What’s News, Breaking: Monday, April 29, 2024

April 29, 2024 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE GRANT APPLICATION PERIOD OPENS

STATEWIDE — THE APPLICATION PERIOD HAS OPENED for those aiming to secure $7.34 million in Environmental Justice Community Impact Grants, Governor Kathy Hochul announced on Monday, April 29. These grants will support community-based organization projects that engage their communities around environmental justice issues and deploy community-driven solutions, so they can help the communities most vulnerable to the impacts of pollution and climate change address environmental concerns and legacy pollution. Eligible projects must address a community’s exposure to multiple environmental harms and risks and include a new research component that will be used to expand the knowledge of the affected community. The deadline to submit applications is 3 p.m. EDT on Aug. 7, 2024. For a complete list of guidelines and more information, contact DEC’s Office of Environmental Justice at 518-402-8556, email [email protected] or visit the DEC’s Environmental Justice webpage.

Previous projects awarded by DEC have encompassed public participatory science, community-driven water and air quality monitoring, urban farming, habitat restoration, tree plantings, curriculum development and green infrastructure installation, among others.

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CITY’S PUBLIC HOSPITALS EXPAND FREE,
HEALTH-RELATED LEGAL SERVICES

CITYWIDE — NYC HEALTH + HOSPITALS IS EXPANDING ITS FREE health-related legal services for its patients in partnership with LegalHealth, a division of the New York Legal Assistance Group, the city’s public hospital system announced on Monday, April 29. Patients can access free health-related legal services over the phone or through a referral by a doctor, social worker or community health worker. All Brooklyn locations — South Brooklyn Health/Coney Island Hospital, Kings County Medical Center and Woodhull — are participating. One of the nation’s longest-running and largest medical-legal partnerships, dating back to 2002 and with funding in part from the New York City Council, this service has provided free legal assistance with public benefits, immigration, health insurance, advance planning and housing, among other legal issues.

Nearly 5,000 patients accessed legal services at NYC Health + Hospitals in 2023.

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INDEPENDENT NEWS MEDIA GET BOOST IN TAX CREDITS

STATEWIDE — LOCAL NEWS MEDIA OUTLETS in New York State are getting a financial boost from the state government thanks to a package of tax credits included in the Fiscal Year 2025 budget, according to Assemblyman William Colton (D-47). Colton, who represents parts of southwestern Brooklyn from Bath Beach to Dyker Heights, explains that the Local Journalism Sustainability Act provides a total of $30 million in tax credits each year for the next three years to qualifying independently-owned local print and broadcast media to help offset the cost of paying journalists’ salaries. Each outlet can access up to $300,000 in tax credits each year, including a tax credit of $5,000 per new reporter hired to ease the financial burden of expanding the outlet’s newsroom.

A total of $4 million has been set aside in the package to cover the credits available for adding journalists to a newsroom’s staff; the remaining $26 million has been set aside to cover the credits available to help offset the cost of retaining existing staff. Half of the credits are being dedicated to outlets with 100 or fewer employees.

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MTA NOW OFFERS SAME-DAY SERVICE
FOR REDUCED FARE PROGRAM

CITYWIDE — “ELIGIBLE CUSTOMERS CAN NOW SKIP THE WAIT by applying for and receiving their Reduced-Fare MetroCards at Customer Service Centers in one visit,” said NYC Transit President Richard Davey on Monday, April 29. MTA customers aged at least 65 can now enroll in the Reduced-Fare program and receive their new Reduced-Fare MetroCards on the same day at Customer Service Centers across the city. Customers with disabilities can also sign up for the Reduced-Fare program and receive in-person, individualized assistance from a station agent at CSCs and receive temporary Reduced-Fare cards while their applications are processed.

Once fully enrolled, customers receive a Reduced-Fare MetroCard valid for two years and customers can reload their cards with either value or time.

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FAMILY STEM NIGHT SPOTLIGHTS CATHOLIC SCHOOL’S SCIENCE-FOCUSED CURRICULUM

BAY RIDGE — BAY RIDGE CATHOLIC ACADEMY HOSTED a Family STEM Night fair on Thursday, April 25, celebrating the academy’s work and accomplishments in science, technology, engineering and math. Students, parents, teachers and retired faculty all took part in presentations and exhibits that showcased a program that had been under the radar. Bay Ridge Catholic Academy’s STEM Teacher, Mrs. Christine Deem, coordinated the event that illuminates the school and its STEM curriculum.

According to the school’s website, Bay Ridge Catholic Academy has an engineering-focused curriculum, and begins teaching analytic and critical thinking skills in the younger grades. The school also offers algebra classes (Math 9) to eighth-grade students in addition to the student’s regular class schedule.

