77TH YEAR, NO. 3,959
THURSDAY, AUGUST 17, 2017
TWO SECTIONS
50 CENTS
Sen. Squadron Resignation Update Looks Forward to New Political Role; Political Insiders Will Pick Successor
Photos by Gabriella Bass
SEE PAGES 2 & 4
Pearl Street Triangle Party Marks 10 Years SEE PAGE 3
BROOKLYN EAGLE ‘Only the Dead Know Brooklyn’
DO YOU KNOW THE WAY TO WASHINGTON CEMETERY, A HISTORIC BROOKLYN GRAVEYARD WHERE THE PLAYWRIGHT KNOWN AS “THE JEWISH SHAKESPEARE” is buried? It’s located at the intersection of Bay Parkway and McDonald Avenue, in a neighborhood known as Mapleton. Read all about the 100-acre cemetery — and the surrounding neighborhood — in EYE ON REAL ESTATE, pages 2-4. Eagle photo by Lore Croghan
Volume 18, No. 2
Two Sections
THURSDAY, AUGUST 17, 2017
A Special Section of EBrooklyn Media Publications
$1.00
Washington Cemetery Is a Historic Treasure Hollywood Glamor Girl and ‘the Jewish Shakespeare’ Rest in Peace in This Brooklyn Graveyard
By Lore Croghan Brooklyn Eagle
Mausoleums for Abraham Wolff (right) and the Fichter family stand tall beside modern black gravestones. The cemetery where Tashman was laid to rest amid her fans’ hysteria is in the middle of Brooklyn, at the intersection of Bay Parkway and McDonald Avenue. The 100-acre graveyard is located partly within a neighborhood called Mapleton. See related story. Have you been to Washington Cemetery? It’s a historic treasure. We made a visit the other day so we could pay our respects to another celebrity of yesteryear who was buried there — a playwright known as “the Jewish Shakespeare.” More about him in a minute.
Explanations vary about why Bennet wound up not serving as Smith’s running mate. Anyway. Washington Cemetery started out as a non-sectarian cemetery. Then in 1857, it was consecrated as a Jewish burial ground. This past March, Washington Cemetery was in the headlines because 42 headstones fell over. Elected officials feared the graves had been vandalized. But cemetery management and the New York Police Department both said the tombstones’ old age caused them to fall over.
Cemetery Founded in the 1840s
Author of ‘The Jewish King Lear’ Transformed Yiddish Theater
The cemetery was founded in the 1840s by James Arlington Bennet. His claim to fame is that when Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormon church, decided to run for President in the 1844 election, Bennet was his first choice for vice-presidential running mate.
Eagle photo by Lore Croghan
Ten thousand fans rioted at her grave. Crowds at Washington Cemetery went wild at Brooklyn-born Hollywood actress Lilyan Tashman’s March 1934 burial. According to a United Press newswire account, 30 police officers formed a square around her grave to hold back a mob of mostly female fans. They came to bid farewell to the glamor girl who died of cancer at the tragically young age of 37. During her short life, she appeared in 67 films, having made the transition from silent movies to talkies thanks to her experience as a theater actress. She was nicknamed “the Best-Dressed Woman on the Screen” because of her dazzling off-screen wardrobe. What her fans didn’t know, but writers about Hollywood’s history revealed in recent years, was that Tashman was one of Greta Garbo’s lovers.
Eagle photo by Lore Croghan
Here’s a 1931 photo of Hollywood actress Lilyan Tashman, whose 1934 burial at Washington Cemetery was mobbed by 10,000 fans. AP Photo
No lyin’ — Washington Cemetery is full of gravestones and monuments that inspire reflection and remembrance. 2 • Brooklyn Eagle • Thursday, August 17, 2017
Fortunately for the many Brooklynites who visit graveyards with a sense of awe and reverence, Washington Cemetery is open to the public six days a week. It’s a tranquil, spiritual place for a looong walk. Thousands of tombstones are packed tightly together in some parts of the graveyard. In other spots, the density subsides and there are family plots with grassy lawns. Here and there, stately mausoleums stand tall. Austerely sculpted headstones from the distant past contrast with modern-day black tombstones that are laser-etched with portraits of the dearly departed. “The Jewish Shakespeare” whose grave we went to visit, Jacob Gordin, is buried in a family plot that has an eye-catching monument. Ukrainian-born Gordin, who came to New York in 1891, brought realism and naturalism to Yiddish theater. He wrote around 80 plays. Many were adaptations of works by literary titans like William Shakespeare and Henrik Ibsen. Gordin’s best-known play, “The Jewish King Lear,” wrung audience’s hearts because it made them think of aging parents they had left behind in Europe. Gordin died in 1909.
ABOVE: Washington Cemetery is an important Brooklyn graveyard whose origin dates back to the 1840s. BELOW: Here lies Jacob Gordin, a playwright who revitalized Yiddish theater. Eagle photos by Lore Croghan
Thursday, August 17, 2017 • Brooklyn Eagle • 3
Million-Dollar Home Sales In Mapleton Betcha Don’t Know Where This Neighborhood Is
These eye-catching Mapleton homes are on 65th Street between 18th and 19th avenues. Eagle photos by Lore Croghan By Lore Croghan
Mapleton is full of handsome houses. This fine block is on 63rd Street between 19th and 20th avenues.
Brooklyn Eagle
It’s a little bit Bensonhurst, a little bit Borough Park. And it’s got a stunning cemetery. Mapleton is one of those neighborhood names you don’t hear much, unless your kids attend PS 48, which is the Mapleton School, or you use the Mapleton branch of the Brooklyn Public Library. It is recognized as a specific neighborhood by Community Board 11 — it’s one of the four neighborhoods that CB 11 serves. Mapleton, which was developed between 1913 and 1919, is in southwest Brooklyn. If you start at the Brooklyn Army Terminal on the shoreline at 58th Street in Sunset Park and proceed east, you’ll wind up in Mapleton. The neighborhood’s boundaries are 16th Avenue, 57th Street, Dahill Road and 65th Street. On some maps, Mapleton is included in Bensonhurst’s terrain. On other maps, Mapleton is shown as a sub-neighborhood within Borough Park. 4 • Brooklyn Eagle • Thursday, August 17, 2017
There’s an excellent array of cherished middle-class housing stock in Mapleton. Many residences are semi-attached homes with driveways. Others are rowhouses jazzed up with porches and eye-catching gardens. Pergolas with luxuriant vines are popular. There are peach trees in the front yards of some homes, which of course call to mind the Deep South. One of the most charming homes we saw on a recent stroll around the area was an enormous stand-alone house with a vast lawn at 5822 20th Ave. on the corner of 59th Street. Another charming property is a smaller standalone house at 1851 60th St. It has a heroic air to it because it is flanked on both sides by larger, recently constructed buildings. BTW, 1851 60th St. changed hands in 2015. Beilu Hammer Torn and Elimelech Torn bought it for $995,000, city Finance Department records indicate.
