Brooklyn Lawmakers Respond to Paris Terrorist Attack
Following the Paris terrorist attack that took 129 lives, City officials tightened up security in and around the city. Below are some of their comments and actions:
Mayor Bill de Blasio on security threat update following attack: “The NYPD is in close touch with our French police counterparts as well as our FBI partners here, following the tragic events in Paris. Out of an abundance of caution, as part of an enhanced counterterrorism overlay the Counterterrorism Bureau has made the following deployments: the NYPD Counterterrorism Response Command (CRC) resources as well as the Critical Response Group (SRG), and Hercules Teams have been dispatched to crowded areas around the city out of an abundance of caution to provide police presence, and public reassurance as we follow the developing situation overseas. Specific deployments, at French government locations in New York City, were made immediately after the attacks.
“NYPD Intelligence Bureau Detectives in France are conducting liaison activities to assist the Paris Police in any way possible, while keeping the NYPD updated on the on-going situation.”
Southwest Brooklyn Congressman Dan Donovan: “Firstly, may God be with the victims and families of this evening’s unconscionable violence. Islamic terrorism continues to threaten free people across the civilized world. We must not be naïve about their desire to attack America. We are targeted because of the ideals we embody — freedom of religion, of press, of lifestyle. We must do everything we can to keep America safe from another attack. We cannot and should not back down in the face of such hateful radicalism. The people of the 11th Congressional District know all too well the devastation of terrorism. We stand united with our allies to eradicate this evil.”
Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams: “Brooklyn mourns the horrific brutality that has shaken Paris, and indeed the entire world. I pray for the safety of Parisians in this terrible hour and for swift justice upon those responsible for these inhumane atrocities. The global community will not allow the City of Light to be darkened by the scourge of terrorism; we stand united in providing whatever support we can to our fallen brothers and sisters across the Atlantic.”
Adams also held an interfaith candlelight walk and vigil with Brooklyn’s French community yesterday at the intersection of President and Smith streets in Carroll Gardens in response to the terror attacks in Paris.
Joining Adams were Boerum Hill Assembly Member Jo Anne Simon and Park Slope City Council Member Brad Lander – all of whom expressed their solidarity with the people of Paris, in addition to those grieving from recent terrorism impacting Kenya and Lebanon.
The lawmakers also addresses safety concerns in and around Brooklyn.
Adams Stands With Corrections Officers After Rikers Island Attack
Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams yesterday joined correction officers in responding to a new attack on Rikers Island, involving a physical assault and the throwing of corrosive chemicals into a guard’s face.
The press conference in lower Manhattan also included images of the correction officer impacted by the inmate attack. Adams and others urges the Bronx District Attorney’s Office and the New York City Department of Corrections to take swift action that advances the safety of correction officers.
Schumer, Gillibrand Announce Money For Floyd Bennet Field
U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand announced that several New York priorities incorporated into the Military Construction appropriations bill have passed Congress and are now on their way to the President’s desk.
Specifically, the bill includes $2.479 million to build a new storage facility at the Brooklyn Navy Reserve Center in Floyd Bennet Field.
The new storage facility will provide space to store specialized communications vehicles and communications/electronic equipment, as the existing buildings lack sufficient storage space to house the current equipment. The incoming equipment and vehicles will require covered storage in order to protect it against the elements. This funding will be used to construct a steel frame pre-engineered high bay organic equipment building which includes a concrete foundation, seismic features, pre-engineered metal insulated siding and roofing.
“The Brooklyn Marine Corps base is in need of additional space to store critical equipment and vehicles to help those who serve our country. I am pleased this $2.4 million in funding has now passed Congress, so we can ensure the Brooklyn Marine Corps Base has the proper resources it needs for our troops,” said Schumer. “I will continue fighting for it until it has been signed by the President.”
“Construction of the new storage facility at the Brooklyn Navy Reserve Center is a critical investment that will ensure the maintenance of specialized communications and electronic equipment and vehicles for the Brooklyn Marine Corps,” said Gillibrand, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. “These federal resources are critical to provide necessary construction upgrades to help ensure our service men and women have the very best facilities available to them. I will continue fighting to ensure our troops have the resources and services they need.”
Richardson Statement On Techno Concert Move To Sunset Park
Crown Heights/Lefferts Gardens Assembly Member Diana Richardson lauded the move of a two-day techno music festival from the Bedford-Union Armory in Crown Heights to the 39th Street Pier in Sunset Park.
The move came after all the local elected officials complained that the community was very concerned that the internationally acclaimed Time Warp Concert series out of Germany would bring drug-crazed tourists to the neighborhood and that there were safety and noise concerns about the armory holding so many people.
“I would like to extend a sincere thank you to Time Warp for addressing the concerns of the local community and for being willing to adapt to our requests. I am also deeply grateful to my fellow elected representatives who joined in unison to make sure this matter was resolved appropriately,” said Richardson.
“This episode shows the power of an engaged community. As a district, we work best when we work together. I look forward to a future where the concerns of all of our communities are recognized by one another, and solved in unison.”
National Book Awards Week Kicks Off With DUMBO Event
Past 5 Under 35 authors Phil Klay, Fiona Maazel, Dinaw Mengestu, ZZ Packer, and Paul Yoon, each selected one writer under age 35 who has published one novel or short story collection. The 2015 honorees are Colin Barrett, Angela Flournoy (also a 2015 National Book Award Fiction Finalist), Megan Kruse, Tracy O’Neill, and Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi.
Ben Greenman, a novelist and an editor at The New Yorker, will moderate the event, Rosie Schaap, the drinks columnist for The New York Times Magazine, is the guest bartender at the event, and LeVar Burton, actor, director, and education advocate is the event host.
The event is slated for 6:30-9:30 p.m., tonight at the PowerHouse Arena, 37 Main Street in Dumbo.
