Mayor To Hold Town Hall With CM Treyger
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio will host a town hall with residents of 47th Council District, represented by Council Member Mark Treyger (D-Bensonhurst, Coney Island, Gravesend) next week.
Alongside Brooklyn Borough Eric Adams, Congressman Hakeem Jeffries (D-Central Brooklyn, Coney Island), State Senator Diane Savino (D-Coney Island, Staten Island) and Assembly member Pamela Harris (D-Coney Island, Bay Ridge), the event will be an opportunity to the residents of South Brooklyn to ask questions of the Mayor and voice their community concerns.
The event is slated for 7 p.m., with doors opening at 6 p.m., Thursday, August 24, at the Coney Island YMCA, 2980 West 29th Street, between Surf and Mermaid Avenues in Coney Island.
BP Adams Sends Condolences To Slain Canarsie War Hero
Brooklyn Borough President Eric L Adams sent his condolences to Sergeant Roshain Euvince Brooks, who died in combat while serving in the 82nd Airborne Division on Sunday.
The 30-year-old Canarsie native was battling the Islamic State (ISIS) in northern Iraq when he lost his life over the weekend.
“Service and sacrifice while in uniform is our country’s greatest calling. I am proud to know that Sergeant Brooks has been posthumously awarded the Bronze Star, Combat Badge, Meritorious Service Medal, and Purple Heart for his commitment to keeping our nation safe and for advancing our freedom through his sacrifice,” said Adams.
“On behalf of 2.6 million Brooklynites, I send my deepest condolences to the family and friends of Sergeant Brooks. May they find peace and comfort during this difficult time. Brooklyn will honor his legacy for generations to come,” added Adams.
Persaud Announces 2nd Annual Family Fun Day
Senator Roxanne Persaud (D-Canarsie, East New York, Brownsville, Mill Basin, Sheepshead Bay, Bergen Beach, Marine Park, Flatlands, Mill Island, Georgetown) announced her 2nd Annual Family Fun Day, a free and family-friendly event yesterday.
The event will feature a wide range of activities including an obstacle course, rock climbing, face painting and stilt walking. Food and refreshments will be served.
There will also be resources and activities available to the adults including CPR training and dental screenings.
The event is slated for 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Thursday, August 17, at Canarsie Park, at Seaview Avenue (East 88th Street Entrance) in Canarsie.
Bichotte Hosts Back To School Supply Drive
Assembly member Rodneyse Bichotte (D-Flatbush, Ditmas Park) will host a back to school supply drive through the end of August.
The event which will supply free school supplies to students and parents before the start of the school year. The drive is open to donations of books, pencils, pens, composition notebooks, loose leaf paper, erasers, etc.
The event will run through August 25, and all donations can be dropped off at the Flatbush Development Corporation, 1616 Newkirk Avenue (between East 16th and East 17th Avenues) between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. in Ditmas Park.
Mosley To Announce “Love Yourself” Brooklyn Peace Concert
Assembly member Walter T. Mosley (D-Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Prospect Heights, Crown Heights) will announce the “Love Yourself” Brooklyn Peace Concert, as a response to tragedies at Brooklyn’s J’Ouvert Parade in past years, today.
The event is in partnership with Senator Jesse Hamilton (D-Central Brooklyn) and District Leader Geoffrey Davis.
Late last month, J’ouvert organizers announced that the West Indian American Day Parade is going to be held during sunlight hours for the first time this year. Organizers are hoping that the change in hours will breathe new life into the annual celebration that in recent years has been marred by a series of gun violence.
Just last year, two individuals were fatally killed at the event, 17-year-old Tyreke Borel and 22-year-old Tiarah Poyau by a brazen gunman who opened fire into a crowd of people at the event. In 2015, 45-year-old Carey Gabay was fatally shot in the head when he stumbled into a gang fight. Gabay was a lawyer in Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration at the time.
The event is slated for 9 a.m., today , August 16, outside of Medgar Evers College, 1650 Bedford Avenue (on the corner of Montgomery and Bedford Avenues) in Crown Heights.
Ortiz Proposes Banking Reforms To Protect Tenants
Assembly member Felix W. Ortiz (D-Sunset Park, Red Hook) proposed banking reforms to protect tenants from landlords on the “Worst Landlord Watchlist.”
Alongside Public Advocate Letitia James, Ortiz announced that 10 banks that loan funds to the most buildings on the “Worst Landlord Watchlist” provide the most capital to the City’s Worst Landlords, yesterday.
The proposed banking reforms include incorporating a landlord’s presence on the Worst Landlords Watchlist, and current violations, hazardous conditions and findings of harassment when evaluating a property for a loan; conditioning loans to landlords on the Worst Landlords Watchlist upon the removal of Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) and Department of Buildings (DOB) violations, and assess future property revenue only on the current rent roll; and appointing bank liaisons to work with the landlords on the list and tenants on a remediation plan that includes monthly inspections. If the landlord defaults on the remediation plan, the bank should foreclose on the property and appoint a receiver.
Ortiz also proposed additional reforms including that the Housing Preservation and Development (NYC HPD) or Department of Buildings (DOB) should do point of sale/loan floor to ceiling inspections, legislation should be considered to prevent landlords on the Worst Landlords Watchlist from acquiring building permits; and the New York City Banking Commission should examine the list of banks doing business with the City of New York for overlap with the above listed banks.
The 10 banks on the list that loaned the most money to the landlords include:
- Signature Bank (58 Loans, $130,000,000 aggregate amount of mortgages held)
- Capital One (24 Loans, $30,000,000 aggregate amount of mortgages held)
- Customers Bank (20 Loans, $40,000,000 aggregate amount of mortgages held)
- JPMorgan Chase (19 Loans, $20,000,000 aggregate amount of mortgages held)
- New York Community Bank (15 Loans, $30,000,000 aggregate amount of mortgages held)
- Dime Community Bank (12 Loans, $15,000,000 aggregate amount of mortgages held)
- Investors Bank (11 Loans, $12,000,000 aggregate amount of mortgages held)
- Peapack-Gladstone Bank (10 Loans, $15,000,000 aggregate amount of mortgages held)
- Deutsche Bank (6 Loans, $10,000,000 aggregate amount of mortgages held)
- Astoria Bank (6 Loans, $8,000,000 aggregate amount of mortgages held)
“Banks should reform their lending practices to protect tenants. Tenants should come before profits,” said Ortiz.