Who’s Been Buying Recently? Two- and three-unit homes in Mapleton are selling for around $1.5 million these days. Single-family home prices are approaching $1 million. Want to know who’s been buying houses? Of course you do. We gleaned prices and buyer info from Finance Department records: • Isaac Herzog and Chaya Herzog bought 2072 62nd St. for $1.55 million in May. A posting on realtor.com says the detached house with a private driveway and a garage is a three-family home. • In May, Yisroel Elefant paid $1.505 million for 2108 61st St. According to realtor.com, it’s a two-family home. • Samuel Brody bought 2139 60th St. for $1.5 million in March. It’s a three-family home, a realtor.com posting says. The sellers, Yisroel Meir Lichtman and Glida Lichtman, had purchased the property for $940,000 in 2005. • In April, Saul Knobloch and Malkah Knobloch purchased 2109 64th St. for $999,500. The sellers, Yechiel Spira and Sara Spira, had paid $720,000 for it in 2007. It is a two-family home, a realtor.com posting indicates. • Abraham Farkas paid $899,000 for 2147 59th St. in July. Eric Scarponi and Dina Scarponi, who were the sellers, had bought the property for $700,000 in 2015. A realtor.com posting identifies the property as a single-family home.
INSET: Fab flowers on 59th Street between 21st Avenue and Bay Parkway.
Brooklyn Investment Property Sales Cool in 1H17, Southwest Region Industrial Assets Heat Up By Aaron Warkov, director of investment sales, and Aryeh Orlofsky, senior vice president of investment research Special to Brooklyn Eagle
Brooklyn investment property sales continued to struggle during the first half of 2017, echoing 2016’s trend, with pricing metrics slumping across the board, particularly on multi-family properties. However, activity noticeably bounced back during the latter part of the second quarter, indicating the market may have turned a corner. During the first half of 2017, New York City’s biggest borough saw 570 transactions consisting of 756 properties, totaling approximately $3.58 billion in gross consideration, according to Ariel Property Advisors’ recently released “Brooklyn 2017 Mid-Year Sales Report.” Compared with the second half of 2017, dollar volume and transaction volume dropped 11 percent and 8 percent, respectively, while property volume held steady. Year-over-year the drop was more significant, with transaction and property volume falling 20 percent and 16 percent, respectively, while dollar volume slid 7 percent compared to the same period in 2016. Downtown Brooklyn and Park Slope were the most active neighborhoods in the borough, accounting for nearly 42 percent of the borough’s dollar volume, driven by large-scale multifamily and development transactions. Dollar volume in the neighborhoods of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Bushwick and Crown Heights comprised 14 percent, the same percentage as Williamsburg and Greenpoint. From January through June, Brooklyn multifamily transaction volume receded by 12 percent versus the second half of 2016, with 337 transactions registered. Dollar volume followed suit, slipping 17 percent to $1.56 billion during the same period. Compared to the averages of 2016, prices per square foot decreased by 8.5 percent to $344 per square foot, capitalization
rates increased from 4.58 percent to 4.88 percent, and gross rent multiples decreased from 15.96 to 15.28. Multifamily assets were weighed by a slew of factors in the first half of 2016, including a softening residential rental market, a challenging tax environment, increases in interest rates, and rising operating expenses. However, the borough continues to attract new institutional buyers, including Clipper Equity which bought Brooklyn’s largest single property multifamily transaction of the year at 107 Columbia Heights, a 161-unit, former Jehovah’s Witness building, for $87.5 million, or $568 per square foot. Development site dollar volume in the first half of 2017 decreased 41 percent to $1.04 billion and transaction volume dropped 12 percent to 148 compared to the second half of 2016. One of the most significant development transactions was the $68 million sale of 633 Fulton St. sold by Jem Realty to the Rabsky Group. The Downtown Brooklyn/Fort Greene property completes an assemblage for the buyer who can now build an approximately 770,000-squarefoot building on the site. However, the outlook for the development market is encouraging. The passage of Affordable New York tax abatement legislation, formerly 421-a, in April triggered an uptick in demand for development sites in May and June.
Southwest Brooklyn Buoyed By Dearth of Industrial Space
The loss of millions of square feet of industrial space to residential developments throughout New York City in recent years has created a dire need for the creation of Industrial Business Zones to protect remaining industrial and commercial space in Brooklyn. The softening of brick-and-mortar retail and shopping malls, the rise of e-commerce and the need for fulfillment centers, has set the stage for an enormous need for industrial space.
Online retailers have rabidly snatched up buildings for storage and shipment. While Long Island City and Williamsburg have been hot spots, they are currently perceived as being overbuilt and overpriced.
led by the $105 million sale of the Innovation Studio Portfolio by Est4te Four. Pricing followed the same trend, with the average price per square foot for industrial buildings in Gowanus, Sunset Park and Red Hook clocking in at $426, a remarkable 166 percent increase from the $160 per square foot seen for these assets in 2011. Despite the price appreciation, relative valuations indicate industrial properties in these neighborhoods have room for even more growth. Southwest Brooklyn is highly desirable for a number of reasons, with its close proximity to Manhattan and Downtown Brooklyn making it a major draw for industrial space. It is also in close proximity to some of the borough’s well-known cultural destinations, as well as an abundance of trendy restaurants and bars. Copious transportation options Aaron Warkov, director are also a draw. The 15-month Aryeh Orlofsky, senior shutdown of the L-train in 2019 of investment sales for will not impact residents and busivice president of investAriel Property Advisors nesses as it does not run along the ment research for Ariel Property Advisors. Photos courtesy of Ariel property Advisors area. In fact, it will likely spur migration from other regions, ultiThat is one of the reasons why investors have mately driving rents higher and hoisting propincreasingly turned to Southwest Brooklyn, erty values. specifically the neighborhoods of Gowanus, Looking ahead, a recent pickup in bidding Sunset Park and Red Hook, where industrial activity on active listings and contract signings activity has skyrocketed in recent years. In suggests things may begin to turn around in the 2011, the dollar volume for these assets was a investment sales market. So, while we are holdpaltry $22.05 million, but that mushroomed to ing out for the possibility of a modest pick-up an astonishing $102.57 million in 2016. in the second half that will carry into 2018, our Dollar volume this year will surpass that of baseline expectation is for investment sales 2016. In fact, through July of 2017, there has volume and pricing to remain stable at current been more than $142 million in industrial sales, levels through the end of the year.
