BP Adams Announces “A Blast From Brooklyn’s Past” Photo Challenge
Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams and the Brooklyn Historical Society (BHS) announced yesterday “A Blast from Brooklyn’s Past,” a photo challenge that invites all Brooklynites to submit their photos of the borough’s past.
The challenge in particular is looking for images that capture Brooklyn’s evolution in architecture, streetscapes, and vistas. Select submissions will be placed on Brooklyn Borough Hall’s Flickr page, and a portion of the entries will be selected for publication in upcoming editions of the “One Brooklyn” newspaper. Adams’ community newspaper that is distributed to more than 80,000 residents in the borough.
Submissions will be selected for publication based on their historical value, photographic quality, and unique setting; the first round of “A Blast from Brooklyn’s Past” photos was cultivated from BHS’ own archives.
“‘A Blast from Brooklyn’s Past’ will reignite wonderful memories for longtime Brooklynites, as well as inspire a deeper love of our borough from our newer arrivals. I encourage everyone to join in on the fun and submit their own photos to this challenge. Let’s all share in the diverse historical tapestry of Brooklyn’s past, from our waterfront’s industrial heritage of Greenpoint to the old shop fronts of our brownstone belt,” said Adams.
Submissions for “A Blast from Brooklyn’s Past” can be emailed to photos@brooklynbp.nyc.gov, and must be lower than 10 MB in file size.
Levin, Reynoso To Launch City Reading Campaign
City Council member Stephen Levin (D-Brooklyn Heights, DUMBO, Williamsburg, Boerum Hill) and Antonio Reynoso (D-Williamsburg, Bushwick) will announce the launch of “Read the City!”, a new city-wide campaign that promotes early reading for children ages 0-5.
“Read the City!” highlights the importance of reading to young children as early as possible while providing the tools to do so. For the campaign, City’s First Readers (CFR) partnered with famous book illustrators to create “Ready the City” posters that can be found on Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) subways and buses and in shelters for an interactive learning experience for families.
City’s First Readers is an initiative led by Levin and Reynoso that joins multiple literacy focused nonprofits in an effort to prevent the achievement gap from forming by surrounding children and families with opportunities that build strong foundations in early literacy. Together, these 11 non-profit programs help make sure children in all five boroughs begin school ready to be successful students.
The event is slated for 11 a.m., today, June 13, on the Steps of City Hall in Lower Manhattan.
Learn more at www.citysfirstreaders.com
Lander Calls On City To Include Strong Labor Standards In Bike Sharing Expansion Plan
City Council member Brad Lander (D-Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Kensington) alongside TWU Local 100 will call for the Mayor’s bike-share expansion plan to be done right in regards to strong labor standards.
The demand is in response to Mayor Bill de Blasio’s announcement of four bike-share “expansion pilots” last month. In May, the administration revealed a plan to expand bike sharing in four neighborhoods outside Manhattan: Coney Island in Brooklyn, the Rockaways in Queens, Fordham University in the Bronx and Staten Island’s North Shore. The plan calls for dockless bike share pilots in each of the neighborhoods, with a roll out scheduled for July in Brooklyn and Queens and a later expansion into the Bronx and Staten Island.
The dockless pilot is a result of a Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEI) issued by the Department of Transportation (DOT) last December that sought ideas around next-generation “dockless” public bike share systems. Twelve different dockless companies responded to the RFEI. The City will continue to support and strengthen Citi Bike, which has had nearly 60 million trips since its 2013 launch.
All of the new dockless systems will be required to operate entirely outside of the Citi Bike area in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens, thereby not duplicating or undermining current bike share service.
The event is slated for 10 a.m., today, June 13, on the Steps of City Hall in Lower Manhattan.
Persaud Sponsors Bill Providing Feminine Hygiene Products To Correctional Inmates
State Senator Roxanne J. Persaud (D-Canarsie, Mill Basin, Bergen Beach, East New York, Brownsville, Sheepshead Bay) sponsored a bill to provide feminine hygiene products at no cost to individuals in correctional facilities yesterday.
The bill, S8821A, passed the New York State Senate and will bring needed help to female inmates at correctional facilities. In state correctional facilities, incarcerated women are given an insufficient monthly supply of feminine hygiene products or are required to purchase such products from the prison commissary.
The high cost of feminine hygiene products forces many inmates to go without this basic necessity. At the Taconic State Correctional Facility, for example, one tampon costs 24 cents. The average female inmate makes approximately 17 cents per hour. Thus, female inmates must spend their week’s earnings to purchase a 20-count box of tampons, which still may be insufficient for many women whose periods last up to seven days.
“Everyone should be treated with dignity. Individuals in incarceration are human beings. Providing them with their basic needs is not only the right and just thing to do; it is the responsibility of correctional facilities. I will continue to advocate for commonsense legislation that will not only prevent cruel treatment of inmates and decreases the recidivism rate in New York,” said Persaud.
CM Williams Marks 2nd Anniversary of Pulse Nightclub Shooting
City Council Member Jumaane D. Williams (D-Flatbush, East Flatbush, Midwood) marked the 2nd Anniversary of the deadly Pulse Nightclub shooting yesterday.
On June 12 2016, Omar Mateen, a 29-year-old, U.S.-born citizen, walked into Pulse Nightclub, with a semi-automatic weapon, killing 49 people and injuring dozens more in one of the deadliest mass murders in U.S. history. Mateen later took his life before officers were able to make an arrest. Pulse was an LGBTQ+ nightclub that was open to all individuals before the incident.
Every year, during the month of June, the LGBTQ+ community celebrates the influence and work of LGBTQ+ people around the world. June is of particular importance because it was the month of the Stonewall Riots, that took place in 1969.
“It has been two years since a man entered the Pulse nightclub and ended the lives of 49 innocent people. My prayers continue to be with the families of those lost. In those two years since this attack became the highest casualty shooting in our history, not only has that devastating death toll been surpassed by the Las Vegas massacre, but mass shootings have been a near-constant presence in our nation,” said Williams.
“June is Gun Violence Awareness Month, and I call on all elected leaders to confront the epidemic of gun violence that has left over 60,000 Americans dead since the night of the Pulse massacre. Gun violence is our reality, in mass shootings and in the often-overlooked daily acts of violence on our streets, but it cannot be our normal. This is a public health crisis of catastrophic proportions,” added Williams.
