What’s News, Breaking: Friday, February 2, 2024

February 2, 2024 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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DOT INSTALLS MID-BLOCK CROSSINGS
AT 3 ATLANTIC AVE. TRAFFIC HOTSPOTS

BOERUM HILL — THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION LAST WEEK INSTALLED THREE MID-BLOCK CROSSINGS ON ATLANTIC AVE. between Nevins St. and Bond St., Bond St. and Hoyt St., and Hoyt St. and Smith St. Atlantic Avenue has a history of being unsafe for pedestrians and cyclists; there have been 500 crashes in the last five years on this stretch of Atlantic, and two fatalities in just 2023. Mid-block crossings are major safety initiatives to slow down speeding cars and trucks. This new design will help neighbors frequent more local businesses by reducing the length of long blocks and making it easier and safer to cross the street. Each of the elected officials representing the Boerum Hill neighborhood has strongly advocated together for this safety improvement on Atlantic Avenue.

Following the death last spring of 31-year-old Katherine Harris, who was in the crosswalk with the light in her favor when a reckless driver moved her down, City Councilmember Lincoln Restler asked DOT to perform a study that found mid-block crossings were warranted.

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PARTIAL BUILDING COLLAPSE KILLS
CONSTRUCTION WORKER IN BOROUGH PARK

BOROUGH PARK — A CONSTRUCTION WORKER WAS KILLED IN A PARTIAL BUILDING COLLAPSE early Friday afternoon, Patch reports, with information from the FDNY. Police and fire officials told Patch that a two-story residential occupied multiple-dwelling building was under construction at 1266 50th Street when the first floor collapsed into the basement at approximately 12:09 p.m. According to a complaint on file with the Department of Buildings website, the building was under a “Partial Stop Work Order” that the Department of Buildings had issued in December and that was still in effect on Friday. Permits had neither been approved nor posted for excavation work being done at the site. The DOB report on the site showed also that the inspector could not gain access to the site on Dec. 26. The only allowable work was to “make the site safe.”

The victim had not been identified as of Friday at 2 p.m.

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NYC’S APPLICATION FOR ‘BQE CENTRAL’ RECONSTRUCTION FUNDS REJECTED

BROOKLYN/QUEENS — THE U.S. DEPT. OF TRANSPORTATION REJECTED NYC’s GRANT APPLICATION TO PARTIALLY FUND THE RECONSTRUCTION of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway’s central section, the Brooklyn Heights Association announced. NYC recently applied for $800 million in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding for the project, out of an estimated total cost of $5.5 billion. Numerous community coalitions and officials have called on state and federal agencies to reject the Adams administration’s plan, which has been called “flawed” and a “boondoggle,” and to work on “a comprehensive transformation of the BQE to achieve environmental justice and equity in impacted communities.”

Elements of a long-term plan — developed by an expert panel in 2020 but rejected by the Adams’ administration — include repairing the existing Triple Cantilever short term, mitigating neighborhood traffic, investing in sustainable freight transportation and public transit, and kicking off planning for the transformation of the entire decrepit and divisive roadway, not just the central section.

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REP. CLARKE JOINS VOICES URGING GOV’T
TO PROTECT PREGNANT WOMEN’S HEALTH AND PRIVACY

NATIONWIDE — WOMEN AND THEIR PREGNANCY SITUATIONS NEED TO BE PROTECTED AGAINST DISCRIMINATION AND CRIMINAL CHARGES, writes a coalition of US Congressmembers, including Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-09) of Brooklyn. The coalition urges the Biden-Harris Administration to protect Americans from the criminalization of their pregnancies and pregnancy outcomes, in the wake of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. The letter specifically calls on the White House, Department of Justice and Department of Health and Human Services to investigate any prosecutions of people’s pregnancy or pregnancy outcomes as an unlawful form of sex discrimination, which includes discrimination on the basis of pregnancy; to clearly articulate the obligations of hospital and medical staff’s to maintain patient privacy and investigate any potential violations of that privacy; and to enforce Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, which prohibits discrimination in health care, including violations of privacy or reporting to law enforcement.

