What’s News, Breaking: Wednesday, February 14, 2024

February 14, 2024 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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BROOKLYN 2023 CITY COUNCIL CANDIDATE FACING CHARGES IN JAN. 6 CAPITOL ATTACK

DOWNTOWN — A BROOKLYN REPUBLICAN WHO CAMPAIGNED FOR CITY COUNCIL in District 37 in 2023 appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia M. Faruqui in Brooklyn Court on Wednesday, facing charges related to the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. The FBI complaint provided numerous open source photos and videos along with CCTV footage and witness accounts, allegedly depicting Mitchell Bosch, 44, forcefully shoving U.S. Capitol Police Officers and Metropolitan Police Department Officers outside the Capitol building, encouraging other rioters, and engaging in numerous disorderly acts during the attack. Bosch ran on an anti-vax, anti-Drag Queen Story Hour platform, among other issues. On Dec. 16, 2021, he was arrested at an anti-vax protest in a Queens Cheesecake Factory, the Queens Eagle reported.

Marissa Sherman of Brooklyn Federal Defenders Office represented Bosch for the purposes of the removal hearing on Wednesday. Going forward, Bosch will be prosecuted in Washington, D.C.

Open source photos allegedly depicting Mitchell Bosch at the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.
Source: Legal complaint/FBISource: Legal complaint/FBI

Open source photos allegedly depicting Mitchell Bosch at the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.
Source: Legal complaint/FBI

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NEW DEAN OF EDUCATION AIMS TO CHAMPION
DIVERSE APPROACHES TO TEACHING

FLATBUSH/MIDWOOD — BROOKLYN COLLEGE HAS APPOINTED MARÍA SCHARRÓN-DEL RÍO AS THE NEW DEAN of the School of Education at Brooklyn College. A professor in the School Psychology, Counseling, and Leadership Department, Scharrón-del Río (who uses the pronoun they) previously served as interim dean of the School of Education. A member of the Brooklyn College community since 2006, Scharrón-del Río worked on the original accreditation of the school counseling graduate program. In 2019, they were appointed associate dean, assisting the school in transitioning to a new accrediting body, the Association for Advancing Quality in Educator Preparation. As dean, Scharrón-del Río will champion the pursuit of knowledge from different perspectives and approaches.

After coming to Brooklyn College, Scharrón-del Río received the 2017 Claire Tow Distinguished Teacher Award. They are an active leader in GLARE (GLBTQ Advocacy in Research and Education).

MARÍA SCHARRÓN-DEL RÍO
Photo courtesy of Brooklyn College

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BROWER PARK’S SKATING ARENA GETS NEW DESIGN AS PART OF NON-PROFIT SKATEPARK’S PROJECT

CROWN HEIGHTS — ONE OF THE TWO NEW SKATE PARKS PLANNED FOR BROOKLYN will be a renovated space in Crown Heights, reports the website Brooklyn Parents. The north end of Brower Park, which sits next to the Brooklyn Children’s Museum, is being redesigned as a skate park accessible for all skill levels and skating activities. Professional skateboarder Tony Hawk and his nonprofit organization, The Skatepark Project (TSP), is redesigning the park. The other skate park, which will be within Mount Prospect Park, across from the Central Library, has met with some resistance from locals. But both parks have the support of the local City Councilmembers, who promise that Mount Prospect Park will remain open throughout construction. The Skatepark Project plans to publicly gather community feedback before designs and plans are finalized.

The Skatepark Project aims to build skateparks for youths in underserved neighborhoods across the nation, and just last May, TSP reopened Brooklyn Banks on the 140th anniversary of the iconic Brooklyn Bridge’s opening, reported Bloomberg News at the time.

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NYC SUING TIKTOK, INSTAGRAM, FACEBOOK, SNAPCHAT & YOUTUBE FOR WRECKING KIDS’ MENTAL HEALTH

CITY HALL — NEW YORK CITY IS FILING A LAWSUIT AGAINST five big social media platforms — TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat and YouTube — charging them with fueling a nationwide youth mental health crisis, Mayor Eric Adams announced in a release on Wednesday. The city is joining hundreds of school districts across the country seeking to force tech giants to change their behavior and to recover the costs of addressing youth mental health, Adams said. Last month, NYC Health Department Commissioner Dr. Vassan issued an advisory identifying unfettered access to social media as a public health hazard.

