Jay Maslow Takes on School’s Sex Scandals with His Rap

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Jay Maslow

Talk about taking things into your own hands.  A student at James Madison High School, which has been dubbed “Horndog High” for its terrible reputation with sex scandals, is exposing his fellow students and teachers. Sick of the behavior at his school, the “Ghost Rhymer” as he calls himself, is singing about sexual sins and demanding changes.

Jay Maslow has created the recent four minute rant and he’s put it on YouTube for all to enjoy. In it, he includes lyrics full of swearing about teachers who have been found with students and other scandals.

As he raps,

“Pretty normal, right? It’s like a porno site.”

While he keeps the names of the offenders under wraps, he threatens in his rap to expose their names if things don’t change at the school.  As he explained recently to The Daily News,

“By exposing what’s going on I hope the teachers and the administration change their act.”

At school on Friday, Jay Maslow and his record label Horror Flick Entertainment, handed out 2500 copies of the single, much to the chagrin of school officials.

School officials, who originally demanded a meeting with Maslow’s parents, have sense backed down and are trying to figure out their next move. Maslow argued, “I want to expose the truth. Why don’t I have the right to speak about that? It’s my First Amendment right. I learned that in school.”

The kid’s got a point.

Cyclone Celebrates Birthday with a Coasterthon

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The Venerable Cyclone in Coney Island

The Cyclone, the iconic, almost 85-year-old roller coaster in Coney Island, celebrated its upcoming birthday with its first ever  “Coasterthon.” In honor of the anniversary, which will officially fall on June 26th, nine charities were given a chance to win the grand prize of $24,000 by having representatives riding the Cyclone the most number of times during the course of the day. In addition, each of the charities, which reserved one car on the ride, were given a set amount of money, donated by sponsors, every time they completed one circuit on the coaster.

In addition to the grand prize awarded by Central Amusement International, the US subsidiary of Zamperla, the company that has been rebuilding Coney Island’s Luna Park over the past few years, the winners also won free passes for a full day in the park for their organization.

Built in 1927, the Cyclone has been a model for many other roller coasters which came after, including six exact copies, four of which are still in use. Richard Rodriquez holds the record for amount of time spent riding the Cyclone, chalking up 104 hours on the coaster. On the 70th anniversary of the Cyclone’s opening in 1997 tight-rope walker Tino Wallenda walked between the two peaks of the ride.

The Cyclone has appeared in many films, including The Sting II and Shakedown, and of course it inspired the name of the baseball team, the Brooklyn Cyclones.

The president of CAI, Valerio Ferrari said,

“We are thrilled to commemorate the incredible 85 years of the Cyclone with all of these wonderful charities who give back to the community every day.”

The nine charities which participated were: You Gotta believe, Alzheimer Association, Special Olympics NYC, New York Cares, Sean Casey Animal Rescue, American Cancer Society, Give Kids the World, Wildlife Conservation Society and Youth Service Opportunities Project

Assemblyman Ortiz Pushing for Bill to Mandate More CPR Training for NYPD Officers

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Briana Ojeda

After 11-year old Briana Ojeda died from cardiac arrest in the presence of a New York Police Department officer in 2010, Briana’s family has been pushing lawmakers in Albany to pass a law requiring NYPD officers to be better trained in CPR.

The officer sadly did not even attempt to perform CPR on the asthmatic girl despite the pleas of Briana’s mother, presumably because he did not feel qualified to administer CPR correctly.

This past Tuesday the Ojedas discussed with New York legislators a bill that would improve the training in CPR of police officers by requiring them to take more CPR courses during their careers.

Presently police officers are taught CPR during their training in police academy, but those in favor of the new law say that police officers do not get refresher courses often enough.

"Studies have shown that those who are trained quickly forget the details of how to perform CPR, even doctors and nurses," said Dr. Arthur Meltzer, a supporter of the law which will mandate more training courses.

Brooklyn Assemblyman Félix Ortiz of the 51st District is the bill’s sponsor. Ortiz says that the law would require police officers to get continuous, updated training, similar to the training they receive in weapons use.