The Congressmembers’ letter is responding to a surge in criminal charges for women with pregnancies or complications, including for Ohioan Brittany Watts, whose miscarriage — a medical emergency — was declared a felony.

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LPC TAKES VOTE OF ‘NO ACTION’ ON PROPOSAL TO DEVELOP 170-YEAR-OLD BROOKLYN HEIGHTS GARDEN

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — THE LANDMARKS PRESERVATION COMMITTEE TOOK A VOTE OF ‘NO ACTION’ on Tuesday, Jan. 30, regarding a controversial proposal to develop a 170-year-old garden lot at 39 Grace Court. “While there was disagreement among the Commissioners about whether it is appropriate to build anything at all on this site, they were united in taking a grim view of the current project as proposed,” the Brooklyn Heights Association reports. LPC Chair Sarah Carroll told the applicants, “…Any new building would have to be very unique, a site-specific response to this particular site.” Former BHA Executive Director Judy Stanton said, “This proposal is a land grab, an attempt to monetize the added value of that hyperlocal sense of place, while erasing exactly the character, the defining features that make this site historically significant as a public good, and eroding the historical integrity of the immediate surroundings,” Brownstoner reported.

At a December CB2 meeting, impassioned objections to the proposed building were raised by neighbors who mourned the loss of the green space and neighborhood character. “You keep characterizing it as an empty lot. It was a beautiful garden,” said Ileane Spinner, a resident of 2 Grace Court, the Brooklyn Eagle reported.

The garden lot at 39 Grace Ct.
Brooklyn Eagle photo by Mary Frost

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NYPD SEEKS MAN WHO LEFT ANTI-SEMITIC
BOOK OUTSIDE AN OCEAN PARKWAY HOME

GRAVESEND — POLICE ARE INVESTIGATING AS A HATE CRIME an incident that happened early Tuesday morning and are requesting the public’s assistance in identifying the individual depicted in the video below. The person is wanted in connection to an aggravated harassment incident that occurred within the confines of the 61st Precinct, which includes the portion of Ocean Parkway within Gravesend. Police received a report that an unidentified male approached a residence in the vicinity of Ocean Parkway around 1:25 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 30, and left a book with an Anti-Semitic symbol on the stoop of the residence. The individual then fled the location on foot, traveling to parts unknown.

The sought individual is described as a male with a light complexion and medium build. The individual was last seen wearing a black hat, black jacket and black pants, carrying an orange bag. The NYPD’s Hate Crime Task Force is investigating the incident.

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4,000 CHABAD WOMEN EMISSARIES GATHER
AT WORLD HQ IN CROWN HEIGHTS

CROWN HEIGHTS — ALMOST FOUR THOUSAND WOMEN LEADERS FROM MORE THAN 100 NATIONS ARE CONVERGING THIS WEEK on Eastern Parkway for the International Jewish Communal Leadership Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Women Emissaries. The event, which began Thursday and runs through Sunday, Feb. 4, is bringing to Chabad headquarters women leaders who will honor the memory of Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, whom many consider the most influential rabbi in modern history. The Rebbe, as Schneerson was known, is credited with orchestrating a global Jewish post-Holocaust renaissance, touching the lives of millions of Jews — and non-Jews — worldwide, through his teachings and the thousands of emissaries he sent out.

The conference attendees were scheduled to gather Friday afternoon, Feb.2, for their “class picture,” this year taking place outdoors because of mild weather. Every autumn, the men have their turn, when Chabad-Lubavitch rabbis worldwide convene at their Eastern Parkway headquarters.

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LEGAL AID SOCIETY: GOOD RIDDANCE TO ADAMS’ SUBWAY SURVEILLANCE ROBOT

TIMES SQUARE — THE NYPD’S 400-POUND, WHITE SUBWAY ROBOT, K5 KNIGHTSCOPE, was removed from the Times Square subway station in Manhattan on Friday, in what the New York Times described as an ignominious end of an experiment that Mayor Eric Adams hoped would combat crime in the subways. “The Police Department had been forced to assign officers to chaperone the robot. It could not use the stairs. Some straphangers wanted to abuse it,” the Times wrote. Legal Aid attorney Shane Ferro said in a statement the city broke the law (the Public Oversight of Surveillance Technology Act, or POST) in installing the mobile surveillance unit. “The NYPD failed to seek feedback from community members regarding the Times Square autonomous robot … as the law mandates.”

