Kavanagh Expresses Disappointment With Express F Trains
State Sen. Brian Kavanagh (D-Northern Brooklyn, Lower Manhattan) expressed disappointment with the Metropolitan Transit Authority’s (MTA) decision to add express F train service to Southern Brooklyn, skipping several stops in the northern part of the district he represents.
The stops being skipped on the express service include Bergan Street, Carroll Street, Smith and 9th streets in Carroll Gardens/Cobble Hill and 9th Street in Lower Park Slope.
In his comments he alluded to a March letter he and lawmakers City Councilmember Brad Lander (D-Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Kensington), Assemblymembers Jo Anne Simon (D-Brooklyn Heights, Downtown Brooklyn, Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, Gowanus, Park Slope, Boerum Hill, DUMBO) and Robert Carroll (D-Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Kensington, Ditmas Park) wrote to the MTA expressing frustration on behalf of constituents over “Rogue F” express trains, the increasingly frequent practice of F trains bypassing local stations, in a letter to the MTA.
The censure inveighed against the erratic F trains that are “never on schedule” and “entirely unpredictable to riders.” Constituents have complained about missing their stops, waiting as trains pass them by, and being late to work.
“It’s disappointing that the MTA has decided to reduce service to stations that thousands of New Yorkers use during peak hours without consulting the communities that will be negatively affected,” said Kavanagh. “It’s especially troubling given the concerns our community has articulated to the MTA in the past regarding frequent unannounced irregularities in service that have led the F train to skip stops. We will be seeking assurances from the MTA that the scheduled reduction in frequency of local trains will not be compounded by routine disruptions in local service at stations on our communities.”
Deutsch Honors Legacy Of NYPD Officer Leon Fox
City Councilman Chaim Deutsch (D-Sheepshead Bay, Manhattan Beach, Brighton Beach, Homecrest, Midwood) next week will honor the memory of New York City Police Department (NYPD) Officer Leon Fox at a street co-naming ceremony in Coney Island.
Fox was shot and killed while pursuing robbery suspects in 1941.
At Monday’s street co-naming, community members are invited to join with Police Commissioner James O’Neill, members of the NYPD, and family and friends of the late Officer Fox.
Speakers include Gerald Fox, son of Officer Fox, who was seven years old when his father was killed and Mr. Leo Katz, who was a young student in Coney Island in 1941 and remembers Police Officer Fox helping him cross the street to get to school every day.
The street co-naming is slated for 5 p.m. on the corner of West 12th Street and Surf Avenue in Coney Island. Parking will be available on site.
Levin, Lander, Johnson Announce Funding For Two NYCHA Community Centers
City Council Members Stephen Levin (D-Boerum Hill, Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn Navy Yard, Downtown Brooklyn, Dumbo, Fulton Ferry, Greenpoint, Vinegar Hill, Williamsburg), Brad Lander (D-Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, Columbia Waterfront, Gowanus, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Borough Park, Kensington) and Speaker Corey Johnson (D-Manhattan) today will announce funding for two New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) community centers in the Boerum Hill/Gowanus region of the borough.
The two centers are the Gowanus Community Center and Wyckoff Gardens Community Center. Both public housing developments are either in or very close to the planned Gowanus rezoning.
The neighborhood is rapidly gentrifying and Wyckoff Gardens is reportedly being fast-tracked for the city’s NextGen program, which seeks to sell off some of their NYCHA property for mixed rate housing with the proceeds going to cash-strapped NYCHA.
The announcement is slated for 12:30 p.m., tomorrow, July 11 at the Gowanus Community Center in the Gowanus Houses, 420 Baltic Street in Boerum Hill.
Adams Delivers Testimony at USDA Dietary Guidelines Hearing in DC
Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams today will travel to Washington D.C. to deliver testimony at the USDA Dietary Guidelines hearing.
The hearing, which is held every five years, determines the nutritional guidelines of every meal that is served via tax-payer dollars.
Adams, who reversed his Type 2 diabetes with a plant-based diet after a severe diagnosis in 2016, will urge the USDA in his testimony to prioritize unprocessed plant-based foods, which evidence shows can prevent and reverse chronic disease while simultaneously being more ecologically sustainable.
Adams will testify during the 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. time window, today, July 11 at the USDA, South Building, Jefferson Auditorium, 1200-1398 Independence Ave SW in Washington DC.
Ortiz Calls Lawsuit Against “Green Light Law” Frivolous
Assembly Assistant Speaker Felix Ortiz (D-Sunset Park, Red Hook) yesterday called Erie County Clerk Mickey Kearns filing a lawsuit challenging the recently passed “Green Light law” frivolous.
The “Green Light Law” permits the issuance of driver’s licenses for those who are in the country illegally.
“New York has moved forward. Our Green Light law now provides drivers licenses to non-citizens. Everybody should have the right to be able to drive to work and provide for their families. The efforts to derail this new law through litigation is a waste of time and money. Other states have already enacted laws permitting licenses for everyone. It’s time for everyone to be realistic,” said Ortiz.
