What’s News, Breaking: Monday, November 27, 2023

November 27, 2023 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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BROOKLYN’S TALLEST CHRISTMAS TREE READY TO GET LIT ON WEDNESDAY

DOWNTOWN — THIS GIANT FIR TREE AT BROOKLYN COMMONS (formerly called MetroTech) is traditionally the tallest Christmas tree in Brooklyn, usually coming in around 55 feet. The mammoth conifer is all set for the annual Light Up Brooklyn Commons festivities, scheduled for Wed., Nov. 29, at 5 p.m., with ice carving, snacks and Santa, and the tree lighting commencing at 6:30 p.m.

Visit the full schedule online.

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FDA EXPANDS RECALL OF FRUITS AFTER
MAJOR RETAILERS CONTINUED STOCKING THEM

NATIONWIDE — THE US FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION ON MONDAY, NOV. 27, UPDATED ITS PREVIOUS RECALL OF PLUMS, PEACHES AND NECTARINES, and is now warning people not to consume these fruits. The fruit in question, which were not organically grown, and which are believed to carry Listeria monocytogenes, were recalled but still carried at major supermarket chains across the country, including in New York. The recall includes individual peaches and 2 lb. bags of peaches, nectarines, or plums). The FDA lists the retailers selling these fruits, including Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club, Albertson’s, ACME, Balducci’s, Food Lover’s Market, Carrs, Lucky, Eagle, Safeway, Shaw, Sprouts Farmers Markets, and Star Market.

Consumers who may have frozen these fruits are warned to discard them.

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REP. GOLDMAN INTRODUCES ‘HELPING KIDS COPE ACT’

CAPITOL HILL — A BIPARTISAN ‘HELPING KIDS COPE ACT’ THAT BROOKLYN CONGRESSMAN DAN GOLDMAN (D-10) has introduced with Reps. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Delaware) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) would support pediatric behavioral health care initiatives and community-based programs in the face of the growing pediatric mental health crisis. The bill, named the ‘Helping Kids Cope Act’ would authorize grants to improve the coordination and integration of pediatric behavioral health services across the country, increase children’s access to care via telehealth treatment, crisis responses, behavioral health urgent care centers in children’s hospitals and advocacy centers — especially those in under-resourced communities. Further, grants would improve the collection of demographic data on adolescents’ mental health needs to identify gaps in children’s access to care and would provide funding and workforce innovations to the workforce that deals with pediatric behavioral health.

Earlier this year, Congressman Goldman supported the ‘Mental Health Workforce and Language Access Act’ to provide grants for mental health professionals who are fluent in a language other than English.

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DOE FUND HOSTS DINNER, WITH GIFTS,
FOR CRYSTAL TOWERS RESIDENTS

EAST FLATBUSH — DURING THANKSGIVING WEEK, THE HOMELESS SERVICES NONPROFIT The Doe Fund joined forces with local partners in East Flatbush for a community dinner and giveaway to tenants of its Crystal Tower residence. The 123-unit building — part of the Doe Fund’s over 970,000 square-foot portfolio of permanent affordable and supportive housing — first opened in 2020. Each resident received essentials kits, including hygienic products and winter clothing, that students of KIPP AMP Elementary School donated through its Lending Lions program. Selin Olmsted Studio donated hundreds of designer sunglasses and optical glasses to the tenants. Kula for Karma, a nonprofit that provides mindfulness-based mental health care for marginalized populations, also led a guided meditation for residents.

The Doe Fund operates and is developing nearly one million square feet of permanent affordable and supportive housing.

