What’s News, Breaking: Tuesday, September 26, 2023

September 26, 2023 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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ANTI-DRAG QUEEN BOMB THREAT IN BROOKLYN JUST ONE OF SEVERAL ACROSS U.S. OVER WEEKEND

DITMAS PARK — A FALSE BOMB THREAT FORCED FAMILIES TO ABANDON a kid-friendly Drag Story Hour NYC event at the Cortelyou Library branch in Ditmas Park this past Saturday, according to reports in Gothamist and the New York Post. NYPD later confirmed that an email threat was sent to the branch by an unknown individual in Buffalo. Local Councilmember Rita Joseph said that city councilmembers planned to discuss potential legislative remedies. According to The Advocate, the Brooklyn bomb threat was just one of several threats to LGBTQ+ community members across the U.S. this past weekend.

“The orchestrated attempts to induce fear and disrupt peaceful groups reflect a grim reality in a political environment that has seen Republican lawmakers and pundits create culture wars against vulnerable groups, including the LGBTQ+ community,” The Advocate said.

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AMAZON LAWSUIT INCLUDES ALLEGATIONS
ON COERCING FULFILLMENT CENTER USE

NEW YORK AND NATIONWIDE — A LAWSUIT AGAINST AMAZON THAT THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION and 17 state attorneys general have initiated alleges not only that the online retail giant is violating federal and state antitrust laws but is also forcing sellers to use its logistics service, Fulfillment by Amazon, in order to make their products eligible for Amazon Prime. Among the complaints stipulated is that a majority of third-party merchants who use the company’s fulfillment service to store inventory and ship orders have seen Amazon raise its fees for those who depend on the program. Last quarter, Amazon reported $32.3 billion in revenue from third-party services.

Amazon maintains several fulfillment and distribution (last mile delivery) locations within Brooklyn, including an Amazon Fresh Warehouse on Bay St. on the Red Hook waterfront, a Warehouse Fulfillment Center on 38th Street in Borough Park; a fulfillment center at 850 Third Avenue (Industry City), one on Flatlands Avenue in East New York and a warehouse on Linden Boulevard in East New York, among others.

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‘BKLYN ROCKS’ HIP-HOP FESTIVAL AT BEDFORD STUYVESANT RESTORATION

BEDFORD-STUYVESANT — BEDFORD STUYVESANT RESTORATION CORP. is hosting “BKLYN Rocks,” a celebration of hip-hop’s 50th Anniversary, in the heart of Bed-Stuy, this Friday, Sept. 29, and Saturday, Sept. 30. All festivities will take place on Restoration Plaza, 1368 Fulton St. BKLYN Rocks aims to showcase the borough’s rich artistic tapestry, ethnic diversity and community-driven initiatives.

While Friday’s Hip-Hop Symposium is sold out, Saturday features a free music festival and block party with multiple DJs, roller skating, double dutch, community graffiti mural, Brooklyn Nets dance demo, and hip-hop pioneer April Walker’s fashion showcase, all taking place from noon to 6 p.m.

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NEW YORK LANDMARKS CONSERVANCY MARKS 50TH YEAR
WITH ‘I AM PRESERVATION’ VIDEO SERIES

CITYWIDE — THE NEW YORK LANDMARKS CONSERVANCY IS CELEBRATING ITS 50TH ANNIVERSARY by creating a video series and New Yorkers are encouraged to participate. The video series, titled “I am Preservation,” exhibits the widespread love of landmarks throughout the city and demonstrates the importance of historic preservation to many people. Some of the short video clips already submitted are of people representing the New York Building Congress, Coney Island Museum and Roosevelt Island Tramway. Interested readers can visit www.nylandmarks.org for specific details and tips on how to make one’s own “I am Preservation” video. Participants should briefly comment on what they love about New York City landmarks or a specific historic building, place, or structure. Completed videos or downloadable clips should be emailed to [email protected].

Founded in 1973, the New York Landmarks Conservancy advocates for sensible development, and offers technical expertise and financial support, having loaned and granted more than $60 million in more than 1,300 restoration projects throughout the state.

