Speaker Adams on the Council’s Legislation to Ban Solitary Confinement
City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams (D-Queens) yesterday announced support for legislation to ban solitary confinement and the scheduling of a hearing on the bill for next week.
“The Department of Correction’s stated mission is to create a safe and supportive environment while providing individuals in its care with a path to successfully re-enter their communities. Solitary confinement does not line up with this objective and New York City must be smarter by relying on evidence-based practices to keep New Yorkers and our neighborhoods safe. The research is clear: solitary confinement is a counterproductive and harmful practice that causes immense damage to the health of those subjected to it. It disproportionately leads to suicide and worsens the mental health of those subject to it. This can exacerbate the safety challenges within the jail system and outside of it when individuals are released,” said Adams.
“The Council will hold a hearing on legislation to ban solitary confinement, advancing a comprehensive and sensible legislative process to gather input from all stakeholders. New York City is better than solitary confinement, and the Council intends to pass a law to restrict this practice,” Adams added.
Adams did not give a time or date for the hearing.
Sanders Jr. to Kick Off Series of Mobile Office Dates
Senator James Sanders Jr. (D-Queens) yesterday stated he wants to make sure that the services his office provides remain easily accessible, so rather than making you come to the office, he and his staff are setting up Mobile Office hours all across the 10th Senatorial District to meet you where you are and bring our services to you.
Each Thursday throughout the Fall from 3 to 7 p.m., Sanders we will be coming to a location near you to set up mobile offices at housing developments, shopping plazas, train stations, and libraries across the district.
The first Mobile Office will be from 3-7 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 15 at the Redfern Houses, 1456 Beach Channel Drive in Far Rockaway, Queens.
Rajkumar presents $90k check to Cityline Ozone Park Civilian Patrol
Assemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar (D-Queens) Saturday presented $90,000 in state funding she secured for the Cityline Ozone Park Civilian Patrol (COPCP).
This is the first official funding stream for COPCP, an emerging organization founded in 2020 as a service organization for the community at the height of the pandemic.
The Assemblywoman’s presentation of the check continues her track record of bringing unprecedented new levels of funding to her district. In opening up a new funding stream for COPCP, the Assemblywoman will help the organization grow exponentially, including expanding its popular weekly food pantry and its operations to protect quality of life in South Queens.
Rajkumar also presented proclamations honoring three members of the organization’s leadership: President Iqbal Ali, Executive Director Mohammad Khan, and Secretary Patrica Raghunandan, while the organization’s many volunteers surrounded them with congratulations.
“Every day, I serve my community with a heart full of grace, and today I am proud to bring new energy and new services to South Queens. By securing this enormous new funding stream for COPCP, I am empowering an emerging organization that has all the right ingredients to help our community. COPCP inspires young people to participate in community service, responds rapidly to crises in the neighborhood, and brings people of all diverse backgrounds together. Like me, COPCP is relentless in its service to the community. I am honored to secure COPCP its historic, first-ever government funding,” said Rajkumar.
Clarke leads letter urging temporary protected status for Pakistani nationals
U.S. Reps. Yvette D. Clarke (D-Brooklyn) and Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), Co-Chair of the House Pakistan Caucus, last week led a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas urging the Biden Administration to bestow Temporary Protected Status (TPS) on Pakistani Nationals currently residing in the United States.
The letter follows the severe flooding from monsoon rains that have left more than 30 percent of Pakistan underwater and more than 33 million people impacted.
“The Pakistani people are resilient and will undoubtedly rebound from this catastrophe. As they do so, it is our moral obligation to ensure we are not imposing additional burdens by forcing Pakistani nationals to return at this time. For these reasons, we strongly urge the Department of Homeland Security to grant TPS for Pakistanis currently living in the United States,” wrote the the lawmakers.
