Day: January 3, 2025

DOCTORS ON STAFF AT THE CITY’S PUBLIC HOSPITALS, including one in Coney Island, have been asked to return

The post Mayor Adams intervenes in doctors’ plan to strike at city hospitals appeared first on Brooklyn Eagle.

The stranger approached the woman around 2:15 a.m. at the intersection of Herkimer Street and Saratoga Avenue in Ocean Hill and punched her multiple times in the face, cops said. 

The co-creator of the infamous Bed-Stuy Aquarium was sentenced to prison for attempted murder on Friday. 

Bed-Stuy resident Hajj Lovick, 48, was convicted after trial last month for shooting a man in the leg outside a Bed-Stuy bar in the summer of 2023. On Jan. 3, he was sentenced in Brooklyn Supreme Court to 12 years in prison and five years of probation for attempted murder, attempted assault, assault, reckless endangerment, criminal possession of a weapon, and criminal possession of a firearm. 

 According to the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office, Lovick and the victim, a 51-year-old man, entered a heated verbal argument outside Lover’s Rock bar on Tompkins Avenue shortly before 2 a.m. on June 15, 2023. During the squabble, Lovick pulled out a knife and lunged toward the unarmed victim as if to stab him.

Eventually, the two men cooled off, and Lovick went into a building near the bar – then returned to the street with a gun and fired twice toward the victim and a crowd of bystanders, striking the 51-year-old man once in the shin. The entire altercation was captured on surveillance video, according to the DA.

Lovick fled the scene, but left his knife, which was later recovered by police, at the scene. The victim was taken to NYC Health+Hospitals/Kings County, where he was treated and released.

Police arrested Lovick on June 19, 2023. He was released on bail sometime after July 24, 2023, court records show.

Last summer, about a year after the shooting, Lovick and a few of his neighbors started the “Bed-Stuy Aquarium,” a makeshift goldfish “pond” in a sidewalk pit beside a leaky fire hydrant near the corner of Hancock Street and Tompkins Avenue — steps from Lover’s Rock bar, where the shooting occurred.

The Aquarium proved controversial — many locals loved it and felt it brought the community together. Others said that keeping fish in a few inches of unfiltered, unheated water was akin to animal abuse. In October, the FDNY inspected the hydrant and fixed the leak, cutting off water to the fish. A few days later, the pond was paved over — but Lovick and his collaborators quickly pivoted and re-installed a makeshift tank in the same tree pit. Lovick documented the process on his TikTok account. 

“They said we would never make it, we’d never make it, we’d never be able to keep doing it,” Lovick said in a Dec. 12 video. “Bed-Stuy Aquarium. Can’t stop, won’t stop. Here forever. Every morning I’m going to make sure I come out and take care of these fish.” 

In court, Lovick and his attorney asked the court for leniency in sentencing and cited the Bed-Stuy Aquarium among Lovick’s ties to the community, according to the New York Post, but the judge and an assistant district attorney were not impressed. 

“Today’s sentence sends a clear message that senseless acts of gun violence have no place in Brooklyn,” said Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez, in a statement. “The defendant’s decision to open fire over a petty argument not only caused serious harm to the victim but endangered innocent lives in our community. This brazen disregard for safety is unacceptable.”

The Aquarium was closed and the fish relocated in late December due to freezing temperatures. On Dec. 25, the Bed-Stuy Aquarium said on Instagram that it had convened a “working group” with city agencies and elected officials to come up with a plan to create an “upgraded, temporary aquarium,” and hoped to start working toward a permanent aquarium this month. According to the Bed-Stuy Aquarium FAQ, the project has at least three backers aside from Lovick. 

Louisiana Rep. Mike Johnson was re-elected to the House speakership on Friday afternoon after the first round of ballots, as thousands watched

The post Johnson re-elected as House speaker, edging out Jeffries appeared first on Brooklyn Eagle.

POLICE HAVE CHARGED a Brooklyn man, Kamel Hawkins, 23, with attempted murder and assault for pushing a 45-year-old man.

The post Brooklyn man charged with attempted murder for pushing man onto tracks appeared first on Brooklyn Eagle.

NYC MAYORAL CANDIDATE JIM WALDEN on Friday received the endorsement of 58 former top federal and local prosecutors

The post Mayoral candidate Walden receives endorsement from 58 former top prosecutors appeared first on Brooklyn Eagle.

After two months of work and increased precipitation, Mayor Eric Adams and New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner Rohit T. Aggarwal announced that New York City is no longer on a drought watch.

The drought watch was first issued on Nov. 2 during the driest weather spell in the city’s recorded history, and was eventually elevated to a drought warning on Nov. 18 when the lack of precipitation led to unprecedented challenges, including several wildfires in the city and the watershed. DEP implemented measures to safeguard the city’s water supply, including delaying the Delaware Aqueduct repair project and urging New Yorkers to conserve water.

Rainfall data saw that November and December saw 20% above average precipitation levels in the watershed, which, coupled with melting snowpack, significantly boosted reservoir levels in the Catskills and the Hudson Valley. By Dec. 16, the drought warning was dropped back down to a drought watch.

“Thanks to everyday New Yorkers stepping up to conserve water, and above-average precipitation over the last two months, we are now able to safely lift the drought warning for our city,” said Mayor Adams. “Again, our city has shown its resiliency and ability to come together during difficult times. By working together and heeding officials’ advice, we were able to avoid a much more serious drought emergency. The work of New Yorkers in conserving water these past two months has paid off, and now we can end this historic drought.”

“The lifting of the drought watch underscores the critical role of DEP’s strategic planning and adaptive management of New York City’s critical water resources,” said Commissioner Aggarwala. “I’m grateful to our fellow city agencies for their partnership and to all New Yorkers for their conservation efforts, which helped us save water. Let’s continue to use water wisely to ensure the resilience and reliability of the city’s water supply system.”

DEP manages the country’s largest municipal water supply system, and reaffirmed its commitment to delivering high-quality drinking water to nearly 10 million residents, including 8.3 million in New York City. By pausing the Delaware Aqueduct repair project and reopening the water tunnel, DEP was able to optimize water flow to the city while also protecting the long-term health of the water supply. DEP is optimistic that the repairs will resume later this fall.

New York City’s average daily water demand decreased 35% over the past several decades, even though the population of the city has grown by more than one million people. At its peak in 1979, the city was using an average of 1.5 billion gallons of water a day, but now, thanks to improved management strategies, 1.1 billion gallons a day on average, and under 1 billion gallons during the winter months.

“Recent precipitation and the vigilance of New Yorkers who heeded calls to conserve water resources have alleviated dry conditions across the state,” said New York state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Interim Commissioner Sean Mahar. “Under Governor Hochul’s leadership, DEC experts will continue to monitor conditions and work with New York City officials and localities across the state to identify any necessary steps and actions needed to help prevent additional shortages.”