BP Adams To Host Iftar Dinner
Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams will join with members of Brooklyn’s Muslim community to break the daily Ramadan fast for the 14th Annual Iftar Dinner at Brooklyn Borough Hall today.
The celebration, sponsored by mosques and cultural organizations from around the borough, will include a presentation of awards to members of the community who have made a positive contribution.
Adams will speak about the importance of promoting religious tolerance and standing united against bigotry, especially in the current political climate.
The event is slated for 7:30 p.m., today, May 23, at Brooklyn Borough Hall, 209 Joralemon Street in Downtown Brooklyn.
Wright, Montgomery, BK Nets To Join In Grand Opening of Student-Designed Playground
Assembly member Tremaine Wright (D-Bedford-Stuyvesant, Northern Crown Heights), State Senator Velmanette Montgomery (D-Fort Greene, Boerum Hill, Red Hook, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Sunset Park, Gowanus, Park Slope) will join The Trust for Public Land and the Brooklyn Nets today to host the grand opening for a new student-designed community playground for schools in Crown Heights.
The new $2 million playground will serve students at M.S. 354 The School of Integrated Learning, KIPP AMP Academy Middle School, and KIPP AMP Elementary Schools and includes trees, a turf field, pervious pavers, and green infrastructure elements that can capture up to 1,000,000 gallons of storm water annually.
The area was designed by students, staff, parents, and community members through the Trust for Public Land’s NYC Playgrounds Program. The program has added more than 160 acres of playspace across all five boroughs since 1996, serving more than 4 million people who live within a 10-minute walk of one of the sites.
The Crown Heights playground was built in collaboration with Governor Andrew Cuomo’s “Vital Brooklyn” initiative, which will transform 8 playgrounds, 22 community gardens, and 4 recreation centers in central Brooklyn by 2020. The initiative aims to target some of the most disadvantaged areas in New York State, recognizing the critical need for green space in a city where 73 percent of low-income neighborhoods fail to meet the city’s standard of 2.5 acres of parkland per 1,000 residents.
The ceremony will include an official ribbon cutting, opening remarks, a celebratory student dance performance, and a meet and greet with the Brooklynettes Dance Team. The Brooklyn Nets Basketball Academy will also host a free clinic for the children in attendance and leave behind custom branded basketballs. The team and the Barclays Center donated a portion of proceeds raised from their annual Barclays Center Cares gala to help support this project.
The event is slated for 11 a.m. to 12-noon, today, May 23, at M.S. 354 & KIPP AMP Community Playground, 1224 Park Place in Crown Heights.
Cornegy To Distribute Guide To Raise Awareness of Mental Health Services In Bed-Stuy/Crown Heights
City Council member Robert Cornegy, Jr. (D-Northern Crown Heights, Bedford-Stuyvesant) and his staff alongside area service providers will distribute information at local transportation hubs regarding the mental health services available in Council District 36.
The event continues Cornegy’s push to improve mental health services throughout Brooklyn and New York City as part of Mental Health Awareness Month.
Earlier in the week Cornegy released his “Mental Health is Public Health” report at Brooklyn Borough Hall which outlined key policy priorities to improve the delivery of mental health services in New York.
The event is slated for 8 a.m. to 9 a.m., today, May 23, at multiple subway stations including:
- Utica Ave. A/C Station
- Nostrand Ave. A/C Station
- Bedford/Lafayette G Station
- Gates/Myrtle J Station
Carroll Applaud DEC Decision To Halt Williams Pipeline
Assembly member Robert Carroll (D-Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Kensington) and State Senator James Sanders, Jr. (D-Queens) this week jointly announced their support of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s (NYDEC) decision to halt the Williams Transco Northeast Supply Enhancement Project (the Williams Pipeline).
Last Wednesday, the proposed pipeline that was set to carry fracked natural gas from Pennsylvania to the Big Apple was halted after NYDEC officials ruled that the pipeline proposed by Oklahoma-based operator Williams Companies would dredge up sediment and contaminants, like mercury and copper, from the bottom of the bay, compromising water quality and the health of local habitats. The project “fails to meet New York State’s rigorous water quality standards,” the department said, according to reports.
Following the decision, Carroll and Sanders have called for passage of S.5518-A in the State Senate and A.5399-B in the State Assembly.
The proposed legislation declares a climate emergency and places a moratorium on new fossil fuel infrastructure projects and contracts in New York State, including power plants, pipelines, storage facilities and natural gas compressors, while protecting the safety of the existing energy infrastructure by allowing repair and maintenance of existing facilities.
“Having rejected the pipeline and our continued reliance on outdated and polluting energy sources, New York State now has a great opportunity to pursue clean renewable energy in its stead. It is time for the New York legislature to step up and present new leadership and to pass this legislation,” said Carroll.
Schumer Supports NYS Climate & Community Protection Act
U.S. Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) this week expressed his support in a public letter, ‘Dear Fellow Legislator,’ in support of the New York State Climate and Community Protection Act (CCPA).
The CCPA is a comprehensive climate bill, that if passed, would be the most robust climate policy package passed by any state in the country. The legislation calls for a just transition to a renewable energy economy, good jobs for many tens of thousands of New Yorkers, and investment in communities at the front lines of climate change and pollution.
The measure would also make all of New York’s economy carbon-free by 2050. State agencies are responsible for issuing regulations that can meet this goal. Under the CCPA, citizens would be able to bring lawsuits if the state does not meet emissions standards.
“I believe we must prioritize the urgency of climate change and the need to take bold steps to aggressively confront it, and that is exactly what the Climate and Community Protection Act does, and it is what I am fighting for in the U.S. Congress. While New York has taken some very significant steps to address these challenges, more remains to be done,” said Schumer.
“This gives New York another opportunity, like it has on same-sex marriage and in days past, workers compensation and safe workplaces, to be a national leader in an area of critical policy change. As state, municipalities, and other local jurisdictions around the country–responding to the lack of leadership from the current administration–take on the mantle of passing ambitious climate legislation that supports equitable transition to 100% clean, renewable energy, New York can take a leading role in reducing emission and investing in communities that are affected by the impact of climate change,” added Schumer.
