BP Adams Unveils Results of NYU Wagner Study On Prospect Expressway
Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams announced the results yesterday of a year-long study to reimagine the Prospect Expressway corridor, in an effort to repair the mistakes of Robert Moses-era planning.
On Sunday, Adams alongside local elected officials, representatives from Brooklyn Community Boards (CBs) 6 and 7, and former New York University Wagner Graduate School of Public Service (NYU Wagner) students publicly released a joint letter they sent last month to the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) calling on them to consider recommendations released in a report by students at NYU Wagner’s Capstone program as well as to issue a design competition to build off the vision outlined in the report.
The report, entitled “PX Forward,” detailed proposed reforms for implementing greater community connectivity, increasing green space, as well as implementing cyclist and pedestrian safety improvements along the Prospect Expressway. The study
The expressway bifurcates the communities of South Slope and Windsor Terrace and impacts the quality of life of nearly 45,000 residents in the surrounding neighborhoods, including approximately 85,000 motorists who use the roadway daily.
Robert Moses was known as the “master builder” of mid-20th century New York City, Long Island, Rockland County, and Westchester County, and was one of the most polarizing figures in the history of urban development in the United States. His decisions favoring highways over public transit helped create the modern suburbs of Long Island and influenced a generation of engineers, architects, and urban planners who spread his philosophies across the nation.
CM Williams Releases Tribute To Senator John McCain On Passing
City Council member Jumaane WIlliams (D-Flatbush, East Flatbush, Midwood), Deputy Leader, released a tribute message to the late Senator John McCain, who passed away over the weekend.
Arizona Senator John McCain died at the age of 81 on Saturday from brain cancer. McCain was first elected into Congress in 1982, serving for more than 30 years in the U.S. House of Representative and the Senate.
The former presidential candidate was arguably one of America’s most famous prisoner of war (POW). While serving as a Navy pilot on a bombing mission during Operation Rolling Thunder over Hanoi in Oct. 1967, McCain was shot down and captured by the North Vietnamese becoming a prisoner of war for 5 1/2 years, according to NPR.
“My prayers for peace and comfort go to the family of Senator John McCain, a man who lived his life in true service to the public. Despite our obvious differences on politics and policy, the respect that McCain rightly received spanned across the aisle and across the country.
In his 2008 concession speech, in an effort to unify the country after a divisive campaign, the Senator said, “Whatever our differences, we are fellow Americans. And please believe me when I say no association has ever meant more to me than that.” Those words, and the message he imparted on the nation that night, reveal the character of John McCain.
He was a statesman, a warrior, a gentleman, and a patriot, and he was the embodiment of a better Senate and a better government, that we sorely need now. His legacy will live on, and it is my hope that his example is one by which others answer the call to public service,” said Williams.
Reynoso Applauds Suspension of Private Waste Collection Company
City Council member Antonio Reynoso (D-Bushwick, Williamsburg) applauded the recent decision by the City to suspend Sanitation Salvage’s license.
On Friday the city suspended the private trash collector, who in recent months has had a string of accidents including two deaths. Beginning late last year, according to an article in ProPublica, the Bronx company ran over one of it’s employees, Mouctar Diallo, a 21-year-old, who was struck and killed by co-worker and driver Sean Spence, who initially tried to identify Diallo as a homeless man. Spence, an unlicensed employee then went on to hit 72-year-old pedestrian Leon Clark in April, who also died from his injuries.
In the wake of the tragedies, Reynoso, the council’s Sanitation Committee chair, has been fighting to regulate the private sanitation industry through legislative action that includes safety regulations, route efficiencies, improved emissions standards, robust labor and safety standards, and increased recycling rates.
“For years, I, along with a diverse coalition of environmental justice and labor advocates, have been sounding the alarm regarding the dangerous practices present in the City’s private sanitation industry. Today, the City finally took meaningful action against one of the worst players in this industry, Sanitation Salvage, finding a “pattern of unsafe business operations that creates an imminent danger to life and property,” said Reynoso.
“While many hauling companies have engaged in dangerous and unscrupulous behavior, Sanitation Salvage went above and beyond other bad actors by attempting to evade prosecution for their misconduct. However, we cannot simply stop at penalizing one company when we know all too well that these problems are systemic in the industry. We must enact comprehensive reform of our commercial waste hauling system through commercial waste zoning,” added Reynoso.
Hamilton, BP Adams Announce Results of First-Ever State Elected-Run Participatory Budgeting Vote
State Senator Jesse Hamilton (D-Central Brooklyn) and Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams announced the winners of the first-ever State elected-run participatory budgeting (PB) vote yesterday.
The announcement is the culmination of a months-long process, facilitated by Bridge Street Development Corporation through State funding secured by Hamilton, in which members of the public brainstormed, campaigned, and ultimately decided how to allocate up to $1 million of Borough President Adams’ Fiscal Year 2020 (FY20) capital budget for City-eligible projects.
PB voting took place at community centers and libraries across central Brooklyn between Monday, August 6th and Sunday, August 12th.
The unveiling was held at the Marcus Garvey Senior Center in Brownsville, a neighborhood that got to engage in the direct democracy initiative for the first time as a result of this effort.
