Levin Rental Assistance Bill Gets De Blasio Signature
City Councilmember Stephen Levin (D-Boerum Hill, Brooklyn Heights, Downtown Brooklyn, Dumbo, Greenpoint, Vinegar Hill, Williamsburg) yesterday saw Mayor Bill de Blasio sign his legislation (Intro. 2080-A) increasing access to online rental assistance into law.
The measure requires the Department of Social Services to provide clients online access to their CityFHEPS rental assistance application. This will help clients track their application status and serve as a way for New Yorkers to get help if they have questions about the application process.
The bill was part of a package of bills that de Blasio signed that will also expand the city’s Green New Deal and strengthen income discrimination laws.
“Intro 1339 and my bill, Intro 2080, will help improve the process of obtaining rental assistance and ensure that clients know their rights. Rental assistance vouchers are the primary tools we have in the city to ensure that people are able to move out of shelter and into housing,” said Levin.
“However, the confusing bureaucracy of securing government benefits as well as voucher holders not knowing their rights when landlords illegally deny them housing are barriers to securing housing. These bills will provide greater support for New Yorkers, but until we have vouchers that meet the cost of housing in our city, we will continue to hear from constituents who have vouchers for years without finding an apartment,” he added.
Cornegy to Speak Out Against Gun Violence
Council Member Robert Cornegy (D-Bedford Stuyvesant, Northern Crown Heights) will join with anti-violence advocates and neighborhood residents to speak out against gun violence in the wake of a shooting that left a 70-year-old senior injured in Bed-Stuy on Tuesday afternoon.
“Today in our community we witnessed yet another horrific shooting, adding to painful gun violence that traumatizes, injures, and kills far too many. My heart goes out to the family and loved ones of the victim of this crime. Even in the face of this violence, we must pull together as a community to comfort those in agony, to assist the authorities investigating this crime, and to rededicate our efforts to stopping senseless violence. Gun violence is a public health issue, it does lasting damage and our responses must be just as long standing,” he said.
This event is slated to take place at 9:15 a.m. today, Nov 18 on the sidewalk at 140 Fulton Street in Bed-Stuy.
Gillibrand to Call for Funding for Mental Health
U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand will hold a video press conference today to urge Senate leadership to include robust funding for substance use disorder and mental health care services in the next coronavirus relief package.
Gillibrand will call for robust emergency funds for providers of mental health and addiction treatment services to maintain operations, and ensure stability for the duration of the economic and public health crisis.
Social isolation, increased financial stress, loss of work, lack of structured time, and daily stress and uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic have exacerbated mental health issues and substance use disorders. These effects have contributed to increased overdoses across New York State.
Adams Celebrates First Shower Bus
Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams and Brooklyn Community Services (BCS) hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the official opening of Brooklyn’s first shower bus, formally known as the BCS Mobile Care Unit, at Brooklyn Borough Hall.
The fully-outfitted bus will travel the borough of Brooklyn to provide hot showers, toiletries, peer counseling, housing support, and employment resources to the city’s homeless population.
“Two years ago, we embarked on the process of bringing a first-of-its-kind shower bus to Brooklyn, premised on the simple notion that being homeless should not be a barrier to basic hygiene or living with dignity. Today, I am thrilled to see that vision finally come to fruition. The shower bus will serve those who are often overlooked in our borough, at a time when Brooklynites and New Yorkers are in the most acute need for these kinds of services. I thank Brooklyn Community Services and their partners in the nonprofit and private sectors for their tireless efforts to make this project a reality,” said Adams.
The shower bus project aims to address chronic homelessness, and is made possible with the support of Adams, the Brooklyn Delegation of the City Council, as well as the sponsorship of Con Edison and Unilever.
