BENSONHURST'S PREMIER NEWS BLOG

Pete Hamill (from petehamill.com)

If you happen to be available and/or broke this Sunday, New York’s largest free literary event awaits.

The Brooklyn Book Festival takes place this Sunday at Borough Hall (209 Joralemon Street) in Downtown Brooklyn, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Authors who will be making an appearance include Larry McMurtry, Terry McMillan, Jennifer Egan, Eoin Colfer, John Sayles, Joyce Carol Oates, Craig Thompson, Walter Mosley, Adrian Tomine, Amitav Ghosh, Jean Valentine, Jules Feiffer, Senator Joseph Lieberman, Rachel Hawkins, Sam McBratney, Jacqueline Woodson, Jhumpa Lahiri, Mo Willems and the man who inspired this humble blogger to try his hand at writing (okay, blogging), Pete Hamill.

While all events at the festival are free, anything happening in the confines of Borough Hall’s courtroom or Saint Francis College’s auditorium requires tickets.

Tickets for each event are distributed one hour in advance at information booths set up on the plaza in front of Borough Hall.

You can peruse through a list of the festival’s programs here.

If you plan on using mass transit, make sure to check out tomorrow’s edition of Bensonhurst Bean’s Weekend Subway Update to make sure you get there with minimal aggravation.

Brooklyn Borough Hall is located at 209 Joralemon Street, between Court Street and Boerum Place in Downtown Brooklyn

Could one of our local bi-borough Congressmen be aiming for Al Sharpton’s spot on MSNBC?

The above series of videos, posted on Youtube by repmichaelgrimm, features Representative Grimm co-hosting an episode of CNBC’s Squawkbox. The topic? Jobs.

Rep. Michael Grimm represents New York’s 13th Congressional District, which includes all of Staten Island. In Brooklyn, the 13th District includes parts of Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Bensonhurst and Gravesend.

(from cheezburger.com)

Yesterday, News 12 Brooklyn reported that drivers in our neighborhood say they’re ‘confused’ by city parking rules for muni-meters – those annoying new parking meters that spit out teeny-tiny paper receipts.

One of the good things about the meters was that they were supposed to allow minutes left on a receipt from one spot to be used at another.

However, a local assemblyman told reporters that area residents who tried to carry over the muni-meter minutes have instead been issued parking tickets.

Assemblyman William Colton says that the DOT even went so far as to tell motorist advocacy groups that it’s legal to transfer the minutes, provided there is time left on the meter, leading many to assume doing so is within the rules.

From News 12:

But Colton says that during the past few months, his office has received numerous calls from drivers in Bensonhurst who have gotten parking violations for doing just that.

Bensonhurst Bean visited the DOT website and was unable to find any mention of the allowance on a page which lists the rules for muni-meters.

Colton has requested the DOT to make an announcement clarifying the law.

If any readers out there work for DOT or NYPD traffic enforcement, please feel free to give us the lowdown on the true muni-meter rules in the comments below.

Assemblyman William Colton represents Assembly District 47, which includes Bensonhurst, as well as parts of Gravesend and Midwood.

(from nytimes.com)

According to the New York Times, the U.S. Census Bureau reported yesterday that 2.6 million people fell below the poverty line in the United States last year.

That brings the number of American living in poverty to 46.2 million, which is the highest it has been in the 52 years since the bureau first began publishing the data.

The Times included the observation of Lawrence Katz, an economics professor at Harvard – who pointed out that Americans’ incomes have not stagnated for this long since the Great Depression.

From the Times:

“This is truly a lost decade,” Mr. Katz said. “We think of America as a place where every generation is doing better, but we’re looking at a period when the median family is in worse shape than it was in the late 1990s.”

The bureau’s findings were worse than many economists expected, and brought into sharp relief the toll the past decade — including the painful declines of the financial crisis and recession —had taken on Americans at the middle and lower parts of the income ladder. It is also fresh evidence that the disappointing economic recovery has done nothing for the country’s poorest citizens.

The report said the percentage of Americans living below the poverty line last year, 15.1 percent, was the highest level since 1993. (The poverty line in 2010 for a family of four was $22,314.)

As far as the long term health and happiness of our readership, this might very well be the most relevant topic we’ve ever discussed at Bensonhurst Bean, so we want to hear from you.

How has the economy affected you and your family? Have you had to take pay cuts or forgo an expected raise? Are you or a loved one out of work? Do you know someone who has lost a manufacturing or IT job to overseas outsourcing?

