NEW YORK CITY KICKS OFF AFFORDABLE CARE ACT OPEN ENROLLMENT PERIOD AND ENCOURAGES NEW YORKERS TO “GET COVERED”

Annual Open Enrollment Period is underway and continues through January 31, 2019. GetCoverdNYC launches increased outreach to reach as many New Yorkers as possible, there is a new enrollment location in Astoria, and certain locations have expanded hours.

  The Open Enrollment period for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has begun, meaning uninsured New Yorkers can sign up for health insurance coverage through the New York State of Health Marketplace. During Open Enrollment, GetCoveredNYC, the City’s health insurance outreach and enrollment program, will expand its year-round citywide outreach to contact over 100,000 uninsured New Yorkers and provide enrollees with free one-on-one assistance in over 12 languages.

The Open Enrollment Period runs from November 1, 2018 through January 31, 2019. New Yorkers who are new to the Marketplace can enroll now, and people with existing coverage can renew their health plans starting November 16. Consumers must enroll or renew by December 15 for coverage effective January 1, 2019. New Yorkers who previously enrolled through the Marketplace must renew their health insurance each year to maintain coverage.

For Open Enrollment GetCoveredNYC has launched a citywide multilingual advertising campaign promoting health insurance and the free enrollment services available to New Yorkers. In addition, GetCoveredNYC is expanding its neighborhood enrollment events with community-based organizations and local elected officials, and several City health centers will offer extended hours during Open Enrollment. New Yorkers can access free in-person enrollment assistance by calling 311, texting CoveredNYC (SeguroNYC en Español) to 877877, or visiting nyc.gov/GetCoveredNYC.

“Health insurance empowers New Yorkers to access health care services to manage their health and well-being,” said Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Dr. Herminia Palacio. “I thank the City’s GetCoveredNYC team for continuing to play a critical role in our communities to help individuals get covered for health insurance.”

“Now is the time for all New Yorkers to protect themselves and enroll in a quality health insurance plan, including one of the many available low- and no-cost options,” said Mayor’s Public Engagement Unit Acting Director Eric Rotondi. “I am thankful to all of GetCoveredNYC’s partners, including countless City agencies, community organizations, and elected officials who work year-round to enroll all New Yorkers in health insurance, and who are helping us increase our outreach during this Open Enrollment Period.”

“If health insurance is not offered through work, there are many low- or no-cost options that you may be eligible for,” said Acting Health Commissioner Dr. Oxiris Barbot. “Call 311 to set up an appointment for free, in-person help with choosing a plan.”

“If your health or income has changed since last year, you may want to take advantage of Open Enrollment to shop online or call 311 to figure out which health plan fits your current needs,” said Mitchell Katz, MD, president and chief executive officer of NYC Health + Hospitals. “New Yorkers are fortunate to have a range of high-quality health plan choices, including our own MetroPlus.”

This year, the City opened a new site for health insurance enrollment at the Astoria Health Center (12-26 31^st Avenue, 2^nd Floor, Astoria, NY 11106), which is open Wednesdays and Fridays from 9:30 AM - 3:30 PM. In addition, several sites will offer extended hours:

Chelsea Health Center (303 Ninth Ave., 1^st Fl): open certain Saturdays from 9 AM to 12 PM

§  Saturday, November 17

§  Saturday, December 8

§  Saturday, December 15

Jamaica Health Center (90-37 Parsons Blvd, 4^th Fl): open certain Saturdays from 9 AM to 2 PM

§  Saturday, November 10    

§  Saturday, December 8  

§  Saturday, January 12      

§  Saturday, January 26          

Bushwick Health Center (335 Central Ave., 1^st Fl):

§  open certain Saturdays from 9 AM to 3 PM

§  Saturday, November 3

§  Saturday, November 17

§  Saturday, December 1

§  Saturday, December 15

§  Saturday January 5

§  Saturday, January 19

§  Extended hours on certain Mondays until 6 PM

§  Monday, November 5

§  Monday, November 19

§  Monday, December 3

§  Monday, December 17

§  Monday, January 14

§  Monday, January 28

Many New Yorkers may qualify for low- or no-cost health insurance through the Marketplace. Those whose earnings exceed Medicaid limits may be eligible for the Essential Plan, which also offers a comprehensive coverage package for either a $20 monthly premium or no cost, depending on income. Those earning more may be eligible for Qualified Health Plan coverage, offered by MetroPlus and others, with public subsidies on a sliding scale reflecting income. All the plans cover inpatient and outpatient care, physician services, diagnostic services, mental healthcare and prescription drugs.

