Treyger’s Advocacy Leads to Removal of All Temporary Boilers At Sandy-Affected Schools
City Council Member Mark Treyger (D-Coney Island, Bensonhurst, Gravesend) announced yesterday that with the recent removal of the temporary boiler at Coney Island’s P.S./I.S. 288, all of the temporary boilers at Hurricane Sandy-affected schools in his district have been removed.
Ever since becoming a member of the City Council, Treyger has strenuously advocated on behalf of students, parents, and teachers in his community for the removal of temporary boilers. With school staff unable to adjust the temperature of the boilers, students and teachers alike were forced to spend their days in classrooms that were either too cold or too hot. Studies have shown that temperature and comfort in the classroom can play a significant role in determining how well students perform on exams and complete classwork.
Meanwhile, members of the community and residents living near schools with temporary boilers lodged frequent complaints with Treyger’s office about the large oil-burning devices, which were installed on the street, outside of school campuses. Each boiler occupied several potential parking spaces, and reminded residents of the slow pace of Sandy recovery in their area.
Treyger routinely met with representatives from the Department of Education and the School Construction Authority, pushing them to remove the boilers.
Successfully advocating for the removal of temporary boilers is not the first Sandy-related schools victory achieved by the Council Member. Only after stringent advocacy on Treyger’s part did the city install functioning fire alarms at P.S 90 in Coney Island, where for over two years, members of school staff took turns standing in hallways with whistles in hand in case of a fire or emergency situation. The school’s fire alarm system had been damaged as a result of Hurricane Sandy.
“I am thrilled that members of this community will no longer have to walk by our local schools and see these hideous eyesores, and even happier that our students will again have the opportunity to spend their days in classrooms that provide a safe and comfortable environment – the right environment – for the learning process to take place,” said Treyger.
“As a former educator, I know firsthand that when classroom conditions are less than ideal, students have difficulty paying attention and engaging with their classwork, making the job of educators all the more challenging. There is still plenty of work to do, but removing temporary boilers in our schools and replacing them with fully-functioning permanent boilers is another step toward making our community whole again.”
Cymbrowitz To Carson: Don’t Cut Affordable Housing Programs
Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz (D-Sheepshead Bay, Manhattan Beach, Brighton Beach) yesterday wrote a letter to U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson telling him cuts to housing programs will have a potentially dire impact on New York’s families, seniors and children.
Cymbrowitz wrote he looks forward “collaborating with HUD for the creation and preservation of affordable housing in our communities,” but worries that an expected $54 billion increase in federal defense spending will come at the expense of affordable housing, cutting programs by about 15 percent.
“Nearly 40,000 families are in jeopardy of losing rental assistance across New York State, and 18 percent of New York State’s Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers would be without funding after accounting for the rise in the cost of vouchers,” Cymbrowitz wrote.
The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) will also suffer deep cuts, Cymbrowitz said. “Federal cuts threaten to slash $121.1M from public housing managed by NYCHA and force the housing authority into a $153M operating deficit, further exacerbating a $17 billion capital repair backlog,” he wrote.
Also at the expected receiving end of decimating cuts will be the Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly Program, which currently as a waiting list of over 200,000 seniors in New York City, and the HOME Investment Partnership Program, which is used for new construction and rental assistance, Cymbrowitz said.
Gillibrand, Donovan Offer Different Views On New Trump Immigration Ban
U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Congressman Dan Donovan (R-South Brooklyn, Staten Island) yesterday offered contrasting views on President Donald J. Trump’s updated Executive Order barring immigration from six majority Muslim countries.
The new measures will block citizens from Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen from obtaining visas for at least 90 days. The order also suspends admission of refugees into the US for 120 days, directing US officials to improve vetting measures for a program.
“President Trump’s updated Executive Order is still cold-hearted, discriminatory and detrimental to our security. This order is antithetical to our American values and what the Statue of Liberty stands for. I will continue to stand with New Yorkers in opposing President Trump’s discriminatory actions that hurt families in our community and undermine our national security,” said Gillibrand.
But Donovan said the executive order’s rollout seems smoother and more controlled than the first rollout.
“The Administration has rightly made adjustments to exempt lawful permanent residents and current visa holders, eliminated the indefinite ban for Syrian refugees, and provided adequate lead time to prepare the agents who will execute the order. The new order also exempts Iraq, making it clear that our country’s national security leaders are satisfied with changes the Iraqi government made between the first order and today,” said Donovan.
“Pausing admissions for a limited time to evaluate vetting procedures and implement new protocols is in America’s national security interest. The order includes countries that are state sponsors of terror or have unstable governments, and the FBI currently has active terror investigations into 300 already-admitted refugees. We must have confidence in the vetting procedures that FBI Director James Comey and former Homeland Security Sectary Jeh Johnson described as vulnerable to exploitation.”
Adams Holds Memorial For 2017 Global Victims Of Terror
Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams today will hold an interfaith vigil with concerned Brooklynites to honor more than 1,000 lives lost around the world in 2017 at the hands of domestic and global terrorism.
There have been more than 250 terror attacks thus far this year, including a New Year’s Eve nightclub mass shooting in the Beşiktaş district of Istanbul, a Turkish sister city of Brooklyn. At least 39 people were killed and at least 70 people were injured in that incident.
In the spirit of One Brooklyn, Adams will join consul generals of several impacted nations, as well as others standing in solidarity, to advance a message of peace as well as a resolute commitment against hate and division.
The event is slated for 7 p.m., today March 7 on the steps of Borough Hall, 209 Joralemon Street in Downtown Brooklyn.
Persaud Looks For Youth Leadership Awards Nominees
State Sen. Roxanne J. Persaud (D-Canarsie, East New York, Brownsville, Mill Basin, Bergen Beach) yesterday called on her constituents to nominate area students for the prestigious “New York State Senate Youth Leadership Recognition Awards.”
The award program recognizes the outstanding young students who will become our State’s future leaders.
“We all know that children are our future, which is why I work so hard in Albany to provide our kids with the quality education and services they deserve,” Persaud said. “The ‘Youth Leadership Recognition Awards’ offers the State Senate an opportunity to acknowledge students who excel academically and within their communities. I urge all of my constituents to nominate worthy students so these outstanding youth can receive the recognition they have earned.”
Nominations must be submitted online and include an attached letter of recommendation by the nominating faculty member, meaning New Yorkers wishing to nominate a student should coordinate with area educators and school officials. The student will include general information about their academic achievement and activities and a short essay (maximum 500 words) describing their accomplishments. The deadline for online nominations is April 7, 2017.
To nominate a student for the New York State Senate Youth Leadership Recognition Award, please visit: https://www.nysenate.gov/