Thursday, August 17, 2017 • Brooklyn Eagle • 5
Crowded Field in Bay Ridge’s 43rd District City Council Race By Paula Katinas Brooklyn Eagle
N 7 on the Ballot o.
There are enough candidates in the race for the Bay Ridge City Council seat to field a baseball team. Two more candidates recently filed enough petition signatures with the New York City Board of Elections to qualify for the ballot, bringing the total of candidates up to nine. Democrat Vincent Chirico, a lawyer from Dyker Heights, and Republican Lucretia Regina-Potter, a former design consultant for a tile company, are both running in the 43rd Council District. The district covers Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights and includes parts of Bensonhurst and Bath Beach. Chirico, a member of Community Board 11 in Bensonhurst and vice president of the Dyker Heights Athletic Association, is running against four other Democrats this November: Justin Brannan, Kevin Peter Carroll, Rev. Khader El-Yateem and Nancy Tong. Regina-Potter, who lives in Bath Beach, has run for public office several times before, most recently in a special election for state Assembly seat in the 46th Assembly District in 2015, when she lost to Democrat Pamela Harris. Regina-Potter joins a field of candidates in the Republican primary for the City Council seat that includes Bob Capano, Liam McCabe and John Quaglione. Both the Democratic and Republican primaries will take place on Tuesday, Sept. 12. The winners will face each other in the general election on Nov. 7. Democrat Vincent Gentile, who has held the Council seat since 2003, is prohibited from running for re-election due to the city’s term limits law.
Gentile has endorsed Brannan, who is his chief of staff, in the Council race. The two newest candidates have been busy in recent weeks introducing themselves to the voters. Chirico’s campaign website touts his volunteer work in the community. In addition to his work on Community Board 11 and the Dyker Heights Athletic Association, he is also the chairperson of Opportunities for a Better Tomorrow, a Sunset Park-based nonprofit organization that offers high school dropouts a chance to earn their GEDs, as well as assistance with resume writing, job interview practice and other skills. “Throughout his years advocating for the community, Vince has put into action solutions to the issues that matter to Brooklynites. His work with Opportunities for a Better Tomorrow has fed Vince’s passion to reform the systemic problems that impede high school retention. With over 300,000 disconnected young adults facing obstacles to workforce entry and re-entry, Vince is passionate about tackling this problem on a broader scale in the City Council, a problem made greater by President [Donald] Trump’s funding cuts,” a statement on the website reads. A website created during Regina-Potter’s 2015 Assembly run points to her years of experience in business, politics and volunteerism. The Parkville Football program, the Kings Bay Football program, the Dyker Heights Athletic Association and the Saint Ephrem’s Athletics program are among the organizations listed on the website as those she supports. Regina-Potter is the director of communications for the Fiorello LaGuardia Republican Organization and is a member of the National Federation of Republican Women.
2017 PRIMARY ELECTION CALENDAR Aug. 18: Last day to register to vote in the primary (by mail and in person) Aug. 23: Last day to submit change of address Sept. 5: Last day to postmark absentee ballot application Sept. 11: Last day to apply in person for absentee ballot/Last day to postmark absentee ballot (Must be received by city Board of Elections by Sept. 18) Sept. 12: Primary election day Last day to deliver absentee ballot in person — Inform ation courtesy of N ew York City Campaign Finance Board
Dominican Immigrant Patria Frias-Colón Seeks Seat on Civil Court Bench my brother, who is now a New York City police officer. This past March, Patria Frias-Colón, the Brooklyn borough Eagle: How did your childhood chief of the Family Court Division of the New York City Law and all the obstacles you had to face Department, received the Legal Excellence Award from the influence your desire to seek a career Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office and the Brooklyn Women’s in law? Bar Association. Frias-Colón: Two reasons: I In accepting the award, Frias-Colón said, “Having lived as a remember being in my first-grade prosecutor, everything I’ve learned is all about justice. Not only bilingual class at P.S. 274 in do I want to ensure that the people prosecuted are given justice, Bushwick. They had a corner but also the victims in our cases and of course that justice has to library there in each class. One of translate to the community.” the books on the shelf was a picFrias-Colon is currently running for one of the five ture book about professions. open seats on the Brooklyn Civil Court. There are The cover photo said lawyer 11 candidates for the position, which covers the and it had a woman’s face entire county. The primary is Sept. 12, and on it. I thought a woman Civil Court judges are elected to 10-year can become a lawyer. terms. That was my first Frias-Colón recently took the time recognition that we to talk with the Brooklyn Eagle could do anything that about her candidacy and backwe set our minds to … ground. That planted the seed in Brooklyn Eagle: How was my head. And while growing up in Bushwick? growing up, we had to Frias-Colón: When we got change apartments here from the Dominican periodically because Republic, that was a very huge the landlords wouldn’t change in what we were used to give us heat, or we seeing. And although we grew up would lose hot water. modest there, I never realized And I always rememhow poor we were until we came ber my mother being here. so diligent about paying her rent because she We were raised in Bushwick in didn’t want us to be a tenement apartment. My mother forced out of a home. made a very modest income in the factories and she worked in a few Those were basicalof them. My youngest sister was Patria Frias-Colon, Civil Court judge candidate, visits the ly the two things that born here and much later [so was] office of the Brooklyn Eagle. Eagle photo by John Alexander motivated me. I said,
By John Alexander Brooklyn Eagle
6 • Brooklyn Eagle • Thursday, August 17, 2017
“When I grow up, I’m going to be a lawyer and I’m going help people to make sure they get heat and hot water.” And here I am now. Eagle: What are your current responsibilities? Frias-Colón: Well, today I am the borough chief for juvenile crimes and interstate child support in Brooklyn. So, I work for the New York City Law Department and I have since 2009. And I’ve worked with a wonderful team of people, including support professionals, investigators and attorneys. We are charged with handling the investigations and prosecutions of juvenile crimes. And I also have a team of people who handle all interstate child support work. Eagle: As a successful attorney, what made you want to run for the Civil Court bench seat? Frias-Colón: Once I became a lawyer, I knew that for me the ultimate transition was to become a judge. It did become increasingly difficult for me to do that because I loved the work that I did at every stage of my professional career. So, for example, when I hit my 10-year mark, which is what you need to become a Civil Court judge or a Supreme Court justice, I knew that I was going to begin to do the work that needed to be done to try to ascend to the bench, whether it was the appointed route or whether it was the elected route. Eagle: Do you feel that your background as an immigrant brings something new and unique to the bench that has been missing? Frias-Colón: I’ll tell you what I think my uniqueness is: I have a very well-rounded perspective. I’m the daughter of struggle, I know how certain things can weigh you down and I know how things can lift you up. Eagle: What do you hope to accomplish as Civil Court judge? Frias-Colón: Well, you know, in Brooklyn there’s never been a Dominican-born elected to the Civil Court. And this will be a first. It’s historic for me, and historic for our borough. See brooklyneagle.com for the full interview.
