Cuomo To Deliver 2019 State of the State & Budget Address
Governor Andrew Cuomo will deliver the 2019 State of the State and Budget Address this week.
On Tuesday, Cuomo will give his annual address which will review the accomplishments of the last year and present an agenda for the coming year.
Also included in the speech will be the New York State Budget outline for the year.
The event is slated for 2 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 15, at the Hart Theater, Egg Center for Performing Arts, at 1 Empire State Plaza, South Mall Arterial in Albany.
BP To Launch Meatless Mondays At All NYC Public Hospitals
Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams will join NYC Health + Hospitals President and CEO Dr. Mitchell Katz, MD, as well as NYC Health + Hospitals/Coney Island President and CEO William Brown today in launching a new initiative to remove meat on Mondays from food menus at all 11 public hospitals across the NYC Health + Hospitals system.
The expansion of plant-based menu options addresses a growing crisis of preventable diseases citywide, according to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), an estimated 987,000 New Yorkers are living with diabetes, with other chronic preventable diseases such as heart disease, high blood pressure, and obesity growing in prevalence.
Adams, an ardent advocate for whole-food, plant-based diets as a lifestyle approach to positive health outcomes — including possible disease reversal — called on all hospitals to sign on to the Meatless Mondays pledge, an international campaign focused on improving the health of both individuals and the planet.
This launch follows last month’s announcement of the first-of-its-kind Plant-Based Lifestyle Medicine Program at NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue, which will provide care for patients with preventable diseases through the adoption of healthy lifestyle changes.
The event is slated for 11 a.m., today, Jan. 14, at NYC Health & Hospital/ Coney Island, at 2601 Ocean Parkway in Sheepshead Bay.
Bichotte, CM Williams Commemorate 9th Anniversary of 2010 Haiti Earthquake
Assembly member Rodneyse Bichotte (D-Flatbush, Ditmas Park) and City Council Member Jumaane D. Williams (D-Flatbush, East Flatbush, Midwood), Deputy Leader, commemorated the ninth anniversary of the 2010 Haiti earthquake.
On Jan. 12, 2010, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake devastated the Caribbean island nation of Haiti. The quake, which was the strongest to strike the region in more than 200 years, left over 200,000 people dead and some 895,000 Haitians homeless.
“The people of Haiti and the diaspora are a strong and resilient having historically contributed so much to America and the greater world around them. And now, in the same triumphant vein, the Little Haiti Brooklyn Cultural and Business District is still thriving and is a shining example of all the good that Haiti does for our community. With that said, I think it’s time that we acknowledge, respect and give back to such a nation and its people. Let’s take a moment of silence for Haiti and the people of Haiti,” said Bichotte.
“Our thoughts, prayers, and aid must continue to go out to Haiti and its proud people. As a representative of the largest Haitian community in the United States outside of Florida, I take very seriously the responsibility of contributing to the ongoing mission of remembrance, recovery and rebuilding. This is not a sentiment shared by the Trump Administration, which is turning its back on our Haitian brothers and sisters. I am hopeful that we can all work together in bringing Haiti to new heights in the the year to come,” said Williams.
Rose Leads Park Clean Up, During Government Shutdown
Congressman Max Rose (D-South Brooklyn, Staten Island) led a cleanup effort of Miller Field over the weekend, which has been neglected due to the federal government shutdown.
On Saturday, Rose along with Staten Island non-profit Where to Turn and more than 30 volunteers, spent the afternoon cleaning up the local park that has been suffering from the affects of the government shutdown. The shutdown now in its fourth week, is affecting about a quarter of the U.S. government and approximately 800,000 federal workers including The National Park Service.
The shutdown is the result of an impasse between the president and congressional Democrats over funding for a border wall, which Trump promised during the 2016 campaign, according to USA Today. The conflict has left many workers without pay and a decline in work force.
“Right now Americans across the country are rightfully feeling that their government doesn’t give a damn if they get paid or even if their parks are clean,” Rose said.
Our federal workers haven’t just been robbed of their pay checks, but the ability to do the job they love and are proud to do every day. We saw today, thanks to all the good people who came out, that the American people will always step up. Now it’s time for everyone in Washington to do the same, come to the table seriously, and let’s reopen the government,” added Rose.
Nadler Supports Legislation To Re-Open Critical Gov’t Agencies
Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-Western Brooklyn, Western Manhattan) threw his support behind H.R. 267, the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Act, to help end the government shutdown last week.
The bill aims provides FY2019 (Fiscal Year 2019) appropriations to the Department of Transportation (DOT), the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and several related agencies. The bill has passed the House and will now head to the Senate for a vote.
“I rise today in support of this legislation because it is past time to move beyond this political game of chicken and re-open these critical government agencies. I support it for one simple reason: we must get these programs funded and operating again,” said Nadler.
“People are suffering. They are working without pay or furloughed with no idea if they will ever get back to work. They are watching critical services and benefits slowly disappear. And it will only get worse as this absurd and unnecessary shutdown drags on. The House will pass this bill today, and I call on my Republican colleagues here and in the Senate to get people back to work, to get our government open again, and to put aside this political game and do our jobs,” added Nadler.
