Council Member Rodriguez Announces Legislation to Prevent Cars from Jumping onto Sidewalks, Less than One Month Following Times Square Attack

Council Member Rodriguez & Transportation Alternatives' Paul Steely White Announce Legislation Expanding Use of Safety Bollards at Schools, Pedestrian Plazas and Along Unsafe Corridors

  Less than one month after a driver killed a young tourist and injured 20 pedestrians in Times Square, Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez announced legislation to take action and prevent similar tragedies. The legislation would require widespread installation of safety bollards by NYC DOT, like the one that stopped the Times Square driver from taking more lives. The focus would be schools, pedestrian plazas and priority safety corridors, as determined by DOT. 

Council Member Rodriguez stood today with Paul Steely White, Executive Director of Transportation Alternatives and Council Members Menchaca and Levine to announce the legislation. It will be introduced next week on June 21st and will have a public hearing on June 22nd, where NYC DOT is expected to testify.

"Whether a driver has the intention to kill or not, pedestrians must be safe on our sidewalks and plazas," said Council Transportation Chair Ydanis Rodriguez. "Bollards have proven they can save lives, as we saw in the Times Square attack less than a month ago. This bill will expand their use to more parts of our city to prevent avoidable tragedies."

"Since 2014, 40 New Yorkers have been killed by curb jumping drivers," said Paul Steely White, Executive Director of Transportation Alternatives. "Sidewalks should be the safe-havens and Council Member Rodriguez is taking a proactive approach to protect pedestrians by encouraging more widespread use of bollards. This is a valuable safety feature in crash prone areas and we are proud to support its passage through the City Council."

"The safety of New York City's residents and visitors is the most important responsibility we have as a City government," said Council Member Ben Kallos. "By not waiting for another tragic incident to occur and installing protective bollards near pedestrian plazas and walkways right away we are deterring another situation involving a vehicle being used as a  weapon from occurring and minimizing the effects of a possible incident. Thank you to Transportation Committee Chair Ydanis Rodriguez for his leadership and foresight on this very important issue."

The legislation is also a response to the recent and troubling frequency of vehicles being used as a weapon of choice in terror attacks around the world. As New York City remains a perpetual target for terrorist activity, fortifying our most vulnerable points where pedestrians gather in large numbers is a key goal of the legislation. 

Immediately following the press conference at City Hall, an SUV was in a crash that caused it to jump the curb at 38th Street and 9th Avenue in Manhattan. The number of instances where this occurs has reached an alarming rate and shows that pedestrians need protection not just from deliberate attacks but unintentional crashes as well. Council Member Rodriguez visited the scene following the press conference.

EDITOR'S NOTE:

We agree 100 Percent with the above statements, however there are several items that have been left out be it purposely or by accident.

1 - Has the City Council and especially Traffic and Transportation Committee Chair Rodriguez looked at the way streets are being milled by some outside contractors who leave broken sidewalks that have not been repaired by the DOT in over one year and some months. I would be happy to show Councilman Rodriguez exactly where this has happened. Yes a car jumped the broken curb onto the sidewalk into two storefronts only to be stopped by a metal gate post. It was a good thing this happened in the summer when school was out, or many school children might have been in that exact spot.

2 - Have the above realized that there are less police on the streets, and are giving out less moving violations. This has been city policy since the use of Speed Cameras has begun. A camera can not do what a police officer in a police car can do.

3 - Where would any new safety bollards be placed on the sidewalk?

4 - Would they only be placed in the important sections of Manhattan, and not in the other four boroughs?

5 - Would these safety bollards be placed in residential or only business areas?

6 - Has there been a study done by the DOT as to the street design or redesign which may of lead to even one of the 40 fatalities?

7 - With electric bikes having the capacity now to go over the stated NYC speed limit of 25 MPH how are pedestrians going to be protected from these and other bikes capable of injuring or even killing several people as bikes will be able to go in and out of the safety bollards and on sidewalks as many do? 

