What’s News, Breaking: Monday, February 5, 2024

February 5, 2024 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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ELECTED OFFICIALS URGE MAYOR TO RESUME
COOPERATION WITH IMMIGRATION OFFICIALS

CITYWIDE — THE MAYOR NEEDS TO RESTORE COOPERATION WITH THE FEDERAL AGENCY ICE (Immigration, Customs & Enforcement), say Brooklyn Congressmember Nicole Malliotakis and a coalition of City Councilmembers and law enforcement officials. Rep. Malliotakis, Councilman Bob Holden and Councilman Joe Borelli joined with ICE members on Monday to urge their colleagues and Mayor Eric Adams to work with the agency, following the arrests of hundreds of migrants for murder, stabbings, robberies, and the assault of multiple police officers, including two in Times Square. Ten years ago, in 2014, Mayor Bill de Blasio signed into law two bills that dramatically limited New York City’s cooperation with federal immigration officials. Then, in 2018, de Blasio issued citywide guidance and new NYPD protocols to codify the City’s policy of not cooperating with federal immigration enforcement activities, pursuant to Local Law 228 of 2017.

Last year, ICE issued 109 detainer requests to the NYPD, none of which were honored, partly because municipal law requires judicial warrants, as opposed to ICE’s administrative warrants.

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LOCALS FILL MEETING TO BLOCK
HOMELESS SHELTER ON 25TH AVENUE

BATH BEACH/BENSONHURST — ABOUT 200 CONSTITUENTS OF ASSEMBLYMAN WILLIAM COLTON (D-47) AND CITY COUNCILMEMBER SUSAN ZHUANG GATHERED on Sunday, Feb. 4, to prevent the planned construction of a homeless shelter at 86th Street and 25th Avenue, which borders Bath Beach and Bensonhurst. A demolition permit has been issued for the site, 2501 86th Street, Assemblyman Colton told the crowd assembled at Health Essentials, 2336 86th Street. However, he emphasized, the issuance of a permit does not mean that a homeless shelter will be built there. A total of 14,000 petition signatures opposing the shelter has already been gathered — about 7,000 online and 7,000 on paper. The developer for the shelter is Tejpal Sandhu of 86th Street NY LLC, the same party involved with another shelter originally planned for 2147 Bath Avenue.

Assemblyman Colton alleges the Sandhu Group makes a practice of building so-called hotels in unexpected locations and then leasing them to the city at a cost of thousands of dollars per resident per month, all coming from taxpayer dollars.

Assemblyman William Colton addressed the crowd while Chief of Staff Larry He, Councilmember Susan Zhuang and Lina Chen listened.
Photo courtesy of Assemblymember William Colton’s Office

The site of the proposed homeless shelter, just below the elevated 25th Avenue station on the D train line.
Photo courtesy of Assemblymember William Colton’s Office

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WEGMANS HUMMUS PRODUCT RECALLED
AFTER UNDECLARED SESAME IS FOUND

MID-ATLANTIC REGION — A POPULAR WEGMAN’S BRAND PRODUCT HAS BEEN RECALLED AFTER ITS PRODUCER FOUND THE PRESENCE OF SESAME, not indicated on the ingredient label. Summer Fresh Salads Inc. of Woodbridge, Ontario, Canada, is recalling its “Wegmans Harissa Hummus Topped With Harissa” because it may contain undeclared sesame, which could be life-threatening to consumers with allergies. The recall was initiated when it was determined the sesame-containing product was distributed in packaging that did not name the presence of sesame. Subsequent investigation indicates the problem was caused by a labeling error. Consumers who have purchased 10.5 oz (298 g) packages of Wegmans Harissa Hummus Topped With Harissa are urged to return them to the place of purchase for a full refund.

The recalled “Wegmans Harissa Hummus Topped With Harissa” was sold in select Wegmans stores in states ranging from New York to North Carolina between Jan. 29 and Feb. 2, 2024.

