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DEVELOPER BUYS BERGEN ST. SITE FOR RESIDENCES

BOERUM HILL — A LARGE FORMERLY-INDUSTRIAL SITE ON BERGEN STREET IN BOERUM HILL HAS BEEN SNATCHED UP FOR DEVELOPMENT, reports Crain’s New York Business. The property records that were made public on Wednesday, April 10, identify Yitzchok Katz, the chief executive of Goose Property Management, as the buyer; however, the well-known search company PropertyShark has not listed him yet, instead showing Joseph Ulano as the owner since 2018. The site at 268 Bergen St. currently consists of three buildings on a block bounded by Bergen, Wyckoff, Nevins and Third Ave. Katz is reportedly cleared to create a four-building development on the site, which will have the address 280 Bergen St. and will have 300 units, 90 of which will be affordable. A zoning resolution the City Council passed in 2022 mandates that units be affordable or offered at reduced rents for those in certain income tiers.

The new developer has applied to the Department of Buildings for demolition permits. Although city records don’t yet show their approval, PropertyShark does, as of April 1, 2024.

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BK HEIGHTS TOWNHOUSE SELLS FOR $6.5M

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — A FIVE-STORY GARDEN PLACE TOWNHOUSE WAS the most expensive property sold in Brooklyn last week, reports the Real Deal, for $6.5 million. The house, built in 1885, has six bedrooms, four baths, a garden and wood-burning fireplaces. Luxury home sales rates have been rising in Brooklyn during the spring, with 24 homes selling for more than $2 million in the last week. 

The second-most expensive sale was a penthouse apartment in the 57-story building at 11 Hoyt Street in Downtown Brooklyn, a three-bedroom, three-bathroom condo, for $5.5 million.

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MISSING MAN IN BUSHWICK

BUSHWICK — POLICE ARE ASKING FOR HELP LOCATING JAVIER Martinez, age 33, last seen on Thursday night, April 4, leaving his residence on Wilson Avenue near Maria Hernandez Park in Bushwick. Martinez is described as Hispanic, approximately 6’0″ and 180 pounds, and was last seen wearing a blue coat and gray pants.

Anyone with information regarding this incident 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 CrimeStoppers website or on X (Twitter).

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BOY ACCIDENTALLY SHOT IN CROWN HEIGHTS: POLICE

CROWN HEIGHTS — AN 11-YEAR-OLD BOY WAS WOUNDED ON Tuesday by a gun found by a group of children at a Howard Avenue NYCHA building, reports CBS News. Police say that the kids were playing with the firearm when it suddenly fired, striking the boy in the arm and alerting adults, who phoned paramedics to transport him to the hospital. It was unclear who owned the gun and how it was discharged. Police were speaking to those present during the shooting.

Anyone with information regarding the incident 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 CrimeStoppers website or on X (Twitter).

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LISTERIA OUTBREAK IN COTIJA CHEESES
HAS ENDED, SAY FDA, CDC

NATIONWIDE — THE US FOOD & DRUG ADMINISTRATION HAS CLOSED ITS INVESTIGATION OF A LISTERIA MONOCYTOGENES OUTBREAK IN QUESO FRESCO and cotija cheese products distributed across the United States over multiple years, following the Center for Disease Control’s April 9 announcement that the outbreak is over. The FDA, collaborating with the CDC and partners on the state and local levels, investigated illnesses in a multi-year, multistate outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes infections linked to queso fresco and cotija cheeses manufactured by Rizo Lopez Foods, Inc., of Modesto, California. The CDC indicated a total of 26 cases in 11 states, with a total of 23 hospitalizations, with the last illness onset on Dec. 10, 2023, and two reported deaths. The FDA has developed a prevention strategy aiming to reduce outbreaks and illnesses of listeriosis associated with soft, fresh queso fresco cheeses.

Consumer Reports indicated in February that, after last December’s outbreak, the FDA’s on-site inspection of the plant found the same strain of listeria in a container that stores cheese before packaging, which caused the outbreak.

