Bay Currents/Bargains Bridge Volume 7 issue 2

Sheepshead Bay • Brighton Beach • Marine Park • Manhattan Beach • Coney Island • Gravesend • Gerritsen Beach • Mill Basin

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Vol. 7, No. 2, December 8 - December 22, 2010

Parking-ticket judges: A clear conflict of interest

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• We told you about the boardw • Parent alk! s of boy s t r uck by bus sue ci ty • Sheeps head Bay High closi • Bay be ng? dbugged!

• SAVE M ONEY! Se e our new BARGAINS BRIDGE b eginning on the ba ck cover

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DaviD J. Glenn Publisher Suzanne H. Glenn Editor aRTHuR MelniCK Associate Editor ReDRaCH PRoDuCTionS Graphic Design & Production WritErs izabela Rutkowski angelina Tala elis estrada Dominique Carson elizabeth Hagen Contributors i. Friedin arlene Brenner Kerry Donelli Jacqueline Donelli Matt lassen

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! To continue to be the independent and effective community newspaper we are, we need to hear from you.

We want to know your concerns, opinions, suggestions, praises, and criticism.

Write to us at: editor@baycurrents.net or LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Bay Currents 2966 Avenue U, Suite 108 Brooklyn, NY 11229

Imagine for a moment that you’re on trial before a judge, without a jury, for, let’s suppose, shoplifting. It was all really a misunderstanding, and you have a good defense.

But despite your and your lawyer’s best efforts, the judge rules against you.

OK, you had your due process, you lost, and now you have to face the penalty.

But what if you find out that the judge is employed by the store you were accused of stealing from. Could anyone rationally argue that this was a fair trial?

Actually, the scenario doesn’t require too much imagination – just

change the charge from shoplifting to a non-moving violation, the judge to administrative hearing officer, and the store to the city’s Department of Finance.

As we report in this issue’s cover story, the hearing officers who decide appeals of parking or other non-moving violations are employees of the DOF – the very same agency that collects the fines! Whether there is an unwritten quota or not, you can safely bet the $35 fine for an expired-meter that any hearing officer who fails to take in enough revenue from motorists won’t exactly be selected as Employee of the Month. Even if a particular officer truly

A c o v e r l e t t e r A new experience Dear Mayor Bloomberg, I would like to apply for the position of New York City Schools Chancellor.

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Thank you for your consideration of my application.

David J. Glenn

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wants to be objective, he’s only human – in the back of his mind he knows, or has good reason to believe, that his decisions might affect his job security.

Assemblyman Alan Maisel has introduced legislation that would render hearing officers independent of the DOF, making the appeal process more like a real court. He has introduced legislation that would render hearing officers independent of the DOF, making the appeal process more like a real court. It would seem that the bill is a nobrainer to pass.

We urge the Assembly and the Senate to do just that.

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Brooklynites are bed-bugged

By DoMInIquE CarSon info@baycurrents.net Who would have thought that a bug no bigger than a poppy seed could cause such a stir in homes, apartments, schools, cruise ships, dorms -- even , ironically enough, the offices of the city’s Health Department? People in the Bay area and all over the city have been worried about going to school, the office, and even the movies because they do not want a bed bug crawling over them.

It’s a national problem, but New York State has had the highest rate of infestation. In the city, the City Council established an advisory board to focus on what many have called an epidemic.

This past summer bed bugs were found at some of the most popular movie theaters in Manhattan, and locally at the UA Movies at Sheepshead Bay. The theaters are now bug-free, officials said.

Contrary to popular perception, the tiny critters do not transmit diseases. What they do, is feed on blood from humans and other warm-blooded hosts.

They do this by injecting their

saliva under the host’s skin; people exposed to bed bugs repeatedly may develop mild to intense allergic reactions. It’s hard not to, but you shouldn’t scratch the bite because it may lead to other infections. Bites can be treated with antihistamines and corticosteroids.

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Assemblyman: Clear conflict of interest in judging tickets By anGElIna Tala tala@baycurrents.net Recently, a Brooklyn housewife, noticing a parking enforcement agent walking back and forth by her car, rushed out of Rite Aid with one minute left on her meter as she searched through her pocketbook looking for her car keys. She quickly grabbed her keys and beeped the car to inform the agent she was on her way. “I’m coming! I’m coming!” yelled Josephine

Guardavaccaro. The officer quickly scanned her hand-held computer over the car to record the registration.

Guardavaccaro then looked back at the meter. “Excuse me, why are you giving me a ticket?

The meter just went out this minute. You saw me coming!”

Guardavaccaro told the officer.

“I was not in there for more then 20 minutes,” she told Bay Currents. “I saw her [the officer] walking around my car -- she was definitely waiting for the meter to run out. She was not nice about it at all. She did

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not give me a chance.”

What Guardavaccaro didn’t know was that there is now a five-minute grace period after the meter runs out –a new regulation that Mayor Bloomberg fought against. In the NYC Parking Violations Rules and Regulations, code 34 states “Effective March 21, 2010, drivers will get a 5-minute grace period past the expired time on Muni-Meters…

During the 5-minute grace period parking tickets cannot be issued.”

“Who wants to waste their

time and energy fighting it? I know she was wrong but I’d rather just pay the $35 and get it over with,” said Guardavaccaro.

If she were to challenge the tickets, her case would come before an administrative judge – an employee of the city’s Department of Finance, which collects parking fines.

This is a clear fox-guardingthe-henhouse arrangement, says Assemblyman Alan Maisel of District 59. He has introduced legislation that would make the hearing officers independent of the Department of Finance, which, he stressed, has a vested interest in collecting revenue from parking tickets.