8 - Why is the city council not looking into regulating electric bikes, as to registration of the bike, insurance requirements, and even licensing of the riders?

I am sure that there are many more questions, but these few came to mind. Just placing more safety bollards would be the quick fix, but trying to look at the whole problem was probably not done.

100,000 GOOD-PAYING JOBS:

MAYOR DE BLASIO RELEASES 10-YEAR PLAN TO INVEST IN NEW INDUSTRIES, RAISE WAGES, TRAIN NEW YORKERS, STRENGTHEN MIDDLE CLASS

“New York Works” invests in Cybersecurity, Freight, Life Sciences, Virtual Reality, Culture, Tech, Manufacturing, Apprenticeships

  Mayor Bill de Blasio today released New York Works, a series of 25 initiatives to spur 100,000 jobs with good wages over the coming decade. To combat economic inequality, grow the middle class and adapt to ever-changing technology, the City will invest in industries with high wages and job potential, focusing on jobs that pay at least $50,000 per year or offer a clear path to that salary level.

The de Blasio administration will invest heavily in technology, particularly cybersecurity (30,000 jobs); life sciences and health care (15,000 jobs); industrial and manufacturing (20,000 jobs); and the creative and cultural sectors (10,000 jobs). It will support those sectors with physical space to expand, tax incentives to promote growth, business development investments for early-stage companies, and workforce training to connect New Yorkers to good jobs. These strategies will be supported by City actions to spur millions of square feet of new commercial office space (25,000 jobs).

“We have to take economic inequality head-on, and that means raising wages and launching more New Yorkers into the middle class. These are the fast-growing, high-paying industries that represent the future of our city, but only if we invest now in the places, the workforce and the infrastructure to compete,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio.

Its 25 initiatives include:

·         Establishing NYC as the next global hub for cybersecurity through a $30 million investment in training New Yorkers, academic R&D labs, and the first business ‘accelerator’ dedicated solely to early-stage cybersecurity firms in New York City. The programs will directly create 3,500 good-paying jobs and catalyze another 6,500 in the industry.

·         Freight NYC, a multi-pronged strategy for a citywide freight network that will create 4,000 good-paying industrial jobs by building more shipping and distribution infrastructure to connect NYC to the nation’s ‘Marine Highway,’ reducing regional truck traffic on our roadways and costs for NYC businesses and consumers.

·         Doubling the number of CUNY’s Computer Science graduates to 2,000 per year within 5 years by investing in faculty, real world experiences for students through internships and work/study programs, and improved career advising. The shortage of trained, ready-to-work talent remains a significant challenge to the growth of NYC’s tech ecosystem, and increasing qualified candidates will enable local tech firms to fill positions faster and open up new career paths for New Yorkers.

·         Appointing NYC’s first Nightlife Ambassador, a senior-level administration official tasked with supporting the nightlife and live music industry—a vital component of keeping NYC a creative and cultural capital.

·         NYC’s first Digital Health Lab, a $5-million product testing ground for healthcare and tech companies ready to bring their products into a clinical setting that models real-world patient interactions, record-keeping terminals and consultations. More than 850 jobs will be generated by new and growing companies using the facility.

·         Building the nation’s first Augmented and Virtual Reality Lab, a $6-million investment to position NYC as the center of this growing industry and provide space for its innovators to start and grow companies.

·         Apprentice NYC, a new employer-partnership model that will provide 500 New Yorkers with good jobs in sectors that include tech, healthcare/life sciences, and industrial and manufacturing.

·         Office Anchor, a new initiative to spur commercial buildings in the outer boroughs by leveraging City agencies as anchor tenants. An upcoming RFP for commercial development in East New York will include 250,000 square feet sought by the Human Resources Administration.

