What’s News, Breaking: Wednesday, March 15, 2023

March 15, 2023 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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BIPARTISAN CAUCUS WILL FIGHT CITY’S CONGESTION PRICING PLAN

BAY RIDGE — Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-11/southwest Brooklyn and Staten Island) and Democrat Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-05), who have frequently partnered on bipartisan support of issues affecting their districts, on Wednesday, March 15, continued their fight against congestion pricing. Malliotakis and Gottheimer have created and lead a new, bipartisan Anti-Congestion Tax Caucus — with Congressional colleagues in both states — to combat what they call “New York’s proposed Congestion Pricing scheme.” The Caucus plans to introduce legislation to push for a full and thorough Environmental Impact Statement on the plan’s impact on the outer boroughs and suburbs, that would also protect their constituents’ wallets, and audit the billions of dollars in federal assistance to the MTA.

The city’s plan would force commuters to pay an additional $23 toll to enter Manhattan south of 60th street, and potentially more for Staten Islanders who already pay a toll to connect to the rest of the city.

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PUBLIC ADVOCATE TO CITY: REINVEST IN SCHOOL SUPPORT PROGRAMS

CITYWIDE — The city needs to invest in educational equity, student supports, language access services, and holistic school safety solutions, and include these in the Fiscal Year 2024 budget that begins in July, urged Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, on Wednesday, March 15. Pointing out last year’s $370 million in cuts to the city schools’ budgets, hurting academic, arts and mental health programs, Williams emphasized that austerity is not the right path forward for schools and services, and called for allocations to hire 500 school social workers, hire school psychologists and family workers to address delays in the evaluation and IEP development process for students with disabilities, ensure every school has a nurse, and support the expansion of school-wide restorative justice practices.

The Public Advocate also addressed the need to support asylum seekers in the school system with language-accessible programming, and highlighted the need to support holistic school safety efforts rather than relying solely on law enforcement solutions.

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HARTLEY’S MAKES YELP LIST OF ‘BEST IRISH PUBS’

CLINTON HILL — Just in time for St. Patrick’s Day on Friday, March 17, Hartley’s Pub in Clinton Hill has been named as a Best Irish Pub in New York, according to Yelp’s latest list. Customers overwhelmingly gave the pub five-stars, with praises for the ambience, their Guinness beer, and the Music Mondays, where a group plays Celtic music.

Hartley’s, open Fridays from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m., features soda bread with Irish butter, potato wedges with a Jamaican curry mayo and Ballymaloe Relish, and of course the traditional Guinness Stew.

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ROAD RAGE AT MCDONALD’S DRIVE-THROUGH

CANARSIE — An altercation between two motorists at a McDonald’s drive-through, within the 69th Precinct in Canarsie, resulted in a broken nose and other serious eye injuries for the driver of the vehicle in front. Police are asking the public’s help in locating the man who left his black Infinity Q50 in line behind his 69-year-old victim’s vehicle, approached his victim, engaged him in a verbal dispute, and then reached into the victim’s vehicle and punched him multiple times in the face. EMS responded and transported the aided victim to Brookdale Hospital Medical Center, who was treated for a broken nose, as well as two broken eye sockets.

Anyone with information on the pictured individual, with a dark complexion and black hair, last seen wearing an orange sweatshirt, black jacket and orange/black sneakers is asked to contact the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). Photo: NYPD/Crimestoppers.

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CITY MAKES $1.6B INVESTMENT IN GOWANUS CANAL’S TRASH OVERFLOW PREVENTION

GOWANUS — A 1.6 billion project to protect the Gowanus Canal from sewage overflow — and to add 3.6 acres of public waterfront space — was launched on Wednesday, when Mayor Eric Adams and officials from the NYC Department of Environmental protection broke ground on the first of two underground storage tanks, with the first tank extending underground nearly two blocks from Butler Street to DeGraw Street. When completed, these tanks will have the combined capacity to prevent up to 12 million gallons of sewer overflow during rainstorms. Moreover, the newly-created waterfront space will include esplanades for community events and environmental education programs.