McCabe Learns Valuable Lesson About Honor on National Honor Flight By John Alexander Brooklyn Eagle
In April, 50 proud veterans from the New York City area were invited to fly to Washington, D.C. on the Big Apple Honor Flight. Most of the vets had served in World War II and were given the opportunity to take the daylong journey to visit landmarks such as Arlington National Cemetery, the Lincoln Memorial, the Korean War Veterans Memorial, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the National World War II Memorial. Among those taking the historic trip was City Council candidate Liam McCabe, who accompanied his 94-year-old grandfather Charlie Kerr on his first visit to the nation’s capital. McCabe called his grandfather his role model. “Charlie Kerr, my mother’s fa-ther, was born and raised in Bay Ridge. He lived through the Great Depression here in Bay Ridge, and he went to Our Lady of Angels grammar school.” The flight was a bonding experience for McCabe and Kerr. The proud veteran told his grandson stories that he’d never shared with him before about growing up in Brooklyn during the 1930s and ’40s. During those years, Kerr raised a family, worked for the United States Postal Service, was a member of St. Anselm parish and was a diehard Yankees fan. McCabe called him “a very straight-laced guy, an upstanding citizen, the bedrock of the community and of my life.” At least that’s what McCabe had already known about his grandfather. On the flight, he discovered more facets to his story. McCabe learned that with jobs being scarce during the Great Depression, Kerr decided to leave school after the eighth grade in search of work. He left home at 14 with a friend, hopped aboard a freight train and traveled to Pennsylvania and then Ohio. Kerr told McCabe that he lived in Hoovervilles (shantytowns built by the homeless during the Great Depression and named after President Herbert Hoover), and befriended the hobos in the train yards along the way. It was a means of survival as he continued to wander further away from home, he said. Kerr’s friend, who had originally left Brooklyn with him, decided to return home. Kerr chose to continue traveling alone and ended up in a small rural town down South. While wandering aimlessly around looking for work, he passed out in the street and was taken in by a compassionate farmer. The farmer listened to Kerr’s story and let him stay at his house and work on the farm. After a few months, the farmer convinced Kerr that he had to go home to his family. Kerr’s mother welcomed him home with open arms and his father eventually forgave him for running away. Kerr then found a job with Western Union, and just when things had seemed to stabilize for him, World War II broke out and he joined the Army, where he was among the soldiers who landed on the beaches of Normandy and fought in the Battle of the Bulge. Upon his return from the war, Kerr met a young girl named Eleanor, whom he eventually would marry. They originally settled in the Bronx, where they had two children, McCabe’s mother Joann and a son Ronald. By the early 1950s, the neighborhood they lived in had become too dangerous, so the family moved back to Bay Ridge.
McCabe became involved with the Honor Flight while working with U.S. Rep. Dan Donovan. “While working with Donovan, the Honor Flight committee approached us, asking if they could work with us to promote the flight by reaching out to veterans. We put a press release out about it and helped advertise it.” The Honor Flight veterans and their sponsors first gathered at Floyd Bennett Field at 6 a.m. “There were so many people there,” McCabe said, “[Sen.] Marty Golden was there. We were just hanging out and eating bagels, when all of a sudden, all the veterans started talking to each other. My grandfather was one of the older vets there.” When the veterans were escorted to JFK International Airport for the flight, they were greeted by a long line of state troopers, police officers, soldiers and sailors who stood up and applauded the veterans as they boarded the plane. McCabe said that his grandfather was especially moved when they visited the National WW II Memorial. “That just overwhelmed him. My grandfather is not a guy who cries a lot, but I could see a tear in his eye when they said, ‘Welcome to your memorial.’ That hit him hard. It was a little jarring for him to see that this memorial was here for him.” The experience so moved McCabe that he has vowed to hire a veteran for his administration should he be elected to the City Council. McCabe is one of three Republicans running in the Sept. 12 primary. Bob Capano and John Quaglione are also running for the GOP nomination. The Democrats running for the Council seat in the 43rd District are Justin Brannan, Kevin Peter Carroll, Rev. Khader El-Yateem and Nancy Tong. “I also want to focus on getting our younger veterans linked back into the American Legion, because they are not as involved as they should be. Otherwise we will lose the VFW [Veterans of Foreign Wars] and the Legion.” McCabe believes that the culture has changed and it troubles him to think that Americans have become less patriotic. “I think we’ve become more disjointed, more racialized, more secular, more broken and less patriotic. There used to be more of a homogenous culture and I think that’s what brought people from different races and backgrounds together. You were a veteran. There was a commonality that was interwoven through American culture. Everyone was more patriotic. I want patriotism to be okay again, and I want us to recognize the service of our veterans.” As far as the Honor Flight program, McCabe said he would back it 100 percent. “These guys absolutely deserve every penny, so anything I could do help get them funding I would do. And from a promotional sense, they won’t find a better promoter. I am going to make sure everybody knows about it. “The Honor Flight serves as closure for many of these veterans. It may be the last time they get together to celebrate their legacy.”