Caption: Students explore the chemical makeup of particles in plastic bags and bottles.
Photo courtesy Bay Ridge Catholic Academy

Students demonstrate the balloon-powered car races.
Photo courtesy John Quaglione/DeSales Media

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PEREGRINE NOVENA PRAYERS OFFERED FOR CANCER PATIENTS

DIOCESE OF BROOKLYN — ST. PEREGRINE, THE PATRON SAINT OF CANCER PATIENTS, will be venerated during a special three-day Novena that the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn will offer. Hosted at Sacred Heart of Jesus Roman Catholic Church on 38th Avenue in Bayside, the Novena Triduum, which begins Monday, April 29, will include special prayers of healing and strength for those afflicted with cancer within the diocese. Services on Monday and Tuesday, April 29-30, will begin at 7:30 p.m. and include the Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, the recitation of the Rosary, a guest homilist, a litany and prayers to St. Peregrine, and veneration of his relic — a fragment of his bone — which will be displayed for the faithful in attendance to offer prayers before the relic.

Bishop Emeritus Nicholas DiMarzio will lead a Mass in honor of St. Peregrine, on Wednesday, May 1, the Feast of St. Peregrine, during which time those afflicted with cancer will be invited to receive the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick. The Mass will conclude the three-day Novena to St. Peregrine.

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HEIGHTS’ OWN RABBI LIPPE IS PANELIST AT UPCOMING LANDMARKS CONSERVANCY TALK

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS AND MIDTOWN MANHATTAN — RABBI SERGE LIPPE of the Brooklyn Heights Synagogue is one of four religious-leader panelists at a discussion with the New York Landmarks Conservancy on Tuesday, May 7. The ticketed event, being held in advance of the Conservancy’s annual Sacred Sites Open House, is titled “Anchoring Neighborhoods: Historic Religious Institutions in Service of the Wider Community” and will be a forum in which religious institutions of all denominations discuss maintaining their landmark properties, while also serving as neighborhood anchors. New York Landmarks Conservancy’s longtime Executive Director Peg Breen will moderate the talk. This event is both in-person and online, hosted at the General Society of Mechanics & Tradesmen of The City of New York in Midtown.

Joining Rabbi Lippe will be His Grace Bishop Irinej Dobrijević, head of the Serbian Orthodox Eparchy of Eastern America, Fr. John Kamas of St. Jean Baptiste on the Upper East Side, and the Rev. Dr. Derrick McQueen of St. James Presbyterian Church in Hamilton Heights.

Rabbi Serge Lippe, pictured as guest preacher for an interfaith Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Day Service in 2018.
Brooklyn Eagle photo by Francesca N. Tate

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POLICE LOOKING FOR ASSAILANT WHO PUNCHED TWO BOYS IN THE FACE

GRAVESEND — POLICE ARE LOOKING FOR AN ADULT MAN who walked up to two 12-year-old boys on Kings Highway in Gravesend and punched them both in the face, causing minor injuries. The attack took place on Thursday, April 18, around 4:43 p.m. on a block filled with restaurants and other businesses. The suspect fled on foot, and the victims were removed by EMS to Maimonides Medical Center and treated for minor abrasions. The attacker is described as a male with a light complexion and medium build. He was last seen wearing a black jacket, dark-colored pants, a blue backpack, and multicolored sneakers.

Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782), or log onto the CrimeStoppers website.

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BROOKLYN HUMAN SERVICES NON-PROFITS AWARDED CAPITAL CONSTRUCTION GRANTS

BOROUGHWIDE — SIX BROOKLYN CHARITABLE NONPROFITS are among 70 human services organizations being awarded nearly $25 million in an initial round of capital grants, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on Friday, April 26. The capital grants, coming through the Nonprofit Infrastructure Capital Investment Program and administered by the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York, aim to empower nonprofits across the state to undertake projects that improve the delivery of critical services to New Yorkers. The human services organizations in Brooklyn (most of them having faith-based histories) receiving these grants are: Older Adults Technology Services (OATS) Inc.($500,000.00); Ohel Children’s Home and Family Services ($ 431,450.00); Center for Family Life in Sunset Park, Inc.($190,629.00); St. John’s Bread and Life Program ($218,650.00); Providence House Inc.($171,087.00); and River Fund New York ($194,000.00).

Gov. Hochul launched the $60 million NICIP opportunity in October 2023 to make targeted investments and reimbursements throughout the state in capital construction projects, such as technology, renovations and expansion of space used for direct program services as well as renovations that enhance energy efficiency or accessibility.

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DiNAPOLI: NYU FINANCE DIRECTOR PAYS $6.6K RESTITUTION FOR PERSONAL-GAIN SCHEME

ALBANY — A FORMER DIRECTOR OF FINANCE and administration at New York University paid full restitution of $663,209 after pleading guilty to grand larceny for orchestrating a $3.5 million, 6-year fraud relating to two NYU programs, State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg Jr. announced on Friday, April 26. Comptroller DiNapoli reported that Tappe, 59, used her position as the director of finance and administration for NYU’s Metropolitan Center for Research on Equity and Transformation of Schools (also known as the “Metro Center”) to divert approximately $3.5 million intended for minority- and women-owned businesses. She ultimately routed $3.3 million to bank accounts held by two shell companies she created by using subcontractors to serve as pass-throughs. However, none of the subcontractors performed work on the contracts.

Tappe used some of the funds for NYU payments and employee reimbursements but kept more than $660,000 to pay for personal expenses, including renovations to her home and an $80,000 swimming pool.