The city is on schedule to begin site preparation work for the second tank, which will hold up to 4 million gallons and will be located at the bend of the canal on a triangular peninsula at Second Avenue and Sixth Street.

Aerial view rendering of public space atop second tank site. Photo: NYC Mayor’s Office/Dept. Environmental Protection.

A rendering for the proposed headhouse tank at Nevins and Douglass streets in Gowanus. Photo: NYC Mayor’s Office/Dept. Environmental Protection.

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DOG MANAGEMENT CONCERNS AT SOUTH OXFORD PARK PART OF CB2 COMMITTEE AGENDA

FORT GREENE — Complaints of unleashed dogs in Fort Greene’s South Oxford Park are part of the agenda of next Monday’s Community Board 2’s Parks & Recreation Committee (Zoom for the March 20 meeting that starts at 6 p.m.). The Friends of South Oxford Park have requested a community discussion on dog relief areas and waste management, control and enforcement, safety and hygiene, recreation hours, following reports and submitted evidence of unleashed pets in the children’s playground and artificial-turf soccer field.

The meeting will also address communication from the City of New York relative to previous agreements.

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EATING CORNED BEEF OKAY THIS FRIDAY, MARCH 17 PER DIOCESAN DISPENSATION

BROOKLYN & QUEENS — What happens when St. Patrick’s Day — with its obligatory corned beef and cabbage meal — falls on a Lenten day of abstinence from meat? To resolve this conundrum Bishop Robert J. Brennan of the Diocese of Brooklyn has issued a dispensation from the Lenten obligation to abstain from eating meat for this Friday, March 17. Honoring St. Patrick, the fifth-century missionary who brought Catholicism to Ireland and the Irish immigrants who later brought the faith to the Diocese in Brooklyn and Queens, Bishop Brennan said, “I am pleased to grant this dispensation for this Friday of Lent only, so that celebrations of St. Patrick can be fully enjoyed by the faithful of the Diocese, or those who find themselves in Brooklyn and Queens commemorating the day.”

Bishop Brennan asks that Catholics availing themselves of the dispensation commit to an act of charity during Lent, which is the 40-day penitential season of prayer and fasting.

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STATE BUDGET BATTLE HEATS UP, LAWMAKERS SCRAP BAIL REFORM IDEA

ALBANY — The state Senate and Assembly on Tuesday released their counter-proposals to Governor Hochul’s $227 billion 2024 budget plan, reports amNY, shooting down several key components ahead of the April 1 budget deadline. Most notably, the legislature omitted a bail reform provision that would have given judges more discretion in setting higher bails for serious crimes, as well as a plan to increase the number of charter schools, and a plan to extend the controversial 421-a tax break for real estate developers; lawmakers also added provisions that would double the size of Hochul’s infrastructure incentives fund from $250 million to $500 million, cap rent increases at 3% and prevent landlords from evicting tenants without cause.

Hochul’s bail reform plan, which would eliminate a current regulation that requires judges use the least restrictive way to get defendants to turn up for trials, comes after a closely contested election with Republican opponent Lee Zeldin, who ran on a “tough-on-crime” platform, and as voters have expressed concerns about increases in property crimes, such as Monday’s violent robbery at the Brooklyn Heights Key Food, where a store owner who spoke to the Eagle called on Hochul to toughen bail laws.

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ADVOCATES PLAN VIRTUAL RALLY FOR BAIL REFORM

CITYWIDE — A group of activists and lawmakers are set to hold an online rally Wednesday in support of New York’s current bail laws, as well as advocating for new laws designed to strengthen the state’s social safety net. The organizers, who include Brooklyn’s state Senator Julia Salazar and Assemblymembers Emily Gallagher, Latrice Walker and Jo Anne Simon, say that the governor’s proposed bail reforms, which would eliminate a standard that calls for judges to choose the least restrictive method of getting defendants to turn up for court, would not lower crime rates and would add more confusion into the justice system, instead of reducing it.

The rally is scheduled for Wednesday, March 15, at 11 a.m.; and can be attended on Zoom.