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LUNCHABLES’ CAFETERIA VERSION CONTAINS EXCESSIVE
SODIUM, WARNS CONSUMER PROTECTION GROUP

NATIONWIDE — LUNCHABLES KITS PROVIDED IN SCHOOL CAFETERIAS CONTAIN DANGEROUS LEVELS of sodium and should be removed, the national watchdog group Consumer Reports told CNN and the media this week. After last year’s rollout of two new versions of the popular Lunchables snack kit, Consumer Reports conducted a probe that found even higher levels of sodium than the Lunchables kits consumers can buy in stores. Tests of the product revealed a range of 460 to 740 milligrams per serving. The group found that sodium levels in the turkey and cheddar school versions of Lunchables contained as much as 930 mg of sodium compared to 740 mg in the store-bought version. Consumer Reports is urging the USDA to remove these Lunchables from the school lunch programs.

Moreover, high sodium levels and traces of cadmium and lead that are known to cause health issues such as kidney failure were also found in several brands, including Armour LunchMakers, Good & Gather, Greenfield Natural Meat Co. and Oscar Mayer. These elements commonly found in soil have increased due to metal elements in pesticides.

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NEW MULTI-LINGUAL VIDEO SERIES HELPS
DEMYSTIFY MEDICAL MEMBERSHIP CARD

CITYWIDE — NYC Health + Hospitals’ NYC Care program has released a video series focused on the NYC Care card and ways to utilize one’s membership benefits. The videos aim to demystify the process of using the NYC Care card and to encourage both NYC Care-eligible New Yorkers and existing members alike to utilize the benefits, starting with primary care. The videos — which are dubbed and subtitled in 15 languages: Albanian, Arabic, Bengali, Cantonese, English, French, Haitian Creole, Hindi, Korean, Mandarin, Polish, Russian, Spanish, and Urdu — feature NYC Care Executive Director Jonathan Jiménez, MD, MPH, alongside colorful animations, as a voiceover highlights the membership card’s various components.

The NYC Care Card includes information on the renewal date, primary care provider, and fee structure for medical services.

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FORD SUV MODELS RECALLED FOR FUEL INJECTOR LEAK,
BUT SAFETY REGULATORS SAY THAT ISN’T ENOUGH

NATIONWIDE — FORD MOTOR COMPANY RECALLS ALMOST 43,000 SMALL SUV models because of gasoline fuel injector leaks and will not provide the actual repairs of the leaks in its remedy, reported the Associated Press on Wednesday, April 10. Following reports of five under-hood fires and 14 warranty replacements of fuel injectors, Ford indicated in documents filed with U.S. safety regulators that fuel injectors can crack, and gasoline or vapor can accumulate near ignition sources, possibly touching off fires. Ford’s remedy will allow dealers to install a tube to let gasoline flow away from hot surfaces to the ground below the vehicle and to update engine control software to detect a pressure drop in the fuel injection system.

However, consumer safety advocates like Michael Brooks, executive director of the nonprofit Center for Auto Safety, described Ford’s remedy as a “Band-aid type recall,” asserting that the company is trying to avoid the cost of repairing the fuel injectors for what it considers a low 1% of affected vehicles. Brooks calls on Ford and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to ensure that root causes are addressed and fixed to avoid potential crashes when a vehicle’s engine control software activates.

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DORMITORY AUTHORITY’S NEWLY-APPOINTED CEO
IS CURRENTLY NY SECRETARY OF STATE RODRIGUEZ

STATEWIDE — THE DORMITORY AUTHORITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK BOARD OF DIRECTORS HAS APPOINTED ROBERT J. RODRIGUEZ, currently NY’s 68th Secretary of State, as acting president and chief executive officer, Governor Kathy Hochul announced on Wednesday. The Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY) is, according to its website, “a public benefit corporation authorized to finance and build higher education, health care, mental health, court and other public purpose facilities across New York State. DASNY has played a vital role in supporting the State’s economic development and infrastructure since 1944.” The agency’s clients have included schools, hospitals, primary care facilities, psychiatric centers, laboratories, medical research facilities, nursing homes, adult homes, libraries, and performing arts centers.