“The legislation would set up an independent tribunal that would hear violations, where the people who are appointed as administrative hearing officers would not be subjective to administrative rebut by the bosses if they’re not generating enough revenue,” said Maisel.

See the Bay Currents video interview with Maisel on www.baycurrents.net

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Quota?

Not telling!

New Yorkers have always suspected that parking enforcement agents are required to meet quotas – and there periodically are reports indicating such – but the police department continually denies there are any.

“There is no quota,” one Bay area detective told Bay Currents. But he added, “If there was a quota no police officer or detective would ever tell you there was.”

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We hate to say ‘We told you so’… but, Goodbye, Boardwalk!

Bay CurrEnTS TEaM rEPorTInG The Parks Department finally has officially announced plans for the iconic Coney Island boardwalk that Bay Currents exclusively warned about, to deaf ears from every other media, nearly a year ago – to turn the boardwalk into a concrete walk.

At a recent Community Board 13 meeting, Parks officials outlined the proposal to take down the wooden planks along the 42-block Riegelmann boardwalk and replace them with slabs of concrete.

“It’s a boardwalk! It is not a sidewalk!”

Ida Sarnoff of Brighton Beach shouted during the meeting.

“This is a historic, 100-year old, worldfamous boardwalk, and we’re going to turn it into a sidewalk that’s harmful to people’s feet, their joints, their bones?” complained 76-year-old Ruby Schultz.

Actually, the outraged residents at the community board meeting should not have been surprised. Members of “Friends of the Boardwalk” and Mike Greco, an electrician and construction designer from Bath Beach, have been decrying the plans

since January. Greco showed Parks officials what he described as cheaper and longerlasting boardwalk materials that he said could be put into place with galvanized steel beams and with the lumber bolted through to prevent bouncing. One of his plans called for a 12-foot-wide exercise pat made out of

Of course, no other location has Coney Island.

“It has to do with the character. We want to have a traditional boardwalk, not a sidewalk.

You can have a sidewalk anywhere, you can’t have a boardwalk everywhere,” Rob Burstein, who has been regularly running along the boardwalk for 36 years, told Bay Currents

shock-absorbing material, installed on each of the two sides of the boardwalk, replacing the rest of the boardwalk either with wood or simulated wood planks. He said the officials didn’t even consider his ideas, saying only that concrete had worked in other locales.

earlier. “Sustainable wood or some kind of a wood substance, perhaps a composite, should be used.

Bay Currents revealed in January that the Parks Department awarded a $13.7 million contract to a San Diego company to replace

the entire Coney Island boardwalk – except a small swath alongside the amusement area -- with concrete.

The San Diego company, T.B. Penick & Sons, said in a Nov. 12, 2009 statement, “Work will begin immediately to demolish portions of the existing damaged wooden boardwalk; precast concrete slab units will be installed as the foundation of the 2.7mile (4.0 km) boardwalk to strengthen and stabilize it.

“The boardwalk’s existing hardwood timbers will be replaced by a combination of colored and textured pre-cast concrete slabs, custom exposed aggregate and sustainably harvested hardwood wood decking.”

The project will create “a secondary concrete jungle,” said Greco, adding that it will “not only take away from the legacy of an American icon, but also has several flaws in design.” For one thing, textured concrete, “although appealing to the eye,” is too rough and hazardous for bicycles, baby carriages, or jogging, he said.

The Parks Department project, he said, is a “boardwalk blunder.”

Coney Island caught between concrete and a hard place

By ElIzaBETh haGEn info@baycurrents.net Environmentalists saw a major victory in the city government’s 2008 plan to

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phase out the use of tropical hardwood for public works -- but it posed big questions for Coney Island’s nostalgic Riegelmann Boardwalk. Much of the 2.6-mile stretch is in desperate need of renovation, but few are pleased with the city’s current plans to

replace the tropical hardwood planks with etched concrete.

At a recent meeting in the Education Building of the Aquarium, rainforest activists, engineering experts and neighborhood residents came together to discuss sustainable alternatives for the imperiled boards.

“You think it’s horrible. We believe that we are eliminating horrible conditions,” John Natoli, chief engineer for city Department of Parks and Recreation, told the gathering.

One alternative to concrete option is “kebonization,” a process which bonds an alcohol to softer timbers. The wood product is appealing, but still requires dead trees.

Another alternative is Recycled Plastic Lumber, or RPL, and the Army Corps of Engineers has used it in many of its construction projects, including a bridge built in 2003 capable of carrying 60-ton tanks. This would be welcome news for those who complain bitterly about Parks Department and police vehicles rumbling down – and destroying, critics say -- a walkway designed for foot traffic. “I live right on the boardwalk. And late at night I hear the trucks, the vans, the cruisers racing along the boardwalk,” said resident Bruni Figueroa.

Finding a balance among aesthetics, extreme weather and safety is difficult enough without budgetary concerns.

“You know what it is? It’s really money,” said Natoli. “To finish this entire boardwalk in either the plastic product or the wood product is about 150 million

December 8 - December 22, 2010

dollars. To do it in concrete is 90.”

“RPL originally costs more money, but it has at least a 70 year life span,” said activist JK Canepa. Developed by Rutgers University’s Advanced Polymer Center, RPL has already been used to reconstruct Coney Island’s Steeplechase Pier. There, sections of wood and RPL are built right next to each other.

There are drawbacks to each approach, and the battle over cost, character and safety is complicated. Residents say the RPL can be slippery and that some toe-threatening screws are already dislodged only one year after RPL was installed in some sections as a pilot program. Those rooting for the synthetic material blame shoddy construction and note that the latest incarnations of RPL are stronger and more flexible.

