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BSR05182017

2 MAY 12 – MAY 18, 2017 BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP Photo: Google Maps Our Lady of Angels Church is trying to get the corner of 73rd Street and Fourth Avenue co-named in the church's honor. CB 10 unanimously approves street co-naming for "Our Lady of Angels Way" BY PATRICK WEINBERG [email protected] The corner of 73rd Street and Fourth Avenue may soon officially be named "Our Lady of Angels Way" after Our Lady of Angels Church (OLA) which is located on that corner. The proposal was originally announced by Community Board 10 (CB 10) at its monthly board meeting in March. The panel's Traffic and Transportation Committee chair, Jayne Capetanakis, said that the committee was contacted by OLA's pastor Monsignor Kevin Noone in honor of the church's 125th anniversary that it is celebrating this year. At CB 10's full board meeting on April 24 at Shore Hill Housing (9000 Shore Road), Capetanakis officially put the co-naming to a vote before the full board. "Our committee met and unanimously recommended to approve this application," she said, before getting that same backing from the panel as a whole. OLA was noted by Capetanakis as being a "beacon of faith and service" for the Bay Ridge community and that it "serves the community as a house of worship. as a neighborhood center with numerous charitable ministries to help those in need and for their elementary school, now Holy Angels Academy, which has served generations of children." Noone told this paper in March that he also wants the parish to be recognized for its contributions to the Bay Ridge community, more than just its religious presence. "The Ragamuffin Parade emanated from here in 1967 due to the work of our parishioners, and our school has educated thousands of students," Noone said. "We are also blessed with a great auditorium and gym that local leaders have used for town halls and various health drives." One parishioner in attendance at the meeting, board member June Johnson, noted, "I have been a parishioner of OLA for 27 years. It is a wonderful, wonderful parish. They serve the whole community." Now that the street co-naming has been approved by CB 10, the request will move to the City Council, as per their procedural rules. The City Council will vote, and if approved, the legislation authorizing the co-naming will move on to the mayor for his signature. NYC VOTES LAUNCHES FORUM INITIATIVE NYC Votes, the voter engagement initiative of the New York City Campaign Finance Board, has launched a new program to bring candidate forums to communities throughout the five boroughs, including Bay Ridge. NYC Votes is looking to partner with local community organization to host the nonpartisan forums. Community organizations that are interested can apply online. The organizations will be selected based on their capacity, ability to conduct nonpartisan voter engagement activities, and plan to attract a diverse turnout. The selected organizations will host forums in one or more City Council races, including southwest Brooklyn’s 43rd Council District, as well as receive a grant of $1,500 per event. Applications are due by Friday, June 2 at 5 p.m. For more information, visit nyccfb.info/nyc-votes. —Patrick Weinberg SENATE BILL WOULD CLASSIFY CRIMES AGAINST COPS AS HATE CRIMES On Tuesday, May 9, the New York State Senate passed the “Community Heroes Protection Act,” which would make crimes that are explicitly committed against law enforcement and first responders punishable as hate crimes. In current law, police officers and first responders are not included as victims under the current definition of a hate crime. The Community Heroes Protection Act comes on the heels of 135 law enforcement officers being killed in 2016, the most in almost five years, simply because of their jobs. The bill has been sent to the Assembly, where it is sponsored by Assemblymember Peter Abbate. It was co-sponsored in the Senate by State Senator Marty Golden, a former NYPD police officer. —Patrick Weinberg SEVEN BROOKLYN EDUCATORS SNAG BIG APPLE AWARDS Seven Brooklyn educators are among the 19 recipients of the New York City Department of Education’s Big Apple Awards, a recognition program that celebrates the work of the city’s full-time public school educators. They include Danielle Boccino (fifth grade teacher, P.S. 215, Gravesend), Adriana DiScipio (English as a New Language teacher, P.S. 230, Kensington), Katie McArdle (elementary autism teacher, P.S. 231, Borough Park), Faye Michalakos (sixth grade math teacher, Hellenic Classical Charter School, Park Slope) and Diana Shteynberg (pre-K teacher, Shorefront YM-YWHA, Brighton Beach), chosen from more than 7,800 nominations. They will have the opportunity to serve as Big Apple Fellows, becoming ambassadors for their profession. They will also be invited to serve on DOE Chancellor Carmen Fariña’s Teacher Advisory Group, which has a say in DOE policy. —Jonathan Sperling


BSR05182017
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