With Passover season upon us, April 19, 2019, marked the Annual Bread Burning/Biur Chometz which was organized by the Staten Island Council of Jewish Organizations Security Committee. This annual holiday event was coordinated by COJO-SI together with the NYPD, FDNY, DSNY, Shomrim, Hatzolah and Chaverim. The COJO-SI Security Committee oversaw the burning of the chometz, and garbage removal.
COJO-SI gives special thanks the NYPD, FDNY and DSNY for assisting as they always do. Special thanks are given to Chief Kenneth Corey, commanding officer of Patrol Borough Staten Island, Inspector Matthew Harrington, commanding officer of Precinct 121, Chief Richard Howe, FDNY Staten Island Borough Chief, and Chief Stephen Montanino, DSNY Staten Island Borough Chief.
Mendy Mirocznik, president of COJO gives a special thanks to Security Committee and to its Chairs Scott Maurer (COJO CEO & Executive Vice President) and Ari Weiss ( Executive Coordinator of the Staten Island Shomrim) for their efforts in coordinating with the NYPD, FDNY, DSNY and our community. As always Scott and Ari and the Shomrim Members did an outstanding exemplary job.
As the central coordinating agency for the Island’s Jewish Community, COJO-SI wishes all a Happy Holiday season, a Zisse Pesach and a wonderful spring.
Antisemitism, Identity Politics, and American Identity: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives
The American Jewish Historical will host Eric Ward, long time civil rights strategist and the Executive Director at Western States Center. In 1990, for a special program on Antisemitism and Identity Politics in the US. Ward documented his first white nationalist Rally, and since then has been working to expose and respond to bigoted violence across the country through empowering community organization. Ward emphasizes that in order to understand the threat posed by the rapidly growing white nationalist movement in the United States today, we must first come to terms with the centrality of antisemitism to white nationalist ideology.
Joining Eric Ward in conversation is Tony Michels, a professor of American Jewish History at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Christina Greer, Associate Professor of Political Science at Fordham University. Together these panelists will pull on the threads that connect past and present, and help us begin the process of unraveling the prevalence antisemitism, and bigotry more broadly, in America.
Tuesday, May 7, 2019, 7:00 pm
Part of the Jack Coleman and Lawrence Kanter, MD Lecture Series
Co-sponsored with the the Center for Jewish History
$15 general ● $10 students/AJHS/CJH members/seniors ● $18 at the door
On Friday April 19, the FDNY received a 911 call for a reported fire at Beth Gabriel on 108th Street in Forest Hills.
This One Alarm Call went out to respond to the 911 call.
When the Fire Chief was asked why the FDNY showed up to the synagogue on the eve of Passover the Queens Gazette was told that someone called 911 reporting smoke and flames were coming from the congregation’s property.
The Queens Gazette reporters were at the scene reporting on the Chumitz burning when fire truck sirens were heard coming closers othe to the property until a fire truck stopped across the street.
When the rabbi displayed the congregation’s permit for the event, the FDNY firefighters picked up their hoses and turned off the water flowing from the fire hydrant across from where the congregation is located.
It is with much sadness that I report that long time (70 years)Long Beach resident and sports reporter, ROBERT JOSEPH ELKIN (Kohen) passed away on Wednesday April 3, 2019 at the age of 76, just one day before the Mets home opener, an event he tried not to miss during his 40 years sports writing career.
Robert graduated Long Beach High School. He was the score keeper in high school because he was forced to give up playing baseball when he was hit in the eye with a batted ball around the age of 12.. The accident caused Robert to lose most of his eyesight in one eye.Robert covered sports for the New York Journal American , The Brooklyn Eagle, Caribbean Life, a Courier Life Publication and the Queens Times.
Robert covered high school, college and professional track and field,baseball, basketball and football. Robert did most of his writing about The New York Mets as sports writer and Sports Editor for the Queens Times, Jim Lisa, Publisher.
Robert was often seen on the sidelines of high school track and field events throughout the New York Metropolitan area, but mostly at sporting events in the borough of Queens. Longtime sports writer Lloyd Carroll said he would miss “Little Bobby,” as he called him, while he covers Mets and Jets home games. Mr. Carroll is well known for is sports writing in the Queens Chronicle as well as his sports and entertainment writing in Good Times Magazine, a New York publication..
Robert remained a resident of long Beach until his last breath. When he could no longer take care of himself he moved to the Long Beach Assisted Living, where he spent most of his last days of his life. He was very fond of Avi Heineman, Long Beach Assisted Living Administrator.
Robert said shortly before his death that he began his professional sports writing career the year that Jay Horwitz started his with the New York Mets, 40 years ago. His memory as a lifelong sports writer and Mets fan should not go unnoticed. He credited Jim Lisa, publisher of the Queens Times for sticking with him during his difficult years as wells as his productive writing years.