INSET: Liam McCabe with his grandfather Charlie Kerr and state Sen. Marty Golden. Photo courtesy of Liam McCabe Thursday, August 17, 2017 • Brooklyn Eagle • 7
Curtis Sliwa Joins Bob Capano in Calling for Release Of City-Funded Study of ‘Intravenous Injection Centers’ City Council Candidate Says City Hall Is Stalling to Protect Mayor’s Re-Election Bid By John Alexander Brooklyn Eagle
In March, City Council candidate Bob Capano received an endorsement from Guardian Angels founder and popular WABC radio personality Curtis Sliwa. Now Sliwa is joining Capano in calling for the release of a city funded study of intravenous injection centers. Capano, a candidate for the 43rd City Council District (Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Bensonhurst, Bath Beach) announced on Tuesday that Sliwa has joined his call on City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and the City Council to provide the status of what he referred to as a long overdue $100,000 taxpayer funded study. Capano called the delay a stall tactic to hide the plan from voters before the general election. According to Capano, in September 2016 the New York City Council announced that the city would allocate $100,000 in taxpayer funds for the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to conduct a six-month study on the feasibility of opening “Supervised Injection Facilities” in New York City. These centers would allow addicts to inject illicit drugs like heroin under medical supervision with sterile syringes in a safe and clean setting, while the taxpayers of New York pay for it. Capano claims that the de Blasio administration has refused to comment on the status of the
study and that Mark-Viverito’s office has not returned calls from Capano seeking an update. Sliwa said, “In the 1990s I and the Guardian Angels, while patroling the East End of Vancouver British Columbia came across the new supervised injection facilities that were opening for the first time in that city. Vancouver then and now has a serious heroin problem. The first result of the injection facilities opening up is that there were more heroin junkies coming in from other parts of Canada to take advantage of Vancouver leading the way.” Sliwa claimed that this added to the growing heroin epidemic in Canada. “The other problem is that you had to first buy your heroin in the streets from street dealers and then use that for your fix in the injection facilities. With the increase in junkies coming into the east end of Vancouver, it
brought an increase in dealers. The purpose given was that this would create harm reduction for the junkies. It would slow the spread of HIV and hepatitis C. The only result I saw was that it attracted more junkies into the neighborhoods with injection facilities and more heroin dealers.” This all should serve as a warning to the U.S., according to Sliwa. “Based on the experience of Vancouver British Columbia, why would we open up injection facilities in New York City where we already have a growing problem of use of heroin when in fact it would attract more junkies into the neighborhoods with the sites and more dealers. This study and plan is doomed to failure.” Capano told the Brooklyn Eagle, “Curtis Sliwa’s experiences in Vancouver with the Guardian Angels confirms exactly what I have been saying — opening heroin injection facili-
ties in local neighborhoods will only attract more drug dealers and addicts. If you think there has been a rise in car and home robberies now, imagine what will happen if one of these facilities opens in our community when addicts are walking in the area looking to get money for their fix any way they can.” Capano views the study as a waste of taxpayer money, adding, “You don’t need a Ph.D. from Harvard to know these facilities would be bad news.” Capano is running for the Republican Party’s nomination for the City Council seat currently held by Democrat Vincent Gentile, who cannot run for reelection due to term limits. Other Republicans running for Gentile’s seat are Liam McCabe, Lucretia Regina-Potter and John Quaglione. The Democrats running are Justin Brannan, Kevin Peter Carroll, Vincent Chirico, Rev. Khader El-Yateem and Nancy Tong. Both the Republican and Democratic primaries take place on Sept. 12. The winner of each party will compete in the general election on Nov. 2.
INSET: Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa (left) with City Council Candidate Bob Capano. Photo courtesy of Bob Capano
UFA Endorses Quaglione for City Council By John Alexander Brooklyn Eagle
Last week, City Council candidate John Quaglione received the endorsement of the Uniformed Firefighters Association (UFA) of Greater New York. Quaglione, the former deputy chief of staff to state Sen. Marty
Golden, is running to win the 43rd District City Council seat currently held by Vincent Gentile. Gentile cannot run again due to term limits. District 43 includes Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights and Bensonhurst. Quaglione received the endorsement in front of Engine 284/Ladder 149 in Dyker Heights.
Those in attendance included Golden, UFA President Gerard Fitzgerald, UFA Vice President LeRoy C. McGinnis, Brooklyn Trustee Chairman of the Board John G. Kelly Jr. and Fire Marshal representative Steven Tagliani. Fitzgerald said he was proud to support Quaglione on behalf of more than 8,500 members of the union. “The 43rd District deserves someone who cares deeply about this community, someone who understands its needs and is going to be willing to fight for them every day in the City Council,” said Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald went on to praise Quaglione’s continued support of FDNY. “We know he will continue to be a strong advocate for firefighters and their families,” added Fitzgerald. “Already he’s come out strong against the wasteful constitutional convention ballot measure, spoke out in support of protecting our earned benefits and has pledged that while he is in office fire stations like the one right here behind me will never be threatened to shut down.” Golden, a retired NYPD officer, said, “To have the New York City Fire Department endorsing John Quaglione says a whole lot.” Golden praised the brave firefighters who were present during 9/11. “We didn’t know what we were doing. Everybody was running away.
But the firefighters knew what they were doing. Everybody was running out of the buildings, while they were running in. And they paid the most … 343 lives that day, and subsequently thousands since then. So, to me, a former New York City police officer, I was always proud to serve side by side with our Fire Department.” Quaglione thanked UFA for its endorsement and said that never in his wildest dreams growing up did he imagine he would be standing with the most respected Fire Department in the world, “that’s revered by people from Brooklyn to Beijing because there’s a heroism in New York City and in the FDNY that you can’t find anywhere else.” He said that he recalled being at a book sale in the first grade and having to select a book. He bought one called “I Want to Be a Firefighter.” He explained that since he was 6 or 7 years old he has admired the work that firefighters do. He said that it was a special honor to be endorsed by UFA and that he looked forward to “standing up for your rights and standing up for the firehouses throughout our district.” Quaglione has previously received endorsements from Golden, the John Jay College Republicans and the Port Authority Sergeants Benevolent Association.