Mr. Rodriguez, who will begin his new role on May 8, will serve as acting president & CEO until confirmed by the State Senate.

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EID COMES TO BROOKLYN CHILDREN’S MUSEUM
WITH DANCE, SONG AND PUPPETS

CROWN HEIGHTS — Brooklyn Children’s Museum will Celebrate Eid al-Fitr with a Festival on Sunday, April 14, thanks to City Councilmember Shahana Hanif — the first Muslim woman elected to the New York City Council — and other cultural organizations. Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan and the month-long dawn-to-sunset fasting, usually begins the day after the sighting of the new crescent moon, which marks the end of Ramadan and the onset of the month of Shawwal, the tenth of the Islamic Hijri calendar. Children’s Museum visitors to this ticketed event will learn the story of Eid al-Fitr from the Culture Tree’s puppet show, enjoy hands-on activities, experience the intricate rhythmic patterns of Indian classical dance with the Bangladesh Institute of Performing Arts, hear Turkish, Kurdish, and Islamic classical music performed by the Wahab Orchestra, and learn Sufi-inspired songs at an interactive drumming circle led by Brother Mustafa.

Celebrate Eid al-Fitr is presented in partnership with Council Member Shahana Hanif, Turkish Cultural Center, The Culture Tree, and Bangladesh Institute of Performing Arts.

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EPA FINALIZES FIRST-EVER NATIONAL
DRINKING WATER STANDARD

NATIONWIDE — THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (EPA) FOR FINALIZING THE FIRST-EVER NATIONAL DRINKING WATER STANDARD for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, a step that U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) applauded on Wednesday, April 10. This final rule, representing a significant step forward in the fight to combat PFAS pollution, establishes legally enforceable limits, called maximum contaminant levels, for PFAS in drinking water. The maximum contaminant levels published on April 10 reflect those called for in Senator Gillibrand’s Protect Drinking Water from PFAS Act, which would have required EPA to establish a national standard for PFAS in drinking water, as well as maximum contaminant levels for certain PFAS chemicals. Sen. Gillibrand also thanked EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan and President Biden for making nearly $1 billion in funding available to help communities comply with the rule’s requirements.

PFAS have been known to harm the liver and the immune system and to reduce the efficacy of certain vaccines.

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STATE REPORT ON MAYORAL CONTROL OF
NYC SCHOOLS IS INCONCLUSIVE

CITYWIDE — AMID ONGOING NEGOTIATIONS IN ALBANY about extending Mayor Eric Adams’ control of NYC schools, the State Education Department, on Tuesday, released a 300-page study on school governance. The report is ultimately inconclusive on the issue of mayoral control, education publication Chalkbeat reported. David Bloomfield, a professor of education at Brooklyn College and the CUNY Graduate Center, called the report “a mild reprimand of the current system.” Still, “the three-word summary of the report is: ‘We want change,’” he told Chalkbeat. “What that change is is left out.”

The Adams administration claimed the study ignored the progress city schools have made on standardized tests compared to other NYS cities. He took “particular issue” with the involvement of the CUNY School of Law, Chalkbeat said, suggesting the school was biased against him “due to an incident last year when graduates turned their backs on him during a commencement speech.”

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DUMBO’S BIG ART WEEKEND: 155 OPEN STUDIOS AND GALLERY EVENTS

DUMBO — MORE THAN 150 ARTISTS WILL OPEN THEIR STUDIOS to the public for the DUMBO Open Studios event on April 13 and 14, from 1 – 6 p.m. The weekend will showcase artists and arts organizations, including artists in residence at the Sharpe-Walentas Studio Program, Triangle Arts, the New York Studio School, BRIClab, and Smack Mellon, as well as interactive guides and gallery exhibitions.

Guides to off-the-beaten-path artist studios, like those next door to DUMBO in Vinegar Hill, can be found online.