All parties agree on one thing: tropical wood should no longer be used on the boardwalk. New York City has been among the largest consumers of tropical hardwood in North America. For activists, the number of different hardwoods used over time by the city shows a legacy of unacceptable environmental policy. “It’s such a clear picture of this linear destruction that is not at all sustainable,” said activist Steven Prestianni.

Coney Island is not alone. The questions come up citywide whenever park benches, subway ties and another Brooklyn icon, the Brooklyn Bridge, have to be renovated. All are currently made of the types of wood being phased out of the city’s available materials.

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Sheepshead Bay High fights to stay open

By ElIS ESTraDa info@baycurrents.net Talking with students gathered in her office during first lunch period one day last month, Sheepshead Bay High School’s parent coordinator, Salvatrice Miranda, told them, “You know we have visitors today.”

She was talking about a group of reviewers from the state and city education departments. The results of its review will determine whether and how the school should change – or even close -- in the 2011-2012 school year.

This year, the New York State Education Commissioner, David Steiner, identified 57 schools as “persistently lowest achieving.” Sheepshead Bay High School has been on the list since 2001, when the federal No Child Left Behind Act was signed into law.

The team of educators visiting Sheepshead Bay High – with a current enrollment of 2,272 -- sat in classes and talked with students, teachers and parents to assess how well the school was doing. In anticipation of the visit, administrators prepped students and teachers. “We’ve done everything we could do here,” says Miranda. “In the end it’s just going to be decision,” referring to the state Education Department and the city Department of Education.

Students got the message. Ashley Daley, 17, a senior, felt that during the Quality Review, Sheepshead proved to the city and state its ability to succeed. “We did what we had to do to show them we are a good school,” she said.

[John Dewey High School on Avenue X off Stillwell Avenue has already been placed on the DOE’s list of 47 city schools that might be closed for its grade C “report card” and its 57 percent four-year graduation rate. Teachers, students and alumni have been rallying to keep the school open.]

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whether to keep it open or to replace the school under the Turnaround or Restart models. The Turnaround model calls for replacing the principal, rehiring not more than half the teachers, and implementing curriculum reform. Under the Restart model, the school would be converted into smaller charter schools under a private education-management organization.

City progress reports, quality reviews, and New York State accountability reports are taken into consideration when evaluating a school’s performance. Sheepshead has made significant improvements on all reports since the 2005 arrival of Reesa Levy, the current principal.

As the liaison between teachers, parents and students for the past seven years, Miranda has witnessed major improvements in the school owing to new programs Levy put into place, such as online recovery credit classes to improve graduation rates. “What didn’t work, she changed,” said Miranda. In June, Sheepshead’s graduation rate was 62 percent -- up from 53 percent in 2007—almost reaching the citywide average of 63 percent.

Teachers and students emphasize that the school has come a long way. In 2004, it was first identified under Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s Impact Schools Initiative for a higher than average incidence of crime and student transfers due to safety violations.

“Guidance intervention is something we didn’t have before,” said Miranda, “It used to be really bad, there were riots, it was crazy.” The school now provides counselors, intervention, and tutors.

John Padula, 34, Sheepshead’s head coach of the track and field team (which won the Nationals in 2009) and manager of the school’s sports medicine program, views

the school as steadily progressing. “We survive because we’re improving,” he said.

Determining a school’s need for improvement is based on a combination of results from its yearly city progress reports and its New York State report card. The state sets standards reflected in a school’s adequate yearly progress (AYP)—the minimum level of performance school districts and schools must achieve every year to meet the No Child Left Behind Law’s goal of performing at proficiency levels in reading, language arts, math, and science by 2014.

The school received a B on its progress report in 2008 and a C in 2009. It has met AYP in almost every group except for students with disabilities, students with limited English proficiency, and economically disadvantaged students.

Miranda cited the school’s graduation rates, as well as its low English and math Regents scores for students with disabilities and ESL learners, as contributing to the school’s low achievement level.

Padula and Miranda want the city and state to give the school an opportunity to continue improving.

“A large school can be successful if it’s run right,” Padula said.

Jamile Henlon, 17, a senior at Sheepshead, says violence at the school has gone down and academics are now great. “I feel like when people think of Sheepshead Bay High School, they think of a bad school, but if you come to Sheepshead you’ll realize we’re actually one of the best schools.”

“Every year, we’ve done better,” said Miranda.

Chatting with students in her office, Miranda reflected on her impact at the school. “This office is like home to them,” she said.

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Death of 4 year-old on mind of Manhattan Beach parents By anGElIna Tala

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tala@baycurrents.net A month after a little boy was struck and killed by a city bus on Oriental Boulevard, Manhattan Beach Park was filled with young children and their parents as cars raced up and down the street. The thought of the four-yearold boy losing his life gave the parents a feeling of emptiness – and fear -- as they watched their young ones play in the park.

“It’s sad. The traffic conditions in this area are very dangerous and the city should make some changes before something like that happens again,” said a mother who was watching her children play on the slides in the park. “What makes it even worse is that the park is right here, there are so many children that play here.”

On Oct. 7, four-year-old Evan Svirsky was killed and his mother Irina Liberman was injured after being hit by a bus that allegedly was being driven recklessly.

Liberman, 45, had taken Evan and his 6-year-old brother to the park, when Evan suddenly sped out onto Oriental near Falmouth Street. She tried to pull her son away but they were both struck by the bus.

“The bus was driving too fast to stop,” said a Manhattan Beach park ranger who didn’t want to give his name. “The streets here are very dangerous,” he added.

Police investigators did not confirm by press time whether or not the driver was speeding.