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‘INCROYABLE!’ NYC PARIS BAGUETTE WORKERS WIN $2.7M SETTLEMENT

CITYWIDE — WORKERS AT PARIS BAGUETTE CAFES ACROSS NYC HAVE WON a settlement with the company over numerous violations of the city’s Fair Workweek Law, which gives fast food and retail workers the right to a predictable schedule, among other rights. The settlement, announced by the city’s Dept. of Consumer Affairs, covers the period from November 2017 to October 2020, and requires Paris Baguette to pay $2.7 million in restitution to more than 1,500 workers, $270,000 in civil penalties and other costs, and comply with the law.

In Brooklyn, Paris Baguette cafes are located at 97 Court St. in Brooklyn Heights and 5810 Eighth Ave. in Sunset Park.

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FTC, ATTORNEYS GENERAL ACROSS U.S. SUE
AMAZON FOR ‘MONOPOLISTIC’ POLICIES

NATIONWIDE — A LAWSUIT AGAINST THE ONLINE RETAIL COMPANY AMAZON HAS BEEN FILED, with NY Attorney General Letitia James leading a bipartisan coalition of her counterparts in 17 states from New England to Oregon, and the Federal Trade Commission as the plaintiffs. The FTC and coalition allege that the online retail and technology company is a monopolist that uses a set of interlocking anticompetitive and unfair strategies to illegally maintain its monopoly power. According to the Office of Attorney General James, the complaint alleges that Amazon violates the law not because it is big, but because it engages in a course of exclusionary conduct that prevents current competitors from growing and new competitors from emerging. By stifling competition on price, product selection, and quality, and by preventing its current or future rivals from attracting a critical mass of shoppers and sellers, Amazon is accused of ensuring that no current or future rival can threaten its dominance.

Amazon is also accused of degrading the customer experience by replacing relevant, organic search results with paid advertisements — and deliberately increasing junk ads.

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SEN. GILLIBRAND ANNOUNCES $20M
FOR URBAN FORESTRY PROJECTS

CITYWIDE — NEW YORK CITY IS GETTING $20 MILLION FOR ENVIRONMENT-FRIENDLY PROJECTS, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand announced during a press conference on Tuesday, Sept. 26, at the Central Park Arsenal. The funding will underwrite two projects of the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation: the first establishes a green job training and employment program, for forest restoration careers for underserved communities. The second project includes growing the urban forest through planting trees and preserving existing trees, promotes community engagement through outreach, education, and empowerment and offers paid training and employment opportunities for youth and adults, focusing on workforce development and green jobs. Senator Gillibrand helped secure this funding in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which included $1.5 billion over the next decade for the U.S. Forest Service’s Urban and Community Forestry program.

Also receiving a portion of the funds will be a project named The Bronx is Blooming, which engages K-12 students in environmental education and tree stewardship and provides green jobs and forestry training for local youth.

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WITH 13-YEAR-OLDS GETTING HIV, NYC SCHOOLS LAUNCH NEW LESSONS

CITYWIDE — ALL NYC KIDS STARTING IN KINDERGARTEN will learn about HIV with a newly updated curriculum, Schools Chancellor David C. Banks announced on Tuesday. The new curriculum, Growing Up and Staying Safe: New York City K-12 HIV Education Curriculum, is “skills-based, student-centered, and culturally responsive, and reflects advances in HIV prevention and treatment guidelines that have changed substantially in the past decade,” the city said in a release. The school system hopes to provide “potentially life-saving skills” for kids in NYC, where 37% of people newly diagnosed with HIV in 2021 were 13-29 years old.

Officials said the lessons are “age-appropriate,” and were developed in partnership with HIV and medical experts, educators and community members, and include lesson overviews for parents and caregivers. Teachers will receive a “30-minute self-guided Introduction to HIV Education course.”

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NYC RESIDENTS CAN NOW USE CITY RENTAL ASSISTANCE VOUCHERS ANYWHERE IN THE STATE

STATEWIDE — NYC RESIDENTS USING CITY-FUNDED RENTAL ASSISTANCE VOUCHERS can now choose to live not only in the city, but anywhere in the state, Mayor Eric Adams said Tuesday. The mayor said the decision was made in the face of a serious housing shortage, with a record-high shelter population totaling more than 113,000 individuals. “These reforms will give longtime New Yorkers the ability to move out of our city’s shelter system to other parts of the state with more affordable housing options, while simultaneously opening up space in our city’s shelter system … We hope our partners across the state will greet these longtime New Yorkers with open arms and good job opportunities,” Adams said in a statement.