From left: UFA Vice President Leroy G. McGinnis, Brooklyn Trustee Chairman of the Board John G. Kelly Jr., City Council candidate John Quaglione, state Sen. Marty Golden, UFA President Gerard Fitzgerald and Fire Marshal representative Steven Tagliani. Eagle photo by John Alexander 8 • Brooklyn Eagle • Thursday, August 17, 2017
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December 2015 and May 2016 in these migrant camps in northern France, the exhibition chronicles the evolution of this collaboration and celebrates a vital human connection forged through the common voice of music. When: Tuesday through Sunday, through Sept. 24 (Tuesday through Friday, 2-6 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m. - 7 p.m.) Where: DUMBO/The Studio at St. Ann's Warehouse (45 Water St.) NY Harbor Scenes Muralist and plein air painter Bill Mensching’s oil paintings of high surf, crashing waves and stately vessels will grace the barge’s walls. When: Thursday through Saturday, through Oct. 28 (Thursday,
Arts Digital Profiling “Digital Profiling” explores the observed and projected self in both the digital and physical realms and subsequently invites the artist and viewer to interpret and/or project imagery as portrait. Works include visualizations that cross cultures, genders, conformity and identity. When: Daily, through Aug. 31, 9 a.m. - 7 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. Where: DUMBO/Made in NY Media Center (30 John St.) Shifting Perspectives: Photographs of Brooklyn's Waterfront This exhibition features the work of two dozen photographers whose images crisscross the Brooklyn shoreline, from Newtown Creek to Jamaica Bay. By picturing decades of Brooklyn’s coastal scenery, including its changing industrial and postindustrial environment, the exhibition presents dramatic panoramic vistas; spectacular aerial views; glimpses of popular recreational attractions, particularly in nearby Brooklyn Bridge Park and at Coney Island; and other scenes, including those impacted by natural or manmade forces, as well as by gentrification. When: Wednesday through Sunday, through Sept. 10, 12-5 p.m. Where: DUMBO/Brooklyn Historical Society (55 Water St.)
4-8 p.m.; Saturday, 1-5 p.m.) When: Red Hook/Waterfront Museum (290 Conover St.)
Food & Drink Happy Hours @ MetroTech Featuring corn hole competitions in August. DJs will set the soundtrack for the evenings. Get a glass of wine or a beer outdoors at La Defense and Luciano's and enjoy the summer evenings in MetroTech. When: Thursdays, 5-7 p.m. Where: MetroTech/Metrotech Commons
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We Wanted a Revolution: Black Radical Women, 1965-85 Presenting a diverse group of artists and activists who lived and worked at the intersections of avant-garde art worlds, radical political movements and profound social change, the exhibition features a wide array of work, including conceptual, performance, film and video art, as well as photography, painting, sculpture and printmaking When: Wednesday through Sunday, through Sept. 17, 11 a.m. 6 p.m.; Thursdays, 11 a.m. - 10 p.m. Where: Prospect Heights/Brooklyn Museum (200 Eastern Parkway) Sarah Hickson — Sounds Unseen: A Photographic Memoir of “The Calais Sessions” This exhibit documents “The Calais Session,” a live music project among musicians living in the United Kingdom. Shot between
“Digital Profiling” will be on exhibit through Aug. 31 at Made in NY Media Center. Image courtesy of the artist and Made in NY Media Center
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Squadron Looks Forward to His New Political Role By Paula Katinas
Brooklyn Heights Press
Daniel Squadron had no regrets as he took his leave from the New York state Senate. “It was a very difficult decision. It has been a privilege to serve the constituents of the 26th Senate District. It has been the privilege of a lifetime,” he told the Brooklyn Heights Press after his surprise announcement on Aug. 9 that he was resigning from his state Senate seat effective Aug. 11. Squadron (D-Brooklyn waterfront-Lower Manhattan) said he is leaving elected office but not politics. He is looking forward to a new venture in which he will be teaming up with entrepreneur Adam Pritzker and economist Dr. Jeffrey Sachs of Columbia University on a nationwide project to promote Democratic ideas and support political candidates. “I have loved every minute of serving my constituents. But since the election of Donald Trump and over the course of the last year, it has become increasingly clear to me that I should be working to affect change. A year ago this would have been unthinkable. This opportunity to work with Adam Pritzker and Jeffrey Sachs is an exciting one. We will be working state by state to promote issues and candidates to try and have an impact,” he told the Heights Press during a phone interview. “We will be supporting candidates and working to improve state legislatures. It will be an electoral and a policy effort,” Squadron added. The timing of his departure means the 26th Senate District seat that Squadron has held for nine years will be filled in the general election to take place on Nov. 7. Squadron, a former top aide to U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer (DNew York), was first elected to the state Senate in 2008. In the interview, he recalled the many issues he brought to the forefront in the State Legislature and said he was proud to have had a hand in promoting those issues. Squadron fought for Brooklyn Bridge Park and Bushwick Inlet Park, pushed for improvements to public housing and advocated for storm resiliency measures to be taken to protect
Daniel Squadron is not looking back after leaving the New York State Senate last Friday. Heights Press file photo by Mary Frost coastal neighborhoods from future hurricanes. Following the controversial closure of Long Island College Hospital (LICH), Squadron introduced the LICH Act, a bill that would have allowed the commissioner of the New York State Department of Health to approve a hospital closure only in cases where it could be proven that needs of the community and impacted stakeholders had been met. Squadron said he is also proud extremely proud of the day to
day constituent service work he did. “I worked school by school, intersection by intersection. The constituents are my bosses. They hired me,” he said. Many of the quality of life issues he worked on did not garner headlines. “But people would see me on the sidewalk and thank me. That always meant a great deal to me,” he said. Squadron admitted, however, that it wasn’t just the election of President Trump that led to his decision to leave the state Legislature. He candidly told the Heights Press about the problems and frustrations associated with being a member of the minority part in the state senate. Republicans hold a slim majority in the chamber due to the cooperation the GOP receives from a group of breakaway Democrats called the Independent Democratic Conference (IDC). Being a non-IDC Democrat and trying to get a bill passed in the state Senate is a daunting task, according to Squadron. “There are structural barriers to getting things done. Majority power is absolutely power,” he said. Much of his tenure was marked by fighting political corruption. He battled to remove a loophole in campaign finance laws that allows LLCs to contribute near-unlimited sums of money to political candidates. Still, there is a lot of good work being done in the state Capitol, Squadron said. “There are great, extraordinary public officials in Albany,” he said. His former senate colleagues wished him well. “Folks have been extremely gracious, generous,” he said. His new political advocacy work harkens back to the political activism of his parents. His father, Howard Squadron, marched with Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King in the 1960s. And his mother, Anne Strickland Squadron, took part in famous Freedom Summer in 1964, when thousands of young people traveled to Mississippi to help African-Americans register to vote. “My parents taught me that you don’t have to have a title or be an office-holder to have an influence,” Squadron told the Heights Press. See related story on page 4.
