BP Adams Urges NYC Police Pension Fund to Change Punitive Rules
Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams will call on the New York City Police Pension Fund today to change its punitive rules on disability pension claims review for New York City Police Department (NYPD) personnel with 9/11-related illnesses.
Currently, the NYPD’s pension board requires multiple forms of proof from 9/11 first responders who participated in rescue, recovery, debris cleanup, or related support services in lower Manhattan, the Fresh Kills landfill in Staten Island, or the barge-loading piers that handled debris.
As a result, seventeen years after the terror attack, a number of claims have been denied or caught up in bureaucratic red tape due to the difficulty in recovering lost records. Adams is calling on the NYPD’s pension board to allow 9/11 first responder claimants to provide a single form of proof of presence, a reform he feels may become even more important as 9/11-related illnesses possibly emerge in the years to come.
At the event, Adams, a NYPD veteran who was himself a 9/11 first responder who reported to Ground Zero, will be joined by fellow 9/11 first responders Detective Vanessa Dedanzine, who is facing breast cancer, and Lieutenant Maureen Gill, who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Both have had their disability pension claims denied and will share their personal stories.
The event is slated for 11 a.m., today, Sept. 10, at Brooklyn Borough Hall-Rotunda, at 209 Joralemon Street in Downtown Brooklyn.
Colton Demands Full Probe Into Fatal MTA Accident in Bensonhurst
Assembly member William Colton (D-Gravesend, Bensonhurst, Bath Beach, Dyker Heights) is demanding a full investigation into a fatal accident involving a Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) bus and a pedestrian in Bensonhurst last week.
MTA Bus Driver Audley Smith, 62, struck and killed 81-year-old Yu Qing Chen, was struck around 8:05 p.m. last Wednesday. Chen was rushed to Maimonides Medical Center for severe trauma to the head, where she later succumbed to her injuries, according to the NY Daily News.
Chen was on struck at the corner of Stillwell Avenue and Bay Parkway, after visiting friends at a nearby park. Smith had no passengers on his bus at the time of the fatal crash, as he was heading to his first stop on the B6. Smith was charged with failure to yield and failure to exercise due care and given a summons to appear in court at a later date.
There have been a number of prior cases around the city where pedestrians have been struck by city buses and the drivers charged. But according to Colton’s office, courts have dismissed the charges because the evidence found mentions that the city buses have design defects, blind spots that may be major factors in these accidents.
“Although the bus driver has been arrested, it is not enough to investigate the action of the driver, all other factors causing this tragic accident must be included”. Did this bus have modified mirrors allowing the driver to see blind spots? Was the bus equipped with the audible warning alerting pedestrians to the presence of a turning bus? Was this bus put out of service and why was it off its normal route, since city buses do not make right turns from Stillwell Avenue onto Bay Parkway?” said Colton.
It must be determined whether it was City bus driver’s criminal negligence or design defect which the MTA failed to address on this bus,” added Colton.
Cornegy To Announce Major Crackdown On K2 Drug
City Council member Robert Cornegy, Jr. (D-Bedford-Stuyvesant, Northern Crown Heights) alongside community leaders and city officials will hold a press conference to crack down on the recent rash of K2 overdoses.
Five people were hospitalized on overdoses of the drug K2 over the weekend. In May, there were over 50 people that had overdosed from K2 on the same street corner, and over 30 in July of 2016. City of New York officials, community leaders and concerned parents are looking to stop the K2 drug epidemic in the neighborhood.
Cornegy will join New York Police Department (NYPD) officials to discuss the outrage of the community and will call to beef up policing.
The event is slated for 2 p.m., today, Sept. 10, at the corner of Broadway Avenue and Myrtle Avenue in Bedford Stuyvesant.
Golden Denounces Cuomo’s Decision Allowing Sexual Offenders To Vote At Schools
Senator Martin J. Golden (R-C-I-Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Bensonhurst, Marine Park, Gerritsen Beach, Gravesend, Sheepshead Bay, Borough Park, Midwood) denounced Governor Andrew Cuomo’s decision to let sexual offenders to vote at schools for this year’s primaries.
In May, Cuomo issued a blanket pardon giving 24,000 parolees the right to vote, according to the New York Post. For the first time, hundreds of sex offenders on parole will be allowed to vote in polling places in schools but only after 7 p.m.
State law generally bars sex offenders from appearing on school grounds with a few exceptions. Including being a “participant” in an activity at the school. The primaries are Sept. 13.
“Governor Andrew Cuomo will do anything for a vote. With his Executive Order, he has placed our children in extreme danger. For his own selfish reasons, Governor Cuomo is ignoring current State law prohibiting sex offenders from entering school grounds,” said Golden.
“Does he really think that allowing pedophiles to vote after 7pm provides a level of protection for our children? All New Yorkers concerned with public safety should join me in calling for the Governor to reverse this Executive Order before someone gets hurt,” added Golden.
