VCJC News & Notes 3/22/24

 

Van Cortlandt Jewish Center

News and Notes

Here's this week's edition of the VCJC News and Notes email. We hope you enjoy it and find it useful!

Reminders

1. Shabbos
   
   

   Shabbos information is, as always, available on our website, both in the information sidebar and the events calendar.
   Here are the times you need:  
   Shabbos Candles Friday 3/22/24 @ 6:52 pm
   Shabbos morning services at 8:40 am.  Please join the services if you can do so safely. 
   Shabbos Ends Saturday 3/23/24 @ 7:56 pm
    

2. Corrected information for Purim
   The information in the Center Light was incorrect.  Here is the correct info.

   Purim March 23, 2024

   There will be no Mincha service which was scheduled for 6:45PM

   Maariv service will now start at 8PM

   Followed by the Megillah reading at approximately 8:10PM

   
   

   Please share these new times with your friends and neighbors in the community, so that they can celebrate Purim with us at the appropriate times the evening of the 23nd of March.

   
   

   On Sunday, March 24, services will be held at KCI, 3220 Arlington Ave starting at 8:30AM.  If you need transportation, please call the office and leave your name and number.

Our mailing address is:

Van Cortlandt Jewish Center

3880 Sedgwick Ave

Bronx, NY 10463

Housing Lottery Launches For 1821 Prospect Avenue In Crotona, The Bronx

 

The affordable housing lottery has launched for 1821 Prospect Avenue, a seven-story residential building in Crotona, The Bronx. Designed by S&S Architectural Design and developed by Shaya Seidenfield, the structure yields 33 residences. Available on NYC Housing Connect are 32 units for residents at 130 percent of the area median income (AMI), ranging in eligible income from $100,252 to $198,250.

Amenities include an elevator, covered parking with assigned parking spaces, green space, and a shared laundry room. Residences come with intercoms, air conditioning, high-speed internet, and name-brand kitchen appliances, countertops, and finishes. Tenants are responsible for electricity including stove and heat. Hot water is included in the rent.

At 130 percent of the AMI, there are 31 studios with a monthly rent of $2,924 for incomes ranging from $100,252 to $146,900, and one two-bedroom with a monthly rent of $3,733 for incomes ranging from $127,989 to $198,250.

FORMER CITY PARKS SUPERVISOR ENTERS GUILTY PLEA TO HARASSING A SUBORDINATE AT BRONX PARK

 

Jocelyn E. Strauber, Commissioner of the New York City Department of Investigation (“DOI”), announced a former Supervisor at the City Department of Parks and Recreation (“DPR”) pled guilty to threatening and harassing conduct toward a subordinate, which occurred inside a maintenance closet at a park located on East 156th Street in the Bronx between July and August 2021. DOI’s investigation was prompted by allegations reported by DPR. The office of Bronx County District Attorney Darcel Clark is prosecuting the case. 

FRANCISCO BRACERO, 64, of New York, N.Y., who is also known as “Cisco,” was charged in July 2023 with Forcible Touching, a class A misdemeanor; Sexual Abuse in the Third Degree, a class B misdemeanor; and Harassment in the Second Degree, a violation. BRACERO entered a guilty plea to Harassment in the Second Degree, a violation, and was sentenced to a conditional discharge. An order of protection for the victim was imposed.

DOI Commissioner Jocelyn E. Strauber said, “The City should have zero tolerance for any City employee who victimizes another with threatening and harassing behavior, as this defendant did. Today, this now former City employee faces the consequences of his misconduct. I thank the complainant for reporting this unacceptable conduct to the Parks Department, the Parks Department for informing DOI of that report, and the Bronx District Attorney’s Office for their continued partnership on these important prosecutions.” 

According to the criminal complaint, between July 15, 2021 and August 2, 2021, inside of 720 East 156th Street, in the Bronx, BRACERO grabbed the buttocks of a female subordinate with his hand, without her consent, and stated that he wanted to grab her breast. This conduct caused her alarm and fear for her physical safety, according to the complaint.

BRACERO began working for DPR in July 2002 and was an active DPR Supervisor at the time of the alleged conduct. When he retired in September 2022, BRACERO was receiving an annual salary of approximately $80,262.

PUBLIC ADVOCATE CALLS FOR MENTAL HEALTH INVESTMENTS IN CITY BUDGET

 

As part of a comprehensive approach to public health and safety in New York City, Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams called for targeted investments in key initiatives. At a joint hearing of the City Council Committees on Health and on Mental Health, Disabilities, and Addiction, he emphasized the cascading consequences of a lack of resources for mental health care.

“Barriers to effective care include a host of issues related to lack of adequate insurance, stigma and discrimination, lack of access to stable housing, etc,” said Public Advocate Williams before the committees. “The increased visibility and vulnerability of these individuals, compounded with a decrease in resources as cities around the country struggle to meet demand, have devastating consequences.”

