BP Adams, Espinal To Rally For Urban Agriculture Plan
Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams and City Council member Rafael Espinal (D-Bushwick, East New York) will rally together this week to call for the development of a comprehensive urban agriculture plan prior to the City Council Hearing on the legislation.
The plan will promote the expansion of large-scale urban agriculture, making it easier for the City to protect New Yorkers’ health and the environment while bolstering the economy.
Advocates have long argued that the expansion of green spaces and access to local food is necessary in closing the ‘freshness gap’ in the under-served communities of the city.
The event is slated for 10:30 a.m., Tuesday, June 11, at the Jacob Wrey Mould Fountain in City Hall Park in Lower Manhattan.
Gounardes, Brannan Demand Traffic Safety Action In Dyker Heights
State Senator Andrew Gounardes (D-Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Bensonhurst, Marine Park, Gerritsen Beach, Gravesend) and City Council member Justin Brannan (D-Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Bath Beach, Bensonhurst) on Saturday alongside local activists called for the NYC Department of Transportation (DOT) to take urgent action on traffic safety in Dyker Heights in the high 70s to low 80s near 10th and 11th Avenues.
The elected officials and advocates emphasized the immediate need for DOT to complete their traffic studies of the area and provide the residents with speeding relief. For years, residents have expressed concerns over poor visibility and speeding in the neighborhood. The previous weekend, there were three crashes in three hours in the vicinity.
“Community members have been raising a red flag about traffic safety in this area for years now. City government needs to act now to ensure the safety of every child, every senior, every individual in the community. We call on DOT to do everything in their power to stop these preventable traffic collisions,” said Gounardes.
“Lately, it seems like there is a crash every single day on or around 10th and 11th Avenues. Clearly, something needs to be done. We don’t have time to wait for more studies when people’s lives are on the line. Whether it’s more speed bumps, more enforcement, traffic lights, flashing beacon lights, stop signs – whatever it is, we need to exhaust every option and put everything on the table. The streets of Dyker Heights need attention immediately and we need to make these streets safer for everyone. Life can’t wait,” said Brannan.
Colton Announces Installation of Traffic Light On Deadly Corner Where 3-Year-Old Was Killed
Assembly member William Colton (D-Gravesend, Bensonhurst, Bath Beach, and Dyker Heights) announced over the weekend that a traffic light will be installed by the Department of Transportation on the corner of Benson Avenue and Bay 25th Street, the same corner that took the life of a 3-year-old on May 2.
The news comes less than a month after, 3-year-old Emur Shavkator, was fatally struck by a commercial van near the deadly intersection in Bath Beach. The toddler was with his mother riding a small green scooter on Benson Avenue at around when he was struck by the van as it made a right turn onto Benson. The toddler was eventually pinned beneath the vehicle, where his mother tried to save him but was later rushed to Coney Island Hospital where he was pronounced dead, according to initial reports.
Colton’s office received a letter from DOT on May 31 about the installation of the traffic calming device and has been told that a safety study will also be conducted at the location.
“Since 2013 my office has been requesting that the NYC Department of Transportation must do the study and install a traffic light at such a dangerous intersection. Finally today June 6, 2019 my office received a letter stating that the DOT recently completed its study and I am pleased to announce that a traffic signal has been approved and work is scheduled to be completed by November 30th, 2019,” Colton said.
“What really bothers me here is that a 3 year old child had to pay with his life in order for the NYC Department of Transportation to take a quick action and approve a traffic light at that intersection. I am happy that a traffic light will be installed which will hopefully avoid any more innocent lives taken at that extremely dangerous intersection,” Colton added.
Rose Outlines Challenges & Vision For NYC, Importance of Building Trust In Gov’t
Congressman Max Rose (D-South Brooklyn, Staten Island) at a recent breakfast conversation with the Association for a Better New York in which he outlined the challenges he sees facing the city, state, and country and his vision for how they must be addressed.
The focus of his speech centered on the idea that government must get the small things right and rebuild the trust of the people in order to be able to properly tackle the big, serious issues. Rose’s remarks touched on infrastructure, opioid epidemic, affordability issues, climate change, says: ‘without trust in government, we will not solve a damn thing in this country’.
In speaking of the importance of getting the small things right, Rose referenced his efforts to bring Split Tolling to the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge to reduce congestion and increase transportation investments on Staten Island and in South Brooklyn, without raising costs for commuters.
Rose is also seeking to apply pressure on the Chinese government to honor their commitment to make all fentanyl illegal and provide the United States with more tools and resources to go after illicit traffickers in China, Mexico, and other countries. Rose has made addressing the opioid epidemic a top priority as a freshman congress member for treatment funding and prevention efforts.
“It’s not about Democrats anymore, it’s not about Republicans anymore. It is about trust. That’s why for the last decade, people across the country have only been elected or voting for change. They haven’t been voting for a party, they’ve been voting for change. We can no longer make national points of ideological significance on the backs of hardworking New Yorkers. Think about what New York City could be. New York City can be the place where we show the American people that government can work in big, bold, dynamic—as well as small ways,” said Rose.
