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BOSTON UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR SPEAKS
ON INTERPLAY OF SCIENCE AND JUDAISM 

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — THE INTERSECTION OF GOD, KABBALISTIC MYSTICISM AND CLIMATE CHANGE IS THE FOCUS OF A SCIENCE SHABBTON at Congregation B’nai Avraham the weekend of Jan. 12-13. After a 4:31 p.m. Shabbat candlelighting on Friday, Dr. Binyomin Abrams, a Research Associate Professor and Director of General Chemistry in Boston University’s Chemistry Department, will give a dinner lecture on “Answering the Deepest Mysteries of the Universe.” He will also present two lectures on Saturday, Jan. 13, “Seeing G-dliness in the World,” at 10:30 a.m. and “Kabbalah & Climate Change,” at 5 p.m.

Dr. Abrams, the winner of awards of excellence in teaching technology, lectures extensively on the interplay of science and Judaism, utilizing wit and humor to illuminate complex topics.

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GRACE CHURCH, BROOKLYN HTS. SYNAGOGUE
JOIN FORCES FOR WEEKEND HONORING DR. KING 

BROOKLYN — GRACE CHURCH AND THE BROOKLYN HEIGHTS SYNAGOGUE WILL HONOR THE MEMORY AND LEGACY OF CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING this weekend with a pulpit exchange with the two senior clergy and a joint choir. The MLK interfaith weekend begins on Friday, Jan. 12, at 6:30 p.m., with the Brooklyn Heights Synagogue hosting. The Rev. Dr. Allen Robinson, rector of Grace Church, will be the guest speaker. Grace Church hosts on Sunday, Jan. 14, with Rabbi Serge Lippe as guest speaker.

The bond between Grace Church and the Brooklyn Heights Synagogue dates back to the synagogue’s founding in 1960 when the landmark Episcopal parish on Hicks St. hosted worship services until the BHS secured its own building.

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BROOKLYN HTS. BLOG SALUTES BELOVED
HEIGHTS RABBI WITH ITS BHB TEN FOR 2023

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — THE BROOKLYN HEIGHTS SYNAGOGUE’S SENIOR RABBI SERGE LIPPE WAS NAMED TO THE BHB TEN FOR 2023. The Brooklyn Heights Blog, at the close of each year, selects 10 individuals or groups who made an impact on the neighborhood, nation and world as the Most Notable People of Brooklyn Heights in 2023. Rabbi Lippe, who in 2022 celebrated his silver jubilee as spiritual leader of Brooklyn Heights Synagogue, has made an immeasurable, positive impact on the neighborhood. He has served as president of the Brooklyn Heights Interfaith Clergy Association, initiated the annual Iftar with members of Dawood Mosque on State Street, and helped develop the annual MLK, Jr. interfaith weekend tradition with local churches, among other programs.

Moreover, the synagogue credits Rabbi Lippe for major membership growth, expansion of its physical space, and the creation of its widely-acclaimed preschool.

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IN MEMORIAM
ACTOR ADAN CANTO, 42, HAD MET
HIS FUTURE WIFE IN BROOKLYN

BROOKLYN AND LOS ANGELES — ACTOR ADAN CANTO, WHOSE ROLES INCLUDED WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF AARON SHORE ON THE NETFLIX SERIES “DESIGNATED SURVIVOR,” died on Monday, Jan. 8, at age 42 of appendiceal cancer, according to several news reports breaking Wednesday night. The Mexican-born Canto met his wife, Stephanie Lindquist Canto, while in Brooklyn in 2012, marrying in 2017. Their two children, Roman and Eve, are ages 3 and 1, respectively. In “Designated Survivor,” with a setting in the near future (2025), Canto plays a rising White House staffer who becomes Vice President-elect when President Tom Kirkman is elected in a landslide. Kirkman is a Cabinet member who originally becomes President after the Capitol is bombed during a State of the Union Address, living through the attack because he was the “Designated Survivor.”

Canto also starred in “X-Men: Days of Future Past,” and “The Cleaning Lady,” now in its second season on Fox.

