Sandy Nurse, Alexa Aviles and Rita Joseph.

Note: Aviles and Gutierrez have accents in their names on city documents but not on their letter signatures. I used the letter’s spelling since that’s what I was referencing but I’m not sure about this.

The meeting will be held on Wednesday, March 1 at 10 a.m. in the City Hall Council Chambers; a livestream will be available online on the Council’s official website.

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ANIMAL LOVERS ON EDGE AFTER REPORTS OF CAT ABUSE

FLATBUSH — Animal lovers online are warning that an unknown person or people in Queens and Brooklyn may be targeting and abusing neighborhood cats, after several cats were found by animal groups with severe and disturbing injuries in the last week. Users of the discussion website Reddit’s /r/nyc group shared that the animal rescue charity Puppy Kitty NYC has discovered several cats with severe or fatal injuries to their feet and legs in the Richmond Hill neighborhood of Queens, while fellow nonprofit Flatbush Cats reported discovering a male cat whose genitals had been mutilated.

Puppy Kitty NYC is fundraising to cover the vet expenses of the injured cats, and is warning the public to be on the lookout for the potential abuser and to keep their cats indoors.

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BAY RIDGE TREE COLLECTION PROJECT AIMS TO CATALOG NEIGHBORHOOD’S TREES

BAY RIDGE — Artist Kate Dodd is asking Bay Ridgers to help take stock of the neighborhood’s tree coverage by participating in her Bay Ridge Tree Collection Project, which allows residents to highlight and celebrate street trees and will ultimately be displayed at the Bay Ridge Library in an upcoming ecological art exhibition. Participants who sign up in advance can help create a lithograph of their favorite tree with artist Ellen Coleman Izzo at PrintSpace’s March 3 First Friday event.

Guidelines for participation in the tree collection project can be found online on the website of the Stand4 Gallery.

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RECORDS REVEAL SLAVEHOLDING PAST OF BROOKLYN CHURCH DONORS

PARK SLOPE — A group of congregants at Park Slope’s Old First Reformed Church has discovered a disturbing past behind some of the historic church’s earlier splendor, reports the New York Times, with research into church records revealing that the wealth of the two families who donated its Tiffany stained glass windows had been generated partially by participation in slavery. While slavery had been banned in New York by the time of the windows’ purchase and none of the donors were directly involved themselves, the church believes it’s important to recognize that the presence of the windows is a demonstration of the lingering effects of slavery in the modern day.

“Our thinking is this is where a lot of the wealth of the church came from. The windows were a very visible, tangible manifestation of it,” Margaret Kearney, co-chair of the church’s Reconciliation and Racial Justice working group, told the Times.

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MAYOR TO ATTEND JUDGE’S INDUCTION TO SUPREME COURT

BUSHWICK — Hon. Susan Quirk is set to be inducted to the New York state Supreme Court on Thursday, in a celebration attended by Mayor Adams, Attorney General Letitia James, Brooklyn D.A. Eric Gonzalez and other dignitaries. Quirk, previously a family court judge, was elected to the post in November, and will serve until her term ends in 2037.

The induction ceremony will be held at P.S. 376 in Bushwick, and will take place on Thursday, March 2, at 6 p.m.

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PUBLIC ART FUND PRESENTS BUS SHELTER EXHIBIT OF PHOTOGRAPHS BY ETHIOPIAN ARTIST

CITYWIDE — Commuters will be able to view a photo exhibit while waiting for their bus. The Public Art Fund debuts “This is where I am,” an exhibition of 12 new photographs by Aïda Muluneh on over 330 JCDecaux bus shelters across New York, Boston, and Chicago and overseas and in the Côte d’Ivoire capital city of Abidjan. The exhibition marks both the artist’s first public art exhibition in Côte d’Ivoire and the first time that Public Art Fund presents artwork on the African continent, expanding the organization’s partnership with JCDecaux beyond the United States.