“Over the past decade, we have seen just how addictive and overwhelming the online world can be, exposing our children to a non-stop stream of harmful content and fueling our national youth mental health crisis,” Adams said.

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NEW APP LETS CATHOLICS MORE FULLY EXPERIENCE LENTEN PILGRIMAGE

PROSPECT HEIGHTS —WHEN THE DIOCESE OF BROOKLYN OPENED ITS LENTEN PILGRIMAGE on Ash Wednesday, a new app to help the faithful track their visits was also launched, reports The Tablet’s Jessica Easthope. One of the newest apps available, The Diocese of Brooklyn’s Lenten Pilgrimage app could have an eternal impact when it aids in people’s deepening their faith and their walk with God. DeSales Media Group, the communications and technology arm of the Diocese of Brooklyn developed the app, which is free of charge and available for download on iPhones and Androids, and which allows the user to receive direct updates about the Lenten Pilgrimage and to set personal goals and milestones in visiting the more than 35 churches across Brooklyn and Queens. Visits will be automatically tracked using QR codes posted at each church.

Father Joseph Gibino, diocesan vicar for evangelization and catechesis, emphasized to the Tablet that “We will be creating a community of intentional disciples through the app,” making it possible for those who can’t get to all churches to at least log in and experience the prayerfulness.

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LANDER: NYC SIGNING FEWER CONTRACTS WITH MINORITY AND WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES

CITY HALL — NYC COMPTROLLER BRAD LANDER TESTIFIED BEFORE THE CITY COUNCIL on Wednesday that NYC is failing to hit its goals in awarding contracts to Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises (M/WBEs). This past fiscal year, the city spent roughly $40 billion on contracts for everything from office supplies to human services to technology, but M/WBEs only accounted for 3% of newly-registered contracts — down from 5.2% in FY2022. In the more limited number of city contracts subject to M/WBE participation goals, the number of minority-owned companies receiving contracts was higher at 9.8%, but that was still lower than 2022, when it was 16%. In addition, city contracts were worth less for M/WBEs than for White men: $511,000 vs. $4.6 million, Lander testified.

Lander’s testimony before the City Council’s joint hearing of the Committee on Contracts and Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, his FY24 report and his office’s recommendations to the Adams administration are available online.

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CRAIN’S HONORS LEAD GENERAL COUNSEL AT NYC HEALTH + HOSPITALS

CITYWIDE — CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS HAS HONORED Andrea (Andy) G. Cohen, JD, Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Chief Labor Relations Officer at NYC Health + Hospitals, the city’s public health care system. Ms. Cohen was named in Crain’s ‘2024 Notable General Counsels’ recognition list, which showcases 35 notable general counsels (in-house attorneys) in the New York metropolitan area who are guiding health care technology innovators, steering organizations through regulatory landscapes and supporting marginalized groups. Cohen has spearheaded numerous achievements since joining NYC Health + Hospitals. She has rebuilt the inside legal team to meet the evolving needs of the network, including by bringing on board a mix of specialists and generalists in relevant fields, rightsizing teams, and developing technology solutions to manage legal fees and high-volume matters.

Cohen’s team also provided critical support during the COVID pandemic, performing all contracting and legal work for the Test and Trace and vaccine distribution programs.

Andrea (Andy) G. Cohen, JD, Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Chief Labor Relations Officer at NYC Health + Hospitals.

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LAWMAKERS SEEK FUNDS TO FIX NOTORIOUS ‘CROWN HEIGHTS CLUSTER’

CROWN HEIGHTS — A NOTORIOUS SUBWAY BOTTLENECK DUBBED THE ‘CROWN HEIGHTS CLUSTER’ is finally getting a push from state lawmakers to fix it, Gothamist reports. The intersection of rails where the 2 and 5 lines cross the 3 and 4 lines forces trains to wait up to two minutes for a signal to clear. The delay occurs hundreds of times daily and inconveniences any passenger caught at Nostrand Junction, Gothamist said.

“If you’re trying to get medical treatment, if you’re trying to pick up your kid after school, you’re trying to make it to your job, and all of these delays happen with regularity, you have to question why is it that we’re subject to this type of dysfunction,” state Sen. Zellnor Myrie of (D-Prospect Leffert Gardens) said at a press conference on Friday. “We’re here today to say no more.”