Feel free to add your own two cents about possible solutions or mistakes you feel the government has made in addressing the economy. Please just try to avoid the typical Democrat versus Republican partisan name-calling.

By Nasa Goddard Photo and Video via flickr

Well over two weeks since Irene paid us a visit, the county of Kings has finally been added to the FEMA disaster aid list.

Residents, property owners, as well as certain non-profit organizations are now eligible to apply for federal aid to cover property damage incurred from the tropical storm.

Brooklyn not only incurred some of the worst damage from Irene – which made landfall in Coney Island – but was the only of New York City’s five boroughs to be excluded from the list.

Officials had blamed Brooklyn’s absence from the eligibility list on a bureaucratic error.

In a statement released yesterday, Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D- New York), who had previously requested Brooklyn be added to FEMA’s disaster aid list, praised the change.

“I am glad that FEMA recognized that property owners, infrastructure and institutions in Kings County incurred damages as a result of Hurricane Irene and are, therefore, eligible to apply for aid,” said Nadler.  “Especially in Brooklyn, the storm caused flooding and downed trees throughout many neighborhoods, and I have heard from a number of constituents who were adversely affected.  Now they have a pathway towards rebuilding after the storm.”

Rep. Jerrold Nadler represents New York’s 8th Congressional District, which includes Manhattan’s Upper West Side, Hell’s Kitchen, Chelsea, SoHo, Greenwich Village, TriBeCa, the Financial District and Battery Park City.  In Brooklyn, the 8th District includes parts of Borough Park, Red Hook, Sunset Park, Bay Ridge, Bensonhurst, Coney Island, Brighton Beach, Gravesend, Dyker Heights, Bath Beach and Seagate.

Police sketches of the perpetrator

A rapist who police thought they had back in June is actually still at large and has attempted to once again prey on women in South Park Slope and now, Sunset Park.

The rapist, who struck while initial suspect William Giraldo of Bensonhurst was in police custody, has attempted a number of sexual assaults in recent weeks. In most cases, he would grab or grope a woman from behind.

Fortunately, during the most recent attempts, victims have managed to either alert neighbors with screams, scaring the suspect away and/or successfully fend off the attacker – who is described as small in stature.

News blog Gothamist is reporting that a group recently formed in Park Slope to prevent future attacks and raise awareness of a rapist that’s still on the loose, plans to hold a rally tonight near the sight of one of the attacks.

From Gothamist:

Safe Slope, a group formed last month, the “Take Back Our Streets” rally will begin by the Prospect Avenue R stop on 4th Avenue at 17th Street at 8 p.m., ending at the Detective Joseph Mayrose Park on 17th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues. Council Speaker Christine Quinn; Council Members Sara Gonzalez and Brad Lander are expected to join the rally, and at the park the Center for Anti-Violence Education will offer a mini self-defense demonstration. (You can also sign up for a series of free self-defense classes they are offering in collaboration with Council Members Sara Gonzalez and Brad Lander.)

The group is also launching a Safe Walk program in South Slope/Greenwood Heights/Windsor Terrace on Thursday through Sunday nights, between 8:00pm and 3:00am. Safe Walk volunteers will provide “pick-ups” at local establishments and subway stops and will provide “drop-offs” anywhere between 9th and 30th Streets and between 2nd and 8th Avenues in Brooklyn. The number to call if you want a Safe Walk volunteer to join you is T.B.A. And if you are interested in volunteering, the group urges you to email them at safeslope@gmail.com.

One of the rapist’s attacks from earlier this year touched off an internal affairs investigation into alleged inaction by police.

Similarly, a woman who says she may have had a run-in with the rapist, described receiving a rude and dismissive response, while trying to report the encounter to law enforcement.

Earlier this year, the rapist had also attacked a victim in Bay Ridge.

Anyone who has been the victim of either an assault or attempted assault should immediately call 911.

Anyone who has information regarding the rapist’s identity is strongly urged to contact Crimestoppers at  1-800 577 TIPS (800 577 8477).

Bensonhurst Bean urges all of our readers, regardless of location, to remain alert, especially when walking alone at night.

Below is a press release from Rep. Jerrold Nadler:

WASHINGTON, DC – Reps. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) applauded inclusion of funding to complete funding for the Second Avenue Subway and the LIRR’s East Side Access project in the 2012 Federal Budget as passed by the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation and HUD.

“At a time when all in Washington agree that jobs are our number 1 priority, now is not the time to renege on the best job-creation engines right now in the New York area,” Maloney said. “I’m proud that funding for the 2^nd Avenue Subway and East Side Access projects have been included in the 2012 budget.”

