The Ocean Avenue News - oceanavenuenews.comMedicaid enrollees between ages 19 to 64 must prove that they are working, going to school, volunteering or participating in job-training.
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NYC HEALTH + HOSPITALS/KINGS COUNTY has been designated a Center of Excellence in Surgical Safety: Enhanced Recovery After Surgery.
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MOUNT SINAI WILL PRESENT a livestreamed conference examining the lasting effects of 9/11 the week before the 25th anniversary of the attacks.
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Talk about making connections.
A former Guinness World Records holder and his team raced across all 25 NYC Ferry stops earlier this month, using Brooklyn’s busy waterfront network — from the Brooklyn Army Terminal to North Brooklyn landings — as a key part of a record-breaking trip through New York Harbor.
Ayush Maini, along with his friend Val He and his uncle Andy Chen, completed a journey through all 25 NYC Ferry stops on Aug. 4 in 6:53:35 — beating the current Guinness World Records mark by five minutes and 45 seconds.
Brooklyn plays a major role in the city’s ferry system, with landings serving neighborhoods including Sunset Park, Red Hook, DUMBO, Williamsburg and Greenpoint. The borough’s stops connect residents to Manhattan, Queens, Staten Island and Governors Island, and have become an increasingly popular transportation option as NYC Ferry expands service.
The trio began at Yankee Pier on Governor’s Island at 9:33 a.m. and made their way through all five boroughs before reaching the Rockaway landing. Their route involves seven ferry trips, several miles of running and carefully timed transfers, with some connections requiring the team to sprint between stops.
The attempt has been submitted to Guinness World Records for formal review and certification.
For Maini, the journey was a return to familiar territory. In 2023, he and fellow high school seniors Eva Salzman and Olivia Thomas set the then-record for visiting every NYC Ferry stop, completing the challenge in 7 hours, 19 minutes and 9 seconds. Guinness certified their record in January 2024.
This time, however, Maini was working with a substantially different ferry network. NYC Ferry underwent its first systemwide route reconfiguration since launching in 2017 in December 2025, changing several major routes and connections.
The record attempt also came during a particularly busy period for the ferry system. NYC Ferry recorded a single-day high of 53,375 boardings on June 20 and surpassed 260,000 boardings during its busiest week. The system is also running its largest summer service schedule yet in 2026, with additional trips and vessels through Sept. 13.
Maini completed the challenge with a sprained ankle suffered during another Guinness attempt the week before. Chen, 56, tackled the running portions while dealing with gout.
“Having made several stressful and unsuccessful attempts at the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) world record just days before, all of which were thwarted by delays and missed connections, the consistency and reliability of NYC Ferry stood in stark contrast,” Maini said.
“Only NYC Ferry could make achieving a world record feel so comfortable and relaxing between our sprints. But turning the corner around the Brooklyn Army Terminal and spotting our final boat brought us jubilation not seen since the Knicks came back from down 29,” he continued.
Chen took a considerably simpler approach to the accomplishment.
“I’m just happy to be with my nephew and his friend, and that my kneecaps are still connected,” he said.
For He, who is an upcoming high school graduate, the journey allowed him to meet fellow New Yorkers and hear their stories while collecting signatures from witnesses along the route.
“I think riding the ferry and having that environment where you have to introduce yourself, make a connection, and ask for a signature while the wind blasts in everyone’s faces allowed me to talk just a little louder than usual and mean what I say,” He said. “I’ve noticed my peers often feeling overwhelmed, distracted or even paralyzed by what’s going on with the world. It’s important to take a break sometimes — hop on a ferry with a friend, and have a genuine conversation.”
He said one encounter particularly stuck with him. A man named Mike agreed to serve as a witness before sharing stories from his own life and advice about listening to others and approaching problems from unexpected directions.
“I met this one man, Mike, and, after he agreed to sign as a witness, he walked me through his life, where he was going now — on the way to visit a client as a hairstylist, which is just wow, dedication. I really respect that. He gave me advice that he was given years ago, to listen to others, to be counterintuitive at times and that love is what we have.”
The ferry challenge is part of Maini’s broader effort to use transit-related record attempts to highlight public transportation and the connections it creates across cities.
The team is awaiting Guinness World Records’ review of the Aug. 4 trek. Maini, meanwhile, doesn’t appear to be slowing down: he also recently attempted the MARTA world record in Atlanta, continuing a series of transit challenges planned for later this month.
Advocates urged New Yorkers to support faster construction of street safety projects after two cyclists — one in Brooklyn and one in the Bronx — were killed on Tuesday.