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HISTORIC DISTRICTS COUNCIL CELEBRATES BUSHWICK

BUSHWICK — The Historic Districts Council, New York’s citywide advocate for historic buildings and neighborhoods, on Tuesday announced its 2023 “Six to Celebrate,” New York’s only citywide annual listing of historic neighborhoods that merit preservation attention. Included in this year’s list is Bushwick, where the HDC plans to help the Bushwick Historic Preservation Association advance its proposed list of landmark designations and preservation priorities, including the Northeast Bushwick Historic District.

More information about the HDC’s choices and the other neighborhoods can be found on the Six to Celebrate website; last year’s selections included the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Crow Hill and Little Caribbean.

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GROUP OF MEN ATTACK TEEN OUTSIDE BARCLAYS CENTER

Have you seen these men? All tips submitted to the police are strictly confidential.

PROSPECT HEIGHTS — Police are searching for a group of ten men who attacked and beat a 17-year-old boy on the afternoon of Feb. 27, outside the Barclays Center, punching and kicking him before snatching his phone and tablet and fleeing into the Atlantic Avenue subway station. One man was described as having a medium complexion and dreads; a second as having a medium complexion and wearing a black hat, black jacket and black pants; and a third as having a medium complexion and wearing a black baseball cap, a black top and black pants; the others remain unidentified and undescribed.

Anyone with information regarding 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, log onto the Crime Stoppers website or Tweet @NYPDTips.

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BROOKLYN UNEMPLOYMENT DROPS IN JANUARY

BROOKLYN — Brooklyn’s unemployment rate has dropped by 2.2% since last January, according to preliminary figures from the New York state Department of Labor. While Brooklyn’s 5.8% unemployment rate remains above the state average, the decrease represents an optimistic trend compared to New York overall, as the total state unemployment rate has increased in that same timeframe.

NYC’s overall unemployment rate in January was 5.5%, led by the Bronx with a 7.8 % unemployment rate.

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BAM TO PRESENT ‘VIRUSES ON FILM’ SERIES

PROSPECT HEIGHTS — BAM will kick off its new “Viruses on Film” series on Wednesday, March 15, at 7 p.m., with a showing of the 2011 film Contagion, followed by a discussion with the series’ curator Steven Thrasher, an epidemic specialist, and New York Magazine film critic Bilge Ebiri. “Spanning seven decades, the filmmakers in this retrospective imagine viruses musically, as science fiction, as Hollywood drama, as British and Korean zombie horror and as darkly comic metaphors of capitalism and computers. At other times, they confront viruses directly, depicting when Ebola devastated Sierra Leone; how HIV shaped gay activism and love around the globe; and, in Brazil, why the novel coronavirus forced humans to find sex and connection in new ways while making great sacrifices,” wrote Thrasher in a press release.

The retrospective runs daily through March 23; more information about showtimes, speakers, and a complete list of films can be found on BAM’s website.

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SIGNATURE BANK WAS UNDER INVESTIGATION BEFORE SEIZURE

NEW YORK — The Justice Department and the SEC had been investigating New York-based Signature Bank before its seizure by New York state officials last weekend, reports Bloomberg, focusing on potential money-laundering related to its forays into the cryptocurrency market. The New York Times also reports that Signature had previously faced inquiries related to its dealings with the Kushners and the Trumps, stemming from suspicions that the bank had aided the Kushners in harassing low-income tenants and had extended risky loans to the Trumps at a time when Ivanka Trump sat on its board.

Signature customers with concerns about their accounts can find information on the government takeover on the FDIC’s Failed Bank Information web page; the government has assured account holders that in-person and online banking should proceed as normal while bidders for Signature’s assets are sought.

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BBG HAS ‘CHERRYWATCH’ MAP FOR CHERRY BLOSSOMS

PROSPECT HEIGHTS — The Brooklyn Botanic Garden has launched a live cherry blossom-tracking map on its website ahead of the spring bloom season, enabling garden visitors to check the status of the delicate pink flowers before committing to the trip. The Cherrywatch map currently shows that just two trees have entered first bloom, while most remain in “pre-bloom” state.