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NY TIMES ANALYSIS: MORE THAN 1K CASES
OF EMERGENCY BRAKE PULLS WERE UNJUSTIFIED 

CITYWIDE — AMID THREE SUBWAY TRACK DERAILMENTS WITHIN A WEEK, NY TIMES REPORTER ANA LEY HAS FOCUSED on the cause of the incident at 96th Street in Manhattan: a disabled train whose emergency brakes vandals had pulled. Ley points out that during 2023 alone, “the agency counted 1,748 unjustified cases of pulled emergency brakes, which rippled through the subway system causing 7,365 delays. Only 30 uses were justified, the authority said.” Four days after the New Year, on Jan. 4, a No. 1 train stalled at 79th St. after vandals activated its emergency brakes and collided with an in-service passenger train, causing more than two dozen injuries. Nonetheless, even though frequently misused, emergency brakes (required on regional commuter trains) remain an important safety feature, and are common in most transit local systems in the United States, MTA officials told the Times. Valid reasons for pulling them include a passenger collapsing, riders getting caught in doors or violent altercations aboard trains.

However, reports the Times’ Ley, some experts warn that MTA’s antiquated technology contributes to the misuse of emergency brakes, which should be less accessible to riders.

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FOUR CHARGED IN MORTGAGE REFI SCHEMES
CLAIMED THAT BANKS WERE ALSO INVOLVED

DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN — A GROUP OF FOUR DEFENDANTS HAVE BEEN ARRESTED AND CHARGED AT FEDERAL COURT IN BROOKLYN with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. As alleged in the indictment, between January 2022 and May 2023, the defendants Daniel Vernon, Yveler Marcellus, Felix Marcial and Tatiana Williams, conducted fraudulent “tech” and “mortgage refinancing” schemes, through which they targeted victims by phone and convinced them to send cash, checks or money orders to the defendants at various addresses within in the Eastern District of New York, which includes Brooklyn and Queens. The defendants and their co-conspirators falsely represented to individual victims that victim bank accounts were compromised, that individuals were attempting to access the victim’s computer to gain access to the victim’s funds, that individuals at the victim’s financial institution were involved in the scheme to steal the victim’s money and that the victim’s money would be kept safe if the victim sent the funds to the individual on the telephone.

United States Magistrate Judge Joseph A. Marutollo presided over the indictments of Vernon, Marcellus and Marcial, the latter two of whom have Brooklyn addresses. United States Magistrate Judge Lisette M. Reid presided over Ms. Williams’ indictment.

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NYC TRANSIT FOCUSES ON ‘TRACK ISSUES’ AS CAUSE OF F TRAIN DERAILMENT

CONEY ISLAND — NYC TRANSIT IS INVESTIGATING ‘TRACK ISSUES’ as a possible cause of Tuesday’s F train derailment in Coney Island, NYCT President Richard Davey said at a press conference following the incident, which took place at roughly 12:20 p.m. The train was traveling from the W. 8th Street station to the Neptune Avenue station when it derailed at a slow speed just above a superstructure. The term track issues include track geometry, such as an uneven track or a split — though the geometry had been inspected in November and no defects were detected. Transit hopes to get more information from the train’s event recorders.

There were 37 people aboard including three workers, who were all safely evacuated by FDNY without any injuries.

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HOCHUL STATE OF THE STATE HIGHLIGHTS INTERBOROUGH EXPRESS TRAIN

BROOKLYN/QUEENS — GOV. KATHY HOCHUL LISTED THE ENGINEERING OF THE INTERBOROUGH EXPRESS (IBX) as a transportation priority in her State of the State address on Tuesday. The IBX train project aims to connect Bay Ridge, Brooklyn to Jackson Heights, Queens, and other neighborhoods in between, via a new light rail line. The IBX would run along currently existing freight train tracks through the outer parts of the boroughs, connect with 17 other subway lines as well as the LIRR, and carry up to 115,000 passengers daily.

The project has the potential to reduce travel times between outer portions of the two boroughs by 30 minutes and serve 40 million riders a year, the governor said.