"You have police officer training on how to shoot more efficiently but not how to save lives more effectively," Ortiz said.
 

New York Animal Care Law Gets a Facelift

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If you’re a pet store owner in the area, it’s time to stand up and take notice. A new bill, 697-D that was sponsored by animal rights advocate Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis sets a new standard for animal care in New York.

For over a decade, the standard of care required by pet owners has not been updated, and Malliotakis thought that it was high time that it was, as did Assemblywoman Amy Paulin who also sponsored the bill.  The bill, according to a release by Paulin, addresses “the standards of care of animals by pet dealers which have not been updated for over a decade.”

The new bill will serve a number of purposes. It will ensure that dogs and cats that show symptoms of contagious disease or illness in a pet store will be separated from healthy animals. It outlines the program that is required for veterinary care for animals in pet stores and through pet dealers. It also requires pet dealers to maintain a daily exercise program for dogs that is appropriate for their breed.

As Michael Maddox, the Vice President of Government Affairs and General Counsel of the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council (“PIJAC”), said,

“We are extremely supportive of the Assemblywoman’s efforts in updating the standards of care for regulated pet dealers and taking a strong, but reasonable approach to this issue. We share the Assemblywoman’s goal of ensuring that pet dealers observe sound standards and are pleased that PIJAC can offer its unequivocal support for her bill.”

As Malliotakis said,  “The recent passage of this bill, of which I am a co-sponsor, is good news for animals and consumers alike. By improving living conditions and increasing exercise and health requirements for animals owned by pet dealers, our furry friends will be protected from the sub-standard arrangements many animals are subjected to. In addition, this ensures that pet buyers will be purchasing happy, healthy pets to join their families. I applaud my colleagues in the Assembly for seeing this common-sense bill through.”

Lewis Colam Reaches New York on One-Man Rowing Adventure

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If you happened to be near the Verrazano Bridge yesterday, you just might have caught a glimse of Lewis Colam. That’s the 24 year old who decided three months ago to head out in a row boat and to row from Miami to New York. With absolutely no rowing experience in his background, Colam had the slightly crazy idea to accomplish this feat as a way to raise money for Alzheimer’s research.

Tweeting and updating Facebook along the way, Colam actually made it to New York yesterday. He arrived near the Verrazano Bridge around 1 am and then rowed along the New Jersey shoreline and up the Hudson River. He arrived at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum at about 3 pm, where he finished his long journey.

The entire trip included a 2000 mile, 100 day rowboat trip with the goal of raising $50,000 for research. Colam has been in the rowboat since March 3rd for almost 18 hours a day. He’s documented his many adventures, fighting off water snakes, sleeping in a collapsed tent and more. He did the entire journey alone on his 15 foot open-decked row boat and slept on the boat most nights.

So far, he’s raised about 50% of his goal money for the Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research Foundation founded by Zachary and Elizabeth Fisher. Hopefully now that he’ safely landed and managed to prove his amazing accomplishment, he’ll be able to bring in the rest of the money.
Way to go Colam!

Two Trees Seeking to Purchase Williamsburg’s Domino Sugar Factory

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Domino Sugar Factory in Williamsburg

Real estate developer Two Trees is working on a deal with co-owners of the Domino Sugar factory in Williamsburg to purchase the building for about $160 million. Two Trees is the same gentrifying giant that made the DUMBO one of the hottest neighborhoods to live in Brooklyn.

Domino’s co-owner, Community Preservation Corporation Resources is looking to sell the problematic waterfront property so that they can zero-out about $125 million in debt. They examined about six bids for the 11-acre property before deciding to go with Two Trees.

“Two Trees understands waterfront development, is well-capitalized and is the best chance for Domino to get developed into the mixed-income, mixed-use community it was intended to be,” Community Preservation Corporation Resources CEO Rafael Cestero said. “With the sale of Domino, we will be able to return to our core mission as a lender providing badly needed capital to support affordable housing development and strengthen neighborhoods throughout the city and state.”

