Adams Demands NYCHA Take Down Howard Houses Scaffolding
Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams today will join with tenants from NYCHA’s Howard Houses to demand that the scaffolding on several buildings be taken down after months of delays.
The scaffolding, which was initially put up when work was being done on the buildings, has remained for several months past the date NYCHA planned to remove it, causing numerous quality of life issues for residents.
Adams will also call attention to the broader issue of scaffolding around NYCHA developments. Numerous NYCHA buildings in Brooklyn are still surrounded by scaffolding, despite the fact that there is no active construction taking place at the sites.
The gathering is slated for 11 a.m., today, Sept. 4 at the Howard Houses, 61 Thatford Avenue In Brownsville.
Espinal, Brannan To Hold Oversight Hearing Con Ed Outages
City Council Members Rafael Espinal Jr. (D-East New York, Cypress Hills, Bushwick) and Justin Brannan (Bay Ridge, Bath Beach, Dyker Heights, Bensonhurst) are among four city council members today holding a oversight hearing on the Consolidated Edison (Con Ed) power outages that hit New York City over the Summer of 2019.
Espinal chairs the Consumer Affairs Committee. Brannan chairs the Resiliency & Waterfronts Committee. Council Speaker Corey Johnson (D-Manhattan) and Costa Constantinides, chair of the Environmental Protection Committee will round out the members holding the hearing.
The Council will hear testimony from representatives from Con Ed, the New York City Office of Emergency Management (OEM), advocates and members of the public to examine Con Ed’s and the city’s responses to the outages, and the long-term sustainability of the city of New York’s power system.
The hearing is slated for 10 a.m., today, Sept. 4 at City Hall in Lower Manhattan.
Malliotakis, Colton Speak Out Against Plan To Eliminate Gifted & Talented Programs
Assemblymembers Nicole Malliotakis (R-Bay Ridge, Staten Island) and William Colton (D-Gravesend, Bensonhurst, Bath Beach, Dyker Heights) are both denouncing a task force recommendation to eliminate all gifted and talented programs in the city’s public schools.
“The task force appointed by the mayor that also appears clueless as to how to improve education is advising the mayor to get rid all of the gifted and talented programs. Diversity in schools is a worthy goal, but it must be attained in the context of educational excellence. The educational needs of all children must be met. We must expand all programs including gifted and talented, bilingual and ESL, music and arts, culinary, science, technology engineering, math and language arts, etc,” said Colton.
“The numbers of children may not always mirror the percentages in the school population, but we should strive to increase the opportunity for every child from every background. All children must be able to participate in the programs and classes that meet their needs and that allow them to grow to their fullest potential. This requires hard educational planning and efforts to achieve. The excellence in education must be lead by the Chancellor in the right direction, not the path that is chosen by the city of eliminating standards and testing to blur over the failure to achieve such excellence,” Colton added.
Malliotakis and the parents and community leaders will make similar feelings known at 1 p.m., today, Sept. 4 outside the Brooklyn School of Inquiry at the corner of Stillwell Avenue and 50 Avenue P in Bensonhurst.
Ortiz Defends Distracting Texting Bill Against DOT Report
Assistant Speaker Felix Ortiz (D-Sunset Park, Red Hook) yesterday decried a recent city Department of Transportation report found that pedestrians who text while crossing the street don’t cause accidents.
Ortiz is the author of a proposed bill that will make it illegal to cross the street while texting that will carry a fine of $25 to $250 to violators. While similar legislation died in the Assembly in 2018, Queens State Senator John Liu is picking it up on his side of the chamber.
“The NYC Department of Transportation report that pedestrians who text don’t cause accidents should not leave us to think there is no problem. Just one serious accident or death caused by reckless texting is one too many. Let’s be proactive and pass a law to help prevent accidents from happening. It’s common sense,” said Ortiz.
Cornegy Leads Council Effort To Not Eliminate Gifted & Talented Program
City Council Member Robert Cornegy Jr. (D-Bedford-Stuyvesant, Northern Crown Heights) today will lead a number of city council members to urge Mayor Bill de Blasio and Chancellor Richard Carranza not to scrap the Gifted and Talented program in city schools.
The urging comes after the School Diversity Advisory Group, a panel that de Blasio put together, recommended eliminating the Gifted and Talented program.
A sign-on letter circulated through City Council prior to Labor Day gathered 14 signatures, from Council Members Cornegy, Robert Holden, Peter Koo, Barry Grodenchik, Ben Kallos, Paul Vallone, Justin Brannan, Chaim Deutsch, Andy King, Adrienne Adams, Karen Koslowitz, Alan Maisel, Debi Rose and Mathieu Eugene.
These council members and families will rally for the letter at 12 noon, today, Sept. 4 on the steps of City Hall in Lower Manhattan.
Persaud Announces Legislation To Ban 24-Hour Workdays For Home Attendants
State Sen. Roxanne Persaud (D-Canarsie, East New York, Brownsville, Mill Basin, Sheepshead Bay, Bergen Beach, Marine Park, Flatlands, Mill Island, Georgetown, Ocean Hill, Starrett City) today will gather with other state lawmakers and advocates in announcing legislation, in which she is the prime Senate sponsor, that bans 24-hour workdays for home care workers and caps workweeks at 50 hours (A08064/S6640).
There are about 239,500 home care workers in the state. An approximate 8% of them work 24 hours a day, for multiple days in a row. With the growing population of those who need home care, this number is likely to grow.
The legislation is meant to protect the health and wellbeing of both the caregivers and those receiving care. The bill prohibits this inhumane practice where mostly women, immigrant workers work 24 hours a day, without a single hour for themselves.
It also implements maximum 12-hour split shifts for patients who need 24 hours of care so patients are better cared for and workers have time to rest and recuperate for the next day, spend time with their families and to fully participate in society.
The legislation will be announced today at 10:30 a.m., today, Sept. 4 Outside 23-29 Washington Place (corner of Greene Street) the Brown Building, site of Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in Greenwich Village.
