What’s News, Breaking: Tuesday, December 12, 2023

December 12, 2023 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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STATE’S HIGHEST COURT ORDERS
CONGRESSIONAL MAP BE REDRAWN

STATEWIDE — THE NEW YORK STATE COURT OF APPEALS on Tuesday, Dec. 12, ordered the state to redraw its congressional map, opening the door to a Democrat shift in the House of Representatives, the New York Times reports. The State Court of Appeals has effectively obliterated a highly contentious map that last year favored Republicans and helped flip four seats. However, the April 2023 confirmation of Chief Judge Rowan Wilson and a progressive majority in the state’s highest court have led to the ruling that the neutral district lines established last year were meant to be temporary. The court’s decision is expected to have a major impact on the 2024 elections. At heart is the issue of racial gerrymandering, which dilutes the Black vote amid decades of civil rights battles. While both major parties accuse the other of gerrymandering, racial gerrymandering is illegal — and Blacks tend to vote Democrat.

While the US Supreme Court and other federal judges had already ordered several Republican-led states to redraw maps that had diluted the power of Black voters, the conservative-majority SCOTUS is preparing to hear a case that would make it harder to prove racially-based gerrymandering.

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BODY IN CENTRAL PARK IDENTIFIED
AS BROOKLYN MAN

CENTRAL PARK — POLICE IDENTIFIED A MAN WHO WAS FOUND DEAD IN CENTRAL PARK at 62nd Street at 8:37 a.m. Monday morning as Prospect Park South resident Ian Stapp, 37. According to a police report, Stapp’s body had multiple lacerations, and he was pronounced dead at the scene. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will determine the cause of death.

According to News12, police found a bloody knife in his pocket.

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NY ATTORNEY GENERAL: NYPD OFFICER WAS
JUSTIFIED IN BROOKLYN STREET SHOOTING

DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN — A POLICEMAN WHO SHOT AN ASSAILANT DEAD IN DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN on July 9, 2022 was essentially justified in doing so, New York Attorney General Letitia James’ Office of Special Investigations has ruled in a report issued on Tuesday, Dec. 12. The report, which follows a thorough investigation and review of body-worn camera footage, civilian cellphone video, interviews with involved officers and other witnesses, and evidence from the scene, concluded that a prosecutor would not be able to disprove beyond a reasonable doubt at trial (with burden of proof on the prosecutor) that the NYPD officer who shot Mr. Williams was justified. Three officers patrolling together in the vicinity of Flatbush Avenue and Nevins St. had pulled over a vehicle that had failed to signal a turn and asked for all the occupants’ IDs. One of the occupants, Malick Williams, led police on a foot chase, then opened fire on an officer on a public sidewalk with uninvolved people endangered. The officer fell but fired back, striking and killing Williams.

New York’s justification law permits a person to use deadly physical force to defend against the imminent use of deadly physical force by another person.

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CHARGED IN SEX TRAFFICKING OF A MINOR

DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN — A HEMPSTEAD MAN WAS ARRAIGNED AND CHARGED in state Supreme Court on Tuesday, Dec. 12, with sex trafficking of a child and other charges for allegedly forcing a 15-year-old girl to engage in prostitution. Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez identified the defendant as Terrence Reid, a.k.a. Chinchilla, 43, of Hempstead, who was arraigned before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun and faces several charges, including endangering the welfare of a child. Reid is held on bail with a January court date. During early 2022, the defendant messaged the 15-year-old victim on Instagram, and they exchanged messages a few days before she agreed to meet him. The defendant then prostituted her out in a hotel room with another adult female, and forced her to work a street track.

The girl eventually snuck out of the hotel room, fled in a cab and reported the incidents to her case worker, who then notified the police. If convicted of the top count, the defendant faces up to 25 years in prison.

