Metro NY reports that our man and Park Sloper Senator Charles Schumer is calling for a nationwide reporting system for MRSA, antibiotic-resistant strain of staph infection blamed for the death of a 12-year-old Brooklyn boy.

This from Metro NY:

“We need all hands on deck and all eyes watching to ensure this superbug doesn’t pop up again and leading to the same tragic outcome,” Schumer said on Sunday. “Unfortunately, without labs and hospitals reporting MRSA infections, we’ll never know where the next case could pop up or if we have things fully under control.”

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteria, or MRSA, have gained attention since a government report this month found more than 90,000 Americans get potentially deadly staph infections each year.

The bacteria can be carried by healthy people, living on their skin or in their noses. Most drug-resistant staph cases are mild skin infections, but severe infections can enter the bloodstream or destroy flesh and become deadly.

The bacteria don’t respond to penicillin-related antibiotics once commonly used to treat them, but they can be treated with other drugs.

Brooklyn middle school student Omar Rivera had lesions on his legs and back, friends said. He was taken on Oct. 14 to Brookdale Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Gowanus Lounge reports that there’s a a community meeting tonight at the 78th Precinct about a rise in crime in Park Slope. Here’s the info from GL this morning:

There’s a community meeting tonight at the 78th Precinct at Bergen and Flatbush) and that there have been about 12 break ins in a ten-block radius in the last several months.

Third Street News Flash: A note from Corey appeared on both doors of the Mojo today, a typewritten letter to customers explaining the recent changes at the cafe.

In the note, Corey announced (for those who don’t already know) that the Mojo was sold to a man named Giancarlo. Brooklyn-born and bred, he’s a local cheesecake entrepreneur.
According to Corey, the shop will no longer be selling Carvel Ice Cream, which explains why the sign was taken down. Instead, they will serve their own brand of soft ice cream that is as good or better than Carvel.

Someone at the shop (and I forget who) told me that the Carvel franchise is very expensive and it didn’t really make sense financially. Obviously, they were able to replicate the stuff and do without the franchise bills.

He also announced that the Mojo would be featuring Ainsley’s Cheesecakes, which is Giancarlo’s cheesecake business. They will also start selling homemade soups again.

The note ended with a request for comments and suggestions; Corey wants to know what works and what doesn’t at the cafe. He also said that they would now offer a Mojo Coffee Card, like many of the coffee places around the Slope: 10 cups and the 11th is yours on the house.

I thought it was interesting that the note was written by Corey, the Mojo’s General Manager. It made me think that Giancarlo has put Corey in charge of the daily running of the shop. If Giancarlo has another business baking cheesecakes, he definitely needs a trustworthy and capable manager like Corey at the helm.

One suggestion from my sister: she thinks they should replace the bathroom door, which looks like it was kicked in by either a disgruntled customer or employee.

The place looks more spacious now that they’ve moved the sugar and utensils cabinet. So far, the transition from Michael to Giancarlo has been smooth. Hopefully, the cafe will  remain as popular as ever with all its constituencies: the breakfast on-the-run crowd, the after-drop-off parents, the woman who run Park Slope, the caregivers, the lunchtime kids, the afterschool crowd, and the after-dinner ice cream eaters.

Giancarlo (and Corey) may even have some interesting changes up their sleeves.