What’s News, Breaking: Tuesday, August 22, 2023

August 22, 2023 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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MAN WHO PUNCHED & STABBED INNOCENT STRANGER IN SUBWAY SENTENCED TO 10 YEARS

DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN — BROOKLYN D.A. ERIC GONZALEZ ANNOUNCED Tuesday that Roland Henegan, 35, formerly of the Kingsborough Men’s Shelter in Brooklyn, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for punching and stabbing a 55-year-old man at the Jay Street Subway Station in Downtown Brooklyn. The defendant pleaded guilty to assault for the unprovoked attack in July last year. The victim had been walking down a staircase at the station when Henegan grabbed him, punched him, and then stabbed him in the face and back.

Henegan was sentenced Tuesday by Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Michael Kitsis.

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ADA ELEVATORS AT 59TH ST. STATION
TO UNDERGO UPGRADES THIS WEEKEND

SUNSET PARK — COMMUTERS WHO RELY ON THE ADA ELEVATORS AT THE 59TH STREET N AND R STATION in Sunset Park will need to plan alternate routes for the weekend of Aug. 25-27, announced the MTA via Community Board 7. The ADA elevators at this station will undergo periods of non-service during the weekend while the MTA makes mechanical upgrades to two of them. The elevator serving street to mezzanine levels will be out of service from 10 p.m. Friday, Aug. 25 until 5 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 26. The elevator from the mezzanine to the southbound platform will remain out of service until noon on Sunday, Aug. 27.

Starting at 5 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 26, customers will be able to use the ADA elevators to access the northbound platform. (Please note the mezzanine to northbound platform elevator will remain in service all weekend.)

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ELECTEDS ANNOUNCE MORE FREQUENT
SUBWAY SERVICE ON N AND R LINES

BAY RIDGE AND BENSONHURST — SERVICE WILL INCREASE ON THE N AND R SUBWAY LINES starting later this month, announced State Sen. Andrew Gounardes (D-26/Western Brooklyn) and Councilmember Justin Brannan (D-43/Bay Ridge-Dyker Heights) on Tuesday, Aug. 22. The MTA will increase midday weekday service along these two lines serving Bensonhurst and Bay Ridge, with trains running every 8 minutes during the midday periods on weekdays. The current interval is 10 minutes between trains. These significant improvements in subway service in Brooklyn and the other boroughs are a direct result of funds allocated to the MTA in this year’s New York State budget.

Earlier in August, service enhancements were announced on the G, J, M, and C lines. Improvements were added to the 1 and 6 local trains, neither of which serve Brooklyn.

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BROOKLYN CONGRESSMAN PRESENTS BILL
TO REDEFINE GHOST GUNS, BAN THEIR SALES

CAPITOL HILL — A NEW BILL THAT BROOKLYN CONGRESSMAN DAN GOLDMAN HAS CO-INTRODUCED WOULD BAN the sale of “ghost guns” and permanently define their core components. Rep. Goldman (D-10/Western Brooklyn-Lower Manhattan) joined two of his colleagues in the House and Senate in presenting the legislation, which would ban the sale of unserialized and untraceable firearms that can be bought online and easily assembled at home, thus circumventing any background check. The Ghost Guns and Untraceable Firearms Act would permanently define the core building blocks of ghost guns (unfinished frames and receivers, as firearms) and would require online sellers, gun kit manufacturers and distributors to comply with the same federal regulations that govern the production and distribution of completed firearms.

The U.S. has witnessed a dramatic, thousand-fold increase in the use of ghost guns since 2016, reports the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). The number of ghost guns recovered and traced by law enforcement rose from 1,629 in 2016 to 19,273 in 2021.

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MAIMONIDES EXPANDS ITS ROBOTIC SURGERY PROGRAM

BOROUGH PARK — MAIMONIDES MEDICAL CENTER NOW HAS THE BOROUGH’S LARGEST ROBOTIC-ASSISTED surgery program, with the addition of three new robots. Maimonides has more than 25 surgeons in several specialties who utilize robotic technology in almost a thousand minimally invasive procedures each year, from abdominal, urologic and colorectal procedures to orthopedic surgeries. The additional robots will allow the hospital to perform 600-800 more surgical cases a year.

The Maimonides Urologic Surgery team in 2001 became the first in Brooklyn to offer robotic surgery. Maimonides Bone & Joint Center was the first hospital in Brooklyn to pioneer robotic joint replacement. Maimonides’ Children’s Hospital was the first hospital to offer robot-assisted surgery to the borough’s kids.