Created by Mayor de Blasio in 2016, GetCoveredNYC is a citywide outreach initiative that helps all New Yorkers enroll in health insurance and access primary and preventive care. The initiative is a partnership between the Mayor’s Public Engagement Unit, NYC Health + Hospitals, the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the Human Resources Administration and MetroPlus Health Plan. In 2017, GetCoveredNYC assisted over 80,000 New Yorkers in enrolling in health insurance.

Bronx Chamber of Commerce Salutes Six Veteran Heroes at our Veterans Recognition Luncheon

This Luncheon is FREE to all Veterans
and active military men and women

Information or to RSVP:

718-828-3900 or phil@bronxchamber.org.

  

Phil Cardone

Events, Communications & Grants Director

Bronx Chamber of Commerce

"The Network for Business Success"

 

Halloween Party hosted by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

  The room was packed with children and their parents as the Democratic Candidate for the 14th Congressional District (and future Congresswoman) Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez hosted a Halloween Party for residents of Parkchester on Halloween. Below are photos of the highly successful event.

Above - One thing a good candidate has to do is kiss babies, as future Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortes is doing.

Below - You also have to make sure the voters know who you are.

One of the most important things an elected official has to do is thank those who came to your event, and make sure the voters will come out to vote for you on election day.

DEMOCRACYNYC: MAYOR DE BLASIO ANNOUNCES THAT NEARLY 900 INCARCERATED INDIVIDUALS AND DOC FACILITY VISITORS HAVE REGISTERED TO VOTE

More than 500 incarcerated individuals submitted absentee ballot request forms

  Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that the City has registered 897 incarcerated individuals and jail facility visitors for the upcoming General Election. The City also submitted absentee ballot request forms for a total of 547 incarcerated individuals.

Since this initiative began this past August, 624 incarcerated individuals and 273 jail facility visitors were registered in time to vote in Tuesday’s election. These efforts will continue after Election Day so that incarcerated individuals are registered for future elections. The City will have the final number of absentee ballots submitted to the Board of Elections after Election Day.

“Voting gives people a chance to have their voices heard and weigh in on important issues that affect all of our lives,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “With this initiative, we’re helping many more incarcerated individuals participate in our democracy and have their voices heard.”

“Each election represents an important opportunity to directly shape the future of our community and democracy,” said Deputy Mayor for Strategic Policy Initiatives J. Phillip Thompson. “This administration is committed to making our elections more inclusive of all New Yorkers and simplifying the voting process, which is especially important for communities that have been historically underrepresented.”

“Our goal is to give every New Yorker a voice, including individuals who are or have been involved in the justice system. We look forward to continuing to work together to strengthen the participatory democracy in our city, for justice-involved people and all of NYC’s diverse communities,” said Chief Democracy Officer Ayirini Fonseca-Sabune.

“This is a powerful way of reminding those in our custody that their vote matters, and that they still have a stake and a say in their communities,” said Department of Correction Commissioner Cynthia Brann. “Thanks to this initiative, it is now easier for those in our custody to exercise their democratic rights.”

This past August, the Mayor launched a robust voter registration and information campaign to help incarcerated individuals exercise their right to vote. For the first time ever, the City facilitated the direct pick-up and delivery of voter registration forms and absentee ballots, expediting the registration and mail-in process. The effort is being led in partnership with the Department of Correction, the Legal Aid Society and the Campaign Finance Board.

