Emily Keller-O'Donnell, Journalist

Fight For Section Eight Housing Spills Out Into the Streets

    The Pratt Area Community Council and Brooklyn residents held a rally in support of federal housing subsidies. Published in Courier-Life Publications on March 24, 2006. (Sorry - the link for this article is currently unavailable.)

Plan Ahead For CFE Money, Says District 13 Community Education Council Member

    While city government, education advocates, parents and public school students dream up new and innovative ways to try to coax the state government into providing billions of dollars that the State Supreme Court says it owes to city schools, Benjamin Greene is thinking ahead.

    The issue now, says the member of the Community Education Council for District 13, is how the money will be spent once it is obtained.

    Published in Courier-Life Publications. (Sorry - the link for this article is currently unavailable.)

CB14 Welcomes OMRDD Residence On East 9th Street

    Brooklyn Community Board 14 approved a proposal to move a residential facility for people with mental retardation and developmental disabilities to their neighborhood. Published in Courier-Life Publications. (Sorry - the link for this article is currently unavailable.)

Brooklyn Public Library Executives Raise Eyebrows With Plans For Far East Excursion

    Brooklyn Public Library executives canceled a $20,000 educational trip to Singapore and Hong Kong in a series of incidents that drew criticism over its financial practices. Published in Courier-Life Publications. (Sorry - the link for this article is currently unavailable.)

Smoky View On the Cause of Suspicious Neighborhood Fires

       A panel of New York City Fire Department officials spoke to the City Council's fire and criminal justice committee following a spate of suspicious fires in Prospect Heights and Crown Heights. The meeting was one of a series of preliminary budget hearings for the fiscal 2007 city budget.

    The meeting follows a deadly arson fire at 1033 Pacific Street in Prospect Heights (pictured) that took the lives of Sherri Williams, 26, Assita Coulibaly, 36, and Coulibaly’s children, Mohammed, 1, and Miriam, 3 on February 24th.

    Panel members, which included Peter Hayden, chief of the department, and Frank Cruthers, First Deputy Fire Commissioner, said suspicious fires have increased in frequency this winter in Prospect Heights and Crown Heights, but did not give details on their response.

    There were suspicious fires in the past three months at 1084, 1198, 1440 and 1154 Pacific Street, 530 and 600 St. Marks Avenue, 461 and 658 Park Place, 683 Dean Street, and 784 Prospect Place.

    Published in Courier-Life Publications. (Sorry - the link for this article is currently unavailable.)

 

 

Jail And Shopping Center? Retail Component Planned For House of Detention

    The New York City Department of Corrections has proposed re-opening Brooklyn's House of Detention in a mixed used building with retail on the ground floor. Published in Courier-Life Publications on March 17, 2006. (Sorry - the link for this article is currently unavailable.)

NYPIRG Blasts Relaxing Food Safety Standards

    The New York Public Interest Research Group protested the House of Representatives' National Uniformity for Food Act, which the organization said would reduce warning labels on frozen meat. Published in Courier-Life Publications. (Sorry - the link for this article is currently unavailable.)

Beware the Backdraft; Residents Turn Up Heat on City to Investigate Suspicious Fires

   

    Detectives and community activists join forces to investigate an arson that took the lives of four people in February.

    The February 24th arson fire at 1033 Pacific Street in Prospect Heights (pictured) took the lives of Sherri Williams, 26, Assita Coulibaly, 36, and Coulibaly’s children, Mohammed, 1, and Miriam, 3.

    Concerned residents, detectives, retired firefighters and committee members said that to stop the fires the city must re-open closed firehouses, the police must walk the streets, the Department of Environmental Protection must inspect hydrants, and community boards and elected officials must provide information and assistance to residents.

    Since January 2005, there have been more than a dozen fires deemed accidental or suspicious in and around Community District 8, including at least a half dozen on Pacific Street.

    Published in Courier-Life Publications. (Sorry - the link for this article is currently unavailable.)

Brooklyn Leaders Decry Mayor’s Approach to AIDS

    People with HIV/AIDS and their advocates stood on the steps of City Hall to challenge Mayor Michael Bloomberg's approach to treating the virus in New York City, saying he is more focused on treatment than prevention. Published in Courier-Life Publications on March 10, 2006. (Sorry - the link for this article is currently unavailable.)

St. Francis de Sales Hoopsters Show Signs of a Winner

    St. Francis de Sales School for the Deaf held its seventh annual basketball tournament to integrate seventh and eight grade students who have hearing impairments with hearing students from other schools. Published in Courier-Life Publications. (Sorry - the link for this article is currently unavailable.)