2 FEBRUARY 23 - MARCH 1, 2018 BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP
SHEEPSHEAD BAY POL
CALLS AGAIN TO CURB
BOOZE BOATS
Assemblymember Steven Cymbrowitz, who has
long called for an end to the havoc he says party boats
wreak on Sheepshead Bay, says the 11 p.m. curfew recently
implemented by the city isn’t enough to resolve
longstanding issues of traffic, rampant littering and
drunk, disorderly passengers utilizing the service.
“Passengers get drunk on the 7 p.m. run the same
way they do on the midnight run and are just as
unruly pre and post-sail,” he said. “Under the current
policy the city is putting the neighborhood in
danger.”
Cymbrowitz would like to see the docks moved
elsewhere, calling it “a good compromise.”
CITY WARNS OF POISON
HELP HOTLINE SCAM
The Health Department has issued a warning
about unsolicited calls coming from individuals
claiming to be from the National Poison Help Hotline.
These calls, which have targeted both patients
and healthcare providers nationwide, have solicited
payments and requested personal information from
victims, many of whom are elderly.
“New Yorkers should know that neither the
New York City Poison Control Center, nor the
National Poison Help Hotline will ever ask for
personal information or payment via phone calls,”
said city Health Commissioner Dr. Mary Bassett.
In New York City, there have been more than 50
reports of these scam calls (in some instances, the
caller has identified himself as “Justin”).
Any New Yorker who receives a suspicious call of
this kind should immediately contact the National
Poison Help Hotline at 800-222-1222, said Bassett.
BROOKLYN POL ANNOUNCES
LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR
RUN
Brooklyn Councilmember Jumaane Williams has
declared his candidacy for lieutenant governor of
New York State.
“The lieutenant governor position needs to be
more than ribbon cutting and rubber stamping,”
said Williams, a progressive Dem currently serving
his third term in the Council. “I want to be the people's
advocate in Albany, pushing the governor and
the legislature to enact the progressive policies that
are the promise of our state. I want to represent the
diverse needs of the people of our state – and by the
way, our state government could use some diversity.”
Williams represents East Flatbush, Flatbush,
Flatlands, Marine Park, Canarsie and Midwood.
He is chair of the Council’s Committee on Housing
and Buildings.
The office is currently held by Kathy Hochul.
BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP/file photo
Local panel poised to
seek landmark status for
Angel Guardian Home
BY MEAGHAN MCGOLDRICK
MMCGOLDRICK@
BROOKLYNREPORTER.COM
Call it a Hail Mary pass.
Nearly two weeks to
the day after supporters
of Dyker Heights’ Angel Guardian
Home rallied outside its stillto
be-shuttered Narrows Senior
Center, Community Board 10's
Zoning and Land Use Committee
voted unanimously to make
a last-ditch effort to help save,
at the very least, the skeleton of
the storied structure.
The committee, chaired by
lifelong Ridgeite Brian Kaszuba,
unanimously supported a
motion Thursday evening, February
15, to request that the New
York City Landmarks Preservation
Commission (LPC) expedite
the calendaring of an application
to designate the Angel Guardian
Home an individual landmark.
“The Zoning and Land Use
Committee unanimously believes
that the Angel Guardian
Home is worthy of consideration
of landmark status,” the
chair told this paper. “The
committee believes this historic
property, which is completely
intact in its original 1899 condition,
meets LPC’s criteria. Its
history, distinct architecture,
social contributions to the community
are all strong reasons to
secure designation.”
The Angel Guardian Home
– a 14,000-square-foot Dyker
Heights institution that, since
the early 1900s, has taken in
countless orphans, becoming a
formal adoption agency in the
1970s – was sold at the end of last
year to a still unnamed buyer.
This move, despite repeated
pleas from local residents and
community stakeholders to
consider either senior housing,
a school or some other combination
of the two that would
benefit the neighborhood at the
massive, block-long site, hints at
trouble, supporters say.
Still, Kaszuba stressed, the
committee hopes LPC will consider
the request — assuming it
passes the full board — based
solely on the site’s deep-rooted
history.
“The committee firmly stands
by the decision to recommend
that LPC consider this site 100
percent based upon the merits
and not simply to prevent potential
future development at its location,”
said Kaszuba, associate
director of the Center for NYC
Law at New York Law School,
adding, “we do understand the
timing of this decision, but feel
that we have an obligation to
protect our community’s landmarks
before it’s too late.”
The site was built in 1902,
according to city records, and
served as an extension of the
Convent of Mercy, housing
hundreds of orphans and
eventually acting as a formal
adoption agency until the 1970s.
In 2003, the Angel Guardian
Home merged with St. Mary’s
of the Angels Home to form the
MercyFirst network of agencies.
Up until late last year, the campus
– which spans the entire
block – housed the offices for
the Sisters’ foster care program
as well as a senior center, which
had been told initially to close
for good the day of the rally but
which got a reprieve following
the rally to its original end-oflease
month of June.
The Dyker Heights community
bid adieu to the institution
at a November, 2016 goodbye
party, during which employees,
former volunteers and past residents
were able to reminisce in
preparation for Angel Guardian’s
office’s eventual move to
Industry City in Sunset Park.
The motion to make a formal
request to LPC will go before the
full board on Monday, February
26 for approval.
The Angel Guardian Home.