Weekly News from State Senator Gustavo Rivera!

 

SENATOR RIVERA IN THE COMMUNITY

WEATHER ADVISORY

The National Weather Service has issued an extreme cold watch for New York City for this weekend. Code Blue is still in effect, and we want to ensure that the constituents of the 33rd District have the necessary information and resources you need to stay warm and safe during these cold and frigid temperatures.



If you or someone you know experiences a life-threatening emergency, please call 911. If you are experiencing no heat or unsafe weather conditions, call 311 for most up to date resources and information.

Stay warm, stay safe!

Places to Go for Warmth in NYC Warming Centers + Buses Safety precautions from the FDNY

DSS Announcements and Resources

Heat or Hot Water Complaints in a Residential Building

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Last weekend, Senator Rivera attended the appointment ceremony of Dr. Alister Martin as Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s new Commissioner for Health and Mental Hygiene. He also celebrated the appointment of several commissioners for the Mamdani administration.

As Chair of the Health Committee, Senator Rivera looks forward to working together with Commissioner Martin and the Mamdani administration to champion sound public health measures that will make our healthcare system more equitable and accessible to all New Yorkers.

Last weekend, Senator Rivera joined the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) to celebrate its 50th anniversary at the Park East Synagogue. The event gathered elected officials, community and institutional leaders, and members of New York’s Jewish community who came together to celebrate and talk about the issues that matter most to our city. 

SENATOR RIVERA JOINS SAR'S 57TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION

Last weekend, Senator Rivera joined Principal Rabbi Binyamin Krauss and the Salanter Akiba Riverdale Academy (SAR), to celebrate their 57th anniversary, where he had the honor of meeting Natan Sharansky, an author, human rights activist, and hero in the Jewish community. Thank you Rabbi Krauss for the kind invitation! 

Senator Rivera joined several nurses including Nancy Hagans, President of the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA), at Montefiore’s Weiler campus to stand with them in solidarity as they enter their fourth week of strike. 

 

Earlier this week, it was announced that the Montefiore Health System cut health benefits for those nurses on strike. 

 

Senator Rivera urges all parties to come to the table and find a resolution that will provide nurses with a fair contract, uphold our State’s safe staffing laws, and ensure patients in The Bronx receive the care that they deserve. 

This week, the Senate Health Committee held their second meeting of this legislative year and passed all 16 bills including 6 sponsored by Senator Rivera:

S.1618: Enacts the “New York Affordable Drug Manufacturing Act,” which will allow New York State to enter into partnerships resulting in the production or distribution of generic prescription drugs in order to make them more affordable to private and public consumers.

S.8902: Provides School Based Health Centers with a managed care model by making the carve-out permanent.

S.353: Requires the New York Medicaid Director to be appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate.

S.427: Requires chain restaurants to label menu items that have a high content of added sugars.



S.1918: Establishes a specialized health home program to serve certain individuals with physical disabilities

S.355A: Allows individuals who have comparable coverage to a Medicare Part D plan to also be eligible for EPIC if they otherwise qualify.

Watch Senator Rivera’s remarks about his New York Affordable Drug Manufacturing Act, one of his legislative priorities for this session, here.

Next Tuesday February 10, the Legislature will hold its annual public hearing on the health budget proposal. Senator Rivera invites New Yorkers to submit written testimony about the healthcare issues that you want legislators to address in the state budget.

Whether you are a member of a union, a nonprofit worker, an advocate, or a New Yorker, you are encouraged to participate! Send your testimony to financechair@nysenate.gov by February 10 at 5PM.

FEBRUARY 2026: SENATOR RIVERA OFFERS FREE IMMIGRATION ASSISTANCE!

ADDITIONAL COLD BLUE EMERGENCY SERVICES AND SUPPORT

Code Blue & Outreach Support: The Department of Homeless Services (DHS) activates Code Blue when temperatures drop to 32°F or below (including wind chill) between 4:00 PM and 8:00 AM. During Code Blue:

• People can call 311 for information on shelter, warming centers, and assistance
• Calls to 311 related to Code Blue are routed to 911 so first responders can reach people quickly
• Outreach teams are intensifying efforts citywide to connect people to shelter and lifesaving support
• All DHS facilities, shelters, Safe Havens, stabilization beds, and drop-in centers, have an open-door policy. Please seek help in any of these locations.
• Intake procedures are relaxed, and outreach teams can directly place people into Safe Havens and stabilization beds.

