Bichotte Ends Hunger Strike With Resolution Signing
Midwood Assemblymember Rodneyse Bichotte, yesterday, brought her hunger strike to an end after four days as the New York State Assembly voted to approve a resolution condemning the actions of the Dominican Republic’s Constitutional Court which stripped hundreds of thousands of Dominicans of Haitian descent of their citizenship.
“Today’s vote sends an unequivocal message that the Dominican Republic’s persistent abuse of Dominicans of Haitian descent must stop,” said Bichotte. “As happy as I am to bring my hunger strike to an end, it was nothing compared to the deprivation and persecution suffered by Dominicans of Haitian descent. I applaud my colleagues in the Assembly for joining me in voting to condemn these human rights violations.”
The non-binding resolution addresses recent laws and court decisions in the Dominican Republic that have left hundreds of thousands of Dominicans of Haitian descent without citizenship rendering them stateless, as well as other human rights abuses faced by that community.
Squadron Opposes Reselling Of Tickets For Charity
North Brooklyn State Senator Daniel Squadron, yesterday, cited Jay-Z and Billy Joel on the Senate floor in opposition to a bill that would let ticket resellers continue to make a profit on charity events.
This annual bill extending ticket resale laws in New York (S.4801) passed the Senate. This follows Squadron’s floor speech in 2014 citing Kanye West and Bruce Springsteen opposing this legislation. Squadron has carried legislation for years that would prohibit the practice of reselling tickets for more than their face value if the event’s revenue is dedicated to a charity or not-for-profit cause.
To the tune of Billy Joel’s “We Didn’t Start the Fire,” Squadron said:
“We shouldn’t scalp the tickets
They were too expensive, tried to tell the Senate
We shouldn’t scalp the tickets
We have to right it, it’s our chance to fight it”
Eugene Goes To Bat To Help Nepal
Flatbush City Council Member Mathieu Eugene, the Permanent Mission of Nepal to the United Nations, and the Consulate General of Nepal, along with community and religious leaders, will host a press conference calling for the City of New York, the United States government and the global community to provide Nepal with life-saving supplies and financial assistance in the aftermath of the earthquake that devastated the country on April 25.
The press conference will feature testimony provided by people whose relatives have been affected and living under dire conditions since the earthquake struck Nepal nearly two weeks ago. The death tolls have exceeded 7,000 and more than 14,000 people are reported injured. The earthquake has also claimed the lives of 58 foreign nationals, with 52 of them wounded and 112 still missing.
Eugene is a longtime supporter of the immigrant community. As the first Haitian-American elected official to the New York City Council and a member of the Immigration Committee, he was in the forefront of the relief effort for his native country of Haiti after the horrific earthquake there.
When: Thursday, May 7, 2015 at 12 noon.
Where: Steps of City Hall
Menchaca Holds Zoning Workshop Tonight
