Colton Outraged by Remarks Made Against Asian Community
Assemblyman William Colton (D – Gravesend, Bensonhurst, Bath Beach, and Dyker Heights) and Democratic District Leader Charles Ragusa are disgusted with the hate comments that have been made by Community Board 13 member Ronald X. Stewart against the Asian American Community.
“Mr. Stewards comments are unacceptable, and what he said must be condemned. It is simply wrong for anyone to attack anyone, especially with the hateful racial remarks. Coronavirus is a public health issue and it doesn’t give anyone the right to discriminate against any ethnic groups, it is a despicable act and will not be tolerated. We can never ignore acts of hate because such an attack on any group is an attack on us all. Mr. Steward made these terrible statements against Asians, he must be removed as a community planning board member. All should condemn such words,” Colton stated.
Stewart, a Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams appointee to CB13 and supporter of Assemblywoman Mathylde Frontus, posted anti-Chinese comments to an anti-Asian Facebook post from Frontus’s receptionist that said, “We urge citizens to stay away from Chinese supermarkets, shops, fast food outlets, Restaurant, [sic] and Business.” His reply read, “these Chinese restaurants in our community make millions of dollars off us. They don’t hire us; don’t donate to any of our events and express racism against us.”
Treyger Calls on City for Basic Hygiene Materials
Councilmember Mark Treyger (D-Coney Island, Bensonhurst, Bath Beach, Gravesend) yesterday urged the Department of Education (DOE) and the city administration to provide basic hygiene materials to public and nonpublic schools.
“The New York City Department of Education (DOE) and the City Administration need to proactively reach out to all public and nonpublic schools to offer to provide hygiene supplies, soap and hand sanitizer, to combat the transmission of coronavirus (COVID-19). To date, I am not aware of any effort on the part of DOE to contact our nonpublic school communities to offer resources and assistance,” said Treyger.
“I continue to hear from school staff and parents that our schools are not currently adequately supplied with basic sanitation materials —and that is not acceptable. As always, basic hygiene should be practiced, but the DOE must take the initiative to protect and safeguard all students across all five boroughs. It is vital that our school system prepare as much as possible to ensure that all public and nonpublic schools have all of the basic hygiene resources readily available to them with or without a public health warning,” the lawmaker added.
Persaud’s Legislation Helps Underrepresented Teachers
Senator Roxanne Persaud (Canarsie, East New York, Brownsville, Mill Basin, Sheepshead Bay, Bergen Beach, Marine Park, Flatlands, Mill Island, Georgetown, Ocean Hill, Starrett City) yesterday saw the Senate pass her legislation which seeks to attract and retain underrepresented teachers within underrepresented schools across the state.
“According to a recent State Education Department report, 80% of New York’s 210,000 teachers are white, while only 18,000 are Black or African American, and 16,000 are Hispanic or Latino,” said Persaud. “It is vital that Black and Hispanic children see themselves represented in their classroom teachers. Recent studies have indicated having just one teacher of the same race can improve a student’s attendance, test scores, and even their classroom behavior. I thank the Senate Majority Conference for passing this important legislation.”
This legislation will help retain these teachers by providing grants to schools for recruiting and providing financial incentives to underrepresented teachers.
Rose Helps Pass $8.3 Billion in Funding to Address Coronavirus
U.S. Rep. Max Rose (D-Southern Brooklyn, Staten Island) voted yesterday to help pass a bipartisan funding package to address the growing public health crisis that is coronavirus.
“We need all hands on deck and all levels of government working together to address the coronavirus and the growing public health crisis we’re facing,” said Rose, “Getting this funding passed and out to the front lines is essential to that goal and will provide critical to support New York State and City’s efforts. I will continue working to ensure those in the community are well informed and supported, which is why I have launched a new resource page. What we cannot allow to happen is for misinformation or xenophobic stigmas to take hold—particularly against our Chinese-American community.”
The legislation—which now goes to the Senate and is expected to pass this week to send to the President’s desk—provides $8.3 billion in new funding for a robust response to this public health emergency, including $950 million for state and local health agencies to conduct vital public health activities, including surveillance, laboratory testing, infection control, contact tracing, and mitigation.
