Adams Hosts Candlelight Vigil Against Nationwide Violence
Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams and The Most Reverend Nicholas DiMarzio, Bishop of Brooklyn, the highest ranking Roman Catholic clergy member of the borough, will hold a candlelight vigil at tonight with police officers, interfaith leaders, and community members in the wake of recent acts of violence nationwide, including two men fatally shot by police in Louisiana and Minnesota as well as five Dallas law enforcement officers killed during a protest of police-involved shootings.
Adams and Bishop DiMarzio will convene Brooklynites to mourn the lives lost and to pray for an end to violence and the healing of community-police relations across the country.
The vigil is slated for 7 p.m., tonight in Grand Army Plaza where Flatbush Avenue, Eastern Parkway and Union Street intersect.
Hamilton, Central Brooklyn Pols Hold Unity In The Community Walk
State Sen. Jesse Hamilton along with other Central Brooklyn Lawmakers including Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, State Sen. Velmanette Montgomery, Assembly Members Latrice Walker, Diana Richardson, and Walter Mosley; and City Council Members Robert Cornegy Jr. and Darlene Mealy will hold a Unity In The Community Walk on Tuesday.
The purpose of the march is to bring together everyone in response to the recent violence nationwide. The walk is to show that by only working together and being a unified community can stop the senseless killing. Also participating in the walk is Community Boards 3, 8 and 9; as well as both the 71st and 77th Police Precinct’s Community and Clergy Councils.
“In the days to come, we must dedicate ourselves to the work ahead. Consoling the grieving, acting in unison to speak out against violence, rebuilding confidence in policing and our justice system, promoting positive police-community relations, and reflecting on what longer-term changes we ought to institute, those are among the tasks that require our urgent attention. What we must not do, what I demand we collectively reject: the temptation to give in to anger, desolation, and despair. Anger provides no answer to anguish. Yes, today we confront heart-rending injury and loss. But we must hold tight to the abiding belief that justice prevails. And what’s more, commit to putting in the work so justice will prevail,” said Hamilton.
The march is slated to star at 6 p.m., tomorrow, July 12. The walk will start at the 77th Precinct, 127 Utica Avenue between St. Marks and Bergen Street in Crown Heights and end at Lincoln Terrace Park, Rochester Avenue and Eastern Parkway on the Crown Heights, East New York, East Flatbush border. For further info call (718) 284-4700.
Gillibrand Introduces Bill To Help Families Of Fallen First Responders
U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Congressman Pete King yesterday announced bipartisan legislation, the Public Safety Officers’ Benefits Improvement Act, to cut bureaucratic red tape for families of fallen first responders who are seeking compensation that their loved ones earned from the federal government.
Under the Public Safety Officers’ Benefits Program, a federal program, families of public safety officers – police, fire, and EMT – who died as a result of their work or in the line of duty can receive financial compensation from the federal government.
However, according to a report by USA Today, the average wait for a decision by the Public Safety Officers’ Benefits Program is more than a year, with some families waiting two or more years for the compensation. These include the families of first responders who worked at Ground Zero after the 9/11 attacks.
“The Public Safety Officers’ Benefits Improvement Act would go a long way toward helping us take care of the families of our fallen first responders,” said Gillibrand. “Our public safety officers know that death or serious injury is a real risk in their jobs, but they show up to work anyway, ready to help and willing to sacrifice if that’s what it takes to make their communities safe. And when tragedy does strike, we should make it as easy as possible for their families to get the compensation they deserve and need. I will continue to urge all of my colleagues to support this bill, and I hope to see it passed into law soon.”
Cymbrowitz Write German Parliament For Holocaust Survivors Reparations
Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz (Sheepshead Bay, Manhattan Beach, Brighton Beach Homecrest), who has worked closely with the Claims Conference for 16 years to ensure that Holocaust survivors receive the reparations to which they are entitled, urged the German Parliament in a letter today to approve a long-awaited agreement that will finally provide elderly Holocaust survivors in Brooklyn and around the world with the home care they need.
The agreement, reached this week by the German government and subject to Parliament approval, will lift the cap on the number of hours of home care beginning next January for survivors who spent time in a concentration camp, ghetto or in hiding. For those who fled the Nazis or suffered any other persecution, the cap on home care will increase from 25 hours to 40 hours per week. Some 67,000 Holocaust survivors worldwide now receive home care.
In his letter today to the German Bundestag, Assemblyman Cymbrowitz commended the German government “for recognizing its continuing obligation to victims of the Holocaust more than 75 years after the liberation.”
“Over eight months of painstaking discussions, the Claims Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany negotiated with the German government to address the significant unmet and still increasing needs for home care among Holocaust survivors around the world. The need has not yet peaked, as all the survivors who remain alive are increasingly elderly, with many becoming increasingly frail, disabled and unable to tend to their personal needs without assistance,” Cymbrowitz wrote.
Schneiderman Investigates Delrawn Small Death
New York State Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced last week that he will investigate the shooting death of Delrawn Small pursuant to his authority as Special Prosecutor under Executive Order No. 147. Executive Order No. 147 confers authority on the Attorney General’s office to investigate cases where an unarmed civilian dies during an encounter with a law enforcement officer.
Small, 37, was shot to death by off-duty NYPD Police Officer Wayne Isaacs following a traffic incident and confrontation on Atlantic Ave. and Bradford St. in East New York on July 4. Recently a video showed up that appears to dispute Isaacs explanation of what happened to cause him to shoot Small.
“As Special Prosecutor, I am committed to conducting a full, fair and independent investigation of this tragedy, and will follow the facts and evidence—including this video evidence—wherever they lead. As our investigation continues, we urge any witnesses who may have additional information to come forward to our office. My heart goes out to the Small family during this painful period,” said Schneiderman.
Witnesses who may have any information should email the AG’s office at nysag@ag.ny.gov.
