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News Briefs
Brown Memorial Rededication
Rev. Clinton M. Miller & the Brown Memorial Baptist Church Family are inviting the community to the church’s Sanctuary Rededication Services Prayer & Praise Service at 7 pm, Friday, February 3.
The rededication comes after several years of fundraising and construction to renovate the very old church building.
Additionally, the church’s sanctuary rededication and Baptismal Service is slated for 1 pm, Saturday, February 4.
The guest preacher is the Reverend Doctor David L. Kelly, III, of the Pastor Christ Fellowship Baptist Church.
All services will be held at Brown Memorial Baptist Church, 484 Washington Avenue. For more information call (718) 638-6121.
Murdoch snags another top education employeeCity Schools Chancellor Dennis M. Walcott announced this week that Department of Education Communications Director Natalie Ravitz is leaving to become Chief of Staff to Rupert Murdoch, the Chairman and CEO of News Corporation.
The move follows former Chancellor Joel Klein, who left over a year ago to work for Murdoch’s education initiative. Klein’s initial replacement Cathy Black, used to also work for Murdoch.
Murdoch currently owns Wireless Generation, which has millions of dollars of no-bid contracts with the Department of Education. Wireless Generation is also seeking contacts with the New York State Department of Education.
Murdoch’s other holdings include the New York Post, Fox News and the Community Newspaper Group, which has a chain of newspapers in select neighborhoods of Brooklyn.
“Natalie has been an integral part of my cabinet and close confidante since I took over as Chancellor, and I want to thank her for her sharp insight, strategic vision, and commitment to advancing our education agenda,” Chancellor Walcott said. “We will miss her, but wish her nothing but the best as she begins this exciting new journey.”
City hires more social services workersThe city’s Human Resources Administration (HRA) announced this week they will hire more than 200 additional workers to handle a spike in the number of poor flocking to its centers for benefits.
The announcement comes after Our Time Press broke the story about the long lines of people standing in front of the jobs center office on DeKalb Avenue in Bedford-Stuyvesant after the fire department closed it down for overcrowding.
The story was later picked up by several news outlets.
“The alleviation of crowding at our office is a high priority,” HRA Deputy Commissioner Patricia Smith testified at a City Council hearing.
About 1.8 million city residents now receive food stamps, up more than 700,000 from four years ago, according to published reports.
The agency also plans on adding 49 food stamp eligibility workers and 50 job opportunity specialists. It’s also expanded space in its waiting rooms.
The expansion comes as Governor Cuomo has still not rescinded a state waiver to the city allowing it to fingerprint all food stamp applicants.
The NHL comes to Brooklyn
The New York Islanders will play the first-ever National Hockey League game at the Barclays Center now under construction at the Atlantic/Flatbush Avenue intersection at 7:30, Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2012 when they take on the New Jersey Devils.
The preseason game will mark the first hockey event at Barclays Center, the new major sports and entertainment venue, which will officially open on September 28 with the first of multiple JAY-Z concerts.
The game will also mark the first NHL game to be played in Brooklyn.
“We’re extremely excited to play the first NHL game in the new, state-of-the-art Barclays Center,” Islanders General Manager Garth Snow said. “We already have some of the most passionate fans in the league supporting our young team, and we are looking forward to expanding our base into Brooklyn.”
The arena is also home to the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA) starting next season.
City gets Navy Yard for Supermarket
Nearly 25 years after the redevelopment of the six-acre Admirals Row site at the corner of Flushing Avenue and Navy Street was first proposed, the federal government has transferred the property to the City of New York, which will turn it over to the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation (BNYDC) for redevelopment.
As a result of the transfer, the area’s first major supermarket will be built, two of the historic but neglected buildings will be preserved and new space for industrial tenants will be developed.
BNYDC, which manages the Brooklyn Navy Yard on behalf of the City, will now issue a request for proposals (RFP) seeking a developer to create a 74,000-square-foot supermarket and 79,000 square-feet of additional neighborhood retail space, as well as 127,000 square feet of industrial space on Admirals Row.