A federal grand jury is meeting this week as part of an on-going investigation into the behavior of the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office under the former prosecutor Charles Hynes. Investigators have been looking into allegations that Hynes used money forfeited by criminals in inappropriately, and other misdeeds by the DA’s office. During the investigation Hynes suffered a “serious and incapacitating stroke,” said is lawyer’s office. Hynes is 81, and was the Brooklyn DA for 23 years. He was unseated when he lost his bid for re-election in 2013 to Ken Thompson. The Department of Investigation did find that Judge Barry Kamins gave Hynes campaign advice in addition to speaking with him on cases improperly. The DOI also found that Hynes used forfeiture funds to pay a political consultant, Mortimer Matz. Robert Hill Schwartz, Hynes’ lawyer, recently had open heart surgery and was unavailable for...
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In early May the former chief of staff at 21st Century Fox and News Corp Natalie Ravitz, was hired by the National Football League to be their senior vice president of communications. Ravitz will be working with Joe Lockhart, another new hire for the NFL, who began there in January. This new team of PR experts has great experience in the world of political communications. Lockhart was President Bill Clinton’s press secretary from October 1998 until September 2000. He also worked for Walter Mondale, Paul Simon, and Michael Dukakis. Ravitz earned her stripes working for Rupert Murdoch as his chief of staff; as press secretary and speech writer for Senator Barbara Boxer of California; and communications director for the New York City Department of Education under then Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Considering the experience Ravitz and Lockhart share between them, the NFL should be well-positioned for any developments which might arise during the coming months and years. Ravitz will oversee the league’s communications and media strategy from NFL headquarters in New York...
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The largest park in Brooklyn is ready and waiting for visitors to experience the natural world in the midst of the crazy turbulence of living in Brooklyn. The Salt Marsh is 530 acres of grassland and marsh. It is home to countless birds and animals, including egrets, geese, sandpipers, marsh hawks, cottontail rabbits, and horseshoe crabs. Located at 3301 Avenue U, not far from Flatbush Avenue, the Salt Marsh has five miles of shoreline and a well-marked nature walk that loops back over its 1-mile length, and is mostly flat. Open from dawn to dusk, be aware that the path is dirt and gravel, and not shaded. In the summer be sure to bring lots of insect repellent and sunscreen. There is a wonderful nature center which is open from April 1 to October 31 on weekends from noon until 4pm. Kids can learn a lot about nature there, and so can adults. There are many demonstrations, lectures and events which are quite worthwhile. After your visit to the nature reserve, go visit the recreational park right on the other side of Avenue U. Marine Park is a 268-acre recreational park with baseball fields, tennis courts and bike paths with bike rentals available. For more information, go to the park’s...
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At an expected cost of 2.5 billion, the newly proposed Brooklyn-Queens streetcar plan is the most ambitious to date urban engineering project of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration. The line, which was announced in the mayor’s State of the City speech last week, will travel along the East River waterfront for 16 scenic miles. It will be part of the roads already in use, and will flow along with the regular automobile traffic. The location is key: the area which will be served by the streetcar is undergoing rapid development, and it is relatively far from traditional subway lines. The price tag is another selling point, as it is substantially lower than building a new underground subway line. There will be some bumps along the way to a functioning streetcar system, as Alicia Glen, deputy mayor for housing and economic development acknowledged that there are “some significant engineering challenges when you are putting a modern system like this in a very old city.†“The old transportation system was a hub-and-spoke approach, where people went into Manhattan for work and came back out” Ms. Glen said. “This is about mapping transit to the future of New...
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Four Muslim men from Brighton Beach have filed a $9 million lawsuit against American Airlines, saying then were wrongfully kicked off a flight from Toronto to New York. The four were among a group of six friends who traveled together to Toronto in December. Two of the friends, Shan Anand and Faimul Alam, claim they paid an additional $75 to change their flight so that the six could all come home together on the same American Airlines flight. The plaintiffs stated in the court documents that were filed on Monday in Brooklyn federal court, that a flight attendant removed them from the plane because the captain said he felt uncomfortable by their appearance. The four men stated that they “incurred great emotional and psychological harm from the discrimination and mistreatment” they...
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