Treyger Gets Culinary Money For Dewey & Grady High Schools
City Council Member Mark Treyger (Coney Island, Bensonhurst, Gravesend) yesterday announced that, in partnership with the Speaker of the City Council, Melissa Mark-Viverito and the Brooklyn Delegation, he has secured a total of $3.1 million to upgrade Career Technical Education (CTE) culinary programs at Gravesend’s John Dewey High School and Brighton Beach’s William E. Grady Career Technical Education High School.
In addition to helping secure this funding for Dewey and Grady, Treyger allocated over $3.5 million to local schools for technology upgrades, air conditioners, and renovations to libraries, bathrooms, auditoriums, playgrounds, and fields.
The culinary industry is a rapidly-growing sector of the American workforce, yet there is a consistent shortage of skilled laborers to fill the ever-increasing number of available positions. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, approximately 200,000 more line cooks and chefs will be needed by 2025. The National Restaurant Association projects that 2016 will be the sixth consecutive year in which the restaurant industry adds 300,000 new jobs, and that nearly 1.7 million new restaurant jobs will be created by 2026.
“As a former educator, I am thrilled to secure funding to improve CTE programs at a pair of Southern Brooklyn high schools which serve thousands of local students every year,” said Treyger. “CTE programs provide vital educational flexibility for our high school students. CTE programs supplement traditional curricula and provide high school students with meaningful skills, creating pathways to in-demand jobs. The skills learned and opportunities explored through CTE programs help students become familiar with job sectors where labor demand is outpacing the supply of qualified candidates.
“While many students pursue four–year degrees, it is imperative that elected officials and government support the educational goals of students who may not see four-year college as part of their immediate post-secondary career and educational plans or possibilities, particularly with the increasingly prohibitive cost of college tuition,” he added.
Espinal Brings $17.4 Million To Schools in His District
City Council Member Rafael L Espinal, Jr. (Bushwick, East New York) will officially announce tomorrow the city allocation of $17.4 million in funding to 27 schools in his council district earmarked toward technology and infrastructure upgrades.
The funds come as part of a comprehensive rezoning plan Espinal struck after a robust community planning process and which, the City Council approved on April 20.
In addition to the $17.4 million designated to existing schools, the East New York Neighborhood plan will provide for the construction of a new 1,000 seat school, 2.7 million square feet of new modernized space expected to create 4,000 new jobs, over 3,000 new units of affordable housing, and a slew of other community resources aimed at supporting long-term growth and sustainability in the region.
Espinal will make the official announcement at 11 a.m., tomorrow at PS 108, 200 Linwood Street in East New York.
Hamilton Slams Appearance of Anti-Semitic Speaker
Central Brooklyn State Sen. Jesse Hamilton yesterday slammed the Brooklyn Commons, 388 Atlantic Avenue, for hosting so-called researcher Christopher Bollyn to spew his anti-Semitic thoughts regarding Jews and accusations of blaming the 9/11 terrorist attacks on Israel.
“It is important to speak out against hate wherever, whenever, however it appears in our community. That is why I join those speaking out against an event to be held at the Brooklyn Commons this evening featuring anti-Semitic so-called researcher Chistopher Bollyn,” said Hamilton.
“Our community is among the most diverse in New York State. Our neighborhoods are home to residents whose roots stretch from China and the Caribbean to Mexico, Nigeria, and all points in between. Any one of them, due to their background, due to their sexual orientation, due to their religion could be the target of hate. Speaking up against hate is speaking up for every one of these neighbors.
“This is an issue that the most liberal and most conservative constituents in my district can agree: No group should be singled out as the cause of all the world’s problems. That is precisely the perspective Bollyn is offering. He has pursued tactics all too common to dehumanize Jews, including likening Jews to wolves. We must actively fight against these views because they have real impacts. According to the ADL, in 2015 Brooklyn had the most anti-Semitic acts of the greater New York City area—59 acts of assault, harassment and vandalism out of a total of 132.
