Cornegy to Give out Winter Gear
City Council Member Robert Cornegy (D-Bedford Stuyvesant, Northern Crown Heights) will partner with the Campaign Against Hunger and LiUNA-NY today to distribute food and cold weather gear including hats, gloves, and scarves.
Cornegy’s efforts are in support of community residents facing the dual challenges of COVID-19 and the economic crisis.
This event is slated to take place at 11:00 a.m. today, Dec. 30 at 162 Troy Avenue.
Gillibrand Calling on McConnell about COVID Payments
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand released the following statement calling on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to allow the Senate to vote on House-passed legislation to deliver $2,000 direct payment checks to Americans facing economic hardship due to the Covid-19 pandemic:
“Yesterday, the House passed bipartisan legislation to send $2,000 direct payment checks to Americans weathering an unprecedented public health and financial crisis. Now, the Senate must do the same. Along with every Senate Democrat, several Republican senators support these emergency checks, which will provide a crucial lifeline to millions of American families, who are struggling to keep food on the table and make ends meet. Leader McConnell must end the obstruction and let the Senate vote to deliver this much-needed relief to American families,” she said.
Carroll on the Eviction Prevention Act Passage
Assemblymember Robert Carroll (D-Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Kensington, Ditmas Park) who urged the Assembly to pass the Emergency Eviction and Foreclosure Prevention Act (A.11181), commented on this bill.
“Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, countless New Yorkers are facing eviction because the virus has closed businesses, schools and triggered mass-unemployment. With the passage of this bill, the State Legislature took bold action to stop evictions and foreclosures. In the months ahead, the Legislature must continue to act boldly to save our small businesses, transit, schools, and other vital services,” he wrote.
The Emergency Eviction and Foreclosure Prevention Act (A.11181) puts a temporary two-month stay on evictions and foreclosures until May 1, 2021, and a halt to all eviction court proceedings. It also provides protection from negative credit decisions to homeowners who receive a stay on mortgage foreclosure, tax foreclosure or tax lien sale or if they are in arrears and file a hardship declaration; nobody’s future should be further harmed by credit impacts from a situation that was out of their control.
Additionally, it provides automatic renewal of Senior Citizens Homeowner & Persons with Disabilities and Limited Income Homeowner exemptions, which cuts red tape for some of our most vulnerable citizens. It also commits to ensuring that Federal aid for rental assistance in the latest stimulus bill must be used to ease the rental burden on tenants who are in arrears and small landlords who rent apartments to put food on their tables.
Adams Encourages Brooklynites to Apply for Community Boards
Brooklyn Borough President Adams encourages all Brooklynites to apply for an opening on one of Brooklyn’s 18 local community boards, announcing that the deadline for the upcoming cycle is Friday, February 12.
Community boards are tasked with dealing with land use issues, weighing in on the issuance of permits such as liquor licenses, assessing neighborhood needs, and addressing community concerns. Borough presidents are responsible for the appointment for each of their community board’s 50 unsalaried members, half of whom are nominated by local members of the City Council.
“This year has been extremely challenging for our borough and city, but our community boards were able to adapt and continue serving their neighborhoods,” said Adams. “I am grateful for the hundreds of Brooklynites who stay engaged on this most local level of our government. Now more than ever, we want to urge all Brooklynites, who are able, to apply for their community boards and get involved to help our borough recover from the devastation of COVID-19. We got this, Brooklyn!”
Applications for 2020 appointments and reappointments for Brooklyn community boards are available here. Applicants must be New York City residents to serve on a community board. To qualify for a particular board, they must live, work in, or have a professional or other significant interest in that board’s geographic district.
Adams also renewed his encouragement for Brooklyn teenagers aged 16 or older to submit applications; they have been eligible to serve on their local community boards since 2014, thanks in part to his advocacy. The application is available online on a rolling basis to encourage a robust, diverse pool of submissions year-round.
Williams on Eviction Prevention Act
Assemblywoman Jaime Williams (D-Canarsie, Georgetown, Mill Basin, Marine Park, Gerritsen Beach) released a statement on the assembly passing the Emergency Eviction and Foreclosure Prevention Act
Williams stepped up in the legislation to expand the definition of tenants entitled to notice of rights from those who were lawful tenants at the time a foreclosure was commenced to those who are lawful tenants during the pendency of a foreclosure action.
“With this revised definition put into place tenants can take solace in being afforded a further protection and in truth a little peace of mind,” stated Williams.
The measure goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2021.
