Donovan Applauds Trump Sanction Announcement
Congressman Dan Donovan (R-South Brooklyn, Staten Island) applauded President Donald Trump’s decision to impose sanctions on Chinese and Russian companies that have been accused of helping North Korea develop nuclear weapons.
The announcement came last night while Trump attended a rally in Arizona. In recent months the Trump Administration and the North Korean regime have been at odds over Pyongyang development of nuclear missiles.
Earlier this month, Trump promised to unleash a “fire and fury like the world has never seen” on North Korea after the country held its first two tests of an intercontinental ballistic missile. Kim Jong-Un later followed with a threat to bomb U.S. controlled Guam.
“The Trump Administration’s strategic sanctions against companies and individuals that do business with North Korea are exactly what’s needed right now. We must continue to isolate the regime, cut off its economic activity, and pressure nations – particularly China and Russia – whose companies and citizens help the North generate the resources used to further its aggressive nuclear program,” said Donovan.
Cumbo Renews Call for Anti-Sexual Assault Training For Taxicab Drivers
City Council Member Laurie A. Cumbo (D-Clinton Hill, Fort Greene), chair of the Committee on Women’s Issues and co-chair of the Women’s Caucus, is pushing for increased anti-sexual assault training for for-hire vehicle drivers.
The measure comes as a response to the alleged sexual misconduct by a Queens Uber driver, who drove an unconscious female passenger to his Queens residence on Saturday where he later sexually assaulted her.
Intro 0762, introduced in 2015, would require all taxicabs, HAIL vehicles, liveries, black cars, and luxury limousines to have a panic button installed that would allow a passenger to send a distress signal to law enforcement.
Whilte, Intro 1106, introduced in 2016, would require that all operators of Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) licensed vehicles complete a sexual assault awareness and prevention training program, to be provided by the TLC. The training program would inform operators of the causes and types of sexual assault, laws against sexual assault, civil and criminal penalties associated with sexual assault, and how to recognize, respond, prevent, and take positive action against sexual assault.Both bills were referred to the Council Committee on Transportation.
“Every licensed for-hire vehicle driver entrusted with the welfare of passengers must undergo anti-sexual assault training. As chair of the Committee on Women’s Issues and co-chair of the Women’s Caucus, I sponsored legislation to increase driver accountability and passenger safety. This Fall, I hope to urge my colleagues to advance both pieces of legislation to a committee hearing and vote,” said Cumbo.
Gentile Continues Family Movie Night, Screening “Boss Baby”
City Council member Vincent J. Gentile (D-Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Bensonhurst, Bath Beach) continues his Family Movie Night Series with the presentation of “Boss Baby” at Bensonhurst Park this weekend.
The Family Movie Night Series, which is a completely free event done alongside NYC Parks, has had much success this year as families from around the neighborhood have come out to enjoy popcorn and free giveaways.
The event is slated for 8:15 p.m., Saturday, August 26, at Bensonhurst Park, 8898 Bay Parkway in Bensonhurst.
Harris Celebrates Passage Of Election Reform Legislation
Assembly member Pamela Harris (D-Coney Island, Bay Ridge) announced that a bill she co-sponsored in the Assembly, that will make it easier for more New Yorkers to run for office has been signed into law (Ch. 176 of 2017), yesterday.
The law will ensure that citizens who are petitioning to become a candidate have clearer guidelines of the information they need to include to prevent petitions from being invalidated.
In order for individuals to run for office, they typically need to acquire a certain number of signatures from registered voters on a petition. However, due to legal constraints, those petitions can be invalidated because of clerical mistakes or other minor details that many potential candidates may not be familiar with. The new piece of legislation clarifies the information needed for petitions so that fewer of them can be tossed out by judges, ensuring more New Yorkers have the opportunity to run for office in their communities.
Earlier this year, Harris helped pass measures to facilitate voting, including allowing for early voting (A.2064), modernizing our voter registration process to allow for electronic registration (A.5382) and expanding access to absentee ballots (A.7623).
“It’s a fundamental right in this country that everyone has the chance to not only vote, but run for office if they choose to. Those of us in elected office ran because we wanted to make a difference in our communities and it’s so important that we make sure others get that same chance. Government should be representative of the people it serves, and I’m proud to stand up for our rights as Americans to make sure our voices are heard,” said Harris.
Simon, Golden Announce The Enactment Of Bipartisan Dyslexia Legislation
Assembly member Jo Ann Simon (D-Downtown Brooklyn, DUMBO, Boerum Hill, Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill) and State Senator Martin Golden (R-Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Marine Park, Gerritsen Beach) announced the enactment of a new dyslexia bill, yesterday.
The legislation, A.8262/S.6581, was signed into law yesterday by Governor Andrew Cuomo and will improve awareness of and understanding of dyslexia, the most common learning disability.
One in five children have dyslexia, a language-based learning disability that makes word recognition, spelling and reading success a difficult task. But for decades, school districts believed that schools were not allowed to use the word “dyslexia” in an Individualized Education Plan (IEP). Instead, they believed that only the special education classification term “learning disability” was permissible. However, federal regulations implementing the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) contained no such restriction. In 2015, the U.S. Department of Education issued regulatory guidance clarifying this longstanding and widespread misunderstanding. Nevertheless, it has remained an area of confusion.
This new law instructs the State Department of Education to develop a guidance memorandum for schools consistent with the federal requirements and inform schools that they may include the names of specific learning disorders, such as dyslexia, dysgraphia or dyscalculia, in IEPs. This will in turn help schools provide targeted language-based interventions and help more students become successful readers.
“Dyslexia is a specific learning disorder that is neurobiological in origin and is characterized by unexpected difficulties with accurate or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities that are inconsistent with the student’s intelligence, motivation, and sensory capabilities. This bill will make an enormous difference by getting the right information to teachers so that we can pinpoint the disability early and help these children become proficient readers before they fall behind their peers,” said Simon.
“Students who are diagnosed with dyslexia, dyscalculia and dysgraphia require unique and specialized educational learning. Consequently, it is vitally important that the Commissioner of Education provide detailed guidelines to every school district on how to successfully assist students afflicted with these remediable disabilities. It is reported that millions of American students have dyslexia, dyscalculia or dysgraphia. I am confident that this bill will encourage the dissemination of proper guidelines and establish educational strategies to help students with dyslexia, dyscalculia and dysgraphia. We owe it to every student to provide them with the tools they need lead productive lives and achieve great success,” said Golden.
Ortiz Bill For Eating Disorders Becomes Law
Assembly member Felix W. Ortiz’s (D-Sunset Park, Red Hook) legislation (A.7949/S.5927) to increase eating disorder care at the state level was signed into law yesterday.
The new bill will increase from 2 to 5 years the State Health Commissioner’s approval period for comprehensive care centers for eating disorders. In addition, the bill will help avoid the costs associated with frequent care center recertification.
“Caring for those in our communities suffering from eating disorders is an important task. Care centers providing services to those who deal with eating disorders play a critical support role. This law will ensure that the money spent in those care centers will be used to help others instead of it being needlessly wasted on administrative overhead,” said Ortiz.
