What’s News, Breaking: Thursday, December 14, 2023

December 14, 2023 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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REP. CLARKE, ACTIVIST HALLE BERRY PROMOTE
NEW BILL ON MENOPAUSE RESEARCH, ADVOCACY

CAPITOL HILL — DECLARING THAT “A WOMAN’S VALUE SHOULD NOT BE DEFINED BY THE END OF HER FERTILITY,” Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke (D-09) introduced the bipartisan Menopause Research and Equity Act of 2023 and met with menopause advocates, Let’s Talk Menopause and award-winning actress and activist Halle Berry, to discuss further initiatives to improve menopause awareness. The Menopause Research and Equity Act of 2023, which Rep. Clarke introduced on Thursday, Dec. 14, would direct the National Institutes of Health to evaluate current menopause-related research and submit a report to Congress on its findings; identify the total amount of funding allocated by the National Institutes of Health for the conduct or support of menopause-related research; and research on midlife women’s health over the preceding 5 fiscal years.

“For too long, menopause has remained stigmatized, or even ignored entirely. Women facing this common, natural condition are told to be silent and hide their struggles, only because they may make men uncomfortable,” said Rep. Clarke. “All the while, the nation-wide attack on women’s bodies has only continued to erode our rights.”

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BROOKLYN’S TOP 10 WORST BUILDINGS
AVERAGE MORE THAN 400 HPD VIOLATIONS EACH

BOROUGHWIDE — PROPERTIES FROM BEDFORD-STUYVESANT TO CONEY ISLAND MADE THE DUBIOUS HONOR OF BEING ON THE TOP 10 WORST BUILDINGS for each borough/Brooklyn. The list, which NYC Public Advocate Jumaane Williams released on Thursday, Dec. 14, as part of his 2023 Landlords Watchlist, includes several properties that do not include a corporation or landlord name. The number of apartments ranges from three to 83 and the worst building, at the top of the list, is 133 MacDonough Street in Bedford-Stuyvesant, with 640 HPD violations. Other properties on the Brooklyn Top Ten include 165 East 19th St. in Prospect Park South; 187 Hull St. in Ocean Hill-Brownsville; 1392 Sterling Place in Crown Heights; and 80 Clarkson Avenue, near SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Flatbush.

The top 10 buildings with the most average open HPD violations in each borough are included on the Watchlist, regardless of ownership.

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LEXINGTON AVE. ARMORY AT FORT HAMILTON
WINS FUNDING FOR REPAIR AND RENOVATION

FORT HAMILTON — THE LEXINGTON AVENUE ARMORY AT THE FORT HAMILTON MILITARY BASE WILL RECEIVE FUNDING THAT U.S. SENATOR KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND (D-NY) has secured through the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024. Gillibrand, a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and Chair of the Emerging Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee, successfully got a number of her provisions included. The NDAA provides $90 million for construction, repair, and modernization of Lexington Armory, which is the center of the New York Army National Guard’s (NYARNG) recruiting and diversity efforts: NYARNG achieved 103% of its recruiting mission and 108% of its retention mission during Fiscal Year 2022.

The National Guard this week celebrated its 387th anniversary as the nation’s oldest military organization, founded in 1636 with the original mission of safeguarding local communities.

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TRANSFER STUDENTS GET ‘SHORT-TERM-WIN
ON RULING THAT BLOCKS NCAA SPORTS RULE

NATIONWIDE — TRANSFER STUDENTS MAY GET A REPRIEVE FROM AN NCAA RULE THAT BANS THEIR PARTICIPATION IN COLLEGIATE SPORTS, now that a federal judge temporarily stopped the NCAA from enforcing a transfer eligibility rule. US District Judge John Preston Bailey of northern West Virginia issued a preliminary injunction on Wednesday, Dec.14, against the athletic organization, whose transfer eligibility rule prohibits Division I college athletes from competing for a year if they transfer schools twice. The lawsuit alleges that the NCAA rule is an illegal restraint on college athletes’ ability to market their labor and control their education. New York Attorney General Letitia James was part of a coalition of six states, including North Carolina and West Virginia, where transfer student-athletes were benched from competing.

Attorney General James, calling the victory by NC Attorney General Josh Stein “an important short-term win,” said, “The NCAA’s transfer eligibility rule is not fair play, and we will continue to fight to ensure that college athletes do not need to choose between their academic goals and athletic pursuits.” Meanwhile, the NCAA said in a statement it would comply with the order and notify schools.

