SHEEPSHEAD BAY'S ONLY INDEPENDENT NEWS BLOG

Photo: Maria Danalakis

Two weeks after Hurricane Sandy forced the evacuation of Coney Island Hospital, the institution reopened yesterday with limited operations, with full services expected to come back online in the first days of 2013.

The hospital, at 2601 Ocean Parkway, is offering limited outpatient services, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Patients should enter through the Tower building on Avenue Z, and can call (718) 616-6360 for more information.

Coney Island Hospital was evacuated the afternoon after Hurricane Sandy made landfall, knocking power out to the building and flooding the complex’s basements, where generators were stored.

Rebooting the emergency room is the Heath and Hospital Corporation’s next priority, which will take several more weeks.

“Full service for [Coney Island and Bellevue] hospitals, including their critical care units, their operating rooms, their in-patient units for Coney Island, we believe we can do that by the first week of January,” said Alan Aviles of the New York City Health and Hospital Corporation (HHC), according to NY1.

Located within the Zone A evacuation area, Coney Island Hospital suffered extreme flooding throughout the complex. Not only will boilers, electrical systems and air conditioning need replacement, but the hospitals also stored backup generators, IT servers and assistance, and emergency room support technologies in basements that became submerged with water.

HHC said they will make changes to the hospital’s setup to better prepare for storms and flooding in the future, including moving backup generators and IT support to higher floors.

FEMA will cover some of the damages, as well as reimburse the city for some of the work done.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg has requested $300 million for emergency room repairs resulting from Sandy.

The Shorefront Y has become the site of one of the city’s largest relief efforts, with National Guard and government agencies teaming up the Y and other local organizations to collect and distribute food, clothing and supplies to Brighton Beach’s residents in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.

We just got an e-mail from Shorefront letting us know that a doctor is on-hand at the time of this writing – 12:30 p.m. – treating children who may need medical attention. Many of Brighton Beach’s residents remain without power, heat or hot water, and in such conditions, parent should have their child checked out.

The pediatrician is from Refuah Health Center, and is assisted by a mobile medical truck. They don’t know how long the truck will stay, but they are trying to treat any and all children who come before they leave. They have medicine available and can also write prescriptions.

The city has dispatched buses to pick up residents lacking heat and hot water and taking them to warming centers that are open overnight.

Unfortunately, the buses don’t have many pick up points. Here in Brooklyn, there’s just one – in Coney Island. If you can make your way to the MCU Park (Cyclones Stadium) Parking Lot at 1904 Surf Avenue at West 17th Street, a bus will take you to John Jay High School, 237 Seventh Avenue between 4th and 5th Streets.

Sound like a schlep? Certainly. Should the city provide more pick up locations? Absolutely. Regardless, don’t brush it off. If you’re in a home without heat or hot water, go through the trouble of packing a bag and getting to the shelter. It’s much better than hypothermia, and you’ll live to complain about it later.

Last bus leaves at 9:00 p.m. A full list of overnight warming centers and bus pickup locations can be found here.

Sts. Simon and Jude Parish Elementary School. Source: Google Maps

State Senator Mary Golden in conjunction with Maimonides Medical Center will host a Cardiac Health and Stroke Prevention Symposium, this evening, October 22 at 6:00 p.m. The panel, featuring noted medical experts from Maimonides, will be held in the auditorium of the Sts. Simon and Jude Parish Elementary School, 294 Avenue T (across the street from the church).

Speakers will include Dr. Razvan Buciuc, chief, Endovascular Surgical Neuroradiology; Dr. Robert Rhee, chief, Vascular and Endovascular Surgery; Dr. Greg Ribakove, chief, Cardiothoracic Surgery, and Dr. Steven Rudolph, director, Stroke Medicine.

“It is so important that we understand the best ways to take care of ourselves and our families,” said Golden. “That is why I am proud to be hosting this important forum in conjunction with some leading medical doctors from Maimonides Medical Center, based on cardiac health and stroke prevention. I am sure that all who attend the event will find it worthwhile.”

Dinner will be served during the symposium and all who attend will receive free gifts. Reservations are a must and can be made by calling (718) 283-8832.