The recalled product is sold in a 10.5 oz (298 g) clear plastic package with top, side and bottom labels marked with lot #240239 and lot #240309 with an expiration date of 03/19/2024 and 03/26/2024 stamped on the side label. Note that one of the labels indicates that an ingredient was bioengineered.<br>Images courtesy of U.S. Food & Drug Administration — The recalled product is sold in a 10.5 oz (298 g) clear plastic package with top, side and bottom labels marked with lot #240239 and lot #240309 with an expiration date of 03/19/2024 and 03/26/2024 stamped on the side label. Note that one of the labels indicates that an ingredient was bioengineered.
Images courtesy of U.S. Food & Drug Administration

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WHERE’S THE SHEEPDOG?
EWE WANDERING SUNSET PARK STREETS
GETS NEW HOME AT ANIMAL SANCTUARY

SUNSET PARK — A SHEEP WAS SPOTTED WANDERING IN EMPTY LOTS AND STREETS AROUND SUNSET PARK on Saturday before being rescued by NYPD officers, reports the Daily News. According to photos posted on X (formerly Twitter), the ewe was spotted in an undeveloped lot near 39th Street. Before NYPD Special Ops collared her and placed her in the care of the city’s Animal Care and Control unit, Mike Stura, founder and president of Skylands Animal Sanctuary in Wantage, N.J., agreed to give her a new home. The ewe, which was apparently separated from her urban setting, with no shepherd to be found, was then named Lyn, after a friend of the sanctuary.

Skylands Animal Sanctuary, which frequently rescues stray farm animals from the city, also took in Ricardo the 700-lb. bull who, in December, had disrupted service on NJ Transit after breaking loose.

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POLICE I.D. CROWN HEIGHTS MAN KILLED IN HAIL OF BULLETS

CROWN HEIGHTS — POLICE HAVE IDENTIFIED THE MAN SHOT MULTIPLE TIMES at the intersection of Union Street and Utica Avenue in Crown Heights last week as Kareem Morgan, 23, a resident of Saint Johns Place. Morgan was shot by an unknown individual on Wednesday, Jan. 31, at roughly 6:19 p.m., and collapsed in the walkway. He was transported by EMS to NYC Health and Hospitals/Kings County, where he was pronounced deceased. A witness told the Daily News that the shooter fired off about 10 rounds, hitting Morgan multiple times in the chest.

A source told the News that cops are investigating the possibility the shooting is connected to another one on Jan. 30 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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HORMEL RECALLS SPICED HAM PRODUCT;
DELI WORKERS FIND UNDECLARED CHEESE

NATIONWIDE — UNDECLARED CHEESE AS AN INGREDIENT IN A HORMEL BRAND SPICED HAM PRODUCT HAS LED TO A RECALL OF 945 LBS. OF THIS PRODUCT, the US Food Safety & Inspection Service announced on Saturday, Feb. 3. Hormel Foods, headquartered in Austin, Minnesota, is recalling its ready-to-eat spiced deli ham products due to misbranding and undeclared allergen. The product may contain milk, a known allergen, which is not declared on the product label. Affected product includes a 5-lb. plastic casing or various weight packages sliced from a retail deli containing “Hormel Spiced Ham With Natural Juices” with lot code 051424 shown on the immediate packaging. The retail store’s deli staff sliced the ham for purchase by consumers, when they observed cheese in the product.

Although the product was reportedly sold in Pennsylvania, travelers from Brooklyn with dairy allergies should be on the alert if they’ve purchased this product.

Pictured are labels and lot numbers from Hormel spiced ham that was recalled.
Photo courtesy Food Safety and Inspection Service

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NEW OPEN SUBWAY CARS ROLL OUT ON C LINE

CITYWIDE — THE MTA’S FIRST NEW “OPEN GANGWAY” R211 SUBWAY CARS ENTERED SERVICE on the C line in upper Manhattan on Thursday, reports NBC News, offering a first look at the transit system’s vision for the future; the new R211Ts ditch the doors separating cars in exchange for a seamless covered pathway, making it possible to walk from one end of the train to the other. Transit advocates say benefits will include more space and easier access for riders with mobility aids, bikes and strollers, as well as deterring dangerous “subway surfing” by making it more difficult to climb onto the outside of the cars; however, the linked car design means repair work will require full trains to be pulled out of service, while some commuters have voiced concerns that the ease of movement between cars will also mean increased exposure to unruly passengers or bad odors.

