Adams to tour Boro Park amid uptick in COVID-19
Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams today will join local leaders in the Borough Park neighborhood of Brooklyn for a press conference and walk-through of the neighborhood to speak with residents, distribute masks, and hear safety ideas from residents.
Borough Park has seen a sharp uptick in COVID-19 cases.
The meeting and mask giveaway is slated for 10:30 a.m., today, Sept. 29 outside of the Borough Park Jewish Community Council, 1310 46th Street in Borough Park.
Salazar introduces legislation to eliminate court fines and fees
State Sen. Julia Salazar (D-Bushwick, Cypress Hills, Greenpoint and Williamsburgh, with parts of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brownsville and East New York. today will join other lawmakers and advocates at a press conference to announce the introduction of the End Predatory Court Fees Act.
This legislation would eliminate court fees, mandatory minimum fines, incarceration solely on the basis of unpaid fines and fees, and garnishment of commissary accounts. The press conference will also serve as the launch for the No Price on Justice campaign and will be accompanied by the publication of a first-of-its-kind report, New York’s Ferguson Problem, that shows how the state’s reliance on fines and fees revenue encourages policing-for-profit, criminalizes poverty, and endangers Black and brown lives.
Directly affected people will call for the passage of the End Predatory Court Fees Act, as well as companion legislation to eliminate parole and probation fees.
No Price on Justice is a coalition of economic and racial justice organizations, grassroots groups, and impacted people working to end New York’s predatory court fines and fees. Our mission is to end legal system fees and find more equitable ways to fund our government.
The virtual press conference is slated for 10 a.m., today, Sept. 29 on Zoom – register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_xvutlvZFTX2BaYg6TyUaQA
Colton demands more action taken to prevent COVID-19
Assemblyman William Colton (D–Gravesend, Bensonhurst, Bath Beach, Dyker Heights) yesterday demanded that preventive and enforcement measures must be taken by the city administration due to COVID-19 spikes especially in several neighborhoods of Brooklyn that includes Gravesend 6.0% and Bensonhurst 4.41% infection rates.
“Mayor de Blasio and City Department of Parks Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver must work together and take protective measures by posting warning signs at the parks, promenades, and all public places where excessive gatherings take place to be followed by strict enforcement of the rules. People should be reminded that they have to avoid large get-togethers, exercise safety by wash hands frequently, practicing social distancing, and most of all wear masks in public areas. Fines must be continuously issued when people fail to obey these rules,” Colton said.
“Unfortunately, because of some careless population, the COVID-19 is on the rise again. I am trying my best to make people be aware of the issue by speaking at different organizations’ events. I will continue to do so,” the lawmaker added.
Bichotte updates on COVID, city legislation
Assemblymember Rodneyse Bichotte (D-Flatbush, Ditmas Park) yesterday gave the following updates in her e-newsletter.
- Governor Cuomo announced today that the moratorium on residential evictions will be extended through January 1. To read more click here.
- The governor announced this weekend that the statewide COVID-19 infection rate is 1.5%. Brooklyn’s rate is nearly double that at 2.6%. The rates are the highest since mid-July.
- The state is seeing elevated positive test rates in Brooklyn, Orange County and Rockland County.
- 17% of those tested in zip code 11219, which includes Borough Park, have come back Covid-19 positive.
- Read more here.
- Pay raises for approximately 80,000 state government employees were deferred for the third time this year. Read more here.
- Ads from the “Mask Up America” campaign have been seen 30 million times.
- The Department of Health identified 4 new ZIP codes as emerging areas of concern:
- Rego Park (2.34% positivity rate);
- Kew Gardens Hills/Pomonok (2.71%);
- Kensington/Windsor Terrace (2.45%); and
- Brighton Beach/Manhattan Beach/Sheepshead Bay (2.74%).
