Month: August 2024

New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a motion Tuesday to hold an anti-abortion group in contempt of court after one member of Red Rose Rescue was allegedly “accosting patients” outside of a Planned Parenthood in Manhattan and Brooklyn on four separate occasions.

The motion claims that Bernadette Patel, a member of the Michigan-based anti-abortion group, “blatantly defied” the preliminary injunction her office filed in Dec. 2023 that prohibited the group from coming within 15 feet of reproductive health care clinics within New York’s Southern and Eastern districts.

The injunction followed a June 8, 2023 lawsuit against members of Red Rose Rescue, accusing them of “invading reproductive health care clinics, threatening staff and clinicians, and terrorizing patients.”

“Red Rose Rescue will stop at nothing to interfere with anyone seeking or providing reproductive health care,” said Attorney General James. “If Red Rose Rescue and its members want to flagrantly disregard a court order, then they must also be prepared to face the consequences. Too many New Yorkers have suffered at the hands of this hateful group – it is time they be held accountable for their blatant disregard of our laws, our courts, and our bodily autonomy.”

James said she is now seeking sanctions of at least $500 per violation to deter Patel, Red Rose Rescue, and other members of the organization from continuing to violate the court-ordered buffer zone.

Patel told Brooklyn Paper Thursday that she was “saddened by the sloppy statement” from the AG’s office, which she said “is surely a misuse of her office’s resources, and a shallow attempt to win publicity and score political points.”

“Nor was I made aware of the lawsuit by the AG’s office, nor was I served any paperwork whatsoever by her office, ” said Patel. “I was never formally informed by her office of the guidelines she accuses me of violating.”

Patel also claimed that Red Rose Rescue has no “formal members” and that she was not named in the original lawsuit against Red Rose Rescue. However, Patel was mentioned in the June 8, 2023, lawsuit which identified her as one of the ten members of the organization who “invaded” Northland Family Planning in Southfield, Michigan on April 23, 2022.

Six of the groups members were ultimately found guilty of trespassing and other misdemeanors in a Michigan court on Feb 27, 2023. 

‘Everyone deserves the ability to access the care’

According to the AG’s Office, Patel first defied the court order just three weeks after the Dec. 2023 injunction was obtained.

It is claimed that on Jan. 6, 2024, Patel was photographed standing in front of Planned Parenthood in Manhattan, positioning herself in the middle of walkways “to accost and follow patients as they approached.”

On Jan. 13, Patel was again photographed within 15 feet of Planned Parenthood in Brooklyn, standing close to the clinic doorway. In both instances, Patel was seen wearing pink vest resembling the vests of Planned Parenthood clinic escorts.

The AG’s office said the use of the pink vest was “an effort to confuse patients who approached the clinic about her true intentions.”

The third instance allegedly occurred on Aug. 10 outside of Planned Parenthood in Brooklyn, with the AG’s office claiming Patel was photographed kneeling by the entrance to the building, “interfering with patients’ ability to enter” the facility.

Then on Aug. 15, it is alleged that Patel closely followed and crowded patients at the entrance to Planned Parenthood in Manhattan.

In a statement to Brooklyn Paper, Planned Parenthood of Greater New York applauded James for continuing to take a stand against protesters outside its health centers that “harass, threaten, and intimidate patients seeking health care.”

“Everyone deserves the ability to access the care they need without threat, violence, or fear,” said Dipal Shah, executive director and chief external affairs officer of Planned Parenthood of Greater New York Action Fund. “In holding Red Rose Rescue accountable for their disruption of care, the Attorney General is supporting New Yorkers’ right to access our facilities with dignity.”

JUST TWO WEEKENDS are left for water-lovers this summer — the city’s beaches will close for the season after next Sunday, Sept. 8.

The post ‘Pharma bro’ Shkreli ordered to hand over exclusive Wu-Tang recordings appeared first on Brooklyn Eagle.

The inimitable showman has 4 gigs at the Nets’ home on Sept. 6-7 and 9-10.

Police are searching for a big-mouth bigot who allegedly attacked a man after uttering at him a series of anti-Asian slurs in Brooklyn earlier this month.

According to law enforcement sources, on Friday, Aug. 2, at around 5:05 a.m., the suspect approached a 33-year-old male victim at the corner of Ocean and Foster Avenues in Flatbush, and blasted him with a verbal assault.

“Learn to speak English. Go to India, monkey face,” the suspect said.

After the word spew, the perp then punched the man in the head and arm, causing minor injuries, police sources said, adding that he refused medical attention.  

The suspect did not use any weapons in the attack and fled on foot southbound on Ocean Avenue to parts unknown before officers from the 70th Precinct arrived on the scene.

No arrests have been made so far, but police released surveillance photos of the suspect on Thursday. He is described as having a light complexion, medium build, brown eyes, brown hair, a beard and a tattoo on his right calf. He was last seen wearing a blue T-shirt, tan shorts, blue shoes, and a green book bag.

Police are investigating the incident as a possible hate crime.

Anyone with information regarding the incident can call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS (for Spanish, dial 888-57-PISTA). You can also submit tips online at crimestoppers.nypdonline.org, or on X (formerly Twitter) @NYPDTips. All calls and messages are kept confidential.

AN IRATE QUEENS woman is seeking payback from the city after being fined $600 over rats living in the roots of a city-owned tree near Maspeth

The post Beaches, pools close for the season next weekend appeared first on Brooklyn Eagle.

Well that stinks. The city sprayed “Christmas”-scented perfume around the Gowanus Canal — but it’ll take a lot more than holiday cheer to neutralize the stench seeping from the notorious polluted Brooklyn waterway. During the odorous operation, which began in February and ended last month, the city Department of Environmental Protection unleashed the Yuletide and…

With poverty on the rise in New York, it’s heartbreaking to me that many of us will be unable to experience all the culture and education.

The post Brooklynite says residents should have free access to the City’s cultural institutions appeared first on Brooklyn Eagle.