Cymbrowitz, Golden Bill Protecting Seniors Life Insurance Gets Signed Into Law
Assemblyman Steve Cymbrowitz (Sheepshead Bay, Manhattan Beach, Brighton Beach) and Sen. Marty Golden (Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Marine Park, Gerritsen Beach) last week saw Gov. Cuomo sign a bill they sponsored in their respective chambers giving greater protection against the unexpected cancellation of seniors’ long-term insurance policies.
The law enhances the current statutory regulations allowing senior citizens who hold long-term care insurance policies to designate a third party to receive notices of nonpayment of premiums due or notices of cancelation for nonpayment of premiums.
“Currently, if a senior’s long-term care policy is about to be cancelled for non-payment of premiums, insurance companies are required to send a copy of this cancellation notice to the senior’s third-party designate as well,” said Cymbrowitz, Chair of the Aging Committee and a member of the Insurance Committee.
“The problem is that current law allows insurance companies to determine when these notices will be sent to third-party designates. This means that if the insurer does not send out the cancellation notice in a timely manner, the third-party designation safeguard proves useless and the senior ends up with a cancelled insurance policy,” he added.
The new law requires that third-party designates receive a copy of the cancellation notice no less than 30 days before the effective date of the cancellation.
The law further enhances the protections provided to seniors by prescribing the manner in which a senior’s third-party designee may be chosen, the process the insurer may use to confirm designation or termination of designation, and requires the insurer to confirm that the contact information of the third-party designate is correct.
“These additional safeguards will strengthen the protection that the law currently provides our senior citizens,” Assemblyman Cymbrowitz said.
Adams To Announce $7.8 Million In Cultural & Arts Funding
Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams today will unveil the details of his arts and cultural institutions capital budget for Fiscal Year 2017 (FY17), an investment of more than $7.8 million in facilities across Brooklyn.
Adams will make the announcement at Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Plaza, home to the Billie Holiday Theatre. The 45-year old performing arts space, built to expose the community to the arts and to employ local talent, will benefit from $200,000 in funding to support the theater’s first-ever major renovation.
Standing beside theater artifacts and ceremonial checks symbolic of his investment in arts and culture, Adams will speak about the importance of preserving the “unique flavor” of Brooklyn, in addition to fostering the creative spirit that is inspiring cutting-edge cultural expression.
The event is slated for 12 noon, today, Nov. 21 at the Billie Holiday Theater in Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Plaza, 1368 Fulton Street in Bed-Stuy.
Cuomo Announces More Actions Protecting Civil Rights And Combating Hate Crimes
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo this weekend announced several actions to protect civil rights and combat hate crimes in New York, including the creation of a State Police unit to investigate reports of hate crimes, an expansion of the state’s human rights law to protect all students, and the establishment of a new emergency legal defense fund for immigrants.
Cuomo laid out this three-part action plan while speaking to the congregation at Harlem’s Abyssinian Baptist Church about the post-election climate and the recent uptick in reports of discrimination, bias-motivated threats, harassment and violence throughout the state.
“New York is, and will always be, a place of acceptance, inclusion and a bastion of hope for all people,” Cuomo said. “We will never allow fear and intolerance to tear at the fabric of who we are – New Yorkers are stronger than that, and we are better than that. With these decisive actions, we say to people of all backgrounds and beliefs: New York is your home and refuge, and we will do whatever it takes to keep you safe.”
Under state law, a person commits a hate crime when one of a specified set of offenses is committed targeting a victim because of a perception or belief about their race, color, national origin, ancestry, gender, religion, religious practice, age, disability or sexual orientation, or when such an act is committed as a result of that type of perception or belief.
Hate crimes can be perpetrated against an individual, a group of individuals or against public or private property. Also under state law it is illegal to discriminate on the basis of race, national origin, religion, ethnicity and many other protected classifications.
New Yorkers who have experienced bias or discrimination are encouraged to call the state Department of Human Rights’ toll-free hotline at (888) 392-3644 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday – Friday. If you want to report a crime or fear for your safety, call 911 immediately.
Greenfield Recognized For Bridging Black/Jewish Relations
City Councilman David Greenfield last week received an award from the James E. Davis Stop Violence Foundation for his work in bridging Black and Jewish relations.
In giving the lawmaker the award, the foundation’s Executive Director and Democratic District Leader Geoffrey Davis noted how Greenfield often ventures out of his district to attend meeting and functions in Central Brooklyn, including large communities of color in Bedford-Stuyvesant and Crown Heights.
Greenfield, in getting the award, noted how historically Jews stood should-to-shoulder in the Civil Rights movement of the 60’s. In particular, Greenfield noted how in 1965, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel marched arm-in-arm with Dr. Martin Luther King in his March on Selma.
In addition, several Jews were murdered while participating as Freedom Riders while working in Mississippi in 1964 in registering blacks to vote. Most notable amongst these were the murders of James Earl Chaney, who was black, from Meridian, Mississippi along with Jews Andrew Goodman and Michael “Mickey” Schwerner both of whom were from New York City in June 1964.
Persaud Announces Neighborhood Grants Available
State Sen. Roxanne Persaud (Canarsie, Mill Basin, Bergen Beach, Brownsville, East New York) last week announced that Neighborhood Grants, is giving out Citizens Committee awards micro-grants of up to $3,000 to resident-led groups to work on community and school projects throughout the city.
Recent awards have enabled neighbors to come together and make healthy food available in their communities, transform empty lots into community gardens, organize tenants to advocate for better housing conditions, and start school recycling drives.
If anyone is interested, please visit http://www.citizensnyc.org/
