Adams, James, Ferreras Celebrate in Boro Park
Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, Public Advocate Letitia James and City Council Chair Julissa Ferreras from Queens were on hand last night at Ezra Friedlander’s home to celebrate Tu B’Shvat with the borough’s Jewish community leaders.
The holiday dubbed “The New Year of the Trees,” celebrates the earliest-blooming trees as they wake from their winter sleep and begin a new fruit-bearing cycle.
Adams Gives Keynote Address on Police-Community Relations
Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams will deliver the keynote address at 9 a.m. this morning on improving police-community relations at Columbia University.
The speech will discuss recommendations from a new report his office issued on advancing gun safety in New York. It will build on ideas Adams has shared in recent weeks to help bridge the divide between police and the communities they serve.
Other participants in the conference include former New York Governor David Paterson, former New York City Mayor David Dinkins, former NYCLU executive director Norman Siegel, former NYPD detective Graham Weatherspoon, as well as Kadiatou Diallo, the mother of Amadou Diallo.
Gentile Raves at De Blasio five-borough Ferry Plan
Bay Ridge City Councilman Vincent Gentile applauded Mayor de Blasio‘s $55 million plan to bring ferry service to the city’s waterfront communities for the price of a subway fare, according to a Home Reporter story.
The plan, which de Blasio floated during his State of the City Address, comes out of the growing success of some of the city’s more recent and private ferry options. Among the neighborhoods being explored for ferry service include southern Brooklyn such as Bay Ridge, Sunset Park and Red Hook with Coney Island being considered as further expansion.
“For residents of Southwest Brooklyn, the R train has always been our transit lifeline. But when the MTA closed the tunnel to Manhattan to complete critical post-Sandy repairs, many commuters turned to the waterways and fell in love with the fast ferry,” Gentile told the publication. “The Brooklyn Army Terminal Ferry quickly became an essential fixture of southwest Brooklyn’s transportation network. For many, the BAT Ferry filled a transportation void by providing an alternate means of commuting that was quick, reliable and affordable. I applaud Mayor de Blasio and his team for working with me and my colleagues to bring back this valuable service.”
