What’s News, Breaking: Thursday, February 22, 2024

February 22, 2024 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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NY ATTORNEY GENERAL: SINGULAR CAUSES
DANGEROUS BEHAVIORAL CHANGES IN CHILDREN

NATIONWIDE — THE WELL-KNOWN ASTHMA AND ALLERGY DRUG MONTELUKAST, KNOWN BY ITS BRAND NAME SINGULAIR, has come under fire from New York Attorney General Letitia James. This week, she called on the US Food and Drug Administration to implement newer and stronger safety regulations over montelukast/Singulair, citing the drug’s dangers to mental and behavioral health. The Office of the Attorney General pointed out that Singulair has been linked to harmful behavioral and mental health issues among children who use it to treat asthma and respiratory allergies. Among these risks were increased cases of aggression, depression and suicide that parents observed in their children.

Attorney General James asserts that the FDA must remedy this lack of specific warning, restriction or contraindications regarding dangerous and potentially deadly side effects for pediatric patients to prioritize more sufficient warnings

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HISTORIAN & ARCHIVIST MARTHA FOLEY TO SPEAK AT MONTAGUE BID’S ANNUAL MEETING

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — ARCHIVIST AND HISTORIAN MARTHA FOLEY will be the featured speaker at the Montague Street BID’s annual meeting this year, reports the Brooklyn Heights Blog. Formerly an archivist for the NYC Parks Department in the Arts & Antiquities Division, Foley is a longtime volunteer and archivist at the Brooklyn Women’s Exchange, along with private clients. (She is also an honorary contributor to Brooklyn Heights Blog, by virtue of being married to BHB’s Claude Scales.)

The meeting takes place on Wednesday, Feb. 28, at 3 p.m. See the Brooklyn Heights Blog for details.

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COORS LIGHT TRUCK CRASHES INTO POPEYES RESTAURANT

EAST WILLIAMSBURG — A COORS LIGHT SEMI-TRUCK CRASHED INTO A POPEYES restaurant in East Williamsburg Wednesday evening, injuring an unknown number of people, according to abc7ny. The truck also struck a white Subaru sedan outside the restaurant on Vandervoort Avenue around 7:15 p.m. The 60-year-old truck driver was taken to Wyckoff Heights Medical Center with minor injuries. A 22-year-old woman who had been inside the Popeyes complained of shock, but refused medical assistance, police told abc7ny.

The driver of the sedan remained on the scene and refused medical attention.

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BROOKLYN GOP APPLAUDS COURT RULING BARRING NON-CITIZENS FROM VOTING

CITYWIDE — A NYS APPEALS COURT RULED on Wednesday that a New York City law that would allow non-citizens to vote in local elections is unconstitutional. The court ruled that the local law — aimed at green card holders and other people living in the city with federal work authorization — was in violation of the state Constitution and Municipal Home Rule Law. The law would have applied to some 800,000 new eligible voters, Politico Pro reported. One of the plaintiffs was Southern Brooklyn/Staten Island Assemblymember Michael Tannousis (R-64). “As the son of immigrants who worked hard for the American dream, it is disgraceful to see the sacred right of American citizens at risk of a non-citizen receiving that same right in 30 days,” Tannousis said in a statement.

Another Southern Brooklyn Republican, Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (NY-11), also applauded the decision, saying, “The right to vote is a sacred right given only to United States citizens. It is my hope that left wing lawmakers stop pushing these unconstitutional and reckless measures that dilute the voices of American citizens.”

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BROOKLYN CHAMBER HONORS LEADERS IN BLACK COMMUNITY

WEEKSVILLE — THE BROOKLYN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ON WEDNESDAY NIGHT, FEB. 21, HONORED FOUR NOTEWORTHY BROOKLYN RESIDENTS AT ITS ANNUAL BLACK HISTORY CELEBRATION at the Weeksville Heritage Center in Crown Heights. The signature event recognized the outstanding achievements at the historic site honoring the Black community. Honorees were: Atiba T. Edwards, President & CEO of the Brooklyn Children’s Museum, who received the Chamber’s Community Leader Award; Lishawn Alexander, founder of Lishawn’s Consulting and Lishawn’s Cupcakes, who won the Small Business Leader Award; Tiffany Joy Murchison, founder of TJM Media, who received the Samuel L. Dunston Award for Business Excellence; and State Senator Zellnor Myrie, who received the Public Service Leader Award. The honorees and sponsor of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce Black History Celebration received a ceremonial Ghanaian Kente cloth in a special presentation by Jerry Kwabena Kansis.

