Rodriguez to Speak at “Move the Money” Town Hall
Tonight, Councilmember Ydanis Rodriguez (D-Washington Heights, Inwood) will be speaking at a virtual town hall about a new resolution to redirect funding from the Pentagon.
According to the National Priorities Project, New York City taxpayers contribute at least $27 billion to the national military each year. The City Council resolution 747-A, which already has 51 sponsors, would redirect 10 percent of that money to fund human needs and services in the City. Move The Money NYC, a coalition formed to ensure the resolution’s passage, will be hosting the meeting.
The event will take place tonight from 7-8:30 p.m. over Zoom. To register, click here.
De Blasio Cuts Ribbon on New Protected Bike Lanes
Yesterday, Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) announced the completion of three more miles of protected bikes lanes (PBLs) in Midtown and the Upper West Side.
As part of the “Green Wave” plan started in 2019, New York has been greatly expanding access to PBLs; studies have shown that PBLs make streets safer for not just cyclists, but also pedestrians and drivers. In addition to the new PBLs, the City has announced that a variety of bike-related activities will continue throughout the month. A comprehensive “Bike-tober” schedule is available here.
“More New Yorkers than ever are choosing cycling to move around our city, and I’m proud to expand their options and offer more ways to keep them safe,” said de Blasio. “Protected bike lanes help provide a safe and green transportation alternative, meeting the goals of our Recovery Agenda, Vision Zero, the Green Wave and OneNYC. We look forward to cutting the ribbon on more lanes and supporting every New Yorker who chooses healthy, car-free transit options.”
Stringer Proposes Free Tuition at All CUNY Community Colleges
Yesterday, City Comptroller Scott Stringer (D) unveiled a plan to overhaul workforce development in the City – which includes, among other things, a provision to make CUNY community colleges free for all.
The provision is part of a larger plan to make education and job training more accessible; this, he said, is vital if we hope to rebuild our economy in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic has accelerated existing trends towards remote work, digitization and automation, so we need to help our working population adjust to those changes.
“CUNY is essential to any workforce development strategy in New York City—which means it is vital to our City’s economic recovery,” said Stringer. “The pandemic exposed inequities in our economy and worsened the longstanding gaps in our social safety net. While some sectors of our workforce have the tools, resources and career flexibility to work remotely, many New York City jobs and careers have been derailed and debilitated by the economic shutdown. As we work to recover and rebuild, we must address these gaps and ensure that New York City’s workforce is strong and ready to take on the opportunities and challenges of the post-COVID, 21st century global economy.”
Powers to Introduce Bill to Transfer Oversight of Press Credentials
Councilmember Keith Powers (D-Upper East Side, Carnegie Hill) will introduce legislation today to transfer press credential approval away from the NYPD.
Over the summer, the NYPD employed threatening tactics to control and silence journalists who were covering the George Floyd protests. Powers’ bill, co-authored by Councilmember Adrienne Adams (D-Queens), would transfer press credential approval and revocation authority away from the NYPD.
“Freedom of the press is one of our country’s greatest protections,” said Powers. “The NYPD should not have the power to dictate who can and cannot cover them. The way to ensure that press coverage is not impacted by an agency heavily covered by the media is to remove it from the process, and overall reconsider criteria needed to obtain a press pass. This legislation creates a more balanced system while reinforcing the importance of a free press.”
