Weprin Pushes Alternative To Isolated Confinement, Fights For Adoptee Rights
Assemblyman David I. Weprin (D-Richmond Hill, Fresh Meadows) today in Albany, will push hard for two pieces of legislation for which he is fighting.
The first measure, the HALT Solitary Act, calls for humane alternatives to solitary confinement of those being held in jail accused or convicted of a crime. He will speak on the subject today at 12 noon at a New York Campaign for Alternatives to Isolated Confinement’s press conference in the lobby of the State Legislative Office Building, Albany.
Later in the day, Weprin will host a press conference calling for Assembly passage of ‘The Clean Bill of Adoptee Rights, establishing the right of adoptees to receive a certified copy of their birth certificate.
That press conference is slated for 2:30 p.m., today, April 30 on the Assembly Staircase, 3rd Floor of the Capitol Building in Albany.
Addabbo Announces Senior-Only Job Fair
State Sen. Joseph P. Addabbo, Jr. (D-Howard Beach, Ozone Park, Woodhaven, Glendale, Middle Village, Maspeth, parts of South Ozone Park, Ridgewood, Woodside, The Rockaways) next month is once again hosting his free, senior-only job fair for residents age 55 and older in Kew Gardens at the end of May.
“Finding a job in New York City can be a difficult venture for anyone living in the city, but even more so for senior citizens. With the cost of living continuing to rise, many people over the age of 55 are finding that they are having a difficult time meeting their financial needs and need to re-join the workforce,” Addabbo said. “That is why I bring these types of job fairs into the district. Seniors are a valuable part of our population, and we need to ensure that they have the necessary tools to find the work they need in order to sustain independent and healthy lives.”
Addabbo has invited businesses and organizations from a wide range of career fields, such as health care and retail. Some of the companies that will be in attendance at the job fair include the American Cancer Society, NYS Department of Corrections, World Financial Group, the Joseph P. Addabbo Family Health Center, and more.
Representatives from each company will accept résumés and meet with potential job candidates to discuss openings within their organizations.
The senior job fair is slated for between 10 a.m. – 2 p.m., Friday, May 31 at the Queens Community House, 80-02 Kew Gardens Road in Kew Gardens. For information about the job fair, contact Addabbo’s Howard Beach Office at 718-738-1111.
Sanders Addresses Sexual Assault Awareness At Clergy Breakfast
State Sen. James Sanders Jr. (D-Rochdale Village, Far Rockaway) made “Building Healthy Relationships,” the theme of this month’s Community Clergy Breakfast, held at the Faith Center in Far Rockaway on April 25.
“We are here to train clergy leaders on how to identify the signs of healthy and unhealthy relationships among their congregation by recognizing and addressing the needs of the whole person – mind, body and spirit,” Sanders said.
The breakfast featured a presentation by Sheltering Arms, a program that focuses on building and strengthening families. Their goal is to stabilize family crises and prevent foster care involvement so families can stay together.
Domestic violence occurs when one intimate partner or dominant household member exerts power and control over other members using physical, verbal, psychological or emotional and technological methods, according to New York State’s Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence (OPDV).
In 2018, in New York City, there were 30 intimate partner homicides and 25 family homicides, according to the Mayor’s Office to end Domestic and Gender-Based Violence. Also in 2018, the NYPD responded to 250,447 domestic incident reports (DIRs). Of those, 111,330 were intimate partner-related and 86,662 were family-related. The relationship type was unknown for the remaining 55,455 DIRs.
“Although the statistics may be daunting, there is always help and hope,” Sanders said. “My office will continue to partner with Sheltering Arms and similar groups to raise awareness of the resources that exist for those who may be stuck in a toxic relationship.”
Kim Encourages All Presidential Candidates To Embrace Student Debt Cancellation
Assemblyman Ron Kim (D-Flushing), as the proud sponsor of the nation’s first state-level legislation (A3641A) focused on student debt cancellation, is urging all presidential candidates to help reset the failing higher education market.
“For months, I have pushed our federal government to take student debt cancellation seriously. Instead of continuing the status quo, a failing higher education market that puts millions of Americans in a lifetime of debt, I introduced legislation that would allow local and state governments to buy, write down, and cancel student debt,” said Kim.
“The federal government must also quell this crisis by not underwriting any more bad loans to private colleges, and revert back to funding tuition-free public colleges. Lastly, Congress must eliminate decades of bad laws that forbid student loan borrowers from discharging their debt through bankruptcy.”
On October 10, 2018, Kim issued a joint letter co-signed by elected officials, nonprofit groups, and labor leaders calling on our federal government to cancel student debt and launched a website with a comprehensive white paper on this topic: www.gutcheck.us
Van Bramer Calls For Exclusive Bike Lane & Pedestrian Walkway On Queensborough Bridge
City Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Astoria, Long Island City, Sunnyside, Woodside) today will join Transportation Alternatives, Bike New York, cycling advocates, and community members to call on the city’s Department of Transportation to create separate, exclusive lanes for pedestrians and cyclists on the Queensboro Bridge.
Van Bramer endorses Transportation Alternatives’ campaign to convert the south outer roadway into an accessible walkway and the north outer roadway into a dedicated bike lane.
Van Bramer will lobby for the effort at 8:30 a.m., today, April 30, at the Queensboro Bridge Path, corner by the bike lane entrance at Crescent Street & Queens Plaza North in Long Island City.