Warming Centers (Open until further notice): The City has opened warming spaces and buses in all five boroughs to provide safe, heated indoor spaces. They will remain open throughout the period of cold weather. 

A regularly updated list of warming center locations and hours can be found HERE.

BRONX:

Warming Spaces

All locations below have warm spaces and food:

NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health, Belvis

545 East 142nd Street 

Open 7PM-7AM

NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health, Morrisania

1225 Gerard Avenue

Open 7PM-7AM

Warming Buses

Warming vehicles are parked outside the following locations:

Dewitt Clinton High School

100 Moshulu Parkway

Open 24/7

NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi

1400 Pelham Parkway South

Bus is in front of building #6. Open 7PM-7 AM.

NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln

234 East 149th Street

Building open 24/7, Warming Center 7 PM - 7 AM.

NYC Health + Hospitals/North Central Bronx

3424 Kossuth Avenue

Bus is in front of main entrance. Open 7PM-7AM.

For the latest warming center updates, please visit the dedicated webpage and/or sign up for Notify NYC alerts.

The Bronx Defenders invites anyone who lives, works, or studies in the Bronx to step into your power by applying to the Bronx Changemakers Institute—an 8-week transformative experience rooted in organizing, policy, and hands-on engagement in the heart of the Bronx from February 23 - April 20.

This hybrid program (in-person and virtual) is designed to help you discover your voice, strengthen your skills, and shape public life with purpose and clarity. 

With limited spots available, applicants will go through a short interview process. All participants will receive a certificate of completion. 

Applications close February 15. There are no age or educational requirements!

Please email communityengagement@bronxdefenders.org if you have any questions.

Applications for the 2026 Summer Youth Employment Program are open. Apply here: nyc.gov/syep. The deadline to apply is February 27, 2026.

 

You can also refer any potential SYEP employers to nyc.gov/hirenycyouth.

ATTENTION PARENTS! APPLICATIONS TO 3-K AND PRE-K ARE NOW OPEN!

Fall 2026 Admissions Timeline:   

Wednesday, January 14, 2026: 3-K and Pre-K Applications Open 

Friday, February 27, 2026: 3-K and Pre-K Applications Close 

Tuesday, May 12, 2026: Pre-K Offer Release 

Tuesday, May 19, 2026: 3-K Offer Release 

OPRHP Announces New Enslavement to Freedom Initiatives to Explore Early Black History in New York State

 

Work brings partners and resources together to recognize 200^th anniversary of the end of slavery and 400th anniversary of first enslaved Africans’ arrival in New York

Traveling exhibits available for display by community organizations

The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (OPRHP) is working with partners across the state to share new research and resources that explore early Black history in New York as part of its Enslavement to Freedom: 1627-1827-2027 initiative. Collaborations include exhibition displays with the Office of General Services, educational resources with ConsidertheSourceNY.org, events and programs, and traveling exhibitions available for non-profit and educational organizations throughout the state.  

In 2027, New York State will recognize the 200th anniversary of the end of legalized slavery in the state (1827) and the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first Africans enslaved in the former New Netherland colony (1627). In anticipation of this significant commemorative year, OPRHP is implementing a multi-year interpretive initiative called Enslavement to Freedom: 1627-1827-2027. With Enslavement to Freedom, OPRHP and relevant state historic sites will develop exhibits, public programs, and other educational resources to explore New York's history with the institution of slavery and a pivotal period of transition for the Black community in early New York, which gives better context and understanding for later historic movements, like Abolition and the Underground Railroad. 

New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Acting Commissioner Kathy Moser said, “Our work with the Enslavement to Freedom initiative is informing our interpretation at state historic sites and parks. It is also providing us with opportunities to partner with agencies and educational organizations to bring this interpretation into new spaces. We value the chance to collaborate on this work and to provide engaging and reliable Black history resources that spark curiosity and encourage discovery for people of all ages.”  

