Adams, Ampry-Samuel Announce Program Teaching Inner-City Youth To Fly
Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams (D) and City Council Member Alicka Ampry-Samuel (D-Brownsville) today will join the Young Airmans Association, a non-profit organization founded by three African-American members of the New York City Police Department (NYPD) who earned their pilot licenses, to announce a major grant for United Youth Aviators, the city’s first-ever aviation summer camp that they started this year.
The camp was set up to expose youth to the world of aviation, teaching them STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) skills while also enabling them to fly a Cessna 172 Skyhawk and log flight time to go toward their own pilot licenses.
Standing outside the hangar for the NYPD Aviation Unit at Floyd Bennett Field, a historic airfield in Marine Park, Adams, Ampry-Samuel and the Young Airmans Association will speak about their interest in enhancing STEM opportunities for the borough’s youth and diversifying the skies.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), 92 percent of America’s professional pilots and flight engineers are Caucasian and 91 percent are male.
The announcement is slated for 11 a.m., today Aug. 6 at Floyd Bennett Field, 3159 Flatbush Avenue in Marine Park.
Cuomo Pushes Back Against Fed Rollback Of Transgender Rights
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo (D) yesterday announced multi-agency opposition to the federal government’s proposed rollback of healthcare protections for transgender and gender-nonconforming individuals.
On June 14, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services proposed a rule that would repeal a federal regulation that clarifies that the Affordable Care Act’s non-discrimination protections based on sex include protections based on gender identity and sex stereotyping.
However, under the New York State Human Rights Law, discrimination based on gender identity or expression is prohibited in employment and licensing, public accommodations (which includes healthcare providers), housing, education and credit.
While New York State law will protect against the federal government’s proposed changes, the changes, if implemented, will impose an additional regulatory burden on the state Department of Financial Services because many insurers will try to roll back their nondiscrimination policies.
The proposed rule will also negatively impact the healthcare industry by creating confusion among healthcare providers and recipients alike and will also negatively impact access and quality of care, Cuomo said.
Thus, several state agencies, under Cuomo’s direction, submitted comments urging the federal government to abandon the proposal.
“While the federal government continues its assault on healthcare and the LGBTQ community, New York is fighting back,” said Cuomo. “We took immediate action this year to ensure all New Yorkers are protected from insurance discrimination – regardless of what happens in Washington — but this proposed rollback is repugnant to our values and it must be stopped. In New York, our bottom line is this: we will not allow this noxious rule to impact transgender and gender nonconforming New Yorkers’ right to healthcare.”
Deutsch Announces Free Trips For District Seniors
City Council Member Chaim Deutsch (D-Sheepshead Bay, Manhattan Beach, Brighton Beach, Homecrest, Midwood) announced yesterday he will start hosting his annual series of free trips for seniors in his district.
The first trip will see seniors join Deutsch on a free visit and tour of the U.S. Intrepid Museum, located on the west side of Manhattan.
The trip is slated from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Aug. 27. Free transportation is included, and buses will leave from a convenient Southern Brooklyn location. There are limited spots available, so sign up today to secure your seat and participation. Contact Councilman Deutsch’s office at 718-368-9176 or CDeutsch@council.nyc.gov.
Clarke Blames Trump For Mass Shootings
U.S. Rep. Yvette D. Clarke (D-Brownsville, Crown Heights, East Flatbush, Flatbush, Kensington, Midwood, Prospect Heights, Prospect Lefferts Gardens, Park Slope) yesterday laid the blame on the weekend’s mass shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio, which left 29 dead and scores injured, at the feet of President Donald Trump.
“This past weekend our nation again saw violence tear apart two more communities. My heart goes out to the people who are grieving today in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio where dozens of lives were stripped away too soon by white nationalists. The hate held by white nationalists and white supremacists in America has been fueled by a racist, xenophobic, bigoted president, and as a result, these radical white males feel emboldened to commit attacks on American soil,” said Clarke.
“The string of attacks by these radical white males means we must increase our intelligence resources to monitor and circumvent future attacks by white nationalists because no person in America should feel scared to leave their house to go to Walmart or to socialize with their friends. It is imperative that our country addresses the threat of white nationalists and white supremacists.
“We saw our government react after the Oklahoma City Bombings, which was done by a radical white male, by paying close attention to white nationalists to prevent future similar attacks. America’s focus shifted after the tragic September 11th attacks in devoting intelligence resources to preventing Islamic and foreign terrorism. Today with the trend of more and more white supremacist attacks, our government needs to put the same amount of resources into studying the behavior of white nationalists as we do into foreign threats to our country.
“We must also keep on pushing to enact gun safety laws in Congress. The House of Representatives passed a bill months ago which would require universal background checks before purchasing a firearm–but this legislation sits stagnantly in the Senate. At what point will our Republican elected officials choose human life over gun lobbies? As public servants, we have a job to protect people from gun violence which starts with getting guns off the streets and by siphoning off access to black-market guns from the iron pipeline,” Clarke added.
Yeger MC’s Annual Shema Kolainu Legislative Breakfast
City Council Member Kalman Yeger (D-Borough Park, Bensonhurst, Midwood) today will MC Shema Kolainu – Hear Our Voices Annual Legislative Breakfast.
Shema Kolainu is a school and center for children with Autism.
Among the Brooklyn elected officials attending the event, slated to speak and/or who will receive awards for shedding light on and/or allocating funding towards helping families and children deal with autism will include Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez, City Council Member Brad Lander, State Sen. Julia Salazar and Assemblyman Simcha Eichenstein.
The event is slated for 9 a.m., today, Aug. 6 at The Williamsburg Hotel, 96 Wythe Avenue in Williamsburg.
Levin Hosts “OATH In the Park Before Dark” Event
City Council Member Steve Levin (D-Northern Brooklyn) and the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH) Deputy Commissioners Marisa Senigo and John Castelli today will bring a “OATH in the Park Before Dark” event to Downtown Brooklyn.
OATH will set up an outreach station and will have representatives present to give out information and answer questions from visitors to the park on what to do if they get a summons from a City agency and how they can fight that summons at OATH.
OATH will also be speaking to people about the Criminal Justice Reform Act (CJRA) which transferred Parks Department and NYPD summonses from Criminal Court to OATH. Summonses that used to go to Criminal Court that now go to OATH include open container of alcohol, being in a park after dark, public urination, excessive noise, littering and all violations of Parks Department rules.
The event is slated from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., today, Aug. 6 at the south end of Cadman Plaza Park in Brooklyn Heights.
