Thursday, October 25, 2018

JUMAANE WILLIAMS OPENS CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE FOR NYC PUBLIC ADVOCATE RACE




JUMAANE WILLIAMS OPENS CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE FOR NYC PUBLIC ADVOCATE RACE

  New York City Council Member Jumaane Williams announced his intention to run for Public Advocate of the City of New York after opening a campaign committee with the Board of Elections in anticipation of the race.

Jumaane, a progressive Democrat currently serving his third term in the New York City Council, filed paperwork to open the citywide campaign committee in advance of the November 6th general election. The current Public Advocate, Letiticia James, is running on the Democratic and Working Families Party line for Attorney General of New York State. If and when the Public Advocate position is vacated, Jumaane will formally launch his campaign to fill the Public Advocate role in a special election to be set by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio shortly after the vacancy occurs.

"I have always felt that my job as an activist elected official has been to make sure the voices of all New Yorkers are lifted up, and to create the kinds of changes that have a tangible positive impact on their lives," Jumaane said. "New York City needs to live up to its promise as a progressive beacon, and government needs not just to legislate but to listen. Too many working class New Yorkers are struggling, and this city belongs to them- not just to the rich or real estate lobby. This is our New York and it's time to take it back. As Public Advocate, I will fight make this city affordable, equitable and just for the many, not the few."

The office of Public Advocate serves as a direct link between the electorate and their elected officials by acting as a watchdog for all New Yorkers. The Public Advocate acts as an ombudsman for city government, providing oversight for city agencies, investigating citizens' complaints about city services and making proposals to address any shortcomings or failures of those services. It is also the first in line to succeed the Mayor.

The announcement comes after Jumaane received nearly 650,000 votes to become Lieutenant Governor of New York last month, with more than 400,000 votes from individuals throughout the five boroughs. His candidacy was endorsed by The New York Times, U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, the Working Families Party and countless elected officials, unions and progressive advocacy groups across the state.

More on Jumanne can be found at his website https://jumaanewilliams.com/

SAGE- We refuse to be erased. We refuse to be invisible.


SAGE condemns Trump administration plans to erase transgender people
trans elders Pride 2017
The New York Times reported this week that the Trump administration is considering a drastic move to strip away the rights of transgender people by creating an extremely narrow federal definition of gender. The proposed change would narrowly define gender as male or female, unchangeable, and determined by the genitals that a person is born with, which would eliminate anti-discrimination protections for transgender people.

Such a decision to eliminate anti-discrimination protections would have a devastating impact on transgender elders, who already face numerous barriers to health care, housing, and fair treatment under the law, according to “Improving the Lives of Transgender Older Adults,” issued by SAGE and the National Center for Transgender Equality. Rolling back these safeguards could put the lives of transgender elders in jeopardy by enabling health insurers, hospitals, clinics, and any other entities that receive federal funds to deny essential care.

SAGE’s CEO Michael Adams said: “We are outraged by this senseless, bigoted attack on transgender Americans. This latest move by the Trump administration is an affront to core principles of fairness and would fall hardest on transgender people who are old, young, people of color, and most at the margins.” This heartless attack is the latest in a string of efforts by this administration to erase and silence transgender people. As we have in the past, SAGE will vigorously fight this proposal until we succeed.” Read the fulstatementand share on Facebook.
Local LGBT protections crucial as federal government continues to support anti-LGBT policies
NYC Mayor Bill De Blasio signs Gender X Marker bill at SAGE
While the federal government attempts to erase transgender people, municipalities like New York and Washington, D.C. are taking up the mantle of protection. In a significant step forward for transgender, gender nonconforming, and nonbinary New Yorkers, on October 11, at the Edie Windsor SAGE Center, New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio signed groundbreaking legislation to add a third gender option on birth certificates. Many transgender advocates and allies attended this watershed bill signing, including New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson, First Lady of New York City Chirlane McCray, and actor and activist Asia Kate Dillon. Watch the bill signing and read SAGE’s press release on the event.