Paulina Tec Choc, a 29-year-old Queens resident, was killed in a hit-and-run in Cypress Hills early on the morning of Tuesday, Aug. 18. Police said she was stopped on her e-bike at the intersection of Jamaica Avenue and Cypress Hills Street at 5:48 a.m. when the driver, who was headed west on Jamaica Avenue, struck her from behind.
Tec Choc was thrown to the pavement. The driver did not stop, and ran her over before leaving the scene, police said. There is a red light at the intersection, though it was not immediately clear who had the signal at the time of the crash.
Officers found Tec Choc with severe trauma to her head and body. She was rushed to Brookdale University Hospital Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead.
Police have yet to identify the driver, who was in a white 2006 Ford F-250, and said an investigation is ongoing.
Tec Choc worked at a nearby Sonic drive-in and regularly rode her bike to work, according to Streetsblog, and her e-bike was street-legal, with a top speed of 25 miles per hour.
She was the 15th cyclist and the 10th e-bike rider to die in New York City this year, So far this year, crashes involving both regular bikes and e-bikes have increased, according to NYPD data, as have fatalities.
The intersection where Tec Choc was killed is particularly dangerous. Jamaica Avenue, Cypress Hills Street and Euclid Avenue converge at the busy juncture, and though there is a dedicated bike lane on Cypress Hills Street, there are no protections on the adjoining avenues or in the intersection. In the last five years, there have been at least 13 crashes resulting in more than a dozen injuries. In May, 42-year-old e-scooter rider Juan Quishpe died at the same intersection when he collided with a concrete barrier and was thrown to the ground.
“I’m devastated to hear that another family is experiencing the very worst day of their lives,” said Fabiola Mendieta-Cuapio, co-chair of Families for Safe Streets New York, in a statement. “My heart is with her family, friends, neighbors and community. No one should know this pain.”
Hours after Tec Choc’s death, an allegedly speeding driver caused a chain-reaction crash that killed 51-year-old Angelo Camero, a father who was reportedly on his way home from work.
More than 3,000 people have been killed by traffic violence since the city implemented Vision Zero in 2014, according to Transportation Alternatives. The group is urging New Yorkers to vote in favor of a ballot measure that will speed the timeline of safe streets projects to reduce construction timelines, and is planning a vigil to remember Tec Choc and Camero and support the ballot proposal on Aug. 29.
“Yesterday, drivers killed two New Yorkers just for daring to bike to or from work. We refuse to look the other way while our neighbors, friends, and family members are killed on dangerous streets,” said TA executive director Ben Furnas. “A vote for Ballot Question Three is a vote for safety over red tape. We need to finally deliver street safety infrastructure before a New Yorker is killed, not after.”
Лидер демократов в Сенате Чак Шумер назвал возможное присутствие федеральных наблюдателей попыткой «подорвать выборы». Однако его собственная партия создала программу наблюдения за выборами 2026 года. Где заканчивается контроль и начинается политическое вмешательство?
Сенатор от Нью-Йорка и лидер демократического меньшинства Чак Шумер заявил, что администрация президента Дональда Трампа якобы намерена использовать Министерство юстиции США для вмешательства в промежуточные выборы 2026 года.
В публикации на официальной странице в Facebook Шумер написал, что DOJ проиграл 23 судебных спора, связанных с попытками получить данные избирателей, а теперь якобы планирует направить на выборы 1,000 «наблюдателей». По его словам, речь идет не о защите выборов, а об их «подрыве» и изменении воли избирателей.
Однако заявление сенатора поднимает очевидный вопрос: почему присутствие наблюдателей от одной стороны объявляется угрозой демократии, если сам Шумер организует собственную программу наблюдателей?
25 июня 2026 года Шумер и сенатор Алекс Падилья объявили о создании первой в истории Сената программы Election Observer Program. Согласно официальному сообщению сенатских демократов, специально обученные сотрудники Сената будут направлены наблюдать за голосованием, подсчетом голосов и сертификацией результатов промежуточных выборов.
Организаторы утверждают, что эти наблюдатели не будут агитировать, прикасаться к бюллетеням, вмешиваться в работу избирательных комиссий или влиять на результат. Их задачей заявлены документирование возможного давления на избирателей, угроз работникам участков и других нарушений.
Иными словами, Шумер не выступает против наблюдения как принципа. Он выступает против наблюдателей, которых может направить администрация политического оппонента, одновременно называя наблюдателей своей стороны инструментом прозрачности.
Федеральное наблюдение за выборами не является изобретением администрации Трампа. Оно предусмотрено американским законодательством и применялось задолго до выборов 2026 года.
