webadmin, Author at Brooklyn Downtown Star

Lightbridge Academy opening location in Greenpoint

webadmin on April 27, 2021

The child care and education company Lightbridge Academy last week announced a new franchise at 23 India Street in Greenpoint.
Lightbridge Academy currently operates 58 locations throughout the U.S., including multiple sites in Manhattan. The Greenpoint location will be the company’s third in Brooklyn, with a Prospect Heights location currently set to open in April and a Downtown Brooklyn location slated for June.
“We are happy to be breaking into the Brooklyn market,” explained David Falzarano, senior vice president of Franchise Development for Lightbridge and son of the company’s founders. “We will hopefully oversee the best child care in town, and we love the fact that families are working on this project together.”
The New Jersey-based company offers state-of-the-art child care centers for ages six weeks to kindergarten, and operates through a franchise model that tasks sponsor families with overseeing the development of each location.
The Greenpoint location is sponsored by Alok Rai, a former finance executive at Morgan Stanley and Bank of America. Rai is also the father of two young children, and has been actively looking for childcare franchise opportunities since 2014.
“It was a perfect match,” Rai explained. “Everyone has been saying ‘thank you, this is what we’ve been missing in Greenpoint.’”
Rai elaborated on his decision to transition from finance to education.
“I come from finance, which is a very aggressive world,” he said. “I oversaw a team of 300, and can bring my leadership skills to education. I run a tight ship and keep the quality high.”
Rai, his wife, and their two kids currently live in New Jersey, but the family plans on moving to Brooklyn to oversee the franchise. He said Lightbridge Academy is a good match for Greenpoint.
“The reason was twofold,” he said. “We choose Lightbridge because the team is community based. Also, the transformation of this area with new residential buildings created a need for child care and education.”
The Greenpoint Lightbridge Academy is currently scheduled to open in the fall. The franchise is located on the ground level of a recently constructed mixed-use facility along the Greenpoint waterfront.
During Monday’s event, a mother who lives in one of the apartments above the new location expressed her excitement about new childcare opportunities in the area.
“I wish it would open next month,” she said. “I could just bring my kids downstairs. That would be great.”

Macy’s volunteers help clean LIC park

webadmin on April 27, 2021

On April 22, employee volunteers from the Macy’s Partners in Time program helped the Hunters Point Parks Conservancy in Long Island City with park clean up, trash removal, weeding and planting for the spring season. The group was also given a tour of the park, touching on its sustainability and resilient design features.
Through a corporate giving grant, Macy’s is providing a $10,000 contribution in support of the Hunters Point Parks Conservancy efforts.

Harbor Protectors initiative launches on Earth Day

webadmin on April 27, 2021

Members of the Department of Environmental Protection, Coney Island Beautification Project, community leaders, and elected officials launched the Harbor Protectors initiative on Earth Day.
Thursday’s event was held on Mermaid Avenue in Coney Island, and was attended by hundreds of students from P.S. 188, P.S. 288, and other nearby public schools.
The Harbor Protectors Initiative is a volunteer program co-designed by the Department of Environmental Protection and Coney Island Beautification Project.
The initiative hopes to attract volunteers by allowing them to sign up for specific clean-up projects in their neighborhoods and along Brooklyn’s waterways. Currently, Harbor Protectors plans on coordinating shoreline cleanups, rain garden restoration, and catch basin repairs.
“I grew up in Coney Island and it is still my home,” said Assemblywoman Mathylde Frontius. “Seeing the efforts of this new initiative coming together with a long-standing community organization like the Coney Island Beautification Project gives me great joy and hope as we work to protect the community from pollution.”
She advised the young audience to be mindful of their role.
“It is our job to show we care”Frontius said. “Protecting the planet is every generation’s responsibility, and now it is our turn.”
Councilman Mark Treyger echoed a similar sentiment.
“Earth Day is an important day, but shouldn’t everyday be Earth Day?” he asked. “This is called taking ownership of our community. Even if it’s just picking up trash, every little bit helps.”
Treyger also warned that climate change will only continue to affect Brooklyn, especially communities near the water.
“The effects of climate change are already present in this part of Coney Island,” he explained. “You see it when water overflows from the canal.”
After the speaking portion of the event, the students broke into groups and conducted a cleanup along Mermaid and Surf avenues, removing litter from the neighborhood’s sidewalks and streets.
The Coney Island Beautification Project is a civic organization created in the wake of Super-storm Sandy to encourage community involvement in conservation and resiliency efforts. For close to a decade, the group has conducted flood control, composting, and recycling programs.
“When you nonchalantly throw your potato chip bags, your cookie wrappers, your drink container, on the street, they directly end up in our waters,” said group president Pamela Pettyjohn. “Think before we toss, down the catch basin into the waters and onto the beaches.”

