What’s News, Breaking: Friday, January 12, 2024

January 12, 2024 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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HOCHUL ANNOUNCES NEW SUNY DISABILITY INITIATIVES

STATEWIDE — GOVERNOR HOCHUL ON THURSDAY ANNOUNCED SEVERAL new initiatives at SUNY campuses meant to support students with disabilities, funded by a nearly $10 million accessibility investment from the state. All 29 state-run campuses will hire new staff, including learning and support specialists and services coordinators, while at least 24 campuses will invest in campus improvements, like removing mobility barriers, and accessibility equipment and technology, such as text-to-speech software and user-friendly classroom desks. Many have also committed to providing professional development sessions to faculty and summer transition programs for disabled students, along with various other innovative student-led proposals, like community access councils.

According to data reported to the state Education Department, more than 30,000 SUNY students reported having a disability; more than 1.4 million students are currently enrolled across the university system.

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CADMAN PLAZA PARK OVAL RECONSTRUCTION ‘78% COMPLETE’

DOWNTOWN — THE $6.4 MILLION RECONSTRUCTION OF THE GRASSY OVAL at the north end of Cadman Plaza Park in Downtown Brooklyn is 78% complete, according to the Parks Department website. Neighbors have enthused about the freshly planted lawn, which replaces a field worn almost bare due to constant use.

Other work will include the replacement of the walking/running track, new benches, resetting the base of the Gaynor monument, adding a bottle-filler drinking fountain, reconstructing the stepped ramp to the paved area and other touches.

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MEXICAN OYSTERS LINKED TO NOROVIRUS OUTBREAK

NATIONWIDE — THE U.S. FOOD & DRUG ADMINISTRATION IS URGING RESTAURANTS AND RETAIL FOOD COMPANIES NOT TO SERVE OR SELL certain oysters from Bahia Salina in Sonora, Mexico because they are potentially contaminated with the Norovirus. Although distribution was concentrated in California, the FDA cautions that they may have shipped to other states as well. The warning affects Sociedad Acuicola GolPac (MX 06 SP) oysters that were harvested from Bahia Salina, Sonora, Mexico on 12/18/2023 or 12/27/2023. Oysters contaminated with norovirus can cause illness if eaten raw, and potentially severe illness in people with compromised immune systems. Food containing norovirus may look, smell and taste normal.

On 1/10/2024, the California Department of Public Health notified the FDA of an outbreak of Norovirus in San Diego County that has been linked to the consumption of oysters tracing back to the above-mentioned specific harvest location in Mexico.

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PHILADELPHIA ARCHBISHOP IS CELEBRANT AND HOMILIST
AT BROOKLYN DIOCESE’S MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY MASS

FLATLANDS — THE MOST REV. ROBERT BRENNAN, BISHOP OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC DIOCESE BROOKLYN, WILL WELCOME ARCHBISHOP NELSON J. PEREZ of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia to celebrate a Mass honoring the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Monday, Jan. 15. Archbishop Perez will be the main celebrant and homilist at the noon Mass, which is hosted at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church (1550 Hendrickson Street in Flatlands), and is being offered as a prayer for harmony among all people. The Vicariate Office of Black Catholic Concerns for the Diocese of Brooklyn sponsors the Mass, during which one of Dr. King’s speeches will be read.

Born in 1961 in Miami of Cuban refugees, Archbishop Perez served as an Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of Rockville Centre (Nassau and Suffolk Counties on Long Island) during much of the same period (2012-2017) as Bishop Brennan. Both were then named bishops for Ohio dioceses: Bishop Brennan led the Diocese of Columbus before returning to Brooklyn; Bishop Perez led the Diocese of Cleveland until Pope Francis in 2020 named him Archbishop of Philadelphia.

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CITY ISSUES VACATE, EMERGENCY WORK ORDERS AT CHABAD HQ

CROWN HEIGHTS — THE CITY DEPARTMENT OF BUILDINGS ON WEDNESDAY ISSUED several emergency work and vacate orders for buildings in the Chabad Lubavitch headquarters complex located at 770 Eastern Parkway, reports Gothamist, after the discovery earlier this week of an unapproved tunnel dug by religious students raised fears of potential damage and collapse at the historic synagogue. A spokesperson from the DOB stated that the orders require Chabad to hire engineers to evaluate and stabilize the properties impacted by the tunneling, and that the city would be “pursuing enforcement actions against the property owners for the illegal work” — adding to the existing headache over the headquarters’ ownership, contested due to infighting following the death of the Lubavitch Grand Rebbe Menachem Schneerson in 1994.