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CHARGED WITH GRAND LARCENY AND FRAUD
INVOLVING CLIENTS’ ESCROW ACCOUNTS

DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN — A BENSONHURST LAWYER HAS BEEN CHARGED WITH STEALING close to $1.5 million from three clients he represented in real estate and estate proceedings. The defendant Salvatore Strazzullo, 51, with a law office in Bensonhurst, was arraigned on Thursday, Dec. 14, with Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Rhonda Tomlinson presiding. He was released without bail and given a Jan. 17 court date. District Attorney Eric Gonzalez reported that defendant Strazzullo is charged with one count of first-degree grand larceny, two counts of second-degree grand larceny and one count of first-degree scheme to defraud. The lawyer failed to surrender the $1.2 million sale proceeds of an elderly Bensonhurst woman’s home, instead using the customary escrow account for personal expenses. An 80-year-old male selling his home and a 52-year-old widow were also victimized.

People who believe they have been victimized by this defendant are encouraged to contact the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Action Center at 718-250-2340 or to send an email to [email protected].

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PSC APPROVES EMPIRE WIND’S PLAN TO BUILD SUNSET PARK WIND POWER FACILITIES

SUNSET PARK — THE NYS PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION ON THURSDAY APPROVED the petition to build and operate transmission facilities connecting to a substation in Sunset Park for the Empire Wind 1 Offshore Wind Project. A 17.5-mile high-voltage power line will run under the Atlantic Ocean from more than a hundred offshore wind turbines — faintly visible from Jones Beach — to an onshore substation in Sunset Park’s South Brooklyn Marine Terminal. Underground cables will also run to a Con Edison substation in Gowanus. The project is expected to bring 600-700 temporary jobs and eventually roughly 300 permanent jobs to Sunset Park. With Empire Wind 2, the projects will produce enough renewable energy for more than 388,000 homes.

Empire Wind is being developed through a 50-50 joint venture between Equinor and bp. Molly Morris, President, Equinor Renewables Americas, said the project would revitalize the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal.

Photo: How Empire Wind’s wind turbines would appear from Jones Beach.
Simulation: Equinor

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HOCHUL: A DOZEN NEW CANNABIS SHOPS OPENING, INCLUDING ONE IN BROOKLYN

HOMECREST — GOVERNOR KATHY HOCHUL ANNOUNCED THURSDAY THAT A DOZEN NEW adult-use cannabis dispensaries, including one in Brooklyn, will soon be opening statewide. The Grow Together dispensary will open at 2370 Coney Island Ave. in Homecrest on Dec. 19. Two more legal shops will be opening in Manhattan and one in the Bronx. Legal challenges have slowed the rollout of legal dispensaries, allowing illegal outlets to flourish. By the end of December, the state anticipates having at least 37 legal weed shops open for business.

Hochul emphasized that eight of the legal outlets are majority Black-owned (including the new one in Brooklyn), five are Hispanic-owned, and nine are women-owned, “highlighting New York’s commitment to fostering a representative and inclusive cannabis market.”

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NYC UPGRADES SNOWPLOWS WITH ‘BLADERUNNER 2.0’ GPS TRACKING TECH

CITYWIDE — IN TIME FOR THE WINTER SNOW SEASON, MAYOR ERIC ADAMS INTRODUCED “BLADERUNNER 2.0,” which he described as state-of-the-art software that tracks the city’s fleet of roughly 5,000 vehicles. “With BladeRunner 2.0, we’ll be able to track real‑time progress more efficiently, deploy our plows and salt spreaders to keep the snow and ice off our streets so that the city that never sleeps will never have to be stalled due to a snowstorm,” Adams said at a press conference Thursday. Adams said the system, based on GPS data, would make snow removal more equitable. “No more systems of first, second and third tier streets in which different communities receive different levels of services.”

Sanitation Commissioner Jessica Tisch said that the agency’s budget was not cut this year, unlike other city agencies. “We are headed into this snow season with the highest headcount of sanitation workers that we have had in decades and 600 more than the last time we fought snow.”

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NEW TYPE OF METAL DETECTOR APPROVED FOR MURROW HS AFTER STABBING

MIDWOOD — A FASTER, NONINVASIVE WEAPON DETECTION SYSTEM CALLED OPENGATE has been approved for use at Edward R. Murrow High School a week after a 15-year-old was stabbed by another student there, Mayor Eric Adams and Jacques Jiha, director of the NYC Office of Management and Budget, said at a press conference on Tuesday. Unlike standard metal detectors, people being scanned with OPENGATE simply walk between two vertical pillars without having to remove backpacks, purses or bags.