MAYOR ANNOUNCES PROGRAM TO HELP CURB EFFECTS OF EXTREME SUMMER HEAT

Launches new $106 million Cool Neighborhoods NYC program, expanding the Administration’s aggressive climate resiliency agenda

  Before the hottest days of the summer arrive, Mayor de Blasio is announcing the launch of Cool Neighborhoods NYC, a new $106 million program designed to curb the effect of extreme heat, and protect against the worst effects of rising temperatures from climate change. This comprehensive city program will involve proactive and reactive measures in heat-sensitive neighborhoods to help mitigate the threat to public health from the urban heat island effect exacerbated during summer months.

“Climate change is a dagger aimed at the heart of our city, and extreme heat is the edge of the knife,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “This is a question of equity; hotter summers, exacerbated by climate change, are a threat that falls disproportionately on communities of color and the elderly. We are answering that question with programs designed to protect the health of New Yorkers, expand our city’s tree canopy, promote community cohesion, and more.”

Every year, hot summers cause dehydration, heat exhaustion, and heat-stroke – all outcomes that disproportionately impact older adults and vulnerable populations. Extreme heat kills more New Yorkers than any other extreme weather event, and leads to an average of 450 heat-related emergency department visits, 150 hospital admissions, 13 heat-stroke deaths, as well as 115 deaths from natural causes exacerbated by extreme heat.

Rising temperatures, more frequent and longer-lasting heat events threaten the New York’s livability. The New York City Panel on Climate Change (NPPC) projects up to a 5.7°F increase in average city temperatures and a doubling of the number of days above 90°F by the 2050s. The NPCC also projects that heat waves in the city will increase in intensity and duration.

Cool Neighborhoods NYC is a comprehensive resiliency program aimed at reducing these heat-related health impacts and deaths, by lowering temperatures in heat-vulnerable neighborhoods, strengthening social networks, and improving quality of life for all New Yorkers. The program expands the City’s current heat reduction efforts, like NYC °CoolRoofs, and adds new initiatives like Be a Buddy NYC, and providing climate risk training for home health aides. The City will also work with health departments and other stakeholders across New York State to support an

expansion of the Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) to assist qualified households in paying utility bills related to the operation of air conditioners.

As part of Cool Neighborhoods NYC, the City announced an $82 million commitment to fund street tree plantings in neighborhoods in the South Bronx, Northern Manhattan, and Central Brooklyn. These areas have been identified as disproportionately vulnerable to heat-health risks, according to the City’s Heat Vulnerability Index, which combines metrics proven to be strong indicators of heat risk.  The City will also invest $16 million to support planting trees in parks and an additional $7 million to support forest restoration across the five boroughs. The City has identified a priority list of 2.7 million square feet of private- and public- roofs in the heat-vulnerable areas of the South Bronx, Central Brooklyn, and Northern Manhattan to conduct strategic outreach to owners and target the successful NYC °CoolRoofs program over the coming years.

Additional key Cool Neighborhoods NYC components include:

Launching Be a Buddy NYC: The City is launching a two-year, multi-stakeholder pilot to promote community cohesion. Through partnerships with community-based organizations, Be a Buddy NYC will develop and test strategies for protecting at-risk New Yorkers from the health impacts of extreme heat in the South Bronx, Central Brooklyn, and Northern Manhattan.

Partnering with home health aides: The City, in partnership with three home care agencies, will promote heat and climate-health information and engage home health aides as key players in building climate resiliency. The agencies will use their continuing education curriculum to educate nearly 8,000 home health aides on climate-related risks and to recognize and address early signs of heat-related illness.

Partnering with news reporters: The City will host a workshop and will conduct outreach to health and medical reporters and meteorologists to improve the way that New Yorkers receive crucial information about heat and the protective actions they need to take to stay safe indoors, and to encourage caregivers and social contacts to check on vulnerable neighbors, friends and family.

Collecting innovative data: The City will invest in the collection of baseline neighborhood-level temperature information to assess current risk, more effectively target new initiatives in the most heat-vulnerable neighborhoods, and in the long-term, provide baseline data to accurately measure the impact of interventions. 

