What’s News, Breaking: Wednesday, June 7, 2023

June 7, 2023 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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CITY OFFICIALS: RIKERS ISLAND NEEDS RECEIVER CUSTODIAN AND TO BE SHUT DOWN

RIKERS ISLAND —City officials want a receiver (with custodial responsibility) assigned to Rikers Island until it can be closed down. City Comptroller Brad Lander, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams (both of whom are Brooklynites) and the Katal Center Katal Center for Equity, Health, and Justice held a press conference at the entrance to Rikers Island urging federal courts to appoint a receiver to take over the troubled jail complex. The press conference follows a new alarming report from the Federal Monitor about scandalous incidents in the city jails, and the City’s refusal to share information about what’s happening behind jail walls.

The Katal Center, founded in 2016, is an advocacy group with offices on Prince Street in Downtown Brooklyn and in Hartford Connecticut, working to end mass criminalization and incarceration, and to empower communities to bring about positive changes.

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NY SENATOR GILLIBRAND SECURES $104.6M TO HELP ASYLUM SEEKERS

CITYWIDE —New York City will receive another $104.6 million to support asylum seekers as they continue to arrive, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand announced on Wednesday, June 7. “New York City has a unique set of demands and challenges in supporting the asylum seekers who have arrived in our city,” said Senator Gillibrand. “New York has a rich history of welcoming migrants and this funding will help our local leaders treat everyone in our state humanely.”

This federal funding, deemed critical, is being allocated through the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s new Shelter Services Program, although no details have yet been released on its allocation.

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RESTLER CRITICIZES MAYOR ADAMS FOR LAX SMOKE PREPARATION

BROOKLYN — Calling the poor air quality from Canadian fires a major health threat, Council Member Lincoln Restler (D33) criticized the Adams administration on Wednesday for what he called the city’s lack of preparedness, “despite days of warnings that smoke from Canadian wildfires would make its way here to NYC. Restler said that the “most consequential action” the administration had taken on Tuesday was a tweet. “That’s not getting stuff done, it’s watching stuff happen,” he said. Restler also called the mayor’s Wednesday press conference “hastily arranged” and more focused on defending his lack of response than dealing with the emergency. Adams had defended himself at the presser when questioned by a reporter why Tuesday’s 11:45 p.m. press release was the first official statement on the emergency.

Restler listed four immediate steps the city should take, including: putting air purifiers in NYCHA community rooms, libraries, schools and jails without adequate ventilation systems and opening cooling centers; instructing people to work from home; limiting outside work by city employees and distributing N95 masks to everyone who must work outside; calling on private companies to provide protection and guidance to workers; and issuing emergency alerts to New Yorkers on best practices to stay healthy.

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LAGUARDIA AIRPORT IMPLEMENTS
‘AIR TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT’ PROCEDURES

LaGuardia Airport in Queens is under a “traffic management program Wednesday afternoon, June 7, for arriving flights, following a ground stoppage that was scheduled to expire at 2 p.m., the Federal Aviation Administration has announced. Both procedures are in response to the low visibility from a plume hanging over much of the Northeast, related to wildfires in eastern Canadian provinces. The traffic management procedures are causing some flight arrivals to be delayed by roughly two hours.

LaGuardia Airport tweeted around 2:15 p.m. on Wednesday that some flights are disrupted and that travelers should check in with their respective airlines for updated information.

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WILDFIRE AIR ALERTS CANCEL
NYC SCHOOL OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES

CITYWIDE — The New York City public schools have canceled their outdoor after-school activities this afternoon, Wednesday, June 7, due to the reduced air quality, according to a notice issued at 12:35 p.m. However, indoor activities may still take place as usual: After-school programs or programs that are normally held indoors or can be moved inside. Parents can visit NYC.gov/schools or NYC.gov/311 for further information.

Wednesday’s air quality emergency is due to a series of wildfires in the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Nova Scotia, situated north and east of New York State. The worst of the fumes from the wildfires was expected to impact upstate New York, and then drift southward toward Philadelphia and Washington, DC.; and several cities in the Northeast are affected.

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CITY COUNCIL HEARING ON BULKY 5G TOWERS TODAY

CITYWIDE — The City Council’s Technology Committee is set to hold an oversight hearing Wednesday afternoon on LinkNYC, New York City’s free Wi-Fi and communications network, and its controversial new 5G towers currently being deployed across the city. The Committee is asking for updates and “clarity” about the proposed placement of the hulking 30-foot-tall 5G towers from CityBridge, the consortium that operates LinkNYC. The hearing will be livestreamed at 1 p.m.