Robert credited his life’s work writing about the New York Mets to Jay Horwitz and Ethan Wilson, who were very helpful to Mr. Elkin.
We know that Robert will be missed in the New York Mets and New York Jets Press Boxes.
Robert Elkin was an only child and had the benefit of two loving parents who treated him like a prince.
Robert was laid to rest on Sunday April 7, 2019 at King Solomon Cemetery in Clifton, New Jersey during a graveside service attended by friends and family.
Robert’s father, Daniel Elkin was a Kohen, a member of the holiest Tribe of Israel. Kohen were considered the Priests in biblical times and still honored at Sabbath and other religious services of the Jewish faith.
State Senator John Liu spoke last Sunday at a breakfast at Hillcrest Jewish Center.
Senator Liu unseated Tony Avella to represent Northeast Queens in the New York State Senate.
Senator John Liu with Hillcrest Jewish Center Rabbi Kogan Manes Senator Liu said ,” I have spent many days and evenings attending community and local meetings here at Hillcrest Jewish Center”
Senator John Lou previously have a New York City councilman from Flushing and then ran and successfully won the controller spot representing all of New York City as its financial leader.
State Senator John LIU who formerly serve in the New York City Council and as New York City Comptroller now represents Northeastern Queens in the New York State Senate
Send Luis a stand out student athlete at Bronx high school of science he performed in track and field.
Senator Liu was asked why so many Democrats have taken socialist views. The Senator replied, “I am not a Socialist. I am a Democrat.”
“Iran’s leaders plunder the nation’s resources to enrich themselves and to spread mayhem across the Middle East and far beyond,” declared President Trump in a statement to the media on Monday. To this end, the president outlined his strategy for cutting off Iran’s oil exports completely, thus denying the rogue regime its principal source of revenue. As such, the Trump administration announced that they would not renew waivers next month to five countries that continue to import oil from Iran. The official name of the waivers is known as Significant Reduction Exceptions (SREs) and the precise deadline is May 2.
China, who is one of Iran’s largest oil customers, said that the Trump announcement was evidence of US “unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction.” China, which relies on imports for about half of its oil, could present the toughest diplomatic challenge for the US in trying to enforce its sanctions, as was reported in a Times of Israel report. Photo Credit: Shutterstock
The five nations in question are China, India, Japan, South Korea and Turkey. Voicing their strident opposition to this move, China, who is one of Iran’s largest oil customers, said that the Trump announcement was evidence of US “unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction.” China, which relies on imports for about half of its oil, could present the toughest diplomatic challenge for the US in trying to enforce its sanctions, as was reported in a Times of Israel report.
CNN reported that Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu firmly rejected the Trump administration decision on Monday, saying via Twitter that “the US decision to end sanctions waivers on Iran oil imports will not serve regional peace and stability yet will harm Iranian people. Turkey rejects unilateral sanctions and impositions on how to conduct relations with neighbors.”
Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu firmly rejected the Trump administration decision on Monday, saying via Twitter that “the US decision to end sanctions waivers on Iran oil imports will not serve regional peace and stability yet will harm Iranian people. Turkey rejects unilateral sanctions and impositions on how to conduct relations with neighbors.” Photo Credit: Shutterstock
He went further during a press conference in Ankara, saying that “pushing buying oil from countries besides Iran goes too far. Turkey is against those steps and impositions,” according to the state-run Anadolu news agency.
It was also reported by CNN that a senior Iraqi official said Monday that Trump’s decision to end waivers for the purchase of Iranian oil exports, and pressure Iraq to end its purchase of Iranian power is a “serious problem.”
“Iraq needs good relations with Iran. The US has one policy focus, which is to bring Iran down and are looking through this prism. The situation is precarious. The Americans need a nuanced policy. This drive by the White House risks disrupting Iraq. If they really want a policy towards Iran, they should look at strengthening Iraq. But given that much of our assets are in the Federal Reserve the Americans can make life very difficult for us.”
According to the Trump statement issued by his press secretary Sarah Sanders, the United States, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, three of the world’s great energy producers, are working to ensure global oil markets remain well supplied. The statement went on to say that the United States and its partners will take immediate action to ensure that supplies are made available to replace all Iranian oil removed from the market. The White House added that forecasters expect global oil supply will keep pace with demand in 2019.
Emphasizing that the decision against the renewal of waivers on the purchase of Iranian oil was to show the world that the administration is determined to expand and enforce its maximum pressure campaign against the Iranian regime, the White House statement said that this action was taken to hold Iran accountable for the full range of its malign activities.
“The United States will continue to apply maximum pressure on the Iranian regime until its leaders change their destructive behavior, “ said the White House statement.