“It is essential that Congress follow through with commitments to fully fund transit projects, including the Second Avenue Subway and East Side Access, for the coming fiscal year,” said Nadler.  “These two projects are essential infrastructure improvements for New York City and its region that will alleviate overcrowding and increase efficiency.  The projects will also create substantial economic development, at least 38,000 jobs, and meaningful investment in New York’s workforce at a time when the nation is desperate for such investment.”

Background:

Both lawmakers were among those who wrote to the Subcommittee Chair and Ranking Member urging the completion of the federal funding agreements for the projects. A copy of the letter follows below. Continue Reading »

Justice and Divine Vengeance Pursue Crime (oil-on-canvas by Pierre-Paul Prud'hon)

We’ve been meaning to report on Manhattan news site dnainfo.com‘s precinct-by-precinct per capita crime stat study for some time but, as they say, no news is good news and our street corners happen to be some of the safest in the city.

Unfortunately for our pals in picturesque Park Slope, the same could not be said for crime in their neck of the woods.

Crime, particularly burglaries and robberies, have risen in much of the increasingly wealthy ‘brownstone belt’ of Central and Northern Brooklyn, which may be a victim of its own success, real estate price-wise.

Its increasing popularity has also led to a widening disparity of income between longtime residents and wealthy newcomers – presenting plenty of targets for those who resort to crime to make ends meet.

Despite the rise of crime in Northern Brooklyn, Southern Brooklyn’s solidly Middle Class  neighborhoods – including Bensonhurst, Bay Ridge, Borough Park and Sheepshead Bay – remained some of NYC’s safest areas.

Overall crime was down in Bensonhurst in 2010 – the year used in the study.

Although there was an increase in rapes to 13, up from 6 the year before, this could be an anomaly. While one rape is always too many, the percentage increase should be seen in the context of relatively low numbers for both years, as well as overall crime trends.

Neighboring Borough Park, along with Kensington, is served by the precinct with the lowest crime numbers in the borough.

Bay Ridge and Sheepshead Bay also had some of the lowest numbers in the city – though Sheepshead Bay has seen a significant increase so far this year.

One area of Southern Brooklyn dealing with high crime, according to the report, was Coney Island.

According to a link provided by CEC 21 on Bensonhurst Bean’s Facebook page, the Community Education Council will be holding a meeting on Wednesday, September 21, from 7:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

The session will take place at I.S. 303 (501 West Avenue) and will include a presentation by Superintendent Isabel Di Mola on the Department of Education’s Contracts for Excellence program. According to CEC 21′s event listing, the council has received Contracts for Excellence funding from New York State through the city’s DOE for the last four years.

Public comment at the meeting is encouraged.

The meeting will include refreshments for attendees, as well as a chance to compete in a raffle for door prizes.

I.S. 303 the Herbert S. Eisenberg School is located at 501 West End Avenue near West 5th Street.

Rep. Michael Grimm (from house.gov)

Michael Grimm recalls digging “with his bare hands” at Ground Zero, attempting to find remains of victims of the attacks of 9/11. According to the New York Congressman, he recovered a woman’s hand and part of a person’s torso.

The Brooklyn Daily Eagle recently interviewed Rep. Michael Grimm, who – although he was in Quantico, Virginia on September 11, training to be an undercover FBI agent – demanded, along with other agents from New York, to travel back home to aid in the recovery.

From the Eagle:

“We sat in class glued to the television,” he said.

FBI supervisors were undecided as to whether to dispatch the agents to New York to assist with the rescue and recovery or to keep them in Virginia. Grimm and many of his fellow agents who hailed from New York demanded to go.

“Several of us said, ‘We don’t really care what you have to say. We’re going home!,” he recalled.

Grimm, who says one fellow agent and friend lost a sister in the attacks, was part of a “bucket brigade,” which passed small objects to a truck in order for them to be brought to a Staten Island landfill and inspected for human remains.

According to the Eagle, Grimm spent around six weeks working on the recovery – with himself and other agents dividing their time between lower Manhattan and the Staten Island landfill.

The House Representative for Staten Island and part of Southern Brooklyn has diminished lung capacity, though he’s not sure if it’s from 9/11 or time spent in combat as a Marine during the first Gulf War.

Rep. Grimm told reporters that he planned to attend several events commemorating the 10th anniversary of September 11, which he says he considers a personal issue.

Rep. Michael Grimm represents New York’s 13th Congressional District, which includes all of Staten Island. In Brooklyn, the 13th District includes parts of Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Bensonhurst and Gravesend.