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‘BACK TO BASICS’ FOCUSES ON TEACHING THE SCIENCE OF READING

STATEWIDE — GOV. KATHY HOCHUL ON FRIDAY, APRIL 26, CELEBRATED HER ‘BACK TO BASICS’ legislation signed into law as a part of the Fiscal Year 2025 Enacted Budget. Gov. Hochul’s ‘Back to Basics’ reading plan ensures every school district utilizes instructional best practices grounded in the science of reading to improve reading proficiency among New York’s children. The State Education Department will provide instructional best practices to school districts in the teaching of reading to students in prekindergarten through grade three by Jan. 1, 2025. School districts will be required to annually review their curriculum and instructional practices for alignment with those issued by SED, and verify by September 2025. The Budget also includes $10 million to train 20,000 teachers in these instructional best practices through NYSUT’s Education and Learning Trust.

Additionally, the budget expands the State University of New York and the City University of New York’s micro-credentialing programs for teachers focused on the science of reading.

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NYPD RECEIVES FEDERAL HOMELAND SECURITY GRANT

STATEWIDE — THE NEW YORK CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT is among several cities, municipal departments and towns to receive a total of $13 million in federal grant awards through the State Homeland Security Program, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on Friday, April 26. The funding is allocated to New York’s bomb squads, hazardous materials teams, explosive detection canine teams, tactical teams, and technical rescue and urban search-and-rescue teams. It will be used to protect and secure critical infrastructure, mass gathering events and enhance local governments’ cybersecurity capabilities. Grants will also be used to enhance the protection of critical infrastructure and the cybersecurity posture across New York State. The NYPD was awarded funding for the bomb squad program, which helps equip and train the state’s 12 local FBI-accredited bomb squads to locate and prevent potential emergencies caused by improvised explosive devices or IEDs.

During the last year for which figures were made available, the NYPD received $472,727 in 2022, up from $445,455 the previous year.

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PROSPECT PARK ALLIANCE, EVERGREEN CEMETERY AMONG THOSE GETTING URBAN FORESTRY GRANTS

STATEWIDE — FOUR BROOKLYN SITES are among 32 in New York State receiving a total of $2.4 million in urban forestry grants, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on Friday, April 26, as part of the state’s celebration of both Arbor Day and Earth Week. The grants, which build upon the governor’s 2024 State of the State commitment to plant 25 million trees by 2033, are specifically for tree planting and maintenance projects that provide critical support for urban forest managers to sustain and expand green infrastructure. The Prospect Park Alliance will receive $100,000 for tree maintenance; New York City H2O, Inc. will receive $100,000 for tree planting; Big Initiatives Incorporated will receive $99,760 for tree maintenance; and the Evergreens Cemetery Preservation Foundation will receive $100,000 for tree planting. A multi-agency initiative led by dozens of commissioners and other State agency leaders planting trees across New York are amplifying these grants.

The forestry grants complement DEC’s ongoing initiatives to address invasive species, climate change, environmental degradation, environmental justice and urban sprawl.

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MAYA WILEY APPOINTED TO PRESIDENT BIDEN’S GROUNDBREAKING AI BOARD

NATIONWIDE — RENOWNED CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY, former mayoral candidate and Brooklyn resident Maya Wiley has been appointed as an inaugural member of the Department of Homeland Security’s Artificial Intelligence Safety and Security Board by Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, DHS announced Friday. President Biden directed Mayorkas to establish the board, which includes 22 representatives from a range of sectors. The board will develop recommendations to help keep critical infrastructure — such as transportation, pipelines, power grids and the internet — safe while developing and deploying AI technology, and help DHS stay ahead of evolving threats posed by hostile nation-state actors. Wiley will serve with top technology, infrastructure and civil rights experts, including the CEOs of OpenAI, NVIDIA, IBM, Occidental Petroleum, Microsoft, Alphabet and many more.

“It is critical to have a civil rights perspective on any board with the mission to responsibly deploy artificial intelligence in our nation’s infrastructure,” Wiley, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, said in a statement. While the technology can bring positives, AI “also poses great threats, including the spread of bias and hate speech online, stoking fear, distrust and hate in our communities of color.”

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USDA ANNOUNCES NEW THRESHOLD FOR DETERMINING SALMONELLA IN FROZEN BREADED CHICKEN PRODUCTS

NATIONWIDE — THE PRESENCE OF SALMONELLA in commercially- prepared raw breaded chicken products is the focus of a final testing-standard determination that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service announced on Friday, April 26. Raw breaded and stuffed chicken products are pre-browned and may appear cooked, but the chicken is still raw, and cooking it from a frozen state increases the risk of the product reaching an insufficient internal temperature needed to destroy Salmonella. Despite FSIS’ and the industry’s efforts to improve labeling, these products continue to be associated with Salmonella illness outbreaks. The FSIS’ specific threshold for Salmonella contamination is one colony-forming unit per gram or higher. Chicken exceeding this colony threshold will no longer be cleared for breading or stuffing.

However, FSIS did not mention whether the presence of breading itself on raw meat contributes to the growth of salmonella, a risk that a 2017 Mayo Clinic study examined.