Katz Holds “What To Do If You Get A Summons” Symposium for Veterans
Queens Borough President Melinda Katz and more than 50 elected officials tomorrow will partner with the city’s Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH) to host a “What To Do If You Get A Summons” Symposium for Veterans at Queens Borough Hall.
The goal of the event is to bring information about summonses and the OATH hearing process directly to the city’s war veterans. OATH Commissioner Fidel F. Del Valle will attend and the event is in partnership with Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, and Staten Island Borough President James Oddo.
More than 50 elected city and state officials are supporting the event, assisting with outreach efforts or planning to send senior staff in an effort to make sure that any concerns or questions raised by attendees from their districts are suitably addressed.
Organizations and Associations endorsing and attending this event include the NYC Department of Veterans Affairs, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the New York State Veteran Chamber of Commerce, Military Veterans of America, U.S. Veteran’s Administration and its New York Harbor Health Care System, The American Association of Invalids and Veterans of World War II, Black Veterans for Social Justice, Inc.
The symposium is slated for for between 11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., tomorrow, Nov. 29 at Queens Borough Hall, 120-55 Queens Blvd. in Kew Gardens.
Transportation Committee Passes Koo Bill Suspending Alternate Side Parking On Lunar New Year’s Eve
City Council Member Peter Koo (D- Bayside, College Point, Flushing, Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Fresh Meadows, Whitestone) yesterday saw the council’s Transportation Committee unanimously pass his proposed bill to suspend alternate side parking on Lunar New Year’s Eve – one of the most important cultural days of the year for Asian Americans.
The measure, Intro 497-A, adds Lunar New Year’s Eve to the city’s existing list of special religious and cultural holidays in which alternate side parking rules are suspended throughout the five boroughs.
“New York City takes enormous pride in the cultural traditions of its diverse populations. Lunar New Year’s Eve is a time when Asians from all over the world travel home, often across countries and continents, to be with their loved ones,” said Koo.
“Here in New York, it is also an intense travel time when families reunite, eat at restaurants, and prepare to celebrate the holiday. Suspending alternate side parking on Lunar New Year’s Eve is a simple way for the City of New York to respect this important cultural holiday by allowing more communities to share in the great patchwork of cultures, values, traditions that make up New York City. It allows us to learn from one another and to celebrate together, and I’d like to thank the Council’s Transportation Committee for its unanimous approval and Speaker Johnson for supporting this effort. I encourage my colleagues to support this bill in the City Council,” he added.
The full City Council will vote on the bill today at their stated Council meeting.
Gillibrand Calls For Fed Emergency Money To Battle Escalating Disease
U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) yesterday called on Congress to immediately provide emergency funding for research, treatment, and prevention efforts against acute flaccid myelitis (AFM), a debilitating, polio-like disease that has been affecting children in New York and across the country.
The number of cases of AFM are growing year after year. This increase in AFM cases over the last year is the third spike of AFM cases since 2014. In 2014, there were 120 confirmed cases of AFM, and two years later in 2016, there were 149 cases.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have confirmed or are investigating hundreds of suspected cases of AFM in 46 states and in DC. 90 percent of cases have been in children under the age of 18, with the majority of patients between the ages of two and eight.
On November 13, the CDC announced a new task force to investigate AFM. As Congress finalizes the Fiscal Year 2019 appropriations bill, Gillibrand will call on Congressional appropriators to provide the emergency funding necessary to give the CDC the resources it needs to investigate, treat, and prevent this debilitating disease.
“As a mother and as a Senator, I am taking AFM extremely seriously. I’ve been disturbed to read reports about this debilitating disease that has been affecting children in New York and across the country. Parents are extremely worried about what this disease means for their children, but doctors still don’t know what causes AFM or how it spreads,” said Gillibrand.“I am calling on Congressional appropriators to include emergency funding to support the CDC’s efforts to learn more about AFM. I won’t stop fighting until the CDC has the support they need to keep our children healthy and safe.”
Van Bramer Rallies Against Amazon
City Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Astoria, Long Island City, Sunnyside, Woodside) today will join the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) leadership and community groups for the release of a new report from RWDSU on the bad business practices of Amazon, titled What’s Wrong With Amazon?
Van Bramer is a vocal opponent to the city and state’s recent announcement that the huge online retailer, will put their second headquarters (HQ2) in Long Island City. The city and state will give the company more than $2 billion in subsidies, and in return Amazon is expected to create 25,000 high-paying jobs.
The report release is slated for 11 a.m., today, Nov. 28 in City Hall Park on Broadway and Chambers Street in Lower Manhattan.