The victim is expected to survive, and the suspect was taken into custody, according to CBS News. A search of the school by police after the stabbing uncovered 13 knives, seven pepper spray canisters, two stun guns and one box cutter.

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ADAMS SAYS ‘POLITICAL OPPORTUNISTS’ TO BLAME FOR RUMORS & INVESTIGATIONS

CITY HALL — MAYOR ERIC ADAMS BLAMED ‘POLITICAL OPPORTUNISTS’ for the rumors and investigations surrounding his fundraising and connections to Turkey. “From the day I was elected, no matter what we did, they did everything to try to derail our city. And I’ve said this more than once long before this whole Turkish conversation came up,” Adams told reporters at a press briefing on Tuesday. He added, “There are people who wake up every day and say, how do I get the pilot of this plane to crash? … People should be praying for me to land the plane.”

Adams has not been accused of any crimes. However, his director of protocol for international affairs has been placed on leave amid a federal investigation, a former commissioner has been indicted, the home of his chief campaign fundraiser was raided by the FBI, and Adams’ electronic devices were seized by the FBI, among other events.

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COPS SEEK WOMAN ON E-BIKE WHO STEALS PACKAGES FROM WILLIAMSBURG MAILROOMS

WILLIAMSBURG — A WOMAN WHO RIDES AN E-BIKE is sneaking into residential buildings in Williamsburg and stealing packages from mailrooms, police say. The first reported incident took place on Bedford Avenue on Oct. 18, when she entered through the front entrance, went into a mail room and stole an unknown number of packages, after which she hopped on an e-bike and fled southbound on Bedford Avenue. On Dec. 6, she was recorded entering a building on Kent Avenue by forcing open the front door. Once inside, she loaded up a large red laundry bag with numerous packages and again fled on her e-bike. Police described the suspect as having a dark complexion and dreadlocks, last seen wearing a black jacket, black sweatpants, black Yankee hat and white sneakers. 

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 https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org

Williamsburg mailroom thief — Photo:NYPD

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TRIBUTES POUR IN FOR ANDRE BRAUGHER, STAR OF ‘BROOKLYN NINE-NINE’

NEW JERSEY — PRAISE FOR ANDRE BRAUGHER, WHO STARRED AS CAPTAIN RAYMON HOLT IN THE HIT COMEDY “BROOKLYN NINE-NINE,” poured in after his death Monday at the age of 61. While in real life Braugher lived in New Jersey with his family, in his role he portrayed an unforgettable Brooklyn character. Braugher won two Critics Choice Awards for best supporting actor in a comedy series and received four Emmy nominations for his performance as Holt, the precinct’s no-nonsense, Black and gay boss, the Guardian and numerous other news outlets reported.

“From award-winning Shakespearean roles to changing the face of TV in gritty dramas, the actor was astonishing. And his turn as Raymond Holt was laser-focused comedic excellence,” The Guardian said.

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NIGHTTIME WORK ON BQE STATEN ISLAND-BOUND LANES NEXT 3 THURSDAYS

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS-DUMBO — THE CITY’S DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION will be carrying out nighttime maintenance work on the underdeck shielding at multiple locations on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (BQE) between Atlantic Avenue and Sands Street on the next three Thursdays (December 14, December 21, December 28). As a result, double-lane closures will take place on the Staten Island-bound BQE from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m., DOT said in a release.

People with questions can contact DOT’s Community Liaison, Anita Navalurkar, at 347-647-0876 or [email protected].

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ANONYMOUS DONOR TEMPORARILY SAVES GROWNYC COMPOST PROGRAM

CITYWIDE — AN ANONYMOUS DONOR DONATED ENOUGH TO TEMPORARILY SAVE the GrowNYC compost collection sites at the city’s greenmarkets after Mayor Eric Adams’ budget cuts threatened to shut them down, Gothamist reported Wednesday. GrowNYC spokesperson Andrina Sanchez told Gothamist the donation was enough to keep the compost collection program running until the end of June, when the city’s annual budget is due.

The donation, however, does not cover the other seven organizations that run community composting programs: the LES Ecology Center, Earth Matter NY, Big Reuse, Snug Harbor Cultural Center and the New York, Brooklyn and Queens botanical gardens are all still losing their city funding, Gothamist said.

