Senator Montgomery’s Bill Creating School Based Health Center Fund Gets Governor’s Approval
State Senator Velmanette Montgomery’s (D-Bedford-Stuyvesant, Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Boerum Hill, Sunset Park) bill to create a personal income tax check-off box for donations to a newly formed School-Based Health Center Fund (S4487-B/A2660-B Ortiz) was signed by Governor Andrew Cuomo last week.
The legislation is expected to create at least $2 million in new revenue for School Based Health Centers (SBHCs) across New York State. This new measure will also create an additional stream of funding for SBHCs by allowing individuals to donate to the fund through a personal income tax check-off box. Revenue generated would be deposited in the “School-Based Health Centers Fund” in the custody of the Comptroller to be used by the Department of Health (DOH) to support expansion of medical services at existing school based health sites or to establish new sites.
New York leads the nation in School Based Health with 255 centers, 158 of which are in New York City. SBHCs provide healthcare to over 200,000 children including primary, dental, mental, and reproductive health care services, on-site in their schools.
They provide access to care to every child who enters their door regardless of insurance or immigration status. SBHCs help children manage chronic conditions such as asthma and emergencies are easily avoided. SBHCs save the State money through prevention and improve the academic performance, graduation rates, and health outcomes of young people throughout New York.
“Every year we have to fight for School Based Health Centers in the budget. I am so glad the Governor signed my bill to create a new funding opportunity for our centers. Our SBHCs take an enormous burden off parents who cannot miss work or afford insurance and copayments. Young people already go through enough without having to worry about where to get health care,” said Montgomery.
“School-Based Health Centers are often the first line of defense against costly hospitalization for many school-aged children and youth in high need areas. The clinics provide preventive services for conditions like epileptic seizures, asthma, diabetes and nutritional deficiencies. Let’s make every effort to ensure funding streams for these centers. Increasing access and funding to these health clinics will ensure that our children and families have access to essential health services that could potentially save lives,” said Assistant Speaker Felix W. Ortiz.
BP Adams Unveils New Innovative Tech For Subduing Emotionally Disturbed Individuals
Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams today will personally demonstrate an innovative policing device being adopted and tested by law enforcement agencies across the country to humanely subdue emotionally disturbed individuals (EDP).
The BolaWrap is a hand-held remote restraint device that discharges an eight-foot, bola-style Kevlar® tether to entangle an individual at a range of 10-25 feet. The non-lethal technology, designed to be utilized early in a police encounter to prevent unnecessary escalation and violence, is being assessed by more than 30 police departments nationwide, including jurisdictions in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Missouri, New York, and Utah.
Adams is urging the New York City Police Department (NYPD) to consider piloting this technology, specifically to address the imperative of safety for at-risk suspects and police officers alike in crisis intervention.
The event is slated for 10:30 a.m., today, Oct. 11, at Brooklyn Borough Hall – Courtroom, at 209 Joralemon Street in Downtown Brooklyn.
Treyger Calls For More Funding To Address School Accessibility Crisis
City Council member Mark Treyger (D-Bensonhurst, Gravesend, Coney Island, Sea Gate), Chair of the Committee on Education, is calling for more City funding toward improving school accessibility for children.
In a new report released this week entitled “Access Denied: School Accessibility in New York City,” which looks at the accessibility of New York City’s 1,800 public schools, its revealed that only one in five NYC public schools is fully accessible to students and parents with physical disabilities.
Treyger was able to secure $150 million in funding in Fiscal Year (FY’19) for addressing accessibility needs across the City’s schools but is calling for more funding toward updating older and outdated schools.
“Our school system is out of touch with the needs of our student population. It is unconscionable and unacceptable that funding continues to come between so many of our students and their most basic and fundamental rights,” said Treyger.
“But that is just a start, and not nearly enough to bring the sort of system-wide change our city’s students and families deserve. Securing more funding to modernize our many outdated school buildings will again be one of my top priorities once negotiations on the Fiscal Year 2020 budget begin in earnest,” added Treyger.
Bichotte, CM Williams, Parker Announce Little Haiti Brooklyn Forum
Assembly member Rodneyse Bichotte (D-Ditmas Park, Flatbush), City Council member Jumaane Williams (D-Flatbush, East Flatbush, Midwood) and State Senator Kevin Parker (D-Flatbush, East Flatbush, Midwood, Ditmas Park, Kensington, Windsor Terrace, and Park Slope) announced an upcoming community forum on the future of “Little Haiti” in Brooklyn.
The event will focus on the direction of Little Haiti BK and will include discussions on economic development, tourism, social resources, beautification, and more.
The forum will be the first of its kind for local residents to give input into the recently designated Little Haiti BK as a Cultural and Business District. The forum will offer an opportunity for the community to provide their vision for the area including various projects envisioned by the many organizations working hard to create a vibrant and unique business and cultural district. The event will take place on the eve of Jean-Jacques Dessalines Day, a national holiday in Haiti.
In August, the lawmakers unveiled Jean-Jacques Dessalines Boulevard in East Flatbush, an homage to Haiti’s revolutionary leader and first emperor.
The event is slated for 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 16 at Life of Hope Center, Cristo Rey Brooklyn Auditorium, at 710 East 37th Street in Flatbush.
For more information call our office 718-940-0428 or email derrickl@nyassembly.gov. Or email info@littlehaitibk.org or go to the Little Haiti BK website www.littlehaitibk.org for more information.
CM Williams To Unveil Co-Naming In Honor Of 9/11 First Responder
City Council member Jumaane D. Williams (D-Flatbush, East Flatbush, Midwood) will hold a co-naming street ceremony in honor of a 9/11 responder this weekend.
On Saturday, Williams will lead a ceremony to unveil ‘Firefighter William Gormley Way’ in Flatlands, named for the late William ‘Billy’ Gormley, a first responder on September 11, 2001 who passed away from 9/11 related illness.
Firefighter William J. Gormley, of Ladder 174 in East Flatbush, served in the Fire Department of New York (FDNY) for decades after first spending years in the United States Marine Corps. He worked at the site of the World Trade Center in the immediate aftermath of the attacks, these heroic actions would ultimately lead to his passing from lung cancer in 2017.
The ceremony will feature remarks from the family of Firefighter Gormley, Council member Williams, FDNY officers, and the Uniformed Firefighter Association in addition to the unveiling.
The event slated is 11 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 13, at 3851 Flatlands Ave (intersection of Flatbush and Flatlands Avenues) in Flatlands.