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NY STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL FIGHTS RULING
THAT 2ND AMENDMENT PROTECTS DOMESTIC ABUSERS

STATEWIDE — THE ISSUE OF WHETHER A DOMESTIC ABUSER IS COVERED BY THE SECOND AMENDMENT RIGHT TO OWN A GUN is at the heart of an action that New York Attorney General Letitia James is taking to defend a federal law that protects the victims. Attorney General James on Tuesday, Aug. 22, led a 25-state coalition in filing an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court, in defense of a federal law that prevents persons under a domestic violence restraining order from accessing guns, as part of the case, United States v. Rahimi. The coalition’s amicus brief urges the Supreme Court to overrule a lower court’s ruling that the Second Amendment prohibits disarming persons even when they are under orders of protection.

Rahimi, who is under a domestic violence restraining order and has reportedly been involved in multiple shootings, has challenged, on Second Amendment grounds, the federal law barring him from possessing a firearm.

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S.I. MAN CHARGED IN DEATH OF BROOKLYN CYCLIST ADAM USTER

CLINTON HILL — POLICE HAVE CHARGED Angel Mejia, 19, in the tragic death of cycling advocate and father Adam Uster, killed while cycling home with groceries from Wegman’s in May. Mejia, a resident of Staten Island, had turned his 2021 Isuzu Flat-bed truck to the right at the intersection of Franklin and Lexington avenues in Clinton Hill, striking Uster, who was traveling on his bicycle to the truck’s right. Uster was brought by first responders to NY Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, where he was pronounced deceased. Mejia was charged with two counts of Motor Vehicle Failure to Yield to Pedestrian/Bicycle, according to Tuesday’s release from NYPD.

Franklin Avenue where Uster was killed is a known dangerous corridor, Streetsblog reports. In the less-than-a-mile stretch between Lafayette Avenue and Fulton Street, there have been 111 reported crashes since 2020.

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LAWSUIT, ACRIMONY CLOSES CELEBRATED CHEF’S TABLE AT BROOKLYN FARE

HELL’S KITCHEN — THE CHEF’S TABLE AT BROOKLYN FARE, one of America’s most renowned restaurants (a date will cost you well over $1,000 with wine, according to Eater) moved from Schermerhorn Street in Downtown Brooklyn to Hell’s Kitchen in 2016. Now the restaurant’s celebrated chef, César Ramirez, has been fired and the Michelin three-star restaurant has closed temporarily while a lawsuit winds its way through the courts, according to the Robb Report.

Ramirez filed a lawsuit in New York State Supreme Court in July alleging that he had been “arbitrarily terminated…without cause, notice, or justification.” Meanwhile, the owner claims the famous chef stole both restaurant equipment and employees to start a new venue.

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GAINS IN BROOKLYN LUXURY HOUSING SALES

BROOKLYN — THE LUXURY HOUSING MARKET IN BROOKLYN PERKED UP last week, with 16 contracts inked for homes asking $2 million or more between Aug. 14 and Aug. 20, according to The Real Deal. This is up from 10 in the previous period. The most expensive home to enter into a contract was 227 Clinton Street in Cobble Hill, with an asking price of just under $10 million. The 5,700-square-foot townhouse has six bedrooms and four bathrooms.

Earlier this year, a home on Pacific Street in Cobble Hill sold for $12 million; a townhouse on Remsen Street in Brooklyn Heights sold with an asking price of $7.8 million, TRD reports.

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BROOKLYN ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE WORKERS FILE TO UNIONIZE: BARBENHEIMER LAST STRAW

DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN — WORKERS AT BROOKLYN ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE FILED A PETITION on Monday to unionize. Employees at the popular movie theater at the City Point complex petitioned the National Labor Relations Board on Monday for an election to join United Auto Workers Local 2179, concierge worker Jordan Baruch told Patch.

Workers have long had safety and scheduling concerns, but the record-breaking dual release of “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” — known as Barbenheimer — finally pushed them to the limit, Baruch said.

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FATHER ARRESTED, CHILDREN CRITICAL AFTER BROWNSVILLE FIRE

BROWNSVILLE — THREE CHILDREN ARE IN CRITICAL CONDITION after a fire broke out in their Brownsville apartment on Sunday, and their father, Anthony Halliburton, 37, has been arrested. While their mother was at work, Halliburton locked the young kids inside and stepped out to get groceries, and their apartment on Livonia Avenue went up in flames, PIX11 reports. Firefighters found 8-year-old Naomi, 5-year-old Tonya and 4-year-old Anthony passed out on the floor. Halliburton was charged with the abandonment of a child and endangering the welfare of a child.