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NYC SCHOOLS CHANCELLOR SAYS IBM ‘NOT READY FOR PRIME TIME’ AFTER SNOW DAY SNAFU

CITY HALL — NYC SCHOOLS CHANCELLOR DAVID BANKS APOLOGIZED to parents on Tuesday after thousands of families could not log in to DOE’s online learning platform, on a remote learning day he called a “test” of the system. But he blamed the problem on IBM, not DOE. “We were all set and ready to go,” he told reporters at a press conference. “IBM is the one who authenticates the users and the usernames. And in a word, IBM was not ready for prime time.” Throughout the course of the morning, IBM expanded its capacity, he said. “Their capacity should have been at full expansion from the very beginning. We wouldn’t have been where we are.”

Eventually, at least 850,000 students were able to log in, Banks said, adding that a full analysis of the failure would be carried out.

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DCP’S VALENTINE’S DAY WARNING: BE ON ALERT FOR ROMANCE SCAMMERS

STATEWIDE — AS VALENTINE’S DAY APPROACHES ON WEDNESDAY, NEW YORKERS NEED TO GUARD THEMSELVES AGAINST ‘ROMANCE SCAMS,’ warns the Department of State’s Division of Consumer Protection. DCP offers guidelines and tools about romance scams, which occur when a criminal lies about his or her identity and uses romantic interest to manipulate or steal from the victim. Thieves use different variations of these scams to deceive unsuspecting persons who are trying to find love — with seniors, widows and widowers being particularly high targets. The DCP’s guidelines, designed to help identify and outsmart scammers who prey on people’s emotions and trust, advise potential daters to do a reverse image search on Google, to turn off or cover web cameras when they’re not in use and to talk with a trusted friend or family member about online interactions.

DCP warns the public not to share personal or financial information, and to safeguard privacy even when using trusted online dating platforms.

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COLLEGE BOARD PENALIZED FOR SELLING STUDENTS’ DATA WHEN THEY TAKE EXAMS

STATEWIDE — THE COLLEGE BOARD MUST PAY $750,000 IN PENALTIES TO STUDENTS WHOSE PRIVACY WAS VIOLATED THROUGH THE SALE OF PERSONAL DATA, according to the terms of a settlement agreement that NY Attorney General Letitia James and New York State Education Department Commissioner Betty A. Rosa have secured. The College Board was found to have — for years — collected students’ personal information when they took the PSAT, SAT and Advanced Placement (AP) exams in school, and then licensed this data to colleges, scholarship programs and other customers who used it to solicit students to participate in their programs. The agreement stipulates that the College Board must pay $750,000 in penalties and will be prohibited from monetizing New York students’ data.

In 2019 alone, the College Board improperly licensed the information of more than 237,000 New York students who took their exams, and then improperly sent promotional materials to students who signed up for College Board accounts in connection with exams or AP courses.

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BISHOP BRENNAN LAUNCHES LENTEN PILGRIMAGE OF 40 DIOCESAN PARISHES

DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN — THE ROMAN CATHOLIC DIOCESE OF BROOKLYN WILL OBSERVE ASH WEDNESDAY, the first day of Lent, on Feb. 14 and will launch its 2023-2024 Diocesan Lenten Pilgrimage. As part of the Pilgrimage, Bishop Brennan invites the faithful to join him in visiting 40 parishes throughout Brooklyn and Queens, with that number set because the penitential season of Lent has 40 days, excluding Sundays. Bishop Brennan starts the Lenten Pilgrimage at the Cathedral Basilica of St. James, where he will preside at a noon Mass and distribute ashes. A Eucharistic Adoration, exposition of the Blessed Sacrament will then be held at St. James Cathedral-Basilica, which is the first stop on the Diocesan Pilgrimage (schedule online). Lent begins early in the Latin Rite (Western) branch of Christianity, with Easter occurring on March 31 this year.

St. James Cathedral-Basilica was the first Catholic parish founded in Brooklyn in 1822, and 31 years before the Diocese of Brooklyn was established.