Some neighborhoods and community boards, including Brooklyn’s CB9, have petitioned against the towers for reasons of appearance, privacy and health concerns, and in April, U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-Manhattan) wrote to FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel to request a review under the National Historic Preservation Act, suggesting that the towers would be “out of context” in several historic districts.

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Police are looking for this man, who allegedly dumped lighter fluid on a bus driver and punched him repeatedly.

BUS DRIVER DRENCHED IN LIGHTER FLUID IN CROWN HTS ATTACK

CROWN HEIGHTS — A man allegedly dumped a bottle of lighter fluid on a 57-year-old bus driver and punched him repeatedly on Saturday, June 3, at 6 p.m., according to an NYPD report. After announcing that a southbound Bx44 bus would be going out of service and that all passengers needed to exit, the bus driver noticed a man who remained on the bus. Upon approaching him to offer assistance, the individual attacked the driver, then exited the bus and fled on foot. EMS transported the bus driver to NYC Health and Hospitals/Kings County in stable condition.

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). The public can also submit tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website. All calls are confidential.

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MYRTLE-WYCKOFF AVE STATION UNDERGOES ‘RE-NEW-VATION’

BUSHWICK — The Myrtle Ave-Wycoff Ave M-line subway station in Bushwick has received a “Re-NEW-vation,” with crews completing the cosmetic and functional renovations, the MTA announced on Tuesday, June 6. Last weekend, while the elevated station was closed to accommodate track replacement on the M line, transit workers also installed new LED fixtures to brighten shadow areas, repaired concrete tripping hazards, cleaned service and emergency lighting, stripped and repainted surface areas including ceilings and columns, restored benches, and replaced tiling along staircases. The station uplift also included the refurbishment of transit employee break rooms and restrooms within the station.

This work is part of New York City Transit (NYCT)’s Re-NEW-vation program, which utilizes planned weekend service outages to perform upgrades, repairs, and enhanced cleaning in stations within a 55-hour window. Upcoming refurbishment is planned at Kings Highway Station on the F line — one of 50 such projects to be completed by the end of the year.

The before-and-after of a platform beam at the Myrtle-Wyckoff elevation station. Photo: Marc A. Hermann/MTA.

Before and After Photos of Myrtle-Wyckoff Avs Station: Repaired lighting and repainted ceiling on the platform. Photo: Marc A. Hermann/MTA.

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FAD MARKET COMES TO OPEN STREETS MONTAGUE

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — FAD MARKET and Open Streets on Montague are partnering this Saturday, June 10, for a crafts fair that will also celebrate Pride. The Montague BID and FAD Market will bring in more than 50 crafts persons, artists, and small businesses, covering the two blocks from Clinton to Hicks streets. One highlight is Books Are Magic’s second annual Pride Fest (11 a.m. to 8 p.m.), with readings, activities, and panels, and an afternoon game show with booksellers and authors.

Featured vendors are: BklynBarSoap, which offers clean, mindfully formulated ingredients that support even the most sensitive of skin; the Brooklyn Women’s Exchange, a non-profit, volunteer-run craft + gift shop on Montague Street that has been around since 1854; and Ryan Taylor is a Brooklyn-based men’s fashion designer, natural dyer, and patternmaker.

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BATH BEACH, XAVIERIAN STUDENTS WIN 11TH DISTRICT CONGRESSIONAL ART CONTESTS

BATH BEACH — A Bath Beach high schooler has won the 2023 Congressional Art Competition for New York’s 11th Congressional District, Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-11) announced on Monday, June 5. Anastasia Kril, who attends Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, submitted “Blossoming into Adulthood,” a self-portrait with a pitch-black background that brings forth the illuminated face of a teen girl with a dreamy look on her face,” according to the young artist. “Her head is inclined to her right and both of her hands move into the same direction in a dance-like motion, Her posture conveys that she is reflecting and dreaming about her future as an aspiring American artist.” “Blossoming into Adulthood,” will be displayed in the Capitol for one year alongside the winners from each Congressional District.

Runner-up Cesar Angeles Montalvo from Staten Island, which is also in Malliotakis’ district, submitted “Rebirth,” while the third and fourth-place winners of this year’s art competition will be displayed in Malliotakis’ Staten Island and Brooklyn District Offices for one year. The fourth place winner, Ben Prestino from Xaverian High School in Bay Ridge, will have his artwork, titled “Eyes Wide Open,” displayed in Rep. Malliotakis’ district office in Brooklyn.

“Not only do their pieces showcase their fantastic artistic abilities, but they also tell personal stories of reflection, overcoming internal struggles, and their dreams for the future,” said Rep. Malliotakis, of the first-place winner and runner-up.