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PUBLIC HEARING ON MAYORAL EDUCATION CONTROLS

BED-STUY — THE THIRD OF FIVE PUBLIC HEARINGS CONDUCTED BY the state Department of Education on mayoral control of city schools is set for Thursday evening at Boys and Girls High School, the DOE announced on Wednesday, offering members of the public an opportunity to provide feedback and comments in order to inform the state’s review of the current system. Slots to speak at this hearing have filled up, but the public is welcome to attend and listen to commenters; while Albany typically approves mayoral control of city schools every four years, Adams and Hochul in 2022 locked horns over an amended school control agreement that removed some of the mayor’s authority over the Panels for Educational Policy that help shape NYC school standards, and the state extended its authorization for two years only, expiring in June of this year.

The meeting will take place from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024, at Boys and Girls High School; more information about mayoral control and future hearings, as well as links to a livestream and comment submission information, can be found online on the city DOE’s mayoral control webpage.

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THE BROOKLYN HOSPITAL CENTER NAMES FULL-TIME CHAPLAIN

DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN — THE BROOKLYN HOSPITAL CENTER HAS APPOINTED FATHER FRANCIS JOOJO OBU-MENDS, a distinguished member of the Spiritan international Roman Catholic religious missionary congregation, as the full-time Chaplain and Director of the Spiritual Care Department. A board-certified healthcare chaplain accredited by the National Association of Catholic Chaplains since 2013, Father Francis has been an integral part of TBHC for several years, previously serving in a part-time capacity. Originally hailing from Ghana, Father Francis brings a wealth of academic, pastoral, and spiritual care experiences from his extensive background in Africa, Europe and the United States. Locally, he has served Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Windsor Terrace and a parish in Breezy Point, Queens.

Spiritans (The Congregation of the Holy Spirit) established a new province in the U.S. in 1872, largely serving African-American communities. The Spiritans founded Duquesne University, an internationally recognized Catholic university in Pittsburgh.

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RESEARCH TEAM OF PROFESSOR AND PH.D. CANDIDATE SETTLE A PALEONTOLOGICAL DEBATE

FLATBUSH/MIDWOOD — A PROFESSOR AND A STUDENT FROM BROOKLYN COLLEGE AND CUNY’S GRADUATE CENTER HAVE PRUNED A BRANCH OFF THE PRIMATE TREE, with their research paper that determined picrodontids — an extinct family of placental mammals that lived several million years after the extinction of the dinosaurs — are not primates as previously believed. The paper, published on Jan. 10 in Royal Society’s Biology Letters, is significant in that it settled a paleontological debate that has been brewing for over 100 years while helping to paint a clearer picture of primate evolution. Stephen Chester, the paper’s senior author and associate professor of anthropology at Brooklyn College and the CUNY Graduate Center, conducted the research with Jordan Crowell, lead author and adjunct lecturer in the Department of Anthropology at Brooklyn College and a Ph.D. candidate at the CUNY Graduate Center, and John Wible, curator of Mammals at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Chester and Crowell are also currently working on several additional externally funded research projects focusing on how primates and other mammals evolved following the extinction of dinosaurs.

Chester and Crowell also encourage undergraduates to contact them regarding funded research opportunities in the Mammalian Evolutionary Morphology Laboratory.

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LIVINGSTON BUS LANE REDESIGN FINISHED, SAYS DOT

DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN — THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION HAS OFFICIALLY WRAPPED UP its work on the new Livingston Street safety redesign, according to a press statement from the department, with a mile-long stretch of Livingston from Boerum Place to Flatbush Avenue now featuring two protected bus lanes for the B41, B45, B67 and B103 bus lines in the busy and frequently clogged Downtown Brooklyn commuter corridor. The project involved the conversion of one of Livingston’s two car lanes into a bus lane, meaning that the street is now one-way westbound only; the DOT also installed concrete pedestrian and bus stop islands, physical traffic barriers and sidewalk extensions to promote safety.