The new open gangway trains are expected to roll out on more local routes through 2025.

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DINING SHEDS SET TO DISAPPEAR

CITYWIDE — THE CITY DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION LAST WEEK RELEASED ITS FINALIZED SET OF RULES governing outdoor dining, reports NBC News, seeking to reign in the proliferation of curbside sheds that sprang up in the wake of pandemic indoor dining restrictions. Under the new rules, restaurants will no longer be allowed to erect fully-enclosed “bunkers”: outdoor dining setups will have to be open-air and easily removable, as any structures in the roadway must be removed between December and March; the city will also be enforcing accessibility rules and barring roadside dining from metered parking spots, among other restrictions.

Restaurant owners have been strongly critical of the new rules, saying that expanded dining space saved businesses and jobs during the pandemic, but some residents argue that the benefits aren’t worth it, charging that the sheds attract vermin and disrupt quiet areas in a November lawsuit against the city.

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VERIZON VAN TORCHED WITH ‘EXPLOSIVE DEVICE’

CROWN HEIGHTS — A ROAD RAGE INCIDENT TURNED EXPLOSIVE on Thursday night when the driver of a dollar van private bus threw an “unmarked explosive device” into a Verizon work van after an argument broke out between himself and two Verizon employees, reports Crown Heights Info. Sources said the employees managed to jump out before the device exploded inside the cab, but were transported to the hospital for injuries suffered in the blast; the explosion left the dashboard “deformed,” cracked windows and set the van’s engine block on fire.

Firefighters summoned to the scene put the engine fire out; police are investigating the incident.

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TRANSIT MUSEUM TO HOLD ‘SKETCH AND SIP’ CLASS

DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN — THE NEW YORK TRANSIT MUSEUM PLANS TO HOLD one of its “sketch and sip” nights next month, an evening of artistic collaboration hosted by NYC illustrator James Yang where guests can explore the museum’s collection of historic train cars and transit artifacts while sipping drinks and working on drawings. The museum will supply sketch boards, paper and pencils to attendees of all skill levels (guests can also bring their own supplies, but the museum asks for pencils and water-based markers only,) as well as a drink ticket, with further drinks available for $5 each.

The event will take place on Thursday, March 28, starting at 6 p.m.; tickets sell out quickly and can be purchased on the museum’s website for $15.

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SEN. GILLIBRAND TO SPEAK AT BHA ANNUAL MEETING

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — U.S. 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 from New York since 2009. In her first term, she led the effort to repeal the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy that 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.

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

TIMES SQUARE — THE NYPD’S 400-POUND, WHITE-COLORED 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 crimefighting, such as “smart guns”; 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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LANDMARKS VOTES ‘NO ACTION’ ON PROPOSAL TO DEVELOP 170-YEAR-OLD 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.

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

CROWN HEIGHTS — ALMOST FOUR THOUSAND WOMEN LEADERS FROM MORE THAN 100 NATIONS CONVERGED LAST WEEK on Eastern Parkway for the International Jewish Communal Leadership Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Women Emissaries. The event, which began Thursday and ran 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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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 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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REP. CLARKE JOINS VOICES URGING GOV’T TO PROTECT PREGNANT WOMEN’S HEALTH AND PRIVACY

NATIONWIDE — WOMEN AND THEIR PREGNANCIES NEED TO BE PROTECTED AGAINST DISCRIMINATION AND CRIMINAL CHARGES, writes a coalition of US Congressmembers, including Rep. Yvette Clarke 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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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 reported, using 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 St. 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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DOT INSTALLS MID-BLOCK CROSSINGS AT THREE ATLANTIC AVE. TRAFFIC HOTSPOTS

BOERUM HILL — THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION LAST WEEK INSTALLED THREE MID-BLOCK CROSSINGS ON ATLANTIC AVE. between Nevins and Bond streets, Bond and Hoyt streets, and Hoyt and Smith streets. 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.