Cool Neighborhoods NYC is led by the Mayor’s Office of Recovery & Resiliency and will be implemented in partnerships with NYC Parks, the Health Department, Small Business Services, Emergency Management, and members of the private sector.

“Adapting New York City for the risks of climate change is one of the great challenges of our time,” said Daniel Zarrilli, Senior Director for Climate Policy & Program and the Chief Resilience Officer for the NYC Mayor’s Office. “Higher temperatures and frequent heat waves, in addition to storms and rising sea levels, present an enormous challenge to the city and its most vulnerable residents. That’s why today’s commitment to the Cool Neighborhoods NYC program will ensure New Yorkers have the tools to better protect themselves and their neighbors from rising temperatures.  This unprecedented investment in heat mitigation is a critical part of our OneNYC program to ensure that New York City is ready for the risks of the future.”

“As we observe high temperature records being broken year after year, the City must take action against the growing threats we face from climate change and extreme heat,” said Jainey Bavishi, Director of the Mayor’s Office of Recovery and Resiliency. “Heat kills more New Yorkers than any other natural hazard, and Cool Neighborhoods NYC is a crucial step towards reducing heat-related health impacts and deaths in neighborhoods at the highest risk. Through a combination of targeted new investments, stronger community partnerships, and innovative new initiatives, we are delivering on our OneNYC commitments to build a more resilient and equitable city.”

“A tree planted today is a promise made to tomorrow – and as stewards of an urban forest 2.6-million trees strong, NYC Parks is focused on making good on the promise of a sustainable future. In the coming decades, a strong and healthy tree canopy will provide crucial protection against a warming climate. Cool Neighborhoods NYC gives us the resources we need, providing more than $100 million for strategic street tree and park tree planting,” said Mitchell Silver, NYC Parks Commissioner

“As global temperatures keep rising to record highs each year, New Yorkers are more vulnerable to extreme heat," said Health Commissioner Dr. Mary T. Bassett. “In our city, most heat-related deaths happen behind closed doors in homes without air conditioning. These deaths are preventable.  The evidence-based actions our city is taking in the face of a changing climate are needed more than ever in the absence of federal leadership. Cool Neighborhoods NYC is a wonderful example of how local government, communities and residents can work together to make all New Yorkers safer today and in the future.” 

“As temperatures rise during the summer months, the Cool Neighborhoods NYC initiative is helping combat extreme heat and reducing our carbon footprint,” said Gregg Bishop, Commissioner of the NYC Department of Small Business Services. “As part of this initiative, our successful NYC °Cool Roofs program is installing reflective coatings on millions of square feet of roofing across the city. These coatings lower building temperatures, reduce energy consumption, and help cut carbon emissions.”

“Extreme heat is deadly, and our dense urban environment that traps and absorbs heat creates a dangerous situation for vulnerable New Yorkers,” said NYC Emergency Management Commissioner Joseph Esposito. “The new programs included in Cool Neighborhoods NYC will help reduce the risks from extreme heat, and New Yorkers can also help us beat the heat this summer by taking preparedness steps like drinking lots of water and checking in on family members, neighbors, and friends when temperatures rise.”

“New York City is investing $1.5 billion to build green infrastructure across the five boroughs that will improve the health of local waterways while also cleaning the air and lowering summer temperatures,” said Vincent Sapienza, Acting Commissioner, Department of Environmental Protection.  “Importantly, the increased tree canopy and vegetation in our green infrastructure will improve air quality in neighborhoods with less than average street tree counts and higher than average rates of asthma among young people.”

“The Cool Neighborhoods NYC plan to have home health aides identify at-risk older adults is a wise decision that will save lives, as many olders without air conditioning may choose to stay home during heat emergencies rather than go to cooling centers. The plan exemplifies how we can tap into this existing network of aides to better identify and address heat-related illnesses,” said Department for the Aging Commissioner Donna Corrado.

