Donovan Chairs Hearing on Emergency Alert System
Congressman Dan Donovan (R-South Brooklyn, Staten Island) who chairs the House Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Communications (EPRC), will hold a hearing next month entitled “Ensuring Effective and Reliable Alerts and Warnings.”
The EPRC subcommittee will listen to and question witnesses from Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the City of New York, and industry associations about the current state of emergency alerts and warnings.
Subcommittee members and witnesses will explore what went wrong before Hawaii’s false ballistic missile alarm and how to prevent similar occurrences in the future. The hearing will also examine proposed enhancements to Wireless Emergency Alerts, which have been useful after emergencies such as the terror attack in New York City’s Chelsea neighborhood in 2016.
This week, Donovan also sent a list of questions to FEMA Administrator Brock Long inquiring about the Hawaii incident including setting a Jan. 31 deadline for a response.
“Communications technology can be enormously effective in sounding the alarm during imminent danger, but only if people trust the system. What happened in Hawaii undermines confidence in our nation’s emergency alerts and warnings, and we need to make necessary changes immediately. I’m looking forward to hearing from the witnesses on February 6th, and my goal is to come away with clear steps forward to address this problem,” said Donovan.
The hearing is slated for 10 a.m., Tuesday, Feb. 6, at the House Capitol Visitors Center (HVC) Room 210 in Washington.
Menchaca, Johnson Hosts NYC Day of Action For Dreamers
City Council member Carlos Menchaca (D-Red Hook, Sunset Park), Immigration Committee Chair, alongside Speaker Corey Johnson (D-Manhattan) will urge New Yorkers to defend New York City DREAMers as part of the New York City Council’s Day of Action today.
Menchaca and Speaker Johnson will distribute information on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) renewal process and legal assistance for DACA holders.
The Council Members will also be joined by immigration activists and DREAMers as they provide tips to immigrant New Yorkers from trusted community organizations in English, Spanish, and Chinese. They will also provide information on how to obtain free legal services and avoid notario fraud.
CM Williams Applauds 2017 Affordable Housing Gains
City Council member Jumaane Williams (D-Flatbush, East Flatbush, Midwood) applauded the record amount of affordable housing units created and preserved in New York City in 2017, yesterday.
On Tuesday, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that his administration financed more than 24,536 affordable homes last year, breaking an all-time record previously set by former Mayor Ed Koch in 1989. Nearly half of those homes – 48 percent – serve people making less than $33,400 per year, or $43,000 for a family of three, according to the Administration. Additionally, the City’s housing lottery posted a record 5,300 affordable apartments in 2017, more than double the 2,500 posted in 2014.
The City has financed 87,557 affordable apartments in the past four years. The total direct City investment under the Mayor’s housing plan so far is $3.3 billion, and the total bond financing issued by the Housing Development Corporation is over $6.2 billion. In 2017 alone, New York preserved 17,359 affordable apartments and financed 7,177 new homes. This represents a direct City investment of $1.1 billion, leveraging more than $1.4 billion in bonds.
“Yesterday, it was announced that in 2017, the city created or preserved 24,500 units of affordable housing, the most in nearly three decades. This is an extraordinary achievement, and should be rightfully celebrated. It stands as a testament to what is achievable when we in government are willing to making affordable housing a priority. I applaud the Mayor, his administration, and my colleagues in the City Council for recommitting themselves to this cause,” said Williams.
“But the attaining of one goal should ignite the creation of another, ever striving for improvement on behalf of New Yorkers still in need. We cannot be content to simply applaud our own successes but rather to push forward aggressively, working from our existing efforts and exploring and implementing new strategies to combat the affordable housing and homelessness crisis. Many of the strategies which are having positive effect here in the city can and should be implemented across our state, where so many struggle to find affordable housing. This crisis goes beyond the city limits, and our solutions should as well,” added Williams.
Simon Hosts Free Film Screening
Assembly member Jo Anne Simon (D-Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill, Gowanus, Boerum Hill) will host a free film screening and discussion this week.
The event will feature the film She’s Beautiful When She’s Angry, followed by a discussion with the film’s director and producer, Mary Dore, a Park Slope resident, former Congresswoman Liz Holtzman and Assembly member Yuh-Line Niou (D-Manhattan). The film tells the lesser known stories of the powerful women who founded the modern women’s movement from 1966 to 1971. The 2nd Annual Women’s March is scheduled for this weekend.
The event is slated for 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., Friday, Jan. 19, at NYU Tandon School of Engineering MakerSpace Event Space, at 6 MetroTech Center in Downtown Brooklyn.