Five School Health Clinics in B’klyn Saved for One More Year Parents, Officials, Schools Fought Closures — but Future Is Unknown By Mary Frost Brooklyn Heights Press
After 10 days of determined advocacy from parents, nurses, school administrators and elected officials, SUNY Downstate reversed its decision to close five School Based Health Centers (SBHCs) serving more than 4,000 students in Brooklyn when school opens in September. Despite a looming cut in state funding, last week Downstate informed the principals at the schools located in Park Slope, Cobble Hill, Boerum Hill and East New York that it will not be making any changes to its school based programs as it begins the academic year. Downstate made no commitment to keep the clinics open after the end of next year, however. A spokesperson told the Brooklyn Heights Press that Downstate's President Dr. Wayne J. Riley, has directed staff members to work with program funders and supporters to explore ways to make the centers financially viable. “It’s a great victory,” Assemblymember Robert Carroll (Park Slope, Kensington) told the Heights Press on Monday. Carroll said he had never seen such a group — nurses, school administrators, parent coordinators, PTA members and elected officials,
including his fellow Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon (Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn Heights) — “act together and within about ten days get such a great, great success.” “We were on the phone to SUNY, the Department of Health, Ways and Means staff, government officials, trying to figure out how to mitigate” the damage, he said, adding, “I’m so impressed with all the different actors who came together around the issue and made it whole.” Simon, in a statement, called SBHCs “a highly cost-effective method of delivering critical health care to children,” including immunizations, management of chronic illnesses and mental health services. “We are grateful that SUNY Downstate has stepped up for our children, but recognize the need to build a sustainable infrastructure for the clinics going forward,” she said. In June, five school clinics (previously reported as four clinics) serving nine schools in District 15 — M.S. 51 William Alexander; P.S. 013 and Achievement First East New York Charter School on the Roberto Clemente Campus; Brooklyn New School and Brooklyn School for Collaborative Studies; P.S. 38 the Pacific School; the School for International Studies, Digital Arts and Cinema Technology High School and Success Academy — received a letter from Downstate informing them that because state funding had been dramatically reduced, Downstate’s SBHCs were in jeopardy. Downstate later announced that they could no longer operate the SBHCs and would be closing them. These SBHCs receive several thousand medical visits each year, including preventive and primary care, reproductive health care, emergency care, mental health and more. “By providing these services immediately within the school building, students do not have to compromise their academic learning for their overall health, and students who normally would not have access to these services are able to receive them,” Stephanie Hochman and Velma McKenzie, M.S. 51 coParent Association presidents said in a statement. “The clinic at M.S. 51 treats chronically ill students requiring mandated Section 504 services and responds to students in need of emergency medical care. In addition to our nurse practitioner, the clinic also provides a full-time social worker who cares for the social and emotional needs of many of our middle schoolers,” they said. According to an analysis of multiple cost-benefit studies published in AJPM (American Journal of Preventative Medicine), SBHCs save the state money. The study concluded, “The economic benefit of SBHCs exceeds the intervention operating cost. Further, SBHCs result in net savings to Medicaid.”
Change to Funding The funding cuts were triggered when the state Comptroller required DOH to change the award methodology for SBHC funding using objective criteria, DOH said. Changed methodology included criteria such as enrollment, number of sites and an alternative source of funding, such as the city. The overall statewide funding for School Based Health Centers is more than $61 million, according to DOH. The 201718 budget reduced this statewide funding by approximately 3 percent, or approximately $2.08 million. This reduction was not spread out evenly across all SBHCs. 2 • Brooklyn Heights Press • Thursday, August 17, 2017
In the final budget enacted by the state Legislature, some programs received funding reductions, while others received funding increases. Of the 26 NYC SBHC sponsor organizations, 13 received increased funding and 13 received decreased funding in the awards that began July 1, 2017. According to figures supplied by DOH, Downstate’s funding plunged from $669,322 (in 2016-2017) to $198,187 (2017-2018). Other Brooklyn SBHC sponsors receiving funding cuts include Bedford Stuyvesant Family Health Center, with a budget of $414,005 (2016-2017) decreasing to $153,480 (20172018). Brownsville Multi-Service Family Health Center was cut from $92,235 to $60,411. Lutheran Medical Center’s funding was slashed from $1,218,132 to $673,450. A number of centers, however, received funding increases or are newly funded. For example, Kings Plaza Medical Center received no money this year, but is slated to receive $63,041 in 2017 – 2018. East NY Diagnostic & Treatment also received no funding this year, but will be receiving $97,006 in 2017 - 2018. There are 145 SBHCs serving over 345 schools across NYC. Roughly 26 SBHCs will be affected by funding changes across the city, according to DOH. While there are bills from the state legislature headed to the governor to reallocate funds to the SUNY clinics, “We don’t know if the governor is going to sign them,” Carroll told the Heights Press. State legislators will need to work on “making some changes to the funding rubric and stream,” and also “work with SUNY to make sure they have the resources to maintain the clinics,” he said. Carroll also said that officials have also reached out to other hospital networks, operated by institutions such as NYU Langone and NY Presbyterian, as a contingency. “These are preliminary talks,” he said. A wide range of officials jumped into the fray when the closings were announced. These include Public Advocate Letitia James, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, former state Sen. Daniel Squadron, Sen. Velmanette Montgomery and Councilmember Brad Lander, along with the New York State Nurses Association and the New York School-Based Health Alliance.
