388 Bridge Street Makes Quite an Impact In Downtown Brooklyn's Skyline

Photo: MK Metz, McBrooklyn

The new tallest building in Downtown Brooklyn, 388 Bridge Street, certainly makes itself known in Downtown Brooklyn.

Here you can see the impact it makes on the skyline, as seen from Joralemon and Court Streets near Brooklyn Borough Hall.

Two questions:
1.Where are the children who eventually live here going to go to school?
2. Where are the people who get sick here going to get emergency treatment if LICH closes? (Brooklyn Hospital? Really?)

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Justice Demarest to Stay On Top of Othmer Endowment in SUNY - LICH Deal

In one, elegant move, state Supreme Court Justice Carolyn Demarest changed the game concerning the recently-negotiated SUNY - LICH agreement.

The agreement, devised under Justice Johnny Lee Baynes,  will allow a real, honest RFP to be offered for Long Island College Hospital (LICH) . . . but Justice Demarest had to sign it first.

Sources told the Brooklyn Eagle that before signing the LICH – SUNY settlement papers on Monday, Justice Demarest made some handwritten changes to the agreement.

The most important change, the sources said, makes clear that Judge Demarest retains jurisdiction over the trust-related issues -- so that SUNY must go back to her to complete any transaction.

This includes the quickly disappearing $140 million Othmer Endowment, which LICH supporters had despaired would be totally lost when they had to agree to drop all charges against SUNY in return for an honest RFP.

This important insertion by Justice Demarest is another layer of oversight to that provided already by Justice Baynes, who said in court that he was going to make sure everyone was treated with the respect they deserved.

Brooklyn is very fortunate to be served by Justice Baynes and Justice Demarest! 

LICH – SUNY deal OK'd with Addition: Brooklyn judge retains jurisdiction over Othmer Endowment [Brooklyn Eagle]


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Greenpoint Slumlord; Brooklyn Law School Sells Properties; and More Brooklyn Briefs

Just walked past a dead body lol #Bushwick
— R.P. (@ChitlinsAdobo) February 24, 2014

- Alleged Greenpoint slumlord attacks angry residents: videos. [Gothamist]

- Man killed by garbage truck in Crown Hts. ID'd as 25-year-old Ukranian man in town to celebrate his friend’s wedding. [Daily News]

- Brooklyn Law School sells six Brooklyn Heights properties for $36.5 million to Kushner Cos. [Brooklyn Eagle]

- Today at 2 pm, the City Council will hold a hearing on the question: "What changes in the City Council's Rules can make a more responsive, transparent, and effective legislature?" Make your suggestions here.

- Despite rookie missteps, Mayor de Blasio's "big policy issues are what matter to New Yorkers." [WSJ] 

- A hearing on the train chaos at the Super Bowl was postponed after the departing head of NJ Transit said he would not attend. [CBS]

- Evil calculations: Should Cuomo have killed the Working Families Party? [City & State]

- Think it's bad here? Packs of Chihuahuas have taken over the streets of a town in Arizona. [Gawker]

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New, Honest LICH Bidding Could Start This Week, If Justice Demarest Approves

Long Island College Hospital (LICH). Photo: MK Metz

A deal brokered between SUNY and the Long Island College Hospital (LICH) coalition could lead to a new, honest round of bidding for LICH as soon as Thursday, according to the Brooklyn Eagle.

State Supreme Court Justice Johnny Lee Baynes has already approved the agreement. On Monday other parties must sign off on the deal -- most notably, state Supreme Court Justice Carolyn Demarest.

It was Justice Demarest who approved the takeover of LICH by SUNY Downstate in 2011, and it was Justice Demarest who expressed remorse with her approval when she saw what a mess SUNY Downstate made of LICH.

No doubt she is thinking long and hard about a deal that will absolve SUNY of its LICH crimes -- at least the ones we know about.

The agreement has many details, but its major point is: SUNY will issue a new Request for Proposals (RFP) with the stated objective of finding an operator who will operate LICH as a full-service hospital. Members of the community will sit at the evaluation table. (Community gets about 35% voice, all told.)

It doesn't guarantee a hospital. Rather, proposals that include a hospital will get a higher score by evaluators. It doesn't guarantee healthcare workers jobs either. Layoffs may start in April.

All the deal guarantees is an open process, designed with the input of the community, to sell LICH to someone who wants to operate a hospital. If no hospital bidder appears, then the bidder offering the most medical services will likely win.

Once the RFP is issued, any and all bidders will have 15 business days to submit a proposal. Evaluators will have seven business days to consider and rank the proposals.

Since at least one group already proposed a hospital, interested bidders best propose a full-service hospital if they want to be considered.

Many more details are listed here.


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SUNY - LICH Deal Is Reached, Details Hinted At But Not Yet Unveiled

Photo: MK Metz, McBrooklyn

A breakthrough agreement had been negotiated between SUNY and the Long Island College Hospital (LICH) community that will result in SUNY issuing a brand new Request for Proposals (RFP) to sell LICH.

LICH is the Cobble Hill hospital that SUNY Dowwnstate got ahold of under false circumstances in 2011, and then tried to flip to developers.

SUNY has been battling a coalition of community groups and unions for a year while trying to run their "rigged" (as electeds say) RFP.

Full details won't be revealed until tomorrow but leaks from the Mayor's Office have it that SUNY will be out of LICH by sometime in May, kneina hura.

Guess #1: The agreement calls for SUNY to do what any reputable organization would have done in the first place withoutt beeingg asked.