Soon after President Trump took office, he fulfilled his campaign pledge to withdrew the United States from the “horrible Iran nuclear deal” and thusly imposed the most stringent sanctions ever placed on the Islamic Republic of Iran. Moreover, the Trump administration declared that all sanctions that were originally lifted under the Obama era Iran deal were reimposed last year. These sanctions targeted critical sectors of Iran’s economy, including energy, shipping, and its financial institutions.
The Trump administration recently designated Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, putting the private sector on notice not to conduct business with them. Photo Credit: Wikipedia
In addition, the Trump administration recently designated Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, putting the private sector on notice not to conduct business with them. As a result of the administration’s actions, Iran’s currency has lost more than two-thirds of its value on the black market. Foreign direct investment and business activity in Iran have fallen off as the private sector is keenly cognizant of the multifarious risks involved when conducting business with Iran.
As a result, the White House reported that more than 100 companies who had previously engaged in business dealings with Iran have ceased and desisted from conducting business there.
The White House also noted that the decision to apply this kind of economic pressure on rogue nation was sending a clear and unambiguous message to the authoritarian regime that its destabilizing activities and global terrorist campaign have serious consequences.
The well-crafted statement also made it known that the malevolent Iranian regime has long used oil revenues to support its destabilizing activities and fund terrorist proxies throughout the world. It is internationally known that Iran is the leading state sponsor of terrorism, with a chief objective of working towards financing and supporting terrorist organizations including al-Qa’ida, Hizballah, Hamas, the Taliban, and others of that ilk.
The Trump administration also called out Iran in terms of their purported promises to scale down and eventually eliminate their entire nuclear program. The statement noted that fact that Iran’s oil revenues have helped to finance their nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs that threaten the region and the United States.
Without mentioning specific names, the White House statement said that leaders of the Iranian regime have committed horrific human rights violations while using oil revenues to line their own pockets instead of giving support to their own people. It continued by declaring unequivocally that Iran continues to undermine the stability of the region, including through hostility toward Israel and threatening freedom of navigation in the critical Persian Gulf.
Speaking of Israel, the recently re-elected prime minister of the Jewish state, Benjamin Netanyahu lauded the Trump administration’s Monday announcement that it will no longer grant exemptions from sanctions to Iran’s oil customers, according to a TOI report.
“The decision of President Trump and the American administration is of great importance for increasing the pressure on the Iranian terror regime,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement. “We stand by the determination of the United States against Iranian aggression and this is the right way to stop it.”
Netanyahu was a main voice against the 2015 nuclear deal that opened up Iran’s export market, and has praised Trump’s moves to reverse the pact.
Following the U.S. designation of the IRGC as a terrorist entity on April 8, some have assessed that Iran is likely to intensify proxy attacks on Israel from Syria and Gaza in response, according to an article on the JNS.org web site.
In the Gaza Strip, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), the second-largest armed faction in Gaza and Iran’s direct proxy, has grown an arsenal of rockets that now surpasses that of Hamas, the largest terrorist faction in the Strip.
The JNS report indicated that PIJ has been rebuilding its firepower since the 2014 conflict it and Hamas fought with Israel. Today. PIJ and Hamas have a combined rocket arsenal of more than 20,000 projectiles, some of which have a sufficient range of reaching targets north of Tel Aviv, as demonstrated by a March rocket strike on an Israeli home that injured seven civilians.
PIJ’s fighting force of 10,000 armed operatives, combined with Hamas’s 30,000 armed-wing members, mean that Gaza has developed a terrorist army. Together, these Iranian-funded factions threaten to indiscriminately fire rockets at Israeli civilian neighborhoods.
The report went on to say that the administration granted eight oil sanctions waivers when it re-imposed sanctions on Iran after Trump pulled the US out of the 2015 nuclear deal. They were granted in part to give those countries — Japan, South Korea, Turkey, China, India, Greece, Italy, Taiwan — more time to find alternate energy sources but also to prevent a shock to global oil markets from the sudden removal of Iranian crude.
Since November, three of the eight countries — Italy, Greece and Taiwan — have stopped importing oil from Iran. The other five, however, have not, and have lobbied for their waivers to be extended.
Speaking Monday at a press conference, as was reported by CNN, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said “the goal remains simple: to deprive the outlaw regime of the funds it had used to destabilize the Middle East for four decades and incentivize Iran to behave like a normal country.”
Noting that oil is “the regime’s No. 1 source of cash,” Pompeo said that prior to the implementation of US sanctions, Iran was generating “as much as $50 billion annually,” from oil exports, but that the department estimates the sanctions have “denied the regime well north of $10 billion.”
“How long we remain there — at zero — depends solely on the Islamic Republic (of) Iran’s senior leaders,” he added.
