Nadler Calls On Ryan To Disband Committee On Women’s Health
Western Brooklyn Congressman Jerrold Nadler, along with fellow Democratic Members of the Select Committee to Attack Women’s Health, on Dec. 1, called on Speaker Paul Ryan to disband the partisan Select Committee in the wake of the attack on a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs, CO last Friday.
“Anti-choice rhetoric is causative, and predictably so, of this violent extremism,” said Nadler in a letter with his committee colleagues to Ryan. “To continue this Select Committee is to continue spreading these lies about Planned Parenthood, and to continue inciting extremism and attacks against reproductive health facilities, providers and patients. Bulletproof glass and safe rooms should not be a requirement for women and families to access their legally-guaranteed right to an abortion.”
“Three Congressional committees have already investigated Planned Parenthood based on videos manufactured by an ideological organization that opposes safe and legal abortion services, and Republican Chairman Jason Chaffetz has admitted that there is no evidence that Planned Parenthood has broken any laws. Rather than spending millions more taxpayer dollars on another special Benghazi-like committee to reinvestigate inflammatory and baseless allegations, Congress should turn its attention to ensuring that women get the vital and legal health care services that they need. We call on Speaker Ryan to disband the Select Panel to Attack Women’s Health,” the letter went on to say.
Stringer’s Brooklyn Town Hall Tonight
New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer, along with members of his staff community leaders and local elected officials are holding a Brooklyn Town Hall tonight.
“The Brooklyn Town Hall is a great opportunity to hold an open dialogue about the daily challenges New Yorkers are facing,” said Stringer. “The event will be open to all, unfiltered, with no topic too big – or too small – to raise. I look forward to hearing what people have to share, and beyond that, working together with communities to implement solutions for the future.”
For those who cannot attend, but wish to keep up with the conversation, Comptroller Stringer will also be streaming his Brooklyn Town Hall over the live video app, Periscope. The link is accessible on the Comptroller’s Twitter, @scottmstringer, and by following @scottmstringer on the Periscope app. The Comptroller invites constituents to submit questions over Twitter using the hashtag #BKTownHall.
The event is slated for 7 p.m., tonight at the Brooklyn Music School, 126 St. Felix Street in Fort Greene.
Greenfield’s Pre-Paid Parking Meters Goes Into Effect
Boro Park City Councilman David G. Greenfield’s deal to allow Boro Parkers to pre-pay meters on 13th and 18th Avenues goes into effect this week.
Drivers will now be allowed to pay the meters up to four hours in advance at 3 p.m. on Fridays for meters that are usually in effect until 7 p.m. This deal with the Department of Transportation (DOT) builds on Greenfield’s successful effort where he previously got the DOT to agree to pre-payment of meters on 16th Avenue. In addition, other areas in Boro Park and Midwood will be studied over the course of the next year at the request of Greenfield, Senator Simcha Felder and Assemblyman Dov Hikind.
This deal is critical for many Shomer Shabbos drivers and their guests who cannot feed the meter once Shabbos begins on Friday. In the winter months, Shabbos begins as early as 4 p.m., preventing most residents from parking on the major avenues and exacerbating Boro Park’s parking crisis. This solution has added hundreds of new parking spots on Friday in Boro Park, said Greenfield.
“My many thanks to the Commissioner Polly Trottenberg, the Department of Transportation, and the de Blasio administration for taking into account the unique needs of Orthodox Jewish New Yorkers. Being able to pre-pay the meter is vital for those who observe Shabbos and will really help alleviate the pre-Shabbos parking crunch in Boro Park,” said Greenfield.
Golden Bill Protecting Emergency Workers Gets Signed
Bay Ridge State Senator Martin J. Golden, Chair of the Senate’s Civil Service and Pensions Committee, yesterday announced that Governor Cuomo has signed into a law a bill he sponsored helping protect emergency medical service paramedics or technicians serving the state.
The measure strengthens the punishment to a felony any perpetrator convicted of assaulting any emergency workers while performing their assigned duties.
“Emergency medical service paramedics and technicians are required to treat patients under extremely dangerous and stressful conditions, and deliberate, violent attacks against these public servants are, sadly, not uncommon. Therefore, EMS paramedics and technicians should be offered every protection under the law,” said Golden.
“This bill ensures that, in those cases in which there is proof that an individual
intended to injure one of these professionals while on duty, that perpetrator can be prosecuted as a felon. We must do everything in our power to protect those who are there for us in times of need.”
Treyger, Colton, Savino Bring $3.4 Million To Gravesend Park
Southern Brooklyn lawmakers including City Council Member and Brooklyn Delegation co-chair Mark Treyger, State Senator Diane Savino and Assembly Member William Colton, announced yesterday a combined $3.4 million dollars in funding recently secured to renovate and redevelop Scarangella Park, one of the Bensonhurst/Gravesend area’s largest recreational park and playground locations.
The funding includes $2.4 million that Treyger was able to secure in the City budget with the help of City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, and $1 million secured in the capital budget by Savino – as well as the corresponding plans to renovate and redevelop are part of a larger effort to focus attention on recreational areas in Southern Brooklyn.
After Treyger, Colton and other elected officials joined NYC Parks recently in announcing that Lafayette Playground, located just across the street from Scarangella Park, will receive a $5.4 million renovation as part of Parks’ Community Parks Initiative, an investment of nearly $9 million will be committed toward the improvement of recreational space in the Bensonhurst/Gravesend area.
Renovation plans include the addition of comfort stations and new playground equipment. Plans also call for a participatory project, with local residents encouraged to contribute ideas and suggestions for redesign plans.
Treyger, Savino and Colton, along with government officials, community activists and local residents will make the official announcement at 3 p.m., today at Scarangella Park on Avenue V between Stillwell Avenue and West 13th Street.