Sponsors for the Chamber’s Black History Celebration included The Brooklyn Hospital Center, Citizens, Con Edison, It’s Electric, JPMorgan Chase, National Grid and Northfield Bank.

From left to right: Jerry Kwabena Kansis, Ghanaian/African Diaspora Leader; Atiba T. Edwards, Tiffany Joy Murchison, Lishawn Alexander, and Randy Peers.
Photo: Colin Williams

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COMPTROLLER LANDER UPDATES DOC DASHBOARD,
ADDING DATA ABOUT DEATHS IN CUSTODY

CITYWIDE — THE NEW YORK CITY COMPTROLLER’S OFFICE ON THURSDAY, FEB. 22, RELEASED ITS MONTHLY UPDATE to the Department of Correction (DOC) dashboard, with a new component. The Comptroller’s office includes two regularly updated charts related to deaths in custody from the past several years: a timeline of deaths by race/ethnicity and cause of death, respectively. After the DOC stopped consistently notifying the media when an incarcerated individual dies, Comptroller Brad Lander’s office responded to this transparency and oversight gap by creating the dashboard to track the City’s progress in addressing the jail population, uniformed staff availability, levels of violence, and access to basic services. The latest update shows that two people reportedly have already died in custody since the start of 2024.

Other key metrics show that, as of Feb. 1, the number of people housed in DOC jails was 6,167, an increase of 148 from the previous month as fewer individuals were released in January.

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CELL PHONE OUTAGE FOR AT&T CUSTOMERS ACROSS U.S. THURSDAY

NATIONWIDE — TENS OF THOUSANDS OF AT&T CELL PHONE CUSTOMERS ACROSS THE COUNTRY lost cell phone service for as many as eight hours or more Thursday — including text messaging and emergency 911 calls. The DownDetector website, where people can voluntarily report outages, had logged more than 73,000 citizen reports by roughly 9:45 a.m. Many outages were in major cities, including New York City. AT&T said on its website that it had restored three-quarters of the network by roughly 11:15 a.m. Eastern Time, but a number of commenters reported no service in their areas after 1 p.m., including in Chicago and Dallas. AT&T provided no explanation as of press time.

The San Francisco Fire Department posted on Twitter/X, “If you are an AT&T customer and cannot get through to 911, then please try calling from a landline.” However, AT&T and other landline service providers are actively phasing out their landline services.

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INCREASE IN NYC PROPERTY TAXES WILL HIKE HOUSING COSTS EVEN MORE

CITYWIDE — MANY PROPERTY OWNERS, INCLUDING CONDO AND CO-OP DWELLERS, will be hit with an increase in their property taxes this year and next, according to a report released Thursday by the NYC Independent Budget Office. The city’s revenue from property taxes are estimated to be $32.6 billion in 2024, increasing to $37.0 billion in 2025. Most of this anticipated property tax growth stems from expected gains in the assessed values of apartment buildings and commercial and industrial properties, IBO says. Property taxes account for about 45% of the city’s revenue, according to NYS Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.

What’s good for the city is bad news for many residents, DiNapoli said in September. “This … is concerning because it’s driving up housing costs for those less able to afford it, and at the same time, the city faces a shortage of affordable housing. A recalibration of the process used to determine tax bills is needed if the city wants to remain accessible to working- and middle-class families.”

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IBO: NYC WILL HAUL IN MORE TAX REVENUE OVER NEXT 4 YEARS

CITYWIDE — NYC’S REVENUE FROM TAXES OF ALL KINDS is projected to grow by an annual average of 3.1% from 2024 through 2028, according to a report released Thursday by the NYC Independent Budget Office. IBO projects growth in revenue from property taxes, personal income taxes and the related pass-through entity taxes paid by partnerships and corporations. The office also expects solid corporate tax revenue, and growing sales tax receipts, including taxes tacked onto hotel stays paid by tourists. IBO also estimates the Cannabis Tax will increase fourfold, generating $10 million in revenue in 2024 and growing to $45 million in 2028.

