What’s News, Breaking: Tuesday, January 16, 2023

January 16, 2024 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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ESSAY CONTEST LETS KIDS IMAGINE BEING PRESIDENT

BAY RIDGE & STATEN ISLAND — CONGRESSMEMBER NICOLE MALLIOTAKIS (R-11/SOUTHWEST BROOKLYN) IS HOSTING her annual Presidents’ Day Essay contest for students in her district comprising southwestern Brooklyn and Staten Island. Students in grades three through five who reside or attend school in New York’s 11th Congressional District are encouraged to write essays on what they would do to improve their community if they were President of the United States. Submission deadline is Friday, Feb. 23, 2024. All essays must be within 400 words and be mailed (USPS) to Malliotakis’ Staten Island District Office, 1698 Victory Blvd, Suite 2L, Staten Island, NY 10314. Winners will receive a congressional certificate of recognition from Malliotakis, a gift card to a local bookstore and an invitation to a pizza party where they will have the opportunity to meet with Rep. Malliotakis to discuss their ideas.

Rep. Malliotakis reports that her office received over 600 submissions for last year’s Presidents’ Day Essay Contest, more than double the number of essays she received since joining Congress in 2021.

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SENATORS URGE THEIR COLLEAGUES
TO SUPPORT PASSENGER RAIL FUNDING

CAPITOL HILL — THE RAILROADS SERVING THE NORTHEAST CORRIDOR MUST GET SENATE FUNDING, SAY SENATOR KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND (D-NY) and a coalition of 13 Senate colleagues who represent New England, the Mid-Atlantic and Illinois. They sent a letter urging Senate Appropriations leadership to defend funding in its Fiscal Year 2024 spending legislation for the Federal Railroad Administration Federal-State Partnership and Intercity Passenger Rail grant program. The committee-passed U.S. Senate Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations bill included $100 million for this account. But House Republicans have proposed zeroing it out, which would dramatically hinder ongoing work to improve rail infrastructure in the Northeast and across the country.

The coalition included Democratic Senators representing New England states, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and Illinois; and two Independents: Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Angus King of Maine.

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FEDERAL JUDGE BLOCKS JETBLUE’S
TAKEOVER OF SPIRIT AIRLINES

NATIONWIDE — A FEDERAL JUDGE IN DALLAS ON TUESDAY, JAN. 16, BLOCKED JETBLUE Airways from buying the low-cost Spirit Airlines, siding with the Biden administration on antitrust grounds, the Associated Press reports. Following a lawsuit from the Justice Department, U.S. District Judge William Young ruled on Tuesday “that the merger would substantially lessen competition in a relevant market.” The Justice Department had warned that the merger would eliminate the nation’s largest low-cost airline and raise fares as a result. JetBlue, however, argued that the merger would actually benefit consumers as JetBlue’s competition would be strengthened against dominant rivals [e.g. Delta and United] in the US air travel industry.

JetBlue has a presence at both of New York City’s airports — JFK and LaGuardia in Queens. JetBlue operates at LaGuardia from Terminal A, and at JFK from Terminal 5. Spirit operates at LaGuardia (and MacArthur in Central Islip, but not JFK).

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MAIMONIDES’ CANCER CENTER EARNS RE-ACCREDITATION

BOROUGH PARK — MAIMONIDES HEALTH’S CANCER CENTER HAS EARNED RE-ACCREDITATION from the Commission on Cancer, a quality program of the American College of Surgeons. Maimonides Cancer Center applies a multidisciplinary approach and treats cancer as a complex group of diseases that requires consultation among a team of healthcare professionals with specialties in oncology, radiology, pathology and surgery, among other medical disciplines. Through this program, cancer patients benefit from having access to clinical trials, screening and prevention events, palliative care, genetic counseling, rehabilitation, oncology nutrition and survivorship services.

As part of the re-accreditation process, the Maimonides Cancer Center underwent a site visit to confirm the program’s compliance with accreditation standards that evaluate the program’s cancer care services.

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RED CROSS, FDNY, CERT VOLUNTEERS INSTALL FREE SMOKE ALARMS

BEDFORD-STUYVESANT — VOLUNTEERS WITH THE AMERICAN RED CROSS AND FDNY INSTALLED 134 free smoke alarms in 45 homes in Bedford-Stuyvesant on Monday’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service. Members of CERT NYC (Community Emergency Response Team) joined in to help educate 127 people about fire safety and preparedness. This event is a collaboration between the American Red Cross in Greater New York, FDNY and the FDNY Foundation. Nationwide, home fires claim seven lives every day, but having a working smoke alarm can reduce this risk by half.

Register for a free smoke alarm installation or sign up to volunteer at soundthealarm.org/nyc.

Red Cross, FDNY and CERT member volunteers.
Photo: Nathalie Sayago/American Red Cross

Red Cross and FDNY volunteers installed 134 free smoke detectors on Monday.
Photo: Nathalie Sayago/American Red Cross

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MTA RELEASES INFO ON PUBLIC REVIEW SCHEDULE
FOR CONGESTION PRICING PROGRAM

CITYWIDE — THE PUBLIC REVIEW PROCESS HAS BEGUN FOR THE TOLLING STRUCTURE THAT HAS BEEN PROPOSED for Central Business District Tolling, New York’s congestion pricing program, the MTA has announced. The Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority (MTA Bridges & Tunnels) will accept written and audio comments from now until March 11. They will also be holding four hybrid virtual/in-person public hearings from Feb. 29 to March 4. Members of the public may submit written comments online, and by email, mail and fax (212-504-3148, with Attention to CBDTP Team). Audio comments may also be submitted via voicemail at 1-646-252-7440. Members of the public who wish to speak at the hearings are required to register in advance online, in-person or by calling the Public Hearing Hotline at 646-252-6777.