Local polls hailed the project’s completion: “50,000 daily bus riders have been stuck in endless traffic on Livingston Street on one of the slowest bus routes in all of Brooklyn… Those days are over!” said Councilmember Lincoln Restler; while Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon called it “terrific news,” and state Sen. Andrew Gounardes said he was “thankful” to the DOT.

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ANOTHER OLD-SCHOOL DINER CLOSES ITS DOORS IN DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN

DOWNTOWN — NEW APOLLO DINER, ONE OF THE FEW REMAINING OLD-SCHOOL DINERS IN THE DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN AREA, shut its doors in mid-December after 30 years of operation on Livingston Street near Smith Street. In a message on their website, the owners said they are retiring. “It is with mixed emotions that we bid farewell to each and every one of you who have been an integral part of the New Apollo Diner family since our doors opened in 1993,” they wrote.

Another longtime establishment, Happy Days Diner on Montague Street in Brooklyn Heights, also closed in mid-December after the landlord seized the site following non-payment of rent. Another restaurant owner has applied for a liquor license for the site.

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MISSING BOY IN BROWNSVILLE

BROWNSVILLE — POLICE ARE ASKING THE PUBLIC FOR INFORMATION ABOUT MISSING Brownsville teen Jeremiah Vernet, age 15, who was last seen leaving his residence, near Brookdale Hospital, on the morning of Monday, Jan. 8. Jeremiah is described as around 6’0″ and 160 pounds, with a medium complexion.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website, or on X (Twitter) @NYPDTips.

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MAYOR: RESTORED FUNDS WILL ADD NEW POLICE ACADEMY CLASS

CITYWIDE — FUNDING WILL BE RESTORED FOR THE NEW YORK CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT (NYPD) TO ADD ANOTHER POLICE ACADEMY CLASS OF 600 NEW RECRUITS set to join the ranks in April, Mayor Eric Adams announced on Wednesday, Jan. 10. This class of recruits will graduate in October and will join the three additional police classes that are scheduled to graduate this year. Additionally, Mayor Adams announced that funding will be restored to return a fifth firefighter at 20 FDNY engine companies and maintain 190 firefighters on payroll who are not expected to be able to return to full-duty status. Mayor Adams credits the funding restoration to measures that his administration has taken to responsibly manage the city’s budget and strategically navigate significant fiscal challenges.

Adams also credited the restoration of funds to his administration’s successful efforts to drive down overall crime, saying that murders were down by 12% and shootings down 25% in 2023.

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PUBLIC INVITED TO COMMENT ON MTA’S CONGESTION PRICING PLAN

CITYWIDE — PEOPLE CAN NOW SUBMIT COMMENTS ON THE MTA’S RECOMMENDED FEES AND TOLLS for NYC’s congestion pricing plan. The public comment period will allow for possible tweaks to this program before the final MTA vote in the spring of 2024. The agency will accept written and audio comments until March 11 and will hold four hybrid virtual/in-person public hearings in February and March. People may submit written comments online and by email, mail and fax, and may submit audio comments by leaving a voicemail message. Feedback may be submitted online.

Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon says the plan is important to her district because “50% of the vehicles in and around Downtown Brooklyn are pathfinding their way through our neighborhood streets to the free Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges, avoiding the toll on the Brooklyn Battery/Gov. Hugh Carey Tunnel.”

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NYC HEALTH DEPT. RECRUITING THOUSANDS FOR ‘LONG COVID’ STUDY

CITYWIDE — MANY NEW YORKERS SUFFER DEBILITATING LONG-TERM EFFECTS FROM COVID-19. Now, the NYC Health Department is launching a multi-year study on the often-serious effects of what is termed ‘Long COVID,’ the agency announced Wednesday.  The agency will recruit up to 10,000 participants for the study this year and follow up over several years. This data will inform policymakers and program planners on the needs and barriers to support services for those experiencing long-term physical and mental health problems, Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan said in a statement.

The study will ensure that “no one in our city suffers in silence and that New Yorkers have access to the most helpful resources available,” said Dr. Amanda K. Johnson, Assistant VP of Ambulatory Care and Population Health at NYC Health + Hospitals.