“We have made our demands very clear to the ayatollah and his cronies: end your pursuit of nuclear weapons, stop testing and proliferating ballistic missiles, stop sponsoring and committing terrorism, halt the arbitrary detention of US citizens. Our pressure is aimed at ending these and others and it will continue to accelerate until Iran is willing to address them at the negotiating table,” Pompeo said.
CNN reported that after the announcement from the US, Saudi Arabia’s Oil Minister Khalid al-Falih said the country will coordinate with other oil producers “to ensure the availability of enough oil supplies for consumers and to ensure global oil markets are not knocked off balance.”
The US will also aid the dearth in supply, Pompeo said. The US produced 1.6 million more barrels of oil in 2018 than in 2017, and is on track to increase production in 2019 as well.
But given the ongoing crises in both Venezuela and Libya, which are two major oil supplying countries, there are fears that the US decision will make the oil market more unstable.
The World Jewish Congress (WJC) on Sunday slammed a Polish town after video circulated of residents beating, hanging, and burning an offensive effigy of a "stereotypical Jew" in a revival of an old Easter tradition.in a revival of an old Easter tradition. Photo Credit: Sputnik International
The huge effigy was said to represent the Jewish biblical character of Judas Iscariot
The World Jewish Congress (WJC) on Sunday slammed a Polish town after video circulated of residents beating, hanging, and burning an offensive effigy of a “stereotypical Jew” in a revival of an old Easter tradition.in a revival of an old Easter tradition.
WJC chief executive Robert Singer issued a statement expressing “disgust and outrage at this latest blatantly antisemitic manifestation.”
“Jews are deeply disturbed by this ghastly revival of medieval antisemitism that led to unimaginable violence and suffering,” he said.
He added that, “One can only wonder how John Paul II who taught Catholics in his native Poland and all over the world that antisemitism is a sin against God and man would have reacted to this flagrant rejection of his teachings. We can only hope that the Church and other institutions will do their best to overcome these frighful prejudices which are a blot on Poland’s good name.”
As Christian Poles prepared to mark the crucifixion of Jesus the weekend of Easter and Jews marked the Passover festival symbolizing their Exodus from bondage in Egypt, media reports showed photos and video of residents of the town of Pruchnik using sticks to beat an effigy of Judas on Good Friday.
The effigy, which had sidelocks and a large nose, was then beheaded, set on fire and tossed into a river, according to the reports.
The Easter ritual known as “Judgment over Judas” dates back to the 18th century and continued to be regularly performed until the Second World War.
The tradition had been largely abandoned, with only a couple of villages continuing it. Even Pruchnik had appeared to stop in recent years, according to the Polish news portal oko.press.
But anti-semitic concerns have recently resurfaced in Poland, where most of the country’s Jewish population was wiped out in the Second World War.
The Easter ritual known as “Judgment over Judas” dates back to the 18th century and continued to be regularly performed until the Second World War.
The tradition had been largely abandoned, with only a couple of villages continuing it. Even Pruchnik had appeared to stop in recent years, according to the Polish news portal oko.press.
Last year, Warsaw passed a law that originally established fines or a maximum three-year jail term for anyone who refers to Nazi German death camps as Polish or accuses Poland of complicity in the Third Reich’s crimes.
The law sparked a diplomatic storm with Israel, which led Poland to amend it and suspend its enforcement once the countries were able to settle their differences.
But ahead of this month’s elections in Israel, Minister of Foreign Affairs Yisrael Katz reignited tensions when he made inflammatory remarks that “there were many Poles who contributed with the Nazis,” and that “the Poles suckle anti-Semitism from their mother’s breasts,” quoting former Israeli premier Yitzhak Shamir, who was well-known for the kind of radical anti-Polish sentiment not uncommon among Holocaust survivors.
On Monday, the WJC issued a press release in response to the statement by Bishop Rafał Markowski deploring the symbolic lynching of a Jewish effigy in the town of Pruchnik. WJC CEO Robert Singer said that he was “heartened that the Church had taken an unequivocal stand” with respect to this antisemitic incident.
“Jews all over the world look to the Church to continue the struggle against antisemitism pioneered by Pope John Paul II who had called the Jews the older brothers of Christians,” Singer added. “The Church is in a unique position to overcome age-old prejudice and stereotypes. We can only hope that one day a spirit of brotherhood and mutual respect will replace intolerance and hatred in Pruchnik—and that young people will be taught about the horrifying fate of that community’s Jewish inhabitants during the German occupation.”
“I am leaving office, but I want to firmly underline that I am not leaving politics,” the incumbent president said after exit polls gave Volodymyr Zelensky a decisive lead.
In the Ukrainian elections, it has been reported that incumbent President Petro Poroshenko is accepting defeat for the country’s highest office.
The AP has reported that an exit poll from Ukraine’s presidential election is giving Jewish comedian Volodymyr Zelensky – who plays a high school teacher ranting about government corruption who is elected president on a TV series – a commanding lead over Poroshenko.
