Adams Celebrates African Immigrant Heritage Month
Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams today will close out African Immigrant Heritage Month by holding the first-ever commemoration of this observance at Brooklyn Borough Hall.
The commemoration comes as African immigrants continue to file to immigrate to the U.S. in record numbers and statistics show that Nigerians in particular, are among the best-educated and among the top wage-earners all immigrant groups.
Adams, who marked the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first enslaved Africans to America with a trip to Senegal and sister-city agreements with Gorée Island and Malicounda, will host a socially distanced cultural celebration that will feature a display of flags, song, drumming, remarks from a representative to the Permanent Mission of Ghana to the United Nations.
Adams will also hold posthumous recognitions of Caribbean-American Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CACCI) founder Dr. Roy Hastick and Amarachi Restaurant owner Johnathan Adewumi, who both passed earlier this year due to complications from COVID-19.
The event is slated for 3 p.m., today, Sept. 30 on the Brooklyn Borough Hall Steps, 209 Joralemon Street in Downtown Brooklyn.
Ortiz on Absentee Ballot Misprint
Assistant Assembly Speaker Felix W. Ortiz (D-Sunset Park, Red Hook) released a statement after a misprint by a third-party vendor caused nearly 100,000 Brooklyn voters to receive absentee ballot return envelopes with the wrong address and names printed on them.
“When will New York City’s Board Of Elections run our elections like a successful business? Why do voters have to continue to put up with mistakes, inefficiency and delays?
“Recent reports of absentee ballots sent out with the wrong return addresses and ballots that were marked for the military may have been caused by a vendor’s error. But the buck stops with the Board of Elections (BOE) that runs our city’s elections. The BOE is one of the most error-prone and inefficient government agencies in recent time.
“The BOE has just over a month to get its act together to be ready to count the votes. Let’s all hope that the Board will learn to do its job right,” said Ortiz
Gillibrand To Call for RESTART Act In Next COVID Relief Package
U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand today will hold a video press conference to call for legislation to support live event venues and small- and mid-sized businesses that are struggling to recover after a summer of limited operations due to the coronavirus crises.
Gillibrand is proposing legislation that would create a new loan program to fund six months of employer and operating expenses for businesses that have lost substantial revenue and have been unable to access a lifeline through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).
While the PPP was intended to support small- and mid-sized businesses weather the economic crisis, many have slipped through the cracks and are struggling to maintain operations and pay their employees. Theaters and live events, restaurants and hospitality make up a significant part of New York’s economy and have faced unprecedented revenue losses since March.
Independent venues across the country have been forced to close during their peak seasons and are forecast to lose almost $9 billion in revenue if the rest of 2020 remains dark — the majority expect to permanently close if shutdowns persist and no federal funding becomes available.