Sex trafficking ring involving teen victim uncovered by Brooklyn authorities

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FEDERAL JURY CONVICTS TWO IN CASE
INVOLVING EXTORTION AND THREATS

DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN — A FEDERAL JURY IN BROOKLYN HAS CONVICTED A MAN WHO WAS USING EXTORTION AND THREATS TO COLLECT ON A GAMBLING DEBT. Anthony Romanello was convicted of extortionate collection of credit and conspiracy to commit the same in connection with a gambling debt, and Joseph Celso was convicted of conspiracy to commit extortionate collection of credit during a one-week trial, with United States District Judge Eric R. Komitee presiding. As proven at trial, from March 2017 to June 2017, Romanello, Celso, and co-defendant Luan Bexheti conspired repeatedly to use extortionate means to collect an unpaid gambling debt owed by John Doe #2 and a family member. Romanello and Celso used threats and violence in repeated attempts to collect the debt, including the command to drop the complaint that the Joe Doe family had registered with the NYPD.

When sentenced, Romanello faces up to 40 years in prison, and Celso faces up to 20 years in prison. Luan Bexheti pleaded guilty in October 2023, and awaits sentencing.

Brooklyn jury convicts two men in violent extortion scheme over gambling debt

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CANARSIE WOMAN SHOT WHEN BULLET
CAME THROUGH WRONG WINDOW

CANARSIE — A 29-YEAR-OLD WOMAN WAS SHOT IN HER CANARSIE HOME TUESDAY MORNING around 7 a.m. — apparently by a bullet that went through the wrong window, ABC7NY reports. Police believe the gunman was targeting a man who lives in a different apartment altogether in the same East 102nd Street building. The victim was transported to Kings County Hospital with graze wounds to her left arm and right leg, in stable condition.

The suspect, wearing a black jacket and red hoodie, fled eastbound on East 102nd Street.

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HOCHUL: NY MINIMUM WAGE GOES UP ON JAN. 1

STATEWIDE — MINIMUM WAGE WILL BE INCREASING IN NEW YORK STARTING JAN. 1, Gov. Kathy Hochul said Tuesday in a release. Minimum wage will go up to $16-per-hour in New York City, Westchester, and Long Island, and to $15-per-hour in the rest of the state. Hochul said she also secured an agreement to increase New York’s minimum wage by $0.50 in 2025 and 2026, and to index it to inflation beginning in 2027.

“If you are a minimum wage worker and you don’t see this increase in your paycheck next year, I urge you to file a wage complaint with the Department of Labor,” Hochul said. This may be done through DOL’s website or by calling 833-910-4378.

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MOVING COMPANY EMPLOYEES CONVICTED
FOR FRAUD, THEFT OF CLIENTS’ PROPERTY

DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN — TWO EMPLOYEES OF A BROOKLYN MOVING COMPANY WERE CONVICTED IN BROOKLYN FEDERAL COURT ON Monday, Dec. 11, for fraud and for holding their customers’ property hostage until bogus fees were paid. According to an announcement from the US Attorney’s office, a federal jury at US District Court/Eastern District NY convicted Kristy Mak and Andre Prince of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, the sole count of a superseding indictment in connection with their participation in a fraudulent moving company scheme. The verdict followed a one-week trial before United States Second Circuit Judge Denny Chin, sitting by designation. As proven at trial, between at least January 2017 and August 2020, the defendants worked for a number of moving companies controlled by Yakov Moroz that operated under various names. The companies engaged in generating fake glowing reviews offered low-cost moving. Then, after the belongings were loaded on trucks, the companies sprang fees on the customers, made themselves unavailable when the fees were questioned and even denounced customers in vulgar language on Slack and other social media.

When sentenced, the defendants will each face up to 20 years in prison and forfeiture in the amount that the Court will determine.

Brooklyn moving company employees convicted in a $3 million customer fraud scheme

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MAIMONIDES HEALTH WILL HOST HOLIDAY PARTY
FOR PEDIATRIC CANCER CENTER PATIENTS

BOROUGH PARK —CHILDREN BATTLING CANCER AND THEIR PARENTS will receive some holiday joy this Thursday, Dec. 14, when Maimonides Medical Center throws them a holiday party. Patients, families, doctors, nurses, and other care team members will continue the Cancer Center’s annual Pediatric Hematology Oncology Holiday Party tradition, with guests of honor being current and former patients from the hospital’s hematology-oncology, chronic blood disorder and chronic infusion programs. Maimonides staff and community groups such as Toys for Hospitalized Children have helped fill the children’s holiday wish list; those gifts will also be presented.

