BENSONHURST'S PREMIER NEWS BLOG

Source: Flickr upload bot via Wikimedia Commons

Stacey Catapano of Brooklyn Makeup Studio has been working with the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation (PDF) to raise funds and awareness for those affected by the disease.

She’s become a PDF Champion, a name bestowed on those who are dedicated individuals and give their time and energy to raise awareness and funds for Parkinson’s in their local communities.

Today from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., at her makeup studio at 447 Avenue P, in collaboration with Mercedes Benz and Bella Magazine, Catapano is hosting the “Grand Opening Cocktail Party,” an event that will feature free makeovers by makeup artists starting at 12 p.m., along with free gifts with purchases, food, cocktails and dessert.

The event is free to attend. Appointments are recommended for makeup applications. A portion of all sales of beauty services and products made that day will benefit the PDF.

Catapano will also be raffling off $1,000 worth of beauty products and baskets, with all proceeds of ticket sales benefitting PDF.

To learn more, contact the Brooklyn Makeup Studio at (718) 333 3482 or visit Stacey’s personal fundraising page.

Rep. Michael Grimm (from house.gov)

Reports confirm that the FBI is still investigating Congressman Michael Grimm for alleged improprieties during his 2010 campaign fundraising.

The FBI has been talking to former staff members and volunteers who worked on Grimm’s campaign and asking about the funds, according to Politicker.

Earlier this year, Grimm dealt with financial fraud allegations linking his campaign to the congregation of Rabbi Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto. Pinto may have collected illegal political contributions for Grimm through straw donors and extortion, according to the New York Times, which first broke the story.

In the latest round of FBI interviews, anonymous sources said little talk about Pinto came up, according to SI Live:

“They seemed to have an interest in fundraising — who was involved and whether any expenditures were off the books,” said one of those interviewed by the FBI, who requested anonymity in order to speak to the Advance.

… The Advance source said that during his interview there was “very limited” talk about the rabbi and his right-hand man, Ofer Biton, who helped Grimm raise money from the rabbi’s congregation.

But the source said the FBI did ask if he knew the identities of any of the anonymous donors mentioned in the New York Times story in January that first alleged that Grimm raised money illegally.

“We are of course familiar with the FBI inquiry and we welcome the news that it is heading towards completion. We contacted the Justice Department and other appropriate agencies immediately after the false allegations against me first appeared in an irresponsible New York Times story in January,” Grimm said. “I look forward to a speedy resolution and am confident that I will be fully vindicated. I’ve done nothing wrong and any fair and thorough inquiry will come to the same conclusion.”

When asked about the new set of interviews, the FBI declined to comment.

“We’re not going to have any comment on this,” said Peter Donald, a spokesman for the FBI’s New York office.

Grimm’s Democratic opponent in November’s general election, Mark Murphy, used the opportunity to slam Grimm for his mounting legal bills – paid for by campaign funds:

“Michael Grimm’s struggling campaign has amassed more in legal bills 2 months than most Staten Island families earn in 3 years,” Murphy’s campaign manager told City & State. “$321,000 in lawyer’s fees can only mean that the allegations of illegal fundraising are very serious. Mike Grimm will do anything for the special interests that define his legislative record to pay his lawyers, and this debt pushes him further into questionable legal territory.”

(via Bay Ridge Odyssey)

Source: Lewis Colam via his Facebook page

Lewis Colam watched someone he loved dearly succumb to Alzheimer’s disease. The 24-year-old former management consultant knew he had to do something to raise funds and awareness so that others who in a similar position have the support and resources they need.

He took to the sea. Having no prior rowing experience did not stop Colam. He decided to undertake a 2,000 mile, 100 day rowboat journey from Miami to New York to raise $50,000 for research of the disease.

Yesterday was the final leg of Colam’s journey, starting near the Verrazano Bridge at which he arrived around 11 a.m. He rowed along the New Jersey shoreline, past the Statue of Liberty, and up the Hudson River, arriving at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum at approximately 3 p.m.

He tweeted his adventures and kept his fans afloat on Facebook.

Colam has been rowing since since March 3rd for approximately 18 hours each day. He carried no motor, sail or fellow rower aboard his 15-foot open-decked row boat. Most nights, he anchored and slept aboard the boat, completely exposed to the elements.

So far, Colam is approximately halfway to his fundraising goal of $50,000 to support research at the Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research Foundation. The Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research Foundation was founded by Zachary and Elizabeth Fisher, who also founded the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum where Colam ended his journey.

Grimm on Bay Ridge's 5th Avenue in June 2010, when he was a candidate seeking to unseat Democrat Michael McMahon. (Source: Brian Hedden via Bay Ridge Odyssey)

The Grimm Files is the newest creation of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Modeled after sites like The Smoking Gun, albeit with a political twist, its purpose is to showcase some of the things Republican Congressman Michael Grimm doesn’t want people talking about. Continue Reading »

A volunteer serves a resident in need at Reaching Out Community Services (Photo by Carla Astudillo)

Weeks after we published a story on Reaching Out Community Services‘ struggles to keep food stocked on its shelves, The New York Daily News reports that the beleaguered Bensonhurst food pantry at 7708 New Utrecht Avenue has hit yet another brick wall. In a devastating blow to its ability to provide free food to the area’s most indigent residents, Reaching Out was denied a permit by the New York City Parks Department to hold weekly flea market fundraisers at Cadman Plaza in downtown Brooklyn.

In spite of holding one successful flea market last April that brought in $2,000 — which Reaching Out Fundraising Chairman James LaMorte said would cover the facility’s rent if they were able to hold them weekly — officials from Parks told the pantry that “they have a blanket policy against allowing flea markets in Brooklyn parks.”

Reaching Out had to take out a bank loan just to pay the rent, and a significant one-time anonymous donation has carried them through this year, but LaMorte admits that the flea markets would help them enormously.

“If we could do it every week, that would cover our rent,” LaMorte said. “We run nice events and have pictures to prove it and have never received a complaint about any of our events.”

“But that money is now gone,” said Thomas Neve, executive director and founder of the pantry. “We stretched it out as much as possible.”

Nevertheless, Cadman Plaza — a stone’s throw from Borough Hall — “is no stranger to commercial activity, with farmers markets held several times a week,” according to The Daily News.

As we previously reported, because other food distribution organizations such as Food Bank and City Harvest have also seen a decrease in funds, the pantry receives less food, in spite of generous donations from Bensonhurst schools and churches. Pantry officials said they have not kept up with demand, which has skyrocketed from 800 clients to 4,000 in just four years due to the ailing economy, and they’ve had to cut back on their hours of operation to offset the expense.

If the pantry doesn’t receive the help it needs, in the form of funding and food donations, “then the whole program might have to shut down,” Neve confesses.

Should that happen, 4,000 area residents could go hungry.

Make a donation to Reaching Out Community Services.

A volunteer serves a resident in need at Reaching Out Community Services

Francine Russo noticed that there were only five boxes of cereal left on the shelf.

All morning, her fellow volunteers had led clients around an aisle of shelves filled with a very meager selection of food. The freezer had been turned off. They had run out of meat.

Looking at the cereal left, Russo had a hard announcement to make.

“Only families with children get cereal,” she said.

Daily food shortage is one of the many problems that have plagued Reaching Out Community Services, a food pantry located in 7708 New Utrecht Avenue.

“As the economy has gotten worse, more people have started to depend on us,” said Thomas Neve, executive director and founder of the pantry. “Contributions have decreased.”

Keep reading, and find out how you can help.