Miller, Carranza Visit Flourishing St. Albans Public School
City Council Member I. Daneek Miller (D-St. Albans) and Department of Education Chancellor Richard Carranza yesterday paid a visit to the students, teachers, administrators, and staff that make-up the learning community at Public School 360 Queens.
P.S. 360Q currently serves over 150 students (in both Pre-K and Kindergarten through Grade 3), 95% of whom are black, and employs a bilingual teacher corps that is motivated by the goal of enabling its pupils to speak conversational Spanish by the time they graduate.
Launched in 2015, the four-year school prides itself on its ability to meet the needs of all its students “academically, socially, and emotionally,” and enjoys overall positive ratings in recently published DOE surveys for both student and teacher attendance as well as rigorous instruction for its Early Childhood Education and Pre-K programs.
P.S. 360Q achieved a milestone in its young history this past spring when every student in the school’s inaugural third-grade class passed Day One of both the State Mathematics and English Language Arts examinations.
“It was a pleasure to host Chancellor Carranza in Southeast Queens today,” said Miller. “Our community is immensely supportive of the work being performed by the Chancellor’s team at the Department of Education in recruiting the best talent, such as the faculty at P.S. 360, whose cultural and academic competence gives our children a genuine opportunity to receive the education they have long deserved.”
“Thank you to Council Member Miller and the wonderful P.S. 360 school community for opening your doors to us yesterday,” said Carranza. “As the 2018-19 school year comes to a close, we are grateful to our teachers and staff who are raising the bar and improving outcomes for our students, and to the families and community members in Southeast Queens who are working hand-in-hand with us to advance equity and excellence for every student.”
Koo, Johnson Kick of “2020: The Year of the Parks”
City Council Member Peter Koo (D-Bayside, College Point, Flushing, Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Fresh Meadows, Whitestone) and Council Speaker Corey Johnson (D-Manhattan), along with the city’s Parks Commissioner Mitchell Silver and other officials will gather in Queens today to launch “2020: The Year of the Parks.”
The kick off is slated for 1 p.m., today, June 27 at Queensbridge Park, 41st Road (40th Avenue between the East River, Vernon Boulevard and 21st Street) in Long Island City.
Addabbo Co-Sponsors Bill to Establish Blue Alert System Passes Senate
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) last week saw the Senate pass the bill he co-sponsored, S.5925, which establishes a Blue Alert system to help apprehend suspects when a law enforcement officer is killed or seriously injured.
“New Yorkers have swiftly and effectively assisted law enforcement when a child or elderly person goes missing through the use of Amber Alert and Silver Alert notification technology,” Addabbo said. “These events are extremely time sensitive and based on the high success rate of similar notification systems, it makes perfect sense to utilize Blue Alert technology in the apprehension of individuals suspected of killing or seriously wounding any law enforcement officer.”
The Blue Alert System will provide the means to speed up the capture of violent criminals who kill or seriously wound local, state, or federal law enforcement officers. This technology would indirectly benefit the safety of residents by immediately notifying those in the area of a dangerous suspect on the loose while requesting their assistance in capturing the suspect.
The bill was referred to the Assembly Governmental Operations Committee.
Constantinides, Brannan Introduce Bill Creating Five-Borough Resiliency Plan
City Council Members Costa Constantinides (D-Astoria, parts of Woodside, East Elmhurst, Jackson Heights) and Justin Brannan (D-Brooklyn) yesterday introduced a bill requiring a five-borough resiliency plan that will ensure every neighborhood from Riverdale to Rockaway is protect from rising sea levels, violent weather and coastal erosion brought about by climate change.
This legislation comes amid dire warnings from the New York City Panel on Climate Change, which noted coast parts of Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx are most at risk of flooding. An estimated 500,000 New Yorkers live near the City’s 300 miles of shoreline and are constantly at risk of climbing sea levels, which are on pace to rise one foot by 2050.
“Sandy marched onto our shores more than six years ago, caused more than $19 billion in damages, and yet we are ill equipped for when the next storm rolls around,” said Constantinides, Chair of the Committee on Environmental Protection. “New Yorkers deserve a mapped-out resiliency plan that protects every community — instead of a single neighborhood. I look forward to working with Council Member Brannan, Chair of the Committee on Resiliency, in making this legislation into life-saving policy.”
Schumer, Gillibrand Get Fed Allocation For SUNY Apprenticeship Program
U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-NY) and U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) yesterday announced $7,999,226 in federal funds for the Research Foundation for The State University of New York System (SUNY) to create the SUNY New York College Apprenticeship Network (NYCAN).
The network is a pre-apprenticeship and on-the-job training program in advanced manufacturing. NYCAN will prioritize services for unemployed and underemployed New Yorkers, with a focus on veterans, women, communities of color, and historically underrepresented populations in advanced manufacturing.
These federal funds are administered through the U.S. Department of Labor’s Scaling Apprenticeship Through Sector-Based Strategies program. Senator Gillibrand previously wrote to the Department of Labor in March to support SUNY’s application for this funding.
“This $8 million federal investment is great news for the 30 SUNY community colleges throughout New York State. With these crucial funds, the SUNY system will be able to rev up its new apprenticeship program and help New York students throughout the state get on-the-job training and more importantly, good-paying jobs,” said Schumer. “I’m proud of the role I played in securing this funding that will ensure New York’s future workforce is as prepared and educated as possible and will always fight for investments that boost opportunities for stable employment.”
“This funding is an important investment in New York’s workforce, helping our SUNY system better connect hardworking New Yorkers to good paying jobs in the advanced manufacturing sector. The pre-apprenticeship programs will especially benefit people that are underrepresented in this field — such as women and people of color,” said Senator Gillibrand.“Pre-apprenticeship and work-based learning programs create pathways to the workforce through hands-on experience and on-the-job training. This helps ensure that New Yorkers have the skills to compete for the jobs of today and tomorrow and helps bring local development to our communities.”
