What’s News, Breaking: Wednesday, October 25, 2023

October 25, 2023 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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LATEST MURAL UNVEILED AT HOSPITAL
CELEBRATES CONEY ISLAND HERITAGE

CONEY ISLAND — NYC HEALTH + HOSPITALS ON WEDNESDAY, OCT. 25, UNVEILED A NEW MURAL as part of the Community Mural Project, run by the health system’s Arts in Medicine department. Artist Kristy McCarthy developed the latest mural, titled “Together We Heal” at NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health, through a series of focus groups with community members, staff and patients. “Together We Heal” is a two-part mural that pays homage to the vibrant history and culture of Coney Island. Located in the waiting room of the adult emergency department, the first section of the mural includes rabbits, which originally inhabited the area and gave Coney Island its name. The mural pays tribute to the hospital’s origins as a modest beachfront first aid station, the hospital’s Hammett Pavilion, which is set for demolition this year and the newly constructed Ruth Bader Ginsburg Hospital.

The first 26 murals are featured in a new book, Healing Walls: New York City Health + Hospitals Community Mural Project 2019-2021.

The first section of Together We Heal (2023) by artist Kristy McCarthy, located in the waiting room of the adult emergency department at NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health
Photo: NYC Health + Hospitals-South Brooklyn Health

The second section of Together We Heal (2023) by artist Kristy McCarthy, located in the waiting room of the pediatric emergency department at NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health
Photo: NYC Health + Hospitals-South Brooklyn Health

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LPC AWARDS GRANT TO OWNER
OF NOBLE ST. HOME FOR REPAIRS

GREENPOINT — A NOBLE STREET HOUSE IN THE GREENPOINT HISTORIC DISTRICT WILL GET SOME REPAIRS AND REFURBISHMENT, thanks to a $60,000 Landmarks Preservation Commission Grant as part of the LPC’s Historic Preservation Grant Program. The house at 134 Noble Street will get cornice repair and painting, brownstone stoop resurfacing, and lead paint remediation. The grants, funded through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Community Development Block Grant Program, are awarded based on the number of applications received and funding available, income eligibility and financial need, building conditions and repairs, and the effect the grant will have on improving the building and/or historic district.

Grant recipients also receive help with preparing the contractor bid documents and selecting qualified contractors. LPC grant program staff makes site visits as work is underway and they oversee the project through to completion.

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AGATE COURT HOMEOWNERS AWARDED
LPC AWARDS FOR NEEDED REPAIRS

BEDFORD-STUYVESANT — THREE HOUSES ON AGATE COURT — PART OF A CUL-DE-SAC HISTORIC district in Bedford-Stuyvesant — are among four in Brooklyn that have been awarded grants from the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, through its Historic Preservation Grant Program. The funds help low-to-moderate-income homeowners and non-profit organizations make needed repairs to their landmark properties. The owner of 5 Agate Court, part of the Alice and Agate Courts Historic District, was awarded $36,000 for window replacement to match the historic configuration and lead paint remediation. The owner of 14 Agate Court was awarded $34,000 and the owner of 16 Agate Court was awarded $24,000, both for front door replacement to match the historic configuration and lead paint remediation.

Agate Court is just off Atlantic Avenue in Bedford-Stuyvesant. One gets a bird’s-eye view of the enclave while riding on the northbound side of LIRR trains heading between Atlantic Terminal and Jamaica.

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BROOKLYN’S U.S. CONGRESSMEMBERS TO HOLD BLOW-OUT CAREER FAIR

DOWNTOWN — LOOKING FOR A JOB or a better one? Brooklyn’s U.S. Congressmembers — Hakeem Jeffries, Nydia M. Velázquez, Yvette D. Clarke and Dan Goldman — are sponsoring a Congressional Career Fair with more than 75 employers in Downtown Brooklyn at 300 Jay St. on Saturday, Oct. 28, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Some of the participating organizations include New York Life, the Brooklyn Navy Yard, the Internal Revenue Service, Kings County D.A., Con Edison, EmblemHealth, Revel, NYC Dept. For the Aging, USPS, CAMBA, NYS Parks, Meta and many more.

Get your resume together and register online.

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NYC UNEMPLOYMENT UP IN SEPTEMBER, WITH BROOKLYN LAGGING

CITYWIDE — New York City’s unemployment rate increased to 5.2% in September 2023, compared to 4.5% in September 2022, according to figures released Tuesday by the NYS Department of Labor. Brooklyn had the second-highest unemployment rate of any county in the state at 5.5%, compared to the worst at 6.5% in the Bronx. Manhattan’s unemployment rate was 4.7% in September, as was Staten Island’s; Queens was 4.5%. Roughly 10,400 more people in Brooklyn were unemployed in September 2023 than were in September 2022, DOL said.