Guided-Meditation-with-Kristin-Moshonas_Kula-for-Karma_photo from Doe Fund
Kristin Moshonas of Kula for Karma leads a guided meditation.
Photo courtesy of The Doe Fund

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NYC WARNS LANDLORDS THEY COULD BE FINED FOR UNLICENSED SMOKE SHOPS

CITYWIDE — NYC HAS EXPANDED ITS CRACKDOWN ON UNLICENSED SMOKE SHOPS BY GOING AFTER LANDLORDS, Mayor Eric Adams said in a release on Monday. The NYC Sheriff’s Office Joint Compliance Task Force to Address Illegal Smoke Shops has sent letters to landlords and owners of 50 buildings across the five boroughs warning that they could be legally liable for the continued unlicensed sale of cannabis or tobacco products by their tenants.

The letter explains that landlords could face “an injunction and penalties up to $1,000 a day,” and that the city “is empowered to request that the building owner or landlord initiate an action to remove tenants from the property.”

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AG JAMES: MAKE SURE YOUR CHARITABLE DONATION DOESN’T END UP IN FUNDRAISER’S POCKET

STATEWIDE — N.Y. ATTORNEY GENERAL LETITIA JAMES RELEASED ON MONDAY her annual “Pennies for Charity: Fundraising by Professional Fundraisers” report. The report, which analyzed data from 2022’s professional charitable fundraising campaigns, found that a big chunk of donations often goes to the fundraisers instead of the nonprofits. While professional fundraisers pocketed nearly a quarter of every dollar donated to the charities that hired them, in 48% of campaigns the charities received less than half of the funds raised. Shockingly, in 17% of campaigns, fundraising expenses exceeded revenue and actually cost the charities money.

There are numerous fundraising scams — including phony charities with names that sound like reputable organizations and email phishing schemes — so do your research before donating, James urges. One place to start is the Pennies for Charity Database.

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FAITH-BASED SENIOR HOUSING COMPLEX
IS PART OF HUD SECRETARY’S BROOKLYN VISIT

EAST FLATBUSH — REP. YVETTE CLARKE (D-09) on Nov. 28 will host US Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia L. Fudge in Brooklyn to highlight ways that HUD and the Biden-Harris Administration have made housing more affordable and accessible in 2023. Congressmember Clarke will discuss with HUD Secretary Fudge the efforts to boost homeownership, build housing supply, and deliver much-needed assistance. They will also tour Bishop Philius and Helene Nicolas Senior Housing, a faith-based development in East Flatbush that is propelled with HUD funding, and will meet with residents. The property, on New York Avenue in East Flatbush, houses 100 low-income seniors and individuals who have faced housing denials elsewhere. During the tour, Rep. Clarke and Secretary Fudge will also visit affordable homeownership, healthcare, education and commercial real estate amenities in the Nehemiah Spring Creek community.

A Haitian immigrant, Bishop Nicolas founded the Evangelical Crusade Fishers of Men in East Flatbush 50 years ago. He and his wife Helene have pastored Evangelical Crusade Christian Church, serving Haitian refugees.

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REVISED HUMAN RIGHTS LAW PROHIBITS
BIAS ACTION AGAINST HEIGHT OR WEIGHT

CITYWIDE — HEIGHT AND WEIGHT DISCRIMINATION IS NOW PROHIBITED, with the New York City Human Rights Law having taken effect on Sunday, Nov. 26. This amendment to a pre-existing law on discrimination protects New Yorkers from discrimination based on height and weight in employment, housing, and public accommodations. The height and weight provisions join the 25 protected categories enshrined in the NYCHRL, which already prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, age, disability, religion, gender, and sexuality, among others, and covers situations such as refusing to lease or rent to a housing applicant, turning a patron away because of their height or weight, hiring only employees of a certain body size for public-facing roles, using harassing or offensive language, creating a hostile work environment.

The law provides for limited circumstances in which employers and public accommodations may take height and/or weight into account, but there are no exemptions for housing providers.