On the downside, however, total city revenue is expected to decline in 2025, largely reflecting lower estimates in federal funding — $12.2 billion anticipated in 2024 compared with $7.8 billion in 2025.

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NYC EXPECTED TO ADD 90,500 JOBS IN 2024, BUT MANY LIKELY LOW-WAGE

CITYWIDE — NYC IS EXPECTED TO ADD 90,500 NEW JOBS IN 2024 — but if this year is like last year, many of the jobs will be in the low-wage ambulatory health sector that includes home health aides, according to a report released Thursday by the NYC Independent Budget Office. The retail trade and the leisure and hospitality sector continue to trail behind pre-pandemic levels.

The city’s unemployment rate stands at 5.4% as of January 2024, compared with the national rate of 3.7%, meaning the labor market is not as tight in the city as it is in other areas.

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IN MEMORIAM: RABBI JULES HARLOW, CREATOR OF POETIC CONSERVATIVE PRAYER BOOKS, DIES AT 92

WORLDWIDE — CONSERVATIVE JEWS AROUND THE WORLD WHO HAVE PRAYED FROM THE SIDDUR SIM SHALOM have integrated into their spiritual life the poetry of Rabbi Jules Harlow, who died in Manhattan on Feb. 12, reports The New York Times’ Ari L. Goldman. After his ordination, Rabbi Harlow worked for the Rabbinical Assembly, the association of Conservative rabbis, where he would stay until 1994, when he retired as director of publications. Rabbi Harlow played the clarinet, and his gift of music was melded into his prayer books, the first of which was the “Siddur Sim Shalom” (published in 1985).

The volume also included several original poems by Rabbi Harlow, among them “Changing Light,” which the Finnish poet Kaija Saariaho set to music. That work was premiered in Helsinki on the first anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, and made its Carnegie Hall premiere in 2003.

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CAT CAFE WINS $50K PETCO AWARD

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS – THE BROOKLYN CAT CAFE WAS SELECTED THIS MONTH to receive a 2024 Petco Love Stories $50,000 award, thanks to a glowing recommendation from a Brooklyn mom whose child’s bond with a kitten adopted from the cafe helped him to overcome severe anxiety. “Whenever Happy comes to me for a cuddle, I whisper my thanks to him for all he has done for Maya,” Naomi Shrenzel wrote, telling the story of how the decision to help foster a group of five kittens from the cafe led to her young son Maya, who had been suffering from severe panic attacks, taking on a caretaker role for tiny Happy, the runt of the litter, and forming a friendship that let him get through his toughest struggles and return his “sparkle.”

The cafe is a four-time winner of the annual award, which honors animal welfare groups nationwide. It is run by the Brooklyn Bridge Animal Welfare Coalition.

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MAYOR PLANS TO REPURPOSE NYPD ROBOT, BUT REMAINS MYSTERIOUS ON DETAILS

CITYWIDE — MAYOR ERIC ADAMS PLANS TO REPURPOSE THE KNIGHTSCOPE K5 ROBOT THAT WAS ON A TWO-MONTH TRIAL WITH THE NYPD LAST FALL until it was relegated to storage in the Times Square subway station, reports amNY. The wheeled robot, painted in white and emblazoned with the NYPD logo, is 5 feet 3 inches tall, weighs 400 pounds, and is equipped with cameras on all sides and a help button enabling civilians to speak with human police officers. Mayor Adams emphasized that technology such as K5 can help supplement the NYPD’s smaller force resulting from attrition and low recruitment. However, he hasn’t yet elaborated on his plans, and a contract expiration deadline with Knightscope is looming in a month.

Some may see an ironic connection between the K5 and the “Five is Alive!” sentient robot named simply Number 5, from the “Short Circuit” movies of the 1980s, starring Fisher Stevens and Ally Sheedy. Unlike its fictional predecessor, the K5 has a sleeker design, but the jury is still out on its personality.

