BP Adams Applauds LIU BK Men’s Basketball On NEC Win
Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams congratulated the Long Island University (LIU) Brooklyn Men’s Basketball team for their Northeast Conference Championship win last night.
The Blackbirds upset upset rivals Wagner to a 71-61 victory Tuesday night to win the NEC title. The win was also the first loss for top-seeded Wagner for the season on its Staten Island campus. The win also marked the first time the Blackbirds will head to the NCAA Tournament in five years. The NCAA March Madness tournament begins March 13.
“On behalf of all Brooklynites, I congratulate our hometown LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds for winning the Northeast Conference men’s basketball championship, earning their seventh all-time appearance in March Madness and the first since 2013. Under the leadership of Coach Derek Kellogg, they upset the top-ranked Wagner Seahawks in Staten Island, giving our borough its much-deserved bragging rights. I hope all New Yorkers will come together next week to support these great student-athletes in our own backyard as they compete on the national stage in the Big Dance. I know I’ll be cheering loudly from Brooklyn Borough Hall!” said Adams.
“I confidently engaged Staten Island Borough President James Oddo in a friendly wager prior to the title game, with the loser treating the winner to a meal at one of their great local restaurants. Thanks to our Blackbirds, I look forward to Jimmy taking me out to Stapleton for a nice vegan burger at Surf,” added Adams.
Kavanagh, Simon Applaud Cuomo Support For BQE Rehab
Senator Brian Kavanagh (D-Northern Brooklyn, Lower Manhattan) and Assembly member Jo Anne Simon (D-Brooklyn Heights, Downtown Brooklyn, Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, Gowanus, Park Slope, Boerum Hill, DUMBO) applauded Governor Andrew Cuomo’s support for legislation needed to streamline rehabilitation for the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (BQE).
On Tuesday, the Governor’s Office announced support for enacting state legislation authorizing “design-build” contracting for the BQE rehabilitation. The City Department of Transportation (DOT) is currently in the planning phase of a major rehabilitation of a 1.5 mile segment of the BQE between Atlantic Avenue and Sands Street.
Currently, under the typical “design-bid-build” procurement method, required by long-standing State law, construction for the BQE would stretch until 2028. However, DOT has warned that if construction is not finished by 2026, roughly 15,000 trucks will have to be redirected onto local streets each day.
If the State amends the law to authorize the City to use the streamlined “design-build” method, the City says construction would be completed before the 2026 cutoff. This would protect Brooklyn neighborhoods from noise, congestion, and unsafe conditions, reduce delays for drivers using the BQE from Staten Island to Queens and save taxpayers at least $100 million. The legislators are looking to amend state law later this month and enact the new measure in the final state budget.
“For seven decades, the BQE has connected New Yorkers in Brooklyn, on Staten Island, in Queens, and across the New York metropolitan area. The planned rehabilitation of this vital part of our transportation network is essential — but also inherently difficult and disruptive. We must do everything we can to minimize the impact on Brooklyn neighborhoods and on drivers who rely on our roads to get where they need to be and to deliver the goods and services that keep New York thriving,” said a joint statement from Kavanagh and Simon.
Persaud Announces 2nd Annual Easter Egg Hunt
Senator Roxanne J. Persaud (D-Canarsie, East New York, Brownsville, Mill Basin, Sheepshead Bay, Bergen Beach, Marine Park, Flatlands, Mill Island, Georgetown, Ocean Hill, Starrett City) will bring families together for an Easter Egg Hunt on this week.
This family fun community-centered event is expected to excite and engage hundreds of families: The event will include light refreshments, an appearance by the Easter Bunny and other fun-filled activities. The event is free and open to the public.
“SD-19 Easter Egg Hunt is one more way to serve the community. I am happy with the response and support from the community because families in the 19th senatorial district, deserve opportunities for physical and social activities outdoors. I am proud to be able to host this egg hunt in the district for a second year,” said Persaud
The event is slated for 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Saturday, March 24, at Canarsie Park in Canarsie.
Lander Demands Stronger Traffic Safety Measures In Park Slope
City Council member Brad Lander (D-Windsor Terrace, Park Slope, Kensington) is pushing for stronger traffic safety measures in the wake of the fatal car accident in Park Slope earlier this week.
On Monday, 4-year-old Abigail Blumenstein and 18-month-old Joshua Lew were crossing 9th Street at 5th Avenue with their moms, Lauren Lew and Ruthie Ann Miles (Abby’s pregnant mom) when they were mowed down by a female driver who claimed she suffered a seizure at the time of the incident. However, traffic records show that the driver has four failure-to-stop-at-red-lights & four speeding-in-school-zone violations in last two years, according to the New York Police Department (NYPD).
Lander is urging for a range of new measures including the establishment of a CompStat for reckless drivers system, expanding the Red Hook Community Justice Center’s Reckless Driver Accountability Program and making license suspensions swifter for drivers with a proven record of recklessness. Lander also met with NYC DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg on Tuesday, to explore road changes including pedestrian island and a protected bike lane.
“We must also do everything we can to make this intersection — and 9th Street more broadly — safer. We’ll never know whether a redesign could have saved Abby and Josh from this deadly driving. But we know this intersection was the site of another fatal crash in 2016, and many more crashes and injuries. So we need to act now to prevent future tragedies,” said Lander.
“I pledge to stay on top of this, and to bring proposals to the community as soon as we can. That feels hollow today, I know. To me, too. But still urgent. For tonight, let’s hold these families in our hearts — and do all we can in the days, weeks, and months ahead,” added Lander.
Jeffries Urges Amazon Drop ATL, Select BK For HQ
Congressman Hakeem Jeffries (D-Central Brooklyn, Coney Island, Queens), a member of House Democratic Leadership and the Judiciary Committee, strongly urged Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos to abandon Georgia as a possible location for Amazon’s second headquarters and instead select Brooklyn yesterday.
In a letter to Bezos, Jeffries cited the recent retaliation of right-wing lawmakers against Atlanta-based Delta Airlines as a reason to drop the Southern metropolis for Brooklyn. Recently lawmakers in Georgia penalized Delta—one of Georgia’s largest employers—for not embracing the National Rifle Association’s (NRA) extreme agenda.
In the wake of the Parkland tragedy, NRA Executive Vice President and CEO Wayne LaPierre described gun safety measures as part of a “socialist agenda” meant to strip firearms from Americans. As a result, Delta concluded that the NRA was out of step with a vast majority of the country and decided to end its promotional discount to NRA members and removed its name from the NRA website. The decision by Delta led Republicans in the Georgia state legislature to revoke a tax exemption on jet fuel worth $50 million that largely benefited Delta.
“Georgia’s retaliation against Delta—one of the state’s most important private sector employers—demonstrates that companies residing in the state could be subject to arbitrary and capricious governmental retribution if not in lockstep with an extreme right-wing agenda. The targeting of Delta by the Georgia Legislature is a frightening act of governmental overreach that raises a severe red flag about the stability and business-friendly nature of the state,” wrote Jeffries.
“[Amazon] will benefit from a more hospitable environment, where it will not be viciously targeted simply for taking action consistent with the sentiments of a majority of American consumers. Brooklyn, with its highly-skilled and diverse workforce, great cultural institutions and significant transportation options, is such a place,” added Jeffries.
