BP Adams, Montgomery, Wright To Hold Joint Legislative Hearing On City’s Homeownership Housing Crisis
Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams, State Senator Velmanette Montgomery (D-Bedford-Stuyvesant, Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Boerum Hill, Sunset Park), and Assembly Member Tremaine Wright (D-Bedford-Stuyvesant, Northern Crown Heights) will hold a joint legislative hearing this week to examine New York City’s homeownership housing crisis.
The event is in response to many homeowners who have lost their property and equity and have been left without support.
The hearing will focus on wrongful property seizures and the practices that have put homeowners and families in jeopardy, including deed and equity theft, municipal liens, predatory foreclosures, redlining, reverse mortgages, and the City’s Third Party Transfer (TPT) program.
Adams, Montgomery, and Wright will hear testimony from impacted homeowners and concerned New Yorkers.
The event is slated for 2 p.m., Friday, March 15, at Brooklyn Borough Hall, at 209 Joralemon Street in Downtown Brooklyn.
Treyger’s Bill To Test For & Remediate Lead Paint At Schools, Gets Council Approval
City Council member Mark Treyger’s (D-Coney Island, Bensonhurst) legislation that would better protect the health and safety of New York City children by requiring annual testing for and remediation of lead paint at schools, pre-schools, and nursery schools passed the City Council yesterday.
On Wednesday, the Council voted to approve Int. 920 – part of a City Council anti-lead legislative package – that will extend policies that currently apply only to day care facilities (as a result of Local Law 1 of 2004) to any facility serving children under the age of six – including schools, pre-schools, and nursery schools.
These facilities will be required to conduct annual surveying (or more often, if necessary) for lead-based paint hazards. Facility operators responsible for the testing would also be required to provide copies of the results to parents or guardians of children serviced by the facility. The measure would also mandate that whenever lead-based paint or paint with an unknown amount of lead content is found to be peeling or present on chewable surfaces, deteriorated subsurfaces, friction surfaces, or impact surfaces, remediation is to be conducted within a 45-day period.
Young children are at the greatest risk of exposure to lead poisoning, and are also the most vulnerable to its effects. Children of color and children from low-income communities are disproportionately impacted by lead poisoning exposure. Deteriorated lead-based paint is one of the most common sources of exposure for children.
“We have a responsibility to ensure that our city’s approach to education prioritizes the needs and the health of our students. No parent should ever send their child to school worried about the possibility of exposure to lead poisoning. This bill is a measure to help us meet our responsibility to protect the health of every child in our city,” said Treyger, Chair of the Council Committee on Education.
Bichotte To Host Women Of Distinction Awards Ceremony
Assemblymember Rodneyse Bichotte (D-Ditmas Park, Flatbush) will hold her annual Women of Distinction Awards Ceremony tonight.
The awards honor exceptional women, who have positively impacted her district and the community.
Bichotte will be joined by Special Presenter, Professor of Political Science, African and Women’s Studies at Brooklyn College, Mojúbàolú Olufúnké Okome, PhD and Mistress of Ceremonies, Farah Louis.
The event is slated for 6 p.m., today, March 14, at Brooklyn College Campus Library, at 2900 Bedford Avenue in Flatbush.
Malliotakis Slams Senate Dems Budget Proposal Extending Mayoral Control of Schools By 3 Years
Assembly member Nicole Malliotakis (R,C,I,Ref -Brooklyn, Staten Island) slammed Senate Democrats yesterday for their introduction of a budget resolution that included a three-year extension of mayoral control of NYC Schools.
According to the resolution, Senate Democrats are, “accepting the proposal to extend mayoral control and accountability of New York City schools for three years, pending a Senate hearing to contemplate and recommend reforms to enhance transparency and parental/community input in New York City school governance.”
On Wednesday, the Senate Majority introduced a budget resolution that included proposals to increase support for New York students, fund early voting and establish a public financing system for state elections, and fund community outreach for the 2020 Census, among many other essential items. The resolution comes as the April 1 state budget deadline approaches.
Malliotakis is introducing a bill requiring the Senate and Assembly Education Committees conduct public hearings 30 days prior to votes by the Legislature to extend mayoral control in each of New York City’s five boroughs, further allowing public transparency into the city’s embattled department of education that has been the center of negative press relating to its Renewal Schools program, school disciplinary policies, lucrative contracts with high priced consultants and vendors, and lavish executive travel.
“It is unconscionable that we would extend Mayor de Blasio’s control of public schools without getting answers on major issues like the $750 million failed Renewal Schools fiasco, the planned changes to specialized schools, the destruction of school discipline, the DOE’s costly contracts with vendors and high-priced “consultants,” and lavish executive travel,” said Malliotakis.
“Taxpayers deserve to know why, with a $32 billion budget, teachers lack supplies and some kids are still being taught in trailers. New York state is set to give the city another $11 billion for education and we have a fiduciary responsibility to taxpayers and a moral one to our children to ensure that the money is being spent properly,” added Malliotakis.
Rose Fights for LGBT Americans, Pushes to Extend Civil Rights Protections
Congressman Max Rose (D-South Brooklyn, Staten Island) is co-sponsoring the bipartisan Equality Act, which was introduced yesterday in both the House of Representatives and U.S. Senate.
The legislation will explicitly prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in education, employment, housing, credit, federal jury service, public accommodations, and the use of federal funds.
In some areas, federal law prohibiting sex discrimination has already been properly interpreted by federal courts and administrative agencies to include discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. The Equality Act affirms these interpretations of existing law and makes the prohibition against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity explicit, in order to provide greater clarity to members of the public, employers, schools, businesses and others.
In areas where sex discrimination is not already prohibited, the bill amends existing law to bar discrimination on the basis of sex, as well as sexual orientation and gender identity.
“The fact that federal law allows for discrimination against someone because of who they love or how they identify flies in the face of our values. In New York we’ve helped lead the way in this fight, but it’s long past time for the federal government to catch up and join us in the 21st century,” said Rose, a member of the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus.
Colton Pushes For 100% Renewable Energy Bill, Call For End of Fossil Fuels By 2030
Assembly member William Colton (D–Gravesend, Bensonhurst, Bath Beach, and Dyker Heights) recently sponsored a bill (A-3565) on 100 % renewable energy.
The measure aims to provide a road map to New York State for transitioning from fossil fuels to complete renewable energy by the year 2030.
The bill provides a mechanism for job re-training, building infrastructure for new renewable energy industries, a transition to electric vehicles, and assistance for environmentally impacted communities. On Tuesday, climate activists and a number of elected officials rallied together in Albany demanding the legislature and Governor Andrew Cuomo pass the bill.
“As the warning signs of the impacts of damage being done to our environment by fossil fuels grow more urgent, my bill provides a pathway to converting to renewable energy by 2030 in a transparent planned way, preparing to mitigate negative impacts on existing jobs, energy costs and prior impacts on environmental justice communities,” said Colton.
“We are running out of time to make the changes necessary to have a planned transition to an all renewable energy system. The scientific studies show water temperature rising each year to new record levels and a steady increase in water levels threatens to flood existing developed lands. Increasingly extreme weather conditions now emerge in all parts of the world,” added Colton.
