Jesse Hamilton, Colleagues Host Iftar Dinner
Central Brooklyn State Sen. Jesse Hamilton tonight will host an Iftar dinner in cooperation with the Nigerian American Muslim Integrated Community and in partnership with State Sen. Velmanette Montgomery, Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams, City Councilwoman Laurie Cumbo, and 57th Assembly District Leader Olanike Alabi.
Iftar is the meal eaten after sunset by Muslims to break the daily fast during the month of Ramadan.
This is the second year in a row the Nigerian American Muslim Integrated Community is hosting this community Iftar dinner, continuing a track record of community engagement as the mosque also hosted a Hackathon in December of 2015 in partnership with Hamilton, colleagues, and community groups.
“This Iftar dinner welcomes people from all across our community to reinforce a much needed message of unity. Unity in the face of those who seek to divide us, one from another. People of all faiths and no faith can gather, promote understanding, and celebrate the best in each of us,” said Hamilton.
The Iftar meal is slated for 8 p.m. tonight at the Nigerian American Muslim Integrated Community, 801 Dean Street in Crown Heights.
Schumer, Gillibrand Bring $257 Million To City In Homeland Security Funding
U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand announced yesterday that New York is set to receive $257,236,686 million in federal funding through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
First, Schumer and Gillibrand announced $178,623,000 in Fiscal Year 2016 funding for the New York City area through the Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI). The UASI program provides funding to address the unique needs of high-threat, high-density Urban Areas.
The funding assists these localities in building sustainable capacity to prevent, protect against, mitigate, respond to, and recover from acts of terrorism. In addition, $5,172,143 in UASI funding has been awarded to the New York City area for use by nonprofit organizations that are high-risk of attack to improve their security.
Earlier this year, Schumer and Gillibrand vowed to fight against the White House’s budget proposal that wrongly cut New York City’s FY17 by nearly $300 million. Following Schumer and Gillibrand’s push, the Homeland Security budget in the Senate rightfully restored those funds to $600 million. The funding announced yesterday today is for FY16.
“With ISIS-inspired attacks and terrorism on the rise across the globe, we must make sure we have the resources needed to remain protected,” said Schumer. “As New Yorkers, we understand the need to remain vigilant when it comes to terror threats because our home has always been a primary target. This critical anti-terrorism funding gives our first responders the resources they need to help keep us safe.”
“New York is the number one terror target in the world, so we must continue to be vigilant, and I’ll continue to fight for every available federal resource to keep us safe,” said Gillibrand. “We must maintain these critical anti-terror funds so law enforcement has the resources they need to continue to protect New York.”
The purpose of the Homeland Security Program is to provide funding to assist state and local governments in obtaining the resources needed to increase law enforcement terrorism prevention capabilities. Funds will be used to address identified planning, organization, equipment, training, and exercise needs to prevent, protect against, mitigate, respond to, and recover from acts of terrorism and other catastrophic events.
Simon Hails Supreme Court Pro-Choice Decision
Assemblywoman Jo Anne Simon (Downtown Brooklyn, Carroll Gardens Boerum Hill) yesterday hailed Monday’s the U. S. Supreme Court decision to strike down the 2013 Texas law which closed more than half the abortion clinics in the state, and required doctors to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals – effectively limiting the pool of qualified medical professionals to provide safe abortions to women.
The justices have also subsequently rejected bids to hear similar cases from Mississippi and Wisconsin, as well as a case from Washington State regarding religious pharmacists’ control of the morning-after pill.
“I applaud the Supreme Court’s decision (5-3) to support women’s sovereignty over their bodies, and their right to choose when and if to bear children, which is not only a family decision: it is a very personal choice about one’s physical well being. The Texas law served to punish, not to protect women’s health,” said Simon.
Eugene Unveils New Trash Cans
City Council Member Mathieu Eugene (Flatbush) today is partnering with the Department of Sanitation and students from MS 246 Walt Whitman to unveil new trash cans in the neighborhood.
The initiative is an effort to combat unsightly litter that is all too prevalent in Brooklyn, Eugene has provided funding to the DOS to ensure that the neighborhoods throughout his district will have more trash cans, all readily available for people to use to properly dispose of their litter.
“Our children deserve to grow up in an area that is clean and well-cared for, especially since litter isn’t just an aesthetic problem-it can impact the health and safety of New Yorkers. It’s so important to make sure our streets are clean, and I’m pleased to allocate funds to make sure that we have the resources we need to have a clean community,” said Eugene. “I’d like to commend all the young people that have been raising their voice to advocate for litter-free streets, and I look forward to continuing to work with these youth leaders.”
The unveiling of the trash cans is slated for 10 a.m., today at the northeast corner of Flatbush Avenue and Hawthorne Street in Flatbush.
Richardson State Of The District Tonight
Assemblywoman Diana Richardson (Crown Heights, Lefferts Gardens) tonight will deliver her annual State of the District Address and combine it with a Civic Minded event merger.
“It is my intent to combine these two events to give community members, leaders, merchants, legislators, block associations and institutions the opportunity to gain first-hand knowledge of key initiatives to encourage growth in our community and receive important neighborhood updates,” said Richardson.
