What’s News, Breaking: Monday, January 8, 2023

PROBE INTO IRT DERAILMENT SHOWS DISABLED TRAIN HAD COLLIDED WITH ANOTHER ONE IN MOTION

CITYWIDE — SERVICE ON THE IRT IN MANHATTAN AND PARTS OF BROOKLYN WAS STILL PARTIALLY DISRUPTED ON FRIDAY, following a derailment at the Upper West Side’s 96th St. station Thursday, Jan. 4, around 3 p.m., that injured more than two dozen passengers. An investigation into the derailment continued beyond the Friday morning rush hour. The Daily News reported at 11:17 a.m. on Friday that a train found to be vandalized was pulled out of service, and while being moved to a Bronx maintenance yard, collided with a functioning northbound No. 1 train. The in-service passenger train had been green-lighted to proceed along the tracks, while the disabled train, which was being operated from the mid-train conductor’s cab (not normal procedure) had a red light and was not given permission to move. It then rammed into the in-service train mid-point, derailing it.

No. 2 trains were running along the East Side IRT 4 and 5 lines on Friday. Partial service restoration was expected by Friday afternoon.

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REP. MALLIOTAKIS HELPS SECURE FUNDS FOR WTC HEALTH PROGRAM

CITYWIDE — CONGRESSWOMAN NICOLE MALLIOTAKIS (NY-11) WAS SCHEDULED TO JOIN LOCAL POLICE, FIRE AND EMS UNIONS Friday afternoon to highlight the new funding she secured for the World Trade Center Health Program that covers health care costs for 9/11 first responders and survivors. The Fiscal Year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act, which was signed into law at the end of 2023, included a bipartisan, bicameral amendment that Rep. Malliotakis supported. That amendment provides an additional $444 million to address the World Trade Center Health Program’s budget shortfall, plus $232 million to extend coverage for military and civilian 9/11 first responders at the Pentagon & Shanksville, PA.

The NYPD’s Benevolent Associations covering the city’s police officers, lieutenants, detectives, sergeants, captains, the FDNY’s firefighter and fire officers, and the Emergency Medical Services Association were among those participating.

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GOVERNOR INTRODUCES NY SWIMS PROGRAM TO INCREASE POOLS, WATER SAFETY LESSONS

STATEWIDE — NEW YORK STATE WILL RECEIVE AN INVESTMENT IN SWIMMING POOLS, LIFEGUARD TRAINING AND SAFETY PROGRAMS, as part of a proposal that Gov. Kathy Hochul unveiled in her State of the State address on Friday. The program, named NY SWIMS, will build out municipal pools in high-need areas, connect New Yorkers to the state’s rivers and lakes, deploy pools in urban environments and invest in state parks and pools. It will also promote initiatives to help more New Yorkers swim safely by addressing the statewide lifeguard shortage, increasing swimming instruction and increasing amenities at pools and beaches.

NY SWIMS will select high-need areas to build pools, to mitigate the increase in heat waves attributed to climate change. It will also address the urgent need to teach water safety at an early age, as drowning is the leading cause of death for children ages 1-4.

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REPORT SHOWS BROOKLYN 2ND ON LIST OF RESIDENTS MOVING TO WAKE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA

BOROUGHWIDE AND NORTH CAROLINA —BROOKLYNITES ARE MOVING IN DROVES TO WAKE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA, the area near the state’s capital, according to a new report from WRAL, a broadcast station headquartered in Raleigh. The WRAL report showed Kings County in New York City comes in second regarding out-of-state new residents, after Cobb County, Georgia. The report showed also that Kings County and the other top ten counties around the U.S. that are losing residents to North Carolina are bringing in higher median household incomes than those already living in Wake County. However, a chart accompanying the report seemed to show the reverse: that the area median income in Wake County is higher, around $80K-$100K annually.

The report was generated from a question on the American Community Survey which asks where they lived the year before, giving a panorama of the annual movement around the country.

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ATTORNEY GENERAL: NRA EXECUTIVE’S RESIGNATION GIVES NO INSULATION FROM ACCOUNTABILITY

STATEWIDE — NATIONAL RIFLE ASSOCIATION (NRA) EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT WAYNE LAPIERRE RESIGNED HIS POST ON FRIDAY, three days before a trial against him starts, and prompting a statement from New York Attorney General Letitia James. The attorney general in 2020 initiated a lawsuit — with the trial starting this Monday, Jan. 8 — alleging that LaPierre and NRA senior management misappropriated millions of dollars to fund personal benefits, including private jets, expensive meals, and even family trips to the Bahamas. The NRA, as a New York-registered not-for-profit, charitable corporation, has legal obligations to use its funds for charitable purposes specifically. “While the end of the Wayne LaPierre era is an important victory in our case, our push for accountability continues,” said Attorney General James. “LaPierre’s resignation validates our claims against him, but it will not insulate him or the NRA from accountability.”

The OAG investigation found that instead of serving NRA members, senior management blatantly disregarded New York state and federal laws, and even internal NRA policies.

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FAMILIES CAN SEE THEIR NEWBORNS FROM AFAR, THANKS TO MAIMONIDES’ NEONATAL ICU EXPANSION

BOROUGH PARK — MAIMONIDES MEDICAL CENTER HAS EXPANDED ITS NEONATAL INTENSIVE CARE UNIT (NICU), the hospital system announced on Friday, Jan. 5. The expansion of the NICU adds 17 NICU beds to Maimonides Children’s Hospital, bringing the total to 48 beds, each one outfitted with an Angel Eye camera that enables families to see their child from anywhere in the world via an app. The expansion includes other equipment-based resources to help support patients, families and medical staff in providing care.

Maimonides is a New York State-designated Regional Perinatal Center, Level 4 NICU, which is equipped to offer advanced procedures, and provides around-the-clock coverage for all high-risk deliveries and care, including a neonatologist on-site 24/7.

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SCALE LENDING PROVIDES $46M LOAN FOR CLINTON HILL APT. BLDG.

SCALE LENDING HAS FINALIZED a $46 million bridge loan for Arris Grand, a newly completed apartment building in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn. The loan will aid in the leasing the nine-story multifamily building located at 982-998 Fulton Street. Designed by the award-wining architecture firm Fogarty Finger, Arris Grand encompasses 113 rental apartments, ranging from studios to two-bedroom units, and 7,154 square feet of street-level retail at the intersection of Grand Avenue and Fulton Street.

“Arris Grand will serve as an architecturally distinct addition to one of Brooklyn’s quintessential brownstone neighborhoods,” said Martin Nussbaum, co-founder and Principal at Slate Property Group.

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ASSEMBLYMEMBER ABRUPTY RESIGNS

ASSEMBLYMEMBER LATOYA JOYNER, a Bronx Democrat who heads the Labor Committee, plans to resign Monday at mid night to take a job outside of government. Joyner has served in the Assembly since 2015, according to the Daily News. In her statement, she offered no more details about her future endeavors.

Joyner represents Highbridge, the Grand Concourse, Mount Eden and Morris Heights. She went to SUNY Buffalo School of Law and served as a court attorney before she ran for office.