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US SUPREME COURT REFUSES TO HEAR CASES CONTESTING RENT STABILIZATION LAWS

CITYWIDE — THE U.S. SUPREME COURT HAS HANDED AN APPARENT VICTORY TO TENANTS AND THEIR ADVOCATES BY REFUSING TO HEAR TWO CASES IN WHICH LANDLORDS ARE APPEALING New York City’s rent stabilization laws, report several news agencies. The rent-stabilization laws, which took effect in 1969, cover any building constructed before 1974 with six or more units. Under the law, owners are required to offer tenants lease renewals in most cases, and to extend leases to family members living in the unit when necessary. The plaintiff landlords, comprising a group of limited liability companies, argued that the laws violate their rights to evict tenants after their leases expire.

Meanwhile, a report from State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli last week confirmed what New Yorkers have already experienced: rents are already too high, with 38.9% of households laying out more than 30% of their income for housing their heads, and 20% paying more than 50% of their income for rent or home ownership.

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BROWNSVILLE MAN CHARGED WITH HIDING CORPSE, TAMPERING WITH EVIDENCE

BROWNSVILLE — THE NYPD ON WEDNESDAY, FEB. 21, ARRESTED AND CHARGED A BROWNSVILLE MAN IN CONNECTION WITH THE DEATH OF A WOMAN who was found unconscious inside his apartment the previous day. Reginald Newkirk, 51, of 94 Rockaway Parkway, has been charged with Concealment of a Human Corpse, Tampering with Physical Evidence and Criminal Tampering. Police responding to a 911 call within the northeastern-most corner of the 67th Precinct boundary, just after 7 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 20, found the woman unresponsive. EMS upon its arrival declared her deceased. Her identity has been withheld pending family notification.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner was as of press time investigating the cause of death.

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SEN. GOUNARDES’ BILL WOULD REDUCE CAR DEPENDENCY AND EMISSIONS

STATEWIDE — LEGISLATION FROM STATE SENATOR ANDREW GOUNARDES (D-26) WOULD REQUIRE NEW YORK TO REDUCE VEHICLE MILES TRAVELED BY 20% and expand transportation options to meet climate and equity goals. The legislation (S1981A/Assembly version A4120A) sets a bold but achievable target to reduce the total annual “vehicle miles traveled” (VMT) in New York State by one-fifth by 2050. Senator Gounardes’ legislation would reduce car dependency by requiring that state, county and town projects that expand road or highway capacity undergo a VMT assessment prior to approval. The positive results would mean 227 million metric tons of carbon emissions avoided over 25 years; an average annual household savings of $3,750 in fuel, vehicle maintenance and depreciation; and 4,940 fewer deaths per year in reduced traffic crashes, improved air quality and increased physical activity.

Since New York State rules require that all new cars, pickup trucks and SUVs sold in the state be zero-emission by 2035, the above impacts could become even more significant.

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MAYOR CANCELS NEXT ROUND OF AGENCY BUDGET CUTS — BUT SLASHES MORE FUNDING FROM MIGRANT SERVICES

CITYWIDE — CITING HIS ADMINISTRATION’S “STRONG FISCAL MANAGEMENT” AND “BETTER-THAN-EXPECTED ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE,” Mayor Eric Adams on Wednesday, Feb. 21, canceled the next round of agency spending cuts of the Fiscal Year 2025 Executive Budget Program to Eliminate the Gap (PEG) for city agencies. Mayor Adams said this was a direct result of decisive actions taken early to stabilize the budget through continued strong fiscal management, and better-than-expected economic performance in 2023 that resulted in an upward revision to the city’s tax revenue forecast. However, the city’s ability to cancel further agency cuts was also the result of a 20% cut to asylum seeker programs in the Preliminary Budget that Adams said already saved more than $1.7 billion in city spending. But he claimed progress in intensive case work is being done for migrants.

Mayor Adams announced that the city will further cut asylum seeker costs by 10% from the FY2025 budget.

