SENATOR RIVERA IN THE COMMUNITY

SENATOR RIVERA HOSTS

HEALTH AND SAFETY FAIR AT POE PARK

This week, Senator Rivera hosted elected officials and harm reduction organizations for his first Health & Safety Fair at Poe Park to discuss public health and safety with elected officials and harm reduction organizations and learn about substance use prevention and recovery.

Senator Rivera shares the community's concerns about public drug use and syringe litter near the Kingsbridge Underpass, Poe Park, and nearby hot spots. There are local harm reduction providers who clean up the needles safely and who connect with users to help them with recovery, medical care, and basic needs

Senator Rivera's team has created a schedule and contact informational sheet in collaboration with the harm reduction organizations serving the Northwest Bronx so that neighbors can contact them to assist with issues near Kingsbridge Road and the Grand Concourse. If you have any questions, please contact our office at 718-933-2034 or grivera@nysenate.gov.

Senator Rivera joined neighbors and elected officials for the street co-naming as a tribute to the family of Nicholas Feliz Dominici, the one-year-old child we tragically lost last year in Kingsbridge Heights. Thank you to Council Member Pierina Sanchez for bringing us together the community for this event. Senator Rivera's heart is with Nicholas' parents, Otoniel and Zoila as they have been living every parent's worst nightmare for the past year.

This year, Senator Rivera's bill (S7815A) to improve daycare inspections passed the Senate. Senator Rivera will continue fighting next session to make it law to enact new state protocols to give parents assurances that their children are being cared for in safe and accountable daycares.

This week, Senator Rivera joined Senator Zellnor Myrie for a tour of SUNY Downstate's Medical Center in Central Brooklyn. In January of 2024, New York announced plans to close the hospital, which is the only state-run hospital in New York City. Senators Rivera and Myrie were instrumental in a deal with the Governor to establish a community advisory board to determine the hospital’s future and prevent its immediate closure.

SUNY Downstate serves our most vulnerable populations and its closure would disproportionately harm medically underserved communities of color. Senator Rivera viewed the threat of its closure as a glaring example of the inadequacies of the review process that oversees if hospitals or units within a hospital can be closed.

In response to this, Senator Rivera introduced the "Local Input in Community Healthcare Act" (S8843A) that filled gaps in New York's review of proposed hospital closures to give communities a voice in this process before something as vital as a hospital or unit closure happens. Senator Rivera's legislation passed both houses this session, and he looks forward to Governor Hochul signing this bill to ensure communities have a say in their local healthcare access.

This week, Senator Rivera held a successful flu clinic at the Riverdale Y. Over 70 flu and COVID-19 vaccines were administered to community members in the district.

Thank you to the Riverdale Y's program coordinator Grethel Samuel, New Beginnings Director Sharon Asherman, and the entire Union Community Health Center team for helping keep the Bronx safe and healthy this winter. If you would like to find a location near you that is providing the updated Covid-19 booster or flu shot, click here.

Senator Rivera joined the Women of Reform Judaism for a Town Hall on Proposal 1, which would ratify the Equal Rights Amendment into the New York State Constitution.

On your November ballot, you’ll see Proposal 1, that would update the state constitution to add protections against unequal treatment based on ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive healthcare and autonomy. Senator Rivera discussed why he voted yes on the Equal Rights Amendment in 2022 and in 2023.

Thank you to Eleanor's Legacy's Political Director Abigail Martin and local community leader Morgan Evers for putting together this important event.

Senator Rivera joined BronxNet's OPEN with Darren Jamie to discuss the Senator's bill, the CDPAP Fiscal Intermediary Licensure Act (S9901), which serves as a reasonable alternative to the single FI plan and will return stability to New Yorkers that rely on home care through CDPAP. Senator Rivera also discussed the Safer Consumption Services Act (S399A), and the current state of national politics. You can watch the full interview here.

You can also learn more about the CDPAP Fiscal Intermediary Licensure Act and what it would do for participants and workers from this overview by Health Aide.