The CityFHEPS voucher program currently supports 30,000 households, with 10,000 additional voucher-holders still in homeless shelters due to lack of affordable housing, the city said. The Brooklyn Eagle has reached out to City Hall for more information regarding how moving out of the city will affect voucher-users’ residency status.

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DR. PATRICK BORGEN WILL LEAD MAIMONIDES HEALTH’S
15TH ANNUAL RIDE 2 LIVE EVENT

BOROUGH PARK — WHEN A GROUP OF BIKERS TAKE TO THE ROAD THIS SUNDAY, they will ride to raise awareness for the Maimonides Breast Center and research on a deadly form of cancer. Maimonides hosts its 15th Annual Ride 2 Live Motorcycle Tour to support breast cancer care. Leading the ride will be Dr. Patrick Borgen, chair of the Department of Surgery and director of the Maimonides Breast Center. Registration for the October 1 event starts at 10 a.m; at the Maimonides Breast Center (745 64th St.). Kickstands go up at noon sharp.

The Maimonides Breast Center, which has received several prestigious awards, offers comprehensive and holistic treatment plans that include mental health care in response to the psychological and emotional aspects of being a patient.

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FALLEN TREE DISRUPTS N TRAIN SERVICE
BUT MTA CLEARS DEBRIS WITHIN 2 HOURS

SUNSET PARK — MTA FRONTLINE CREWS TOOK ONLY TWO HOURS TO CLEAR AWAY A TREE AND the debris from its branches that fell onto the southbound N train tracks near 8th Avenue and Fort Hamilton Parkway on Monday, Sept. 25. The tree, which fell around 11:29 a.m. on Monday, was a casualty of strong winds and heavy rains from Tropical Storm Ophelia’s trek through the Northeast and the New York metropolitan area. Crews by 1:30 p.m. had cleared the track of all tree debris, enabling service to be restored before the evening rush hour.

D trains were also being diverted. MTA kept riders updated via its website, apps, email and digital signage.

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COMING UP THIS WEEKEND: 2023 DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN ARTS FESTIVAL

DOWNTOWN — THE 2023 DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN ARTS FESTIVAL is taking place this Friday and Saturday, Sept. 29-30 on The Plaza at 300 Ashland Pl. The free annual festival, presented by Downtown Brooklyn Partnership and sponsored by Two Trees Management and Orange Barrel Media, is a celebration of Downtown Brooklyn’s cultural community and creative spirit. The event brings performances, interactive experiences and family activities with acclaimed arts organizations including LayeRhythm, Chop and Quench, the Knights Orchestra, BRIC Arts Media, Theatre for a New Audience, UrbanGlass, Mark Morris and more.

The full schedule of festival events can be found online.

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POLICE SEEK AMAZON PACKAGE THIEF IN BUSHWICK

BUSHWICK — POLICE ARE LOOKING FOR A MAN SUSPECTED IN A STRING OF THEFTS from Amazon delivery vehicles across Bushwick over the summer. On Aug. 8, he allegedly entered an Amazon vehicle in front of 86 George Street and removed multiple packages before fleeing. He struck again in the same manner on Aug. 9 at 18 Jefferson St.; on Aug. 13 at 123 Melrose St.; and on Aug. 19 at 143 Jefferson St. In addition, the same individual is suspected of entering a parking garage at 594 Bushwick Ave. on July 13 and taking a scooter.

Anyone with information regarding these incidents 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 submit tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website.

Suspect in multiple thefts in Bushwick.
Photo: NYPD

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NY TIMES SPOTLIGHTS WORK OF BROOKLYN CAT CAFÉ OWNER

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — BROOKLYN HEIGHTS RESIDENT AND CAT CAFÉ FOUNDER ANNE LEVIN WAS THE SUBJECT of a New York Times feature last Saturday, Sept. 23, focusing on how the animal rescue hero spends her Sundays. Levin is executive director of the Brooklyn Bridge Animal Welfare Coalition — which provides animal rescuers with veterinary, foster and adoptive support — and a co-founder of its affiliated cat café. In fact, the Brooklyn Cat Café is the only one in NYC that is owned and operated by a local, non-profit, 501c3 animal rescue organization with a focus on supporting animal rescuers and owners. The NY Times feature followed Anne Levin through a sample Sunday, which is anything but typical because she often prioritizes emergencies for the safety and well-being of the cats.