Results from the exit poll released Sunday after voting stations closed showed Zelensky receiving 73.2% of the nationwide vote; Poroshenko got 25.3%, according to the AP report.
The poll, conducted by the Kiev International Institute of Sociology and the Razumkov Center public opinion organization, was based on more than 13,000 responses to face-to-face questions at 300 polling places as of 6 p.m., two hours before the polls closed, as was reported by the AP.
The poll claims a margin of error of three percentage points.
Shortly after the poll results were published, Poroshenko said he was willing to help his rival transition into the presidency.
“I am leaving office, but I want to firmly underline that I am not leaving politics,” Poroshenko said.
The comedian is a political neophyte and has no background or experience in affairs of state and has offered few detailed policies.
Reuters reported that Poroshenko tried to rally Ukrainians around the flag by casting himself as a bulwark against Russian aggression and a champion of Ukrainian identity.
Zelenskiy was born in 1978 to Jewish parents and seems set to become Ukraine’s first Jewish president. Ukraine’s Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman is also Jewish, as was reported by Reuters.
Declaring victory at his campaign headquarters to emotional supporters, Zelenskiy promised he would not let the Ukrainian people down.
“I’m not yet officially the president, but as a citizen of Ukraine, I can say to all countries in the post-Soviet Union look at us. Anything is possible!”
European Council President Donald Tusk congratulated Zelenskiy, as did French President Emmanuel Macron and British foreign minister Jeremy Hunt, as was reported by Reuters.
Zelenskiy, whose victory fits a pattern of anti-establishment figures unseating incumbents in Europe and further afield, has promised to end the war in the eastern Donbass region and to root out corruption amid widespread dismay over rising prices and sliding living standards.
But he has been coy about exactly how he plans to achieve all that and investors want reassurances that he will accelerate reforms needed to attract foreign investment and keep the country in an International Monetary Fund program.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday he would name a new town in the Golan Heights after President Donald Trump, according to a report from the Jerusalem Post.
“I will name a town in the Golan Heights after Donald Trump. I will soon bring this to be approved by the government,” Netanyahu said.
The prime minister’s announcement comes after Trump announced in a March tweet that the United States would recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the territory, after decades of dispute with Syria regarding ownership.
“After 52 years it is time for the United States to fully recognize Israel’s Sovereignty over the Golan Heights, which is of critical strategic and security importance to the State of Israel and Regional Stability!” Trump tweeted.
Trump’s tweet came at the end of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s visit to Israel in which he told reporters in comments that Trump made the right decision regarding the Golan Heights.
“Tonight, President Trump made the decision to recognize that that hard-fought real estate, that important place, is proper to be a sovereign part of the state of Israel,” he said, according to the AP.
Trump solidified his promise several days later, when Netanyahu visited the White House. During a joint press conference, the president told reporters that he had been “studying” the issue “for years” before making the declaring Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights.
“And this should have been done, I would say, numerous presidents ago,” he said. “But for some reason, they didn’t do it, and I’m very honored to have done it.”
Netanyahu thanked Trump for his commitment to Israel, and offered the same to the United States in return.
“We are willing to fight for our common values,” he said. “We’re willing to fight. You have an ally that is willing to take up arms in defense of liberty, in defense of our land, our people, and our common values.”
The week-long Passover festival marks the Exodus of the Jewish people from servitude in Egypt
Thousands of Jewish worshippers flocked to the Western Wall in Jerusalem on Monday for a mass priestly blessing during the Passover holiday.
The traditional benediction saw thousands of male descendants of the Jewish Kohanim priestly caste bless tens of thousands of congregations twice during daily morning prayers in front of the Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews can pray in Jerusalem’s Old City.
The Kohanim, believed to be descendants of priests who served in the ancient Jewish Temple before it was destroyed, perform a mass blessing ceremony of the Jewish people three times a year during the festivals of Passover, Shavuot and Sukkot.
US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, himself a descendant of the Kohanim caste, was one of hundreds to give the blessing on Monday.
Jews in Israel and around the world began observing the week-long Passover festival on Friday evening, commemorating the Exodus of the Jewish people from servitude in Egypt.
During the holiday, Jews forgo leavened wheat, oat, barley, rye, or spelt products and eat matzah (unleavened bread) as the fleeing Jews did not have enough time to wait for dough to rise as they embarked on their journey to freedom.
Israeli authorities last week announced a general closure on West Bank border crossings for the duration of the holiday, which will end on Friday April 26.
Such closures are common during Jewish holidays, which are often associated with increased tension and potential for violence, particularly around religious sites which see increased numbers of Jewish visitors arriving to worship.
The Western Wall is a remnant of a supporting wall of the Second Temple complex, which was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD.
It is the holiest site to Jews, who refer to it as the Temple Mount.