A gofundme has been set up for donations to the family.

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VIRTUAL MEETING ON BQE OVERNIGHT WORK SET FOR FRIDAY

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — A VIRTUAL MEETING UPDATING THE ONGOING OVERNIGHT WORK on the Triple Cantilever section of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway will be held via Zoom on Friday, Aug. 25, from noon to 12:45 p.m., according to NYCDOT’s Community Liaison Anita Navalurkar. The interim repair work, which began Aug. 18, will continue for the next four to six weeks. During working hours, only one lane will be available in the Queens-bound direction. The Queens-bound Atlantic Ave. BQE entrance ramp will also be closed when the right Queens-bound lane is closed.

To be added to the Community Liaison’s BQE notification list or to obtain a link to the Zoom meeting, contact Navalurkar at (347) 647-0876 or [email protected].

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ALL ABOARD!: TRANSIT MUSEUM’S PARADE OF SUBWAY TRAINS, FEATURES RATTAN SEATS, CEILING FANS

KINGS HIGHWAY — NEW YORK COMMUTERS AND TRANSIT AFICIONADOS CAN TAKE A STEP BACK IN TIME during the New York Transit Museum’s Parade of Trains, approaching the weekend of Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 9-10. Straphangers can step aboard different vintage trains from the museum’s collection from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Brighton Beach B/Q platforms or the Kings Highway Manhattan-bound B/Q platform. This year’s Parade of Trains will include a number of train cars from the New York Transit Museum’s collection, including the BU Gate Cars, BRT Brooklyn Union Elevated Cars (in use 1903-1969) and the oldest cars in the Transit Museum’s vintage fleet. Shuttle rides are free with a MetroCard swipe or OMNY tap.

Although slightly older, the R1 through R9 cars (which were in use from 1930-1977), feature rattan seats, paddle ceiling fans, incandescent light bulbs, and roll signs for passenger information — all pre-World War II subway standards.

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TENTATIVE AGREEMENT TO HOUSE MIGRANTS AT FLOYD BENNETT FIELD

FLATLANDS — GOV. KATHY HOCHUL ON MONDAY ANNOUNCED that the Biden Administration has tentatively agreed to allow the state to use Floyd Bennett Field in Flatlands as a shelter for asylum seekers. “Once the final agreement is signed, we will work with Mayor Adams and his team to set up a Humanitarian Emergency Relief and Response Center at Floyd Bennett Field with the capacity to shelter more than 2,000 asylum seekers,” Hochul said in a release.

Over its 92-year history, Floyd Bennett field has contained a commercial airport, U.S. Navy air base, police helicopter base, aviation museum, drone and model airplane space, gymnasium and one of the city’s largest community gardens. The only way to reach it by public transportation is the Q-35 bus.

Runway 33 at Floyd Bennett Field.
Screengrab courtesy of Google Maps

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DISBARRED ATTORNEY CHARGED IN IMMIGRATION ASSISTANCE FRAUD, PRACTICING WITHOUT A LICENSE

DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN — A DISBARRED CROWN HEIGHTS ATTORNEY who specialized in immigration cases has been charged with stealing from nine of his clients while continuing to practice law without a license. Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez identified the defendant as Owolabi Salis, 60, of Crown Heights, who was arraigned today before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Heidi Cesare, and charged with multiple indictments, including first-degree scheme to defraud, first-degree immigrant assistance services fraud and unlawful practice of the law. After his Nov. 29, 2022 disbarment, at which he was ordered to cease practicing law and to advise his clients to seek new counsel, Salis violated the order and continued to operate a law office at 1179 Eastern Parkway and to advertise as “Salis Law P.C.” online.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations assisted with the case. The defendant was released without bail and ordered to return to court on Oct. 11.

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VERNIKOV KISSED BY RANDOM STRANGER IN ‘CREEPY MOMENT’

BRIGHTON BEACH — SOUTHERN BROOKLYN COUNCILMEMBER INNA VERNIKOV WAS KISSED ON CAMERA AGAINST HER WILL by a stranger during an interview with CBS on Thursday, reports NBC News, eliciting a stunned response of “What the f*ck?!” from the councilmember. Vernikov later on X, formerly Twitter, wrote “Not the kind of love I expect from constituents! Very creepy moment,” and thanked other area politicians for speaking out against the man on her behalf.

NBC says that no report has yet been filed with police over the incident.