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MTA UPGRADES TO QUEENSBORO PLAZA WILL IMPACT SOME BROOKLYN LINES

CITYWIDE — SOME SUBWAY LINES IN BROOKLYN WILL BE IMPACTED during the Metropolitan Transit Authority’s ongoing accessibility upgrades at Queensboro Plaza, the transit agency announced on Wednesday, Feb. 21. Astoria-Ditmars Boulevard-bound N and W trains will skip Queensboro Plaza station for one week, from Saturday, March 9 at 12:01 a.m. through Monday, March 18 at 4 a.m. Moreover, during the weekends of March 9-11 and March 16-18, N trains are being rerouted between their Brooklyn terminus at Stillwell Avenue in Coney Island to 96th Street-Second Avenue in Manhattan, with trains operating every 12 minutes during the day. E and R trains will operate every eight minutes instead of every 12 minutes between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m., a 50% increase to normal weekend service. F trains will be rerouted onto the E line in both directions, although the MTA did not indicate where in Brooklyn this detour starts.

The upgrades at Queensboro Plaza include the construction of two elevators that together will serve street, mezzanine and platform, new lighting, and ADA-compliant boarding areas.

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FRANCIS COLLEGE ART GALLERY EXHIBIT FOCUSES ON ‘HOME’

DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN — PEOPLE’S DEFINITION OF THEIR HOMES IS THE THEME OF A NEW SPRING GROUP EXHIBIT opening next Tuesday, Feb. 27, at the St. Francis College Art Gallery. Titled “Home Is…,” the exhibit features the work of several artists creating in a variety of media, with a focus on both the structural and sentimental aspects of “home.” The exhibit and its artists draw their inspiration from the current and ongoing global movement of people searching for and creating new homes in foreign lands, offering concrete ways to engage with one’s local environment — not only physical buildings, but the traditions and rituals, foods, languages and relationships that are nurtured. The free exhibit will be on view weekdays 8 a.m. – 8 p.m., through Friday, May 31, 2024, at the College’s fifth-floor art gallery and library, 179 Livingston Street.

Curator Bianca Mońa has received commissions from The Laundromat Project and Culture Push, both based in Brooklyn.

‘Vessel,’ by artist Rich Garr.
Photo courtesy St. Francis College

‘Casita Parte 1’ by artist Linda Fernandez.
Photo courtesy St. Francis College

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SUMMER YOUTH EMPLOYMENT PROGRAM APPLICATIONS OPEN

CITYWIDE — APPLICATIONS ARE CLOSING SOON FOR THE CITY’S COMPETITIVE Summer Youth Employment Program, Councilmember Shahana Hanif reminded constituents this week. The program is a six-week work experience program for young New Yorkers. Younger teens aged 14 and 15 will get paid to work with local groups on community projects, while youth aged 16 through 24 will receive minimum wage for jobs across a broad spectrum of the city’s industries. Participants are currently selected via lottery, and acceptance is not guaranteed, although Mayor Adams has previously made efforts to expand the program to cover more city youth.

Applications are due by March 1 and are available online on the city’s SYEP webpage, by the Department of Youth and Community Development.

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REP. CLARKE INTRODUCES BILL HONORING BOB MARLEY

WASHINGTON — U.S. REP. YVETTE CLARKE (D-BROOKLYN) THIS MONTH INTRODUCED A RESOLUTION to Congress honoring the Feb. 6 birthday of Jamaican reggae artist Bob Marley, reports the New York Carib News. The Jamaican-American congresswoman presented a copy of the bill to Marley’s son Ziggy last Tuesday at a Washington, D.C. screening of the new “Bob Marley: One Love” biopic. Producer Paramount Pictures also announced that they have partnered with the Congressional Black Caucus to offer scholarships in remembrance of Marley to 10 students working for social change at selected historically Black colleges and universities; applications for the $5,000 scholarships will be available online from April 1 through April 30 through the CBC Foundation’s online scholarship portal.

Clarke at the event said, “He taught us to live kinder and care deeper. His wisdom will guide my heart and so many others;” she later wrote on X (Twitter), “[H]is is a story that must be remembered.”