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Former Treasury Department officials also questioned the need for the flights. Treasury had already sent $1.7 billion in cash from Iraqi government accounts in the United States to Baghdad in the first weeks after the invasion, and then had developed a new Iraqi currency that was introduced that October. They say the new currency ended the need for further cash infusions from the United States. "We did not know that Bremer was flying in all that cash," said Ged Smith, who was the head of the Treasury Department team that worked on Iraq's financial reconstruction after the invasion. "I can't see a reason for it." Mr. Bowen said that Brick Tracker, his office's most sensitive investigation, began in 2010 when Wael el-Zein, a Lebanese- American on his staff, received a tip about stolen money hidden in Lebanon. An informant told him about the bunker, which in addition to the cash, was believed to also have held approximately $200 million in gold belonging to the Iraqi government.
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| Decommissioned Russian Victor Class nuclear sub en rte to the scrap yard. via Business Insider. |
Streets and Transit:
A great opportunity to get involved in the community. A lot of great ideas have been put forth and paid for over the last few years. RSVP HERE.Tuesday, October 14 at the NYC Transit Museum (Boerum Pl & Schermerhorn St)Kensington Neighborhood Assembly:Thursday, October 16 at PS230 (1 Albemarle Rd)Parks and Environment:Monday, October 20 at the Picnic House in Prospect Park (95 Prospect Park West)Arts, Community and Culture:Wednesday, October 22 at ReelWorks (540 President Street, #2F in Gowanus)Public Education:Monday, October 27 at PS 154 (1625 11th Ave in Windsor Terrace)All the events will be from 6:30-8:30 p.m. As in past years, attendees will have the opportunity to give their ideas about how to spend PBNYC dollars. But this year, we will also break into smaller, issue-related groups for in-depth discussions that go beyond participatory budgeting. We hope this format will provide a forum for people to discuss needs and concerns … even if they can’t be solved with capital dollars spent on a physical project.
Downtown is the logical site, with excellent access to transit, courts and other government offices. It's a mystery as to why the state thought this would be a good idea. Borough President (and former police officer) Eric Adams has also weighed in to question the wisdom of the plan:The planning process for this facility has fallen far short of what any community deserves from their government. Over several months, not one single written word about the facility has been provided by DOCCS to the community or its elected officials. DOCCS has failed to articulate a coherent rationale for choosing to site a borough-wide facility in the heart of an industrial business zone close to a vibrant residential community. DOCCS has not shared the criteria it uses to site facilities, the solicitation, RFP, or process through which this site was chosen.This single facility would replace three facilities that were originally in Downtown Brooklyn location, which were convenient to transit, and located in a commercial district with substantial foot-traffic. This new location would concentrate 300 to 400 parolees visits per day in a single site, which is close to many schools, parks and residential areas and inconvenient to transit. If the goal is to provide community-based locations, then there should be several around Brooklyn, convenient to residents from many neighborhoods, in areas with services. Perhaps this location could be one such facility; however, the state cannot claim that siting one facility in this location to serve the entire borough is part of a community-based strategy.
Assemblywoman Joan Millman and her presumptive successor, District Leader JoAnne Simon have also questioned the logic of siting the office in such a remote location.The new headquarters for state parole operations should be downtown, not in Gowanus, according to Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams. The proposed location at 15 2nd Avenue is too difficult for parolees to reach.“When you’re on parole, cab fare can be the difference between violating and not violating,” he told The Brooklyn Paper. “We shouldn’t make it more challenging.”
AndSUNY has finalized a deal to sell Long Island College Hospital to a Brooklyn developer, ending a two-year battle to shed the money-losing hospital.Fortis Property Group will purchase the campus for $240 million, and N.Y.U. Langone Medical Center will run the remaining health care on the site, along with Lutheran Medical Center.N.Y.U. has committed to building a $175 million, four-story medical facility that will eventually have a staff of 400, including about 70 physicians. The amount of square-footage devoted to medical care is double what was originally proposed in the Fortis bid, "in recognition of the need for greater services in the community," SUNY chair Carl McCall said in a statement. McCall said SUNY negotiated for increased health care on the site, in response to the needs of the surrounding communities.
Of course, this story has had more twists and turns, head fakes and surprises than just about any local issue I can remember. So this is where we stand, for now.The deal must still be approved by the state attorney general and state comptroller. Once that approval is complete, N.Y.U. can take over operations of the emergency department, which is all that remains of the Cobble Hill hospital.N.Y.U. can then ask the city fire department to resume ambulance service to LICH. N.Y.U. officials expect to see between 35 and 50 patients per day once the ambulances resume.