Cherry blossom enthusiasts can celebrate the season on April 25 and May 2 with the BBG’s Hanami Nights festival, which will feature extended evening hours and live music, dancing and refreshments; more information will be announced as the event approaches.

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NEW BOOK, ‘COVID-19 IN BROOKLYN EVERYDAY LIFE’ JUXTAPOSES WEALTH AND POVERTY

The book jacket for “COVID-19 in Brooklyn Everyday Life During a Pandemic.” Photo: Image art by Jerry Krase.

PARK SLOPE AND WILLIAMSBURG/GREENPOINT — The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns in three Brooklyn neighborhoods is the subject of a new book by two professors of St. John’s University in Queens. Judith N. DeSena, Ph.D., Professor of Sociology, St. John’s University, and Jerome Krase, Ph.D., Emeritus Professor of Sociology at St. John’s, in their book, “COVID-19 in Brooklyn Everyday Life During a Pandemic”, place their own personal experiences as Brooklynites inside a broader context of global and national medical emergencies, economic, social, and political unrest, the Black Lives Matter Movement, and the contentious 2020 presidential election.

The authors discuss the racial and economic inequities that affected the lives of residents during that time, including public health disparities and lack of access to the necessities of urban living.

Author Judith DeSena writes about how Brooklynites in gentrified neighborhoods fared in the early days of the pandemic. Photo: Judith DeSena.

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SUSAN ZHUANG RUNS FOR CITY COUNCIL IN NEWLY-DRAWN 43RD DISTRICT

BENSONHURST & VICINITY — City Council candidate Susan Zhuang, who was instrumental developing the program and identifying nominees for the aforementioned Women’s History Month celebration at Il Centro, is running in the newly-drawn 43rd Council District, which includes portions of Bensonhurst, Gravesend, Dyker Heights, Sunset Park, Borough Park and Bath Beach. She has declared that her priorities are public safety, education access, and the small businesses that are the backbone of the community.

Zhuang recently got an endorsement from New Majority NYC, an organization that works to elect women to the New York City Council, and which is, in the words of New Majority Executive Director Jessica Haller, “committed to building power for women.”

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ASSEMBLYMEMBER COLTON HONORS 40 LOCAL WOMEN LEADERS

BATH BEACH — Forty local women in southern Brooklyn neighborhoods were honored at a Women’s History Month celebration that Assemblymember William Colton held on Sunday, March 12. Democratic City Council candidate Susan Zhuang emceed the event, held at Il Centro an Italian cultural center, on 18th Avenue. The 40 honorees, who had received nominations from local organizations, businesses, and individuals, play key roles in building and strengthening the communities they are a part of, and represent the diversity of the area, which includes Bath Beach, Bensonhurst, and Gravesend, as well as within the newly-drawn 43rd Councilmanic District, for which Zhuang is a candidate.

Zhuang, who has taken leave from her position as Colton’s chief of staff as the campaign heats up, was instrumental in developing the program and identifying nominees, said Colton.

Assemblymember William Colton and emcee Susan Zhuang (wearing red tee-shirt with her name) are pictured in center of a group of 40 women leaders whom they honored on Sunday. Photo: Office of Susan Zhuang.

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NEW SUNY CHANCELLOR HAS DEEP BROOKLYN ROOTS

ALBANY — SUNY’s new chancellor, John B. King Jr., is a Brooklyn native with a long relationship with the borough, as shown in a new profile in BK Mag, which discusses King’s trailblazing family — his father was Brooklyn’s first black school principal and his uncle was one of the first players to break the color barrier in professional basketball — and his own past. King previously served as New York state Education Commissioner and then as Secretary of Education under former President Obama, and says he wants to carry on his father’s legacy of fighting against inequality in schools.

“So much of my identity is tied to growing up in Brooklyn. It defined my time growing up,” King Jr. told BK Mag.