Artwork by Anastasia Kril, titled “Blossoming Into Adulthood.” Photo: Office of Rep. Nicole Malliotakis.

Artwork by Ben Prestino, titled “Eyes Wide Open.” Photo: Office of Rep. Nicole Malliotakis.

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CITYWIDE ZONING AMENDMENT WOULD FACILITATE DECARBONIZATION PROJECTS

CONEY ISLAND — A proposed citywide zoning text amendment would remove impediments to and better facilitate decarbonization projects across all 59 of the City’s Community Districts.

Community Board 13 (Seagate, Coney Island, Gravesend and Brighton Beach) will convene a joint Land Use and Housing Committee virtual meeting on Monday, with the NYC Department of City Planning giving the presentation.

City Planning has consulted with the Mayor’s Office of Climate and Environmental Justice’ to explain the proposed changes to the City’s Zoning Resolution to remove impediments and expand opportunities for decarbonization projects.

The Land Use and Housing Committee will also discuss a Phase 3 development on Surf Avenue between West 17th and West 19th streets in Coney Island.

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BROOKLYN RANKS IN RENTHOP’S TOP 10 TRENDING NEIGHBORHOODS

BEDFORD-STUYVESANT TO WILLIAMSBURG — Three Brooklyn communities have made the 10 Hottest NYC Neighborhoods, according to RentHop, which defines itself as a data-driven website that ranks apartments according to quality rather than price or posting date.

Ranked in RentHop’s “50 Hottest NYC Neighborhoods Right Now” was Bedford-Stuyvesant, the top-rated Brooklyn neighborhood coming in at #4, representing a significant rise of eight points from its 2022 position at #12. Likewise, Williamsburg and Bushwick ranked at #6 and #7 respectively, each rising several points above their placements last year.

Although further down on RentHop’s List, DUMBO also rose five spots to take #37, placing it ahead of Boerum Hill and Gowanus. By contrast, Prospect Heights saw a five-point decrease for the same period.

The nationwide RentHop, established in 2008, serves a number of other major cities, including Atlanta, Denver, Minneapolis, Nashville, San Antonio, Seattle, and Washington, DC.

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COMMUNITY PARTNERS PRESENT A HEALTH FAIR FOR EVERYONE

FORT GREENE — Several community groups, hospitals, and city agencies have partnered for a “Better Health, Better Living” health fair this Saturday, June 10 (rain date June 24), at Commodore Barry Park in Fort Greene. Community Board 2 and Friends of Commodore Barry Park are the main co-sponsors of the fair, running from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., with presentations, a commencement, a raffle, and a noontime program with several local elected officials.

A panel discussion at 1 p.m. will focus on “Mental Health & Maternal Health,” examining common stress factors, the effect of mental health issues on maternal health, and disparities in health outcomes for mothers of color.

Several branches of the Brooklyn Public Library will present “Storytime with the Brooklyn Public Library + Free Yoga Classes,” with participating branches: Adams Street BPL, Brooklyn Heights BPL, Center for Brooklyn History, Clinton Hill BPL, L10 Arts & Cultural Center BPL Annex and the Walt Whitman BPL.

More than 20 other partner organizations, in addition to the aforementioned, include the Brooklyn Hospital Center, NYU Langone Health, NYC Health + Hospitals, the Brooklyn Navy Yard, the Brooklyn Diamonds Athletics, several tenant associations, and Wegmans supermarkets.

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FORMER ‘ONETASTE’ EXEC. ACCUSED OF CRUDE CONSPIRACY, WILL BE ARRAIGNED IN BK

DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN — A top executive of OneTaste, which billed itself as a wellness education company but gained international notoriety for teaching women group orgasmic meditation, has been arrested and is charged in Brooklyn federal court with forced labor and various categories of abuse. While founded in California, OneTaste reportedly had at least one Brooklyn location, where Rachel Cherwitz, former head of sales (arrested this morning in California) and founder and former CEO Nicole Daedone allegedly exploited clients’ previous relationship trauma and led a years-long scheme to obtain free labor and services from its employees, volunteers and contractors. Daedone is still at large, but court documents show that Cherwitz will be arraigned (formally charged) in Brooklyn federal court at a later date.

OneTaste, which went defunct several years ago, made international news and was the subject of a documentary on a major streaming service, before litigants sued to get the program removed.

