ASSEMBLYMAN DINOWITZ ANNOUNCES SENIOR CENTER TOWN HALL SERIES

  Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz has announced that he will be hosting a series of Town Hall meetings at senior centers across the district. The Town Halls will focus on matters that largely affect seniors including housing and consumer issues; however at the end of each meeting the Assemblyman will also hold an open-ended Q & A session for residents to ask any questions they may have.

The schedule for the Town Halls is as follows:

• January 22^nd, 10:30 - 11:30 a.m. at the Mosholu Montefiore Community Center
• January 29^th, 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. at the Van Cortlandt Senior Center
• February 12^th, 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. at the Riverdale YM-YWHA
• February 26^th, 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. at the R.A.I.N. Senior Center
• March 4^th, 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. at Riverdale Senior Centers

“Seniors are disproportionately the victims of consumer fraud and also housing issues,” said Assemblyman Dinowitz. “Additionally, many of them are unaware of some of the programs and benefits they are entitled to, such as the Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption (SCRIE) program. Over the last year many of my constituents have received calls from scammers who threatened to shut off their electricity if they didn’t receive payments for alleged debts or tax liabilities. These fraudulent calls are well-coordinated and widespread attempts to take advantage of seniors – and this is just one example of how seniors are victimized. I am excited to meet with and talk to these seniors, the sessions will be incredibly informative and I hope to see a large turn out, however, for those who can’t make it my office is always available at 718-796-5345 to answer any questions or provide any information we can.”

ELECTED OFFICIALS REQUEST TRAFFIC STUDY FOR AREA SURROUNDING RIVERDALE CROSSING

Requested Area of Study Includes Broadway, West 238th Street, Bailey Avenue and West 237th Street

   City Council Member Andrew Cohen, Assembly Member Jeffrey Dinowitz, Congressman Eliot Engel and Senator Gustavo Rivera penned a joint letter to the Department of Transportation (DOT) requesting a traffic study for Broadway, West 238th Street, Bailey Avenue, West 237th Street and any other surrounding street in close proximity to Riverdale Crossing, the new shopping mall that is now fully open for business.

In recent months there has been an influx of pedestrian and vehicular traffic going in and out of the mall, which warrants new or improved traffic controls to ensure a more orderly flow of traffic in order to avoid any accidents and to mitigate congestion.

Riverdale Crossing is centrally located in a transportation hub along Broadway, a heavily used commercial corridor that is home to the No. 1 train and the Major Deegan Expressway. It is also ideally located to the 50th police precinct, Manhattan College, and is a short walk from Van Cortlandt Park. The parking lot of the shopping mall is almost always filled to capacity, causing traffic to overflow onto the already congested local streets. It is for these reasons that the local elected officials feel it is imperative for DOT to conduct a comprehensive study of the traffic patterns and its volume in the surrounding areas.

“Over the last several months this section of the Broadway shopping corridor has changed drastically for the better as new businesses and restaurants have opened in the Riverdale Crossing shopping center, causing a significant increase in the amount of traffic in the area. With no way of knowing how recent developments affect traffic volume and safety, it is critical that the DOT conduct a traffic study so we can determine what additional traffic control measures may be needed. The opening of the Riverdale Crossing mall has already been a great addition for our community; however, it is imperative that we comprehensively examine the impact of its presence on traffic patterns and public safety,” said Councilman Cohen, Congressman Engel, Assemblyman Dinowitz, and Senator Rivera.

Rep. Engel Writes to President Obama Calling for Close to Assault Weapons Import Loopholes

Washington, D.C. – Congressman Eliot Engel, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, authored a letter to President Obama cosigned by 91 of his House colleagues, asking the President to follow up his executive action on background checks with further steps that would restore tough enforcement of the assault weapon import ban.

Although it is currently illegal to import assault weapons into the U.S., the George W. Bush administration used executive action to create sizeable loopholes in the law. Under current administrative guidance, for example, even an AK-47 assault rifle might be permitted. Congressman Engel and his colleagues are asking the President to use his existing authority to close these loopholes. Text of the letter can be found below:

President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Mr. President:

We write today in strong support of your plans to take executive action to expand background checks on the sale of guns, and we respectfully renew our request that your administration return to the strong enforcement of the ban on imports of military-style assault weapons that was in effect during the administrations of George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton.

With more than a mass shooting on average each day this year in this country, and remembering the many thousands of Americans who have died as a result of gun violence just since the terrible shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut three years ago, we believe strongly that we as the people’s representatives must do what we can to stem the tide of dangerous weapons flowing into the hands of dangerous people.

Expanding background checks to include additional gun sellers is an important step, and we welcome recent reports that your administration is planning to take that step. But, in accordance with the Gun Control Act of 1968, we respectfully ask that you also consider tightening significantly the rules that currently allow for the importation into the U.S. of military-style assault weapons.

The Gun Control Act prohibits the importation into the United States of any firearm that is not “generally recognized as particularly suitable for or readily adaptable to sporting purposes.” The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives has already said that this import ban includes “semiautomatic assault rifles” with “military configuration features.”