At a recent community meeting at P.S. 195, Liberman held up a large photo of Evan and gave an impassioned plea for safer traffic conditions. She has filed a lawsuit against the MTA because, she

says, the bus diver was driving recklessly Residents, visitors, and Kingsborough Community College students believe the configurations of the streets and lack of traffic lights in Manhattan Beach are dangerous, and they feel helpless. “The traffic conditions are horrible, but no matter how many times you write to the city or complain, it will be a while before they make any changes,” said Illona Bobritsky as she followed her daughter to the swings in Manhattan Beach Park. “You have a bunch of teenagers and kids in their early 20s that are driving recklessly up, basically, a two lane highway -- there’s one traffic signal up the whole way.”

Oriental Boulevard in particular, with only one traffic light, “is an open road, and I’ve seen plenty of people get pedal-happy and gun it all the way down to Kingsborough,” said Bella Vax, a young woman who spends much of her time in the area. “They should have more traffic lights, or stop signs, or even speed bumps… it will make a difference for the better.”

The little boy’s death is the third traffic fatality in Manhattan Beach in the past two years, and there have been 59 car accidents since 2005, according to the Department of Transportation. The city has made little changes in order to prevent accidents, residents say.

“There have been so many accidents on Oriental Boulevard,” said Justina Curreri, a student at Kingsborough College. “Honestly, the city should step up and make some changes before another innocent child’s life is taken.”

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The city has finally allowed the removal of planters from along Oriental Boulevard, after residents complained for years that the large, cement pots were a traffic obstruction.

Officials of Kingsborough Community College, located at the end of the boulevard by the ocean, had offered to remove all 31 planters, but the city Department of Parks and Recreation, which maintained the planters, wouldn’t allow them to do so, claiming the pots presented no traffic hazard.

But more than two months after four-year-old Evan Svirsky was killed by a bus on the boulevard at Falmouth Street, Parks Department officials relented. KCC crews have now moved all the planters to the Kingsborough campus.

An investigation into the Oct. 7

December 8 - December 22, 2010

accident – which also injured Evan’s mother, Irina Liberman -- was still ongoing by press time. It hadn’t yet been determined whether the planters were a factor in the tragedy.

Liberman claims the bus driver was operating the bus recklessly; she has filed suit against the MTA. Members of the feuding Manhattan Beach Civic Group and the Manhattan Beach Neighborhood Association, in a rare act of cooperation, plan to meet soon with Department of Transportation officials to discuss ways to prevent future accidents. Proposals include stepping up police patrols to prevent speeding along Oriental Boulevard, and adding more traffic lights (currently there is only one, at the beginning of the boulevard).

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Cop to rabbi: Either violate the Sabbath, or go to jail

By DavID J. GlEnn publisher@baycurrents.net A young Brooklyn rabbi was forced by police to make a choice – either violate the Sabbath, or be arrested.

Rabbi Sholom Emert was crossing Kings Highway and East 15th Street at about 5:40 p.m. Friday, Nov. 26 – after sundown, the beginning of the Sabbath – when the light changed. He was stuck in the middle of the road as cars started whizzing past him.

Two officers from the 61st Precinct confronted him. One of the cops issued a ticket for obstructing traffic, and demanded identification from the rabbi. Emert tried to explain that he couldn’t carry anything on the Sabbath, and told the cop he lived a half-block away. “Come t my house – I’ll show you my I.D.,” he said.

But the officer refused, Emert said, and ordered him to sign his name on the ticket – also a violation of the Sabbath.

“I told him, I’m a Sabbath observer, I can’t write today,’” Emert recounted.

“He said, ‘You have to write it down, and it has to be done very neatly so I can read it. If I can’t read it, I’m going to have to take you in.’”

That eliminated the option of Emert using his other hand or otherwise writing in an uncomfortable way, which would have been less of a violation of Jewish law.

“I had no choice,” Emert said. “When you’re put in handcuffs, you could be held for 24 hours.

I have a wife and four kids at home.

“I was forced to write down my name. This was the first time in my life I broke the Sabbath.”

Bay Currents tried to reach the Community Affairs department at the 61st, but the message was not returned by press time.

Jennifer Carnig, a spokeswoman for the New York Civil Liberties Union, said that under New York State law, no one is required to show a police officer any I.D. She said she would investigate whether the cop’s demand that Emert write his name was a violation of the rabbi’s civil rights.

Tenants’ advocate Jerry O’Shea dies at 76 ‘The borough has lost a humanitarian’ Jeremiah “Jerry” O’Shea, who had left a lucrative Wall Street job to advocate for tenants’ rights, died Sunday, Nov. 14. He was 76 years old.

He had become the go-to person for tenants fighting for decent living conditions or against eviction. He headed Brooklyn Housing and Family Services (the Brooklyn Tenants Council) for many years. He also had served as chairman of Community Board 15.

O’Shea, a heavy smoker, suffered a stroke five years ago that left him partially immobilized, leaving his duties to longtime assistant director Larry Jayson. “The borough has lost a humanitarian of the likes that we may not see again,” said Jayson. “No

matter how long it took, Jerry was going to get [tenants’] problems solved.”

Jayson, who delivered the eulogy at O’Shea’s funeral on Saturday, Nov. 21, recounted an incident that illustrated his colleague and friend’s dedication.

An unidentified package was left at the organization’s building, and while police evacuated everyone, O’Shea stayed on the phone “answering just one more question” from a distressed tenant.

“When we had issues with the community, Jerry would try to reunite everyone on the board to work as a group,” said current Community Board 15 Chairwoman Theresa Scavo.

“He knew how to help people,” said Jayson.

O’Shea is survived by a daughter, Hillary, and a son, Jerry Jr.

Former Rep. Stephen Solarz loses final battle – to cancer Stephen Solarz, whose decades in politics carried him from Midwood to the Middle East, died of esophageal cancer on Nov. 29. He was 70 years old.

He was born in Manhattan but was raised by his father and stepmother in Brooklyn, graduating from Midwood High School where he was student-government president, and then going to Brandeis University and Columbia University.