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MEETING THURS. ON PLAN TO REDEVELOP KINGSBORO PSYCHIATRIC SITE

PROSPECT LEFFERTS GARDENS — EMPIRE STATE DEVELOPMENT IS HOLDING A MEETING via Zoom on Thursday, Nov. 30, at 6 p.m. to inform the public about the proposed Kingsboro Psychiatric Center Mixed-Use Project at 681 Clarkson Ave. The project involves ESD’s transferring the site to a private developer to construct roughly 1,090 total units of affordable and supportive housing; two single-adult men’s homeless shelters, which would replace the existing 364 beds; up to 8,092 square feet of commercial space for use as a grocery store; up to 63,071 square feet of community facility space (including a Service Employees International Union facility, emergency food provider, ballet studio and resident social service space); 15 parking spaces; roughly 2.16 acres of publicly accessible open space and 0.64 acres of private open space.

Construction would be undertaken in three phases, with the first phase commencing in 2024 and the final phase being completed in 2031. More info online.

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STEPPED OFF BUS, STABBED, THEN BEATEN WITH HIS OWN CANE

BROWNSVILLE — A 60-YEAR-OLD MAN WAS RIDING THE B12 BUS IN BROWNSVILLE around noon on Nov. 15 when an unknown man and woman engaged him in a dispute, then struck the victim in the head, police said. When the victim and the two individuals exited the bus at Fulton Street and Alabama Avenue, the woman stabbed the victim three times to the back with a knife; while the male grabbed the victim’s cane and struck him on the head. The perpetrators fled on foot westbound on Fulton Street. The victim was transported by EMS to Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center in stable condition.

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 visiting Crime Stoppers.

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LONG-TIME CHIEF OF MICROBIOLOGY LAB AT LICH DIES, AGE 83

COBBLE HILL — THE FORMER CHIEF OF THE CLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY LAB AT LONG ISLAND COLLEGE HOSPITAL IN COBBLE HILL died at State College, Pennsylvania on Nov. 12. Benjamin HeeChan Bae taught residents and fellows, and did research in the development of simple, cost-effective diagnostic microbiology procedures at the (now-shuttered) hospital for 25 years, according to an obituary published in various sources including Legacy.com. Bae’s work was published in numerous scientific publications. He was 83. A funeral service will be held Nov. 29 in Pennsylvania.

According to his obituary, Bae “believed in and practiced the notion that man should do his utmost while working and being paid for the work regardless of his dislike for the job or compensation.”

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IN MEMORIAM: MONSIGNOR JOHN DELENDICK, 74, SUCCUMBS TO 9/11-RELATED CANCER

BOROUGHWIDE — A FIRE DEPARTMENT CHAPLAIN WHO SERVED BROOKLYN PRIESTS AND MINISTERED to people on 9/11 died on Thanksgiving of cancer from causes related to the terror attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, Fire Department Commissioner Laura Kavanagh announced on Friday, Nov. 24. Monsignor John Delendick, who at one point was pastor of St. Agnes Church in Carroll Gardens and several other Brooklyn parishes, began serving as a Chaplain with the FDNY in 1996, a ministry in which he offered his presence at funerals and consoled and guided FDNY families of through the grieving process. Following the death of his fellow FDNY chaplain, Fr. Mychal Judge, on 9/11, Delendick dedicated the next several months to bringing families to the World Trade Center Site, officiating at memorial and funeral services, checking in with fellow members involved in the rescue mission and working with support groups in the region. Pope John Paul II named him a monsignor in March 2003.

In December 2001, Monsignor Delendick traveled on the Spirit of America: From Ground Zero to Ground Zero humanitarian airlift to thank the members of the Armed Forces fighting terrorism.

Monsignor John Delendick who died on Thanksgiving of cancer from causes related to the terror attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. Photo: Fire Department, City of New York — Monsignor John Delendick
Photo: Fire Department, City of New York

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SENATOR SCHUMER MAKES BROADWAY DEBUT CAMEO AS A PRODUCER IN ‘GUTENBERG!’