As the former Borough President of Brooklyn, Adams championed the use of technology in crime fighting, such as “smart guns”; geeky pilots like sensors to monitor energy usage and overcrowding at Borough Hall; and oddball tech like a bola lasso device to take down perps and emotionally disturbed persons.

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SEN. GILLIBRAND TO SPEAK AT BHA ANNUAL MEETING

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — NYS SEN. KRISTIN GILLIBRAND WILL BE THE GUEST SPEAKER at the Brooklyn Heights Association’s 2024 Annual Meeting, the organization announced in a release Thursday. Gillibrand has served as a U.S. Senator since 2009. In her first term, she led the effort to repeal the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy which banned LGBTQ people from serving openly in the military. She has worked to reform the military justice system and is active in the fight to ensure paid leave for every American.

The meeting will be held on Monday, March 4, at 6:30 p.m. at First Unitarian Congressional Society, 119 Pierrepont St.

Photo courtesy of the Office of Sen. Gillibrand

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CITY, GENSPACE LAUNCH BIOTECH WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

SUNSET PARK — A NEW AND GROUNDBREAKING BIOTECH WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM was launched on Thursday, Feb. 1, thanks to a partnership with the NYC Economic Development Corporation and Genspace, the world’s first community biology lab. Named “Break into Biotech in New York City,” this pilot program will offer access to hands-on training, networking, mentorship and career development opportunities necessary to break into New York City’s rapidly growing biotechnology sector. The community biology laboratory provides supplies and equipment including microscopes, centrifuges, DNA sequencing and protein gel electrophoresis equipment, along with space for educational classes and STEM programming for students.

The program will be open to New Yorkers pursuing employment in the life sciences ecosystem, even if they don’t have backgrounds in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math).

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GOWANUS LANTERN PROJECT LIGHTS UP STORMY NIGHTS

GOWANUS — A GROUP OF ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISTS ARE TEST-DRIVING an open-source new storm protection system for the Gowanus Canal, reports Brownstoner: 3D-printed lanterns that glow automatically when the city issues water quality alerts for the canal over heavy rainfalls, during which overtaxed sewers may dump untreated waste directly into the waterway. The design team for the GLOwanus lanterns, made up of artists and researchers working with the Van Alen Institute, hopes both to prompt residents to help reduce sewer flooding by cutting home and business water usage during storms and to make the issue more approachable through the lantern’s nightlight-like appearance.

Around a dozen lanterns have been distributed to area locals already, with dozens more available for free at the institute’s Bond Street storefront. Coding and printing instructions are going up online soon for at-home makers, and more information can be found on Van Alen’s website.

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ICONIC DUMBO INFRASTRUCTURE IS BACKDROP FOR PROJECTED VIDEO ARTWORKS

DUMBO — THE MANHATTAN BRIDGE AND THE BQE SERVE AS THE CANVASES for the projected video artworks of The Dumbo Projection Project. Projections are now running from Thursdays to Saturdays from dusk to 10 p.m. on both the Pearl Street and Adams Street sides of the bridge, and along the BQE in Susan Smith McKinney Steward Park. The current projection is Natural Possibilities, translating innermost musings and projected desires into abstract digitizations (through Feb. 10), followed by works following New Yorkers as they shop, walk, chew gum and buy flowers (Feb. 15 to March 18); and surrealist animated stories, including Nancy Sepe’s The Acorns’ Big Adventure (March 21 to April 12).

“The scale is exciting and the community will be delighted with the remarkable breadth of work to brighten the dark days of winter,” Alexandria Sica, president of the Dumbo Improvement District, said in a statement on Thursday.

