4 OCTOBER 6 - OCTOBER 12, 2017 BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP
NEW UTRECHT LIBRARY
SNAGS ANNUAL LIBRARY
AWARD
New Utrecht Library was one of five local branches
that took home the top prize of $20,000 at the fourth
annual NYC Neighborhood Library Awards, on Sunday,
October 1.
The awards – an initiative of the Stavros Niarchos
and the Charles H. Revson Foundations – honor libraries
for being “irreplaceable pillars of their communities,
offering a welcoming and safe environment,
and free programs and services – all while on a tight
budget.”
The New Utrecht Library is located at 1743 86th
Street.
45,000 SUNY, CUNY STUDENTS
ATTENDING TUITION-FREE
Governor Andrew Cuomo on Sunday, October
1 announced that more than half of all full-time
SUNY and CUNY in-state students are going to be
receiving full rides with help from the Excelsior
Scholarship.
So far, approximately 45,000 students will attend
SUNY or CUNY tuition-free this year, including
more than 23,000 who will have their tuition covered
through the New York State Tuition Assistance Program
(TAP), Pell and other financial aid, and nearly
22,000 who will have their remaining tuition costs
covered by the scholarship.
According to state officials, the number of students
eligible for the Excelsior Scholarship will rise each
year until fully implemented (it is being phased in
over three years).
For the 2017-18 academic year full-time students
with household incomes up to $100,000 are eligible, increasing
to $110,000 in 2018-19, and reaching $125,000
in 2019-20.
NEW NOTIFY NYC APP
LAUNCHED
The New York City Emergency Management
Department and the Department of Information
Technology and Telecommunications have launched
the Notify NYC app – the city’s first emergency notification
mobile app.
With the app – available for free download for
Apple and Android devices – New Yorkers can get
information about emergency events and important
city services, based on their location. It also offers
real-time emergency updates on events from hurricanes
and blizzards to major traffic and mass transit
disruptions, public health hazards, school closings
and unscheduled parking rule suspensions.
The Notify NYC app is the latest upgrade to the Notify
NYC program – the city’s free, official source for
information about emergency events and important
city services.
—Meaghan McGoldrick
Grimm announces run for old seat
BY MEAGHAN MCGOLDRICK
MMCGOLDRICK@
BROOKLYNREPORTER.COM
He’s back.
Former Republican
Cong res smember
Michael Grimm, who pleaded
guilty to tax evasion and other
federal charges nearly three
years ago, has his sights set on
his old seat.
Grimm – who got considerably
less than the sentence
prescribed by federal sentencing
guidelines, 18 to 24 months
— was released seven months
into his eight-month sentence
in May of last year, under the
condition that he continue the
rest of it under house arrest.
U.S. District Judge Pamela
Chen – who sentenced Grimm
in July, 2015 – also served the expol
a year’s probation and 200
hours of community service.
Before his guilty plea the
December prior, Grimm — who
represented Staten Island and
portions of Brooklyn from
2011 until early January, 2015,
and had just won reelection to
a third term — faced a 20-count
federal indictment, including
multiple counts of mail fraud,
wire fraud, perjury, one count
of conspiring to defraud the
United States, one count of impeding
the Internal Revenue
Service, one count of health
care fraud, one count of engaging
in a pattern or practice
of hiring and continuing to
employ unauthorized aliens,
and one count of obstructing
an official proceeding.
All the charges arose out of a
business Grimm owned before
being elected to Congress called
Healthalicious, a small fast food
eatery in Manhattan. He was
also charged with under-reporting
income at the restaurant
by over $1 million, and paying
employees hundreds of thousands
of dollars in wages “off
the books.”
Grimm’s lawyers had asked
the court to go easy on him,
and spare him jail time; prosecutors,
on the other hand, had
requested a 30-month sentence.
At his sentencing, the former
elected apologized for his
transgression, saying that he
Former Congressmember Michael Grimm leaving
court after a hearing
had, “made bad decisions that
I’ll regret for the rest of my life.”
Grimm echoed those sentiments
on Sunday, October 1
while officially announcing his
run to a crowd of supporters in
New Dorp, Staten Island.
“I believe that I will not be
judged by my transgressions but
how I rebound in spite of them,”
he said. “I have a lot to offer and
I know that my leadership is
still sorely needed right here in
Staten Island, in Brooklyn and in
Washington where the swamp
still needs to be drained."
Of his resume, the former pol
told a parking lot full of friends,
family and former constituents
that, "Together, we moved mountains.
We defied all the odds. We
went to Washington in 2011 and
we literally turned it upside
down. Business as usual wasn’t
happening on our watch.”
Nor will it, if he returns,
Grimm pledged, crediting his
supporters — and the grace of
God — for his second coming.
“I almost lost my faith completely,”
he admitted. “I was
angry. I kept asking God, ‘How
could this happen to me after
almost 20 years of service
BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP/file photo
– most of which was in harm’s
way?’ And though I’m sure I’ll
never know the full answer, I
do know that I’m a better, stronger
well-rounded human being
for having survived it all.”
Grimm began serving his
sentence in September of last
year. The seat he left vacant was
filled by current Congressmember
Dan Donovan, who was
elected to serve the 11th C.D. in
a May, 2015 special election.
Grimm will face off against
Donovan – who, the hopeful
said Sunday “doesn’t get up
to bat” but instead “rides the
bench” – in what is sure to be a
heated primary election for the
Republican nod in 2018.
"My opponent's a nice guy,
right? A bit of a sweetheart.
But let me tell you something:
He's never going to get anything
done, not ever," Grimm said.
"And in Washington, nice guys
finish last.
“The truth is, he only became
your congressman because it
fell in his lap.”
As of publication time,
Donovan's campaign had not
responded to a request for
comment.
SPECIAL PULLOUT: NEW YORK CONSTITUTION
This week’s issue features a 12-page special advertorial supplement
on the upcoming New York State Constitutional Convention referendum.
It was produced and paid for by EffectiveNY, a nonprofit organization
seeking passage of the referendum, which is on the November 7 general
election ballot.
The supplement does include a reprint of The Home Reporter’s
editorial endorsement of the Constitutional Convention that was
published on September 22. However, it should be noted that the
contents of the advertorial contain opinions that may not necessarily be
those of this publication or its staff.