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SUSPECTS IN NIGHTCLUB KIDNAPPING RELEASED WITHOUT BAIL

WILLIAMSBURG — THE SUSPECTS IN THE KIDNAPPING OF A YOUNG CONNECTICUT DOCTOR from the Brooklyn Mirage nightclub at the Avant Gardner event venue in Williamsburg were released without bail by the Connecticut courts last week, reports the New York Post, despite earlier bail amounts set at $1 million and $250,000 for the two men, who were charged with kidnapping and conspiracy to commit kidnapping, respectively. The Post reports that its efforts to contact suspect Anthony Benjamin, 42, at an address given to Connecticut authorities were unsuccessful, with a resident saying they’d never heard of him; Benjamin is accused of threatening ophthalmologist Michael Bautista, 32, into footing the bill for a $6,100 spending spree through the Bronx after tricking him into a fake taxi outside the nightclub along with alleged accomplice Steve Daley.

The kidnapping is one of several disturbing events associated with the Mirage this summer; two other young professionals, 27-year-old psychologist Karl Clemente and 27-year-old financial analyst John Castic were discovered dead in the Newtown Creek in July after being last seen leaving the club.

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NAVAL CULINARY OFFICER FROM BROOKLYN CO-PRESENTS ‘BACK-TO-SCHOOL MONTH’ CAKE

BROOKLYN TO ITALY — A NAVAL CHEF FROM BROOKLYN HELPS CELEBRATE BACK-TO-SCHOOL MONTH, all the way from Italy. Culinary Specialist 2nd Class Al-Vaughn Moe, from Brooklyn, New York (at right), and Chief Warrant Officer 3 Joe Mattia, Food Service Officer, aboard at the Naval Air Station Sigonella, from Dallas, pose in front of the national back-to-school month cake at the galley on board Naval Air Station Sigonella, on Aug. 17. NAS Sigonella’s strategic location enables U.S., allied, and partner nation forces to deploy and respond as required, ensuring security and stability in Europe, Africa and Central Command.

U.S. Navy photo by Aviation Ordnanceman 3rd Class Samayaah Smith

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MISSING SENIOR IN SUNSET PARK

SUNSET PARK — POLICE ARE SEARCHING FOR MISSING SENIOR Yun Zhang, age 73, who was last seen leaving her residence near the Fort Hamilton Parkway D train station and heading in the direction of the Fort Hamilton Parkway and New Utrecht Avenue on the afternoon of Wednesday, Aug. 16. Zhang is described as female, 5’4′ and 150 pounds, with salt-and-pepper hair and brown eyes, and was last seen wearing a purple shirt, blue jeans and a red hat.

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 CrimeStoppers website at crimestoppers.nypdonline.org.

Missing senior Yun Zhang. All calls are strictly confidential.

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POLICE SEEK MAN WHO GRABBED AND PUNCHED WOMAN ON SUBWAY

BUSHWICK — POLICE ARE SEEKING AN UNKNOWN MAN WHO HARASSED AND ASSAULTED A YOUNG WOMAN on the southbound platform of the Broadway and Myrtle Avenue J train station on the afternoon of Thursday, Aug. 17, and are investigating the incident as a hate crime. The suspect first grabbed the buttocks of the victim while standing on the platform, then followed her onto the train and engaged her in a dispute; the suspect then threatened the victim, made anti-LGBTQIA+ remarks and punched her about the face and body — causing a fracture to her nose — before fleeing from the train at the Delancey and Essex stop.

The unknown man suspected of assaulting a woman on the J train. All calls are strictly confidential.

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CITY LAUNCHES BACK-TO-SCHOOL VACCINE CAMPAIGN

CITYWIDE — A NEW, MONTHLONG BACK-TO-SCHOOL CAMPAIGN that the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene launched on Monday, Aug. 21, reminds New Yorkers — particularly the parents of school children —to make sure they are caught up on their routine vaccinations. Specific vaccine requirements vary based on a child’s age, grade and medical history. All students are required to receive the DTaP (diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis); poliovirus; MMR (measles-mumps-rubella); varicella and hepatitis B vaccines. The COVID-19 vaccine was not listed as being mandatory. The material will appear for the next month in multiple languages on radio, TV, online and social media, newspapers and subway and Staten Island Ferry digital screens.

In the past, separate shots were required for diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (whooping cough). The chickenpox vaccine became available in 1995, as did the hepatitis B vaccine.