The Public Advocate pointed to his office's 2019 report and 2022 supplement, Improving New York City’s Responses To Individuals In Mental Health Crisis, and particularly highlighted two areas of potential investment:

Respite Centers - Respite Care Centers are an alternative to hospitalization for those in crisis and serve as temporary stays in supportive settings that allow individuals to maintain their regular schedules and have guests visit. Currently, there are 4 Health Department Community Partners operating respite centers serving adult New Yorkers, a drop from the 8 centers in 2019. The Administration for Children’s Services also operates a respite program for youth.

Increasing Supportive Housing - Supportive housing is affordable housing with supportive social services in place. Currently, the city is lagging behind in providing supportive housing, with a long and often-delayed application process. This should include supportive housing for incarcerated individuals and individuals re-entering communities post-release. 

In addition, Public Advocate Williams called for the preservation and expansion of lifesaving Overdose Prevention Centers, "which opened in 2021 and in their first six months of operation helped prevent over 300 overdoses". He also uplifted the Progressive Caucus' request from last year for "$20 million to shift the city’s two existing OPCs in Manhattan to 24/7 operations and open four additional centers, one in each borough that does not have an OPC.”

Gangster Disciples and Sisters of the Struggle Members Sentenced for Gang-Related Murders

 

A high-ranking member of the Gangster Disciples and a leader of its parallel female organization, the Sisters of the Struggle (SOS), were sentenced for their roles in a murder conspiracy stemming from gang-related retribution that resulted in the shooting deaths of three men.

Philmon Deshawn Chambers, also known as Dolla Phil, 35, of Atlanta, was sentenced to serve two consecutive life terms in prison plus 10 years in prison. Andrea Paige Browner, also known as Drea, 29, of Athens, Georgia, was sentenced to serve two concurrent sentences of 30 years in prison.

According to court documents, Chambers held a “Position of Authority” within the national Gangster Disciples criminal organization, which included overseeing members of the “Enforcement Team.” Enforcement teams within the Gangster Disciples are directed to discipline gang members for violations of gang rules through physical assault or murder. Co-defendant Lesley Chappell Green, also known as Grip, 35, of Stone Mountain, Georgia, was a member of the Enforcement Team and held the title of “Assistant Chief Enforcer.”

On Dec. 10, 2018, a Gangster Disciples member was murdered in Athens. Chambers and Browner sought retaliation for the member’s death and believed three unnamed Athens residents were responsible. On Dec. 14, 2018, Browner met an individual at a downtown Athens motel and learned that he was related to one of the individuals she believed killed the Gangster Disciples member. Browner sent text messages directing Chambers to travel to the motel, which he did. Chambers then followed the individual home and shot and killed him. Browner notified a Gangster Disciples associate that she and Chambers would be leaving town because the police would be looking for them.

On Dec. 15, 2018, Browner was taken into custody in Mt. Enterprise, Texas; however, Chambers, who had been in the vehicle with Browner, fled from law enforcement. Chambers was suspicious that someone was cooperating with law enforcement, and incorrectly concluded that two individuals were “snitches.” Chambers directed Green to carry out the murders of those two individuals. The two individuals were lured by Green, as directed by Chambers, to drive from Athens to Lawrenceville, Georgia, to break into storage sheds and steal items to send to Chambers as “aid and assistance” as he was hiding out from law enforcement in a Gangster Disciple “safe house” in Killeen, Texas. On Dec. 19, 2018, the two individuals were murdered and their bodies were concealed in the storage unit. Chambers and Green, along with Robert Maurice Carlisle, also known as Different, 37, of Lithonia, Georgia, and Shabazz Larry Guidry, also known as Lil Larry, 29, of Decatur, Georgia, conspired to dispose of the victims’ bodies, which included potentially burning the bodies or dumping the bodies in a landfill.

A federal jury convicted Chambers in August 2023 of racketeer influenced and corruption organization (RICO) conspiracy, murder in aid of racketeering, carry and use of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, and causing the death of a person using a firearm. Browner was also convicted in August 2023 of RICO conspiracy, murder in aid of racketeering, and causing the death of a person using a firearm.

Carlisle and Guidry both pleaded guilty on June 8, 2023, to RICO conspiracy and are scheduled to be sentenced on March 22. Green was sentenced on Feb. 20 to life in prison after a federal jury convicted him on Aug. 17, 2023, of RICO conspiracy.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary for the Middle District of Georgia; Supervisory Senior Special Agent Robert Gibbs of FBI Atlanta Field Office; and Chief Jerry Saulters of the Athens-Clarke County Police Department made the announcement.

The FBI Athens Resident Agency Middle Georgia Safe Streets Gang Task Force, Athens-Clarke County Police Department, and Gwinnett County Police Department investigated the case.

Trial Attorney Kenneth Kaplan, formerly of the Criminal Division’s Violent Crime and Racketeering Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Mike Morrison for the Middle District of Georgia are prosecuting the case, with assistance from Assistant U.S. Attorney Stuart Walker for the Middle District of Georgia.

This case is being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Justice Department’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.