Schumer, Gillibrand Get $1 Million Fed Funding for FDNY Foundation
U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-NY) and U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) announced this week nearly $1 million ($993,314.29) in federal funding for the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) Foundation.
The funding was allocated through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program (AFG) and will specifically be used to help implement a fire safety outreach and education program and install fire alarms in low-income homes. Gillibrand previously wrote to the Department of Homeland Security in March to support the FDNY Foundation’s application for this funding.
“Whether it’s a fire or any other emergency, we depend on the local heroes of the FDNY to come to our aid, and they depend on us to give them the resources they need to do their jobs effectively,” said Schumer. “This funding will allow the FDNY Foundation to provide fire safety education and critical equipment, including fire alarms, to vulnerable communities throughout New York City, which will help ensure the safety of New Yorkers in the event of a fire.”
“Our hardworking New York City firefighters are among the first to respond to emergencies, and I’m happy to announce this new funding that will help them keep our communities safe,” said Gillibrand. “With this federal investment, the FDNY Foundation will be able to install fire alarms in the homes of some of our most vulnerable community members, and educate communities on safe procedures in case of a fire.”
Weprin Hosts Queens Seminar On NY Sexual Abuse Survivors Rights
Assemblyman David Weprin (D-Richmond Hill, Fresh Meadows) next week will partner with the Zero Abuse Project, a leading nonprofit dedicated to stopping child sexual abuse and providing assistance to survivors, in hosting a seminar about the changes to the statute of limitations requirements for child sexual abuse in New York under the new Child Victims Act (CVA), which took effect in recent weeks.
Zero Abuse Chief Executive Officer Jeff Dion will guide a conversation with leading child welfare advocates, clinicians, and sexual abuse prevention experts about the new opportunities under the CVA for survivors of sexual abuse to seek justice against their abusers and the institutions who covered for them.
The free and open to the public event is slated for 5:30-7 p.m., Monday, Sept. 16 at the Hillcrest Jewish Center, 183-02 Union Turnpike in Flushing,
Van Bramer Demands Traffic Calming Measures For Thomson Avenue
City Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Astoria, Long Island City, Sunnyside, Woodside) yesterday demanded the implementation of specific traffic calming measures to improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists along Thomson Avenue and around LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City.
In the five-block radius around Thomson Avenue, there are four high schools and LaGuardia Community College with a combined total of over 50,000 students, faculty, and staff—yet this area is not designated a school zone.
“Once again, classes are starting at LaGuardia Community College, and not nearly enough has been done to protect students and the tens of thousands of people who commute through this area each day from the practical highway that is Thomson Avenue. It is past time we put people first on Thomson,” said Van Bramer. “I’ve been advocating with the community to make Thomson safer for years. We were here back in 2013 after 16-year-old Tenzin Drudak was tragically killed while walking on the sidewalk, and over 150 more pedestrians and cyclists have been injured in this area since. DOT must start by implementing these critical safety measures that would immediately improve conditions and then prioritize a complete redesign of Thomson to ensure the safety of this busy urban campus.”
The proposals include: designating the area around the campus a school zone, closing surrounding streets to add plazas and more walking space, and expanding protected bike lanes.
Grodenchik Hosts Street Co-naming Ceremony Honoring 9/11
City Council Member Barry S. Grodenchik (D-Bayside Hills, Bellerose, Douglaston, Floral Park, Fresh Meadows, Glen Oaks, Hollis, Hollis Hills, Holliswood, Little Neck, New Hyde Park, Oakland Gardens, Queens Villagetoday will join city officials and community leaders to add the co-name Bayside Hills 9/11 Memorial Way to the northeast corner of Bell Boulevard and Horace Harding Expressway.
Grodenchik sponsored the legislation for the co-naming at the request of the Bayside Hills Civic Association. The organization has had an annual 9/11 commemoration at the location since 2002, and the installation of the new signage will coincide with this year’s ceremony.
Queens lost hundreds of residents in the 9/11 attacks.
The Bayside Hills Civic Association’s ceremony honors all the victims and remembers those who made the ultimate sacrifice at Ground Zero.
The co-naming ceremony is slated for 7 p.m., today, Sept. 11 at the Memorial Garden, northeast corner of Horace Harding Expressway and Bell Boulevard in Bayside Hills.