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NUMBER OF GUNS SEIZED BY TSA AT NYC AIRPORTS UP 76% IN 2023

NYC METRO — TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADMINISTRATION (TSA) AGENTS SEIZED 51 HANDGUNS AT NYC AREA AIRPORTS in 2023, a notable increase from the 39 guns caught in 2022. Each firearm was discovered by TSA officers during routine screening at airport security checkpoints, the agency said. Newark Airport had the most seizures — 20 guns — followed by JFK (15) and LaGuardia (9). Regional airports make up the remainder of seizures.

Nationwide the number of guns detected increased to 6,737 in 2023, up from the 6,542 detected in 2022.  The vast majority of the seized guns (93%) were loaded.

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ANSWERS DEMANDED ON HOW ARMY CONTRACTOR SOLD MILITARY-GRADE ORDNANCE TO CIVILIANS 

NATIONWIDE — AMID RECENT REPORTS THAT A FEDERALLY FUNDED CONTRACTOR HAS PRODUCED MILITARY-GRADE AMMUNITION FOR SALE TO CIVILIANS, NY Attorney General Letitia James is leading a multistate coalition of 20 attorneys general calling on the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention to investigate this. The reports allege that the military-grade ammunition has been sold to the perpetrators of recent mass shootings. The coalition is demanding to know how a facility overseen by the U.S. Army — Lake City Army Ammunition Plant — produced billions of rounds of ammunition that were sold on the civilian market, and asked the Office of Gun Violence Prevention to ensure that future military production contracts will prohibit the sale of military-subsidized weapons and ammunition to civilians. 

Attorney General James’ action was announced the day after Brooklyn Congressmember Dan Goldman (D-1) introduced a related “Federal Firearm Licensee Act,” which would require background checks on all firearms sales.

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NYPD CHAPLAINS COMMEND THE LATE JOSEPH ESPOSITO

BENSONHURST — LEADERS IN THE ROMAN CATHOLIC DIOCESE OF BROOKLYN SALUTED THE LATE JOSEPH ESPOSITO, UPON LEARNING OF HIS DEATH, reports the diocesan newspaper, The Tablet. Esposito, who died on Monday, Jan. 8, “…was an amazing person,” said Msgr. David Cassato, an NYPD chaplain and a close friend, told the Tablet. “He cared about every single cop in the NYPD.” Esposito helped guide the city through the aftermath of the 9/11 tragedy and was a steadfast presence for the relief workers at the Ground Zero site. A parishioner of St. Athanasius Church in Bensonhurst, where Msgr. Cassato before his retirement was a longtime pastor, Esposito was also a former chairman of the Diocesan Review Board, the panel that assists the bishop in responding to allegations of abuse against priests. Esposito was “a cop’s cop,” Monsignor Robert Romano, another NYPD chaplain, told the Tablet. “He was genuinely loved by the cops because he had worked his way up and they knew they had great leadership in him.”

Esposito was made a knight in the Order of St. Gregory the Great in 2002, one of the Catholic Church’s highest honors for a layperson. Funeral arrangements were pending as of press time.

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BACKLASH AFTER CITY MOVES MIGRANTS TO BROOKLYN HIGH SCHOOL DURING STORM

MIDWOOD — CRITICS PILED ON AFTER THE ADAMS ADMINISTRATION EVACUATED ALMOST 2,000 MIGRANTS from tent shelters at Floyd Bennett Field and installed them at James Madison High School in Midwood on Tuesday. The migrants were moved by Emergency Management as a storm with driving rain and high winds threatened the encampment. Students at the school were told to attend classes remotely on Wednesday, stirring a backlash by parents and several local politicians, including Assemblymember Michael Novakhov, who was set to lead a rally outside the school Wednesday morning. “The City of New York’s decision to prioritize migrants over our communities, budget, safety, and even the education of our children has raised serious concerns,” Novakhov said in a statement.

Comptroller Brad Lander on Tuesday criticized the city’s decision to place asylum seekers in Floyd Bennett Field from the start, “despite the known significant storm risks.”

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