The District of Columbia has also taken a significant step forward for LGBT elders and people living with HIV. As a result of SAGE’s advocacy, D.C. Councilmember Mary Cheh introduced first-of-its-kind municipal legislation to better protect and support LGBT elders and older people living with HIV in the District of Columbia. If passed, this legislation could provide a template for other localities to adopt similar provisions for protecting older LGBT people under the Older Americans Act.

While modeled after pieces of state legislation in Massachusetts and California, this legislation would go a step further in establishing a cultural competency training requirement and a bill of rights for LGBT elders and people living with HIV in long-term care. If passed, it would make D.C. the first jurisdiction in the nation to provide these supports and protections. Read SAGE’s comments on Councilmember Cheh’s bill.

Mark Your Calendars!

October 30, 2018, 7-9 PM | Grey Advertising, 200 5th Avenue, NYC
We are all getting older. And, in our community, we know that LGBT folks want to age with purpose, passion and grace -- the same qualities that we bring to everything we do. On Tuesday, October 30 from 7 pm to 9 pm, join like-minded LGBT peers and leading experts for a panel on how to age well, covering topics like aging in place, law, finance and sex. Let’s be inspired together! Register today.

November 8, 2018 | Nationwide
Host or join a meal and have a conversation on November 8 with your LGBT friends and allies of all ages in our national friend-raiser: SAGE Table.

December 9, 2018 | Chelsea Piers, New York, NY
SAGE's annual party is back and better than ever! Save the date and get ready for the LGBT community's best holiday event. Tickets go on sale 11/14!

DE BLASIO ADMINISTRATION OPENS FIRST NYC HEALTH + HOSPITALS URGENT CARE CLINICS TO OFFER FASTER SERVICE, EASE DEMAND ON PUBLIC HOSPITAL EMERGENCY ROOMS


New ExpressCare clinics will offer convenient, quick access to medical care for non-life-threatening conditions and offer built-in connection to primary care physicians to ensure continuity of care for nearly 45,000 New Yorkers

  Mayor Bill de Blasio, Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Dr. Herminia Palacio and NYC Health + Hospitals President and CEO Dr. Mitchell Katz today marked the official opening of the public health system’s new ExpressCare clinic at NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst – one of three new urgent care centers that will provide faster access to medical care for patients who face non-life-threatening conditions. The urgent care clinics will be open for select hours year-round, 7 days a week and will ease overcrowding in three public hospital emergency rooms, as well as reduce health care costs by giving patients a faster and more appropriate alternative to expensive and often avoidable emergency room visits.

The NYC Health + Hospitals ExpressCare clinics are among the latest changes in the public health system’s vision to transform care for New Yorkers. These clinics represent a new business model for the public health system, with walk-in services for non-emergent conditions – like colds, flu, sprains, skin rashes, minor cuts and lacerations, and certain types of infections. Shifting patients with non-life-threatening conditions into ExpressCare clinics will shorten their wait times and will benefit as many as 45,000 New Yorkers every year. These clinics will also differ from stand-alone urgent care centers by offering a better connection to primary care providers. The emergency-trained physicians at ExpressCare clinics will help ensure patients receive the appropriate follow-up care by connecting them with primary care doctors in the Health + Hospitals network.

“Every New Yorker has the right to receive great medical treatment, without waiting hours to be seen by a doctor,” said Mayor de Blasio. “The opening of our ExpressCare clinics will help residents get faster treatment for less serious symptoms while connecting them with follow-up care in the long term.”

“Our communities are better served when our public hospital system can quickly and effectively address non-urgent health care needs in our ExpressCare clinics,” said Dr. Herminia Palacio, Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services. “Health + Hospital’s new urgent care model demonstrates the City’s ongoing commitment to transform and improve our public healthcare system.”

“Our goal is to provide patients with access to the right care, at the right place, and at the right time,” said Dr. Mitchell Katz, NYC Health + Hospitals President and CEO. “The ExpressCare model will improve the patient experience with fast, convenient service as an alternative to the emergency room and build important connections with our primary care providers to strengthen long-term physician-patient relationships and prevent fragmented care.”