The Brooklyn Cat Café has expanded to include an adoptable menagerie of gerbils and even rats, including an orphaned baby subway rat, whom she raised and named after an American founding father, Alexander Hamilton.

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‘WE ARE BROWNSVILLE,’ PROCLAIMS NEWLY-UNVEILED MURAL

BROWNSVILLE — A NEW MURAL HAS BEEN UNVEILED AT THE MARCUS GARVEY APARTMENTS, proclaiming “We are Brownsville.” The mural, entitled “We Are, I Am,” gracing the corner of Rockaway Boulevard and Dumont Avenue, depicts a crowd raising signs proclaiming “We are Brownsville,” a young woman passionately speaking into a megaphone, and a man holding a long planted vine in the palm of his hands. Marcus Garvey was selected as the mural’s installation site when Groundswell, an organization that brings together artists, youth, and local partners to use art as a tool for social change, received a grant from the Department of Criminal Justice Services to produce a community-driven art project that would both galvanize and beautify the neighborhood.

Mural participants participated in a series of workshops and solicited feedback from community members to ensure that their perspectives were reflected in the design.

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FORMER MARS FUDGE & FRUIT CO. SITE TRANSFORMED INTO AFFORDABLE HOUSING FOR SENIORS

BEDFORD-STUYVESANT — AN AFFORDABLE HOUSING LOTTERY FOR SENIORS has kicked off in Bedford-Stuyvesant, with 20 slots reserved for seniors at risk of homelessness and other set-asides for seniors with mobility, sight or hearing disabilities. The former Mars Fudge and Fruit Company site has been reborn as the 63-unit 811 Lexington Avenue Senior Residences. The $36 million complex is a result of a collaboration between IMPACCT Brooklyn and the Northeastern Conference of Seventh Day Adventists. The lottery closes on Nov. 9, 2023, details online.

Greek diners across NYC used to buy fillings for their fruit pies at the now-defunct Mars Fudge and Fruit Company, including the “ubiquitous lemon meringue pie … filled with Mars’s Lemon Supreme,” the New York Times reported in 1991.

The newly-transformed 811 Lexington Avenue Senior Residences.
Photo: IMPACCT Brooklyn

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BELOVED POLITICAL PROFESSIONAL FIGHTING FOR HIS LIFE AFTER BROOKLYN BIKE CRASH

PARK SLOPE — A WELL-KNOWN AND BELOVED POLITICAL PR PROFESSIONAL is fighting for his life with traumatic brain injury after he was hit by a car while riding his bike in Park Slope on Friday, according to reports in Patch and a gofundme set up by his friends. Jacob Priley, 30, was in critical condition Sunday, days after a crash knocked him off his bike on Fifth Avenue near Union Street about 7:30 p.m. Priley, on a green light, made an “abrupt left turn” onto Union Street — colliding with an SUV on Fifth Avenue which also had a green light, NYPD told Patch.

Priley, an account supervisor with BerlinRosen, recently worked as chief of staff for state Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal. The gofundme, which has raised more than $79,000 as of Monday, can be found online.

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GREEN PROJECTS IN NEW YORK WILL GET $20M BOOST

CITYWIDE — $20 MILLION IN FEDERAL FUNDS WILL BE ALLOCATED TO PLANT AND MAINTAIN TREES AND FOR OTHER CLIMATE-FRIENDLY and green projects in New York State, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is expected to announce on Tuesday, Sept. 26. Sen. Gillibrand will hold a press conference with NYC Deputy Mayor Meera Joshi, NYC Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue and Executive Director of New York Restoration Project Lynn Kelly at the Central Park Arsenal to announce the funding, which will be distributed to the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation and The Bronx is Blooming.

Sen. Gillibrand helped secure this funding in the Inflation Reduction Act which included $1.5 billion over the next 10 years for the U.S. Forest Service’s Urban and Community Forestry program.

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REVITALIZATION GROUP WILL HONOR THREE BUILDING INDUSTRY LEADERS

CITYWIDE — NEW YORK BUILDING CONGRESS PRESIDENT AND CEO CARLO SCISSURA, the trade association’s past chair Elizabeth Velez, and Lisa Bova-Hiatt, CEO of the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), will be honored on Nov. 1 as part of the 25th anniversary of Rebuilding Together New York City. The ticketed event, taking place at the New York Athletic Club, will salute the three industry leaders for their commitments to affordable housing and building a more equitable, livable city. Founded in 1998, Rebuilding Together NYC is a non-profit organization focusing on housing preservation, community revitalization and workforce development.

