Adams Busy Day Addresses Three Issues
Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, begins his day today at 9 a.m. welcoming the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Legacy Tour “Road to Freedom” Bus to Brooklyn, as part of its travels across the country to raise awareness of disability issues in recognition of the ADA’s 25th anniversary this month.
He will also use the occasion to announce upgrades that have been made to Brooklyn Borough Hall to improve access for people with disabilities as a result of his Access-Friendly NYC initiative, as well as to call on all government facilities to perform an accessibility assessment.
Then at 12 noon, Adams will bicycle from Borough Hall, 209 Joralemon Street, to the site of yesterday’s fatal cyclist crash by the intersection of 4th Avenue and Atlantic Avenue in order to call an expedited street redesign for this and other thoroughfares determined to be priority corridors under the City’s Vision Zero initiative.
According to the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, this death represents at least the third fatality at this specific location in the past three years.
Finally at 6 p.m., Adams will return to Borough Hall, and together with civil rights attorney Norman Siegel, will host their first town hall to investigate cases of tenant harassment throughout Brooklyn.
The aim of the series of town halls will be to determine the potential for lawsuits against particularly harmful landlords whose actions have put the health and safety of Brooklynites at risk.
Representatives of a broad coalition of housing advocates partnering with Adams on these town halls will also be present, including the Association for Neighborhood Housing and Development, Brooklyn Legal Services Corporation A, Los Sures Community Development Corporation, New York Communities for Change, and Tenants & Neighbors.
Schumer Launches Push To Block Fed School Cuts
U.S. Senator Charles Schumer, yesterday, announced he will launch a major push to block any Senate amendment that drastically cuts funding for New York City Schools in the Every Child Achieves Act, which the Senate is considering on the floor this week.
Schumer will explain how the amendment to gut NYC school funding is now neck and neck in terms of vote support and also how it would radically change the current formula used to allocate Title I education funds to K-12 schools. Schumer said the amendment will cost the city a devastating $170 million dollars.
“This amendment would take a hatchet to crucial federal funding, which means New York City schools could lose out on tens of millions and for New York as a whole, that number hits $300 million. This would be a devastating cut that would punish millions of students and teachers across the state, so I will urge my colleagues not to support it and will do all I can to beat it back,” said Schumer.
Schumer said in New York City alone, the 5 boroughs receive more than $703 million in Title I funding.
Congresswoman Yvette Clarke released a statement against the House approving the amendment last week, and Schumer’s release to fight to defeat the amendment included support from Mayor Bill de Blasio and others.
“It’s bad enough when Washington refuses to increase funding to keep up with demand. Threatening to gut school funding by $170 million is simply unacceptable – and it would have a devastating impact on our students and families at a time when we need these resources most,” said de Blasio.
Ortiz Proposes Putting Breathalyzers In Every Car
Sunset Park Assemblyman and Assistant Speaker Felix Ortiz, yesterday, said he wants breathalyzers installed in all cars and stricter drunk driving standards in the state.
His announcement came following the most recent drunk driving accident that cost the lives of three of four family members on the Southern State Parkway.
“We need real solutions to reducing drunk driving in New York. Our laws are not working and innocent people are paying the price with their lives as a result. Stopping drunk drivers with whatever is necessary should be this state’s public safety priority. Every day we continue under the current standards we risk losing more innocent lives. That is unacceptable,” said Ortiz.
Ortiz’s proposed bill (A6445) would require the installation of ignition interlock devices, a type of breathalyzer, in all cars manufactured, sold or registered in New York State. The bill also calls for the retrofitting of existing vehicles. The interlock ignition device measures blood alcohol concentration through a sample of air blown into it by the driver. These portable breathalyzers, attached to the car’s ignition system, will not allow a car to be turned on if a deep breath lung test is not taken nor passed.
Each year in the United States, nearly 10,000 people are killed in crashes involving alcohol-impaired drivers and more than 173,000 are injured.
Colton, Ortiz Meet With Kissinger At Chinese Consulate
Bensonhust Assemblyman William Colton and Sunset Park Assemblyman Feliz Ortiz, last week, met with Former U.S. Secretary of State Dr. Henry Kissinger at the Chinese Consulate to celebrated the reception for the USA National Youth Orchestra, a young group of talented musicians who are touring China from July 11-26.
Colton is a long-standing supporter of the cultural ambassadors who will not only demonstrate their musical abilities but serve as a symbol of the growing relations between U.S. and Chinese cultures.
Brennan, Wasserman Join De Blasio Administration
Mayor Bill de Blasio in the past few weeks plucked two Brooklyn Democratic Political Club leaders – and political allies – to join his administration.
Justin Brannan, the former spokesman for Bay Ridge City Councilman Vincent Gentile, and president of the Bay Ridge Democrats was hired in an intergovernmental affairs position with the Department of Education.
John Wasserman, Treasurer of the Brooklyn Young Democrats and President of the Brooklyn College Democrats was hired as a tenant support specialist.
KCP congratulates both Brannan and Wasserman on their new gigs.
