Jeffries To Host Tech Training Session For Unemployed, Underemployed
Congressman Hakeem Jeffries (D-Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Bed-Stuy, Brownsville, East New York, Canarsie, Mill Basin, Coney Island, parts of Queens) alongside Google, Goodwill NYNJ and NYC Human Resources Administration Commissioner Steven Banks will host a two hour tech workshop for local residents today.
Wednesday’s class will cover digital best practices, and is aimed for young adults, unemployed and underemployed individuals.
The event will also commemorate Goodwill NYNJ exceeding its training and placement benchmarks under the Digital Career Accelerator initiative. Under that effort, launched in 2017 and backed by a $10M grant from Google, Goodwills across the country will equip over a million Americans with digital skills by 2020.
To date, Goodwill NYNJ has reached 10,249 people (377% of the goal set by Google) and placed 1,217 into jobs related to the skills they gained.
The event is slated for 10 a.m. to 12-noon, today, March 20, at Goodwill Industries of Greater New York and New Jersey, Inc., at 25 Elm Place, 3rd Floor in Downtown Brooklyn.
BP Adams To Offer Brooklynites Free ‘How To Save A Life’ Overdose Prevention Naloxone Trainings
Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams announced yesterday that in a continued effort to address the persistent nationwide opioid crisis, his administration will once again host a series of boroughwide free overdose prevention trainings that teach Brooklynites how to save lives.
Adams will redouble his partnership with the Brooklyn Alcoholism and Addictive Services Council (BAASC), New York City Police Department (NYPD), Brooklyn Public Library (BPL), and the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), to offer free trainings to be held on select dates at Brooklyn Borough Hall, BPL branches, and community centers throughout the borough, starting on Thursday, March 21st.
Attendees will be trained on how to recognize and reverse an overdose and restore breathing using the lifesaving medication naloxone, learn how to become a certified opioid overdose responder, and receive a free overdose rescue kit with naloxone.
According to data compiled by the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) and the DOHMH Bureau of Vital Statistics, in 2017 there were 359 overdose deaths in Brooklyn involving an opioid, the second highest total of the five boroughs. Bedford-Stuyvesant/Crown Heights, East New York, Coney Island, Downtown/Brooklyn Heights/Park Slope, and Bensonhurst/Bay Ridge were the most severely impacted neighborhoods.
Additional statistical analysis compiled by OCME and DOHMH in 2017 found that for the first time in 11 years, rates of overdose deaths related to fentanyl were highest among Black New Yorkers. Additionally, overdose death rates were the highest among Brooklyn residents aged 55-64 and lowest among residents aged 15-24. Overall throughout New York City, rates of overdose deaths among those residing in the city’s poorest neighborhoods were more than double that of those living in moderate or more affluent neighborhoods.
“Naloxone trainings play a critical role in increasing access to this life-saving intervention. Opioid addiction is a community crisis and we must have a community response. These trainings are literally expanding the opportunity to save lives and I thank our partners and all who will participate for their willingness to take on this mission,” said Adams.
The series of free trainings will be held on:
- Thursday, March 21st from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM at BPL’s Bushwick Branch in Bushwick
- Wednesday, March 27th from 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM at BPL’s Bedford Branch in Bedford-Stuyvesant
- Friday, April 5th from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM at Tilden Community Center in Brownsville
- Wednesday, April 10th from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM at BPL’s Marcy Branch in Bedford-Stuyvesant
- Monday, April 22nd from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM at BPL’s Central Branch in Prospect Heights
- Wednesday, May 15th from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM at BPL’s Stone Avenue Branch in Brownsville
- Tuesday, May 21st from 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM at Brooklyn Borough Hall in Downtown Brooklyn
- Wednesday, May 29th from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM at BPL’s New Lots Branch in East New York
Anyone interested in attending one of Borough President Adams’ free overdose prevention trainings is asked to RSVP by calling (718) 802-4299 or visiting brooklyn-usa.org/narcan.
Mosley, Montgomery To Host Community Conversation On Marijuana Regulation & Taxation Act
Assembly member Walter T. Mosley (D-Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Crown Heights) and State Senator Velmanette Montgomery (D-Fort Greene, Boerum Hill, Red Hook, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Sunset Park, Gowanus, Park Slope) will hold a community conversation on the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA) this week.
The legislation would legalize, regulate, and tax marijuana under state law along lines similar to the state’s current system regulating alcohol, and would represent a new approach for New York State after decades of costly, counterproductive policies that have produced racially discriminatory outcomes.
The measure was introduced by State Senator Liz Krueger (D-Manhattan) last December and would empower the State Liquor Authority to act as the primary regulatory agency. In brief, the bill.
The event will focus on the current state of the bill, the possible legalization of cannabis and the impact of MRTA passage on the larger Brooklyn community.
The event is slated for 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., Thursday, March 21, at 201 Gold Street (corner of Flushing Ave) in Fort Greene.
Myrie Pushes For Public Financing of Elections In New York State
State Senator Zellnor Myrie (D-Central Brooklyn) alongside colleagues, and advocacy groups will gather today to demand publicly financed elections in New York State and discuss their plans to implement it statewide.
The rally will be held immediately before a hearing on the issue. Advocates argue that public funding of state elections would create a more equal political system in which all New Yorkers would be able to run for office.
Currently, New York City elections are eligible for public funding through the Campaign finance Board (NYC CFB). The program has two options due to a recent change that increased matching funds in a ballot referendum last November.
The old model matches contributions up to $175 at a 6-to-1 ratio or the new model, which gives 8-to-1 matches for donations up to $250. The program is designed to diminish the role of big contributions in city elections and increase the availability of public financing to candidates for city office.
The event is slated for 12:30 p.m., today, March 20, at Lobby LCA Press Room in Albany.
Savino Pushes For Harsher Penalties of Repeat Transit Sex Offenders
State Senator Diane Savino (D-Bensonhurst, Brighton Beach, Coney Island, Dyker Heights, Gravesend, Sunset Park, Staten Island) is pushing for passage of her legislation that would impose harsher penalties for subway sex crimes, including up to seven years in jail.
Savino’s renewed push comes as Governor Andrew Cuomo announced yesterday that he would support City Council member Chaim Deutsch (D-Brighton Beach, Manhattan Beach, Marine Park, Midwood, Sheepshead Bay) proposal to impose a lifetime ban as a way to reduce sex crimes on the subway.
Deutsch told reporters Tuesday that he would support banning anyone who is twice convicted of groping, inappropriate touching or other lewd acts on the subway, according to NBC news.
In 2017, Senator Savino released a report, Perverted Justice: How Subway Grinders Continue to Victimize New Yorkers, which detailed the increase in sex crimes on subways and the legislative solutions she proposed to lower these numbers.
“Right now these offenders are only committing misdemeanors, and can only be sentenced to up to a year in jail, with most serving little to no time at all. While banning these repeat offenders is a smart idea, the fact of the matter is that if these crimes were appropriately punished these people would not be on our trains to begin with. It’s time for the legislature to pass this legislation to send a message that these crimes are taken seriously and ensure that it’s safe for women to ride the train in New York,” said Savino.