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ADDITIONAL MEETINGS SCHEDULED ON ZONING AMENDMENTS FOR DECARBONIZATION

CANARSIE TO BERGEN BEACH — A day after Community Board 13 in Coney Island announced a special public hearing on the city’s new decarbonization plan, Community Board 18 (southeastern Brooklyn) will also be holding a hybrid meeting on the topic on Wednesday, June 21. The NYC Department of City Planning, in close consultation with the Mayor’s Office of Climate and Environmental Justice, has proposed a citywide zoning text amendment to the City’s Zoning Resolution that would remove impediments to, and expand opportunities for, decarbonization projects. This is part of Mayor Adams’ City of Yes for Carbon Neutrality goal.

During the June 21 meeting, a guest presentation will also be made on Gun Violence Awareness Month. Jibreel Jalloh, president of Flossy Organization, will describe the ongoing work to stop the spread of gun violence, the underlying issues plaguing neighborhoods and the role that the public has in creating a safer environment.

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PARKS DEPT. WILL GIVE UPDATE ON PROPOSED ANCHORAGE CONCESSION AREA

BROOKLYN BRIDGE ANCHORAGE — The NYC Dept. of Parks & Recreation will share updates from the seven proposals and four responses that were submitted in response to the Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEI) issued earlier this year, at Community Board 2’s next Parks & Recreation Committee monthly meeting on Monday, June 12. The Request for Expressions of Interest is for the temporary and seasonal implementation of programming, amenities, events, and development of Anchorage Plaza.

David Cerron, Assistant Commissioner for Business Development & Special Events; Barbara Huang, Project Manager, Revenue Division; Davey Ives, Chief of Staff to the Brooklyn Borough Commissioner will present additional and clarifying information pertaining to the RFEI and answer questions that Parks has received.

The potential concession area, about 60,000 square feet, is within the Anchorage Plaza in Brooklyn, which the Department of Transportation has occupied since 2009 for necessary inspections, maintenance, and repairs to the Brooklyn Bridge. Boundaries are the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, Old Fulton, York, Washington, and Prospect Streets.

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CATHOLIC DIOCESE TO MAYOR: HELPING THE MIGRANTS IS WHAT WE DO

PROSPECT HEIGHTS/DIOCESE OF BROOKLYN — A day after Mayor Eric Adams asked houses of worship to house newly-arrived migrants, the Diocese of Brooklyn responded by saying this is already an established practice, reports its newspaper, The Tablet. The diocese pointed out that churches in Brooklyn and Queens have long been providing shelter, food, clothing, and other services and will continue to do so. “On the front lines for almost a year, parishes in Brooklyn and Queens have been helping asylum seekers, many of whom have arrived at our churches with just the clothes on their backs. Our pastors, priests, and volunteers have helped with everything from food pantries to clothing collection drives to spiritual care,” the diocese said in a June 5 statement.

The diocesan statement pointed out that aiding the migrant is part of Christian teaching: “The Diocese in Brooklyn and Queens, which has a long history of welcoming immigrants, has responded as Christ taught us, with love and compassion for our brothers and sisters in desperate need.”

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NEW LEGISLATION WOULD REDUCE TAX RATES FOR MIDDLE-CLASS FAMILIES

BAY RIDGE AND WASHINGTON, DC — New tax legislation that Rep. Nicole Malliotakis has co-introduced would give middle-class Americans a guaranteed deduction bonus for the next two years. Reps. Nicole Malliotakis (R-11th District) and Michelle Steel (R-CA-45), members of the House Committee on Ways & Means, introduced the Working Families Tax Cut Act, which builds on and would amend the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which reduced federal tax rates for families at every income level and doubled the Guaranteed Deduction (also known as the “Standard Deduction”).

The new bill would rename the Standard Deduction as the “Guaranteed Deduction” and would provide a bonus guaranteed deduction of $3,900 for working families and $1,950 for single filers on 2024 and 2025 returns.

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MAYOR RECRUITS HOUSES OF WORSHIP TO PROVIDE SHELTER FOR ASYLEES

CITYWIDE — Mayor Adams is offering houses of worship up to $54,000 monthly through the NY Disaster Interfaith Services (NYDIS) to provide shelter for newly-arriving asylum seekers.

Adams, and NYDIS coordinator, Peter B. Gudaitis, M.Div. who made the announcement on Monday, June 5, said that NYDIS has been awarded a contract to coordinate and fund the operation of 50 shelters with nineteen beds each and five hospitality centers in religious facilities across the five boroughs. This 950-bed-per-night program will span 24 months and may be expanded based on the need and availability of space.

Funding will be provided for use of the facilities, to obtain bedding, security officers, food, laundromat voucher services, insurance, and WiFi, among other components of the program, as well as 24/7 emergency support, a community support manager, storage trunks, and daily round-trip MetroCard for guests.