Pair of Pocket Aces

webadmin on April 27, 2021

Three-plus weeks into the 2021 Major League Baseball season, it’s fair to say there are plenty of questions about both local teams.
We’ll save that list for another day.
But know this: we are lucky to watch the two best pitchers in baseball every fifth day at the absolute peak of their greatness.
Over the weekend, the brilliance of both Jacob deGrom and Gerrit Cole was on full display, and boy was it fun to watch!
Jacob deGrom has been dominating hitters since his first start at Citi Field back in 2014.
His resume has him in the conversation as one of the greatest Met pitchers to ever put on the uniform.
Tom Seaver will always be the gold standard as far as that honor, but there is a very good chance we are talking about deGrom as the second greatest Met pitcher ever.
deGrom has thrown a lot of gems over the last seven years, but Friday night might have been his very best performance.
He threw a two-hit, complete-game shutout, striking out 15 Washington Nationals batter and retiring 19 straight.
It may sound crazy, but deGrom’s stuff has gotten better over the last few years.
He’s topping 101 mph on the gun, and the off-speed stuff has become even more nasty.
deGrom’s last three years will go down as one of the most dominant individual runs we have seen from a New York athlete in quite some time, and his career is pointed towards a bust in Cooperstown.
He’s the best pitcher in baseball and seems to be getting better and better.
On the other side of town, the Yankees have an ace that is the second best pitcher in the sport. Trust me, there’s no shame in that.
Gerrit Cole was paid over $300 million to deliver at the highest of levels for the Yankees.
He was paid to lead the rotation and to be ace of the staff, to matchup with whoever the opponent threw against the Yankees.
Saturday night was one of those heavyweight pitching performances. Cole matched up with the reigning AL Cy Young winner Shane Bieber. In the battle of aces, Cole outshined Bieber.
He threw seven innings of one-run baseball, striking out 11. Cole’s quest for perfection is a joy to watch every fifth day.
It was pointed out during the broadcast on YES that he is the pitching version of former Yankee Paul O’Neill.
I never really saw the comparison until Saturday, but then all of a sudden it clicked.
Cole’s quest for throwing the perfect pitch every single time, and showing frustration when he doesn’t, certainly equates to the hitting style of one of my all-time favorite Yankees.
The Yankees have a lot of questions this season, but the performance of Gerrit Cole is certainly not on that list. He’s been worth every penny so far in his tenure.
It’s sure nice to know that every fifth day as a New York baseball fan, you’re going to get a chance to watch a dominant hurler.
We get the opportunity to watch Jacob deGrom and Gerrit Cole every fifth day. As my guy Larry David would say, “pretty, pretty, pretty good!”

You can listen to my new podcast “New York, New York” on the Ringer Podcast Network every Sunday, Tuesday & Thursday night on Spotify and Apple.

St. Joe’s sends off seniors

webadmin on April 27, 2021

Senior Kevin Reyes went 4-for-4 at the plate and scored a run while Anthony Hernandez went 4-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored, however, the St. Joseph’s College (Brooklyn) baseball team dropped the first game of Sunday’s twin bill to SUNY Maritime College, 7-5.
Joining Reyes and Hernandez with multi-hit games were Floral Park Memorial product Chris Leary and Nick Tapio, who both hit doubles and recorded an RBI each. Louis Lombardi also drove in a pair of runs.
Reyes would go 2-for-3 with a pair of runs scored in the nightcap while Leary drove home both runs for the Bears (2-20, 1-14 Skyline) as the Privateers (10-5, 7-2) took the 14-2 win.
Along with Reyes, SJC honored their six graduating seniors from Gregg Alfano Field: C.J. Bunnicelli, Darius Cadle, William DeLuca, Nicholas Hernandez, and Maspeth native Matthew Rienzi. All six seniors would see action on Sunday.
In game one, the Privateers took an early 2-0 lead in the first thanks to a double that found the left-center field gap. Reyes’ leadoff double began the bottom half of the inning, scoring on Leary’s single to put the Bears on the board.
Hernandez followed that up with a single up the middle before he and Leary scored on a two-bagger by Lombardi; giving the Bears a 3-2 edge.
Vasilios Vafakos drew the game even at three with a single in the away half of the second. The freshman outfielder batted in the go-ahead run on a sac fly in the fourth, 4-3.
Leary doubled to begin the fifth. Hernandez blooped a single over the head of the Maritime first baseman and down the right-field line to once again tie the game, this time at four apiece.
It remained knotted until the eighth, when Danny Green’s RBI single gave the Privateers the lead at 5-4. Bunnicelli was pulled after 7.1 innings, allowing three earned runs and settling for the loss.
In the nightcap, a combination of passed balls and wild pitches plated Vafakos for the opening run of the game in the first, adding a couple more later in the frame.
As was the case in game one, Reyes led off the Bears’ half of the first with a double and scored on Leary’s single up the middle, grabbing a run back at 3-1.
Maritime saw their three-run lead restored in the second, but the Bears once again cut the deficit to two in the third with Leary bringing Reyes home, this time via a sac bunt, 4-2.
The Privateers further distanced themselves by scoring in each of the final four innings, headlined by a pair of doubles in that stretch and a seventh-inning homer, to win the non-conference game 14-2 and sweep the series from SJC.
DeLuca started the game on the mound for the Bears, tossing an inning and being dealt the loss. Rienzi played his 45th and final game in a Bears uniform, extending the program record for appearances by a pitcher, coming on for DeLuca in the second.
It was followed up by Cadle’s longest outing of the season, pitching 2.2 innings in relief and striking out three.
The seventh inning saw Reyes fan a pair in his first-ever appearance on the bump and Bunnicelli, entering as a pinch hitter, notching his first collegiate hit in the bottom of the inning.