Above it lies the plaza where the temple once stood and which now houses the Haram al-Sharif compound, the third-holiest site in Islam that includes the Al-Aqsa mosque and Dome of the Rock.
Jews are allowed to visit but not pray at the Temple Mount compound, but each year a growing religious movement called Return to the Mount (‘Chozrim leHar’) stages missions to bring goat kids to the top of Temple Mount for ritual sacrifice, as practiced thousands of years ago.
Two activists were arrested last week on their way to the holy site to perform the provocative ritual, along with two journalists who were documenting the activists for an independent documentary film.
Show hosts ended up pressing Mr. de Blasio on why he travels daily from the official Mayor’s residence on the Upper East Side of Manhattan to Brooklyn, just to work out at a gym.
“What sort of environmentally responsible example are you setting there, taking this drive in a car as opposed to going to someplace nearby?” Jonathan Lemire, an MSNBC analyst, asked Mayor de Blasio. “Let’s make clear, this is just a part of my life,” he responded, referring to the daily 11-mile trek.
“I come from that neighborhood in Brooklyn. That’s my home. I go there on a regular basis to stay connected to where I come from and not be in a bubble that I think for a lot of politicians is a huge problem,” he continued.
Mr. de Blasio’s aims to fully implement his proposal within five years, and will fine property owners who do not decrease emissions at least 30 percent by 2030. He also told MSNBC personalities that he thinks the outbreak of Measles in Brooklyn will come to an end “over the next few weeks.”
As part of another proposal, as reported already by The Jewish Voice, New York’s city council is aiming to cut emissions at buildings like Trump Tower — an iconic landmark which served as President Trump’s home for decades before his historic election on Nov. 8, 2016.
The legislation, called the Climate Mobilization Act, seeks to make medium and large-sized buildings to reduce emissions by at least 40 percent by the year 2030 and by 80 percent by 2050.
Another aspect of the proposed piece of legislation would require that buildings not release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere at levels above what is set forth in the Climate Mobilization Act.
A report released by a labor coalition said that Trump Tower utilizes more energy than 93 percent of large-sized buildings.
“With so many people and cars in NYC, it can be hard to believe that our buildings are the number one contributor of harmful emissions,” Andrew Cohen, a member of New York’s city council, said in a statement. “Bill 1251 is part of a package of bills that will create an energy efficiency grading system for buildings throughout the city. Hopefully, this will encourage building owners to make the necessary upgrades to reduce the amount of negative impacts that these large buildings are having on our environment.”
New York City’s top narcotics prosecutor, Special Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget Brennan, says the state is welcoming Mexican drug runners like never before thanks to recent bail reforms.
“They’re giving a big boost to the cartel,” Brennan tells The Post in an interview. “It’s kind of a get-out-of-jail-free ticket to the people who are poisoning substance abusers in this state. “If the governor and legislators put up a ‘Welcome to New York sign’ to the cartel, what are we going to do? “I can only imagine (legislators in the state capital of Albany) were ill-informed about the impact of these changes. We’re in the midst of an opioid epidemic. I just can’t wrap my head around it. It’s crazy.”
The brand new law doesn’t go into effect until 2020, when it will eliminate cash bail for those charged with an A-1 level narcotics offense. The problem is that big-time criminals routinely are charged with smaller offenses just to keep them behind bars as authorities build bigger, hard to beat cases. Liberals, of course, like the new law.
“Gov. Andrew Cuomo has proposed reforms that would end cash bail, which needlessly sends poor people convicted of nothing to jail, and that would require prosecutors to share evidence with the defense early in a case, so defendants know what the state can prove as they weigh whether to choose a plea deal or a trial,” noted the New York Times earlier this year. “Various legislators have offered their own reform bills. The last time New York lawmakers passed major procedural reforms to bail, discovery and speedy trial rules was the 1970s.”
“Cuomo’s budget included several proposals aimed at reducing pretrial detention waiting periods for defendants through bail, discovery and speedy trial reform — all issues the Legislature plans to act on during this year’s legislative session, according to lawmakers,” an article that appears in January in the New York Law Journal noted. “The first proposal would require police officers to issue appearance tickets to low-level defendants rather than make custodial arrests, which would keep the individual out of police custody until their appearance date. Cash bail would be eliminated for individuals who do end up in police custody. Instead, a judge would decide whether an individual should be kept in state custody or released. Unless the judge has reason to believe the person cannot safely await trial in their community, that individual would automatically be released on their own recognizance.”
The New York City jail population has decreased by 1,500 over the last two years, according to a December report from the Independent Commission on New York City Criminal Justice. “Still, as of September more than a third of the 8,200 people in city jails were held pre-trial on misdemeanors or nonviolent felonies. More than 90 percent of the jail population is people of color. The commission, led by former chief judge Jonathan Lippman, estimates substantial bail reform could reduce the population by 3,000 people,” notes The Gotham Gazette.