Chabad leaders on Monday attempted to have the tunnel filled with cement but were forced to call police after workers met violent resistance from the diggers, who believe Schneerson issued a call to physically enlarge the synagogue prior to his death.

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OUTRAGE OVER NBC ‘DOUBLE-CHARGING’ TO WATCH CHIEFS/DOLPHINS MATCHUP

NATIONWIDE — SATURDAY’S WILD CARD MATCHUP BETWEEN THE CHIEFS AND DOLPHINS won’t be available to subscribers who pay for NBC as part of their cable package — they will have to shell out extra for NBC’S Peacock streaming service to watch the game, the Daily News reports. “This bait-and-switch is particularly egregious for consumers who already pay for NBC as part of their cable package. Since Peacock is a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, this exclusive deal essentially double-charges loyal fans to watch games they thought they had already paid for,” said an outraged New York Democrat Rep. Pat Ryan, who represents the Hudson Valley.

“The NFL raked in $12 billion in 2022; NBCUniversal made almost $40 billion. They now have a choice, either fix this problem, or we’ll fix it for them,” Ryan said, adding that he was going to look into the corporation’s antitrust exemption.

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The man suspected of attempting to rob a Midwood bank. All calls are strictly confidential.

POLICE SEEK ATTEMPTED BANK ROBBER

MIDWOOD — POLICE ARE SEARCHING FOR AN UNKNOWN MAN WHO ON THE AFTERNOON OF Wednesday, Jan. 10, entered a Citizens Bank branch, located outside of the Flatbush Avenue – Brooklyn College 2 and 5 train station, and passed a note to a teller demanding cash. Police said, however, that there were no items removed and no injuries reported before the man fled the location on foot in an unknown direction; the suspect is described as having a dark complexion and was last seen wearing a white baseball hat, black jacket and blue facemask.

Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of this missing person 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 Crime Stoppers website, or on X (Twitter) @NYPDTips.

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ADAMS RESTORES FUNDING TO YET ANOTHER AGENCY, THIS TIME DOE, IN BUDGET DANCE

CITYWIDE — MAYOR ERIC ADAMS HAS RESTORED FUNDING to yet another city agency, after numerous previously-announced cuts flummoxed officials. On Friday, he announced the restoration of $10 million to public schools, and added $80 million for Summer Rising. On Thursday, Adams restored money for thousands of litter baskets and a park cleaning program; on Wednesday, he restored funds for a class of 600 new police recruits and reversed cuts to FDNY firehouses. Adams claimed he was able to restore the money to DOE “thanks to measures implemented to responsibly manage the city’s budget and strategically navigate significant fiscal challenges.”

But other city officials, including Councilmember Justin Brannan, finance chair for the City Council, said the mayor’s explanation was irrational or worse. “All of a sudden, the mayor has found money, with irrationally shifting explanations and numbers, cutting into the credibility of his narrative that the city has an insurmountable budget gap that demands overly broad cuts,” Brannan said, according to NY1.

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Missing 9-year-old Heaven Banton, last seen leaving P.S. 323 on Thursday.

GIRL GOES MISSING FROM SCHOOL

BROWNSVILLE — POLICE ARE URGENTLY SEARCHING FOR MISSING GIRL HEAVEN BANTON, AGE 9, who was last seen on Thursday, Jan. 11, around 2:30 p.m. leaving her school, P.S. 323, located near the Rockaway Avenue 3 train station. Heaven is described as 4′ 9″ and around 90 pounds, and was last seen wearing a black and white long-sleeved shirt, black pants and black shoes; security camera imagery released by police shows her to have long braided hair and a dark complexion.

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YOUNG WOMAN RUN DOWN BY CAR AND KILLED — POSSIBLY INTENTIONALLY

EAST NEW YORK — A YOUNG WOMAN WAS INTENTIONALLY RUN DOWN BY A CAR AND KILLED — allegedly after a “domestic dispute” — according to the Daily News and a police report. At about 7:31 p.m. Thursday, police responded to a 911 call of a pedestrian struck at 1210 Loring Ave., in front of NYCHA’s Pink Houses. Officers found Shakira Serrano, 24, suffering from severe trauma to the head and body, according to NYPD. Serrano was transported by EMS to Brookdale Hospital Medical Center, where she was pronounced deceased. No arrests have been made and the investigation remains ongoing.

According to the Daily News, police chalked the incident up to a domestic dispute, but the relationship between the driver, whom the News identified as a woman, and Serrano is not known.