He first entered politics at age 25, helping to run the primary campaign for Melvin Dubin for Congress.

Dubin lost, but Solarz went on to serve in the state Assembly from 1969 to 1975. He then was elected to Congress, where he served nine consecutive terms until 1993.

In just his first month in office, Solarz was appointed to the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and immediately visited the Middle East. He quickly garnered a reputation as a staunch defender of Israel.

He also gained national attention when he was the first to reveal that Philippines First Lady Imelda Marcos had some 3,000 pairs of shoes, vividly demonstrating how she and President Ferdinand Marcos had lived lavishly on the country’s treasury while the

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people languished in poverty.

He was in the national spotlight again in 1991 when he broke with the Democratic majority and co-sponsored a resolution to authorize President George H. W. Bush to attack Iraq in the first Gulf war.

Solarz’ tenure in Congress was not unblemished. In March 1992, the House Ethics Committee cited him as one of the 22 worst abusers in the House banking scandal that forced the closing of the bank. He had overdrawn 743 checks in a 39-month period.

His wife, Nina Solarz, was fined $5,300 and sentenced to a year’s probation for her role in the scandal, for which she apologized.

In November 1992, Solarz lost the seat he had held since 1974 when his Brooklyn district was drastically redrawn.

He was appointed by President Bill Clinton as chairman of the U.S. government-funded Central AsianAmerican Enterprise Fund to bring private-sector development to central Asia. He served from 1993 to 1998.

Solarz is survived by his wife; his mother, Ruth Robin; two brothers, Avrom and Seth Robin; a stepson and a stepdaughter; and four grandchildren.

Page 7

In the Stars

Point of no-return Humans may go to Mars sooner than you think – but they might not come back.

A pair of scientists suggests that our Solar System neighbor, the fourth from

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the sun, may be colonized quicker – and cheaper – if astronauts used a one-way ticket to the red planet.

“The main point is to get Mars exploration moving,” said Dirk Schulze-Makuch, a Washington State University professor who co-authored an article proposing that we start

settling Mars the way the early pioneers colonized North America – journeying to the new world without any plans to go home.

At least one astronaut who walked on another world, the moon, but was happy to come back, doesn’t think it’s a very good idea. “This is premature,” said Ed Mitchell, who was on the Apollo 14 mission to the moon. “We aren’t ready for this yet.”

NASA isn’t biting at the bit, either. .”We want our people back,” said NASA spokesman Michael Braukus. President Obama has proposed plans to send astronauts to Mars by the mid-2030s, but he never suggested that they would stay there The article, titled “To Boldly Go,” appears in the latest issue of the Journal of Cosmology. Schulze-Makuch and Paul Davies, a physicist at Arizona State University, argue that humans should begin colonizing another planet, particularly Mars – which is a six-

month flight away with present-day technology -- as preparation in case of a natural or manmade catastrophe on Earth. They suggest that no-return missions could begin as soon as within the next 20 years.

“You would send a little bit older folks, around 60 or something like that,” Schulze-Makuch said -because the mission inevitably would shorten the traveler’s lifespan, mainly the greater exposure to cosmic radiation on Mars and the lack of any extensive medical care.

Mars would be the logical choice, the scientists say, since it is relatively close – a six-month flight away with present-day technology – and has the closest to earth conditions of any other planet in the Solar System, including ice that could be melted down, carbon dioxide for plants, and many essential minerals.

The two scientists propose the missions begin with two pairs of astronauts, in separate ships that would serve as living quarters on the planet. More colonists and supply ships would follow.

“The astronauts would go to Mars with the intention of staying for the rest of their lives, as trailblazers of a permanent human Mars colony,” they wrote.

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December 8 - December 22, 2010

Visit us at: www.BayCurrents.net

Crossword 1

2

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Down 1. Sum up tall youth, essentially 2. Let cure become a lesson 3. Find a fish in a wee lake 5. Begins tantrum in a moment 6. Palindrome instrument 7. Found in large scale drama crowd 8. Hesitates to use spa turbulence 12. Committee on a ship 13. Evidence of injury, allow for redness 15. Shorten a river crossing 16. Serenity, sounds like part of something greater 18. Nobleman with ponytail is before his time 20. Grasp earnest weapon, essentially 22. High point found in octopus

Across 1. Bank employee, who can say 4. Balance found in muesli bran 9. Crumbling old places fell down 10. Not as old as that confused Reno guy 11. Plenty of land in tarmac resort 12. Opposed to poetry 14. Purloins duck between beginning and end of shifts 17. Last letter in some game 19. Tolerates some token duress 21. Alter code when moved 23. One of the Earps, sounds interrogative at first 24. Shuffle a paper then come into view

24

Answers on page 15

Sudoku

How to Solve Sudoku Puzzles

1. Fill the grid so that the numbers 1 through 9 appear in each row.

2. Fill the grid so that the numbers 1 through 9 appear in each column.

3. Fill the grid so that the numbers 1 through 9 appear in each 3x3 box.

4. A complete Sudoku puzzle contains the numbers 1 through 9 in every row, column, and 3x3 box.

9 2 3 6 8 6 2

9

2

4 8

7

9

4 9

1

2

8 7 1

2 7 Angels on the street

Pier Pressure

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December 8 - December 22, 2010

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Senior Currents Now that the days are shorter and colder, we thought it would be a good time to offer some general safety tips for seniors (and, really, anyone else):

Safety

• Do not display large amounts of cash when out in public • Use direct deposit for your pension and/ or social security checks • Travel in groups. If you must travel alone, do not advertise the fact that you are by yourself • Work out a “buddy system” with a friend so you can check up on them and they can check up on you at least once a day

Practice Street Smarts

• Avoid dark, deserted or isolated routes • Do not walk near walls, high bushes, or near cars • Project an image of self-confidence

while you are walking • Cross the street to avoid people who make you feel uncomfortable • Know how to get where you are going ahead of time • If someone demands for your money, give it up • Keep your money in several pockets instead of one pocket • Never accept a ride from someone you do not know well

At Home

• Never let a stranger into your home.

