Cruz Joins Discussion on DACA, Immigration Rights
State Assemblymember Catalina Cruz will be joining District 20 City Council Candidate Sandra Ung for a Zoom discussion about DACA and immigration rights later this week.
The discussion is the third in a series of conversations Ung is hosting with women experts on important issues in the district. The first was on December 7 with with Jeehae Fischer about domestic violence and the second was on January 7 with Amy Dai and Ruoxi Chen on human trafficking.
Two more conversations are scheduled for February.
The discussion about immigration between Cruz and Ung will take place on Thursday, January 21 from 6 to 7 p.m. on Zoom.
Zoom meeting info:
Dial by your location +1 646 558 8656 US (New York)
Meeting ID: 955 4931 2021
Gianaris Condemns Woodside Houses Gas Outage
Senate Deputy Leader Michael Gianaris issued the following statement on Tuesday about the ongoing gas outage at the Woodside Houses NYCHA development.
“Ongoing utility outages are unacceptable for any New Yorker, and NYCHA residents should not be expected to pay full rent when they are not receiving the services they are paying for. That’s why I introduced the NYCHA Utility Accountability Act, which would reduce rent obligations during extended utility outages and ensure we treat all our neighbors with respect.”
BP Richards Launches Small Business Grant Program
Queens Borough President Donovan Richards in partnership with the city and Pursuit, announced the launch on Tuesday of the Queens Small Business Grant Program to provide resources to small businesses impacted by COVID-19.
Through a $17.5 million donation from Steve Cohen, the city will partner with community-based organizations to offer $15 million worth of grants to Queens small businesses in need up to $20,000 to support operational expenses.
“No borough has been hit harder by the COVID-19 pandemic and its disastrous economic fallout than Queens, where countless small businesses — and the thousands of families these entities support through local hiring— are facing unprecedented uncertainty through no fault of their own,” said Richards. “Small businesses are the lifeblood of our communities, and no expense must be spared to prevent even a single closure. With so many struggling to keep their doors open, Queens is deeply grateful to the NYC Economic Development Corporation, the Steve and Alexandra Cohen Foundation and all our partners for stepping up to support our small businesses in their hour of greatest need.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately impacted minority communities. In an effort to support small business recovery, Richards worked with the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) to provide Queens-based small businesses and vendors that are minority-owned, located in one of the COVID-19 hardest hit zones or low-and moderate-income communities (LMI) with financial resources. In addition, the city will dedicate 30% of the grants to support restaurants, street vendors and $2.5 million for further small business support later in 2021.