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MORE THAN 20,000 CITY STUDENTS NOW HAVE NYC SCHOLARSHIP ACCOUNTS

CITYWIDE — MILESTONE: MORE THAN 200,000 NYC STUDENTS NOW HAVE NYC SCHOLARSHIP ACCOUNTS through the NYC Kids RISE Save for College Program, Schools Chancellor David C. Banks and NYC Kids RISE Exec. Dir. Debra-Ellen Glickstein said at an event on Friday at P.S. 85 The Great Expectations School in the Bronx. Every student in the Save for College Program automatically receives an NYC Scholarship Account with an initial $100 from NYC Kids RISE (unless their family chooses to opt-out).

“We are working with our communities to build on the city’s $100 seed investment in students’ accounts and ensuring that higher education and career training is in reach for our children,” Banks said in a release.

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NYC WINS FEDERAL GRANTS FOR FIRST-EVER MAGNET HIGH SCHOOLS

CITYWIDE — MAYOR ERIC ADAMS AND SCHOOLS CHANCELLOR DAVID BANKS ANNOUNCED FRIDAY that the city has won two U.S Department of Education Magnet Schools Assistance Program grants totaling nearly $30 million, which will fund the creation of the city’s first three magnet high schools. Magnet schools develop specialized curricula aligned to a specific theme, which helps attract diverse groups of students. The grants will go to six public schools throughout the Bronx and Manhattan. According to the NYC DOE website, “Magnet Schools are public schools of choice.”

“These new high schools will bring together outstanding students from across the city and provide them with challenging and high-quality education,” U.S. Senator Charles Schumer said in a release.

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BROOKLYN BRIDGE TOWERS ILLUMINATED BY NEW LED LIGHTS

BROOKLYN BRIDGE — THE TOWERS OF THE BELOVED 140-YEAR-OLD BROOKLYN BRIDGE shone brilliantly Thursday night after being illuminated with new, energy-efficient LED lights. The new lighting is part of a four-year, $300 million restoration. The NYC Department of Transportation held a ceremony in Brooklyn Bridge Park to celebrate the occasion, with speakers including Brooklyn elected officials, DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez, Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce President Randy Peers and John Roebling’s great-great grandson Arthur Shettle. The new lighting is part of DOT’s efforts to preserve the bridge, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Workers have been meticulously scrubbing decades of harmful dirt and soot from every stone on the bridge, restoring the mortar between each stone, and returning the bridge’s famous towers to their original light gray color.

DOT and Brooklyn officials celebrated the new LED lighting on the Brooklyn Bridge Thursday.
Photo: NYC DOT

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AS COVID-19 RATES CONTINUE TO RISE, CITY RECOMMENDS GETTING VAXXED

CITYWIDE — THE NYC HEALTH DEPARTMENT SAYS COVID-19 rates continue to rise after the holidays, and recommends that people get the updated COVID vaccine to protect themselves from new variants. According to the NYC DOH website, the city averaged 2,323 cases a day as of last week, and 119 hospitalizations a day. The JN.1 variant has been detected in New York City, but this variant is closely related to BA.2.86, which has been here since August 2023. According to the CDC, existing vaccines, tests and treatments still work well against JN.1.

People can use the vaccine finder to make their vaccination plans. Most insurances will cover costs, but the finder also lets New Yorkers without insurance filter for no-cost vaccines near them.

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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 10 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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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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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.

Rabbi Serge Lippe speaks at a Martin Luther King Weekend event at First Presbyterian Church in 2018.
Brooklyn Eagle photo by Francesca N. Tate

The Rev. Dr. Allen Robinson, rector of Grace Church.
Photo: Kimberly Fine Portraiture

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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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CHURCH HISTORIAN ON SLAVERY SPEAKS ON PARISHES’ INVOLVEMENT IN SLAVERY

PARK SLOPE — THE REV. DR. CRAIG D. TOWNSEND, Historian in Residence for Racial Justice for the Episcopal Diocese of Long Island, is the guest preacher this Sunday, Jan. 14, for the Martin Luther King commemoration at All Saints Church on Seventh Avenue. Dr. Townsend spearheads the diocese’s Uncovering Parish Histories project, “which helps parishes explore their histories of involvement in slavery and the slave economy in antebellum America, of involvement in anti-slavery movements, and of later manifestations of both racial discrimination and injustice and racial reconciliation and justice,” according to the All Saints’ Church announcement. The worship service begins at 10 a.m. followed by a Sunday forum, which Dr. Townsend will also lead.

In conjunction with his diocesan work, Dr. Townsend is also director for faith formation at St. Ann & the Holy Trinity Church and Pro-Cathedral in Brooklyn Heights.

Dr. Craig Townsend.
Photo courtesy of All Saints Church and Episcopal Diocese of Long Island

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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.

The proposed route of the Interborough Express.
Map courtesy of MTA

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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 Street 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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MTA 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 West 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.