BP Adams Announces 4th Annual Destination Brooklyn Mini-Grants; $30k To Be Awarded
Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams announced the commencement of the 4th Annual Destination>Brooklyn Mini-Grant Program.
Alongside the Brooklyn Arts Council (BAC), Adams unveiled that $30K will be awarded to small local cultural organizations as part of this year’s event. Destination>Brooklyn makes $1,500 awards available for the creation, production, and distribution of print promotional materials that represent the organization’s artistic and cultural activities, with an emphasis on borough tourism.
In the last three years, $103,500 in mini-grants have been awarded to 79 local cultural organizations in more than a dozen neighborhoods across Brooklyn, which has led to the production of more than 228,000 pieces of marketing materials. Applications for the current cycle are now open and will be accepted at brooklynartscouncil.org through Wednesday, September 20th.
“Brooklyn is the preeminent destination for cutting-edge cultural experiences that reflect the world’s diversity, and Destination>Brooklyn is a wonderful vehicle for bringing residents and tourists closer to some of our borough’s hidden artistic gems. With the incredible support of BAC and NYC & Company Foundation, small arts organizations from Bay Ridge to Bushwick are benefiting from a boost in cultural tourism thanks to our mini-grant program,” said Adams.
Donovan Leads Effort To Protect Veteran Access To Medical Care At Brooklyn VA
Congressman Dan Donovan (R-South Brooklyn, Staten Island) led a group of New York State lawmakers and City Council members in urging the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to re-consider a plan that would reduce the availability of critical services at the Brooklyn VA Medical Center (VAMC).
In letter sent yesterday, the coalition cites the importance of the Brooklyn VAMC to local city area veterans, which depend on the facility to conveniently access quality medical services in their local community. While the new proposal states that veterans will be accommodated at the Manhattan VAMC for services, it would force veterans and their families to start commuting for services. Many lawmakers believe the commute could be a hardship for many veterans, particularly the elderly and disabled, and could cause them to delay or forego necessary medical treatments.
The proposal, which calls for the Brooklyn VAMC to be modified from a “Complex” to “Ambulatory Advanced” facility, would severely impact the ability of Staten Island and Brooklyn veterans to easily access the medical care and services they rely on. In addition, the change would end the availability of certain inpatient surgeries, including open heart procedures, joint reconstructions, coronary artery bypass grafts, and appendectomies, at the hospital.
“Our nation’s veterans risked life and limb to defend and protect our nation and way of life. Now these brave men and women count on us to ensure that they have access to benefits and services they earned. Our veterans have sacrificed enough, and it’s unacceptable for any past or present service member to lose access or go through increased hurdles to get the medical services they rely on. I will continue fighting on behalf of all New York City veterans to ensure that this proposal is defeated,” said Donovan.
“Our veterans deserve a fully functional local hospital with a wide array of services to accommodate their unique medical needs. Our veterans should not be forced to travel to Manhattan to receive the tests, treatments and programs of which they are entitled. Instead, we should be looking for ways to expand our local VA hospitals so that each borough will have an easily accessible medical facility that meets the demands of the growing local veteran population,” said State Senator Martin J. Golden (R-Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Marine Park).
“Veterans in my district, many of whom are elderly and frail, rely on the Brooklyn VA Medical Center for their day-to-day medical needs and cannot travel long distances for the care they require. Reducing services at the Brooklyn VA would not only imperil their lives but is also an insult to thousands of people who served our country with honor and deserve better treatment from our leaders,” said Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz (D-Sheepshead Bay, Manhattan Beach, Brighton Beach).
Other lawmakers who signed the letter include: Staten Island Borough President James Oddo, Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams, NYS Senator Andrew Lanza, NYS Senator Martin J. Golden, NYS Senator Diane Savino, NYS Assistant Speaker Felix W. Ortiz, NYS Assemblyman Ron Castorina, NYS Assemblyman Michael Cusick, NYS Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis, NYS Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz, NYS Assemblyman Peter Abbate, NYC Council Minority Leader Steven Matteo, NYC Council Minority Whip Joe Borelli, and NYC Council Member Debi Rose today sent a letter to Secretary of Veterans Affairs David Shulkin
Ortiz Proposes Police Treat Nationalist & Neo-Nazi Group As Terrorist
Assembly member Felix Ortiz (Sunset Park, Red Hook) is proposing that police treat white nationalist and neo-nazi groups as terrorist in light of the recent Charlottesville violence.