NEW YORK’S BROADWAY — U.S. SENATOR AND BROOKLYN NATIVE CHUCK SCHUMER MADE HIS BROADWAY DEBUT ON TUESDAY NIGHT IN THE FINAL SCENE OF “GUTENBERG! THE MUSICAL!” in the role of “producer,” reported New York Jewish Week via JTA, in a story published in the Times of Israel on Nov. 24. The 2023 Broadway version of “Gutenberg,” playing at the James Earl Jones Theatre on W. 48th St., focuses on two young playwrights and actors trying to sell their Broadway musical about Johannes Gutenberg, the inventor of the printing press, acting out the play until someone agrees to underwrite it. The “producer” is typically a celebrity appearing as a cameo. “I’m a Broadway producer, and I hold in my hands a Broadway contract. You’ve got your show,” New York’s senior senator was quoted saying as he embraced the actors and then danced off stage. Sen. Schumer posted the video of his much-applauded Nov. 22 cameo on his Instagram.

Stars Ethan Slater and Idina Menzel. Billy Crystal, Steve Martin, and Victor Garber have also recently appeared in a cameo as “producer.”

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DEC: BROWNFIELD CLEANUP WORK COMPLETED FOR ATLANTIC AVENUE SITE

BEDFORD-STUYVESANT — ACTIONS TO REMEDY CONTAMINATION ON A BLOCK OF ATLANTIC AVENUE BETWEEN BED-STUY AND CROWN HEIGHTS have been completed as part of New York state’s Brownfield Cleanup Program the Department of Environmental Conservation reported on Friday, Nov. 24. The DEC provided oversight on the Atlantic Brooklyn Project site (1045-1065 Atlantic Ave.) with the applicant 1065 Atlantic Avenue, LLC performing the cleanup activities. Several steps have been or will shortly be completed to achieve the remedial action objectives, including closure and removal of five previously unknown underground storage tanks from the site, excavation and off-site disposal of 36,000 tons of contaminated soil exceeding the Restricted-Residential Soil Cleanup objectives, excavation of a hot-spot area impacted with trichloroethylene exceeding the Protection of Groundwater parameters, and the installation of a sub-slab depressurization system beneath the new building to protect the occupants of the proposed new building.

The site has housed an automotive inspection and repair shop and a restaurant supply store. Project documents can be accessed at the Brooklyn Public Library’s Brower Park branch and at the Community Board 3 office at 1360 Fulton St.

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NEW LAW REQUIRES YOUTH SPORTS PROGRAMS TO ESTABLISH CARDIAC EMERGENCY PLANS

STATEWIDE — A NEW LAW THAT GOV. KATHY HOCHUL SIGNED ON FRIDAY, NOV. 24, WILL REQUIRE camps and youth sports programs to establish automated external defibrillator (AED) implementation plans and to have, on duty, at least one person trained in the proper use of the AED at camps, games and practices. The state legislature agreed to changes that will require those camps and youth sports programs with five or more participating teams to establish an AED implementation plan that details how AEDs will be made available or reasonably accessible. AED implementation plans will also explain the steps taken to ensure that, when practicable, at least one employee, volunteer, coach, umpire or other qualified adult is present who has successfully completed a training course in the operation of an AED. Sudden cardiac death, attributed to faulty electrical signaling in the heart and the irregular heart rhythm that contributes to the emergency, is called ventricular fibrillation.

Sudden cardiac arrest is considered the leading cause of death in young athletes, with about 1 in 50,000 to 1 in 80,000 young athletes dying, according to a Mayo Clinic report published earlier this year.

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BEDFORD-STUYVESANT — SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY, observed nationally on the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend, supports local merchants, and in central Brooklyn, the Bed-Stuy Gateway Business Improvement District hosted its signature Winter Wonderland event. Wells Fargo presented this festive outdoor shop small holiday experience, giving local merchants an opportunity to increase foot traffic while offering crafters, creatives and small business owners a viable platform to showcase and sell their goods and services. The day began at 10 a.m. with the Festive Decking of the Winter Wonderland Village. Attractions included performances by the Brooklyn United Marching Band, the Brooklyn Ballet (with scenes from The Nutcracker) and the Festive Bed Stuy Trolley around Business Corridor.