Разделы федерального избирательного законодательства, опубликованные Civil Rights Division Министерства юстиции, предусматривают участие федеральных наблюдателей в определенных юрисдикциях в рамках Voting Rights Act. Исторически их направляли для контроля за соблюдением избирательных прав и предотвращения дискриминации.
В официальных судебных документах DOJ также указывается, что федеральные наблюдатели могут собирать информацию и наблюдать за различными аспектами голосования там, где такое присутствие разрешено законом или судебным постановлением. Например, это прямо закреплено в соглашении по делу о выборах в городе Потакет, Род-Айленд.
Следовательно, само присутствие федерального наблюдателя еще не доказывает попытку «захватить» выборы. Юридически важны его полномочия, основания направления, действия на участке и соблюдение границ между наблюдением и вмешательством.
Цифра 1,000 содержится в публичных заявлениях Шумера в Facebook и X. Однако на момент подготовки материала RussNY.com не обнаружил в доступных официальных публикациях Министерства юстиции документа, содержащего полный список юрисдикций, правовое основание направления и подтвержденную численность в 1,000 сотрудников.
Поэтому корректно говорить, что Шумер утверждает о таком плане. Представлять число 1,000 как независимо подтвержденный DOJ факт без соответствующего документа пока преждевременно.
То же относится к формулировке «0–23». Сенатор приводит обобщенный счет судебных разбирательств, но в своем коротком сообщении не дает перечня всех 23 дел, номеров производств и решений судов. Без такого списка невозможно проверить, одинаковые ли требования рассматривались в каждом деле и действительно ли каждое решение можно считать окончательным поражением DOJ.
Между законным наблюдением и незаконным давлением существует принципиальная разница.
Наблюдатель может фиксировать происходящее и сообщать о возможных нарушениях в пределах предоставленных законом полномочий. Он не должен агитировать, препятствовать выдаче бюллетеней, допрашивать избирателей без законных оснований или создавать атмосферу угрозы.
Если представители федеральных органов превысят полномочия, такие действия должны оспариваться в суде на основании конкретных фактов. Но объявлять любое наблюдение «подрывом выборов» еще до представления доказательств — политическая риторика, а не юридический вывод.
Дискуссия проходит на фоне вопросов к процедурам регистрации и идентификации избирателей в разных штатах. Например, проверка системы voter vouching в Миннесоте показала, что закон штата разрешает одному зарегистрированному избирателю подтвердить место проживания до восьми новых избирателей при регистрации в день выборов. Поручительство не подтверждает гражданство, а обязательное предъявление photo ID применяется не во всех ситуациях.
Само существование такой процедуры не доказывает массовую фальсификацию. Но оно показывает, почему обществу необходимы прозрачность, проверяемые правила и законное независимое наблюдение — независимо от того, какая партия контролирует Белый дом.
Шумер имеет право требовать, чтобы администрация Трампа не использовала федеральные органы для давления на избирателей или местные комиссии. Но его аргумент становится менее убедительным, когда наблюдатели DOJ заранее объявляются угрозой, а наблюдатели, организованные демократами, — защитниками демократии.
Единый стандарт должен быть простым: законные наблюдатели допустимы, партийное вмешательство недопустимо, а каждый законный голос должен быть учтен только один раз.
Если выборы действительно безопасны и прозрачны, профессиональное наблюдение не должно их разрушать. Оно должно подтверждать обществу, что правила соблюдались.
GOV. HOCHUL AND the New York State Department of Financial Services warned Holocaust survivors and their families about a fraud scheme.
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POLICE ARE ASKING the public’s assistance in finding Santos Flores, 65, who was last seen leaving his residence on Avenue V in Gravesend.
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Mayor Zohran Mamdani is allocating a large chunk of an $8.4 million small-business grant package toward strengthening merchant groups and business improvement districts, and, in some neighborhoods, laying the groundwork for new merchant organizations along New York City’s commercial corridors.
The grants announced Monday by Mamdani and the Department of Small Business Services will also pay for street cleaning, lighting, public art, wayfinding, marketing and other neighborhood improvements across the five boroughs.
City Hall estimates the funding will support community-based organizations serving more than 20,000 small businesses. Mamdani said the grants are meant to complement the administration’s push to reduce regulatory burdens by making commercial corridors more attractive to customers.
“Our administration knows it’s not enough to make it easier to open a small business, you have to make it easier to visit one too,” Mamdani said.
Brooklyn will receive the largest borough share, with about $2.77 million across 32 grants. The Bronx will receive $1.55 million, Manhattan about $1.53 million, Queens about $1.51 million and Staten Island $550,000. Another $500,000 will go to seven organizations providing services citywide.