Always examine their identification badge before you allow a service technician into your home • Lock your home when you are there and when you are away. Keep your 1st floor windows locked • Do not let people on the phone know you are alone • Keep your phone by your bed at night • Post all emergency numbers close to the telephone • Leave a light on while you are out. Use a different light each time you are not home • Leave the porch light on • Know your neighbors and make sure they know you

Apartment Dwellers

• Know where you can get help in a hurry

• Make sure all halls have good lighting • Use the laundry room in the apartment building when other tenants are present • Look in the elevator before getting in to be sure no one is hiding inside. Get off the elevator if someone suspicious enters • If you are worried about another person waiting for the same elevator as you, pretend you forgot something in your apartment and do not go onto the elevator

Using the bus

• Use well-lit bus stops • Sit near the bus driver • Sit on the aisle so you do not get

Advertorial

blocked in at the window • Do not get off the bus with anyone who makes you feel uncomfortable

In your car

• Never pick up hitch hikers • Keep your car doors locked at all times.

Lock all doors upon entering and leaving your car • Check the back seat before entering your car • As you are approaching your car, take a look under the car to make sure no one is hiding under there

Restaurant Review

Royal dining at commoner prices

By KaTEryna STuPnEvICh

The New York Steakhouse 2007 Emmons Avenue 718.616.0400 When most New Yorkers travel to oceanfront Brooklyn, they usually visit the legendar y Coney Island, the iconic boardwalk, or culture-filled “Little Odessa” (which we all know as Brighton Beach).

But amid all this, one certainly must not overlook one of the most satisfying experiences that the Bay area has to offer -- the New York Steakhouse.

Conveniently located in the heart of Sheepshead Bay on Emmons Avenue, the New York Steakhouse offers an unforgettably elegant setting, exquisite dishes and wines, and first-class service. The overall dining experience is so phenomenal, an apt slogan – to go a step further from that of a well-known chain eatery -- would be: “When you’re here, you’re royalty.”

As you enter through the stained-glass door with wood trim, you suddenly leave New York; the graciously decorated steakhouse takes you to another place, a place that feels like the dining room of Queen of England herself.

Between the hand-stained copper ceilings, the mahogany Bay Currents is your newspaper -- you count!

walls, the subdued lighting, and the piano in combination with a fireplace, the steakhouse surpassed all my expectations well before I even set eyes on the food!

But the best part was yet to come.

The service was stupendous! The wait staff was extremely attentive, catering to our every need but never disturbing or interrupting the meal.

Although the New York Steakhouse offers a private dinning room, perfect for intimate dinner, family gathering, or a corporate meeting, the restaurant is designed to provide ample space to the guests in the main dinning area.

The spacious steakhouse can sit up to 300 people comfortably.

Besides the extravagant accommodations, New York Steakhouse also presents the perfect variety in both food and wine. The selections are not overwhelming or strangely named -- never will you be served a dish and wonder, “Did I really order this?”

The prime steaks served at New York Steakhouse are so mouth-watering, they give other steakhouses a run for their money. But aside from offering some of the finest steaks in New York, the steakhouse even outshines many seafood restaurants because of the extensive seafood assortment and superior quality.

To advertise call 347.492.4432

Being a seafood enthusiast, I have tasted a wide variety of fish – the good, the bad, and the ugly. But the New York Steakhouse seafood doesn’t even fit into the category of “good,” – it’s in a class of excellence all by itself.

Along with appetizers and main courses, the restaurant also offers a great selection of delectable desserts and fine wines – all at good prices.

So whether you’re dropping in for a light lunch, coming to have a marvelous dinner, or even stopping by for a midnight snack, the New York Steakhouse is well worth the visit.

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Page 11

Art Show

Before displaying its next exhibition at Coney Island Hospital, the Brooklyn Streetcar Artists’ Group gave over its space to the work of students from Mark Twain Middle School and Abraham Lincoln High School.

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Page 12

December 8 - December 22, 2010

Visit us at: www.BayCurrents.net

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December 8 - December 22, 2010

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Twice the Advice

By Jacqueline and Kerry Donelli

Thankful

No More Monsters

Afraid

Dear Twins, My ex-husband and I have two young children ages 7 and 10 whom I have the main custody of, but we do share them for holidays and with their grandparents.

We try to be fair so that each set of grandparents will have the kids for Thanksgiving dinner with one of us each year. However, the children really favor one set of grandparents over the other because the other set is so strict. I know I can force them to go, but they are so miserable there. Is it really fair?

Dear Twins, My husband and I believe our 6-year-old is being bullied either on the school bus or at school, but he won’t tell us. Every school morning, he cries that he doesn’t want to get on the bus and he doesn’t want to go to school. He used to love going to school. I’ve spoken to the bus driver, his teacher, and to some of his friends, and no one seems to have seen anything, but I know something is going on. What should I do?

Kerry says:

Have a sit-down conversation with your son and very calmly get to the bottom of this. Have a talk with the school counselor as well to see if s/he can help. If in fact he is being bullied.

I would take immediate action, such as speaking with the principal, the teacher and the bully’s parents.

Kerry says:

One meal out of the year is not going to kill them. Besides, when they get older they will appreciate the fact that they had gotten to know both grandparents. As a compromise, why not have them visit their favorite grandparents more often?

