What’s News, Breaking: Friday, September 8, 2023

September 8, 2023 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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NEW BILL WOULD BAN FACIAL RECOGNITION
TECHNOLOGY IN PUBLIC HOUSING

FLATBUSH AND CAPITOL HILL — FACIAL RECOGNITION TECHNOLOGY SHOULD BE BANNED IN FEDERALLY-FUNDED PUBLIC HOUSING, says Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-09), who has introduced legislation to prohibit this practice. Congressmember Clarke, whose district stretches from Crown Heights to Flatlands and Midwood, on Friday, Sept. 8, joined her colleagues Reps. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) in introducing the No Biometric Barriers Housing Act of 2023, to prohibit the usage of facial and biometric recognition technology in most federally funded public housing and require the Department of Housing and Urban Development to submit a comprehensive report to Congress about how this emerging technology impacts the public housing sector and its tenants.

Stating the need to maintain safeguards against profiling and unjust uses, Clarke said, “In its current state, facial recognition technology is undeniably flawed — we know the accuracy of facial recognition technology significantly decreases when screening people of color and women, just as we know real harms and hardships have come to individuals from these groups when victimized by false identification.”

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MEDICAL EXAMINER ANNOUNCES MORE
DNA IDENTIFICATIONS MADE OF 9/11 VICTIMS

CITYWIDE — MORE THAN TWO DECADES AFTER THE SEPT. 11, 2001 TERROR ATTACKS, the NYC Office of the Chief Medical Examiner is still in the process of identifying victims based on DNA testing of remains, with two more identifications announced just days before the tragedy’s 22nd anniversary. Mayor Eric Adams and Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Jason Graham said on Friday, Sept. 8, that a man and a woman, whose names are being withheld at the request of their families, became the 1,648th and 1,649th persons to be identified, using advanced DNA testing of remains recovered from the attack that took the lives of 2,753 people. The man’s identification was confirmed through DNA testing of remains recovered in 2001. The woman’s identification was confirmed through DNA testing of remains recovered in 2001, 2006, and 2013, bringing some closure to the longstanding grief of their loved ones.

The two identifications are the first new ones of World Trade Center victims since September 2021. Some 1,104 victims — 40% of those who died — remain unidentified.

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IN MEMORIAM
MONSIGNOR PAUL JERVIS, 69, LED CAUSE TO CANONIZE
PRIEST WHO FOUNDED BROOKLYN’S FIRST BLACK PARISH

BEDFORD-STUYVESANT AND PROSPECT-LEFFERTS GARDENS — BROOKLYN’S FAITH COMMUNITIES ARE MOURNING THE DEATH OF MONSIGNOR PAUL JERVIS, who was a champion of civil rights and racial harmony within the Diocese of Brooklyn and beyond. Monsignor Jervis, who died on Tuesday, Sept. 5 at age 69, had served at parishes within the diocese for more than 40 years, led the canonization cause of Monsignor Bernard Quinn, and, in 2005, authored the book, Quintessential Priest: The Life of Monsignor Bernard J. Quinn. The book profiled the life of Monsignor Bernard Quinn who established and pastored the first church for Black Catholics in the Diocese of Brooklyn, St. Peter Claver, who was the patron saint of slaves, African missions, and interracial justice. The service for Fr. Jervis, who served several parishes in Brooklyn and Queens, will take place at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 12 at St. Francis of Assisi-St. Blaise Church in Prospect-Lefferts Gardens.

A native of Guyana, Msgr. Jervis had immigrated to the U.S. at age 19. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1983. Pope Benedict XVI bestowed Jervis with the title Prelate of Honor, elevating him to Monsignor, in 2009.

Monsignor Paul Jervis.
Photo courtesy of DeSales Media

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KINGSBOROUGH COMMUNITY COLLEGE WILL MARK 60TH BIRTHDAY

MANHATTAN BEACH — WHEN KINGSBOROUGH COMMUNITY COLLEGE MARKS its 60th anniversary on Tuesday, Sept. 12, a family member of the founder will participate in the festivities. Kingsborough, which has a 70-acre ocean-front campus on Oriental Boulevard in Manhattan Beach and is Brooklyn’s only community college (offering two-year associate degree programs), was founded in 1963 as part of the City University of New York (CUNY). Tuesday’s 10 a.m. program will open with welcome remarks from the college’s President, Claudia Schrader, and will include a presentation of the college’s founders (with one of the founder’s family present) and proclamations from the Mayor’s Office, the NYC Council Speaker’s Office, State Sen. Jessica Scarcella-Spanton and NYS Assemblyman Michael Novakhov.

A birthday block party will take place in the QUAD, with a birthday cake cutting at 12:30 p.m.

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‘LOCS’ FESTIVAL THIS WEEKEND

BED-STUY — THE FOURTH ANNUAL LOC FEST NYC WILL TAKE PLACE AT BED-STUY’S Restoration Plaza this weekend, a daylong celebration of loc hairstyles and the culture surrounding them. Headlined by a hair and fashion show, attendees can catch performances by singers, dancers and drummers, as well as spoken word poetry and panel discussions on topics like wearing locs in the workplace and healthy living; the festival will also feature vendors and artists selling hair care products and handicrafts, along with other goodies.