This joyful tradition uniting the hospital’s community is integral to Maimonides’ mission of supporting the pediatric patients in their emotional, social and developmental well-being as well as their physical health.

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SCHOOL BUDGET TOWN HALL WEDNESDAY
WITH LANDER AND RESTLER

BOROUGH-WIDE — IN RESPONSE TO SCHOOL BUDGET CUTS ANNOUNCED BY MAYOR ADAMS, Councilmember Lincoln Restler’s office (D-District 33) is hosting a school budget information session on Wednesday, Dec. 13 at 6 p.m. featuring Comptroller Brad Lander and his team. This Zoom town hall will cover the basics of school funding and provide an opportunity for parents to ask questions.

Register in advance on Zoom or call Restler’s office at 718-875-5200 for more information.

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SENATORS DENOUNCE UN INACTION
ON HAMAS’ VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

CAPITOL HILL — THE UNITED NATIONS’ SEEMING INACTION OVER HAMAS’ ATROCITIES AGAINST WOMEN HOSTAGES HAS PROMPTED A LETTER from U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D) of New York and a bipartisan coalition of 28 colleagues. The Senators are condemning what they call the inaction of the United Nations (UN) regarding Hamas’s widespread sexual violence, including mass rape and mutilation, against women in Israel, starting with Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel. The senators have urged UN Secretary-General António Guterres to open an independent investigation into Hamas’s acts of sexual violence and to hold the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) — a leading UN organization dedicated to ending gender-based violence — accountable.

The senators, including Republicans Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Chuck Grassley of Iowa and both Tim Scott and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, wrote: “A growing body of evidence including the testimonies of survivors, witnesses, and first responders makes clear that as part of Hamas’s terrorist attack that killed 1,200 men, women, and children on Oct. 7, the terrorist organization intentionally used rape and sexual assault as weapons of war.”

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BROOKLYN PUBLIC LIBRARY ANNOUNCES
EVEN MORE CUTBACKS

BOROUGH-WIDE — NOT ONLY WILL MOST LIBRARIES IN BROOKLYN be closed on Sundays starting Dec. 17, but all libraries will be cutting back services and reducing spending on books, programming and building maintenance due to deep budget cuts, Brooklyn Public Library said Tuesday. This includes limiting the number of digital and physical materials that can be checked out or put on hold at one time. Patrons will be allowed to check out no more than 10 digital items instead of 20; holds on digital items will be reduced from 10 to 5. Holds on physical items, including books, will be reduced from 15 to 10. In addition, BPL will assess a replacement charge for overdue items after 14 days instead of 28.

“Without sufficient funding, we cannot sustain our current levels of service,” BPL said in a statement.

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AG JAMES SHUTS DOWN
CRYPTO PLATFORM KUCOIN IN NY

STATEWIDE — ROUGHLY 178,000 NEW YORKERS WHO TRADE ON cryptocurrency trading platform KuCoin will find their accounts closed on Tuesday after New York Attorney General Letitia James shut down their operations in the state. James secured more than $22 million from the company for failing to register as a securities and commodities broker-dealer and for falsely representing itself as a crypto exchange. KuCoin must refund New York investors more than $16.7 million and pay more than $5.3 million to the state. This is the ninth crypto crackdown James has carried out in New York since 2021.

Investors can receive their refund by withdrawing their assets directly from KuCoin over the next 90 days. After 90 days, eligible investors can file a claim to receive their cryptocurrency by emailing [email protected]

KuCoin banned from NY operations, fined $5.3 million in settlement

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LOCAL LEADERS HOLD STATE ACCOUNTABLE FOR FAILED ATLANTIC YARDS PROJECT

PROSPECT HEIGHTS — THE FUTURE OF THE ATLANTIC YARDS PROJECT, THE DEVELOPER’S LOAN DEFAULT and the need for state-level oversight comprised the focus of a press briefing held Monday morning, Dec. 12. The briefing, which also marked the 20th anniversary of the project’s start, urged New York State to conduct a closer and more thorough oversight process, including increased accountability for unmet promises by developers, particularly the Empire State Development Corp. The contention is that, despite a controversial blight finding that was critical to the project being escalated and approved under the State’s Urban Development Corporation Act in 2003, the rail yard has not yet been covered nor have the 877 promised affordable housing units been built. The escalated process meant overriding New York City zoning, bypassing local review and assembling land through eminent domain.

Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon (D-52) said, “By not holding developers accountable from the onset, ESD encouraged them to take large risks. This default is a direct result of ESD’s bungled stewardship.”

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CONSERVANCY’S NEWEST BOARD MEMBER BRINGS EXPERIENCE IN EVENT PLANNING

BROOKLYN BRIDGE PARK — CATHERINE FELDMAN HAS BEEN ELECTED TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE PARK CONSERVANCY. Feldman, a Brooklyn resident, was elected Monday, Dec. 11, at the Conservancy’s Board meeting. She is the Head of Community at Thrive Capital, a New York City-based venture capital firm, where she leads events and strategic programming for the company’s founders and executives. Previously, Catherine was the director of incubations at Thrive, where she worked closely with founders to develop ideas and launch new companies. Before that, she served as chief of staff at the same company. Ms. Feldman began her career at Morgan Stanley, where she worked on the Technology Investment Banking team. Ms. Feldman is active with other nonprofits as well, serving on the board of Summer Search New York and as a trustee of the Green-Wood Cemetery.

Feldman shared, “Since our family moved to Brooklyn, the park has been central to our lives, and the backdrop for so many meaningful moments with our family and friends. I’m thrilled to support the Conservancy’s mission of serving the broader community through thoughtful programming and incredible green space.”

Catherine Feldman.
Photo courtesy of Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy

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NEW ENTITY NEEDED TO OVERSEE PACIFIC PARK, ADVOCATES SAY

PROSPECT HEIGHTS — IN A ZOOM MEETING ON MONDAY CHAIRED BY Gib Veconi, chair of the Prospect Heights Neighborhood Development Council, and Michelle De La Uz, executive director of the Fifth Avenue Committee, neighborhood advocates laid the blame for the default of Greenland USA, the current developer for Pacific Park, on the Economic Development Corporation for giving control of the project to one sole entity, Forest City Ratner (which later sold its interest to Greenland). The advocates said the development project has not created anywhere near as many affordable units as anticipated, and questioned why one of its centerpieces — a building on a platform over the rail yards that would unite Fort Greene and Prospect Park — was postponed until the end of the development process.

They called for the creation of a new local development corporation, to be headed by elected officials’ appointees, to oversee what remains of the project.

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HAMILTON ARMY BASE HOSTS NATIONAL GUARD BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

USAG-FORT HAMILTON — THE NATIONAL GUARD MARKS ITS 387TH BIRTHDAY WITH A SPECIAL CELEBRATION AT THE FORT HAMILTON ARMY BASE this Wednesday, Dec. 13. Lt. Gen. Marc Sasseville, Vice Chief of the National Guard Bureau, will be present to mark the National Guard birthday at the US Army Garrison at Fort Hamilton. Sasseville will conduct an Oath of Enlistment ceremony, participate in a tour of the Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS) facility and meet with the National Guard’s top recruiters in the country, as well as partake in a birthday cake cutting. The National Guard, which traces its history back to Dec. 13, 1636, is the oldest military organization in the United States and the second largest military component (smaller only than the active-duty Army), with more than 440,000 Soldiers and Airmen serving in all 54 states and territories.

Fort Hamilton remains the only active military installation in New York City.

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DIOCESE OF BROOKLYN JOINS MEXICAN CATHOLICS IN CELEBRATION OF GUADALUPE FEAST DAY

PROSPECT HEIGHTS AND BOROUGHWIDE — THE DIOCESE OF BROOKLYN CONTINUES A BELOVED TRADITION ON THE FEAST OF OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE, TUESDAY, DEC. 12, with its annual Mass and pilgrimage throughout Brooklyn and Queens. Father Baltazar Sanchez Alonzo, director of the Mexican Apostolate, has organized this event, which has expanded to include two Masses at the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph, one each for Catholics in Brooklyn and in Queens, and at 9:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. respectively. Diocesan Bishop Robert Brennan will celebrate the Masses in Spanish. Afterward, he will stand at the steps to the Co-Cathedral to bless and light the torches to be carried in procession. Representatives from each parish will then depart with the lit torch on their pilgrimage journey to their respective parishes.

