Adams, Ampry-Samuel, Myrie Call For Road Safety Improvements
Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, City Councilwoman Alicka Ampry-Samuel (D-Brownsville) and State Sen. Zellnor Myrie (D-Brownsville) will join safe street advocates today to call for greater safety measures to stem the tide of cyclist deaths in Brooklyn and throughout the city.
The call comes following the death of Ernest Askew, a 57-year old cyclist, who a driver hit and killed last Thursday night in Brownsville.
Askew was the 14th cyclist in the city to be killed this year, which far surpasses the overall number from last year. His tragic death has called attention to the fact that communities of color have largely been excluded from the conversation around street safety. Brownsville, for example, lacks any protected bike lanes.
The call to action is slated for 6 p.m., today, July 1 on the corner of Chester Street and Sutter Avenue in Brownsville.
Bichotte Stands with LBGTQ Community
Assemblymember Rodneyse Bichotte (D-Flatbush, Ditmas Park) yesterday congratulated the LGBTQ community on the close of Pride Month.
“A push for change in support for Human Rights is often hard fought. We have seen this in the history of the LGBTQ movement of 50 years starting with the Stonewall Riots of 1969 in Greenwich Village, New York where members of the LGBTQ community decided enough was enough,” said Bichotte.
“Love and Acceptance on the basis of basic civil rights and respect is something we should all fight for. I congratulate and stand with all advocates of the LBGTQ movement in the fight for equity and social justice,” she added.
Rose Continues Push For Better Veteran Services
U.S. Rep. Max Rose (D-South Brooklyn, Staten Island), an Army combat veteran, met with Department of Veterans’ Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie last week to discuss their shared commitment to fighting for our nation’s veterans and ensuring they receive the care and benefits they’ve earned.
“I appreciate Secretary Wilkie joining me for a productive discussion on how we can confront the numerous challenges facing our nation’s veterans—from disparities in housing to access to healthcare and mental health services,” said Rose, a member of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. “We know there is a lot of work left to do, both at the VA and in Congress, to serve the brave women and men who supported and protected us,” said Rose.
The meeting continued a conversation that began in February, when Rose joined a bipartisan meeting with the Secretary at the White House to push for better veteran care and reiterated his strong opposition to privatizing the VA.
Rose, in his role as a member of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, has made fighting for veterans and expanding access to health care and transportation services a top priority. With the support of the VA, the House of Representatives passed Rose’s FIGHT Veterans Suicide Act, a bipartisan bill aimed at stemming the public health crisis of veteran suicides on VA campuses.
Schumer Requests Stronger Investigation In Wake Of Dominican Deaths
U. S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) yesterday formally requested that Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) get involved and lend critical expertise regarding the spate of sicknesses and curious deaths of Americans, including New Yorkers vacationing in the Dominican Republic.
Schumer feels the ATF involvement makes sense in that they already have a Caribbean office and at least one possible theory for the cause of these illnesses and deaths is tainted alcohol. Schumer also wants the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to send more of their experts down as part of his push to expedite the overall investigation into these mysterious illnesses and deaths.
“Given that we still have a whole lot of questions and very few answers into just what, if anything, is the cause for the recent spate of sicknesses and several deaths of Americans in the Dominican Republic, the feds should double their efforts on helping get to the bottom of things,” said Schumer.
“One way to lend critical expertise, especially as it relates to the possible theory of illegal liquor, is to include the ATF in the investigation. With an established Caribbean office and a keen ability to work internationally, the agency is poised to assist the FBI with the questions around possibly-tainted alcohol and any related criminal activity. And when it comes to the swirling questions on the use of certain chemicals, possibly linked to pesticides, the CDC should send down more folks who specialize in this kind of fact-finding,” he added.
The Dominican Republic hosts 2.5 million Americans annually, and in the past year, at least 11 people have tragically died while vacationing at resorts on the island, with the most recent death of a Colorado man just this past week.
