w Facebook.com/ Twitter.com Volume 59, No. 84 THURSDAY, AUGUST 8, 2013 BrooklynEagle.com BrooklynEagle @BklynEagle 50¢ Navy Yard Leads BROOKLYN Jackie Robinson Statue at MCU Defaced TODAY being subjected to racist cat- 3-D Printing Hate Graffiti calls and threats on a regular AUG.8 By Peter Svensson Included Swastikas basis. The incident is re-enact- Associated Press ed in the recent film about Today, with anything high- By Raanan Geberer Robinson, “42.” Good morning. Today tech having a sexy ring to it, Brooklyn Daily Eagle is the 220th day of the Cyclones spokesman Billy there’s a new romantic attrac- The well-known statue of Harner, who confirmed the re- year. On this day in tion to working in factories. Jackie Robinson and Pee Wee ports, said the Cyclones had been 1901, a trolley car going Brooklyn’s Navy Yard and parts Reese at MCU Park in Coney playing the Connecticut Tigers at full speed crashed of Long Island City, just over Island, home of the Brooklyn at MCU Park Tuesday night. into a farmer’s wagon at the Queens border, are provid- Cyclones, was vandalized with Thus, the vandalism would have the intersection of Ful- ing just the right spaces. hate graffiti late Tuesday or happened after the game. ton and Thatford streets For example, the movement early Wednesday. Harner added that workers in East New York. to take 3-D printing into the The statue, meant to sym- were already cleaning the graffi- The wagon was mainstream has found a home bolize brotherhood, was created ti off the statue early Wednesday “smashed to pieces,” in one of the most expensive by sculptor William Behrends in morning in preparation for an- and the passengers were cities in the country. 2005. It commemorates an inci- other game with the Tigers — all injured. After being Factories in Brooklyn and dent in Robinson’s rookie year, which began at 11 a.m. Sources treated at the scene, Queens used to build battle- 1947, when Reese, who was told the Eagle that the graffiti however, they all were ships, stitch clothing and refine Robinson’s teammate on the was racist in nature and includ- able to return to their sugar, but those industries have Brooklyn Dodgers, walked onto ed swastikas and the words homes. According to wit- largely departed. In recent the infield and put his arm “Heil Hitler.” years, manufacturing has been around Robinson in a gesture of nesses, the accident was Police were on the scene leaving the U.S. altogether. But friendship. caused by the fact that Thursday morning, looking at 3-D printing is a different kind At the time, Robinson was video surveillance tapes of the the horses were trotting of industry, one that doesn’t re- at a slow speed, and the area for clues about the incident. quire large machinery or The statue of Brookyln Dodgers The statue, which is just outside driver of the streetcar smokestacks. Pee Wee Reese and Jackie the stadium’s entry gates, is wasn’t able to come to a “Now technology has Robinson at MCU Park, home technically on land owned by Please turn to page 3 caught up, and we’re capable of of the Brooklyn Cyclones. the New York City Parks De- Please turn to page 3 Photo courtesy of Brooklyn Cyclones Please turn to page 3 BAM Certified Gold All-Day LICH Hearing Packs Courtroom By Green Council Justice Baynes Promises with the six-month legal battle THE BROOKLYN ACADEMY to keep the hospital open and of Music (BAM) announced ‘In For the Long Haul’ told them, “You might as well clear your calendars; I’m in Wednesday that its newest By Mary Frost this for the long haul.” The venue, the innovative Brooklyn Daily Eagle hearing extended all day and Richard B. Fisher Building, In a courtroom packed was scheduled to continue on has been LEED Gold-certified with supporters of Long Thursday. by the US Green Building Island College Hospital Public Advocate Bill de Council (USGBC), making it (LICH), lawyers and re- Blasio has been joined by six porters, Supreme Court Jus- the first theater in New York civic groups and a patient in tice Johnny Lee Baynes on his legal action to keep the City to receive such recogni- Wednesday peppered attor- Cobble Hill hospital open. tion in the New Construction neys for SUNY Downstate The New York State Nurses category. LEED, or Leader- and the state Department of Association, 1199 SEIU, the ship in Energy and Environ- Health (DOH) with questions Concerned Physicians of mental Design, is a program probing the process of closing LICH and others have filed LICH, and again urged all in- to certify energy-efficient separately. volved to consider “any possi- Lawyers for these groups and green buildings. bility of a settlement.” told Justice Baynes they Photo courtesy of BAM He also warned attorneys would agree to a settlement