Brewer to Host Morningside Park Community Forum
Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer (D) will be hosting a community forum on the future of Morningside Park this Wednesday.
The forum was scheduled in the wake of the death of Tessa Majors, an eighteen-year-old student who was stabbed to death in Morningside Park last month. Brewer’s office will be sponsoring the event alongside Friends of Morningside Park and Community Boards 9 and 10.
The event will take place on Wednesday, Jan. 29 from 6:30-8:30 pm. at the Police Athletic League, 441 Manhattan Ave.
Johnson, Banks to Announce Fair Fares Enrollment Expansion
Today, Council Speaker Corey Johnson (D-Chelsea, Hell’s Kitchen) and Department of Social Services (DSS) Commissioner Steven Banks will join advocates to announce expanded enrollment for the City’s Fair Fares program.
Starting today, all New Yorkers living at or below the federal poverty line will qualify for reduced fare MetroCards. Johnson and Banks will be joined by several representatives from the Riders Alliance, including Rebecca Bailin, Danna Dennis and Rhonda Jackson.
The event will take place today at 11 a.m. at the Atlantic Avenue – Barclays Center station.
Rivera Warns City to Prepare Itself for Coronavirus
Council Member Carlina Rivera (D-East Village, Gramercy Park) released a statement yesterday about the possibility of the Coronavirus reaching New York.
As of now, no cases of Coronavirus have been reported in the City. However, Rivera stressed that we should be prepared for the very real possibility of the virus reaching us.
“Anyone who has travelled to the Wuhan, China region and is displaying symptoms of fever, cough and/or difficulty breathing should seek medical care immediately,” said Rivera. “In addition, any New Yorkers with these symptoms should continue to practice good health strategies by avoiding travel and contact with others, washing your hands and covering your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing, and contacting their doctor if symptoms worsen or persist.
“I continue to remain in contact with officials from City Hall, the Department of Health and NYC Health + Hospitals to ensure the Council is receiving the latest updates on any potential cases and new guidelines for our City’s medical professionals and patients.”
Stringer Blasts City’s Housing Plan
Last Thursday, City Comptroller Scott Stringer (D) released a damning new analysis of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s (D) Housing New York plan.
The analysis found that the “affordable” housing the plan created is priced out of reach for at least 435,000 of the City’s low-income households. It also found that only one-third of the new housing units constructed through the end of FY 2019 were affordable to extremely low and very low-income households.
“We cannot call a housing plan ‘affordable’ when it ignores 435,000 New Yorkers who are just a paycheck away from losing their homes,” said Stringer. “We cannot call the City’s plan a ‘housing’ plan when it leaves behind homeless and unsheltered New Yorkers. New York City is battling a full-blown affordability crisis, and the time for half-measures is long-past. We must create housing that actually meets families where they are – housing that is truly affordable and refocuses City resources where our affordability crisis is most acute. The price of entry to New York City cannot be a million-dollar condo.”