Unemployment across NYS overall increased in September, from 3.6% to 4.0%.

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MAN FILMED TEARING DOWN POSTERS OF ISRAELI HOSTAGES SUSPENDED FROM JOB — BY HIS FATHER

BROOKLYN BRIDGE PARK — A BROOKLYN MAN SEEN TEARING DOWN POSTERS of Israelis who were taken hostage by Hamas has been suspended from his job as an Executive Strategist by his Jewish father, the Daily Mail reports. Noah Schaffer, 41, was filmed laughing in the face of a Jewish woman who confronted him and his wife, Kelly, while they ripped down the posters at Brooklyn Bridge Park. “What about the Palestinians?” he fired back when asked why he was removing the signs.

On Sunday his father, Dr. Eric Schaffer, issued an email to staff at Human Factors, the Consumer Experience company he founded, to tell them his son had been placed on immediate, unpaid leave for four months.

Signs showing kidnapped Israelis, like these in DUMBO, have been popping up all over Brooklyn.
Photo: Mary Frost/Brooklyn Eagle

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BROOKLYN’S REP. MALLIOTAKIS PRAISES
MIKE JOHNSON’S ELECTION AS HOUSE SPEAKER

BAY RIDGE AND CAPITAL HILL — FOLLOWING WEDNESDAY’S ELECTION OF LOUISIANA GOP CONGRESSMAN MIKE JOHNSON as the 56th Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-11) Brooklyn’s lone Republican, praised him for his work as a “team builder.” Speaking “as someone who has publicly and privately advocated for an end to the House’s stalemate, I’m pleased to see our conference finally come together and elect Mike Johnson as Speaker of the House. As Vice Chairman of the Republican Conference, Mike Johnson has proven to be the team-builder who can unite our conference across the Republican spectrum.”

Rep Malliotakis pointed out the urgency of the war between key ally Israel and Hamas, and blamed this conflict in part on “Iranian-backed terror.” She also blamed the Biden Administration for various issues, including securing borders.

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REP. YVETTE CLARKE HELPS ESTABLISH CAUCUS
TO HELP PREDOMINANTLY BLACK INSTITUTIONS

FLATBUSH AND NATIONWIDE — BROOKLYN REP. YVETTE D. CLARKE (D-09) ON WEDNESDAY, OCT. 25, ANNOUNCED A NEW CONGRESSIONAL CAUCUS focused on educating policymakers and uplifting the needs of Predominantly Black Institutions. The Congressional Predominantly Black Institutions (PBI) Caucus will unite policymakers who share the goal of understanding and advancing policies to support PBIs, established in 2007 as part of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act. Their goal is to expand access to important federal grants to assist institutions with limited institutional wealth, including colleges and universities serving large percentages of low-income African-American students.

During her time in Congress, Rep. Clarke, whose district stretches from Park Slope to Sheepshead Bay, has secured more than $31 million in funding for New York PBIs, including Medgar Evers College in Crown Heights, a four-year school part of the City University of New York (CUNY) system.

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NY’S HEATING COST ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
GETS $360M IN FEDERAL FUNDING

STATEWIDE — U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand has helped secure $360,015,351 in federal funding for New York through the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), she announced on Wednesday, Oct. 25, via video conference. The money will help thousands of households across the state afford their heating bills and make cost-effective home energy repairs this winter. Sen. Gillibrand also announced her bipartisan push to secure additional funding for LIHEAP to make sure that as many qualifying families as possible get the assistance they need during the cold months.

Starting on Nov. 1, 2023, households in New York City can apply for the HEAP Regular benefit online at https://access.nyc.gov/. Households outside New York City can also apply online.

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TEEN TECH CENTER AT ADAMS ST. LIBRARY IN DUMBO NOW OPEN

DUMBO — THE TEEN TECH CENTER at the Adams Street Library’s Annex at 1 John St. (opposite the library) in DUMBO is now open for teenagers ages 13 to 18, Brooklyn Bridge Parents reports. The space is designed as an interactive environment where teens can experiment with technology, get homework help, socialize, meet tech professionals and acquire skills. According to BPL’s website, the center includes free access to laptops and cutting-edge tech, arts, fashion and jewelry-making resources, video games and classes including video editing.

The official ribbon-cutting takes place Nov. 2, but teens can enjoy the facilities now, according to BPL. The facility is one of five teen tech centers opening in Brooklyn.

