Felder Bill Mandates Helmets With “2 Wheels, 1 Rule” Proposal
State Sen. Simcha Felder (D-Midwood, Flatbush, Borough Park, Kensington, Sunset Park, Madison, Bensonhurst) proposed legislation (S7368) on Tuesday requiring helmet use by every individual riding a bicycle, e-bike or e-scooter in a city with a population over 1 million.
“When legalizing these additional modes of transportation the overriding concern is how to keep New Yorkers safe, especially on highly congested city streets. All the evidence points to the same conclusion- we must mandate helmet use,” said Felder.
Fatalities make headlines, but according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, serious injury is far more common. For every cyclist involved in a fatal accident, eight end up hospitalized and another ninety-nine receive treatment in the ER. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, reports that serious head trauma accounts for most bicyclist deaths, and helmet use reduces the odds of head injury by an estimated 50 percent.
New York City reached the same conclusion. Four commissioners, from the Departments of Health and Mental Hygiene, Parks and Recreation, Transportation and the NYPD, issued a joint report on Bicyclist Fatalities and Serious Injuries. After examining their collective data, they concluded that, “these data suggest that helmet use is a critically important protection for all bicyclists.”
Felder noted the state already mandates helmet use for bicycle riders up to age 14, and that the governor recently agreed to legalize e-bikes and e-scooters as long as riders aged 16 and 17 were mandated to use helmets.
“To prevent serious injuries and save lives, New York City needs one uniform policy for all two-wheel vehicles on its streets. With lives on the line, inaction would be a crime,” concluded Felder.
Espinal Bill Helping Small Businesses Passes Council
City Councilmember Rafael Espinal Jr. (D-Bushwick, East New York, Cypress Hills) yesterday saw the city council pass his bill (1408-B) that would require that where the City provides substantial funding for a development project, a neighborhood retail needs assessment must be performed to determine whether the project will provide commercial space at below-market rents.
The needs assessment would include considerations related to the commercial diversity of the neighborhood, as well as commercial vacancy rates and retail needs in the community. Such retail space would not be provided to a chain business, and would not be included in projects for which retail space would hinder the provision of a community program, service or benefit. The bill would require the city to account for its decisions through annual reporting.
“Intro 1408, which mandates affordable rents for commercial space in affordable housing developments, is part of a broader conversation around how to keep rents affordable for all small businesses in NYC. Affordable housing developments have to take a holistic approach to what their footprint in the neighborhood is going to be. Just as we have set-asides to address the affordability crisis for tenants, we must have set-asides to tackle the growing vacancy crisis for small businesses,” said Espinal.
“Protecting New York’s small business culture starts with a recognition that the rent has become unaffordable for way too many commercial tenants. This legislation is a step in that direction, and I hope it will bring more attention to the struggles our small businesses face,” he added.
Parker Celebrates MLK Legacy With Free Community Concert
State Sen. Kevin Parker (D-East Flatbush, Flatbush, Midwood, Ditmas Park, Kensington, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace), in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, joined more than 500 community residents for his 16th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Tribute Concert in conjunction with the A Shared Dream Foundation.
The event, held at Goshen Temple of Seventh-Day Adventist located on Church Avenue, is one of the largest Dr. King holiday celebrations in New York City and this year’s tribute featured The Group Fire and was hosted by WBLS Radio Personality, Liz Black.
In addition, the event featured an array of musical acts including community groups such as the, Ifetayo Cultural Arts Academy, Guillermo Dark Feather, Adriane MickieDee Haye, Williams Gilmore and Dave McClure. For the past 15 years, A Shared Dream has been attended by thousands of concertgoers from across the five boroughs. Parker was joined on stage by community, religious, and political leaders to reflect upon, and pay tribute to, Dr. King’s life and legacy.
“Every year I look forward to having the community come together in fellowship to celebrate the life and legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I am also proud that we were able to include a scholarship presentation for the second year in a row during the tribute concert. We want young people to not only celebrate the legacy of those before them, but know the community supports them as they work to build legacies of their own,” said Parker.
Lander Proposes Bill to Eliminate Gender-Biased School Dress Codes
City Council Member Brad Lander (D-Park Slope, Gowanus, Windsor Terrace, Kensington) yesterday introduced two pieces of legislation to combat gender-biased dress codes and discipline in New York City public schools.
The first piece is a resolution calling on the city’s Department of Education (DOE) to establish an inclusive school dress code policy.
The second piece of legislation would require detailed reporting on existing dress codes and enforcement demographics in NYC schools, which a new study by Girls for Gender Equity reveals to reflect pervasive sexism.
“Girls, especially girls of color, transgender, and gender non-conforming students, face subjective, sexist, and discriminatory policing of their self-presentation at school, leading to unfair discipline, loss of class time, and emotional stress,” said Lander.
Lander’s attention was first called to the issue when his daughter Rosa and her classmates protested biased dress code enforcement at their middle-school, and he subsequently reached out to Girls for Gender Equity, who have been organizing on the issue.
“The DOE has an obligation to ensure that dress codes across all NYC schools are inclusive of gender presentation and do not discriminate against girls and gender non-conforming students,” he said.