The group of pilgrims represents, in its vast majority, the Mexican Catholic population of Brooklyn and Queens which, together, are home to an estimated 175,000 Mexicans.

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CHARGED WITH INTERNATIONAL COCAINE TRAFFICKING

DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN — A COLOMBIAN NATIONAL WAS SCHEDULED TO BE ARRAIGNED MONDAY AFTERNOON, DEC. 11, AT FEDERAL COURT IN BROOKLYN, with United States Magistrate Judge Marcia M. Henry presiding. The defendant, identified as Colombian citizen Alexander Valencia Garcia, was arrested last month in Florida after the Eastern District of New York in Brooklyn issued a warrant. He is charged with two counts of international cocaine distribution. The indictment, court filings and statements made in court show that the defendant and his co-defendants were members of a sophisticated drug trafficking organization that operated in southwestern Colombia. The organization produced and transported thousands of kilograms of cocaine to locations along the coast of Colombia for eventual export and trafficking into the United States.

Garcia’s co-defendants — Cesar Valencia Garcia, Diego Beltran Alvarez, Oscar Valencia Florez and Jhonatan Samboni Ruiz — were all arrested in Colombia, and their extradition is pending.

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SUBWAY RIDERSHIP ON DEC. 9 BEATS PREVIOUS WEEKEND RECORD

CITYWIDE — THE NYC SUBWAY SYSTEM RECORDED 2,918,691 PAID RIDES on Saturday, Dec. 9, surpassing the previous post-pandemic weekend high that was set on Oct. 28, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on Monday. The 2.9 million paid rides, reflecting a six percent improvement on the Oct. 28 record, represents the highest weekend day for ridership in four years. Moreover, 58.5% of all fares were from tap-and-go OMNY customers, who set a single-day record. OMNY, the MTA’s contactless fare payment method, accounts overall for nearly half of all paid subway rides.

The ridership and OMNY records came two days before the MTA activated OMNY customer vending machines in four boroughs, including Brooklyn, enabling riders to use cash at the vending machines to purchase OMNY cards.

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BROOKLYN CONGRESSMEMBERS REVIVE BILL TO FIGHT HATE CRIMES

CAPITOL HILL — A BILL THAT WOULD EDUCATE YOUTH ON FIGHTING AND PREVENTING HATE CRIMES WAS REVIVED IN CONGRESS ON MONDAY, DEC. 11. Brooklyn Congressmember Nydia M. Velázquez (D-07) reintroduced the Education Against Hate Crimes Act, which would extend federal grants to state and local educational agencies and nonprofit organizations, enabling them to implement hate crime prevention and prejudice reduction education programs for secondary and middle school students. Priority in federal funding would be accorded to regions witnessing a disproportionate surge in hate crimes.

The bill’s co-sponsors were Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-09) of Brooklyn and Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-13), whose district includes parts of Harlem and the NW Bronx.

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AVIATOR SUNDRIED TOMATO HALVES ARE LATEST FOODS BEING RECALLED

NATIONWIDE — SUNDRIED TOMATOES ARE THE LATEST FOOD TO BE RECALLED. The US Food & Drug Administration announced on Monday, Dec. 11, that Global Veg Corp., based on Manhattan’s West Side, is recalling all lots and codes of its 5 lbs. packages of “AVIATOR brand Sundried Tomato Halves” because they may contain undeclared sulfites. The product, which bears Lot# 060923/1, was distributed nationwide in 5-lb. vacuum bags. The recall was initiated after routine sampling by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets Food Inspectors, and subsequent analysis by Food Laboratory personnel revealed that the sulfite-containing product was distributed in packages that did not disclose the presence of sulfites on ingredient labels.

People with severe sensitivity to sulfites run the risk of serious or life-threatening reactions if they consume this product. As of press time, no illnesses or adverse reactions involving this product have been reported to date.