Loc Fest will take place on Saturday, Sept. 9, from noon to 8 p.m.; tickets cost $30, while kids under 16 enter free and do not require tickets.

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INTERFAITH CLERGY GROUP WILL LEAD ANNUAL 9/11 SERVICE ON THE PROMENADE

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — THE ANNUAL 9/11 INTERFAITH OBSERVANCE on the Brooklyn Heights Promenade continues this coming Monday, as it has for the 22 years since the terror attacks that killed almost 3,000 people: the plane passengers and crew, first-responding personnel, clergy, civilians. On Sept. 11, 2001, people flocked to the Promenade, watching in shock as the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers collapsed after terrorists flying two U.S.-airliners hit them. The Brooklyn Heights Interfaith Clergy Association will lead the 7:15 p.m. commemoration, held at the Montague Street entrance of the Promenade and which will incorporate Scripture, prayers and other readings from several faith traditions.

This observance began in the hours and days following Sept. 11, 2001, in part as a response to a backlash against Muslims. The interfaith dialogue that began in the wake of the terror attacks has led to some now-cherished annual traditions, including the Iftar meals during Ramadan.

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VERY SPECIAL TOY STORE COMES TO HOSPITALIZED CHILDREN AT MAIMONIDES

BOROUGH PARK — CHILDREN WHO ARE HOSPITALIZED MAY FIND SOME JOY IN THE LAUNCH OF “HAPPY SHOP,” taking place next Tuesday, Sept. 12, in conjunction with Maimonides Medical Center and Toys for Hospitalized Children. The Maimonides Children’s Hospital, on 10th Avenue, will be home to the “Happy Shop,” where the children can scan a QR code to ‘buy” a complimentary toy. The treat is then delivered to the child’s hospital room the next morning.

The new program builds on the successful partnership between Maimonides and the nonprofit organization Toys for Hospitalized Children.

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HEIGHTS CONDOS TOP CHARTS IN SLOW MONTH FOR LUXURY SALES

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — A FOUR-BEDROOM LUXURY CONDO UNIT ON THE BROOKLYN WATERFRONT topped last week’s list of the priciest home sales in the borough, reports the Real Deal, with the 20th floor unit at the Quay Tower changing hands for an estimated $5.4 million. The second most expensive sale in the borough was another four-bedroom apartment, also in Brooklyn Heights at the new 1 Clinton Street building, with an asking price of $4.5 million; this period, however, was a slow one for the luxury market in Brooklyn, with only 10 sales recorded with prices over $2 million.

The luxury apartment buildings edging Brooklyn Bridge Park have become a favorite of celebrities, with “Euphoria” star Zendaya purchasing a unit in the Quay in 2020, while rapper Kendrick Lamar scooped up the penthouse at the Pierhouse, at the opposite end of the park in August.

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LONG ISLAND JOBS WITH JUSTICE WILL HONOR CANON MARIE TATRO OF EPISCOPAL DIOCESE HERE

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — CANON MARIE TATRO OF THE EPISCOPAL DIOCESE OF LONG ISLAND, WHO HAS FOR MANY YEARS BEEN AFFILIATED WITH PARISHES IN BROOKLYN, will be honored next Wednesday, Sept. 13. Long Island Jobs With Justice will honor Canon Tatro at a ticketed event held at Captain Bill’s restaurant in Bay Shore for her work as a dedicated organizer and advocate for justice. Tatro serves as the Canon for Community Justice Ministry of the Episcopal Diocese of Long Island, and a Priest Associate at St. Ann & the Holy Trinity Church and Pro-Cathedral. Before attending seminary, Canon Marie worked for 19 years as an attorney in the non-profit sector, where she represented low-income New Yorkers dealing with the civil court system.

A master of divinity degree graduate of The General Theological Seminary, Canon Tatro holds a juris doctorate from CUNY Law School and a bachelor of arts cum laude from Amherst College. She has also served in various ordained and law ministries at Grace Church and other parishes within the diocese.

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EX-POLICE OFFICER APPEARS TO WAVE GUN AT MIGRANTS

CLINTON HILL — A CLINTON HILL TEMPORARY IMMIGRATION SHELTER WAS SET ON EDGE Monday night, reports The City, after a brawl between two groups of shelter residents over a bike was escalated when an ex-police officer guard intervened by allegedly pointing a handgun at the fighters. Videos taken of the conflict show a chaotic scene: at the start of the footage, a shelter staffer stands between the guard, Jermaine Clark, and an angry resident, before Clark vaults over a low barricade into the center of a group of onlookers. They scatter as he displays the alleged handgun, then follow him down the street and yell while he backs away into the shelter’s lobby.

Police who later arrived at the scene arrested Jose Alvaredo, the man arguing with Clark at the start of the video. Prosecutors say Clark told them Alvaredo had swung a traffic cone at him during the fight, Alvaredo denied ever swinging the traffic cone and told The City that he felt the situation was unjust, saying that Clark had pointed the gun at him and that the arresting officers had hit him in the stomach with a baton.

