Persaud Applauds Passage Of Bill Protecting Citizens From Potential Hazards
State 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) applauded the passage of her bill S.5346, which aims to protect New York City residents from potential hazards.
The legislation passed with a vote of 60-3 in the Senate. The bill makes installing or having knowledge of an unlawfully installed gas meter a class B misdemeanor. When installed lawfully, the meters and gas lines are subject to regulations to prevent accident or injury.
Unlawfully installed systems often use non-standard materials such as plastic flex piping which is less expensive, but also unsafe and has been involved in gas explosions such as the one that occurred in East Village Manhattan in 2015 that killed two people and injured nineteen.
Illegally installed meters and gas lines do not receive reliable safety inspections. They are dangerous and place the lives of the building’s occupants at risk. The bill holds accountable any person involved in this illegal action and applies a penalty of a term of imprisonment not to exceed one year.
“The safety of our families is my utmost priority. I will continue to fight to enact legislation to help keep New Yorkers safe. In addition, when we put measures in place to prevent accidents and injury, we are protecting everyone.” Senator Persaud said.
Golden Bill Protecting First Responders/Police Officer Gets Senate Approval
State Senator Martin J. Golden’s (R-Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Bensonhurst, Marine Park, Gerritsen Beach, Gravesend, Manhattan Beach) announced passage of his bill to give “Swift, Severe, and Certain Punishment” for murdering a first responder or police officer yesterday.
The legislation,S.8015, would provide that when a person is convicted of first-degree murder, and the victim was a police officer or another first responder, that person would be sentenced to death or to life without parole. The bill has been sent to the Assembly for approval.
The measure comes off the heels of the release of John Ruzaz and Herman Bell who are both convicted cop killers. In December of 2017, the Board of Parole released John Ruzas. Ruzas was convicted of the October 1974 shooting of New York State Trooper Emerson Dillion. In March, the Parole Board approved the release of Herman Bell. Herman Bell was convicted in the killing of two New York City Police Officers and one officer from San Francisco in 1971.
Additionally, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed an Executive Order in recent weeks restoring the voting rights of parolees. The measure is set to restore the right to vote upon release from incarceration and reverse disenfranchisement for up to 35,000 convicted felons on parole.
“Clearly, the Governor has declared war on public safety. Not only are we putting violent felons back on our streets, we are giving them the right to vote. Something has to be done. By giving those who kill first responders or police officers the death penalty or life without parole, we are making a strong statement. We need to make sure that our criminal justice system understands the idea of justice. This is wrong and it must stop. It is only a matter of time before another New Yorker becomes another crime victim,” said Golden.
Gillibrand Denounces “Broken” National Flood Insurance Program
U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) denounced the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) in the wake of a report revealing the shortcomings of the federal funding for flood victims yesterday.
On Monday, a CBS News investigation on flood victims in Louisiana in 2016, revealed that “much of the money that should have helped people rebuild…instead goes to the very people fighting against them.”The report comes nearly six years after an investigation of Superstorm Sandy victims revealed a lack of flood funding for New York and New Jersey families.
In the aftermath of Sandy, thousands of New York homeowners were underpaid on their flood claims, potentially as the result of a fraudulent scheme to intentionally underpay policyholders by altering engineering reports. Last year, the New York lawmakers introduced the Flood Insurance Affordability and Sustainability Act. The bill would reauthorize the NFIP until 2027, which Gillibrand claims is needed to avoid uncertainty in both the insurance and housing markets, yet is set to expire on July 31, 2018.
“It is sickening that some of the same people who were involved with underpaying Sandy survivors are still at it, and FEMA is failing to protect its policyholders who desperately need their help. It is time for FEMA to clean house, but it is also clear that FEMA is not going to fix itself. Congress must step in and pass the bipartisan reforms,” said Gillibrand.
“Our reforms will protect policyholders from altered engineering reports and ensure that there is transparency and accountability in the National Flood Insurance Program’s claims process. We can’t keep doing things the same way and expect a different result while FEMA continues to fail victims of flooding,” added Gillibrand.