DUMBO’s Pearl Street Triangle Marks its 10th Anniversary
Event Features Food, Games, Plus Look at Future Plans By John Alexander Brooklyn Heights Press
On Thursday, hundreds of DUMBO residents came out to celebrate the Pearl Street Triangle’s 10th Birthday. The crowd included a mix of workers on their lunch break, families, small business owners, DUMBO Business Improvement District (BID) Board members and other community members. The celebration included free treats from local businesses and children’s party games with chances to win various prizes as well as enjoy a sneak peek of the upgrades planned for the Triangle. Festivities included kids and adults competing in “Pin the Umbrella on the Bistro Table” for gift certificates at local Pearl Street Triangle businesses including Two Kids and a Dog, Barber on Pearl, Love and Dough, and Archway Cafe. Alexandria Sica, executive director of the DUMBO BID, led the crowd in singing “Happy Birthday” just before they broke open a piñata hand-crafted by Cara Lee Sperry (owner of Superfine on Pearl Street) to look like the Pearl Street Triangle. “The Pearl Street Triangle has been transformative for DUMBO,” said Sica. “It’s our community center, and today, along with the Archway, we have a very local piazza, where neighbors and co-workers gather off the tourist grid in the shadow of the Manhattan Bridge.” Sica offered some background about the Triangle. “The Pearl Street Triangle was the original test case for the City’s Plaza
Program, and it continues to be a test space for DUMBO startups and artists who put on light shows, launch their inventions, and share their work with the neighborhood. It’s the little parking triangle that could: just some tables and chairs and cans of paint, and you can create community! Restaurants, a flower shop, toy shop, and a kids store now all find their home in the area, making Pearl Street a thriving zone for small independent shops.” The penultimate whack came from longtime 100 Jay St. resident and artist, Eleanor Kupencow. Kupencow’s sculptures were among the first public art works installed in the Pearl Street Triangle in 2009 Music was provided by DJ Kai Song, was the 13-year-old DJ who played at the original opening party in 2007 (when he was 3!). The Pearl Street Triangle was the first plaza the Department of Transportation created. Jeanette Sadik Khan announced the whole program at the opening on Aug. 10, 2007. Now there are dozens of plazas in Brooklyn, including three in DUMBO (Pearl Street Triangle, the Archway, and Old Fulton). Throughout the past decade, DUMBO has seen the community congregate and grow around the Pearl Street Triangle and adjacent Archway, and the Triangle continues to be a test space for DUMBO start-ups and artists who put on light shows, launch their inventions, and share their work with the neighborhood.
A young child tries to hit the piñata at birthday celebration.
A couple enjoys a game of “Pin the Umbrella on the Bistro Table” during the 10th anniversary celebration.
An aerial view of the Pearl Street Triangle.
Photos by Gabriella Bass
Thursday, August 17, 2017 • Brooklyn Heights Press • 3
Political Insiders Will Pick Sen. Squadron’s Successor, and Brooklyn May Not Have a Say By Mary Frost
trict leader, Paul Newell (Lower East Side), is also mulling a run.
Brooklyn Heights Press
State Sen. Daniel Squadron rocked his district (Brooklyn waterfront and Lower East Side) on Wednesday with the news he would be stepping down on Friday to fight political corruption on the state and national level. (He’ll be joining entrepreneur Adam Pritzker and Jeffrey Sachs of Columbia University in this undertaking.) But the question of who will replace Squadron for the remainder of his term (about a year and a half is left), however, is raising concerns that the obscure process for choosing a nominee for the special election could leave Brooklynites without a say. Squadron’s district extends over two separate counties, New York County (Manhattan) and Brooklyn (Kings County). Under Democratic Party rules, the party nominee for the vacated seat in the November election will be chosen in a selection process run by the chairs of the New York County and Kings County Democratic Committees. The rules allow for those chairs to either run a “weighted” process whose outcome will be determined solely by county committee members — called “political insiders” by some and “party activists” by others — from Manhattan alone, or will also give county committee members in Brooklyn a vote. Weighting is based on gubernatorial turnout in the last election, where Manhattan outweighed Brooklyn by roughly 65/35. A political insider said that the committee chairs could just jointly decide who to nominate, bypassing the county committee members altogether. “Also a bad process, but at least the county committee members are elected,” the source said. Democrat state Assemblymember Brian Kavanagh (Manhattan’s East Side) announced on Wednesday that he is in the running for Squadron’s slot, according to published reports. A Manhattan dis-
4 • Brooklyn Heights Press • Thursday, August 17, 2017
Squadron’s Letter to County Chairs
The question of who will be replacing state Sen. Daniel Squadron (above) after he steps down is raising concerns. Photo courtesy of Sen. Squadron’s office
Squadron is calling on the county chairs —Keith Wright in Manhattan and Frank Seddio in Brooklyn — “to make the process as democratic as possible.” The process for choosing a nominee “leaves much to be desired,” Squadron wrote in a letter to the pair. “I have worked hard to represent every of part of the 26th Senate District. Every neighborhood, including those in Brooklyn, where I live, should have a say in choosing a nominee. To disenfranchise Brooklynites would be unfair and undemocratic,” he wrote. “The process is not obscure, it’s purposeful,” a longtime political observer told the Brooklyn Heights Press. “Meade Esposito told me this many years ago. They have found every way to stop people from voting for this, because everybody understands that it is to their long-term advantage to turn their proxies over to — quote — their leader.” Candidates representing other parties may also appear on November’s ballot. However, those who obtain the Democratic Party line are effectively guaranteed victory in Squadron’s district and many districts throughout the city. In the New York State Assembly, nearly one third of legislators obtained office via a special election. Squadron has sponsored legislation in an attempt to reform the process. He wrote in this legislation that the current system means “a significant number of legislators have been placed into office without the districts they serve being given a meaningful choice to fill the vacancy.” His bill (S.1797/A.522), which is still in committee, would require non-partisan special elections in cases like his own.