Brewer, CB11 to Host Tenant Protection Forum
Today, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer (D) will be co-hosting a forum with Manhattan Community Board 11 about tenant protections during COVID-19.
The forum will cover the details of the CARES Act and the statewide eviction moratorium, among other topics. Brewer will be joined by a panel of electeds, including Councilmember Diana Ayala (D-East Harlem, Mott Haven), Assemblymember Robert Rodriguez (D-East Harlem), and State Senator Jose Serrano (D-Bronx).
The event will take place tonight at 6:30 p.m. over Zoom. To register, click here.
Gillibrand Calls on Senate to Fund Gun Violence Prevention in Next COVID-19 Package
U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) has joined the push to include gun violence prevention funding in the next coronavirus relief package.
In a letter to Senate leadership, Gillibrand and her colleagues pointed to studies showing that gun sales have increased and emergency health services have been overwhelmed since the pandemic began. She also argued that lockdowns have caused an increase in truancy among our youth, due to rampant school closures and unemployment.
The letter requests $100 million in funding for community-based violence intervention programs in highly affected cities, as well as $150 million to create a Community-Based Violence Intervention Fund.
“Ultimately, it is critical that community violence intervention programs receive the resources to
sustain their services as our nation responds to this unprecedented public health crisis,” reads the letter. “With this assistance, we can assure that our communities emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic stronger than ever and no one is left behind.”
Read the full letter here.
Schumer, Velázquez, Meng, Engel Seek PPP Eligibility for Housing Co-Ops
Yesterday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and U.S. Reps. Nydia Velázquez (D-LES, Brooklyn, Queens), Grace Meng (D-NY) and Eliot Engel (D-NY) wrote a letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin (R) and Small Business Administration Administrator Jovita Carranza (R) regarding the eligibility of housing co-ops for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).
Since the pandemic, the federal government has been unclear on whether co-ops qualify for PPP loans. In the letter, the lawmakers seek clarity on the issue and urge the Trump Administration to state, unambiguously, that co-ops qualify.
I”n New York City alone, there are nearly 100,000 cooperative housing units, providing affordable, middle-class housing to thousands of New York City, Long Island, and Westchester residents,” reads the letter. “These cooperatives have suffered significant financial losses due to the Coronavirus pandemic, which has hit New York City, Long Island, and Westchester particularly hard. It is becoming increasingly difficult for cooperatives to keep their employees on staff, due to lost or deferred cooperative fees from their member-owners and increases in utilities due to stay at home orders.
“The PPP loans would enable these entities to continue to pay their valued employees during these uncertain times.”
Read the full letter here.
Maloney, King, Connolly Introduce “Postal Preservation Act”
Yesterday, U.S. Reps. Carolyn Maloney (D-Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens), Peter King (R-NY) and Gerry Connolly (D-VA) introduced legislation to save the U.S. Postal Service.
The Postal Preservation Act would make an emergency appropriation of $25 billion to the Postal Service, and also require regular oversight of that funding.
“Can you imagine our nation actually allowing the Postal Service to shut its doors?” said Maloney. “We can’t let that happen. This is a national emergency that Congress must address. The American people rely on the Postal Service to deliver crucial goods and services every day to every household across America, including more than a billion life-saving medications annually and millions of economic stimulus checks and unemployment benefits.”