Volunteers from the Mayor’s Public Engagement Unit, the Campaign Finance Board and the Legal Aid Society launched voter registration and Get-Out-the-Vote campaigns within DOC facilities. This included displaying more than 1,200 posters throughout facilities encouraging people who are incarcerated to vote and eventually stocking libraries with non-partisan information about candidates published by CFB’s NYC Votes. Additionally, incarcerated individuals have the opportunity to attend regular, voluntary discussions with DOC program counselors to learn more about the voting process. The Mayor’s Public Engagement Unit also engaged City jail visitors and encouraged them to register to vote.

Before this initiative, registration forms and absentee ballots were processed with other outgoing mail in jail facilities, which is subject to security procedures that may have inadvertently caused missed deadlines. Incarcerated individuals will now fill out and submit forms directly to staff who will ensure registration forms and absentee ballots are delivered to the Board of Elections in a timely manner. There are currently many incarcerated individuals in City jails who are eligible to vote.

This campaign will continue through Election Day to ensure the timely delivery of absentee ballots.

Increasing voting access is part of Mayor de Blasio’s DemocracyNYC initiative, which aims to increase civic engagement and strengthen democracy locally and nationally.

BOROUGH PRESIDENT DIAZ TO NYCHA BOARD: SPEND A WEEK IN PUBLIC HOUSING

  In a letter to the agency’s Interim Chair & CEO Stanley Brezenoff, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. is proposing that each non-resident member of the city’s public housing board of directors spend a week living in a New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) apartment in order to get a first-hand look at the problems tenants face within their developments.

“The leadership of our city’s public housing must have hands-on experience with the issues tenants face at all times of the day,” writes Borough President Diaz in the letter. “To that end, I am calling on each non-resident member of your agency’s board of directors to spend one full week living in a NYCHA apartment.”

Borough President Diaz notes in the letter that during his early childhood years he lived in NYCHA’s Moore Houses in Mott Haven, and later spent a great deal of his teenage years in the former Bronxdale Houses in Soundview. Throughout his more than two decades in public service he has worked to improve the lives of NYCHA tenants, first in the New York State Assembly and now as Bronx Borough President.

However, the borough president noted that even the most strenuous advocacy can be met with resistance from NYCHA’s leadership, and suggested that a more hands-on approach by NYCHA board members would serve the city’s more than 400,000 public housing residents well.

“I know exactly what it means to live in a NYCHA apartment,” said Borough President Diaz. “Perhaps if the leadership of NYCHA was required to spend one week living in a public housing development and saw the issues faced by tenants as part of an extended, more intimate, first-hand experience they might not be so quick to dismiss such (tenant) concerns or simply cite perpetual funding issues as a reason for inaction.”

The borough president added that NYCHA residents should choose the development board members would spend their week in. He also noted that the one-week stay should be a requirement for any future NYCHA board members.

Read the full letter here: https://on.nyc.gov/2AEcmYn

VISION ZERO: MAYOR DE BLASIO ANNOUNCES RETURN OF “DUSK AND DARKNESS” SAFETY CAMPAIGN AND A NEW FOCUS ON YOUNGER DRIVERS

With the end of daylight saving time around the corner, third annual Dusk and Darkness campaign focuses on fall and winter evening hours when pedestrian crashes have historically increased; New “Alive at 25”campaign reaches out to younger drivers who are in a disproportionate number of crashes

  Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that as part of the Vision Zero initiative, the New York City Department of Transportation (DOT), NYPD and TLC would begin their third annual Dusk and Darkness campaign. During a Citywide “Day of Awareness” today, City officials are reminding drivers that historically, after daylight saving time ends, crashes involving pedestrians dramatically increase, especially during evening hours.  As part of an event in Times Square today, officials also introduced “Alive at 25,” a new program directed at younger drivers who were behind the wheel in 20 percent of fatal crashes last year.  The NYPD also announced progress in its crackdown this week on private garbage hauling trucks, which have been disproportionately involved in fatal crashes during overnight hours.

“We are relentlessly pursuing Vision Zero and working to save lives every single day,” said Mayor de Blasio. “Our Dusk and Darkness campaigns help us further that goal, especially as nighttime hours – and dangerous driving – increase. At the same time, educating our young drivers will help curb dangerous driving habits before they take hold, making the road safer for everyone.”

