Schumer Asks FBI To Investigate Anti-Semitic Attacks
U.S. Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY), yesterday asked the FBI to investigate any possible links in regards to the extreme uptick in anti-Semitic attacks.
Schumer’s request comes following the attack against the Jewish community in Rockland County over the weekend and his holding a phone briefing with the FBI.
“Last night’s cowardly and callous attack on the Jewish community in Monsey was one of pure evil. This attack, and other anti-Semitic attacks that have occurred in recent days, demand a top-to-bottom federal investigation. I’ve asked the FBI to investigate any possible links—direct or indirect—between this attack and the ones of the past several days. I’ve also asked for an assessment of what is currently being done by federal law enforcement officials to prevent these attacks and what more can be done,” said Schumer.
Schumer said the FBI continues to work with state and local law enforcement, including the NYPD. The FBI, state, and local law enforcement continue to assess whether there were any additional motives in the Monsey attack, as well.
“I will remain in constant contact with the FBI, along with community leaders, and believe it’s of paramount importance to shine a critical light on how—or where—individuals are being motivated or specifically inspired to commit these heinous acts of violence that terrorize communities and incite hate.
“We must not, and cannot, tolerate these senseless attacks, and we must get to the bottom of why they are occurring in order to prevent them in the first place. No American—and no New Yorker—should be subjected to the kind of terror and pain the people of Monsey and the New York Jewish community now bears,” the Senator added.
Cuomo Proposes Ban of Flavored Nicotine Vaping Products
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo yesterday proposed legislation banning all flavored nicotine vaping products including menthol flavors and vaping advertisements aimed at youth.
The legislation would also authorize the State Department of Health to regulate the sale of chemicals used in vaping-related products and ban the sale of vaping product carrier oils deemed to be a public health risk. Finally, the legislation would prohibit the online, phone and mail-order sale of e-cigarettes; only registered retailers would be allowed to purchase e-cigarettes using those methods.
“Vaping is a public health crisis, claiming too many lives and making countless others sick in a short period of time,” said Cuomo. “The problem is made worse by unscrupulous vaping companies who are targeting young people with candy-flavored products like Cotton Candy and Bubble-gum and other marketing ploys. While the federal administration continues its empty rhetoric on an issue impacting more than a quarter of all high school students, in New York we’re using every tool at our disposal to keep help children safe and stop them from forming an unhealthy and potentially deadly lifelong addiction.”
Addabbo Vows To Continue Fight Protecting Jamaica Bay After Cuomo Veto
State Sen. Joseph Addabbo Jr. (D-Howard Beach, Ozone Park, Woodhaven, Glendale, Middle Village, Maspeth and parts of South Ozone Park, Ridgewood, Woodside, The Rockaways) last week vowed to continue his fight to legislate for more environmental protections of Jamaica Bay after Gov. Andrew Cuomo vetoed his bill to do so last week.
Currently, there are protections put in place to prevent this kind of dumping, but they are limited and are set to expire soon. The new bill, that Cuomo vetoed, would have made for more permanent protections, according to the Rockaway Times.
Addabbo aid while he is disappointed with the veto he will continue his efforts in working with the Governor’s Administration, community leaders and my colleague, Assemblymember Stacey Pheffer Amato (D-Rockaways) in finding legislative ways to further protect the bay.
“In recent years, the New York State Department of Environmental Protection (DEC) has worked incredibly hard to clean up the waters of Jamaica Bay, so much so that residents and visitors have seen marine wildlife in the Bay that hasn’t been there in decades, such as dolphins and even whales,” aid Addabbo.
“My legislation would extend a bill that was put into place in 2014 that corrected the longstanding problem of the use of sub-quality dredging material to fill in the borrow pits of Jamaica Bay, which is set to expire on June 30, 2022. The bill also would have raised the standard to prevent contaminants into the bay. I hope to see some action taken on this matter before the original bill sunsets, because we cannot move backwards after the amazing work already done to revitalize Jamaica Bay,” he added.
Holden Holds De Blasio Accountable For Subway Grafitti Increase
City Councilman Robert Holden (D-Glendale, Maspeth, Middle Village, Ridgewood, Woodhaven, Woodside) last week slammed Mayor Bill de Blasio for the dramatic increase in subway graffiti since 2014 revealed in a NY Post exposé last week.
According to the Post, graffiti incidents on the subway system have risen significantly from five years ago, when they hovered around 200 per year. The agency recorded 619 such incidents in 2018 and 537 so far this year, incident reports show.
The Fresh Pond Subway Yard in Holden’s Ridgewood district has seen a big uptick in vandalism, according to the Post.
“The return of subway graffiti was to be expected and is consistent with the de Blasio administration’s permissive march toward the very worst days of NYC,” Holden told the Post. “The big question is just how far will the city regress in the next two years.”
