Adams, BK Lawmakers To Call For MTA Oversight, Possible Racially Inequitable Distribution of Bus Service
Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams joined by City Council members Alicka Ampry-Samuel (D-Brownsville) and Rafael Espinal (D-Bushwick, East New York) will call on the New York State Legislature and the New York City Council today to hold oversight hearings in the wake of reports indicating that communities of color in Brooklyn are not being provided the same state-of-the-art bus infrastructure as their wealthier counterparts in the borough.
Adams will also speak about the need to fully fund the MTA’s Fast Forward Plan in order to bring all communities the resources that they need to ensure they have access to 21st century transit service and question why existing resources are currently being distributed inequitably.
“It appears the MTA used race and wealth as part of the factors to determine which areas in Brooklyn should receive clean bus options. These oversight hearings must determine whether this is true, and if so, appropriate action must be taken to the individual or individuals responsible,” said Adams.
The event is slated for 11 a.m., today, March 18, at the New York City Transit Authority Headquarters, at 130 Livingston Street in Downtown Brooklyn.
Eugene Reveals Simon Wiesenthal Center Digital Terror & Hate Report
City Council Member Mathieu Eugene (D-Prospect Lefferts Gardens, Flatbush, East Flatbush) joined the Simon Wiesenthal Center last week to introduce the Center’s Annual Digital Terror & Hate Report.
The report measures the effectiveness of various established and emergent social media platforms in combating user hate-speech. The Center also presented its Report Card which grades new and emerging social media platforms on their response rates to online hate speech.
The Simon Wiesenthal Center is a global human rights organization researching the Holocaust and hate in a historic and contemporary context.
“I have long respected the work of this wonderful institution because they serve people from all races, backgrounds, and religions, and I represent a constituency that is as diverse as the United Nations General Assembly. The Simon Wiesenthal Center is a civil rights organization and teaching institution that each and every day stands up against hate but also promotes the idea of mutual respect between cultures and ethnicities,” said Mathieu.
“Today I’m announcing that the Civil and Human Rights Committee will hold hearings in the near future on the effects of digital hate and digital terror and work closely with such organizations as The Simon Wiesenthal Center to help advise how our City Council can be part of the response to the dangerous hate speech in our midst,” added Mathieu.
Espinal Pushes For Affordable Commercial Rent Legislation, Tackles Small Business Crisis
City Council member Rafael Espinal’s (D-Bushwick, East New York) is pushing to get his legislation aimed at providing affordable commercial rent for small businesses passed.
The bill was heard at a recent City Council Committee on Small Business hearing as a part of a larger package of bills aimed at protecting the city’s small business community, which has been threatened in recent years by rapidly rising commercial rents, the growth of e-commerce, onerous regulations, gentrification, and other factors.
Espinal’s bill would require affordable housing developments receiving financial assistance from the city to offer affordable ground floor commercial space was heard last week during the City Council Committee on Small Business. The measure would also task the city agency or entity overseeing the development with conducting a neighborhood retail needs assessment to determine how much retail space to set aside and how much the rent would be.
Another bill before the committee, also sponsored by Espinal, would require the Department of Buildings, the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA), the Department of Mental Health and Hygiene , the Department of Environmental Protection, the Department of Sanitation, the Department of Transportation, the Fire Department, the Department of Finance, and the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings to review city and state law relating to small business regulation to evaluate whether certain provisions could be repealed, or whether cure periods could be implemented.
“We’ve heard it over and over again: our small business community is suffering, and they feel like the City has turned its back on them. While we courted Amazon with lavish tax breaks, our mom and pops have been struggling just to keep their heads above water. Protecting New York’s small business culture starts with a recognition that the rent has become unaffordable for way too many commercial tenants,” said Espinal.
BP Adams To Hold Greek Heritage Celebration
Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams will host his annual Greek Heritage Celebration to honor the thousands of Brooklynites of Greek descent and to celebrate Greek culture in advance of Greek Independence Day.
Joining Borough President Adams will be the Consul General of Greece for New York Konstantinos Koutras and the Consul General of the Republic of Cyprus Alexis Phedonos-Vadet as well as keynote speaker, Jimmy Kokotas, the Supreme Vice President of the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association (AHEPA).
Adams will recognize a group of eight community honorees selected by Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Church, Kimisis Theotokau Greek Orthodox Church, Saints Constantine and Helen Cathedral of Brooklyn, and Three Hierarchs Greek Orthodox Church.
Entertainment will be provided by dance groups from A Fantis Parochial School, D.G. Kaloidis Parochial School, the Greek School of Plato, and the Hellenic Classical Charter School.
The event is slated for 6 p.m., today, March 18, at Brooklyn Borough Hall, at 209 Joralemon Street in Downtown Brooklyn.
