Schumer Unveils Comprehensive Gun Safety Proposal
U.S. Senator Charles Schumer (D-Brooklyn) formally unveiled a comprehensive gun safety proposal over the weekend, that he and his colleagues will be pushing in the upcoming weeks in the Congress.
The proposal includes three pieces of legislation Schumer hopes to get passed by Congress within the next couple of months including closing existing loopholes in the background check system, like the gun show and internet sales loophole; allowing for protective orders to temporarily disarm individuals who have shown credible signs of being a harm to themselves or to others; and calling for a formal debate on assault weapons on the floor of the Senate.
The move comes off the heels of Schumer’s solidarity with survivors and students from the Marjory Stoneman High School in Parkland, Florida who recently met with President Donald Trump to discuss gun safety legislation.
“If there is one thing this movement has declared it is that we must plug the wide range of loopholes and deficiencies in our gun safety laws. We have seen an epidemic of gun violence and mass shootings simply envelop America for too long. Each one reveals new loopholes and gaps in gun safety. Rather than just plugging one leak in response to the last mass shooting, we need a complete approach that improves our gun safety laws from top to bottom and helps prevent future shootings,” said Schumer.
“Americans are fed up with the unbending position of the NRA, which is to do nothing now and always, no matter how many lives are lost. The coming days will prove whose side the president is on and whose side so many in Congress are on, too. I am hopeful that we are at the beginning of the march towards meaningful legislation and that is why we are making this push with these students in New York City,” added Schumer.
BP Adams Launches #NoButtsAboutIt Campaign, Colon Cancer Awareness Month
Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams kicked off Colon Cancer Awareness Month by hosting a community forum last week.
At the event, Adams was joined by colon cancer survivors, gastroenterologists and oncology nutritionists in highlighting that the disease is curable, treatable, and preventable. Additionally, the event featured a discussion of the latest research on the disease and important information on the impact of factors such as genetics and nutrition.
Adams also promoted his month-long #NoButtsAboutIt campaign to encourage mass participation in free colon cancer screenings being held for uninsured or underinsured persons, in partnership with the American Cancer Society, at 10 hospitals across the borough throughout the month of March. Adams emphasized the importance of early detection and getting screened in the fight against colon cancer.
Colon cancer is the third-deadliest cancer in the United States, and the third-leading cause of cancer death in Brooklyn. Central and Eastern Brooklyn, in particular, have been hit hard by colon cancer, especially among African-Americans; men in East New York have the highest death rate for the disease in the entire borough. Symptoms can include change in frequency of bowel movements, change in consistency of stool or any blood in one’s stool, weakness and fatigue, or unintended weight loss.
“Colon cancer is one of only two cancers that can actually be prevented through regular screening tests. We have lost too many lives across Brooklyn across every community to this debilitating disease, even when there are steps we can all take to proactively combat it. I urge all Brooklynites to get screened,” said Adams.
Free colon cancer screenings will be made available for uninsured or underinsured persons throughout March, as part of the #NoButtsAboutIt campaign, at Brookdale University Medical Center in Brownsville, The Brooklyn Hospital Center in Fort Greene, NYC Health + Hospitals/Coney Island in Sheepshead Bay, Interfaith Medical Center in Bedford-Stuyvesant, NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County in East Flatbush, Maimonides Medical Center in Borough Park, NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital in Park Slope, SUNY Downstate Medical Center in East Flatbush, NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull in Bedford-Stuyvesant, and Wyckoff Heights Medical Center in Bushwick. To schedule a free screening at one of the participating hospitals, interested persons can call (718) 802-3847.
Lander Pushes For Stronger Traffic Regulations At Deadly Intersection
City Council member Brad Lander (D-Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Kensington, Gowanus) mourned the tragic loss of a Brooklyn man last week who was killed at a notoriously dangerous intersection in Kensington.
Last Tuesday, according to the Brooklyn Paper, a truck driver hit and killed a man crossing the street at an intersection near Ocean Parkway, police said. The 57-year-old motorist behind the wheel of a box truck was traveling along Church Avenue toward McDonald Avenue when he plowed into the victim around 9:30 pm while making a right turn onto the Caton Avenue–bound side of the six-lane Prospect Expressway where that road meets Ocean Parkway, according to authorities.Paramedics rushed the victim — who police had yet to identify by press time — to Methodist Hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead, cops said.
Additionally, Lander alongside Assembly member Robert Carroll (D-Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Kensington) wrote a letters to NYC Department of Transportation Chair Polly Trottenberg and NYS Transportation Commissioner Cathy Calhoun, calling on them to quickly conduct a comprehensive review of the intersection and work together to implement changes. The intersection is under joint jurisdiction, since the Prospect Expressway is a State highway, but Ocean Parkway and Church Avenue are City roads.
Lander is currently reviewing three proposals for changes at the intersection including fencing off the north-side of the crossing for pedestrian safety against cars, creating an expanded pedestrian-only crossing interval and building a pedestrian bridge. The intersection was the site of the death of Ngozi Agbim who was was killed by a hit-and-run driver in 2013.
“This is an intersection that we’ve worked on. After Ngozi Agbim was killed at the same spot in 2013, we rallied together with her family to make the intersection safer. Through participatory budgeting, we added a pedestrian refuge island. After additional community pressure, DOT adjusted the signal timing. But even so, I knew it still wasn’t safe enough. The bottom line: I should have pushed harder. So I feel partially responsible for this death…But we must do everything we can to make sure this ceases to be an intersection of death,” said Lander.
Ampry-Samuel Responds To Cuomo NYCHA Comments
City Council member Alicka Ampry-Samuel (D-Brownsville, East Flatbush, Crown Heights, Bedford-Stuyvesant) recently responded to a Governor Andrew Cuomo’s comments regarding the problems facing the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) last week.
Cuomo, in a interview with WNYC Radio Brian Lehrer, claimed that NYCHA lacked proper management skills and not funding when it came to solving the housing authority’s issues including lead paint inspections and the recent heating crisis. Cuomo went on to note the housing authority’s lack of results when given state and federal funding and supported the recent decision by public housing residents to sue the authority citing a lack of project completion across housing developments.
Just last month, Ampry-Samuel co-chaired a joint hearing of the City Council’s Public Housing, and Oversight and Investigations Committees, in which NYCHA Head Shola Olatoye continuously and vigorously claimed that a lack of funding was a major factor in the authority’s ability to provide proper housing.
“As the Governor recently stated, “change comes when it’s demanded.” This council has been most effective in demanding answers and exposing the chronic and dangerous problems within NYCHA housing. That is not by mistake but via solution based partnerships, hearings and conversation with stakeholders. I am happy that so many are finally taking notice to the crisis,
need for solid planning, timeliness and funding to NYCHA,” said Ampry-Samuel.