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OLYMPIA IN DUMBO RACKS UP HIGHEST SALES PRICE IN BROOKLYN

BOROUGHWIDE — THE MARKET FOR NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN DUMBO is on fire, according to real estate platform MSN’s New Development Market Report for the third quarter of 2023. DUMBO scored the largest quarterly up-swing by price per square foot, which increased by 26.9% to $2,174. The median sales price in DUMBO also increased by 32.1%, from $2,145,000 to $2,833,188. The highest sales price in all of Brooklyn during the quarter was paid at the celebrity-filled Olympia on 60 Front Street, where unit 29A sold for $13,042,633. Olympia also scored the highest price per square foot, where unit 31B sold for $2,912 psf ($4,950,000).

The neighborhood with the lowest median sales price this past quarter: Prospect Lefferts Gardens, at $630,000. The neighborhood with the lowest price per square foot was Kensington/Brough Park, at $839 psf.

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ANNUAL DIOCESAN MASS OF HOPE & HEALING
DEDICATED TO VICTIMS OF CLERGY SEX ABUSE

MILL BASIN — EACH YEAR THE DIOCESE OF BROOKLYN HOLDS ITS ANNUAL MASS OF HOPE AND HEALING for victims of the clergy sex abuse trial. This tradition, which began in 2015 when a support group of sex abuse survivors decided they needed closure on the incidents and their suffering, worked with Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio (now bishop emeritus) to plan the liturgy. Hosting this year’s Mass, on Thursday, Oct. 26, at 7 p.m. will be St. Bernard Roman Catholic Church on East 69th St. in Mill Basin. Bishop Robert Brennan will be the main celebrant and Homilist at the Mass. The Mass will be broadcast live on the Diocesan cable channel NET-TV and can be viewed online.

The Brooklyn Diocese’s Office of Victims Assistance Ministry was established in April 2004 to handle allegations of past or current sexual abuse by clergy, religious, or any layperson working or volunteering for the Diocese; its mission includes creating a safe and compassionate environment for victims.

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TWO CUNY PROFESSORS WITH BROOKLYN TIES RECEIVE NATION’S HIGHEST SCIENCE HONOR

WASHINGTON, D.C. — TWO PROFESSORS AT THE CITY COLLEGE OF NEW YORK were awarded the nation’s highest honor in science by President Joe Biden at a ceremony on Tuesday. Sheldon Weinbaum, born and raised in Brooklyn, and Myriam Sarachik, who lived briefly in Brooklyn after immigrating to the U.S., received the National Medal of Science. (Sarachik died in 2021, and her award was accepted by family members.)

Weinbaum was honored for pathbreaking research in biomechanics, driving innovation in physiology, bone biology and blood flow, leading to lifesaving treatments. Sarachik was honored for her seminal contributions to fundamental experimental studies of molecular nanomagnets, quantum spin dynamics, and spin coherence in condensed matter systems at low temperatures.

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DRIVER FLEEING POLICE SMASHES CAR INTO BUS, INJURING SEVEN

MIDWOOD — A DRIVER TRYING TO EVADE A POLICE STOP SMASHED their car into an MTA bus in Midwood on Tuesday afternoon, leaving seven people hurt, NBC New York reported. The crash occurred around 2 p.m. near the corner of Avenue N and McDonald Avenue. Police had tried to stop the car because a person claimed to have seen someone inside it with a gun.

Seven people were taken to nearby hospitals with minor injuries, including three people in the car and the driver of the bus. Firefighters had to remove two passengers who got trapped inside the car.

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MOPED-RIDING THIEVES ARE RIPPING OFF NECK CHAINS IN CENTRAL BROOKLYN

EAST NEW YORK — THREE MEN RIDING SEPARATE BLACK, GREEN AND BLUE MOPEDS are ripping neck chains off women in East New York and Bushwick, and then escaping on their wheels, police said. Three incidents took place on Oct. 17: at 6 a.m. near 892 Glenmore Ave., one of the thieves ripped the neck chain off a 39-year-old woman; at 6:45 a.m., two of the thieves, working together, snatched the chain from a 15-year-old girl walking near Liberty and Pennsylvania avenues; and, at 7:13 a.m., one of the men stole the chain from a 36-year-old woman walking near Central Avenue and Madison Street.

Anyone with information 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 by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website.

Moped-riding thieves are stealing neck chains in East New York and Bushwick.
Photo: NYPD

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NYC LAUNCHES JUVENILE JUSTICE ADVISORY BOARD

CITYWIDE — MAYOR ERIC ADAMS AND CITY OFFICIALS on Tuesday announced the launch of the city’s first-ever Juvenile Justice Advisory Board to advise and provide recommendations to the mayor, the City Council and the Administration for Children’s Services on issues related to juvenile justice. The 20-member board, 13 of which are appointments, includes administration officials, Legal Aid attorneys and health officials. ACS has also created a new school-based team that is responsible for encouraging incarcerated young people to attend school.