All public hearings will be livestreamed on the MTA YouTube channel as well as on the project website; they take place Thursday, Feb. 29 at 6:00 p.m., Friday, March 1 at 10 a.m., and Monday, March 4 at 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.

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FEDERAL JAIL OFFICER PLEADS GUILTY
TO SMUGGLING AND BRIBERY

DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN — A FORMER FEDERAL PRISON CORRECTION OFFICER HAS PLEADED GUILTY at Federal Court in Brooklyn of bribery and smugling of contraband substances at a jail in this borough. Quandelle Joseph, formerly employed by the United States Bureau of Prisons, pleaded guilty before United States District Judge Dora L. Irizarry, on Thursday, Jan. 11, to receiving bribes in exchange for providing contraband to individuals detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. Court documents and facts presented at the guilty plea proceeding revealed that Joseph, who became a correction officer at the MDC in May 2020, accepted tens of thousands of dollars from inmates in exchange for smuggling narcotics, cigarettes and cell phones into the facility. In one instance, Joseph entered a unit he was not guarding during a lockdown, opened an inmate’s cell and provided him with contraband, for which he was expecting a $12,000 payment.

In another case, Joseph admonished another inmate, “Tighten up search comin’ clean phones out call logs n text n try to stash it.”

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MISSING SENIOR IN EAST NEW YORK

EAST NEW YORK — POLICE ARE ASKING THE PUBLIC FOR HELP LOCATING MISSING SENIOR Sharon Hill, age 73, who was last seen on the evening of Saturday, Jan. 13, leaving her Ashford Street residence, near the Gateway Center. Hill is described as 5’2″ and around 165 pounds, and was last seen wearing glasses, a purple sweater, black sweatpants and purple sneakers; photos shared by police show her to have salt-and-pepper hair and a dark complexion.

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.

Missing woman Sharon Hill. All calls are strictly confidential.

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BK WOMAN CHARGED FOR GUN TRAFFICKING

DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN — A BROOKLYN WOMAN ON THURSDAY WAS CHARGED IN BROOKLYN FEDERAL court on Thursday for allegedly dealing guns and drugs at a Canarsie housing project, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of New York; Ariana Charles, also known as Almighty A, age 28, allegedly illegally sold 18 firearms, some trafficked from Georgia and Virginia, to an undercover police officer at the Breukelen Houses, along with crack cocaine and fentanyl dangerously disguised as Oxycodone pills. Text messages between the undercover officer and Charles allegedly show the officer telling her that he would resell the weapons for a profit; Charles faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

Four co-conspirators have also been indicted as a result of the same investigation. The alleged criminal activity took place between March and August 2022, and is being prosecuted under the gun trafficking provisions of the new Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, enacted in June 2022.

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TEEN DIES WHILE SUBWAY SURFING ON F TRAIN

MIDWOOD — A 14-YEAR-OLD BOY PASSED AWAY ON FRIDAY AFTER BEING STRUCK at the Avenue N F train station, reports AMNY; police believe the teenager was subway-surfing and slipped and fell while riding on the outside of a train car. The death is one of several recent incidents involving the dangerous activity; officials say videos shared on social media are responsible for the increase in recklessness and have warned parents about the trend. In November, Mayor Adams recorded a PSA with the mother of Zachary Nazario, who passed away in February after striking his head while subway surfing on the Williamsburg Bridge.

“Another innocent life has been lost, and it should not happen… I implore parents to talk with their children and teachers to speak with their students — riding on top of subway trains is reckless, dumb, and the consequences can be lethal,” MTA President Richard Davey wrote in a statement.

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NYPD COMPLAINTS REACH DECADE HIGH

CITYWIDE — COMPLAINTS MADE AGAINST THE NYPD REACHED THEIR HIGHEST LEVEL since 2012 in 2023, reports Gothamist, with 5,604 complaints filed with the police department’s Civilian Complaint Review Board, spiking 51% from 2022; a third of the complaints cited Brooklyn precincts, with one East New York precinct receiving four times the citywide average. The board’s suggestions for officer censure are not binding, and the NYPD appears to be increasingly declining to follow them, according to its yearly report: just 55% of its recommendations were followed by the department last year under commissioners Keechant Sewell and Eddie Caban; most disciplinary procedures involved cutting vacation days or suspending officers.

While a statement from the NYPD blamed the increase in complaints on increased quality-of-life arrests, activists found this explanation unconvincing. Chris Dunn of the New York Civil Liberties Union told Gothamist, “Complaint activity varies not by law enforcement activity but by excessive and overly aggressive law enforcement.”

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TWO NEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS IN DOWNTOWN BK

DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN — TWO NEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS ARE SET TO OPEN IN DOWNTOWN Brooklyn this September, reports Brooklyn Bridge Parents, and are now open to enrollment for pre-k and kindergarten classes — older grades up to grade 5 will be added as students grow. P.S. 456 will have a curriculum focused on social justice, project-based learning and life skills, along with a Spanish dual-language program, while P.S. 482, the Albee Square Montessori Public School, will offer the city’s first public Montessori-based curriculum, centering hands-on and environmental learning; both schools will offer admissions priority for low-income families and will have rooftop play spaces, gyms, music rooms and other specialized facilities for students.

P.S. 456 offers borough-wide admissions, while P.S. 482 is un-zoned but gives priority to families from District 13; parents can register online for open house dates this week for P.S. 482 through District 13’s website and for P.S. 456 through the P.S. 456 website.

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

CITYWIDE — A RECORD NUMBER OF 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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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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ADAMS RESTORES FUNDING TO YET ANOTHER AGENCY, THIS TIME EDUCATION, 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 the Department of Education “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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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.

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.

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

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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.

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

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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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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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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.

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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 last 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.