Photo: “Protectors” by Mz.Icar. Photo by Noemie Trusti

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NEW TECHNOLOGY WILL SENSE PATHOGENS IN INDOOR AIR

DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN — TECHNOLOGY TO DETECT VIRUSES, POLLUTANTS AND OTHER POTENTIALLY DEADLY AIRBORNE THREATS is being developed at the NYU Tandon School of Engineering. A research team that Tandon professors Elisa Riedo and Davood Shahrjerdi are leading is in the process of developing sensors to detect pathogens in the air in places where they are installed, alerting the public to potentially deadly airborne threats — in schools, buses and other indoor spaces. The team has been working since 2022 with Mirimus, a Flatbush-based biotech company, to develop a wearable electronic device that detects the presence of a virus in the wearer. Responding to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, they developed an affordable, non-invasive testing methodology. The test, SalivaClear, was one of the winners of the XPRIZE Rapid COVID Testing competition.

Elisa Riedo, professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering; Davood Shahrjerdi, professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering; and Dr. Giuseppe Maria de Peppo, director of Internal Research at Mirimus, Inc., lead the project.

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NYU TANDON’S C2SMARTER CENTER WORKS TO IMPROVE EMERGENCY RESPONSE TIMES

DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN — IMPROVING AND REDEFINING AMBULANCE AND FIRE EMERGENCY RESPONSE TIMES is the focus of a research project at NYU Tandon School of Engineering’s C2SMARTER transportation center. A team that Joseph Chow and Jingqin (Jannie) Gao are leading at C2SMARTER has created a virtual environment model of neighborhood traffic patterns, as part of a pioneering yearlong project. The virtual environment will enable C2SMARTER and FDNY researchers to understand the root causes of emergency response delays and test potential solutions before attempting them on actual streets. The simulation overcomes shortcomings of traditional methods for evaluating potential emergency-response improvements, such as infrastructure modifications, fleet enhancements and alternative routing, that are costly and disruptive to do in the real world.

The team is addressing the factors in delays that often cost crucial minutes or seconds in dense urban environments like NYC, where there are obstacles such as snarled traffic, narrowed roads and construction-related street closures.

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MONTAGUE ST. BID ANNUAL MEETING

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — THE MONTAGUE STREET BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT is set to hold its annual meeting this month, featuring as a special guest speaker Martha Foley from the Brooklyn Women’s Exchange, a historian and archivist. The BID represents more than 100 businesses along Brooklyn Heights’ main shopping corridor and advocates for commerce-friendly policies and neighborhood improvements; the meeting will be held at 129 Montague Street on Feb. 29.

Attendees will also be able to join remotely on Zoom; more information forthcoming closer to the date.

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COPS SEEK CROOKS WHO STOLE BOY’S COAT IN BK SUBWAY STATION

MIDWOOD — POLICE ARE LOOKING FOR THE CROOKS WHO STOLE A 15-YEAR-OLD’S COAT on the southbound Q train platform at the Newkirk Plaza train station at roughly 3:13 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 5. The boy was approached by two unknown males who simulated possession of a knife and forcibly removed his jacket, which was valued at $300, then fled the station on foot. The victim was uninjured. The first suspect is roughly 5’6” tall with a medium build, last seen wearing a black hat, black mask, black varsity jacket with a black hooded sweatshirt underneath and blue jeans. He was carrying a red book bag. The second individual is roughly 5’6” tall with a medium build, last seen wearing a blue mask, black hooded jacket with a fur hood and a black hooded sweatshirt underneath, and black sweatpants.

Anyone with information can call NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782), or by visiting Crime Stoppers online.

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COURT STREET BAGELS UNDER NEW OWNERSHIP

COBBLE HILL — FOLLOWING DAYS OF SWIRLING ONLINE RUMORS OVER the averted closure of longtime Cobble Hill mainstay Court Street Bagels, Eater NY reports that the store’s new owner is Adam Alsoora of nearby Smith Street Bagels. Mystery still remains, however, surrounding the details of the change in ownership: founder Peter Eulo abruptly announced last week that Court Street Bagels would be closing for good on Sunday after losing its lease and expressed shock that the business remained open this week with the same employees and branding. NYC Bagel Tours reports that after struggling with a rent increase set by landlord Conway Capital in 2021, Eulo last year agreed to turn over the keys in exchange for the debt’s forgiveness; Conway then inked a deal with Alsoora to take the store over — apparently without informing Eulo, who wrote on X (Twitter) that he had “no idea” who the new owners were, leaving Alsoora, who had wanted “minimal disruptions,” puzzled in turn.

