Deutsch Applauds Separate Beach Day Event
City Councilman Chaim Deutsch (D-Sheepshead Bay, Manhattan Beach, Brighton Beach Midwood) hosted the first-ever separate beach days for men and women this week.
The two events were held on the campus of Kingsborough Community College on a stretch of secluded beach that is typically closed to the public on those days.
For the first time ever, more than 1,200 individuals of different ages, ethnicities, and cultural backgrounds had the opportunity to enjoy the 2.7 mile stretch of waterfront which encompasses Coney Island, Brighton Beach, and Manhattan Beach. Due to religious modesty laws, not all New Yorkers have had an opportunity to visit the beach or ocean. Deutsch’s event gave local residents their first experience to swim in the ocean and feel sand between their toes.
Attendees included residents of all five boroughs and beyond; including a father and his sons that coordinated their family trip from Florida to coincide with the separate beach day.
“It was absolutely incredible to see and hear how many people were able to experience a day at the beach for the first time in their lives. These events allowed us to offer a unique opportunity to communities and folks who have been disenfranchised while living in the most diverse City in the world. I am extremely proud and gratified at how respectful, sensitive, and accommodating the college and the community were for both events. I am looking forward to continuing to offer this experience,” said Deutsch.
Golden Announces $10 Million In High-Tech Security Protections
State Senator Marty Golden (R-Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Gerritsen Beach, Bensonhurst, Marine Park, Gravesend and parts of Midwood, Borough Park, Sheepshead Bay) alongside State Senator New York State Senate Majority Leader John J. Flanagan (R-Long Island) announced yesterday a $10 million investment toward state law enforcement agencies for use in financing innovative technology to protect from emerging threats.
The new funding will support initiatives that target Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) – such as unauthorized drones – from entering and attacking designated protected spaces, while also making more resources available for law enforcement to utilize drone technology to prevent and investigate crimes.
Technology now exists to allow unauthorized UAS’s to be detected, interdicted, or destroyed before they enter sensitive airspace. State grants would be available to support initiatives that help create a “virtual fence” that bars unauthorized drones from entering designated protected areas such as sports stadiums, schools, hospitals, and government installations. This would help increase law enforcement’s ability to keep small UAS’s from carrying improvised explosive devices, radioactive dirty-bombs, and chemical or biological weapons that could target New Yorkers.
Of the $10 million to be awarded, $4 million will be allocated for projects in coordination with the New York City Police Department and $6 million will be allocated to law enforcement agencies, including the State Police, for projects in other parts of the state following a solicitation for proposals.
“I want to thank all my colleagues for having this state take the lead in combating this next generation of terroristic threats. This is a vital step in keeping New Yorkers safe from improvised explosive devices, radioactive dirty-bombs, and chemical and biological weapons – dangers that we currently have no effective ways of combating if they are used against our most sensitive populations,” said Golden.
Malliotakis Pens Open Letter To MTA Head Byford In Wake Of Subway Delays
Assembly member Nicole Malliotakis (R-Bay Ridge, Staten Island) penned a letter to Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) President Andy Byford this week following chaotic subway delays on the R,N and D subway lines.
On Monday morning, D,N, and R subway lines were significantly delayed due to a miscommunication about a tunnel construction project and a track error, according to NY1. The MTA began a structural rehabilitation project at tunnels in Brooklyn Monday – but it did not properly communicate those changes to riders beforehand, the agency said. Transit officials went on to say that work on an approximately year-long project to repair and replace steel, concrete and tunnel lighting in the express tunnel between the 59th Street and 36th Street stations in Sunset Park began around the time the delays started. The repair work will cause N trains to make local stops at 45th Street and 53rd Street in both directions through at least July 2019, according to the MTA.
“Earlier today thousands of our constituents using the R, N, and D lines were stranded for hours on the subway without receiving any meaningful communication about what was happening. This caused many South Brooklyn commuters enormous hardship and aggravation, not only because they had to explain this excessive delay to their supervisors and coworkers, but many also had to leave the subway and pay for taxi service into Manhattan.
The massive subway delays have been an ongoing issue for many of our constituents throughout this summer. The fact that the online service tracker reported “good service” with little or no delay during this entire ordeal is totally unwarranted and unacceptable.
I ask that you review the mechanisms regarding the status updates provided by your online service tracker. If there are delays, then the service tracker should reflect those delays as soon as possible. I also request that going forward when there is a capital project, scheduled construction and repairs, or any other type of major service interruption or rerouting anticipated, that your contingency plans be clearly communicated so that commuters can plan their trips accordingly.
In light of the total breakdown in communication that occurred earlier this morning and the ongoing repairs scheduled to take place in the next year that will affect the R line, I am requesting that the MTA have an informational session for commuters in our area,” read parts of the letter.
Cornegy To Host 10th Annual Bed-Stuy Breastfeeding Walk
City Council member Robert Cornegy, Jr. (D-Bedford-Stuyvesant, Northern Crown Heights) will host the 10th Annual Breastfeeding Walk this weekend.
The event, as part of National Breastfeeding Month, will focus on breastfeeding as the foundation of lifelong good health for babies and mothers. Just last week, two states, Idaho and Utah, were the last ones to pass legislation making it legal for women to breastfeed in all 50 states. The passage now protects all nursing mothers who choose to feed their children in public spaces.
In its tenth year, the annual Breastfeeding Walk also celebrates World Breastfeeding Week, which takes place from August 1-August 7 every year, and promotes breastfeeding around the world The American Academy of Pediatrics and many other health organizations endorse breastfeeding as the best way to feed infants, and recommend breastfeeding for at least one year or longer.
The event is slated for 10 a.m., Friday, Aug. 3. The walk will begin at Restoration Plaza, located at 1360 Fulton Street. Participants will walk down Nostrand Avenue, to St Marks Avenue, to Brooklyn Avenue, to St John’s Place, to Kingston Avenue and then back to Restoration Plaza.