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JOYFUL PROCESSION THROUGH BROOKLYN CELEBRATES MEXICAN CATHOLICS’ PATRON SAINT

PROSPECT HEIGHTS & BOROUGHWIDE —MORE THAN 3,000 PEOPLE ATTENDED MASSES AT THE CO-CATHEDRAL OF ST. JOSEPH ON TUESDAY, DECEMBER 12 to mark the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The Diocese of Brooklyn held two Masses for parishioners of the 49 Catholic churches, one for Brooklyn and another for Queens. Bishop Robert Brennan was the main celebrant for both Masses. At the conclusion of each Mass, Bishop Brennan stood on the steps of the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph to bless and light the torches for each of the Catholic Churches represented. Individuals selected to represent their parishes then departed with the lit torch on their pilgrimage journey back to their church.

“Today there was such excitement, joy, and reverence in giving honor and praise to Our Lady of Guadalupe,” said Bishop Brennan. “The torches lit after each Mass, that then journeyed through the streets of Brooklyn and Queens, are a very visible sign of who we are as Catholics and of our love for Our Blessed Mother.

Members of St. Finbar parish in Bath Beach carry their banner as they begin their procession.Photo courtesy DeSales Media — Members of St. Finbar parish in Bath Beach carry their banner as they begin their procession.
Photo courtesy DeSales Media

The bishop and auxiliary bishops light the torches to be carried to parishes around the BrooklynPhoto courtesy DeSales Media — The bishop and auxiliary bishops light the torches to be carried to parishes around the Brooklyn
Photo courtesy DeSales Media

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SEN. GILLIBRAND URGES MORE FUNDING FOR PROGRAMS THAT FEED OLDER ADULTS

NATIONWIDE —AS FOOD PRICES SOAR, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) held a video press conference to call for $1.284 billion in funding for the Older Americans Act Title III-C Nutrition Program, which provides free meals to older adults. The funding will help organizations like Meals on Wheels deliver 230 million nutritious meals annually to 2.2 million older adults nationwide facing hunger. “Free delivered meals are a lifeline for older New Yorkers,” said Senator Gillibrand, who pointed out that they provide “much needed social interaction every day.” Gillibrand asked the Senate Appropriations Committee to provide this amount “…to allow our seniors to age with dignity in their own homes and stay physically and mentally healthy throughout their lives.”

Gillibrand emphasized that the community-based and federally supported OAA Nutrition Program has served the elderly since 1972, helping improve and maintain senior health, safety, social connection — while simultaneously saving healthcare funds.

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STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL RESTS CASE IN TRUMP FRAUD TRIAL

LOWER MANHATTAN —NY ATTORNEY GENERAL LETITIA JAMES’ OFFICE ON WEDNESDAY, DEC. 13 RESTED ITS CASE against Donald Trump and the Trump Organization for years of financial fraud, following an 11-week trial. The closing witness was Professor Eric Lewis of Cornell University’s business school, who explained principles of accounting, notwithstanding multiple interruptions from Trump’s defense team. In her statement to the press, Attorney General James pointed out that “the judge already ruled in our favor and found that Donald Trump engaged in years of significant fraud and unjustly enriched himself and his family,” and that “this trial revealed the full extent of that fraud — and the defendants’ inability to disprove it.”

Attorney General James’ team is scheduled to present its closing statements on January 11. State Supreme Court Judge Arthur F. Engoron (New York County), a street-smart, wry jurist who has presided over this bench trial, will then issue his ruling expected in late January, according to a December 13 New York Times story. “In a strange way, I’m going to miss this trial,” Justice Engoron said. “It’s been an experience.”

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AS SUPREME COURT DECIDES TO RULE ON ABORTION PILL, GOV. HOCHUL VOWS TO FIGHT

STATEWIDE — CALLING THE NEWS THAT THE SUPREME COURT HAS DECIDED TO RULE ON ABORTION PILL ACCESS “VERY DISTURBING,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said Wednesday that she would fight for women’s rights against what she called a “MAGA” court. The decision could ban medication abortions nationwide. “Remember, these are the same nine justices who, a year and a half ago, overturned Roe v. Wade, setting back American women 50 years in terms of their progress toward freedom, reproductive freedom,” she warned in a statement.

More than half of abortions in America are by mifepristone, a medication called very safe by the FDA, which is taken within the first 10 weeks of pregnancy at home, eliminating the need for surgery. The case would come before the court next year, according to AP.