- Other problem areas include:
- Midwood (5.34%);
- Kew Gardens (3.82%);
- Edgemere/Far Rockaway (3.9%);
- Borough Park (4.63%);
- Bensonhurst/Mapleton (4.41%);
- Sheepshead Bay (3.91%);
- Flatlands/Midwood (3.85%); and
- Williamsburg (1.78%).
- Since the clusters have not been contained, and have in fact worsened, before the city’s self-imposed Monday evening deadline, some reopening rollbacks may be implemented.
- Rollbacks would only apply to the affected ZIP codes, not citywide, the health department said.
- The measures could include bans of gatherings of 10 or more people, mask fines, private school and child care center closures and shutting down all non-essential businesses again.
- Council of School Supervisors and Administrators, the union representing principals, said it has lost confidence in the school reopening plans and called on the state to takeover the city school system. Read more here.
- The mayor announced that the NYC Open Restaurants program will be year round.
- Indoor dining will return Wednesday, September 30, 2020.
- All restaurants that choose to reopen must adhere to strict safety protocols, like increased ventilation and air filtration standards, temperature checks and requiring patrons to wear face coverings when not seated.
- Mayor de Blasio issued an Executive Order on Friday that will allow indoor pools to open at 33% capacity
- Deputy Sheriff’s shut down 4 illegal gatherings over the weekend, including a gathering of nearly 200 people at a karaoke bar in Flushing, Queens.
- Mayor de Blasio signed 3 bills into law that expands protection for workers, consumers, and commercial tenants. The bills are Intro. 2032-A, 2083-A and 2049-A.
- Intro 2032-A will expand previous legislation to now allow paid safe and sick leave for businesses operating with $1 million or more of net income with at most 4 employees. Also, employees of large companies of 100 or more workers will now be able to have up to 56 hours of paid sick leave.
- Intro 2083-A will protect commercial tenants (small businesses) from being liable for defaults because of the lost of revenue due to the impact of COVID-19. This protection pushes the date of protection which would have ended on September 30, 2020 to March 31, 2021. This is an amendment of Local Law 55 which you can read more on here.
- Intro 2049-A provides protection for hotel workers who would have been displaced and out of work due to hotels being sold or having a transfer of ownership. This legislation will make it mandatory for the new owners to provide employment for 90 days after purchase or transfer of ownership and an evaluation of employees after the 90 days. This legislation also protects consumers staying at hotels where hotel management will have to meet certain notice requirements when it comes to service disruptions.
- To read more click here.
Treyger slams de Blasio administration for not attending oversight hearing
City Council Member Mark Treyger (D-Coney Island, Bensonhurst, Gravesend), Education Chair, released the following statement over the weekend after the Department of Education declined to testify at an upcoming City Council Committees on Education and Health Oversight Hearing on School Reopening. The hearing is now deferred.
“Oversight is not optional. Last week, the New York City Council issued a subpoena to the Department of Education for data pertaining to remote learning attendance and access to live instruction–data which was first requested on May 27th,” said Treyger.
“The Committees on Education and Health were scheduled to hold a joint oversight hearing on school reopening on Tuesday, September 29. That hearing will now need to be deferred, as the Administration has declined to make anyone from the Department of Education or the Department of Health available to testify. Given that K-5 and K-8 schools are scheduled to reopen that day and to better enable parents, educators, and administrators to speak about their concerns, the Council has agreed to reschedule the hearing.
“We have given the Administration six dates in early October, and a deadline to provide their availability. If they do not agree to appear at a rescheduled hearing on or before October 15th, then we will do everything in our Charter-given powers to compel their attendance. I understand very well how hard DOE employees have been working on school reopening and how exceptional the circumstances of this pandemic are. I speak to administrators, school staff, teachers, and parents every day as they scramble to adapt to changing guidance to make school reopening as successful as possible. Oversight shines a light on problems and ensures that they are corrected. It is the job of the Council to conduct oversight, and we will use every tool that we have to do our job.”
Council Education Chair Treyger released his school reopening proposal in July 2020.