Ortiz is planning to introduce legislation that would categorize nationalist and neo-nazi groups as “terrorist organizations” under criminal law.
“The violence and hatred that occurred this past weekend in Charlottesville, Virginia have no place in our country. Neo-Nazi and white supremacist groups display values of hatred and bigotry. Americans do not share these values. We must oppose these groups whose message and goal runs counter to everything we stand for in America,” said Ortiz.
“Elected representatives must take a stand. We serve as models for our constituents. We must all join together and condemn the Charlottesville tragedy. Neo-Nazis should never be permitted to antagonize, commit violence and terrorize others.Whenever hate rears its ugly head, we must call it what it is: wrong,” added Ortiz.
Hamilton Calls For Full Investigation Into Possible Slave Burial Site
State Senator Jesse Hamilton (D-Central Brooklyn) will call on the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation to conduct a full investigation of a Brooklyn lot that may hold the 19th century remains of enslaved Africans.
The site, located on the border of Park Slope and Gowanus, is endangered by the potential construction of a school without appropriate, independent architectural historian and archaeological investigation. The diary of Adriance Van Brunt serves as evidence that the site may be a burial ground; Van Brunt was a member of a prominent, 19th century Brooklyn slaveholding family.
Prior to the recent revelations about the site being a potential slave burial ground, Hamilton introduced legislation in 2015 to preserve the site and recognize its historical significance due to links to the U.S. War of Independence (current bill number: S 2446).
“[The site] has long been recognized as part of the area where the 256 Maryland Heroes were buried who died covering the retreat of the Continental Army on August 27, 1776. The Gowanus/Park Slope area, where the site is located, has undergone drastic changes in the last 15 years,” said Hamilton.
Hamilton continued, “The subject property, the only vacant land that is part of the Marylander Burial Site, is for sale and is likely to be redeveloped as luxury housing absent any public action, leading to obscuring the burials forever.”
The event is slated for 1 p.m., today, August 17, at 193 9th Street in Gowanus.
PA James, Walker Host Sex Education Training For Seniors
New York City Public Advocate Letitia James and Assembly member Latrice Walker (D-Brownsville) will host a sexual education and HIV prevention training for senior New Yorkers today.
The event is part of the AIDS Community Research Initiative of America (ACRIA), the leading organization for researching, educating and preventing of HIV and AIDS.
The event is slated for 12-non, today, August 17, at Tilden Senior Center, 630 Mother Gaston Boulevard in Brownsville.
Brooklyn Teen Republican Club Criticizes Trump’s Lack Of Response To Charlottesville Violence
The Brooklyn Teen Club, lead by Club President Batya Goldberg, is criticizing President Trump’s lack of response in the wake of the Charlottesville violence that broke out last weekend.
Last Saturday, a so-called “ Unite The Right” rally in support of a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee, that included white nationalist and white supremacists clashed with a counter protester group that included members of the Black Lives Matter Movement (BLMM) in an outbreak of violence. The violence included a 20-year-old man killing 32-year-old, Heather D. Heyer, after running his car through a group of counter protesters.
“The comments made on Monday, condemning Neo-Nazis, White Supremacists, and The Klux Klux Klan, by President Trump, were powerful and up-lifting. Yet, during the press conference yesterday President Trump seemed to backtrack on Monday’s comments, and to trivialize the vile, atrocious, racist, Anti-Semitic, and violent, characteristics of Neo-Nazi, White Supremacist, and KKK organizations,” said Goldberg.
“Any type of display of Racism, Anti-Semitism, or violence should be condemned, and in this case, the Brooklyn Teen Republican Club feels President Trump has failed to do so.
The Brooklyn Teen Republican Club feels both Democrats on the left and Republicans on the right should unite in condemning racism in any shape or form in the modern 21st century in the USA,” added Goldberg.