“Many people accused with violent crimes — serious felonies — are going to be back on the street,” Staten Island DA Michael McMahon told The Post in an interview.
A New York Doctor who conducted so-called “twisted” experiments on members of the NXIVM sex cult borrowed $60,000 from close friends and family members in order to stay afloat and recently filed for bankruptcy, according to the New York Post.
The Doctor, Brandon Porter, conducted “fright studies,” according to The Post, and declared that he has $170,469 in debt or liabilities as part of his bankruptcy filings.
The Post reported that Dr. Porter is currently living in a home near Albany that is almost 3,000 square feet, which they say that they discovered through a court filing.
The residence is allegedly owned by a corporation named Percenceo Inc. — which was allegedly founded by Sara Bronfman — the sibling of Clair Bronfman, who is also a Seagram’s heiress.
Clare entered a guilty plea last week on charges of conspiracy and some other criminal allegations in a Brooklyn courtroom.
The sisters invested heavily into the NXIVM sex cult, according to federal prosecutors. The sex cult was founded by a man named Keith Raniere — who was arrested and charged with Conspiracy, Identity theft, Sex trafficking, Sexual exploitation of a minor, and being in possession of child pornography.
“As alleged in the superseding indictment, for over a decade, Keith Raniere was the leader of a racketeering conspiracy in which he and members of his inner circle committed a broad range of serious crimes from identity theft and obstruction of justice to sex trafficking, all to promote and protect Raniere and Nxivm,” Richard P. Donoghue, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said in a statement. “This Office and the FBI will continue to investigate and prosecute those who prey on others to such destructive effect.”
“As alleged, this long-running conspiracy crossed multiple avenues of criminal activity, which included, among other things, electronic monitoring; identity theft; extortion; victim smuggling; and illegal trafficking of a victim after a period of unlawful confinement,” said William F. Sweeney Jr., the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the FBI’s New York field office. “The details of these alleged crimes become more and more grim as we continue to dig deeper into the conduct of this organization and its intended mission.”
“Today’s superseding indictment highlights our commitment to bringing justice to Nxivm’s many victims,” Mr. Sweeney added.
Notorious actress Allison Mack also entered a guilty plea this month with her role in the criminal cult.
Mr. Porter departed his job in 2017 after being charged and sold his home last year for $352,000.
Some major dollars are being put in place to keep New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio from getting rid of admissions tests for leading high schools.
Among the billionaires writing checks is said to be cosmetics king Ron Lauder, who graduated from the Bronx High School of Science in 1961. He reportedly said this week that he would spend a million dollars or more to stop de Blasio’s plan, much of it on television commercials.
“The campaign will target Albany lawmakers, whom the mayor needs to amend a 1971 state law that created the Specialized High School Admission Test — and may even include attack ads against de Blasio,” a source is said to have told the New York Post.
Lauder reportedly circulated an email in which he explained that he was “joining a new effort called the Education Equity Campaign to achieve the goal of creating new Specialized High Schools” and “will be helping this campaign however I can.”
Lauder continued, “It’s my firm belief that we should be doubling the capacity of our specialized high schools by adding two new schools in each borough, guaranteeing free SHSAT prep for every New York City middle school student and ensuring that students in every school have access to a local Gifted and Talented program from an early age. “With these reforms, we could once again make our city’s education system second to none.”
It was nearly a year ago that de Blasio and Schools Chancellor Richard A. Carranza announced a new plan to make admissions to New York City’s eight testing Specialized High Schools fairer and improve diversity. Only 10 percent of specialized high school students are Black or Latino, despite making up 70 percent of the City’s overall student population, they said.
The two-part plan includes expanding the Discovery program to help more disadvantage students receive an offer. “The Discovery program is designed to increase enrollment of low-income students at Specialized High Schools,” the mayor’s office noted. “We will immediately expand the program to 20 percent of seats at each SHS and adjust the eligibility criteria to target students attending high-poverty schools. This would be a two-year expansion, beginning with admissions for September 2019. Based on modeling of current offer patterns, an estimated 16 percent of offers would go to black and Latino students, compared to 9 percent currently.”
“There are talented students all across the five boroughs, but for far too long our specialized high schools have failed to reflect the diversity of our city,” said de Blasio. “We cannot let this injustice continue. By giving a wider, more diverse pool of our best students an equal shot at admissions, we will make these schools stronger and our City fairer.”
The stolen doors to seven mausoleums – as well as 75 air vents – were discovered missing on Sunday from the Beth Olam Jewish Cemetery, which is located on the border between Queens and Brooklyn, reported the New York Post. Photo Credit: Wikipedia
The disturbing series of antisemitic acts continues, as police in Queens report that someone made off with $30,000 worth of doors and air vents from mausoleums at a famous Jewish cemetery.