Guests at the 2 p.m. ribbon cutting included House Democratic Leader, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-08), Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez and Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Randy Peers.

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CONEY ISLAND BUSINESS PARTNERS TEAM UP FOR COMMUNITY THANKSGIVING MEAL

CONEY ISLAND — MORE THAN A THOUSAND THANKSGIVING MEALS WERE SERVED, at a community Thanksgiving event held on Wednesday, Nov. 22. Local organizations and businesses —the Alliance for Coney Island, Luna Park in Coney Island, and Gargiulo’s Restaurant — hosted the annual tradition that the Coney Island Gospel Assembly established decades ago. Volunteers served the traditional meals of turkey, stuffing, potatoes, cranberry sauce, green beans, and various desserts, including pies, cookies, and fresh fruit, from 2 – 6 p.m. The Coney Island Gospel Assembly singers performed at the meal, which concluded with a Thanksgiving prayer.

Making the event possible were generous donations from local businesses and supporters, including Councilmember Ari Kagan (R-47/outgoing), the Amazin’ Mets Foundation, A&J Produce, the Brooklyn Cyclones, Deno’s Wonder Wheel Amusement Park, Driscoll Foods, Gargiulo’s Restaurant, iStar, Kings Highway Bakery, Luna Park in Coney Island, Nathan’s Famous and the Rotary Club of Verrazano.

Volunteering from an early age: These youths enjoyed distributing the desserts at Coney Island Gospel Assembly Thanksgiving. Photo credit: Alliance for Coney Island — Volunteering from an early age: These youths enjoyed distributing the desserts.
Photo credit: Alliance for Coney Island

Serving the side dishes to the Thanksgiving meal at Coney Island Gospel Assembly Thanksgiving. Photo credit: Alliance for Coney Island — Serving the side dishes to the Thanksgiving meal.
Photo credit: Alliance for Coney Island

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MTA STARTS REPLACING SIGNAL SYSTEMS ON THE CROSSTOWN G SUBWAY LINE

BROOKLYN AND QUEENS —THE G SUBWAY LINE, the only line that traverses Brooklyn and Queens without going into Manhattan, will undergo planned service changes, starting this Monday, November 27, through December 22 (for this particular stretch). G train service is suspended Mondays to Fridays, 9:45 p.m. to 5 a.m., when the MTA begins work on signal modernization. The existing signal system will be replaced with Communications-Based Train Control (CBTC) to improve safety, reliability, capacity, and efficiency of service. During this time, free shuttle buses will replace G service between Bedford-Nostrand Avenues and Court Square in Queens.

The G train, also known as the Crosstown G line, does not run through Manhattan, unlike its sister on the IND line — the F train. The only others serving Brooklyn and Queens alone are the Franklin Avenue shuttle, which runs to the Prospect Park station, and the Rockaway Park Shuttle.

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TRUFRESH CUT-CANTALOUPE BLEND RECALLED AMID SALMONELLA THREAT

NATIONWIDE—FRESH-CUT FRUIT FROM CF DALLAS IS BEING RECALLED DUE TO A THREAT OF SALMONELLA, the US Food and Drug Administration announced on November 22 and again on Friday, November 24. Whereas a previous recall alert for whole cantaloupe has since expired, the FDA’s new recall alert is for Seasonal Blend, Melon Trio and more. Sofia Produce, doing business as Trufresh, initiated a recall of the cantaloupe blends that were being sold in clear square or round plastic containers, with Best by date ranging from November 7-10. The FDA is concerned that consumers who purchased this product may have frozen and could potentially still consume the tainted fruit.

As of November 22, no illnesses have been reported that are related to CF Dallas fresh-cut products.