Northeast Queens Lawmakers Laud Pop-Up Vaccination Site in Bayside
U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-Bayside, Flushing, Forest Hills, Fresh Meadows, Glendale, Kew Gardens, Maspeth, Middle Village, Rego Park), State Senator John C. Liu (D-Flushing, College Point, Whitestone, Bayside, Douglaston-Little Neck, parts of Hollis, Bellerose), State Assemblymembers Edward C. Braunstein (D-Auburndale, Bay Terrace, Bayside, Bayside Hills, Broadway-Flushing, Douglaston, Floral Park, Glen Oaks, Little Neck, New Hyde Park, North Shore Towers, Oakland Gardens, Whitestone) and Nily Rozic (D-Flushing, Queensboro Hill, Hillcrest, Fresh Meadows, Oakland Gardens, Bayside, Douglaston), and City Councilmember Paul A. Vallone (D-Auburndale, Bay Terrace, Bayside, Beechhurst, College Point, Douglaston, Flushing, Little Neck, Malba, Whitestone) issued the following statement in response to the news that Korean Community Services (KCS) will serve as a temporary pop-up COVID-19 vaccination site:
“Thank you to Governor Cuomo for hearing the concerns of our community and opening a pop up site at KCS in Bayside, which will allow 500 residents to be vaccinated without traveling a long distance. While this is a welcomed first step, we continue to implore Mayor de Blasio to open permanent vaccination locations throughout Northeast Queens, an area with one of the largest senior populations in the City.”
KCS, located at 203-05 32nd Avenue, will operate as a pop-up vaccination site on February 11 and February 12 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. There will be 250 doses available each day distributed by Somos Community Care. Pre-Registration for an appointment is required. Those interested can sign up at somosvaccinations.com or call 1-833-SOMOSNY.
Stavisky Passes Legislation to Combat Housing Discrimination
State Senator Toby Ann Stavisky (D-Central Queens) and the Senate Democratic Majority have passed legislation to continue addressing housing discrimination across New York State.
This legislative package was based upon the Senate Majority’s 97-page investigative report on fair housing and discrimination on Long Island which was released last month. That investigation was launched following the troubling expose Long Island Divided, which Newsday published in 2019.
“This legislative package helps to address the decades of damage caused by discriminatory practices,” Stavisky said. “It is not enough for New York to simply condemn these actions, we need to recognize the lasting negative effects they have on many people and we must actively work to build more inclusion into our neighborhoods. Fighting for housing equality and deterring those who try to discriminate not only enriches our communities, but provides more people access to educational and employment opportunities they may not have otherwise have.”
The bills advanced will implement fair housing practices, implicit bias training, and compensatory relief to victims of housing discrimination.
More information on this legislative package is available here.
BP Richards Continues Virtual Job Fair Into 2021
Queens Borough President Donovan Richards announced on Tuesday that the ongoing Virtual Queens Jobs Recruitment Fair series hosted by the Queens Borough President’s Office, connecting Queens job seekers with a wide array of employment opportunities across a variety of industries, will continue into 2021.
“The unprecedented economic wounds inflicted by the COVID-19 pandemic have been deep and enduring, especially for our communities of color hardest hit by the virus,” said Richards. “Our ultimate recovery and rebuild as a borough must center on connecting our unmatched talent with available employment opportunities as quickly and efficiently as possible, and Queens is grateful to our hiring partners who have stepped up to participate in this critical process.”
The ongoing hiring push comes as Queens’ unemployment rate sits at 10.7 percent as of December 2020, down from a high of 21.6 percent in June 2020 — but still 7.7 percent higher than February 2020’s pre-pandemic low of 3.0 percent.
The next Virtual Queens Jobs Recruitment Fair will be held on Thursday, February 18 in partnership with 10 featured employers and recruiters: CAMBA, Inc., The Child Center of New York, Commonpoint Queens, Council for Airport Opportunity, Empire Vets, Forest Hills Financial Group, the New York City Children’s Center, Queens Centers for Progress, WestHab, Inc. and Workforce1 Career Center.
Participants and viewers will hear brief presentations from employers and recruiters seeking to fill numerous positions in a variety of service fields, including aviation, transportation, developmental support, retail, finance and more.
Held the third Thursday of each month, the February 18 Virtual Queens Jobs Recruitment Fair will be held online from 2:00pm to 3:30pm and live streamed at www.queensbp.org. Prospective applicants interested in participating in the live interactive Q&A via Zoom Webinar must RSVP by Wednesday, February 17 at www.queensbp.org/rsvp. Instructions on how to participate will be emailed the day of the event to those who register.
The virtual job fair will be held on Thursday, February 18 from 2-3:30 p.m. To watch a live stream visi the Queens Borough President’s website.
Prospective applicants interested in participating via Zoom must RSVP by Wednesday, February 17 at www.queensbp.org/rsvp.
