BP Adams Unveils Finalists In Anti-Gun Violence Competition
Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams unveiled the finalists of the $1 million Smart Gun Design Competition yesterday.
The competition featured a collection of teams from local colleges and universities that have submitted innovative proposals on the technology that will prevent unauthorized users from firing a gun.
The final five entries include Autonomous Ballistics from New York University Tandon School of Engineering, Energy Environmental Simulation (EES) Lab from New York City College of Technology, Intelligent Defense Systems (IDS) from Pratt Institute, Pew Pew from New York City College of Technology, and Smartfire Technology from New York University Tandon School of Engineering.
The competition will reach its conclusion at a project expo at Brooklyn Borough Hall, next month, where the winning team’s school will be awarded a $1 million grant from Adams’ capital budget. Adams, a former police officer and a gun owner, highlighted the value of this contest to support the development of guns that are safe for their users and that minimize the risk of accidental or unauthorized uses.
“Our young people are intimately aware of and sensitive to both the power of technology and the danger of firearms, which is why they are the ideal innovators to bring us closer to a future in which smart guns are viable. Brooklyn is determined to lead in this fundamental challenge to public safety, with the confidence that we can have an impact on tens of thousands of preventable injuries and deaths every year,” said Adams.
The final expo is slated for Monday, September 18 at Brooklyn Borough Hall In downtown Brooklyn.
Colton, Treyger Want Study Of Dangerous Intersection
Assembly member Bill Colton (D-Bensonhurst, Bath Beach, Gravesend) and Council member Mark Treyger (D-Bensonhurst, Gravesend, Coney Island) are asking for a study of the intersection of Avenue T and West 10 Street in Gravesend.
In a letter to Brooklyn Borough Department of Transportation (DOT) Commissioner Keith Bray, the duo call for a study of the dangerous intersection. The letter comes as a hit-and-run driver killed 18-year-old high school student, Alejandro Tello, last week at the intersection and in the aftermath of another traffic accident involving a car and a motorcycle at the same intersection, earlier this week.
Residents of the neighborhood believe the Intersection of Avenue T and West 10th Street poses a danger due to a lack of traffic lights at preceding intersections at West 12th and 13th Streets. The intersections at both preceding intersections only have stop signs which allow for reckless speeding into the intersection, according to Colton.
“Let us not forget Alejandro and the fight to keep our streets safe for youth like him and for the families of the whole community. While the police work to enforce the laws, our battle is to find ways to reduce the amount of traffic injuries and deaths,” said Colton.
Lander To Launch “Gowanus Green Team”
Council member Brad Lander (D-Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Kensington) alongside . the Gowanus Canal Conservancy will launch the Gowanus Green Team program today.
The Gowanus Green Team is a new green job training program for young adults in the Gowanus Canal Watershed. Funded with $50,000 from the New York City Council’s Parks Equity and Greener NYC initiatives, the program expands green job opportunities for residents of the Gowanus neighborhood, with a focus on recruiting young people from the Gowanus Houses, Wyckoff Gardens, and Warren Street Houses public housing developments.
The program prepares a cohort of youth apprentices for environmental careers and a growing New York City job sector in green infrastructure management.
The program is part of the Bridging Gowanus vision for a sustainable, livable, and inclusive future for the neighborhood. Further investments from Lander toward the Gowanus Eco-District include funding to the Lower East Side Ecology Center to establish a community-based BikEcycle program.
The event is slated for 10 a.m., today, August 3, at Gowanus Canal Conservancy Nursery, at 431 Carroll Street in Gowanus.
Mosley Denounces BOE Decision To Send Voter Data To Trump Administration
Assembly member Walter T. Mosley (D-Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Prospect Heights, Crown Heights) denounced the decision of the State Board of Elections (BOE) to send New York voter data to the Trump Administration.
On Wednesday, State elections officials agreed to send Trump’s Advisory Commission on Election Integrity a copy of New York’s voter database, which includes voters’ names, addresses and voting histories.Back in June of this year, Cuomo initially denied requests for voter data which included voters’ last four digits of their social security numbers.
The commission was formed by Trump after he made the unfounded claim there was widespread voter fraud behind Democrat Hillary Clinton winning the popular vote against him in 2016.
“Although Governor Cuomo and countless elected officials stand opposed to the President Trump’s request for voter data, the State Board of Elections has decided to send New York voter data to the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity. Our state must stand strong against these attempts by the President to erode our democracy. This decision was made in haste, without public input, and is a disservice to all New York voters,” said Mosley.
Mosley continued, “New York State works hard every election to ensure that there is no fraud and everyone has the same opportunity to participate in our democracy. For the President to suggest otherwise is offensive and his delusions about voter fraud must not be tolerated by our state. It is my hope that the State Board of Elections will do the right thing and stand up against these increasingly aggressive requests and protect our voter data.”
Cornegy, Cumbo Guests In Maimonides Breastfeeding Awareness Celebration
Council members Robert Cornegy Jr. (D-Bedford Stuyvesant, Northern Crown Heights) and Laurie Cumbo (D-Fort Greene, Clinton Hill) will be featured speakers at this year’s Maimonides Medical Center’s Breastfeeding Awareness Celebration today.
The event, held in recognition of National Breastfeeding Awareness Month, will offer information to new and expectant mothers. Welcoming remarks will be given by Vice Chair of the Maimonides Division of Obstetrics & Gynecology Dr. Sandra McCalla.
Highlights of the celebration will include live entertainment, a Parade of Hats, raffle prizes and more than 20 health resource shopping exhibitors for new and expectant mothers.
The event is slated for 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., today, Thursday, August 3, at the Prospect Park Zoo, Sea Lion Court & Discovery Center, at 450 Flatbush Avenue in Prospect Park.
Hamilton Calls For Cuomo Signature on NYCHA Disability Legislation
State Sen. Jesse Hamilton (D-Central Brooklyn) today will call on Governor Andrew Cuomo to sign legislation that helps mobility impaired NYCHA residents.
The “First Offer for the Vulnerable” legislation (S2720) gives mobility impaired tenants of NYCHA buildings the first offer on vacant apartments in lower floors in NYCHA housing. It passed unanimously in the Senate and overwhelmingly in the Assembly during the 2017 legislative session.
The legislation stems from safety concerns and the difficulties mobility impaired tenants have faced getting to and from upper floor apartments. A resident of 260 Mother Gaston Blvd was killed in a fire in 2007. In 2009, a fire caused the death of a public housing resident of Carlton Manor in Far Rockaway who cared for her child who was confined to a wheelchair.
A press conference calling on Cuomo to sign the bill is slated for 12 noon, today, Aug. 3 at the Van Dyke Community Center, 392 Blake Avenue in Brownsville.