Today’s Vision Zero announcement included the following elements:

“Alive at 25”: Safety program for younger drivers 

Officials today announced a new program started to engage younger drivers -- between the ages of 18 and 25.  In 2017, those drivers were behind the wheel in 20 percent of all New York City fatal crashes (a total of 44 crashes) despite making up less than 10 percent of the driving population.  Alive at 25 is a four-session program, funded by the National Safety Council, offered to high school seniors.  This fall, DOT safety educators began teaching the program to 2,500 students at ten public high schools around New York City, including the entire senior class of 700 students at New Dorp High School on Staten Island.

The Alive at 25 curriculum is based on choice theory, putting students through real-life scenarios for situations both behind the wheel and as passengers in cars. Students have already reported learning a lot about how to safely operate a vehicle -- and to make good choices while riding along with other teens.

Dusk and Darkness 3.0

The officials cited the encouraging fatality statistics from the Dusk and Darkness campaign the previous two years.  In the five years before the campaign began, New York City averaged 63.4 traffic fatalities in the period between November 1 and March 15th—many of them in the evening hours.   In the first year of Dusk and Darkness, the overall fatality number declined to 51; in the second year, fatalities declined further to 44.  (see chart below)

·         Increased Evening/ Nighttime Enforcement: As it has the last two years, NYPD will this week begin focusing enforcement resources on the most hazardous violations (speeding and failure-to-yield to pedestrians), with precincts increasing their on-street presence around sunset hours when data show serious pedestrian crashes increase.  NYPD will also focus resources on drunk-driving efforts, as the evening and nighttime hours in the fall and winter have historically been when the incidence of DWI also increases.

·         “Day of Awareness”:  NYPD and DOT street teams will today be educating and engaging drivers and other New Yorkers at different Vision Zero priority areas during the morning and evening rush hours in all five boroughs, including at: Times Square North; the Canal Street entrance to the Manhattan Bridge; Penn Station; Grand Central Station; 168th and Broadway and 181st and Broadway in Washington Heights;  the Fordham MetroNorth Station and the Hub in the Bronx; the Queens entrance to the Queensboro Bridge; the LIRR Station in Jamaica, Queens; Woodhaven Blvd and Jamaica Avenue in Woodhaven, Queens; Whitehall Terminal; St. George Ferry Terminal on Staten Island; Brooklyn Borough Hall; Barclays Center and at Flatbush Junction in Brooklyn.

·         Daylight Saving Awareness:  DOT statistics from 2010-2014 show that serious collisions increase by approximately 40 percent in darker early evenings. This year, Daylight Savings Time will end at 2:00 AM on Sunday, November 4 when clocks “fall back.” DOT will run radio ads during the evening commute, alerting drivers to the dangers of lower visibility and encouraging them to follow the 25 MPH Citywide speed limit and to yield to pedestrians. Ads are running through November 21st on twelve stations in the Total Traffic Network.

Private Garbage Hauler Crackdown

New York City’s private garbage hauling industry largely operates during overnight hours that are a focus of the Dusk and Darkness campaign.  This week, the NYPD, working with Business Integrity Commission (BIC), began a major enforcement effort against an industry that according to City data has been involved in 26 fatalities since 2014, including four so far this year.  In the first three nights of the initiative that began Sunday evening, NYPD has inspected 128 garbage hauling trucks, issued 163 moving summonses and 458 criminal summonses.  NYPD has also towed five garbage trucks that were deemed not road-safe.

“To make all New Yorkers safer, it is imperative that we raise awareness about the dangers of reduced daylight and the onset of cold weather,” said Police Commissioner James P. O’Neill. “For the third year in a row, our Dusk and Darkness safety campaign will be a crucial part of that. The NYPD will conduct precisely-focused enforcement in areas that have experienced fatalities, and ensure that everyone adheres to traffic rules. As we move forward, together, we will build on our previous successes and further reduce traffic-related deaths.”