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COMPETITIVE PICNICKERS TAKE OVER FORT GREENE PARK

FORT GREENE — Teams of aggressively hospitable picnickers descended on Fort Greene Park over the weekend, reports BK Mag, competing to put out the most outlandish spreads at the fifth annual Competitive Winter Picnicking games. The sixteen teams included groups like Operation Eagle Freedom Defense Initiative, who encouraged diners to use darts to shoot down “Chinese spy balloons,” and the Pirates of Penzants, who dressed as insects and serenaded judges.

As with the similarly chaotic Idiotarod event, bribery is heartily encouraged by the organizers, and prizes are eccentric, with awards like “Most Likely to Make Your Mother Cry” and “Best War Game” elevating the traditional picnic concept to a new level.

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BROOKLYN YANKEE JOE PEPITONE PASSES AT AGE 82

BROOKLYN — Brooklynite and New York Yankee Joe Pepitone passed away on Monday at age 82, according to the MLB, after a long career in professional baseball on and off the field. Born in Brooklyn in 1940, Pepitone attended John Jay High School and joined the Yankees in 1962, shortly thereafter becoming their first baseman, where he would stay until being traded to the Astros in 1970, before finishing his playing career with the Braves in 1972. Pepitone would later return to the Yankee’s organization in the 80s to serve as a coach in both the minor and major leagues.

“As a native New Yorker, he embraced everything about being a Yankee during both his playing career — which included three All-Star appearances and three Gold Gloves — and in the decades thereafter. You always knew when Joe walked into a room — his immense pride in being a Yankee was always on display. He will be missed by our entire organization, and we offer our deepest condolences to his family, friends and all who knew him,” wrote the Yankees in a press statement.

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POLICE SEARCH FOR MISSING TEEN IN BROWNSVILLE

BROWNSVILLE — Police are asking the public for help in finding Corisa Coppage, 18, last seen at her Brownsville residence on the morning of March 8. Corisa is described as 5’6” and 140 pounds; has black eyes and black hair with gold tips; she was last seen wearing a black jacket, blue jeans and red and black shoes.

Have you seen this girl? Don’t hesitate to reach out to police with any information you can share.

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GROUP OF THIEVES TARGET SUNSET PARK MEN

SUNSET PARK — Police are searching for a group of three people who are suspected of involvement in three muggings that took place in Sunset Park in February and March, in which the criminals approached older men walking alone in the early hours of the morning to violently assault and rob them of their possessions. One victim has had to be hospitalized so far for his injuries.

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TEN JUDGES APPOINTED TO CITY COURTS

DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN — Mayor Eric Adams on Tuesday, March 14, made ten judicial appointments to New York City Family, Criminal and Civil Courts, including several judges with experience in Brooklyn. Judge Nisha Menon, who has served the last six years as a court attorney referee in Kings County Family Court, has been appointed Family Court Judge. Judge Raymi V. Ramseur-Usher served the New York State Unified Court System for the last 12 years in Kings County Supreme, Family and Civil courts. Prior to her appointment to the bench, she was a principal law clerk.

Judge Janet M. McDonnell, who began her legal career with the Kings County District Attorney’s Office, where she served for over 21 years in the Orange Zone, Crimes Against Children Bureau and Early Case Assessment Bureau/Arraignments. She also served as deputy bureau chief of the Domestic Violence Bureau and as deputy unit chief of the Criminal Court in New York City.

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MAYOR’S BUDGET CUTS VACANT SCHOOL SAFETY POSITIONS

CITYWIDE — School safety agent positions that are vacant are on the mayor’s budget chopping block, as part of the Mayor Eric Adams’ Program to Eliminate the Gap, according to a notice from the NYC Independent Budget Office. The Mayor’s Preliminary Budget proposes the elimination of nearly 300 vacant school safety agent positions, continuing reductions made in prior financial plans (fiscal years) that resulted in the cut of 832 such vacant positions since last February. The number of active school safety agents and police department staff providing security services in public school buildings has declined by nearly a quarter since the onset of the pandemic.

While school safety agents work in the city’s school buildings, DOE has not directly employed these staff for 25 years — since 1998.

