BP Adams To Unveil Results From First-Ever High School Participatory Budgeting Process On School Safety
Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams will be joined by students, administrators from the John Jay Educational Campus, the Participatory Budgeting Project, and representatives from Council Member Brad Lander’s (D-Windsor Terrace, Kensington, Park Slope) office, to unveil the results of the first-ever high school participatory budgeting process in New York City focused on school safety and participatory justice.
Adams will meet with students and faculty to discuss their experience with this innovative civic engagement process and unveil the results of student voting on up to $500,000 in Brooklyn Borough Hall funding for capital projects and $10,000 in school expense funding.
The funding is expected to be implemented in the five schools located at the John Jay Educational Campus, as well as campus policy changes to be implemented by the schools’ administrations.
This first-of-its-kind process intends to amplify youth voices and support broader student organizing for school safety.
The event is slated for 11 a.m., today, March 26, at John Jay Educational Campus, at 237 Seventh Avenue (between 4th & 5th Streets) in Park Slope.
Ortiz Demands School Counseling Following Latest Parkland Suicide
Assistant Speaker Assembly member Felix Ortiz (D-Sunset Park, Red Hook) yesterday demanded that schools provide psychologists and social workers to address students’ traumatic stress in the wake of two Parkland shooting survivors committing suicide last week.
Last Friday, 19-year-old Sydney Aiello was buried, five days after she killed herself. Aiello was a senior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School last year at the time of the mass shooting. A day later, on Saturday, another student took his life. He was a current student, a sophomore whom authorities haven’t identified, according to NPR.
In the wake of the tragedies, Ortiz is pushing for passage of his legislation, A. 5373, that would require that every elementary, intermediate, middle, junior and senior high schools throughout New York State have a full-time licensed social worker and a full-time licensed psychologist on staff to meet the needs of their students.
“Over the weekend, another student from Parkland, FL died,just days after another Parkland survivor committed suicide caused by post-traumatic stress disorder and guilt,” said Ortiz.
“It is a sad reality that many children do not receive the early intervention needed to prevent long-term problems and are often unnecessarily and inappropriately referred to special education. With the aid of skilled professionals, many long-term problems can be averted,” added Ortiz
Malliotakis Celebrates Greek Independence Day in Brooklyn
Assembly member Nicole Malliotakis (R,C,I,Ref-Brooklyn, Staten Island) last Sunday held two Greek Independence Day ceremonies, one on each side of the Verrazano Bridge.
Along with members of American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association (AHEPA) Chapter 41, Malliotakis honored eight members of the Brooklyn community at the Demetrios and Georgia Kaloidis School of Holy Cross Church in Bay Ridge.
In Brooklyn, the ceremony honored a group of individuals for their contributions and service to the community including: Dr. Katherine Tsamasiros, Gerasimos Matiatos, Effie Galiatsatos, George Stavropoulos, George Orthodoxou, Antonios Paptheodorou, Efrosini Mancini and Rigopoula Nasopoulos.
“It is an honor to celebrate the 197 th Anniversary of Greece’s Independence from the Ottoman Empire by recognizing the achievements of Greeks from Brooklyn and Staten Island. This year we honored dedicated citizens who have made contributions toward education, medicine, business and philanthropy. I was proud to join hundreds of community members in celebrating the accomplishments of these extraordinary individuals,” said Malliotakis.
Stringer To Hold Community Town Hall
New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer will hold a community Town Hall today in central Brooklyn to hear from local residents about the needs of the area.
The event will give local residents and community leaders to express their concerns and issues. Those attending can express their concerns while also learn what the NYC Comptroller’s office can do for them.
The event is slated for 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., today, March 26, at Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation (Basement Level), at 1368 Fulton Street in Bed-Stuy.
Brannan Calls For Stronger Enforcement, Increased Fines On Floating TV Billboards
City Council members Justin Brannan (D-Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights) and Mark Levine (D-Manhattan) yesterday announced they would be introducing legislation to dramatically increase the fine on advertising companies violating City law by operating barges equipped with large LED illuminated billboards.
The bright LED screens on the barges–first seen in October of 2018 around New York Harbor and the two rivers leading into it–are 20 feet tall and 60 feet long, causing a nuisance to the surrounding communities and a dangerous distraction to drivers on the City’s highways, according to the lawmakers.
Earlier this year, the New York City Law Department made clear in a letter to Ballyhoo Media, Inc., the company responsible for operating the barges, that the corporation is in violation of several provisions of the NYC Administrative Code and other laws. Specifically, the City’s Zoning Resolution states that, “no moving or stationary advertising sign shall be displayed on a vessel plying waterways adjacent to Commercial Districts and within view from an arterial highway,” including the FDR, the BQE, and Henry Hudson Parkway.
Currently, the penalty for violating the City’s Zoning Resolution is up to $25,000 per daily violation. However, the maximum fine are relatively small in comparison to the profits earned by these companies as the “pricing of a 30-second spot in a 2-minute loop on the boats is $55,000 in NYC,” according to Pivot Media Ventures, a Ballyhoo Inc. affiliate.
Levine and Brannan are seeking to quadruple the maximum fine to $100,000 per daily violation, in addition to calling on the New York Police Department to step up enforcement of the barges. The legislation will be introduced on Thursday, March 28th, and is co-sponsored by Council Members Carlina Rivera, Margaret Chin, Helen Rosenthal, Stephen Levin and Keith Powers.
“At a time when every square inch of our world feels like it’s covered in advertisements, visual pollution is a real thing and our waterways should be off completely limits. The New York harbor is not Times Square. A massive floating LED barge is not the same as the old crop duster flying over Jones Beach telling you to try the fried grouper special at the local seafood shack. These LED barges are not only ugly, obnoxious and illegal but they are dangerous to already often distracted drivers,” said Brannan.