Shakeup for St John’s after strong season

webadmin on April 22, 2021

An up-and-down year for St John’s basketball has continued to take dramatic turns in the offseason. The Johnnies narrowly missed out on the NCAA Tournament this year after surging late in the season.
St John’s took down Seton Hall in their last game of the season to overtake them for 4th place in the Big East, but regardless of the result, the two would face off in the conference tournament at Madison Square Garden.
Seton Hall pulled away in overtime, handing St John’s another bitter end to the season. The loss likely cost the Red Storm a chance at qualifying for the NCAA Tournament and ended incredible seasons for a handful of players.
In his first season, freshman forward Posh Alexander made an instant impact, consistently scoring in double figures while picking up his fair share of steals. Alexander’s presence was massive for St John’s, who went 11-2 when he scored at least 10 points.
A breakout sophomore season for Julian Champagnie was instrumental in St John’s big surge forward. Champagnie averaged just under 20 points as he stepped into a more prominent role after a decent first year.
Alexander and Champagnie led St John’s on a massive 8-2 run in January and February that turned around the season. During the run, the Red Storm won seven conference games, including wins over two top 25 teams, #23 UConn and a huge upset over #3 Villanova.
Alexander averaged around 15 points with 5 assists and 4 steals during the stretch, a big presence on both sides of the ball. Champagnie continued to impress with his consistent scoring, but was also a presence on the glass, grabbing 13 rebounds against Villanova and 10 against Providence.
Champagnie made the decision to test the NBA draft waters after the season concluded, joining his twin brother, Pittsburgh star Justin, in declaring for the draft. Both players are projected as possible 2nd round picks, but if Julian returns to St John’s, it will give them a massive boost on offense next year.
If Champagnie is selected by a NBA team it will leave St John’s with a big hole, something that may not be easy to fill with the departure of three players to the transfer portal. Two big rotation players, Greg Williams Jr and Marcellus Earlington, both departed St John’s, following a handful of others, including Josh Roberts, Vince Cole, and John McGriff, who was head coach Mike Anderson’s first recruit.
The shakeup means next season’s roster will look quite different, though a big part of that will be the new faces coming into the program. While they lost a good chunk of players to transfers, St John’s has picked up a few new names to fill big places of need.
Joel Soriano, a forward at Fordham, has crossed town after improving in his second year with the underperforming Rams. Soriano averaged close to a double-double this season and provides a big presence on both ends of the court. Despite Fordham’s abysmal season, Soriano ranked 3rd in the Atlantic 10 in rebounding, dominating the offensive glass.
Joining Soriano as a transfer is Rutgers guard Montez Mathis, who St John’s hopes will fill out the roster in his last two years of eligibility. Mathis played in the NCAA Tournament with Rutgers, who broke their tournament drought with a win over Clemson in the first round. Mathis recorded 10 points in their 2nd round loss to #2 Houston.
Another big addition is Stef Smith, a graduate transfer from Vermont. Smith was a 3-year starter with the Catamounts, and brings some experience and depth at guard as he spends his final year of eligibility in Queens.
Rounding off the list of new transfers is athletic big man Aaron Wheeler, who was an impressive defender at Perdue. The Boilermakers forward has never put up strong offensive numbers, but will fill in as another big defensive presence.
After narrowly missing the big dance this season, St John’s will be eyeing another transformative season. The Red Storm placed 9th in the Big East in 2019-20, but made a massive improvement to finish 4th this season. If they continue their positive trend, the program will be back to a strong competitive level, and we can hope to see the Johnnies take the court in the NCAA Tournament once again.
St John’s has not put together a tournament run in some time, not making it past the first round since 2000, when they lost in the 2nd round. Since then St John’s made just 3 appearances in the tournament, losing in the first game of each. In 2019, St John’s qualified for a First Four matchup against Florida State for an 11 seed spot. In their toughest test of the year, Arizona soared past St John’s.
However, the tides seem to be changing in New York. With the hire of Mike Anderson and a fair share of dedication and hard work, St John’s has turned their basketball program around. Dynamic young players are again on the Red Storm’s radar, and though this offseason brings some changes to the roster, St John’s is hopeful to return next season with a purpose.

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