“Under Vision Zero, we have gone to work where the crash data take us -- and with Dusk and Darkness, we have focused on times of the year and times of the day that were simply more dangerous to pedestrians,” said DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg. “This year, we will fine-tune that effort, as we target newer drivers who may be taking dangerous chances on our roadways.  Dusk and Darkness has already proven that education can teach useful lessons -- and far better those lessons not come the hard way.”

“There is no greater concern than our students’ safety, including when they are behind the wheel of a car,” said Schools Chancellor Richard A. Carranza. “’Alive at 25’ is a critical effort to keep our students and community members safe, and I thank DOT and NYPD for supporting this effort.”

“With more than 130,000 taxis and for-hire vehicles on the road, making sure that every single one of our licensees fully understands the monumental importance of safety and good judgment in their work is a central part of our mission,” said Taxi & Limousine Commission Chair Meera Joshi. “Between the hundreds of Vision Zero meetings with drivers we’ve held and the other ways we get the word out, it has been truly gratifying to see our licensees embrace their safe driving responsibilities.  When daylight saving time ends, however, we face the most challenging safety conditions of the season and spreading the safety message becomes all the more urgent.”

About Vision Zero

Vision Zero is the de Blasio administration’s initiative to use every tool at its disposal to reduce traffic deaths and injuries on New York City streets. In 2017, New York City experienced its safest year on record with the fourth straight year of fatality declines. Since the program’s inaugural year in 2014, when New York City became the first American city to adopt Vision Zero, the city’s traffic fatalities have declined 26 percent with a 42 percent decline in pedestrian fatalities — bucking national fatality trends, which have increased 13 percent over the same period.

For more information about the Vision Zero initiative, please see www.nyc.gov/visionzero.

Wave Hill events November 15-23, Harvest Weekend

Sat, November 17

Family Art Project: Cornhusk Dolls

Celebrate corn and harvest time! Listen to Native American tales, and hear about the power of a talking stick. Then tie and shape dried husks into a single, cornhusk doll or corny doll family. Free, and admission to the grounds is free until noon.Harvest Weekend event.

WAVE HILL HOUSE, 10AM‒1PM

Sat, November 17

Garden Highlights Walk

Join a Wave Hill Garden Guide for an hour-long tour of seasonal garden highlights. Free, and admission to the grounds is free until noon.

MEET AT PERKINS VISITOR CENTER, 11AM

Sat, November 17

Cooking Workshop: Perfect Pumpkin Pie

Do you have pie anxiety? Chef Robert Valencia from Great Performances alleviates all of your pie-making fears in this hands-on workshop. Mix and roll pastry from scratch and make a delicious pumpkin filling laced with seasonal spices. We’ll bake your pie in our Café kitchen and you’ll take it home the same day, plus an extra crust to bake at home. Gluten free options are available upon request. Ages ten and older welcome with an adult. $35. Wave Hill Members save 10%. Registration required, by calling 718-549.3200 x25 by Friday, November 9. Harvest Weekend event.

WAVE HILL HOUSE, 1‒3PM

Sat, November 17

Dance Performance: Utopia

Join us for Utopia, collaborative dance performance between artist Keren Anavy and Valerie Green/Dance Entropy in Glyndor Gallery. This event is in conjunction with her exhibition Garden of Living Images in the Sunroom Project Space. Free with admission to the grounds.

GLYNDOR GALLERY, 2PM

Sun, November 18

Art Workshop: Fall Botanicals in Gouache

Join 2018 ASBA exhibiting artist Carrie Di Costanzo for a botanical painting workshop focusing on seasonal fruits and foliage. Learn techniques of dry brush, glazing, mixing and experimenting with semi-transparent and semi-opaque gouache. A list of all necessary materials is provided. Suitable for all levels. Lunch break provided, lunch not included. $150. Wave Hill Members save 10%. Registration required, online at wavehill.org or onsite at the Perkins Visitor Center. Harvest Weekend event.

WAVE HILL HOUSE, 9:30AM–4PM

Sun, November 18

Family Art Project: Cornhusk Dolls

Celebrate corn and harvest time! Listen to Native American tales, and hear about the power of a talking stick. Then tie and shape dried husks into a single, cornhusk doll or corny doll family. Free with admission to the grounds. Harvest Weekend event.