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‘STOP THE CHOP’ HELICOPTER BILL HEARING APRIL 16

CITYWIDE — FED-UP RESIDENTS ARE ASKED TO TESTIFY AT A HEARING on legislation to end nonessential NYC helicopter flights and their noisy disruption, to be held at the City Council on April 16. “These tourism helicopter flights and jaunts to JFK or the Hamptons create needless pollution and have significant quality of life impacts on our neighborhoods,” said bill sponsor Councilmember Lincoln Restler (D-Greenpoint, Brooklyn Heights). A majority of Councilmembers have supported the bill, Restler added, “and we are continuing to push for its adoption into law.”

The hearing takes place at 10 a.m., April 16 at 250 Broadway in Manhattan, 16th floor. Sign up to testify online or in person, or submit written testimony online.

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CONSPIRACY THEORISTS MUST PAY OUT $1.25M FOR ROBOCALL CAMPAIGN HARASSING BLACK VOTERS

STATEWIDE — TWO CONSPIRACY THEORISTS WHO LAUNCHED A  ROBOCALL CAMPAIGN designed to prevent Black New Yorkers from voting by mail will have pay up to $1.25 million for their wrongdoing, thanks to an agreement on proposed relief that New York Attorney General Letitia James has secured from them. In March 2023, a federal judge ruled in Attorney General James’ favor, finding Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman liable for targeting Black voters and transmitting false and threatening messages intended to discourage voting during the 2020 presidential election. Attorney General James’ investigation found that Wohl and Burkman, hiding behind their sham organization “Project 1599,” in violation of state and federal laws, orchestrated robocalls to threaten and harass Black communities with disinformation. Voters received automated calls falsely claiming that voting by mail would cause the voter to be tracked for outstanding warrants, credit card debt and mandatory vaccines, for example.

Attorney General James in August 2022 announced a settlement with robocalling platform Message Communications for its role in sending out Wohl and Burkman’s illegal campaign.

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HOCHUL MARKS ANNIVERSARY OF SUBWAY STATION AGENTS’ ENHANCED ROLE

CITYWIDE — GOV, KATHY HOCHUL ON TUESDAY CELEBRATED ONE YEAR SINCE MTA STATION AGENTS BEGAN THEIR ENHANCED ROLE of stepping out of booths and assisting riders with core customer service functions throughout the station. The station agents have provided commuters with wayfinding information, assisted at fare machines and informed those new to the system about contactless fare payment. As part of the enhanced customer service initiative, MTA New York City Transit has more efficiently deployed station agents throughout the system, delivering $10 million in annual savings while improving customer service and increasing hourly pay. MTA New York City Transit, in the past year, presented 208 commendations to station agents who received positive feedback from customers between March 2023 and February 2024.

 Over the next few weeks, NYC Transit will gradually introduce additional services to the 15 Customer Service Centers in the subway system.

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POETRY COMES TO NYC PARKS FOR NATIONAL POETRY MONTH 

CITYWIDE — NYC PARKS AND THE POETRY SOCIETY OF AMERICA unveiled on Tuesday five new installations bringing poetry to New York’s public parks, just in time for National Poetry Month. The site-specific works fit in with the surrounding landscape and park infrastructure and reflect on a variety of themes, Parks said. In Brooklyn’s 100% Playground in Canarsie, the poem “Slam, Dunk & Hook” by Yusef Komunyakaa is the featured installation. “With these beautiful, thought-provoking poetry installations, we’re enriching five parks throughout the city and helping New Yorkers engage with their favorite public spaces in new ways,” NYC Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue said in a release.

Komunyakaa’s poem begins:

‘Fast breaks. Lay ups. With Mercury’s

Insignia on our sneakers,

We outmaneuvered the footwork

Of bad angels …’

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BROOKLYN’S GREEN-WOOD CEMETERY LAUNCHES HISTORY FELLOWSHIP

GREENWOOD HEIGHTS — BEAUTIFUL AND HISTORIC GREEN-WOOD CEMETERY will be awarding one early-career academic “unparalleled access” to the cemetery’s archives to conduct in-depth research and present their findings, spokespersons for the landmark cemetery said Tuesday. With a legacy spanning more than 185 years, 580,000 individuals interred and memorialized across its grounds, and an archive of records, this represents a vast, untapped resource for historical investigation, Green-Wood said.