The 102-year-old New York Building Congress, founded in 1921 as a forum for addressing the city’s construction needs, works in tandem with the building and real estate industries. Its President since 2017, Carlo Scissura has strong roots in this borough, as a past president and CEO of the Brooklyn Chamber of Congress, and before that as Chief of Staff to former Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz.

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ELIJAH HUTCHINSON TAPPED FOR TOP CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE POST

CITY HALL — MAYOR ERIC ADAMS ANNOUNCED on Monday the appointment of Elijah M. Hutchinson as executive director of the Mayor’s Office of Climate and Environmental Justice, which is responsible for reducing NYC’s emissions and preparing the city for the intensifying impacts of climate change. Prior to this appointment, Hutchinson, a resident of Brooklyn, led coastal resilience and new greenway initiatives as vice president for waterfronts at the NYC Economic Development Corporation. “Our Office of Climate and Environmental Justice is the tip of the spear in our fight to dismantle decades of environmental racism and build a cleaner, greener, more sustainable city,” Adams said in a statement.

The appointment was praised by Brooklyn leaders including Lindsay Greene, president and CEO, Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation, who said that Hutchinson “deeply appreciates that climate issues are deeply entertained with issues of racial and economic justice.”

Elijah M. Hutchinson, the new executive director of the Mayor’s Office of Climate and Environmental Justice.
Photo: NYC Mayor’s Office

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NYC HEALTH DEPT. WARNS OF ‘HISTORIC’ OVERDOSE CRISIS, SURGE IN DEATHS

CITYWIDE — THE NYC DEPT. OF HEALTH ISSUED AN ADVISORY on Monday warning that overdose deaths across the city jumped 12% in just one year, and the opioid Fentanyl was detected in 81% of these deaths. Provisional data show 3,026 overdose deaths in 2022, the highest number of deaths since reporting began in 2000. “This crisis is killing a New Yorker every three hours and is impacting every individual and family in our city and in our nation,” said Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan. “Everyone should carry naloxone, get trained to use it and to recognize the signs of overdose,” he said, adding that no one should use or allow anyone else to use drugs alone.

Black New Yorkers between the ages of 55 and 84 had the highest rate of overdose deaths between 2021-2022, DOH said.

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HOCHUL DEPLOYS ADDITIONAL NATIONAL GUARD TO SUPPORT RESPONSE TO MIGRANT CRISIS

CITYWIDE — GOV. KATHY HOCHUL DEPLOYED AN ADDITIONAL 150 MEMBERS of the New York National Guard to support the ongoing response to the city’s migrant crisis, she announced at the 369th Regiment Armory in Harlem on Monday. Because of this new deployment, the state will be able to assign 250 National Guard personnel full-time to case management to help asylum-seekers file paperwork to attain legal status and become self-supporting. The state has invested $50 million in case management thus far, Hochul said.

“That brings our total to 2,200 National Guard members supporting the overall mission and what this will allow us to do – 250 National Guard members will focus solely on case management,” she said.

Gov. Kathy Hochul at the 369th Regiment Armory in Harlem on Monday.
Photo: Susan Watts, Office of Governor Kathy Hochul

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REPORT: NYC AMBULANCE RESPONSE TIMES INCREASE, ENDANGERING LIVES

CITYWIDE — THE AVERAGE TIME for a city ambulance to respond to a life-threatening emergency has increased by 36 seconds (to 10:43 minutes) compared to last year, reports Work-Bites, which obtained the data from the recently released Mayor’s Management Report for fiscal year 2023. Reflecting a troubling trend, response time is 1:21 minutes longer this year than it was four years ago. The publication points out that brain death starts to occur 4–6 minutes after cardiac arrest, and that “few attempts at resuscitation succeed after 10 minutes.” Uniformed Firefighter Association President Andy Ansbro told Work-Bites, “Five years ago, you had a 25% better chance of surviving a heart attack than you do today.”

Some reasons listed for the longer response times are the city’s aging ambulance fleet, with fewer rigs available to be deployed; an increase in medical emergencies; and streets jammed with more traffic.

