EMERGENCY FLOOD RELIEF AVAILABLE: Emergency Flood Relief assistance and resources for residents and businesses will be provided this Sunday, September 12, at Flatbush Development Corporation, at 1616 Newkirk Ave. in Ditmas Park (just east of the Newkirk Plaza B & Q train station). Guidance on-site, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., includes applying for FEMA Disaster Assistance and learning how to file a claim with the Office of the NYC Comptroller.
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IDA DISASTER ASSISTANCE: Brooklyn Community Board 6, serving Red Hook/Carroll Gardens and Gowanus, wants to make sure that local residents have access to disaster assistance following last week’s onslaught of Hurricane Ida. PS 15 at 71 Sullivan St. is serving as an Ida Recovery Service Center for Brooklyn from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Affected residents can also dial 311 for assistance.
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DISASTER ASSISTANCE FOR HURRICANE IDA VICTIMS: The U.S. Small Business Administration is offering disaster loans for those suffering losses due to Hurricane Ida last week. New Yorkers located in a declared disaster area, which includes Kings, Queens, Bronx and Richmond Counties (four of the five boroughs) may be eligible for financial assistance, through Home Disaster Loans for homeowners or renters to repair or replace disaster-damaged real estate and personal property, including automobiles. Business Physical Disaster Loans and Economic Injury Disaster Loans are also available, including to nonprofits such as charities, private universities and houses of worship.
Online assistance is available via https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs
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ACCELERATE DEADLINE FOR TRUCK SAFETY MEASURES: The New York City Council on Thursday approved Intro 1789-A, a bill that “would accelerate existing deadlines for side guard implementation in the city fleet and for trade waste hauling vehicles, moving the date one year sooner, from January 1, 2024 to January 1, 2023. The bill would also require that side guards are equipped on any large vehicle used to fulfill a contract with the city of at least $2 million, starting with contracts registered on or after January 1, 2023.
The bill, which has been sent to Mayor Bill de Blasio for signature, aims to eliminate truck-related fatalities in New York City, after safety advocates pointed out that large trucks and vehicles pose a greater threat to pedestrians and cyclists across the city.
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NY COURT REJECTS ATTEMPTS TO INTERVENE IN NRA SUIT: Justice Joel Cohen of the New York State Supreme Court rejected efforts by two members of the National Rifle Association (NRA) to intervene in the countersuit the NRA brought against New York State Attorney General Letitia James. The countersuits had been initiated following a lawsuit she filed against their leaders for mismanaging the NRA’s funds and filing bankruptcy to avoid penalties.
This past January, the NRA filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy even though the organization still claimed to have healthy financial reserves. The NRA then filed the countersuit which is the subject of today’s New York State Supreme Court rejection.
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CENTENNIAL OF BROOKLYN’S FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN CHURCH: On Thursday night, Sept. 9, the Most Reverend Nicholas DiMarzio, Bishop of Brooklyn, was scheduled to lead a special Mass on the Feast Day of Saint Peter Claver, which will also commemorate the 100th anniversary of the founding of Saint Peter Claver Roman Catholic Church in Bedford-Stuyvesant, the first African American Church in the Diocese of Brooklyn. The 7:30 p.m. Mass is taking place at the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph, located at 856 Pacific St. in the Prospect Heights section of Brooklyn. The late Monsignor Bernard J. Quinn, who founded the parish, is currently being considered for sainthood for his work for racial equality.
Throughout his life, St. Peter Claver cared for African Americans who would arrive on slave ships by providing them medical care and food. Over the course of a 40-year ministry, it is estimated that he baptized 300,000 slaves.
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STREET CLOSURES NEAR BARCLAYS: Barclays Center will be hosting the 2021 MTV Video Music Awards for pre-production recordings through Sunday, Sept. 12, according to an announcement from NYPD Captain Frantz Souffrant, Jr., commanding officer of the 78th Precinct. Street closures will be in effect near Barclays Center tonight, Friday, Sept. 10, between 4 p.m. and midnight, and for the live performances on Sunday, Sept. 12, between 8 and 11 p.m. These closures involve pedestrians and vehicles in an area encompassing Atlantic Avenue, both directions between 4th and Carlton avenues (vehicles); the south side of Atlantic Ave. as well as Dean St. from Flatbush to 6th Ave.; Pacific St. between Flatbush to 4th Ave., and 6th Ave. from Atlantic to Bergen St. from Flatbush Ave., all closed to pedestrians and vehicles.
Captain Souffrant wrote, “We will ensure that residents living on the affected streets can access their vehicles and residences during the event and work as quickly as possible to reopen street closures once the event is over.”
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MONETARY PENALTY FOR MASK SCOFFLAWS: The Department of Homeland Security’s Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will increase the range of civil penalties that may be imposed on individuals who violate the federal mask mandate at airports, on commercial aircraft, and in various modes of surface public transportation, including passenger railroads and intercity bus services. The new range of penalties, which take effect today, Sept. 10, come after President Biden yesterday announced sweeping new vaccine mandates. Penalties will be $500-$1,000 for first offenders and $1,000-$3,000 for second offenders, with the federal mask mandate for transportation remaining in effect until January 18, 2022.
These federal mask mandate-related civil penalties are separate from the civil penalties the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issues for individuals who engage in unruly and unsafe behavior.
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DISASTER RECOVERY CENTER IN CROWN HEIGHTS: Several Disaster Recovery Centers, including one in Brooklyn thus far, will provide information, assistance and help for New Yorkers who were impacted by the storms and flooding that the remnants of Hurricane Ida caused last week. Recovery specialists from FEMA and the U.S. Small Business Administration will be available to answer questions and provide information on the types of federal help available to homeowners, renters and business owners as a result of the major disaster declarations stemming from the hurricane.
A Disaster Recovery Center is being set up at Medgar Evers College, 231 Crown St. in Crown Heights, open daily from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., until further notice:
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JERUSALEM POST HONOREES FROM BROOKLYN: Honorees #22 and 23 in the Jerusalem Post’s “50 Most Influential Jews of 2021” list each have ties to Brooklyn: Douglas Emhoff, (#22) Second Gentleman of the United States, and Ariel Zwang, (#23) CEO of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC). Emhoff, a Brooklyn native, is the husband of the United States’ first woman Vice President Kamala Harris, who in turn is also the country’s first Black and Asian vice president. Ms. Ariel Zwang, who hails from a family of educators and rabbis, and who lived in Brooklyn Heights for a while, heads the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), the century-plus old Jewish humanitarian organization with more than a century of service, and in more than 70 countries.
The Jerusalem Post prefaced its 2021 roster with the statement: “This year, we strived to create a list showcasing the diversity of the Jewish nation, while highlighting people from all walks of life – government, art, medicine, literature and science.”
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