March With Us: LGBT Pride March w/ Me & Danny O'Donnell

June is Pride month. One year after the Orlando massacre, and in the era of Donald Trump, it is important that we reinforce our unity and diversity and celebrate our pride at the 2017 Heritage Pride March.

We are excited to be marching with Assembly Member Danny O'Donnell, a major leader in the LGBT community and key figure in getting Marriage Equality passed in New York State. 

On June 25, 2017, we will march with Assembly Member O'Donnell, in the Lead Section starting at 10:00 AM. We'll be located at 41st Street between Madison and 5th Ave. See Below for more Details:

City Council to hold Oversight Hearing on the Threat of Beach Erosion in NYC

  As New York continues to grapple with the effects of global climate change,Council Members Mark Levine and Mark Treyger will hold a joint oversight hearing to address the persistent issue of beach erosion in NYC. Among those set to testify are representatives from the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation and the Mayor’s Office of Recovery and Resiliency, in addition to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

New York City’s 578 miles of highly urbanized coastline, including the 14 miles of beaches managed by the City’s Parks Department, makes the City particularly vulnerable to beach erosion which has already caused billions of dollars in damage to both the City and its citizens. According to the latest research, the average erosion rate for NYC Beaches on the south shore of Long Island is between 1 and 2 feet per year. Though that erosion rate is comparatively lower to the rest of East Coast, the City’s south shore tends to experience significant long-term erosion during major coastal storms. Hurricane Sandy for example displaced approximately 1.5 million cubic yards of sand from along the coast and into backyards, basements and City streets when it devastated New York in 2012. To assess the issue, the joint oversight hearing will examine:

·         How beach erosion is tracked and the current condition of the City’s beaches

·         The various causes of beach erosion

·         What short and long term measures can be taken to address the issue

·         The work that various government entities have already undertaken to renourish New York City beaches and manage future erosion

·         How vulnerable the City and its beaches are to another major coastal storm

·         The impact of state and federal funding for restoring and preserving NYC’s beaches

COUNCIL MEMBER ANDY KING TO HOST CONSTITUENT NIGHT ON JUNE 27

  In order to better serve his constituents beyond the hours of 9-5, New York City Council Member Andy King and his staff will be hosting “Constituent Services Night” every other week in a different NYCHA housing development in the 12th Council District.

A Constituent Service Night Event will be held on Tuesday, June 27, 5:00 -7:00 p.m. at Boston Secor Houses, 3550 Bivona St., Bronx.. Services will include resources and solutions for housing, food stamps, immigration status and basic services. Representatives from Home Base/Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New York and Urban Justice Center will be in attendance to address constituents’ needs as well as provide information and resources.

There are five NYCHA housing developments in the 12th District. They are Gun Hill Houses, Baychester Houses, Boston Secor, Eastchester Gardens and Edenwald.

NYCHA residents can pre-schedule an appointment by calling the Office of Council Member Andy King at (718) 684-5509. Ask for Cee Lewis.

10th Annual Allerton International Food Festival

Join Assemblyman Mark Gjonaj,  Senator Jamaal Bailey & Senator Jeff Klein   at the 10th Annual Allerton International Food Festival Saturday - June 24th,2017 12:00PM - 5:00PM Allerton Avenue, between Barnes & Wallace Avenue Featuring African, Albanian, Bangladeshi, Chinese, Indian, Italian, Japanese, Jewish, Latin American, Thai and many more cuisines!   Hay rides | Face Painting|Kids Activities & Games|Sports & Fitness| Live Entertainment

JUNE 16 JOB FAIR

NEW SOUTH BRONX CENTER POLICE ATHLETIC LEAGUE

991 LONGWOOD AVE BRONX NY

Due to the overwhelming response from our last job fair, I and some fellow Bronx electeds are holding another job fair this Friday, June 16, with a number of potential employers from a variety of fields attending. We look forward to you spreading the word and attending. Helpful to bring a resume if you can.