that he was growing impatient Please turn to page 3 D’town’s 84th Precinct Sponsors ‘Night Out’ at Borough Hall Plaza By Rob Abruzzese Precinct Community Council. run around. The Borough Hall Brooklyn Daily Eagle “I thought we had a great celebration featured a local The National Night Out turnout this year. It’s bigger ukulele band, a steel drum Against Crime took place than in years past.” band, an opera singer and Tuesday night, and the 84th National Night Out began more, with the NYPD serving Precinct celebrated its version as a community-police aware- more than 400 hamburgers of it on the steps of Borough ness event in 1984. It takes and 350 hot dogs. Hall with more than 700 peo- place all over the country on “We’ve been coming to ple enjoying live music, food the first Tuesday night in Au- this for several years, at least and entertainment. gust, and is meant to promote the last five,” said Roger “This is a time to celebrate safety and increase awareness Archibald, who was there cel- the success of the relationship about police programs. ebrating his 53rd birthday between the NYPD and the In Brooklyn, it’s mostly a with his three children. “It’s a Left-right: Dan Wiley, representative for Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez; Judy Stanton, community,” said Leslie time to go sit, eat some food, great time to make sure that executive director of the Brooklyn Heights Association; and Fred Mitchell, community affairs Lewis, president of the 84th listen to music and let the kids Please turn to page 3 officer for the 84th Precinct. Eagle photo by Rob Abruzzese Thursday, August 8, 2013 • Brooklyn Daily Eagle • 1 EVIEW AND COMMENT RDisabled People Might Be Better Employees Few people noticed, but last week marked the 23rd anniversary of the 1990 passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. That landmark law is best known for mandating such conveniences as designated park- ing for people with disabilities, wheelchair ramps, and Braille on eleva- tors. A whole generation has now benefited from it. But one thing has not changed very much for America’s 54 million disabled people: landing a job. That may change with a report last week by the National Governors As- sociation. It is called “A Better Bottom Line: Employing People with Disabil- ities.” Note the words “bottom line.” The report aims to help states support a trend in American business led by Walgreens. Since 2007, the drugstore chain has hired those with disabilities not out of magnanimous charity but for the competitive advantage in employing disabled workers. Studies of Walgreens’s experience at a few distribution centers show disabled workers are more efficient and loyal than non–disabled workers. Absenteeism has gone down, turnover is less, and safety statistics are up. And the cost of accommodating such workers with new technologies and education is minimal. More than 100 executives of major companies have toured Walgreens distribution centers where at least a third of workers are physically or men- tally disabled. And last year, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce committed to increasing the employment of people with disabilities by 1 million by 2015. “Walgreens has shown that people with these disabilities can work alongside people without disabilities,” says Sen. Tom Harkin (D- Iowa). “You can’t tell who is who and which is which.” This isn’t just a business trend but a societal change in attitude. Dela- ware Gov. Jack Markell, the recent head of the Governors Association and the leader behind the report, says employers must focus on a person’s abil- ity rather than disability – or even on how a disability enhances a person’s employability. Many disabled workers are so grateful for a job that they work harder. Some industries, such as software and data testing, prefer workers with certain disabilities, such as autism, because of such people's intense focus on detail. Still, business needs a partner in government to make this shift. The re- port cites successes in several states in linking up disabled people with em- ployers and tracking the benefits of hiring such workers. Teens who are dis- abled need help, beginning in middle school, to assess their skills and the industries that need them. The report advises states to approach businesses with a proposition on the value that disabled workers bring to sharehold- ers, not with “an appeal to their corporate responsibility.” “Businesses tell states that they do not want to hire a candidate to meet a state’s need,” according to the report. “They want to hire a candidate that meets the business' needs.” Walgreens now plans to have at least a quarter of its workforce con- sist of people with disabilities.