Jewish Lawmakers Urge for Fixing of Flooding
Councilman Chaim Deutsch (Sheepshead Bay, Manhattan Beach, Brighton Beach, Homecrest), Assemblyman Simcha Eichenstein (D-Borough Park, Midwood), State Sen. Simcha Felder (D-Boro Park, Midwood) and City Councilman Kalman Yeger (D-Borough Park, Bensonhurst, Midwood) yesterday fired off a letter to Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Vincent Sapienza and Department of Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg calling for the immediate fixing to excessive flooding in Borough Park and Flatbush.
“The safety hazard this poses to children, seniors and individuals with disabilities is of great concern. The approaching winter weather will quickly turn rain and snow to dangerous black ice. While the drainage system throughout our districts is undoubtedly in dire need of updating, the most heavily affected areas must be addressed quickly,” the lawmakers wrote.
The elected officials pointed out they represent heavily affected areas in Boro Park, Midwood, and Madison. Working with constituents who regularly suffer from pooling and flooding after heavy rain, these issues are among the most challenging cases of bureaucracy. Although liable for both creating the problems and neglecting to correct them, the City dodges their responsibility for years by shifting the blame between agencies or incorrectly holding homeowners accountable, they wrote.
Adams and Cornegy Come Together Over Vaccine
Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams and City Council Member Robert Cornegy (D-Bedford Stuyvesant, Northern Crown Heights) joined together this past Saturday outside Interfaith Medical Center in Bedford-Stuyvesant and urged the City and State to prioritize the communities hit hardest by COVID-19 for distribution of the newly-developed vaccine after it failed to address the disparate impact of COVID-19, of which Black and Brown communities have borne the brunt.
“Given the failures of the past months by our City and State to properly address the disparate impacts of COVID-19, it is understandable that many Black and Brown communities view the rollout of the vaccine with skepticism. That’s why we must show that we are prioritizing these communities with a comprehensive distribution strategy that is highly transparent and locally accessible, so we are not exacerbating the inequities laid bare by this pandemic. I thank Council Member Cornegy and NYSNA for joining us in this call,” said Adams.
Adams and Cornegy, who have both spoken out repeatedly since the start of the pandemic about the failures of local and state leadership to properly address the disproportionately deadly effects of COVID-19, including inequities in the distribution of personal protective equipment (PPE), testing equipment, and other critical resources, called for a data-driven, transparent, and locally accessible distribution to subsequent phases of the vaccine rollout, including a robust public education campaign to expand confidence in this unprecedented effort.
Gillibrand Meets with Yellen
U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) yesterday released the following statement following her meeting with Treasury Secretary-designate Janet Yellen—the first of Yellen’s confirmation process.
“Today I had a productive meeting with Treasury Secretary-designate Janet Yellen about the incoming Biden administration’s approach to the economic challenges facing our nation. Not only is Janet an accomplished, crisis-tested and eminently qualified public servant, but she is a trailblazer; she was the first woman to chair the Federal Reserve and if confirmed, she would be the first woman to lead the Department of the Treasury,” said Gillibrand of the Brooklyn born and raised Yellen.
“During our conversation, I urged Janet to focus on policies that reward work and will ensure economic fairness and justice, such as repealing the elimination of the SALT deduction, the importance of wage replacement programs like paid leave, and expanding access to banking services to underserved communities through postal banking. Our conversation demonstrated that the Treasury under President-elect Joe Biden will focus on building an economy that strengthens the middle class and gives every American a fair shot and an equal chance to get ahead.”
Myrie on What’s Going On
State Sen. Zellnor Myrie (D-Brownsville, Crown Heights, East Flatbush, Gowanus, Park Slope, Prospect Heights, Prospect Lefferts Gardens, South Slope, Sunset Park) reminds his constituents of upcoming and current events.
School
- This week, NYC public school students in grades 3-K through 5 will return to in-person learning. On Thursday, students at all grade levels in District 75 can return to in-person learning as well. All families and staff must provide consent for random COVID-19 testing before being permitted to return to school buildings. Complete your consent form on your NYC Schools Account here, or fill out a paper form and return it to your school.
Rent Relief
- Late last week the Governor announced he would change the requirements of the state’s rent relief program, to allow more tenants to qualify for assistance. While we wait for further details on the language in the Executive Order, our office will continue to monitor the situation and provide assistance to constituents with housing issues. We will also continue to advocate for a real, durable eviction moratorium for the duration of the crisis.
Businesses
- As the pandemic rages on, many of our community’s small businesses have been hard-hit, and business owners of color have faced especially difficult challenges. On Friday, I wrote about the importance of supporting Black-owned local businesses in Crain’s and discussed some of the legislation I’m supporting to assist them through this difficult time. And I urge you to keep local businesses across Brooklyn in mind this year for your holiday shopping. I’ll be hosting a Small Business Roundtable this Thursday night to share more (see flyer below)– I hope you can join us. Please RSVP for our Roundtable here and submit your questions.