According to Councilmember Lincoln Restler (D-Boerum Hill, Brooklyn Heights, Greenpoint), there are two times as many young people in jail over the past two years of the Adams administration as there were previously.

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BROOKLYNITE SERVES ABOARD NAVY VESSEL AS HOSPITAL CORPSMAN ON PACIFIC OCEAN

PACIFIC OCEAN — HOSPITAL CORPSMAN 2ND CLASS ANTOIN MITCHELL who hails from Brooklyn, performs maintenance on a fireman hose aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) with his crewmate, Aviation Ordnanceman 3rd Class Jared Hossley, from New Orleans. The USS Abraham Lincoln is currently underway conducting routine operations in the Pacific Ocean.

Hospital corpsmen function as clinical or specialty technicians, administrative personnel and health care providers, and they assist in “providing medical care to Navy, Marine Corps, and Joint Services personnel, according to Navy COOL, an official U.S. Navy website focused on credentialing.

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FUGITIVE TO ISRAEL GETS 9-YEAR- SENTENCE FOR MOLESTING CHILDREN

DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN — A MIDWOOD MAN WHO FLED TO ISRAEL IN 2010 TO ESCAPE SEXUAL ABUSE CHARGES has been sentenced to nine years in prison, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said on Monday, Oct. 23. Gershon Kranczer, 67, of Midwood, received his sentence from Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Jill Konviser, following his guilty plea this past August. He will also have to undergo 10 years post-release supervision, and to register as a sex offender. The investigation revealed that, on multiple occasions from August 1996 to February 2003, the defendant sexually assaulted a child from the time she was six years old to 13 years old, and a second child from 2001-2002. After his arrest, a third victim came forward saying she had been molested starting at age five.

Kranczer fled to Israel to escape prosecution the same day the abuse was first reported, in November 2010. The U.S. Marshals Service, working in cooperation with the Israeli National Police, returned Kranczer to New York on Nov. 3, 2021.

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ATTORNEY GENERALS’ LAWSUIT ALLEGES THAT META JEOPARDIZES MENTAL HEALTH

NATIONWIDE — META, THE PARENT COMPANY OF FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM and other social media platforms, is the target of a federal lawsuit alleging that it harms young people’s well-being and contributes to the youth mental health crisis. New York Attorney General Letitia James and a bipartisan coalition of 32 attorneys general on Tuesday, Oct. 24, filed the suit in California. The suit alleges that Meta knowingly designed and deployed harmful features on Instagram, Facebook and its other social media platforms that purposefully addict children and teens through algorithms that exploit compulsive viewing and incessant alerts that disrupt youth from concentrating during school hours or getting sufficient sleep overnight. Moreover, the lawsuit alleges that Meta violated its obligations under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) by unlawfully collecting the personal data of its youngest users without parents’ consent.

The coalition aims to force Meta to desist from using these tactics and seeks penalties and restitution.

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MOUNT SINAI HOLDS EMERGENCY-SERVICES DRILL

BROOKLYN HTS./DUMBO — MOUNT SINAI HEALTH SYSTEM WILL CONDUCT A TRAINING EXERCISE on Wednesday morning, Oct. 25, according to an alert that Notify NYC broadcast via text on Tuesday. The training exercise, scheduled for 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at all Mount Sinai facilities, is being announced as “only a drill.” Mount Sinai Health System will carry out a routine, pre-planned training exercise across all facilities as part of standard procedures to ensure readiness. Locals emergency personnel and resources as part of the controlled, simulated exercise but hospital operations will remain normal.

Mount Sinai’s Brooklyn facilities include Urgent Care Centers at 300 Cadman Plaza West (the Pierrepont Plaza building) and 110 York St. in DUMBO, plus a Williamsburg building where many doctors have their practices.

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NYC LAUNCHES NEW CENTER FOR POPULATION HEALTH DATA SCIENCE

CITYWIDE — THE NEW CENTER FOR POPULATION HEALTH DATA SCIENCE that the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene launched on Tuesday, Oct. 24, has the purpose of strengthening citywide population health surveillance by better linking data on public health, healthcare, and social services data. The Center’s long-term goals are to develop consistency, compatibility, and interoperability so that myriad types of data can be shared, matched, and used to advance citywide population health goals. Another goal is to combat the central challenge of declining and inequitable life expectancy here. The Center’s inaugural director will be Mamta Parakh, who brings to her new role 20 years of experience in health tech, life sciences, and other tech sectors.

Center builds on the Department of Health & Mental Hygiene’s strengths in epidemiology and analytics and its commitment to the development of a new public health data infrastructure, with focus on data visualization and communication; forecasting and modeling; data governance, privacy, and interoperability, and Leveraging Artificial Intelligence, among other categories.