Posts variously alleging the store was closing due to a crime problem, moving to Hoboken and remaining open under Eulo’s family were all revealed to be false; Alsoora says he plans to lower prices and upgrade ingredients but will leave Court Street Bagels largely unchanged.

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MAN KILLED IN HAIL OF BULLETS AT CROWN HEIGHTS INTERSECTION

CROWN HEIGHTS — A 23-YEAR-OLD MAN WAS SHOT MULTIPLE TIMES while he was standing at the intersection of Union Street and Utica Avenue in Crown Heights on Wednesday at roughly 6:19 p.m., according to the police. The victim was transported by EMS to NYC Health and Hospitals/Kings County, where he was pronounced deceased. Police are withholding the release of the man’s identity pending family notification. A witness told the Daily News that the shooter fired off about 10 rounds, hitting the man multiple times in the chest. The victim staggered from the sidewalk to the crosswalk and then collapsed.

A source told the News that cops are investigating the possibility that the shooting is connected to another one on Tuesday just around the corner, which left a 21-year-old man dead. No arrests have been made so far in either case.

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ROLEX WATCH STOLEN FROM HEIGHTS UPS STORE

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — A PACKAGE CONTAINING A ROLEX SUBMARINER WATCH WORTH $9,500 was allegedly stolen from a UPS store in Brooklyn Heights in December by an employee, reports the Brooklyn Paper. Police say the victim sold the watch on eBay and dispatched it from the shipping company’s Montague Street outpost on Dec. 22. After the package’s online tracking code failed to work, he reported the incident to police — who, together with store management, discovered that the employee who had taken his order was captured on video sneaking out of the store with the watch.

Police say the investigation is ongoing. A spokesperson for UPS told the Brooklyn Paper that the company was working to aid the victim.

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PARK SLOPE PIANO TEACHER SENTENCED FOR SEXUALLY ABUSING YOUNG STUDENT

DOWNTOWN — A BROOKLYN MAN WHO SEXUALLY ABUSED A YOUNG PIANO STUDENT FOR TWO YEARS has been sentenced to seven years in prison, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced on Thursday. John Stewart Russell, 62, of Park Slope, was sentenced Thursday by Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice John Hecht to seven years in prison and 10 years post-release supervision. He must register as a sex offender upon his release. In November 2016, Russell began giving the child piano lessons and started abusing her when he was alone with her.

“After starting a friendship with this family, he sexually abused the child beginning when she was just 9 years old. I hope today’s sentence brings some closure to the victim and her family, and I remain steadfast in my commitment to protecting our children,” Gonzalez said in a statement.

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HOCHUL INAUGURATES FIRST-EVER OPEN GANGWAY SUBWAY CARS IN NYC

MANHATTAN/BROOKLYN — GOV. KATHY HOCHUL AND MTA OFFICIALS INAUGURATED THE ROLLOUT of open gangway subway cars on Thursday with a ride on the C line, running between Washington Heights and East New York. “Today, many of our riders are going to have a chance to experience what they call the open gangway car. Now, what’s that? You don’t know it because this will be the first time ever these cars have been deployed in North America … You can actually move seamlessly from one car to the other. Think about that. You’re not trapped. If you want to have a different experience, you can get up and move around,” Hochul said.

Open gangway cars also close the dangerous gap where people sometimes fall through, have wider doors, aid wheelchair accessibility and have security cameras already built in, Hochul said.

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NYC UNVEILS NEW GARBAGE TRUCK AS PART OF ‘FUTURE OF TRASH’ STRATEGY

CITYWIDE — THE ADAMS ADMINISTRATION UNVEILED A PROTOTYPE OF AN AUTOMATIC, SIDE-LOADING GARBAGE TRUCK on Thursday, part of a strategy leading to the goal of 100% trash containerization in NYC. DSNY’s 2023 “Future of Trash” report found that this type of truck is needed to service the on-street containers that high-density buildings will use to containerize their trash. The truck will also allow for substantially faster collection. The development of the prototype — which took place in Italy, Hicksville and Brooklyn — will be followed by “substantial testing and training,” according to a City Hall release.