A recipient-by-recipient breakdown provided by SBS shows some of the money going toward merchant organizing, while other awards are designated for BID development.
In Greenpoint, the Brooklyn Alliance, the economic development arm of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, will receive $100,000 for merchant organizing.
Randy Peers, co-chair of the Five Borough Jobs Campaign, said the Brooklyn Alliance will use the money to organize merchants in Greenpoint, which currently has neither a BID nor a merchant association.
Peers told amNewYork that grants such as these can benefit entire commercial strips because relatively small awards can fund improvements or organizing that reaches many businesses rather than one storefront at a time.
Other grants announced Monday are aimed at physical improvements. Hometown Security Laboratories will receive $100,000 for lighting in Hunts Point, Northwest Bronx Community & Clergy Coalition will receive $100,000 for lighting in Kingsbridge Heights and The W.O.W. Project will receive $100,000 for lighting in Chinatown.
Public-realm and neighborhood-navigation grants will also support projects in West Harlem, Downtown Jamaica, Red Hook and around Chinatown and the Civic Center.
The largest individual award is $426,359 to Union Settlement for work in East Harlem. Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn Partnership in Fort Greene and Red Hook Business Alliance will each receive $200,000, while La Colmena and West Brighton Community Local Development Corporation will each receive $150,000.
Seven organizations will split $500,000 in citywide organizational-development grants, including Art on the Ave, Center for Urban Pedagogy, Coro Leadership Center and Project for Public Spaces.
Peers said merchant organizations can provide infrastructure that lasts beyond the immediate grant period. Pointing to the COVID-19 pandemic, he said corridors that fared best were those that already had a BID or merchant association on the ground.
The grants are the latest piece of Mamdani’s broader small-business agenda.
Last month, the mayor announced “OPEN for Small Business,” a package of more than 50 regulatory reforms aimed at reducing paperwork and bureaucratic burdens. The Five Borough Jobs Campaign welcomed the package but said it would continue pushing toward a goal Mamdani embraced during his campaign: cutting small-business fines and fees by 50%.
Peers said Monday that the administration was “off to a really good start” and called its regulatory reform effort “a very good first step,” while saying businesses still need an affordability agenda of their own.
He pointed to rising labor, utility, rent and insurance costs, saying nearly every major cost category facing small businesses has increased over the past five years.
Brooklyn’s share of the funding was celebrated Friday in Bay Ridge, where Department of Small Business Services Commissioner Minerva Minaya joined Council Member Kayla Santosuosso, Assembly Member Alec Brook-Krasny, state Sen. Andrew Gounardes, the Merchants of Third Avenue, Peers and representatives from several Brooklyn BIDs before taking part in the neighborhood’s Summer Stroll.
The awards will give the borough’s existing business groups additional resources while also helping neighborhoods build new ones.
In Bay Ridge, the Merchants of Third Avenue will receive $100,000 for merchant organizing, while the 86th Street Bay Ridge BID and Bay Ridge Fifth Avenue BID will receive $50,000 and $75,000, respectively.
Danielle Jabour, a realtor with Jabour Realty and secretary of the Merchants of Third Avenue, said the grant will have an immediate impact on the volunteer-run organization, which she described as a longtime fixture of the Bay Ridge community.
“I have been working full-time in our family-owned business for over 21 years, so Third Avenue isn’t just where I work, it’s a community I’ve been a part of my whole life,” Jabour said. “On behalf of the Merchants of Third Avenue, I want to thank the New York City Department of Small Business Services for this incredible grant.”
Jabour said the approximately 40-block commercial corridor has long been “the heartbeat” of Bay Ridge, but the merchants group operates on a limited budget funded through member dues, fundraising and community events.
“Because our resources are lean, this generous funding from SBS will have immediate and powerful impact,” she said.
The grant will help the Merchants of Third Avenue continue putting on events including the Summer Stroll, Third Avenue Festival, Runway of Hope breast cancer awareness event, Taste of Third Avenue food festival and annual holiday lights along the avenue, Jabour said.
Elsewhere in Brooklyn, grants will support business groups in neighborhoods ranging from Coney Island and Brighton Beach to Bed-Stuy, Flatbush, East New York and Williamsburg.
The funding also includes $200,000 awards for the Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn Partnership and Red Hook Business Alliance, as well as money for BID development in Gowanus, Flatbush and Williamsburg.
The Friday event offered a chance for city officials and local business leaders to highlight the investments at the neighborhood level, where the grants are intended to translate into cleaner, better-lit and more inviting commercial corridors — and stronger networks among the businesses that line them.
A version of this story first appeared on Brooklyn Paper’s sister site AMNY