Jacqueline says:

Jacqueline says:

If Kerry’s approach doesn’t work, try a child psychologist. There is a problem -- get to the bottom of it before it gets worse.

I agree with Kerry. When their grandparents are long gone they will value the time they spent with them.

Conned

Dear Twins, Another young mother in my neighborhood (who is a friend of mine) and I decided that we would alternate babysitting for each other’s child for one day a week while the other had a free day for shopping or whatever. Well, this past week was my second time sitting for her 4-year-old for the day, and I was ready to hang myself by the end of the day. That child was into everything, and had temper tantrums if I tried to stop him, including kicking furniture, walls, breaking dishes, and anything else he could get his hands on that was breakable. He is utterly spoiled, and I want to get out of this arrangement.

What do I say to his mother?

Jacqueline says:

Dear Twins, I was at a small park the other day with my 5-year old and a group of other moms with their kids. A vendor came by with an ice cream cart and my son asked me if he could buy a cone. All I had was a $20 bill, which I handed to him. The next thing I hear is all the other children asking MY son to buy them ice cream, and not asking their mothers.

I’m sure their mothers heard it, too.

My bewildered son didn’t know what to do, so he ended up buying about a dozen other cones while their mothers sat idly by pretending they didn’t notice. Should I have spoken up? This isn’t the first time.

Jacqueline says:

Why not tell her the truth? Two children are a bit much for you to handle every week.

Yes! Just because you have a $20 bill doesn’t mean you have to buy ice cream for everyone.

Kerry says:

Kerry says:

I agree with Jacqueline. Tell her it’s more than you can handle and leave it at that.

I agree with Jacqueline. Learn to speak up for yourself so you don’t have to Later brood over the 90 different ways you were victimized. Now move past this.

Have a problem? Maybe the twins can help. Contact them at advice@baycurrents.net

Classifieds

To place a FREE ad: 347.492.4432

The 41st Assembly District Democrats Club, Councilman Lewis A. Fidler and Bryan A. Lee, the Club’s executive director, and the U.S. Marines present the 10th annual Toys for Tots Toy Drive Grand Finale Party

BABYSITTING Leah In my home or in yours Ages 1 to 4

Thursday, Dec. 16, 7:30-9:45 p.m.

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2952 Avenue R (off Nostrand Avenue) Marine Park Special guests will be available for photos for all who donate a toy!

EXPERT TUTORING Sudoku

Crossword

answers to the Bay Sudoku from page 9

9 2 3 6

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4 8

7

9

2

answers to the Bay Crossword from page 9

8

1

2

9

4 9

1

3

4

5

6

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8

9

7 1

10

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17

8 6

2

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A V E R S E 13

O M E G A

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A C R E S

S T E A L S 15

E N D U R E S 20

R E L O C A T E D 22

2 7

W Y A T T

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advertising with us gets results. important as the right attitude!

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Page 15

s e t a er

v i t i t pe

m o c ry

Ve e l b a l i a v

a s e iliti

c a f on

ti c u rod

P

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Page 17

For bacteria, your cell phone is a ticket to ride A young, happy, healthy mother of three, goes grocery shopping one day.

She pushes her cart along, putting various items into her wagon.

The woman sees her friend, who asks to borrow her cell phone. She readily agrees, thinking nothing of it -- after all, they are friends.

She parts with her friend and makes a call to her husband to tell him she’ll be home soon, talking into the same mouth piece her friend just used, pushing the same buttons her friend just touched. She doesn’t notice the small cut on her finger from the bagel she had sliced that morning when making lunches for her family. The woman’s small cut is an open wound, a breeding ground for contamination… waiting to be infected… waiting to make this happy, healthy woman, so very sad and sick.

Recent attention has been brought to the potentially fatal bacteria called MRSA, methicilin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, more commonly known as a “staph” infection. MRSA differs from a normal staph infection, however, because drugs that treat ordinary staph infections are not effective against MRSA. The use of these drugs can, in fact, lead to serious illness and more resistant bacteria.

Antibiotics have become overused -- patients are treated with antibiotics for viral infections or for bacterial infections that will clear up on their own. This overuse has caused strains of bacteria to become resistant to these antibiotics -- MRSA is a form of the staph infection which is now resistant to penicillin type drugs, such as methicilin.

These deadly bacteria became widespread in the1990s in hospital patients. Because it is a disease of the skin, hospitals are breeding grounds for conditions that are contracted through touch. Hospital-associated MRSA (HA-MRSA) can occur in the skin, wounds, at the site of IV tubes, or even in the eyes, bones, heart, or blood. It is estimated that 1.2

million hospital patients contract MRSA yearly, and another 423,000 hospital patients become carriers without becoming sick themselves.

In the past, MRSA was more likely to be found in people who had weakened immune systems. Recently, though, it has become more widespread in people who are otherwise healthy. This MRSA, known as community-

associated MRSA (CA-MRSA) can be found in the skin or in the nose of about one third of the general population, and the germ

usually remains harmless. The bacteria, however, can enter through any cut or open wound and infect an otherwise healthy person. The disease is more likely to occur in young children, whose immune systems are not fully developed, in older adults, or in people who are ill or who have weakened immune systems.

The disease starts out as small, red bumps, similar to pimples in its appearance, but will then turn into deep, painful abscesses. The MRSA bacteria are not only responsible for skin infections, but also for soft-tissue infections and some serious forms of pneumonia as well.

In May 2007, NBC reported on the bacteria that can be found in cell phones. An abundance of bacteria was found on cell phones, including diphtheroids, streptococcus -- which includes the bacteria that causes strep throat, meningitis, and bacterial pneumonia -- and staphylococcus, which causes staph infections and MRSA. Since staphylococcus is

Page 18

Distributors and retailers are welcome!

