Lander Looks For Input To Improve Public Transportation
City Council Member Brad Lander (D-Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Kensington) is seeking input from the public in regards to possible placement of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) services as per a bill he sponsored and was passed in 2015.
BRT Service has been placed in pockets of Brooklyn where public transportation is more limited such as along the Nostrand Avenue corridor where the B44 BRT service features off-board fare payment and dedicated bus lanes.
Under Lander’s measure the City’s Department of Transportation (DOT) and Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) will gather input with the public to develop a citywide BRT plan, due to the Council no later than September 1, 2017.
The plan would consider areas of the City in need of additional rapid transit options, strategies for serving growing neighborhoods, potential intra-borough and inter-borough BRT corridors DOT plans to establish by 2027, strategies for integrating BRT with other transit routes, and the anticipated operating costs of additional BRT lines. Additionally, DOT would be required to update the Council on the implementation of the plan every two years, through 2027.
The public is invited to provide input in transportation needs through an upcoming Brooklyn Borough Workshop. This workshop is slated for 6 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 7 at the Brooklyn College Student Center, 2705 Campus Road. The public is also invited to fill out this online survey to share where you go, how you travel and what you would do to make the system even better.
Gentile, Menchaca Host “Unity in the Community”
City Council Members Vincent Gentile (Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Bensonhurst) and Carlos Menchaca (Red Hook, Sunset Park) will join with religious leaders, and community organizations next week to amplify what their neighborhoods are all about: unity in the community.
The lawmakers say that during these uncertain times and in the wake of a hate crime incident that targeted NYPD Police Officer Aml Elsokary and her son in Bay Ridge, community leaders will join one another to serve food and speak about these important issues. The event will include community leaders preparing a “Mediterranean Unity Salad” and then local will served food to attendees that local nonprofits invited.
The event is slated for 2-5 p.m., Monday, February 6 at the Widdi Catering Hall, 5602 6th Avenue in Bay Ridge.
Menchaca Holds Forum For Transgender & Gender Non-Conforming Community
City Council Member Carlos Menchaca (Sunset Park, Red Hook), the first openly gay Mexican-American member of the city council, tonight will hold a forum to address the needs of the Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming Community members of New York City.
“The purpose [of the forum] is to strategize with fellow community leaders, elected officials and community members about how to best protect and help the community during these uncertain times,” said Menchaca in his newsletter.
The meeting is slated for 6-9 p.m., tonight, Feb. 3 at the YWCA of Brooklyn, 30 Third Avenue in Boerum Hill. Contact Menchaca’s office at (718) 439-9012 or info38@council.nyc.gov if you’d like to raise an issue, volunteer, or connect with local organizations creating positive change in difficult times.
Cumbo On Trump’s Supreme Court Nomination Of Gorsuch
City Council Member Laurie A. Cumbo (Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Prospect Heights, Crown Heights), chair of the Committee on Women’s Issues and co-chair of the Women’s Caucus, released the following statement after President Donald Trump nominated Federal Judge Neil Gorsuch to fill the seat of the late Justice Antonin Scalia, which would restore the conservative balance of the Supreme Court:
“When it comes to women’s reproductive rights, all women should have equal access to reproductive resources. The nomination of Neil Gorsuch places women’s reproductive resources in great jeopardy. In his past rulings, Judge Gorsuch has demonstrated strong support for the religious employers in court cases such as Hobby Lobby and Little Sisters of the Poor who opposed the federal mandate within the Affordable Care Act to provide or include contraceptives such as birth control and Plan B within their employee health.
“Gorsuch’s inability to recognize the necessity for women to have access to contraceptives makes him unqualified to sit on the Supreme Court. Gorsuch’s main focus is to blur the lines of the church and state in order to ensure that employers provide fixed health plans based on their religious beliefs and preferences at the expense of a woman’s right to choose.
“The Supreme Court serves as the judicial branch, which conducts judicial review; however the purpose of its function to “check and balance” is inadequate if judges use the basis of religion to rule on cases. Maintaining religious liberty is the foundation of the U.S. The religious beliefs that coexist within our executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government has no jurisdiction in women’s reproductive rights.”
Bichotte To Give State Of The District Address
Assemblymember Rodneyse Bichotte (Flatbush, Ditmas Park) next week will deliver her annual State of the District Address.
Among the topics she will address include education, housing, ethics reform, and economic development as well as the State’s agenda, the proposed budget and how it affects the district. The Master & Mistress of Ceremonies are Josue Pierre, Democratic District Leader for the 42nd Assembly District and Audrey Walen.
The speech is slated for 6 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 9 at the Brooklyn College Student Union Building (SUBO) – 6th Floor, Campus Road & East 27th Street in Flatbush. To RSVP, call 718-940-0428 or email Lisa Derrick at derrickl@nyassembly.gov. This event is free and open to the public.
