News, updates: Friday, July 21, 2023

FATHER OF 4 STABBED TO DEATH, 2 MORE DETAILS IN WILLIAMSBURG FIGHT

WILLIAMSBURG – A Bushwick father of four, Severiano Reyes, 36, was fatally stabbed in the neck during a fight outside a Williamsburg wine bar. at Roebling and South 9th streets Tuesday evening at approximately 8:38 p.m. In the same incident, a 45-year-old man was cut in the neck and back, and a 27-year-old woman was cut in the wrist, according to a police spokesman.

Friends and family of Reyes told Gothamist the killer was an acquaintance who had a long-standing beef with him. The other injured had tried to help him, they said.

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ADAMS: NYC SHELTERS TO GIVE ADULT ASYLUM SEEKS THE BOOT AFTER 60 DAYS

TO THE CITY — Claiming that the city can no longer handle incoming asylum seekersadult immigrants in reception centers will receive 60 days notice to find alternative housing, Mayor Eric Adams said Wednesday. He added that immigrants will get “enhanced job services” to help them “explore other housing options.” Adams was immediately rebuffed by Comptroller Brad Lander and other officials. “Today’s mayor’s announcement not only undermines the right to housing, but New York’s defining role as a beacon of promise enshrined in the foundation of the Statute of Liberty,” Lander said in a statement.

“The right to shelter has been around for over 30 years, and that right doesn’t just expire after 60 days in the face of a crisis,” Public Advocate Jumaane Williams said in an emailed statement.

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MTA TO MAKE IT HARDER TO CHEAT THE TORQUET

IN THE CITY — The MTA plans to retool the city’s 3,479 subway turnstiles to prevent riders from evading fares using the popular “back-cocking” technique. according to Gothamist. “We’ve all seen it,” Metro Senior Vice President Demetrius Crichlow said during a committee meeting Monday. “Someone pull back on the bar far enough to pass it when you reverse to go in the forward direction.” The turnstiles will be re-designed to make a half rotation each time they are pulled in the opposite direction, thwarting riders’ attempts to pass easily.

The MTA recently said it lost $690 million a year to fare evasion. Meanwhile, the cost to retrofit the turnstiles is approximately $1.8 million. An editor at The Brooklyn Daily Eagle witnessed the “back” prank on Wednesday, July 19, at the York Street F train station. Although the perpetrator was a Spanish tourist, it remains a local problem.

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NYC DOE REACHES SETTLEMENT WITH FAMILIES OF DISABLED STUDENTS

IN THE CITY — Mayor Eric Adams and New York Department of Education Chancellor David Banks announced Wednesday that the city has reached an agreement in a 20-year-old court case to provide equitable, comprehensive and timely support for students with disabilities and their families who have chosen to exercise their rights to due process. The settlement stems from the 2003 class action lawsuit LV et.al v. NYC DOE, which contains 40 requirements that the DOE must meet to improve services for students with disabilities and their families.

In the lawsuit, the parents of the disabled children claimed they had received favorable results at the hearings, but the DOE was not implementing the orders..

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44 CONDITIONAL CANNABIS LICENSES AWARDED IN BROOKLYN

STATEwide – The New York State Cannabis Control Board voted Wednesday to approve 212 more provisional licenses statewide for recreational weed shops. all go to people with prior marijuana convictions. Of these, 44 were awarded in Brooklyn; 46 in Manhattan; 14 in Queens; nine in the Bronx and five in Staten Island. (The rest went to other areas of New York State.) Awardees are now free to find a suitable commercial location, but must submit final plans for approval.

The board has granted 463 conditional licenses for adults to New Yorkers involved in justice so far, reports NY State of Politics.

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‘GOLDIE’S ACT’ WOULD PROTECT DOGS IN PUPPY MILLS

CAPITOL HILL AND BAY RIDGE: Pushing her bipartisan legislation, “Goldie’s Act,” animal lover Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-11/Southwest Brooklyn-Staten Island), joined the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASCPA), a bipartisan group of colleagues and award-winning actor Bellamy Young, on Thursday, July 20, at a “Howl to the Hill” rally. Specifically, Goldie’s Law would ensure that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) does its job to protect dogs in federally licensed puppy mills and would require the USDA to conduct more frequent and meaningful inspections, provide a life-saving intervention for suffering animals, issue penalties for violations. , and communicating with local law enforcement to address cruelty and neglect.

The event, held with animal rights advocates, “aims to raise awareness about Goldie, a beautiful Golden Retriever who endured months of agony and pain under the watch of the USDA and suffered an avoidable death in a puppy mill in ‘Iowa,” said Nancy Perry, senior vice president. chair of government relations for the ASPCA. She called out what she and others claim is USDA’s “failure to enforce the law” to prevent cruelty.

Rep. Nicole Malliotakis with Sheriff Keith Davis, Rep. Zach Nunn (R, IA-03), Bellamy Young, Animal Advocates and ASPCA Ambassador Dogs. Photo courtesy of the office of Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis

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THREE BROOKLYN PUBLIC HOSPITALS GET RECOGNITION FOR HEALTH AND PAY EQUITY

EAST FLATBUSH, CONEY ISLAND, BUSHWICK – Three Brooklyn facilities of the NYC Health + Hospitals system have won accolades from the Lown Institute, a nonpartisan health care think tank, As a public hospital system, NYC Health + Hospitals ranks second nationally in health equity for its strong performance in the community benefit, pay equity and inclusion metrics, according to the Lown Index for Social Responsibility 2023-24, which examines more than 3,600 hospitals. in the US with criteria of 53 metrics. Kings County Medical Center in East Flatbush earned “A” grades in health equity, community benefit, inclusion, pay equity, value of care and avoiding overuse. South Brooklyn Health was recognized as #1 in New York for pay equity and earned an “A” grade for health equity and community benefit. The hospital in Woodhull, near Broadway Triangle, earned an ‘A’ rating for health equity, community benefit, inclusion and pay equity.

The founder of the Lown Institute (established in 1973) was Lithuanian-born Nobel Peace Prize winner Bernard Lown, MD, who developed the defibrillator and cardioverter. He died in 2021, just four months short of his 100th birthdayth birthday

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THE VOICE OF GOWANUS REPORTS THE GOVERNOR’S COMMENTS ON THE NEED FOR ENVIRONMENTAL CLEANUP

GOWANUS — The Voice of Gowanus, an advocacy group for local residents, has expressed anger at New York Gov. Kathy Hochul for remarks she made at a press conference Tuesday, July 18, while visiting the neighborhood . According to a newsletter that VOG distributed on July 20, Hochul announced plans to “reconstitute a contrived version of the failed 421a tax break, a financing program for New York State developers that was supposed to to bring affordable housing to New York, but he did the opposite.” VOG noted in its newsletter that while the state legislature withdrew its support for the legislation, Hochul plans to implement it through an executive order.

The Voice of Gowanus is also protesting what they call the governor’s indifference to the need for environmental cleanup, as expressed in a recent letter-writing campaign. The group quoted Hochul’s recorded remarks (on YouTube): “I’m asking the DEC and the State Department to just, can you streamline a little bit? Do we really have to be the toughest state to do all this? It’s not necessary ,” VOG responded that environmental laws are meant to protect all New Yorkers.

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