Call

718.853.4588

normally found on the skin and mouth, cell phones are a natural breeding ground for these bacteria.

This becomes a major problem when sharing one’s cell phone, as many of us are likely to do.

In July 2007, CNN reported on further studies done on “germy” cell phones. Charles Gerba, professor of Environmental Microbiology at the University of Arizona, also known as “Dr. Germ,” used his special “Germ Meter” to measure the presence of bacteria on random cell phones. He

found that hundreds of thousands of bacteria can breed on a cell phone at any given time -- more than on the average toilet!

Because most people do not regularly clean their cell phones, these germs are easily passed from someone who might be a carrier, to an unsuspecting, healthy individual. In fact, when Professor Gerba’s own niece contracted MRSA, he tested her cell phone and found the deadly bacteria on it. Other diseases that can be spread from cell phone use include the flu and the common cold.

Safety Shield, Inc. a privately held New York State corporation headquartered in Brooklyn, markets affordable and scientifically advanced products for personal safety. They are a world leader in the manufacture and distribution of scientifically advanced personal safety protection devices and products. They are now marketing “The Original Mobile

Phone Cleaning System” to help prevent widespread diseases, including the potentially fatal MRSA.

The phone-cleansing system is suitable for all types of mobile phones, PDA’s, Smartphones, blackberry’s iPods, iPhones, Bluetooth accessories, and pocket PC’s. In a two-minute/two-step process, The Original Mobile Phone Cleansing System professionally kills and removes harmful bacteria. It leaves an antistatic protective film to protect against static electricity and dust, and it removes surface marks and light scratches. Unlike other cleansers,

the Mobile Phone Cleaner does this safely and effectively while protecting your electronic device. This low-cost, highly efficient product has been scientifically proven to quickly remove harmful bacteria, and can save lives in just minutes by taking two easy precautionary steps.

A woman went shopping, innocently shared her cell phone, and potentially became infected with a fatal disease. It can be prevented. Using the Mobile Phone Cleaner can prevent such tragedies from happening. Be safe. Be happy.

Be smart, and take two minutes to protect your loved ones and friends.

For more information on this and other products, please visit Safety Shield’s website at www.TheBacteriaKiller.com

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Page 19

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December 8 - December 22, 2010

Visit us at: www.BargainsBridge.com

Dr. Bill Akpinar, director of the Center for

Healing in Manhattan, is affiliated with Dr. O. Neuman of Rambam Medical & Wellness Center.

Dr. Akpinar has successfully integrated Eastern and western medicine in more than 20 years of practice, including serving as director of two major teachinghospital-based anesthesiology and pain-management programs in the New York City area. He continues to train medical, dental, and podiatry residents.

Dr. Akpinar holds several board certifications and fellowships in acupuncture, pain management, forensic medicine and dentistry, traumatic distress, as well as in herbal and Tibetan medicine.

He has successfully combined traditional and nontraditional techniques in treating severe headaches and TMJ disorders, including music therapy (he is an accomplished musician), Chinese Healing Martial Arts (hew holds several black-belts and is experienced in various healing martial arts styles), and oxygenation therapy. In the course of his career, he has been trained by noted Chinese, Indian, Shaolin, Sufi, and Tibetan healing masters, including a mentorship with the Dali Lama’s personal physician in Tibet.

As medical director of the United States Karate Team -under the direction of his teacher, world Karate champion Terrence “Tokey” Hill – Dr. Akpinar has had the opportunity to apply his healing arts skills to the team as he travels with them.

Dr. Akpinar now serves as medical director of the University of Natural Medicine, and is continually researching new ways to bridge Eastern and Western medicine and bring this knowledge to the public.

RAMBAM MEDICAL WELLNESS CENTER 3909 13th Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11218 718-853-7363 • FAX 718.853.6046

What is TMJ Disorder?

The temporomandibular joint is actually an array of small joints located at the front of each ear, attached from the lower jaw (mandible) to the skull. They enable opening and closing the moth, chewing, speaking, swallowing, and other essential functions of the jaws.

The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research states that about 10 million people in the U.S. suffer from TMJ Disorder, which can cause a variety of pain disorders including migraines and other severe headaches, pain in the eyes or ears, difficulty in swallowing, or other symptoms.

Treatment is focused on establishing equilibrium in the joints and eliminating the symptoms. A multi-disciplinary approach including an M.O.R.A. bite plate together with physical therapy has been shown to be effective in the long-term management of TMJ problems. Also helpful are trigger-point injections, nerve-blocks, TENS (transelectrocutaneous neural stimulation), ultrasound, hot packs, and massages.

POSSIBLE SYMPTOMS OF TMJ DISORDER • Migraines and other severe headaches • Ear pain • Ringing in the ear (tinnitus) • Hearing loss • Vertigo (dizziness) • Nasal stuffiness • Pain, tightness, burning, numbness, or swelling in the face • Pain behind the eyes • Difficulty in swallowing • Chronic sore throat or lump in the throat • Neck pain or stiffness • Shoulder pain • Upper and lower back aches • Tingling or numbness of the fingers • Pain in the jaws • Clicking or grating in the jaws • Pain, pressure, or sensitivity in the teeth • Forgetfulness

Of course, any of these may be caused by other disorders or conditions. Dr. Akpinar and his staff can determine if a patient has TMJ Disorder by a thorough examination, including tomography imaging.

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Page 21

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Page 22

December 8 - December 22, 2010

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Professional junk removal Residental/commercial In keeping with our environmental goals to divert items from the landfill, we will donate items to charity and recycle whenever possible.

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We are prompt, courteous and efficient, arriving right on schedule with a fully trained team. We haul junk from anywhere in the five boroughs What We Take

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Page 23

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Page 24

December 8 - December 22, 2010

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