In turn, houses of worship wishing to participate must be able to provide two operating shower stalls and a fire-safety sprinkler system — or the willingness to have both these utilities installed, a dedicated dining/social area with the ability to provide culturally-appropriate meals, language interpretation services and storage space for cots, linens, and guests’ trunks, among other considerations.

All host sites will be compensated for their operating costs up to the rates noted and will also be provided with a monthly space use fee to cover utilities and general wear and tear. Limited grant funds are also available to install required showers and sprinkler systems in congregations that will shelter asylum seekers and then later transition to shelter New Yorkers experiencing homelessness.

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AUDIT: NYPD’S NEIGHBORHOOD SAFETY TEAMS UNITS RIFE WITH VIOLATIONS, LACK OF OVERSIGHT

CITYWIDE — Legal aid advocates are criticizing the NYPD’s Neighborhood Safety Teams, a controversial unit that deploys hundreds of officers across NYC’s boroughs to patrol neighborhoods and make arrests in unmarked vehicles.

The criticism comes following a report detailing a preliminary audit that the Independent Monitor of the New York City Police Department (NYPD) conducted of the Neighborhood Safety Teams’ performance. Independent Monitor’s report identifies various harmful and discriminatory practices of the units, among these actions: making unlawful stops at a rate that is nine percentage points higher than the department-wide compliance rate in 2020 — with reasonable suspicion for only 69% of the stops; stopping Black or Hispanic persons more than 97% of the time; lack of problem identification and correction from first-line supervisors on these improper stops, frisks, and searches, and insufficient oversight.

The Neighborhood Safety Teams unit was relaunched in March 2022 as a rebranded version of the “Anti-Crime Unit,” which also received a staggering number of complaints about its dangerous practices over the years and was disbanded in August 2020 following racial justice protests. The Independent Monitor notes the NST units engage in an elevated rate of constitutional violations and racially disparate policing.

Molly Griffard, staff attorney in the Law Reform and Special Litigation Unit at The Legal Aid Society said, “These early audit results confirm what Legal Aid and other advocates feared when Mayor Adams created the units just over one year ago — that Neighborhood Safety Teams are, like their Anti-Crime and Street Crime Unit predecessors, rife with misconduct and prone to abuse the rights of the very people they are tasked with protecting.”

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MAJOR NEWS AGENCIES ASK THAT COURT UNSEAL REP. SANTOS’ FRAUD CASE RECORDS

NATIONWIDE AND CENTRAL ISLIP — Several national and regional news agencies, including the Associated Press and the New York Times, have requested that the U.S. District Court/Eastern District release the surety bonds on Rep. George Santos, in the federal case U.S. v. George Anthony Devolder Santos, 2:23-cr-00197-JS-AYS, on First Amendment grounds. The news agencies, writing to U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert at federal court in Central Islip through the law firm of Davis Wright Tremaine, seek an order releasing unredacted versions of judicial records identifying the bail suretors (“the surety records”), stating that “Under both the federal common law and the First Amendment, the surety records and sealed bond proceedings are judicial records that are properly open to the public.”

The letter to Judge Seybert points out, “The public’s interest in this matter cannot be overstated. A United States Congressman stands accused of perpetuating financial fraud in connection with his election to the House of Representatives.”

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STATE WARNS ABOUT ‘JUICE JACKING’ SCAM ON PUBLIC CHARGING KIOSKS

STATEWIDE — Those public charging kiosks may not be all that secure, warns the New York Department of State’s Division of Consumer Protection, which is cautioning users about a new scam tactic called “Juice Jacking.”

The scam targets travelers and people on the move, stealing their data through hidden skimming units that thieves place inside USB ports of public cell phone charging kiosks at airports, hotels, and other public spaces.

The FBI and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) have each issued warnings about the juice jacking scam, and the FCC’s dedicated webpage explains that malware installed through a corrupted USB port can lock a device or export personal data and passwords directly to a skimming perpetrator. Both federal agencies want consumers to understand how hackers can potentially steal data through these kiosks from any device that requires charging via USB. That means tablets, smartwatches, and laptops are all vulnerable. The aforementioned FCC’s tips page also advises consumers to use AC power outlets instead of the kiosks, to pack AC or car chargers, to bring along one’s own USB cables, or even to take the unpopular precaution of turning off one’s device completely while charging it.

The Department of State’s Division of Consumer Protection every Tuesday adds practical tips for consumers on its Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages, and sends consumer alerts to subscribers’ email addresses and phones.