The hope is that the finalized deal will allow the shelved project to develop 2,200 apartments to get underway, transforming the iconic factory into a residential area in Williamsburg’s Southside.

Susan Pollock, the manager of the project, has said that her company has been looking for a “reputable developer” who would agree to conform to the original project plans which were worked out after the area was re-zoned in 2010. Included in the plans for the new development are high-rise buildings up to 34 floors high; a shuttle bus to the J train; and over 600 apartments with rents below market value.

Two Trees is considered a good choice of developer. They became famous for turning DUMBO from an industrial “nowheresville” into Brooklyn’s, and maybe even all of New York’s, most expensive neighborhoods. And Two Trees has previous experience in Williamsburg. Six years ago Two Trees founder David Walentas purchased a fabric factory on Wythe Avenue for $9.5 million and since then has transformed it into a boutique hotel which just opened in May.

Observers of the real estate scene believe that if Two Trees takes over the project at the Domino Sugar factory the Southside will most likely change in a big way.

“This is a firm that is known for taking a long-term vision of the neighborhood and replacing artists and industry with condos,” said researcher and documentary filmmaker Brian Paul, who has called Walentas a practitioner of “Jane Jacobs gentrification.”

Bike Share Hubs Spark Parking Space Wars

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Bike Share Hub

Residents of Brooklyn Heights and Williamsburg voiced their concerns over the placing of rental bike hubs as part of the launching of the bike-share program, saying that the plan to remove dozens of parking spaces to make room for the bikes will seriously inconvenience motorists and residents of their communities.

Concerned citizens expressed their worry at community board meetings last week, saying that the loss of two dozen parking places in Brooklyn Heights and Downtown, and another twelve in North Brooklyn will make an already serious parking shortage problem even worse.

“Parking is so scarce in Brooklyn Heights, anytime parking has been taken away it causes big concerns,” said Brooklyn Heights Association director Judy Stanton.

Residents are urging the city to reconsider the placement of the rental bike hubs away from parking spots and instead installing them in parks, squares on simply on sidewalks. Stanton’s concrete suggestion was to move the Henry street bike dock off of the street between Joralemon and Middagh and put them on the wide sidewalk at Cadman Plaza on the south side of Tillary Street.

“We’ve always been pro-bike, but this is not the same thing as being pro-bike,” Stanton said. “Hopefully they will consider alternatives to some of these locations.”

Wilfredo Florentino, a civic leader in North Brooklyn is also pressuring the transit planners to relocate the bike share docks so they do not force the removal of necessary parking spaces. There is one bike hub now slotted to be installed near a senior housing development and another to be placed in front of the Swinging Sixties Senior Center on Manhattan Avenue, the location of the meetings of Community Board 1.

“We are concerned with the potential elimination of parking spaces in areas of the district where parking is limited,” said Florentino. “We expect the map they present at the full board reflects those suggestions, and if not, we will be prepared to voice our objection in writing.”

Advocates of the bike-share plan say that residents will actually gain parking when the bike-rental program goes into effect, since each parking spot represents a dozen bikes.

“You’re gaining parking in this way,” said Transportation Alternatives director of bicycle advocacy Caroline Samponaro. “Where you once had one person’s car stored, you’re providing space for 12 people to come and go.”

Cyclists believe the trade-off is worth it.

“We have to give some of the spaces to bikers because bikers are people, too,” said Community Board 1 member and cyclist Ryan Kuonen. “They take up less space than cars. C’mon, man!”

The innovative and ambitious bike-rental transit system is scheduled to be launched this coming July. The extensive locations around Brooklyn include Greenpoint, Williamsburg, DUMBO, Brooklyn Heights, Fort Greene, and Downtown. There will be 148 bike share stations throughout these neighborhoods, and in 2013 the program will be extended to more locations south of Atlantic Avenue.

A spokesman for the city said that transportation officials are still reviewing comments from the local community boards. The final maps of the bike-share locations will be released in the coming weeks.