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GOV. HOCHUL APPLAUDS SCREENWRITERS’ TENTATIVE DEAL

STATEWIDE — SAYING THAT HUNDREDS OF BUSINESSES AND FILM PROJECTS ACROSS NEW YORK WERE IMPACTED in the Screenwriters Guild Strike, NY Governor Kathy Hochul on Monday, Sept. 25, applauded the tentative agreement to end the five-month walkout. “For months, negotiations brought the film industry to a halt, impacting hundreds of small businesses, film projects and thousands of workers all across New York State…New York’s film industry is the backbone of our economy, creating more than 50,000 direct and indirect jobs each year and generating at least $35 billion in investment over the past decade.”

Gov. Hochul added, “I was proud to stand with workers on the picket line and meet last week with MPA studio executives to urge them to reach a timely agreement.” She expressed hope also that the Screen Actors Guild- American Federation of Television and Radio Artists would also progress toward a labor agreement to get New Yorkers back to work.

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HOCHUL: GOP’S GOV. SHUTDOWN WILL HAVE ‘SIGNIFICANT IMPACTS’ ON HEALTH & SAFETY OF NEW YORKERS

STATEWIDE — GOV. KATHY HOCHUL SAID THE LOOMING GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN, which she called “another problem originating from Congressional Republicans,” would furlough many of the state’s 51,000 federal employees, and “will have significant impacts on the health and safety of New Yorkers.” In a statement on Monday, she listed some of the programs that would be affected, including Section 8 housing vouchers and transfers, food inspections, nutritional benefits for pregnant mothers, infants and children, storm disaster aid, funds for New York’s asylum-seeker crisis and more.

On the national level, financial markets could be rattled as millions of federal workers face delayed paychecks, including many of the roughly 2 million military personnel and more than 2 million civilian workers — from Transportation Security Administration agents who operate security at airports to Postal Service workers to passport agents, PBS reports.

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NEW FAITH-BASED ONLINE TOOL GAUGES VIEWS ON RACISM

NATIONWIDE — A NEW FAITH-BASED RESOURCE ON RACIAL JUSTICE IS AVAILABLE via the National Association of Evangelicals, reports the Religion News Service. The online “Racial Justice Assessment tool,” which on Monday, Sept. 25, was posted on the organization’s website, offers an assessment questionnaire and is designed to provide users with suggestions of books, videos, articles and online courses to consider based on their answers to a brief survey about racism and equality. Recent research has shown gaps in various religious groups’ views on racial matters. For example, on the question of whether overlooking racism is a bigger problem than perceiving racism where it may not actually exist, a majority of white evangelicals, mainline Protestants and Catholics said that the latter is a larger issue, but Black Protestants and non-religious Americans disagreed with that perspective.

The collaborative hopes to continue to expand its offerings, including a fall retreat for Black and Indigenous people of color that aims to provide “spiritual encouragement” for evangelical leaders who work on racial justice and reconciliation, lead predominantly white organizations or are involved in starting multiethnic churches.

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HEALTH INSURANCE RESTORED FOR 500K PEOPLE KICKED OFF MEDICAID BY COMPUTER GLITCH

NATIONWIDE — ROUGHLY 500,000 PEOPLE WHO RECENTLY LOST MEDICAID COVERAGE ARE REGAINING their health insurance as states work on fixing computer glitches that didn’t properly evaluate people’s eligibility after the end of the coronavirus pandemic, PBS/AP reported on Thursday. The computer issues affected people in 29 states and the District of Columbia and likely included a significant number of children, according to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Around 70,000 New Yorkers, including about 41,000 children, were inappropriately dropped from Medicaid in June, July and August because of the glitch, and will have their coverage reinstated for an additional 12 months, New York Medicaid Director Amir Bassiri said.

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SCREENWRITERS UNION REACHES TEMPORARY DEAL TO END STRIKE THAT LASTED FIVE MONTHS

NATIONWIDE — THE UNION THAT REPRESENTS SCREENWRITERS ON SUNDAY, SEPT. 24, REACHED A TENTATIVE AGREEMENT with Hollywood studios to end a historic strike after nearly five months, reports the Associated Press. The Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, the latter representing studios, issued a joint statement announcing the tentative deals, whose details have not been fully publicized. The agreement still faces two crucial votes: those of the boards of the WGA’s eastern and western branches, and then the union’s entire membership must approve it.

While the actors remain on strike in a separate dispute, negotiators hope that the deal with the screenwriters will also encourage them to reach an agreement.