Born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Muluneh’s art focuses on her cultural heritage as a way to explore themes of history, politics, sense of place, and other pressing issues such as the climate crisis.

Artwork by Aïda Muluneh; a part of exhibit “Aïda Muluneh: This is where I am,” presented by Public Art Fund on over 330 JCDecaux bus shelters across New York City, Chicago, and Boston in the United States, and Abidjan in Côte d’Ivoire on view from March 1 – May 21. Photo: Nicholas Knight, Courtesy of Public Art Fund, NY.

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DECLARING SERVANTHOOD TO GOD, MAYOR ANNOUNCES ‘BREAKING BREAD, BUILDING BONDS’ DINNERS

CITYWIDE — Mayor Eric Adams is receiving pushback in the news and social media for comments he made during the annual interfaith breakfast on Tuesday morning, Feb. 28, that seemed to blur the Constitutional separation of church and state. The mayor’s exact statement, excerpted from his full speech —according to the transcript on the nyc.gov webpage — was, “Don’t tell me about no separation of church and state. State is the body, church is the heart. You take the heart out of the body, the body dies.”

Explaining that his own faith in God governs his daily thoughts and actions, Mayor Adams announced his “Breaking Bread, Building Bonds” dinners for New Yorkers of different ethnic and religious traditions to share the backgrounds behind their food, attire and beliefs.

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NYCLU DIRECTOR: MAYOR ADAMS MUST UPHOLD HIS OATH TO HONOR THE CONSTITUTION

CITYWIDE — The New York Civil Liberties Union’s longtime Executive Director Donna Lieberman, also responded to Mayor Adams’ statements about religion, as well as remarks made by his chief advisor, Ingrid Lewis-Martin that, “In government, many times, it is said that one has to separate church from state … We have an administration that doesn’t believe in that,” Lieberman stated, “We are a nation and a city of many faiths and no faith. In order for our government to truly represent us, it must not favor any belief over another, including non-belief.” Adding that the mayor has taken oaths of office to uphold the Constitution, Lieberman added, “It is odd that Mayor Adams would need a refresher on the First Amendment…The very opening passage of the Bill of Rights makes clear that church and state must be separate.”

Lieberman said, “On matters of faith, the mayor is entitled to his own beliefs. On the Constitution, he must uphold his oath.”

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BROOKLYN CONGRESSMEMBER OFFERS AMENDMENT CRIMINALIZING VIOLATIONS OF HATCH ACT

WASHINGTON, DC — A bill named for a Trump-administration special adviser would make willful violation of the Hatch Act a felony punishable by up to a two-year prison sentence. U.S. Rep. Congressmember Dan Goldman (D-10th District/western Brooklyn) on Tuesday, Feb. 28, offered the Kellyanne Conway Amendment during a Committee meeting on Oversight and Accountability, to counter House Resolution (H.R.) 140, a Republican bill which aims to stop the federal government from censoring protected speech under the First Amendment — even though such conduct is already prohibited by law. The Hatch Act, which prohibits federal employees (other than the President and Vice President) from engaging in certain forms of political activity, including partisan political campaigning, is not currently a crime.

Former White House Counselor to the President, Kellyanne Conway was found to have violated the act so often during her government employment that the Office of Special Counsel recommended in 2019 that she be fired from federal service for being a “repeat offender.” Read more on page 2 and www.brooklyneagle.com

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FDNY CHIEFS ANNOUNCE LAWSUIT AGAINST CITY

CITYWIDE — A group of FDNY chiefs has filed a lawsuit in Brooklyn court against FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh, claiming that the Eric Adams appointee, who last year became the first woman to lead the department, has been engaged in a pattern of retaliatory behavior against her top personnel for raising safety concerns, firing and demoting them without cause. The chiefs are also asking a judge to temporarily overrule Kavanagh and reinstate them in their former roles, in order to protect public safety by keeping experienced chiefs in their positions while the two sides battle it out in court.