Guess #2: For finally doing sometthing honest (and even then only under threat of jail aand fines), the community will drop all the charges agaainst SUNY.

Stay tuned.

SUNY, LICH advocates reach historic hospital deal in Brooklyn

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UPDATE: SUNY and LICH Contempt Hearing Delayed in Brooklyn Thursday Morning

SaveLICH, by MK Metz

UPDATE: The Thursday morning hearing has been delayed. No word yet for how long. More to come. 
 ____________________

Wednesday night Long Island College Hospital (LICH) supporters -- nurses, community groups, doctors and health care workers-- declared their solidarity and  got ready for another day in court in Brooklyn for the second day of the contempt case against SUNY.

SUNY and DOH are charged with dozens of violations of orders requiring them to keep LICH open, issued by state Supreme Court Justice Johnny Lee Baynes.

Justice Baynes has asked to see all parties Thursday morning.

It's never possible to predict what will happen next in this most convoluted of court proceedings.

Possible outcomes range from a week-long hearing featuring damning testimony against SUNY and DOH officials . . . to a compromise that will allow their rigged RFP (Request for Proposals) to be rebid, this time with community involvement and transparency.

Will SUNY officials be punished for their crimes?

Stay tuned.

@SUNY @NYGovCuomo Tonight more than 90% of available patient beds at #SaveLICH are full! We have never been more #United & we R #Open4Care
— Susan B Shanahan (@SueShanny) February 20, 2014

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The Six-Hour Movie at BAM; John Street Condos in DUMBO; and More Brooklyn Briefs

Pier 6, Brooklyn Bridge Park. Photo: MK Metz, McBrooklyn

 - There's a six-hour movie playing at BAM that features Norman Mailer, reincarnation, Egypt, a river of shit running under Brooklyn Heights, and 25 tons of molten steel. [Gothamist]

- Brooklyn broker gets $20K fine for discriminating against tenants with kids. [NY Post]

- Tell Sen. Montgomery: Of all those affected by LICH's closure, the residents of Red Hook would end up in the worst situation. [I Quant NY]

- Prices revealed for the John Street condos in Brooklyn Bridge Park, and they're not cheap. [Brownstoner]

- Sanitation workers are on 12-hour shifts during winter's numerous snowstorms. [NY1]

- Has Bill de Blasio set up another fight with Albany? [Politicker]

- Tough guys: State senators are attacking Gov. Andrew Cuomo's proposal to fund more college classes in New York prisons.[Brooklyn Eagle]

Least plowed street in NYC has got to be the Windsor Terrace one that the former Brooklyn Borough Prez lives on. Was it ever plowed?
— Brooklyn Basics (@BrooklynBasics) February 19, 2014

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SUNY Contempt Hearing on Hold; Negotiations Were Close...

LICH: MK Metz, McBrooklyn

The LICH - SUNY - de Blasio - Fortis rumor machine switched into overdrive in Brooklyn on Tuesday as state Supreme Court Justice Johnny Lee Baynes, who must be sorry he ever heard of SUNY or LICH, agreed to a 2-day adjournment of SUNY's contempt hearing because the 1199SEIU union said Bill de Blasio was getting involved.

As reported by the Brooklyn Eagle, it appears the six community groups suing SUNY for trying to illegally close Long Island College Hospital (LICH) are pissed that the hearing didn't roll out today as scheduled. The hearing will continue on Thursday, it is said....

A source told the Eagle that Mayor de Blasio “was not pushing for a full-service hospital” -- something de Blasio spokesman Phil Walzak immediately denied.

LICH attorney Jim Walden told the Eagle, “It appears to me that someone is trying to instill panic that the negotiations are about to fail. In point of fact, they were within a whisper of succeeding . . ."

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Pre-K Town Hall in Brooklyn on Wednesday Night

Interested in Mayor Bill de Blasio's Universal pre-K plan?

On Wednesday, Feb. 19, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Brooklyn Borough Hall, New York Communities for Change is hosting a Brooklyn Town Hall to discuss the city's plan for pre-K and after-school programs.

More here.

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Bindlestiff Family Cirkus Cabaret Returns to Brooklyn

They're baaaaak.

The Bindlestiff Family Cirkus Cabaret is throwing its 20th Anniversary Show on March 13-16, with two versions of their renowned, twisted, cutting-edges showcase:

Adults: March 13-16 @ 8PM
$20 advance/$25 door
$10 discount for clowns in make-up (door only)

Family: March 15-16 @ 3PM
$12 each/ $40 for 4

Bindkestaff says:

Over 400 circus and variety arts stars have appeared in this show since its inception, featuring aerial performance, fire eating, funambulism, contortion, acrobatic balance, sword swallowing, juggling, physical comedy, sideshow stunts, oddball novelty turns and much more.

The Bindlestiff stage is one of the few arenas in the world where audiences may see internationally renowned street performers, featured acts from Cirque du Soleil and Ringling Brothers, artists made known by America's Got Talent, and local legends -- all on stage together in the same show.

Live music is a defining feature of Bindlestiff's Cabaret shows, with witty, original tunes by a variety of NYC's best composers and accompanists.

The evening shows are for adults only!

The audience is encouraged to participate in the glamour of the evening by dressing the part. Those in costume or circus makeup can ask for a discounted ticket at the door.

For tickets: brooklynlyceum.wazala.com
More information: 1-877-BINDLES // bindlestiff.org

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