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‘SUFFICIENT PROOF’ FOUND IN ALLEGATION AGAINST DIOCESAN PRIEST

PROSPECT HEIGHTS — A BELOVED BROOKLYN CATHOLIC PRIEST WHO FOUNDED DESALES MEDIA MORE THAN A DECADE AGO has been placed on administrative leave after an ecclesiastical body found sufficient proof of inappropriate behavior with an adult woman — a violation of the code of conduct and Priestly Holy Orders. Msgr. Kieran Harrington, a priest of the Diocese of Brooklyn for 22 years, has resigned from his post as the National Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies, to which he had been named in 2021, after an allegation was lodged against him last March. According to a diocesan statement, the Diocese of Brooklyn’s Adult Allegation Committee (with professionals in law, law enforcement, psychology and human resources) conducted a thorough investigation and found sufficient proof of inappropriate behavior with an adult — a violation of the code of conduct and Priestly Holy Orders. Monsignor Harrington has resigned from the Pontifical Mission Societies and is now on leave of absence from priestly ministry during an evaluation of his suitability in this vocation.

Msgr. Harrington served as vicar for communications in the Diocese of Brooklyn from 2006-2021 and concurrently served as rector of the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph, and completed that building’s restoration.

Monsignor Kieran Harrington, pictured in more joyful times.
Photo courtesy Diocese of Brooklyn

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THREE ASPIRING BROOKLYNITES NOMINATED TO MILITARY ACADEMIES

CITYWIDE — THREE BROOKLYNITES HAVE BEEN NOMINATED as the NYC candidates to four of the nation’s service academies, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) announced on Tuesday, Feb. 13. Sen. Gillibrand, who is chair of the Senate Armed Services Emerging Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee, nominated India Christiani to the U.S. Military Academy, Elwin Au to the U.S. Air Force Academy and Abby Tuyan Tran to the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. Sen. Gillibrand had organized a selection committee, who chose the nominees from a large group of qualified applicants. Decisions were based on criteria including academic record, leadership potential and overall achievement. Final acceptance is determined solely by the service academies.

The United States service academies offer a first-class education as well as a chance for young people to serve our country upon graduation as commissioned officers in the United States armed services. This year, Senator Gillibrand nominated 13 candidates from New York City to the service academies.

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WIDESPREAD TECHNICAL PROBLEMS DISRUPT SNOWSTORM ‘REMOTE LEARNING’ DAY

CITYWIDE — PARENTS AND TEACHERS TRYING TO LOG INTO THE NYC DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION’S REMOTE LEARNING SYSTEM on Tuesday, Feb. 13, encountered major technical difficulties. The city on Monday had declared a remote learning day in advance of a snowstorm. Chalkbeat and several broadcast news networks reported that families and educators were struggling to log into their remote learning platforms, which locked them out and required IBM authentication. One Brooklynite, Adam Schwartz, who teaches at Franklin Delano Roosevelt High School, told Chalkbeat that he could not log in to start his classes and that his second-grader daughter could not access her Zoom classroom.

Some parents lamented on X (formerly known as Twitter), that their kids were marked “absent” when they couldn’t log in; teachers also complained that they were blocked from logging into the platform for taking attendance.

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CITY OFFICIALS: TUESDAY’S REMOTE LEARNING’S TECHNICAL PROBLEMS ARE ‘A TEACHABLE MOMENT’

CITY HALL — OFFICIALS AT CITY HALL HELD A PRESS CONFERENCE ON TUESDAY, FEB. 13, TO ADDRESS THE MASSIVE TECHNICAL GLITCHES that the Department of Education encountered during a snowstorm-related remote learning day. Schools Chancellor David C. Banks, at the press conference (broadcast on Spectrum NY1 News), said just before noon that 90% of the students were eventually able to log on. He told of one tenacious student who tried 20 times to log in, and succeeded on the 20th try. Banks called this a lesson in perseverance, and said the remote learning issues become a “teachable moment,” said Banks. The officials also primarily blamed IBM for the problems. As of noon on Tuesday, IBM and the DOE were still working to rectify the problems that led to error messages with such platforms as Google Classroom and Zoom.

On Monday Mayor Adams and Chancellor Banks had declared they were “ready to pivot to online learning.” Frustrated with being blocked from their platforms, some kids did take “an old-fashioned snow day,” remarked the anchors on NY1.