Next year, Manhattan’s CB9 will be the first district with 100% of its trash containerized and serviced, the city said. The district is currently home to a containerization pilot on 10 blocks. Rat-sighting complaints in the zone dropped by 68% compared to the same period the prior year.

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FCC PROPOSES THAT AI VOICE TECHNOLOGY USED IN ROBOCALLS BE DECLARED ILLEGAL

BROOKLYN AND WASHINGTON, D.C. — FOLLOWING A PROPOSAL FROM THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION’S CHAIR Jessica Rosenworcel that her agency recognizes calls made with AI-generated voices as “artificial” voices under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, Brooklyn Congressmember Yvette D. Clarke (D-09) praised the move. The proposal would designate voice cloning technology used in common robocall scams targeting consumers as illegal. The rise of these types of calls has escalated during the last few years, now that the technology can deceive consumers with misinformation by imitating the voices of celebrities, political candidates and close family members. The FCC will provide new tools to State Attorneys General across the country to pursue those perpetrating robocalls and hold them accountable under the law.

Rep. Clarke said, “As we stand on the precipice of a new technological age, empowered by AI tools, it’s clear that the federal government must do more to protect consumers from the inherent dangers posed by bad actors’ use of voice cloning technology.”

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NY ATTORNEY GENERAL JOINS 22 OTHERS IN FIGHT TO PROTECT DACA PROGRAM

ALBANY AND NATIONWIDE — NY ATTORNEY GENERAL LETITIA JAMES IS C0-LEADING A MULTISTATE COALITION of 23 attorneys general against Texas’ ongoing push to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The coalition’s amicus brief filed before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit urges the court to reverse the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas’ decision that the DACA program is unauthorized by law, asserting in part of its argument that the district court erred in deciding to vacate DACA in its entirety rather than severing any portions deemed unlawful.

The DACA program, which has allowed over 800,000 recipients to live, study and work across the United States free from the fear of being forcibly separated from their families and communities, also plays a vital role in supporting the economies at the national, state, and local levels. DACA recipients and their households are estimated to contribute approximately $9.5 billion in federal, state and local taxes each year.

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U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL HONORS COHORT FROM FEDERAL COURT SYSTEM IN BROOKLYN

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL Merrick B. Garland honored several staff members of the U.S. District Court/Eastern District of New York at the Attorney General’s Awards Ceremony this week. Honorees included 14 assistant United States attorneys, two paralegal specialists, a special agent and two former AUSAs for their extraordinary public service at the 70th and 71st Attorney General’s Awards Ceremony, held in Washington. This year’s program honors individuals across the department and partners at the federal, state, local and tribal levels for their selfless efforts in protecting national security and civil rights, addressing an increase in violent crime, and prosecuting gangs and those who traffick dangerous narcotics and human beings. The awards also recognize employees whose ideas and efforts save taxpayer dollars and help the government operate more effectively and efficiently.

Recipients from both 2022 and 2023 were selected from a group of more than 800 nominees.

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NEW BILL WOULD HELP VICTIMS SUE PFAS MAKERS AND OBTAIN SCREENINGS FOR ILLNESSES

NATIONWIDE — NEW LEGISLATION THAT U.S. SENATOR KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND (D-NY) HAS INTRODUCED AIMS to make it easier for victims of significant PFAS contamination to sue PFAS manufacturers and to be awarded medical monitoring for early detection and treatment of related diseases. During a video press conference on Thursday, Feb. 1, Sen. Gillibrand introduced her PFAS Accountability Act, which specifically would establish a cause of action against manufacturers, under the Toxic Substances Control Act, for those who have been significantly exposed to PFAS; facilitate courts’ ability to award medical monitoring for victims of significant PFAS exposure; and allow courts to order PFAS safety research and incentivize the industry to fund such research.

PFAS chemicals are contaminants found in a wide variety of consumer products, various industrial applications and firefighting foam that have been linked to an array of health problems, including developmental delays; changes in liver, immune system and thyroid function; and an increased risk of some cancers.