The stolen doors to seven mausoleums – as well as 75 air vents – were discovered missing on Sunday from the Beth Olam Jewish Cemetery, which is located on the border between Queens and Brooklyn, reported the New York Post.
The theft reportedly took place between Friday afternoon and Sunday morning, a police spokesman reported.
In February, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio spoke at a local rally against antisemitism and pointed out that “This is not a small thing. People right here in this community in Brooklyn have seen in their own lives what happens when anti-Semitism goes unchecked, when people stay silent, when the authorities don’t do anything, in countries that families here came from, they watched complacency, silence. They watched opportunism that led to horrifying results. This is why if anyone tries to dismiss anti-Semitism, if anyone tries to suggest that it’s not such a big problem, they need to look at history, not just a little bit of history, two millennia of history, of bias and discrimination against the Jewish people in countries all over the world – and unfortunately we’re still grappling with it here. They’re still grappling with it and Europe. It never went away and we have to be blunt about it. It never went away and we’re dealing with it to this day and it’s very dangerous.”
Jonathan Greenblatt, who formerly directed the Obama administration’s Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation, recently told the Los Angeles Times that Jews today are “living in a charged political environment. Things are polarized in ways we haven’t seen in recent memory. People are on edge in part because they are following their leaders. When leaders at the highest levels use incredibly intemperate language and repeat the rhetoric of extremists, we shouldn’t be surprised when young people — let alone others — imitate what they see. Extremists feel emboldened by this. We know because we’re tracking extremists. We’re reading what they write on social media and what they’re saying in chat rooms.”
Nor are such antisemitic acts limited to America. “The week began with Alain Finkielkraut taking his mother-in-law to Sunday lunch in Paris. As he returned to his apartment on the Left Bank, he crossed through a crowd of “yellow vest” protesters. They recognized the well-televised philosopher,” Atlantic reported. “Despite the fact that he has professed sympathy for their grievances in his punditry, his presence enraged them. A viral video captured young men bedecked in the canary-colored uniform of the movement spewing insults at the slovenly 69-year-old: “Dirty Jew!” “Tel Aviv! Back to Tel Aviv!” “France is ours!”
New York City wants to save energy on big buildings – coincidentally, buildings like Trump Tower. Photo Credit: Shutterstock
New York City wants to save energy on big buildings – coincidentally, buildings like Trump Tower.
The Democrat-controlled New York City Council was set to vote on the Climate Mobilization Act, a groundbreaking package of bills that is one of the most ambitious and innovative legislative initiatives any major city has ever considered to combat the existential threat of climate change.
The centerpiece of the package is a bill that will require large and medium-sized buildings, which account for nearly a third of all greenhouse gas emissions in the city, to reduce their emissions 40% by 2030 and 80% by 2050. The very worst performing buildings will have to act by 2024 to curb their emissions.
1253-C, sponsored by Council Member Costa Constantinides, would mandate that buildings do not emit greenhouse gases at levels higher than the limits set in the legislation. The limits are set based on the occupancy group of the building and are calculated to require emissions reductions from the highest emitting 20% of buildings in each occupancy group for the first compliance date beginning in 2024, and the highest emitting 75% of buildings in each occupancy group for the second compliance date beginning in 2030.
The bill would also create the Office of Energy and Emissions Performance within the Department of Buildings (DOB) to oversee the implementation of this legislation, and future bills and policy around building emissions.
Based upon city audits of energy use, Trump Tower in midtown Manhattan used more energy per square foot than 93% of large residential buildings, according to ALIGN, a coalition of labor and community groups that supports the legislation. ALIGN examined data on 50,000 buildings, all more than 25,000 square feet, the same universe as is covered by the legislation, according to Executive Director Maritza Silva-Farrell.
“With so many people and cars in NYC, it can be hard to believe that our buildings are the number one contributor of harmful emissions. Bill 1251 is part of a package of bills that will create an energy efficiency grading system for buildings throughout the city. Hopefully this will encourage building owners to make the necessary upgrades to reduce the amount of negative impacts that these large buildings are having on our environment. Thank you to Council Member Constantinides, Chair of the Council’s Committee on Environmental Protection for his determination, and thank you to Speaker Johnson for his leadership,” said Council Member Andrew Cohen.
“The Climate Mobilization Act is a down payment on the future of New York City — one that ensures we lead the way in the ever-growing fight against climate change. Today, we sent that message to the world by enacting the boldest mandate to reduce carbon emissions, tackling one of the biggest drivers of climate change. Our legislation represents over two years of engagement with the various communities, industries and everyday New Yorkers impacted by climate change. This historic day would not be possible without the leadership of Speaker Corey Johnson or the support of my colleagues in the New York City Council,” said Constantinides.