To honor Black History Month, the Office of General Services (OGS) will debut two new OPRHP traveling banner exhibitions in the Concourse at the Empire State Plaza in Albany that highlight the ongoing work of OPRHP’s Enslavement to Freedom: 1627-1827-2027 initiative. The exhibitions on view this February include Another Face of War: Enslaved and Free Blacks in the Revolution and Many and Varied Hands: The Work and Labor of the Enslaved. They are part of a larger exhibition series that shares the latest research on Black history in New York’s Colonial and New Nation periods. In 2025, OGS hosted the first two traveling banner exhibits of the series, including Poisonous Seeds: The Dutch and the Institution of Slavery in New York and Redefining the Family: One Descendant’s Journey into History. 

Launching last year as part of a special edition of New York Archives Jr! magazine, “Slavery and the Wheat Economy” is a free online and print educational resource available through ConsidertheSourceNY.org that was developed in collaboration with partners OPRHP, Schenectady County Historical Society (Mabee Farm Historic Site), and Historic Hudson Valley (Philipsburg Manor Upper Mills). The printed and online booklet explores how early New York’s wheat was grown and processed by enslaved persons and sold by their enslavers as a cash crop to feed thousands of enslaved people on sugar plantations in the Caribbean and the West Indies. Designed for use in the classroom, there is an 11 minute companion video which begins with OPRHP Interpreter of African American History Lavada Nahon demonstrating how to cook “Best Pancakes” from an historic recipe.   

“Working with our colleagues at other state agencies like the New York State Museum, New York State Library, the New York State Archives, and The Archives Partnership Trust expands our capacity to share the expanding research and interpretation of New York’s Black history in so many ways,” said Lavada Nahon, OPRHP Interpreter of African American History. “We each bring different nuances and talents to these projects, which results in more dynamic products for the public to enjoy.”

Providing access to historic and educational resources is a core component of the Enslavement to Freedom initiative and in 2026 OPRHP is inviting educational and nonprofit organizations to host one or more of the four available traveling banner exhibitions: 1) Poisonous Seeds: The Dutch and the Institution of Slavery in New York 2) Redefining the Family: One Descendant’s Journey into History 3) Another Face of War: Enslaved and Free Blacks in the Revolution and 4) Many and Varied Hands: The Work and Labor of the Enslaved. Compact enough to be displayed in various environments, the traveling exhibitions tell monumental stories from the past that center Black experience and share information about Black history in early New York.

Enslavement to Freedom: 1627-1827-2027 resources and activities will continue to be developed and shared with the public over the next several years. For up-to-date information about this and other Black history initiatives at OPRHP – including how to request the Enslavement to Freedom traveling banner exhibitions – please visit https://parks.ny.gov/history/black-history.

Throughout the month of February, OPRHP interpretive staff and environment educators will also host educational events and programs at state parks and historic sites throughout New York. A list of events is available here.

More about the two exhibitions at the Empire State Plaza in February: 

Another Face of War: Enslaved and Free Blacks in the Revolution 

The Revolutionary War forever changed the lives of every New Yorker. For the enslaved and free Blacks living there it opened new avenues for self-emancipation through military service. Fighting in blue and red coats, they defended the land they called home while striving to achieve a level of freedom they heard their enslavers speak of that may not have been intended for them. This exhibit highlights particular stories of some of those brave souls.

Many and Varied Hands: The Work and Labor of the Enslaved 

For two-hundred years enslaved Africans and their descendants were the major labor force throughout the colony of New Netherland and later New York. From sunup to sundown, they toiled in urban and rural spaces doing tasks that were essential to the growth and prosperity of the colony and its peoples. This exhibit explores the large variety of work accomplished by those held in bondage throughout their lives. 

More about ConsidertheSourceNY.org

ConsidertheSourceorg is an online community that connects educators across New York State to valuable primary source materials found in the churches, museums, historical organizations, libraries, and state and local governments with a series of highly-engaging learning activities designed to guide and encourage students at all grade levels to make discoveries using critical thinking skills. Consider the Source New York is a program of the New York State Archives Partnership Trust.

More about the Division for Historic Preservation 

The mission of the New York State Division for Historic Preservation is to create meaningful connections to the dynamic history of the state for all residents and visitors and the Division is committed to protecting historic and cultural resources. Part of the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, the DHP strives to raise awareness of the value of historic places for future generations and to expand the complex narratives in order to tell a more complete story that represents the diversity of the state's people, both past and present. Learn more about the full scope of the Division's work online.