Treyger Introduces Bill To Combat Rising Temperatures, Climate Change
City Council member Mark Treyger (D-Coney Island, Bensonhurst) introduced new legislation last week to study adding substances to New York City streets that would help combat climate change by limiting heat absorption, lowering temperatures and reducing energy consumption.
The measure, Int. 1442 would require the Department of Transportation (DOT) to conduct a feasibility study about the application of substances to city street surfaces that reflect sunlight and lower street surface temperatures. Upon the completion of the study, the department would report the study’s findings to the offices of the Mayor and City Council Speaker. If this legislation were to become law, it would take effect immediately.
According to the legislation, DOT would be required to study:
– types of materials that could safely be applied to reduce street surface temperatures.
– Projected costs of applying sunlight-reflecting materials to city streets.
– Estimates on the amount of time necessary to embark upon and complete such projects.
– And the availability of products that could serve this intended purpose.
Like other urban centers, New York City experiences a phenomenon known as Urban Heat Island Effect, where in an urban area has significantly higher temperatures than surrounding rural areas. Factors contributing to Urban Heat Island Effect include the prevalence of buildings, concrete, lack of vegetation, and asphalt. Dark-colored asphalt can absorb between 80 and 95 percent of the sun’s rays. New York City has more than 6,000 miles of road.
“New York City is the coolest city on Earth, but we need to find ways to make it even cooler. Now more than ever, we need creative and practical solutions to combating climate change that can produce tangible results as soon as possible. Reducing the temperature of our street surfaces can lessen the impact of the Urban Heat Island Effect, lower energy consumption and cut energy costs. It can also protect more New Yorkers from extreme heat, which disproportionately affects our most vulnerable communities,” said Treyger.
Eugene Denounces Vandalism At Bushwick Chabad
City Council member Mathieu Eugene (D-Prospect-Lefferts, Ditmas Park; parts of Crown Heights, Flatbush, East Flatbush) yesterday denounced the recent attack on a synagogue in Brooklyn.
Last week, a pair of vandals smashed the window of the Chabad of Bushwick at 2 a.m. Saturday as more than a dozen people were partaking in Shabbos dinner, according to the New York Post. Police are looking for two men, who they say threw an unknown object through the window and then fled. Authorities are investigating the crime as a possible bias incident, cops said.
The incident follows a weeks of racist attacks against the Jewish community, including swastika graffiti at one South Brooklyn high school. The New York Police Department investigated 42 hate crimes through Feb. 4, compared with 19 at the same date last year. Most of those were anti-Semitic hate crimes, according to NBC NY. Mayor Bill de Blasio even announced increased security measures at synagogues in the wake of the incident.
“In light of the anti-Semitic vandalism that occurred on Saturday morning at Chabad of Bushwick, we are reminded that as a community, we must continue to stand in solidarity against these acts of intolerance,” said Eugene.
“When one of our communities is attacked, it is an attack on all of us, regardless of religion, ethnicity, or cultural beliefs. We will not stand by when our brothers and sisters in the Jewish community, or any community, are subjected to violence that is meant to instill fear. We will continue to come together as a united front to uplift those affected by these heinous actions, and we will continue to promote tolerance in the face of bigotry,” added Eugene.
Felder Officiates At 15th Annual Krasna Spelling Bee
Senator Simcha Felder (D-Boro Park, Midwood) attended the Bais Hillel D’Krasna Annual Spelling Bee over the weekend as an honorary judge.
The annual event featured a field of sixteen contestants from grades 3-6, who qualified to enter the fierce, yet friendly competition with their classmates solidly supporting them in the audience.
Welcomed by Principal, Rabbi Mechel Weiss, Felder had the pleasure of testing the competitors on challenging words like “weltanschuung” and “xenophobic.” Nearly 600 words later eight contestants remained undefeated and were all declared victors in an eight-way tie.
“It was an absolute pleasure to take part in this exciting event and see firsthand the impressive level of skill these students displayed. It is very clear that they take pride in all their studies, and that their education is important to them in every way,” expressed Felder.
“Seeing these young yeshiva students spell words that most college educated adults would struggle to use in a sentence was not only entertaining, it was gratifying. These boys are expert-spellers and they made us all very proud. They worked hard and the results of their efforts were really, just unbeatable,” concluded Felder.
BK Federal Lawmakers Intro Bill To Establish African Burial Ground Museum
Members of the New York delegation, led by U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-NY), U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and U.S. Representative Jerrold Nadler (D-Western Brooklyn, Western Manhattan), joined by Representatives Gregory Meeks (D-Queens)0, Yvette Clarke (D-Crown Heights, Flatbush, East Flatbush, Midwood, Brownsville, Sheepshead Bay), and Adriano Espaillat (D-Bronx), on Friday announced the reintroduction of the African Burial Ground International Memorial Museum and Education Center Act.
The legislation would establish a museum and education center at the African Burial Ground in Lower Manhattan, a site that currently holds the remains of an estimated 15,000 free and enslaved Africans and early-generation African-Americans from the colonial era. The museum would be managed by the National Park Service in consultation with the African Burial Ground Advisory Council, which would be established by the legislations.
The African Burial Ground is a cemetery located in lower Manhattan that holds the remains of approximately 15,000 free and enslaved Africans from the 17th and 18th centuries. It is the oldest and largest known burial ground in North America for free and enslaved Africans. The African Burial Ground serves great historical, cultural, archaeological and anthropological significance including DNA samples from the remarkably well-preserved human remains that will enable researchers to trace the home roots in Africa of those individuals buried at the ground.
The site became a National Historic Landmark in 1993 and was designated as a national monument in 2006.
“The African Burial Ground is culturally and historically significant to New York and the nation. As a nation, we must always remember the tremendous burdens and afflictions experienced by those who were brought here in bondage, and who fought – for generations – against impossible odds to achieve the full measure of dignity and equality and justice that they were due,” said Schumer.
“A Memorial Museum and Education Center on those grounds will pay respects to the thousands buried there, acknowledge the central role that enslaved and free African men and women played in building New York City from its earliest history, and educate Americans and other visitors about the profound and far-reaching impact of slavery on American society,” said Nadler.
“Amid the fight for equity, justice and fairness, we must shed light on the human rights violations that occurred in both colonial and federal New York City during the 17th and 18th centuries. This history deserves to be honored, remembered and studied by all Americans to ensure that such cruelties never occur again,” said Clarke.