Unfortunately, current guidance treats these terms too narrowly, focusing only on the inclusion of specific parts and components. This scheme risks losing sight of the threat posed by such powerful weapons, which were designed for the military and clearly have no sporting purpose. Further, focusing on parts and components creates a loophole whereby minor cosmetic changes to a non-sporting weapon can permit its import.

Current guidance allows, for example, the free importation into the U.S. of variants on the AK-47 assault rifle. Weapons like these flow throughout the United States and Mexico by both legal and illegal channels. They make up a major portion of weapons identified in criminal prosecutions in the United States, and nearly one in five weapons seized at crime scenes in Mexico are AK-47 variants trafficked into that country after being imported through the U.S.

It’s time to develop a new policy that will strengthen enforcement of the Gun Control Act and eliminate these loopholes. In response to similar circumstances, previous administrations have undertaken administrative reviews to determine which additional dangerous weapons should be prohibited from importation. In April of 2014, more than 90 Members of Congress from the House and Senate wrote to ask you to consider tightening these restrictions using your existing authority. Again, we welcome the news that your administration is moving quickly to expand background checks by executive action. But today we renew our request that your administration use similar action to address the importation of military-style semiautomatic assault weapons.

We are all familiar by now with how popular weapons like these are among terrorists and mass shooters. Sayed Farook and Tashfeen Malik, Robert Dear, Muhammad Abdulazeez and others used semiautomatic assault rifles to kill and wound dozens in the name of their warped ideologies. Stemming the flow of these weapons into the United States would help to temper the danger these weapons pose, and so we thank you for your attention to this urgent matter.

Sincerely,

                                                      

Eliot L. Engel                                                   

Member of Congress                                     

SENATOR JEFF KLEIN TAKES LOCAL CHILDREN TO THE NY AQUARIUM

State Senator Jeff Klein sponsored a trip to The New York Aquarium on Saturday for the children of Throggs Neck Houses. The educational tour included a special classroom lesson on marine mammals, a sea lion aquatheater show, and a look at the coral reef, freshwater fish, sea otters, penguins, sharks, and rays.

“I’m happy to work with the Throggs Neck Houses to keep our children learning outside of classroom hours. Maybe this field trip inspired one of our youngsters to become a marine biologist and hopefully inspired the group to be more passionate about science in the classroom,” said Senator Klein.  “I am proud to sponsor activities like this that engage and excite our students.”

Participants enjoyed additional marine science-themed activities and snacks upon their return to The Throggs Neck Houses. 

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.'s State of the Borough Address

You are cordially invited to Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.'s 2016 State of the Borough Address The Honorable Ruben Diaz Jr. President, Borough of The Bronx cordially invites you to The State of The Borough Address Thursday, February 18, 2016 11:30 a.m. Cardinal Hayes High School 650 Grand Concourse The Bronx seating is limited Click Here to R.S.V.P. or call 718-590-6116 The Office of Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. | 718-590-3500 webmail@bronxbp.nyc.gov |  bronxboropres.nyc.gov

COUNCILMAN WILLIAMS RESPONDS TO EXPIRATION OF 421-A TAX ABATEMENT

STATEMENT BY COUNCIL MEMBER WILLIAMS 

  "421-a failed to create enough affordable housing to justify the substantial tax breaks given to developers. The expiration of 421-a is an opportunity to rethink our approach to development and affordable housing, and given New York City's worsening housing crisis, it's an opportunity we can't pass up.

Whether it's a new version of 421-a, or something different, New York City must have a tax incentive program that encourages developers to build real affordable housing. At the same time, we can't afford to give away tax breaks without ensuring the creation of housing that is affordable for working and low-income families and provides good jobs for local residents, which means workers must be paid fair wages and new developments must also include permanent, on-site affordable units at 40% AMI or lower.

Now, we need all parties to come back to the table, take a fresh look at our options and create a plan to build housing with meaningful affordability requirements, fair labor standards, livable wages and equally as important, plans to ensure that jobs will go to communities too often ignored and underrepresented."

 

Horse Carriage Agreement Statement from Council Members Rodriguez and Dromm

  With the recently announced news of an agreement between the offices of Mayor Bill de Blasio, Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and the Teamsters' Union representing horse carriage drivers in New York City, the two sponsors of the legislation, Council Members Rodriguez and Dromm, issued this statement:

"We are pleased that at the end of an exhaustive process, all sides in this negotiation were able to come to an amicable agreement that both removes horses from the dangers of city traffic and saves the jobs of many in the horse carriage industry. Working out the logistics of this agreement will be key in reaching an outcome that is suitable to all parties involved."

MLK Day

Today, millions of Americans from coast to coast will gather to commemorate the life, legacy, and work of the great Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. We do so because America, as we know it, would not exist if not for the road that Dr. King paved for us - a road paved by the blood, sweat, and tears of civil rights martyrs. He broke down walls and shattered obstacles for so many of us, so that we could live in a more fair and just world. But unfortunately, we are still from achieving the perfect union we envision. In this country, there are still people mistreated because of the color of their skin, the person they choose to love, or the place they choose to pray.  Let us use not just today, but every single day, to carry on Dr. King's legacy of justice to get closer to that equal society. We must all work together to stand up against injustice and intolerance wherever we see it in the world. We must all do our part to make our neighborhoods, communities, and our country better places to live.

Sincerely, Letitia James New York City Public Advocate