BP Adams Calls On State To Include Financial Education In High School Curriculum
Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams today alongside local students and financial experts will urge State lawmakers to include financial education in the curriculum for all New York high school students.
On Wednesday, Adams specifically will urge the State Senate and Assembly to hold hearings on S.2542/A.1357, which would establish a financial education curriculum for pupils in grades nine through twelve across New York. The call is part of Adams’s annual commemoration of Financial Education Empowerment Month in Brooklyn.
The bills, sponsored by State Senator Leroy Comrie and Assembly Member Daniel Rosenthal, would also determine what should be included in such a curriculum, including the basics of financial planning, budgeting, borrowing, interest rates, and personal insurance policies.
Implementing a financial education curriculum has been demonstrated to improve students’ credit scores and increase savings rates. Only 16 percent of Americans between ages 18 to 26 are very optimistic about their financial future, according to his office.
The event is slated for 12:30 p.m., today, April 10, at Brooklyn College, Student Center, 2705 Campus in Flatbush.
PA Williams, Lander, Advocates Push For Ranked Choice Voting
Public Advocate Jumaane Williams alongside City Council member Brad Lander (D-Windsor Terrace, park Slope, Kensington) and other elected officials will join together today to urge the NYC Charter Commission to recommend Ranked Choice Voting (RCV).
RCV is a consensus driven system that would allow voters to rank candidates in order of preference, instead of a winner take all model. The groups’ proposal would implement Ranked Choice Voting for all NYC primary and special elections, including races for city council and citywide offices.
The NYC Charter Commission will adopt a draft slate of proposals this month, that voters will ultimately approve or reject on the November ballot.
Advocates claim the system also allows more community based candidates to compete, particularly candidates of color. According to a study done by Fair Vote, in the four Bay Area cities that use ranked choice voting, candidates of color have won 62% of those races, as compared to only 38% prior.
The event is slated for 11 a.m., today, April 10, at the Steps of City Hall in Lower Manhattan.
Persaud To Host Free Easter Egg Hunt
State Senator Roxanne Persaud (D-Canarsie, East New York, Brownsville, Mill Basin, Sheepshead Bay, Bergen Beach, Marine Park, Flatlands, Mill Island, Georgetown, Ocean Hill, Starrett City) announced yesterday the Third Annual Senate District 19 Free Easter Egg Hunt.
This year’s event will feature games and activities for families and children as well as light refreshments, free giveaways and a special visit from the Easter Bunny. Entry is free but families are asked to bring a basket for each child; and all children must be accompanied by an adult.
This year, in expectancy of a large turnout, Persaud’s Office is bringing over 5,000 eggs for the children to collect. Event sponsors include Broadway Stages, Brookdale University Hospital Medical Center, Canarsie Lions Club, the Carpenter Contractor Alliance of Metropolitan New York (CCA Metro), David Optical, Millennium Development, the New York City Police Department and S&D Kids as well as community partners.
“It is important that these children and parents are able to have fun here at home, and learn more about all that our district and surrounding community has to offer. These events help further my vision for a vibrant and prosperous 19th Senate District, and I am thrilled that this was such a resounding success,” said Persaud.
The event is slated for 11 a.m., to 1 p.m., Saturday, April 13 at Canarsie Park, Seaview Avenue (at East 88th Street entrance).
Rose Pushes To Prevent Congestion Price Double-Tax For Staten Island
Congressman Max Rose (D-South Brooklyn, Staten Island) and Staten Island Borough President James Oddo urged Governor Andrew Cuomo this week to not unfairly burden Staten Island residents and commuters with a double-tax as part of the proposed congestion tolling program.
Earlier this month, as part of the 2019-2020 NYS Budget, the first steps of a congestion pricing plan were passed that will charge motorists to drive into Manhattan below 61st Street.
The proposal has left many commuters concerned about being double charged to enter and leave the CBD specifically Staten Island commuters who already pay a $7.26 fee to drive over the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge back home to Staten Island and most recently saw a toll hike to come into the city.
On March 31, the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge saw a toll hike that once again left Brooklyn residents who drive across the bridge on the receiving end of a huge financial hit. The toll to cross the bridge has risen from $17 to $19 for non-E-ZPass holders, making it the highest toll in the United States, a record previously held by the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel in Virginia, according to The Brooklyn Reporter.
“We are writing to urge you to ensure that Staten Island, like other New York City boroughs, is protected from inequitable double tolling under the proposed congestion tolling program by including a toll credit for Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge crossings. We agree that New York City needs timely and significant investments to our transportation system,” wrote Rose and Oddo in a letter to the Governor.
“However, our constituents are angry and frustrated to see plans to generate revenues for these investments go forward without assurances that we will be spared additional financial hardship,” continued the letter.