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MAN REPORTED MISSING AFTER HE LEFT HOSPITAL CAMPUS

EAST FLATBUSH — Police are asking for the public’s help in locating a missing East New York man after he left NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County (known familiarly as Kings County Medical Center) on Sunday night, March 12. The man, identified as 57-year-old Scott Wrighton, and living within the 73rd Precinct, was reported missing on Monday after having been at NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County in East Flatbush around 9:40 p.m. Sunday.

Have you seen this man, who was reported missing on Monday? He is described as 4’8” tall, 120 pounds, with a dark complexion, thin build, bald headed and brown eyes, and last observed wearing a black shirt, gray coat and black jeans. Photo: NYPD/Crimestoppers.

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PASTOR ON DECK: FR. JOSEPH GIBINO WILL SUCCEED RETIRING FR. WILLIAM SMITH AT ST. CHARLES

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — Bishop Robert J. Brennan of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn has appointed Fr. Joseph Gibino as the next pastor of St. Charles Borromeo Church to succeed Fr. William Smith, who is preparing to retire in June, according to an announcement on the parish’s website and Facebook page. Fr. Gibino, who will begin his pastoral leadership of St. Charles parish in July, is concurrently pastor of Holy Trinity Church in Whitestone and Vicar for Evangelization and Catechesis and Academic Dean for the Permanent Diaconate Program for the Diocese of Brooklyn.

Fr. Smith, who turned 71 in December — thus reaching the mandatory retirement age — was installed as pastor of St. Charles in 2017. He enjoyed a close friendship with the late Monsignor Charles E. Diviney, who had also been pastor of St. Charles from 1959-1978.

Father Joseph Gibino will become pastor of St. Charles Borromeo Church in July. Photo: Photo courtesy Diocese of Brooklyn.

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NEW TUNNEL IS TOO SMALL FOR LIRR TRAINS, GOTHAMIST REPORTS

LIRR — “If you build it, they will come” is a popular variation of Kevin Costner’s line from the 1989 film, “Field of Dreams” — provided that it’s engineered correctly. However, the new Grand Central Madison Tunnel is now getting criticized for being too short to fit the Long Island Railroad train cars, with Gothamist reporting that as many as 20% of them can’t run through. Retired trains with mechanical problems had to be put back into use, and a reduction in service led to pandemonium instead of a smooth transition for LIRR passengers who travel between Manhattan, Atlantic Center in Brooklyn, and points east.

Gothamist also criticized the MTA for failure to order new train cars in a timely manner.

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DELAYS IN BROOKLYN JAIL PROJECT RAISE CONCERNS ABOUT RIKERS CLOSING

DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN — The ongoing plan to close NYC’s troubled Rikers Island incarceration complex by 2027 and replace it with four smaller local jails could be jeopardized by severe delays at the Atlantic Avenue site, reports POLITICO, which says that information published in the City Record indicates that construction on the nearly $3 billion project is now expected to continue until at least 2029. City Hall told POLITICO that the initial timeline was “unrealistic” and did not reflect material and labor shortages in the construction industry, while also insisting that Rikers would definitely be closed on schedule — but did not explain how this would be possible without a functioning Brooklyn jail.

A public hearing on the contract for the Brooklyn jail is scheduled for March 23, at 10 a.m., according to the City Record, and can be participated in via conference call.

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HOCHUL NIXES LAGUARDIA AIRTRAIN EXPANSION

QUEENS — Governor Hochul on Monday announced that the state would be dropping its plan to build an extension of the AirTrain to LaGuardia Airport, reports Reuters, and will instead focus on expanding existing bus service to the airport and consider adding a new shuttle bus running from the Astoria-Ditmars Boulevard N/W subway stop. The governor cited a Port Authority report that concluded that the AirTrain expansion, a pet project of former Governor Cuomo, would cost $2.4 billion and take 6-7 years to complete, while the bus expansions would cost under $500 million.

“It’s so refreshing to see government leaders admit a mistake and change course before it’s too late… Much better bus service is the right answer both for Queens riders and the travelers who pass through their neighborhoods on the way to the airport,” transit advocacy group Riders Alliance told Reuters.