2 JANUARY 20 - JANUARY 26, 2017 BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP PREK FOR ALL APPLICATIONS NOW OPEN FOR NEXT SCHOOL YEAR All New York City families with children born in 2013 can now apply for Pre-K for All for the 2017-2018 school year, with the main round of applications set to close Friday, February 24. Pre-K for All ensures free, full-day, high-quality pre-K seats for every four-year old in New York City. Last year, a record 70,430 students registered for the program. To help guide families through the application process (which allows families to rank 12 full-day pre-K programs by order of interest), the Department of Education will host an information session on Tuesday, January 31 at Clara Barton High School, 901 Classon Avenue, at 6 and 7 p.m. Families can complete the application at www. nyc.gov/prek, at 718-935-2067, or at a Family Welcome Center. A second round of applications will begin April 24. DATES ANNOUNCED FOR 2017 FLEET WEEK The U.S. Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard have announced dates for 2017 Fleet Week New York. Now in its 29th year, FWNY will take place May 24-30. This year’s theme, “Celebrating the Sea Services and commemorating the 75th Anniversary of the Seabees,” will pay tribute to members of the Naval Construction Forces. An anticipated 5,000 Sailors, Marines and Coast Guardsmen will participate this year. For up-to-date information on FWNY, visit fl eetweeknewyork.com. MAN SENTENCED TO 115 YEARS FOR RAPE A 20-year-old Brooklyn man has been sentenced to 115 years in prison for raping and assaulting an 82-year-old woman inside her Brighton Beach home. According to trial testimony, at around 2 a.m. on July 13, 2015, Asa Robert slipped inside the victim’s apartment near Brighton 11th Street where he choked her and forced her onto the bed. He then held a knife to the woman’s face, demanded money and punched her in the chest, before raping and sodomizing her. He then fl ed with some of the woman’s belongings. Robert led police on a four-day chase. He was eventually arrested on July 17. The sentence comes on the heels of Robert's mid-December conviction of fi rst-degree rape and fi rst-degree criminal sexual act, among other charges. —Meaghan McGoldrick BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP/Photos by Anna Spivak Racing Rooms in Bensonhurst o ers a virtual racing simulation experience. Gentlemen and ladies, start your engines at Bensonhurst's new racing simulation experience BY ANNA SPIVAK ASPIVAKBROOKLYNREPORTER.COM Get your heart racing, your adrenaline pumping and learn a little something while you’re at it at Bensonhurst’s new virtual racing simulation experience, Racing Rooms. While one might be inclined to think of this new venture – a three-week old addition to the nabe – as an arcade-style experience, Racing Rooms owner and self-proclaimed car enthusiast Zach Vaysburg assured this newspaper that it is anything but. “I started researching and I wanted to bring something like this to Brooklyn,” said Vaysburg, who previously ran his own car shipping company and worked as a service advisor for BMW. “So, I began researching about indoor car racing and unfortunately, especially here in Brooklyn, it’s di cult because the warehouses and manufacturers are non-existent. I tested a lot of di erent motion simulation products and did research on all the so ware that is in the market right now.” While it was dificult for Vaysburg to ind the type of equipment and software he needed here in the U.S., given that the products he was looking for were more prevalent in the European market, he eventually found a supplier in Virginia and thus Racing Rooms was born. According to Vaysburg, while racing enthusiasts and car lovers are his target audience, the racing simulations he provides cater to customers of di erent ages, particularly new drivers and teens looking to improve their driving abilities. “My plan is to give new drivers an ability to practice,” Vaysburg said. “The beauty of the so ware is that it’s not an arcade game, it’s a simulator, and there’s a big di erence between the two. The simulator allows you to explore vehicle dynamics and what happens to a car in various situations, how it loses control and how to regain control of a car.” Vaysburg said that private lessons are available for new drivers or for those who just want to improve their skills. The next step for Racing Rooms, he said, is virtual reality. “The next step will be a virtual realiwith reality set to eliminate the screens completely,” Vaysburg said. “Along with the motion, it will give you the total sensation of being in the cockpit of a car. It’s amazing what can be done with this new technology.” Vaysburg ultimately wants customers who enjoy the experience to keep returning and to keep learning new things. “My idea is for them to keep coming back, to practice and not to treat it as just a game,” said Vaysburg. “Even professional drivers, knowledgeable drivers, can learn from it.” Racing Rooms is located at 1707 86th Street.
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