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RENT-STABILIZED VACANCIES AVERAGED ONLY 5% SAYS CITY’S INDEPENDENT BUDGET OFFICE

CITYWIDE — AFTER NEWS AGENCIES BROK STORIES OVER THE PAST FEW MONTHS ABOUT THE VACANCY RATE of rent-stabilized apartments, the NYC New York City Independent Budget Office has released a study showing that actually fewer than 5% of rent-stabilized apartments — around 40,000 — were vacant at a given point in time. The study, made public on Monday, Aug. 21, was conducted utilizing data from the New York State Homes and Community Renewal from 2017 through 2022. It showed that on average, the majority of vacant apartments were rented within a year.

Property owners register an average of 880,000 rent-stabilized units annually with the state. IBO found that the vacancy rate has remained steady until it peaked at around 7%, or nearly 60,000 apartments, during 2021, with the pandemic likely driving the turnover. But two-thirds of these apartments had been rented by 2022.

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EX-SEALS, FIRST RESPONDERS COMPLETE GRUELING 9/11 MEMORIAL SWIM

BATTERY PARK — A GROUP OF MORE THAN 260 FIRST RESPONDERS, VETERANS AND FORMER NAVY SEALS joined a grueling charity swim-a-thon in honor of the upcoming anniversary of the 9/11 attacks and other service members in support of the Navy SEAL Foundation on Saturday, plunging into the Hudson River from Liberty Park in New Jersey, then swimming a total of 3.5 miles to Battery Park City. The muscled-up swimmers exited the water at four stations along the way, including at Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, and performed 100 pushups and 22 pull-ups at each, for a total of 400 pushups and 88 pull-ups by the end, then grabbed flags for a ceremonial run to the finish line at the World Trade Center Memorial.

The Navy SEAL Foundation provides educational, professional and health support services to active and veteran Navy special forces soldiers, as well as to their families; more information about programs offered by the nonprofit can be found on their website.

Photos: Bazza J. Holmes/Navy SEAL Foundation

Participants in the NYC SEAL Swim run with flags in honor of 9/11 victims and servicemembers.

Swimmers take the plunge into the Hudson.

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ASYLUM CASEWORK PROCESS GETS $2M FROM GOVERNOR

STATEWIDE — GOV. KATHY HOCHUL ON MONDAY, AUG. 21, IMPLEMENTED A NEW $20 million investment to speed the casework filing process for more than 30,000 asylum seekers. This investment, which adds to the $1.5 billion that the State has already allocated to addressing the crisis, will connect asylum seekers with case management services to speed the process of exiting shelter and, when necessary, filing asylum claims. Utilizing a framework that the global NGO International Rescue Committee developed, asylum seekers in the City’s shelters will be triaged using a new color-coded scale: green indicates no significant barriers to exiting shelter; yellow indicates barriers to exit that have a path to resolution; and, red indicates more complex barriers to exit that require extensive resources.

The ultimate goal of these social services is to support asylum seekers as they attain legal work status, exit the shelter system and begin independent living.

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JUDGE HALTS MARIJUANA LICENSES AFTER VETERANS’ LAWSUIT

STATEWIDE — A JUDGE ON FRIDAY ONCE AGAIN HALTED THE ISSUANCE OF NEW LICENSES FOR RECREATIONAL MARIJUANA dispensaries in New York, reports the AP, after a veterans’ rights group filed a lawsuit last week alleging that the state had unfairly restricted its first round of licenses to people formerly jailed for drug offenses, excluding other disadvantaged groups that the 2021 legalization law had defined as social and economic equity applicants, including disabled veterans as well as women- and minority-owned businesses. Current licensees who have yet to open their storefronts will be able to proceed, while other licenses may still be granted on a case-by-case basis; Justice Kevin Bryant wrote in his injunction that any losses suffered by provisional licensees are the fault of state regulators.

“It feels like we were used to getting a law passed — a good law, one that helps a lot of people, as well as the state. Then, once it was passed, we were cast aside for another agenda,” said veteran plaintiff Carmine Fiore in a press release announcing the lawsuit.

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TRADER JOE’S CRACKERS RECALLED OVER POSSIBLE CONTAMINATION

NATIONWIDE — TRADER JOE’S HAS ISSUED A NATIONWIDE RECALL OF A BATCH OF CRACKERS that may contain metal, reports USA Today. The store is warning all customers not to eat any of its Multigrain Crackers with Sunflower and Flax Seeds with expiration dates between March 1 and March 5, 2025; crackers should be discarded or returned to the store for a full refund.

Customers can get more information by contacting Trader Joe’s Customer Relations department at (626)-599-3817 on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.