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UPSKIRT PHOTO CREEP TARGETS 11-YEAR-OLD

BROWNSVILLE — POLICE ARE WARNING THE PUBLIC TO BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR AN UNKNOWN man who on the afternoon of Thursday, Aug. 24, approached an 11-year-old girl on Bergen Street near the Kingsborough Houses and began to follow her down the street. He then placed a cellphone beneath the girl’s dress and took pictures with it, before fleeing on foot eastward down Bergen.

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, or on X (Twitter) @NYPDTips.

Police released photos of the bearded man suspected of taking pictures up a young girl’s skirt. All calls are strictly confidential.

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‘SHOFAR ACROSS BROOKLYN’ COMES TO SEVERAL NEIGHBORHOODS NEXT WEEKEND

BOROUGHWIDE — BROOKLYN’S JEWISH COMMUNITIES WILL BE ABLE TO HEAR the traditional shofar soundings in several Brooklyn neighborhoods during the High Holy Days, which begin at sundown on Friday, Sept. 15, thanks to the UJA-Federation of New York. The organization is sponsoring “Shofar Across Brooklyn,” featuring 25 outdoor locations across the borough where synagogues and local organizations will sound the traditional Biblical instrument on Sunday, Sept. 17, at 4:30 p.m. Among the sites are Brooklyn Bridge Park, B’SHeRT in Prospect Heights/Kensington, the Promenade with Chabad of Brooklyn Heights, Shorefront YM/YWHA in Sheepshead Bay, and several locations in Park Slope and Prospect Heights, including at Grand Army Plaza. More locations listed online.

Another Rosh HaShanah ritual in which some of the Shofar Across Brooklyn congregations will also participate is the Tashlich tradition, to symbolically throw away one’s sins to start the new year.

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COMPTROLLER SLAMS MIGRANT CONTRACT WITH HEALTH COMPANY

CITYWIDE — CITY COMPTROLLER BRAD LANDER ON WEDNESDAY ANNOUNCED THAT he would not be giving his approval to a deal struck by City Hall with the controversial medical company DocGo to provide services for asylum seekers in exchange for $435 million, reports Spectrum News, citing “numerous outstanding concerns”: these include a lack of transparency over the high price tag, a lack of confidence that a medical services company had the right experience for the job and “serious questions” raised over the company’s responsibility and integrity. The mayor, however, is allowed to override Lander’s objection and sign a contract with DocGo on his own — both Adams and DocGo have announced their intentions to move ahead with or without Lander’s approval.

DocGo has made several blunders in its recent attempt at changing focus from COVID response to immigration management, notably the hiring of 50 unlicensed security guards to monitor upstate hotels in which the city was housing migrants. These lax hiring practices may have resulted in harm to the migrants, including two alleged sexual assaults.

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ANTI-WEED GROUP LAUNCHES NEW SUIT VS STATE

ALBANY — AN ANTI-MARIJUANA CAMPAIGNING GROUP, THE CANNABIS IMPACT PREVENTION COALITION, HAS FILED a new lawsuit against the state and the Office of Cannabis Management, reports the Times Union. The suit alleges that New York is breaking federal law and engaging in drug trafficking by managing the state’s Cannabis Social Equity Fund, intended to help disadvantaged residents open weed businesses, and overseeing its dispensary licensing process. The lawsuit also names Gov. Kathy Hochul and several other state officials as defendants, and accuses them personally of “attempting to orchestrate a marijuana trafficking operation sponsored by the state of New York utilizing taxpayer funds and public employees and resources.” The group contends that New York is not allowed to set cannabis policy that contradicts that of the federal government.

The new suit joins several others that have contributed to a very delayed rollout of the state’s recreational marijuana program, including a suit that prevented any dispensary licenses from being issued in Brooklyn until April of this year and another suit filed last month by a group of veterans that temporarily enjoined the state from issuing licenses once again.

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OFFICE COMPANY WEWORK TO RENEGOTIATE RENTS

NATIONWIDE — THE COWORKING OFFICE SPACE COMPANY WEWORK on Wednesday announced its intention to approach the landlords for its many worldwide office buildings and renegotiate rents at lower rates, reports the New York Times, citing ongoing difficulties in attracting its target customers — freelancers, startups and small teams — since the pandemic ushered the era of work-from-home. The once-prominent company has faced significant financial turmoil as the need for office space has continued to decline despite a post-COVID return to normal, losing $15 billion since 2017; it recently reported that its occupancy and membership rates had declined in the second quarter from the first this year, and is struggling to keep its share price above the $1 mark that it needs to stay listed in the New York Stock Exchange.

WeWork’s founders began their business partnership in Brooklyn, starting the DUMBO coworking space Greendesk together. The company became an anchor tenant in the new Navy Yard office building Dock 72 in October 2019 — but just three years later announced that it would be downsizing that flagship space due to performance concerns.