Cuomo Reminds School Leaders Of New Law Providing Free Feminine Hygiene Products
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo (D) yesterday reminded school leaders of a new law requiring all school districts, serving students grades six through 12, to provide free feminine hygiene products in restrooms.
As the 2018-19 school year begins, this new law will ensure all young women across the state have equal access to these essential products.
“New York leads the nation is breaking down barriers to equality, and this legislation is a critical step forward in ensuring every girl in New York has the same opportunities to grow into a confident, successful woman,” said Cuomo. “By providing all students with equal access to these products, we are creating a stronger, healthier New York for all.”
The legislation, which was part of Governor Cuomo’s Women’s Opportunity Agenda, went into effect July 1, 2018. Feminine hygiene products are personal care products used by menstruating women, including but not limited to menstrual pads and tampons. Public school districts, in consultation with their school nurse or medical director, must determine the types of products to make available to students.
Research from the World Bank demonstrates that girls’ inability to manage their menstrual hygiene in school results in absenteeism, which in turn has severe economic costs on their lives.
Gonzalez Offers Begin Again Program
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez will host his Begin Again program later this month at the Lenox Road Baptist Church in East Flatbush.
Begin Again gives Brooklyn residents an opportunity to deal with summonses for low-level offenses quickly and easily right in their community.
In addition to offering participants support as they navigate the process of resolving their warrants, the event will also include a neighborhood resource fair outside the church during the hours of the event. The DA’s office have received the commitment of many local community-based organizations that will be present to offer vital information related to job training, legal issues, and health.
The event comes as Gonzalez announced last Friday a new program to erase misdemeanor marijuana convictions. This is part of his promise to enhance fairness and equity so past convictions don’t continue to hold people back into the future.
The program – which is one of the recommendations DA Gonzalez adopted as part of his Justice 2020 Initiative – will run in partnership with The Legal Aid Society, Center on the Administration of Criminal Law, Brooklyn Defender Services, and Brooklyn Law School. Visit https://bit.ly/2wSgbGc
The Begin Again event is slated from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Friday, September 21 and Saturday, September 22 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Lenox Road Baptist Church, 1356 Nostrand Avenue in East Flatbush. For additional information on Begin Again, visit: http://brooklynda.org/
Malliotakis Attends Thessaloniki International Fair Honoring the United States
Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis (R-Bay Ridge, Staten Island) along with Wyoming State Senator Stephen Pappas and Rhode Island State Senator Lou Raptakis formed a bipartisan delegation of Greek-American legislators who made an official visit to Greece this past weekend to attend the Thessaloniki International Fair at which the United States was this year’s honored country.
The elected officials joined United States Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, United States Ambassador to Greece Geoffrey Pyatt and 55 companies from the United States to strengthen economic ties between Greece and the United States. Additionally, the legislators met with various ministers of the Greek government, as well as Admiral Evangelos Apostolakis, Chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff, to discuss security and defense concerns.
Pappas, Raptakis and Malliotakis are all members of the World Hellenic Inter-parliamentary Association, a diaspora organization comprised of elected officials of Greek descent who serve in legislatures and parliaments around the world.
“As members of the World Hellenic Inter-parliamentary Association, we are working together to help Greece overcome its financial crisis and enhance the mutually beneficial economic ties between the United States and Greece. This trade fair showcasing the innovations of 55 American companies serves to strengthen the relationship between the two nations and brings new investment to Greece, as well as tax dollars and jobs to the American economy,” said Malliotakis of her visit.
Homeland Security Secretary Pushes Donovan Bill
U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen urged Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) recently to fast track approval of legislation introduced by U.S. Rep. Dan Donovan (R-Soth Brooklyn, Staten Island) that authorizes the DHS Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction (CWMD) Office.
“The CWMD legislation sponsored by Representative Donovan (R-NY) and cosponsored by Chairman McCaul (R-TX), H.R. 6198, the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Act of 2018, represents a critical step towards enabling the Department to mitigate WMD threats,” wrote Nielsen.“I strongly support this bill’s movement under suspension of the rules at the earliest possible opportunity.”