“We need to speak out and reject all forms of hate and work constructively against hate when it turns up on our doorstep. To that end, I encourage people who are opposed to this event to join my United Against Violence Taskforce. Our community has suffered the consequences of hate in the form of hate crimes whose victims have been Jews, Muslims, and people from the African-American community, the LGBT community, and others. We need to join together to express our vision of a diverse New York. Whether by way of joining our Task Force or working actively in the community against hate, we can demonstrate that this abhorrent presentation has no place in our community.”
Williams, Lander Attacks NYPD For Disagreeing With IG Report
City Council Members Jumaane D. Williams (Flatbush, East Flatbush, Midwood), Brad Lander (Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Kensington) and Vanessa L. Gibson (Bronx) yesterday slammed the NYPD for strongly disagreeing with the city’s Inspector General’s June report that found the ‘Broken Windows’ theory of policing was ineffective and leads to racial disparity in policing.
“We are disappointed with the NYPD’s response to the Inspector General’s (IG) recent report on Quality-of-Life Enforcement. The City Council created the Office of the Inspector General to ensure that NYPD policies and procedures are operating effectively and consistently with the law — with the understanding that everyone in NYC, including the NYPD, will benefit from a more accountable, efficient police force,” the three lawmakers said in a joint statement.
“Their recent report achieved exactly what the Office of the Inspector General was intended to do: based on sound statistical evidence, the IG report found that certain NYPD broken windows strategies do not have a measurable impact on violent crime in NYC, and set forth recommendations to improve these strategies for more data-driven, measurable, and equitable impacts on our communities. IG Eure’s report was objective, fair and written with the intent to reduce tensions between the NYPD and the diverse communities it serves — not to inflame them.
“Contrary to what the NYPD is presenting, the IG’s report is in agreement with the NYPD’s findings about the correlation between quality-of-life summons and preventing serious crime. According to the NYPD’s report, ‘there is no strict mathematical relationship between these two factors.’ This supports the need for more effective, measurable policing practices. In essence, the NYPD’s report is splitting hairs, in refuting their previous claim that the Broken Windows Theory leads to a direct decrease in felony crime, but instead fosters ‘a general atmosphere of order and a general sense of police presence.’
“It is extremely disappointing to see that Commissioner Bratton has not only obstinately refused the IG’s sensible recommendations, but has attempted to disparage and discredit the IG’s vital work in the process. We look forward to working more productively with incoming Commissioner O’Neill to improve policing and police-community relations in NYC.”
Persaud Hosts Senior Day
State Sen. Roxanne J. Persaud (Canarsie, East New York, Bergen Beach, Mill Basin) today will honor honors elders with a Senior Day Celebration.
The Senior Celebration Day will bring together hundreds of seniors from across Southeast Brooklyn for a day of festivities. This fun-filled event will provide seniors with information about healthcare, transportation, financial services, safety, education and much more. There will be free giveaway and refreshments.
The event is slated for between 11 a.m.-2 p.m., today at Persaud’s District Office (Backyard), 1222 East 96th Street (Between Flatlands Avenue and Avenue J) in Canarsie.
Harris Discusses Efforts To Fight Heroin Addiction
Assemblywoman Pamela Harris (Coney Island, Bay Ridge) and New York State Assembly Majority Leader Joe Morelle today will discuss with social workers on the front lines the efforts to fight heroin addiction in Brooklyn and across the state.
Among those the lawmakers will meet with include Donna Mae Depola, the executive director of the Resource Training and Counseling Center.
The meeting is slated for 10 a.m., today at the Resource Training and Counseling Center, 449 39th Street in Sunset Park.
Malliotakis, Gentile Call For Bike & Ride Expansion
Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis (Bay Ridge, Staten Island) and City Councilman Vincent Gentile (Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights) today will host a press conference regarding a potential expansion of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Bike & Ride program to the S79 bus route.
Bike & Ride was conceived as a pilot program in September of last year, placing bike racks on the S53 and S93 buses that travel across the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge between Brooklyn and Staten Island.
The lawmakers will be joined by representatives from Transportation Alternatives in calling for the MTA to extend the Bike & Ride program past the pilot stage and expand it to the S79.
The press conference is slated for 3:30 p.m., today at the S79 bus stop at 86th Street & 4th Avenue in Bay Ridge.