The selected researcher will be awarded a $5,000 honorarium and access to the cemetery’s primary source assets — tens of thousands of gravestones and mausoleums and millions of archival documents dating back nearly two centuries, plus have access to the organization’s professional staff.

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MAN SHOT AND ROBBED AT BAR ON FIFTH AVENUE IN PARK SLOPE

PARK SLOPE — A MAN WAS SHOT AND ROBBED AT A BAR on 5th Avenue just blocks from the Park Slope Food Co-op in the early morning hours of Monday, April 8, police reported. Just before 3 a.m., the 30-year-old victim was inside the establishment at 243 5th Ave. when two unknown men approached him and shot him in the left leg. A video shows the suspects rifled his body as he lay on the floor, forcibly taking a gold chain valued at $2,400 and $1,400 in U.S. currency before fleeing. EMS transported the victim to New York-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital in stable condition.

The suspects are described as having a slim build, medium complexion, and are approximately 21–30 years old. Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or visit Crime Stoppers online.

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‘YOUNG SHELDON’ ACTOR TO HOST FAMILY FUN DAY

BROWNSVILLE — ACTOR DOC FARROW, OF TV’S “YOUNG SHELDON,” IS SET TO host a children’s story time this weekend at the Greg Jackson Center for Brownsville, focused around the storybook “Jabari Jumps” and on Farrow’s journey from military service to Hollywood. The event, held by United for Brownsville, will end with a Q&A session, as well as an interactive art project for children to add their vision boards to a community art installation on display at the Jackson Center. Families can also stay for a free lunch catered by Loma Restaurant, and pick up free family passes to the Brooklyn Children’s Museum.

The event will run from noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 13, at the Greg Jackson Center; lunch will be served at 3 p.m.

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ROBIN HOOD ANNOUNCES NONPROFIT WINNERS OF $3 MILLION GRANT

CITYWIDE — PHILANTHROPIC FUND ROBIN HOOD ON TUESDAY ANNOUNCED the three winners of its FUEL for 50 initiative, awarding three New York-based charity groups nearly $1 million each for innovative projects designed to advance early childhood learning. The winners include FamilyCook Productions, a team of nutrition educators who visit schools and other facilities with their Willow the Bunny puppet to teach kids about healthy eating; Chances for Children, which offers parent-child therapy from infancy through age 5; and Forestdale, which provides holistic support programs aimed at healing intergenerational trauma. The winners were selected from an initial cohort of 50 community programs that participated in the three-year initiative, during which they were offered organizational support and tiered funding.

Robin Hood CEO Richard Buery, a former deputy mayor who first encountered the group as the founder of Brooklyn’s Groundwork public housing support network, wrote in a statement, “By supporting parents and caregivers, we are reaching beyond traditional child care centers, enabling us to move nimbly, elevate what works, and build a New York City where every space a child inhabits provides an opportunity to learn and thrive.”

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GILLIBRAND DELIVERS $15M FED GRANT FOR NEW GRAND ST. BRIDGE IN BROOKLYN 

WILLIAMSBURG — U.S. SEN. KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND ANNOUNCED ON TUESDAY  $15M in federal funds to replace the 121-year-old Grand Street Bridge over Newtown Creek in Williamsburg. The swing-type bridge, which is one of the main connections between Brooklyn and Queens and carries more than 10,000 vehicles a day, was severely damaged during Superstorm Sandy in 2012. The new structure will have elevated electrical and mechanical equipment, making it resilient against a future rise in sea level and storm surges. It will also feature standard-width lanes, separated cycling infrastructure and wider walking paths. The new bridge will be funded through President Joe Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Law. 

“This new bridge will get our workers to their jobs, get our kids to school, and help the New York economy remain the strongest it can be,” Gillibrand said in a release.

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