WAVE HILL HOUSE, 10AM‒1PM

Sun, November 18

Thunderbird American Indian Dancers Perform

The Thunderbird American Indian Dancers have been leaders in preserving and perpetuating American Indian Culture for almost three decades. This year, for Harvest Weekend, they present a special performance in Armor Hall as a part of the weekend’s Family Art Project. This immersive and educational performance will feature traditional music, dancers and stories from cultures across the American northeast, southwest and Great Plains. Children of all ages welcome with an adult. Free with admission to the grounds. Harvest Weekend event.

WAVE HILL HOUSE, 1–2PM

Sun, November 18

Garden Highlights Walk

Join a Wave Hill Garden Guide for an hour-long tour of seasonal garden highlights. Free with admission to the grounds.

MEET AT PERKINS VISITOR CENTER, 2PM

Mon, November 19

Closed to the public.

Tue, November 20

Garden Highlights Walk

Join a Wave Hill Garden Guide for an hour-long tour of seasonal garden highlights. Free, and admission to the grounds is free until noon.

MEET AT PERKINS VISITOR CENTER, 11AM

Tue, November 20

Gallery Tour

Meet the artists and curators of our fall exhibitions. In a new collaboration, Wave Hill is partnering with the American Society of Botanical Artists (ASBA) to produce and host ASBA’s 21st Annual International. ASBA’s mission is to provide a thriving, interactive community dedicated to perpetuating the tradition and contemporary practice of botanical art. This juried exhibition consists of two-dimensional original botanical art, including some specimens found at Wave Hill. In the Sunroom Project Space, Keren Anavy, creating a conservatory from man-made materials, responds to Wave Hill’s late-fall landscape. Suspended from the ceiling, abstract paintings on translucent Mylar dip into shallow pools of ink and correspond to the changing colors of Wave Hill’s seasonal plants. Anavy is also collaborating with Valerie Green/Dance Entropy on Utopia, a dance performance, which will be presented in the gallery. Free with admission to the grounds.

GLYNDOR GALLERY, 2PM

Thu, November 22

Closed to the public.

Fri, November 23

Black Friday Meditation

Avoid “Black Friday” busyness! Join us for a community meditation focused on gratitude and clearing your mind of holiday clutter. Get inspired by the outdoors and the peace and tranquility that nature evokes, and learn how to work loving kindness into each day. Led by Neem Dewji of Yoga for Bliss. Please bring a meditation cushion and be on time; latecomers will not be admitted. Free with admission to the grounds.

WAVE HILL HOUSE, 11AM–NOON.

A 28-acre public garden and cultural center overlooking the Hudson River  and Palisades, Wave Hill’s mission is to celebrate the artistry and legacy of its gardens and landscape, to preserve its magnificent views, and to explore human connections to the natural world through programs in horticulture, education and the arts.

HOURS  Open all year, Tuesday through Sunday and many major holidays: 9AM–4:30PM,  November 1–March 14. Closes 5:30PM, starting March 15.

ADMISSION  $8 adults, $4 students and seniors 65+, $2 children 6–18. Free Saturday and Tuesday mornings until noon. Free to Wave Hill Members and children under 6.

PROGRAM FEES  Programs are free with admission to the grounds unless otherwise noted.

Visitors to Wave Hill can take advantage of Metro-North’s one-day getaway offer. Purchase a discount round-trip rail far and discount admission to the gardens. More at http://mta.info/mnr/html/getaways/outbound_wavehill.htm

  

DIRECTIONS – Getting here is easy! Located only 30 minutes from midtown Manhattan, Wave Hill’s free shuttle van transports you to and from our front gate and Metro-North’s Riverdale station, as well as the W. 242nd Street stop on the #1 subway line. Limited onsite parking is available for $8 per vehicle. Free offsite parking is available nearby with continuous, complimentary shuttle service to and from the offsite lot and our front gate. Complete directions and shuttle bus schedule at www.wavehill.org/visit/.

Information at 718.549.3200. On the web at www.wavehill.org.

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. Invites you......