“These are some of the same firefighters who put their own lives at risk on September 11 and on countless other occasions to uphold their oath to protect New Yorkers from lethal fires. To remove these experienced officials from their essential safety functions puts lives at risk and is simply a gross misjudgment and dereliction of duty by the Commissioner,” stated attorney for the firefighters Jim Walden, who supported Brooklyn’s Long Island College Hospital pro bono in the yearslong fight to keep its doors open.

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STUDY FINDS LINK BETWEEN ARTIFICIAL SWEETENER AND HEART ATTACKS

NATIONWIDE — A new study published in the journal Nature on Monday appears to show that the artificial sweetener erythritol increases the risk of heart attacks, blood clots and strokes in people who consume it who are already at risk for such events, reports CBS News. The researchers say that their study was initially designed to look for any chemicals that might predict heart problems, and discovered by accident that subjects consuming high amounts of erythritol were experiencing higher rates of heart-related health issues, which led them to observe that the sweetener appeared to be provoking “enhanced thrombosis,” or blood clotting. 

“If your blood level of erythritol was in the top 25% compared to the bottom 25%, there was about a two-fold higher risk for heart attack and stroke. It’s on par with the strongest of cardiac risk factors, like diabetes,” study lead author Dr. Stanley Hazen told CBS.

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RETIRED NYPD OFFICER DIES IN CROWN HEIGHTS FIRE

CROWN HEIGHTS — A retired NYPD officer passed away in a fire in Crown Heights on Monday, reports the New York Daily News. Joseph Newkirk, 76, was discovered deceased in the kitchen of his apartment after a fire broke out in the unit above his that took 60 firefighters to bring under control, according to his family and emergency responders at the scene. 

FDNY officials are investigating the cause of the fire, according to the Daily News.

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CARROLL GARDENS PIZZERIA SHUTS DOORS

CARROLL GARDENS — A beloved local pizza restaurant has closed its doors in Carroll Gardens after more than 50 years, reports BK Mag, as Sal’s Pizzeria on Court Street served its last slice on Sunday. This marks the second closure of a classic Brooklyn pizzeria in less than a month, after the shuttering of Bushwick staple Lenny’s earlier in February for similar reasons — longtime owners wanting to move on.

“It’s just the age, and like I said, I’ve been here since I was a kid and I just want to do something a little different with my life than make pizzas ’til the very end,” John Esposito, whose parents founded the restaurant in 1970, told News 12, crediting the Carroll Gardens community with supporting the establishment for so many years.

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LIRR RIDERS UPSET BY ATLANTIC TERMINAL SCHEDULE CHANGES

PROSPECT HEIGHTS — Only two days into the new LIRR schedule changes, passengers at Brooklyn’s Atlantic Terminal station are unhappy with the railroad’s decision to have nearly all through-travelers between Brooklyn and Long Island transfer to a shuttle service at Jamaica. The schedule changes are intended to reduce commute times and increase service up to 40% by streamlining routes, but these benefits have not appeased riders so far, according to amNY, who spoke to Brooklyn passengers whose reactions ranged from “a lot different, and a little confusing” to “the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever seen in my life.” 

MTA CEO Janno Lieber on Sunday appeared to dismiss these concerns, telling amNY “New Yorkers know how to switch trains, they just need some time to get accommodated to the new arrangement. I’m very optimistic.”

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EXPRESS FERRY SERVICE BETWEEN SOUTHERN BROOKLYN AND MANHATTAN

BAY RIDGE — The NYC Ferry will be testing a new pilot program next month intended to provide faster service between southern Brooklyn and Wall Street, reports News 12. The pilot program will see one less ferry during morning rush hour but will make the service “more time-competitive” for commuters by skipping stops on the new express routes.

Ferries starting in Bay Ridge will stop at Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn Bridge Park and finally Wall Street; while ferries starting in Sunset Park and at the Brooklyn Army Terminal will stop at Governor’s Island, Red Hook and lower Manhattan.

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