Stained glass at the Cloisters shows baby Jesus’ bris, in which some accounts say he received metzitzah b’peh. (Source: pboothe/Flickr)

BETWEEN THE LINES: As soon as the New York City Department of Health (DOH) established a regulation recently to require written parental consent before a circumcision, several rabbis and Jewish groups asked a federal court to prevent its enforcement, claiming it is safe and called the ruling an unconstitutional breach of freedom of religion.

The focus of the dispute is a specific act performed during the procedure. After the mohel, who conducts the circumcision or bris, removes the foreskin from the penis of an eight-day-old Jewish baby boy, he carries out the ultra-Orthodox tradition of metzitzah b’peh — cleansing the wound by sucking blood from the cut.

In most modern circumcisions, the mohel uses gauze or a tiny sterile pipe to remove blood during the bris.

Not being well informed about Orthodox rituals, I never heard of that explicit act and was somewhat shocked to read about it. When I get a paper cut, I often suck the wound, but I’d never ask someone else to do it.

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Photo by Erica Sherman

Councilman Lew Fidler, in conjunction with Beth Israel / Kings Highway Hospital, will be offering free flu shots, by appointment only, to his constituents from 10:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on October 11, 15 and 26, and from 3:00 to 6:30 p.m. on October 31 and November 7.

Currently, those age 18 and over are eligible.

According to a rep from Fidler’s office, “Criteria are not under our control and are subject to change.”

The flu shots will be administered at Fidler’s District Office, 1402 East 64th Street, where Veterans Avenue meets Avenue N.

Call (718) 241-9330 to make an appointment.

As temperatures begin to dip, the odds of contracting the flu begin to increase. Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz’ office will be hosting free flu shots once a week throughout October. The schedule is as follows:

• Wednesday, October 10, 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
• Thursday, October 18, 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.
• Wednesday, October 24, 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
• Tuesday, October 30, 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.

Assemblyman Cymbrowitz’ office is located at 1800 Sheepshead Bay Road between Shore Parkway and Emmons Avenue (across the street from El Greco diner). Appointments are required.

To schedule your flu shot, call (718) 743-4078 or email cymbros@assembly.state.ny.us.

Source: NYSenate.gov

The office of State Senator Martin J. Golden, in conjunction with the Visiting Nurse Service of New York, will be offering free flu shots at two separate events in our area throughout October.

The vaccines, which will be given by appointment only, are for senior citizens (65 and older), uninsured residents, and New Yorkers at high risk for developing influenza according to the Department of Health (pregnant women, and people with certain chronic medical conditions).

The free flu shots will be given:

• Tuesday, October 9, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at St. Simon and Jude, 294 Avenue T between Van Sicklen Street and Lake Street
• Wednesday, October 10, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Salt Marsh Nature Center, 3301 Avenue U at East 33rd Street

“I am proud to once again partner with the Visiting Nurse Service of New York to make the flu vaccination available at no cost to residents of my district. I wish to remind everyone how important it is get a flu shot so to keep from falling ill this winter,” Golden stated.

An appointment can be made by calling Golden’s office at (718) 238-6044.

Homecrest Community Services will hold its 16th Annual Senior Health Fair tomorrow, September 19, from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., rain or shine at the Homecrest Senior Center, 1413 Avenue T at East 15th Street.

The center is located one block north of the Avenue U stop on the Q train. There is car parking at the site. A light lunch will be served.

For more information, call (718) 376-4036.

State Senator David Storobin’s office to offer free flu shots. Photo by Erica Sherman

State Senator David Storobin is inviting his constituents, age 18 and over, to take advantage of the free flu shots his district office is offering this Thursday, September 20, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The district office is located at 2201 Avenue U.

“The flu is a major threat to public health, but it’s easily prevented through a simple vaccine,” said Storobin. The flu shot, he said, “takes just a few minutes, and it’s completely free.”

With influenza resulting in more than 200,000 hospitalizations and 23,000 deaths in the United States, the state senator especially encourages seniors to get vaccinated. “For New Yorkers over the age of 65, influenza is much more serious, and can be life-threatening.”

According to the State Department of Health, the 2012-2013 vaccine will protect against three strains of the influenza virus. For New Yorkers at high risk — people 65 and older, pregnant women, and people with certain chronic medical conditions — it’s especially important to receive the vaccination.

If you’re not available on September 20, Storobin’s office will again be offering flu shots at his district office on Monday, October 29, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Insurance is not required — but an appointment is. To make an appointment, call Senator Storobin’s office at (718) 743-8610.