NYC Health + Hospitals is investing between $1.5 and $2 million to set up each of the three new ExpressCare clinics inside the hospital buildings and within a short distance from the emergency rooms. In addition to the ExpressCare clinic at NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst, the City has NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln, which opened in August, and NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi, slated to open in March 2019.

The urgent care clinics will be open year-round, 7 days a week, from 4 p.m. to 1 a.m. at NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst, and from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays (10 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekends and holidays) at NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln. These are among the busiest times for each of the hospital’s emergency departments and are hours when patients are more likely to visit the emergency room because they cannot access a primary care provider. ExpressCare clinics are designed for adult patients. Children and teens will continue to receive care in the pediatric emergency room, which typically has short wait times comparable to waits in ExpressCare.

NYC Health + Hospitals worked with OneCity Health, the State’s largest Preforming Provider System, part of the Medicaid Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment (DSRIP) program, to create the clinical model for the ExpressCare clinics, which are designed to support the DSRIP goal to reduce avoidable hospital use by 25 percent by 2020.

“We opened our doors just a couple of weeks ago and have already served dozens of patients who have real health issues. Many have been able to see a doctor in under 30 minutes and, depending on the nature of the problem, have been in and out in less than one hour,” said Dr. Phillip Fairweather, Associate Director of Emergency Medicine at NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst. “If these same patients had to wait in an emergency department, they could end up waiting several hours since more urgent cases, like heart attacks and trauma patients, get attention first, making the possibility of long waits for care unavoidable—until now. It feels great to improve our patients’ care experience.”

“We want to make it easier for people in our community to get access to care during evening hours, when they are often unable to see their primary care physicians,” said Israel Rocha, Vice President of NYC Health + Hospitals for OneCity Health and CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst. “The urgent care centers will increase access to care, connect patients who don’t have a regular doctor to primary care, and help fill the gap between primary care and emergency services, while helping us achieve health care savings through a reduction in low acuity emergency department visits.”

“We have the busiest single-site emergency department in the region, and we fully expect that ExpressCare will help to reduce the wait time for many who come to us through the ED by providing immediate care for those with less emergent cases,” said Milton Nunez, CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln. “When they are no longer competing with true emergencies for medical attention, our patients will benefit from the clinic setting.”

“We have a busy Level 1 Trauma Center that’s highly regarded for the quality care we provide in response to the most difficult, life-threatening cases that end up in our emergency room,” said Christopher Mastromano, CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi. “With our new ExpressCare clinic, we’ll be able to redirect thousands of patients who have less severe conditions and offer them the same quick and high quality care they need.”

NYC SERVICE & NPCC RELEASE REPORT ON THE CURRENT STATE OF DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION ON NYC NONPROFIT BOARDS


Report shares nonprofit boards are interested in addressing DEI; demographics do not reflect the diversity of NYC

  NYC Service, in partnership with the Nonprofit Coordinating Committee of New York (NPCC), released What Lies Beneath: The State of NYC Nonprofit Board Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion to identify nonprofit board diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) gaps, strategies, recommendations and resources for NYC’s nonprofit sector.

The report is a result of a six month study conducted with the NYC Nonprofit Board Development Coalition, led by NYC Service, which assessed nonprofit board composition, board policies, as well as procedures. The study discovered that nonprofit leadership demographics do not reflect the diversity of New York City; DEI is valued, but not effectively addressed; representation in leadership matters; board complacency and resistance to change impede DEI; and boards may be perpetuating harmful biases.

“It is critical that nonprofit leaders articulate and embrace DEI values within their organization’s board composition, mission and programs,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “Nonprofit leadership has a responsibility to reflect the communities they serve and the city is here to support their efforts.”

“The best long term solutions come from within communities as experts of their own experiences,” said Patricia Eng, NYC Chief Service Officer. “Leadership that reflects the core constituency strengthens the fabric of the community, our city, and our nation. In today’s world, this is a ‘must have’, not just ‘nice to have’ toward a vibrant democracy.”

“Nonprofits work hard to serve their communities effectively, and must be diverse, equitable, and inclusive to do so,” said Sharon Stapel, President of NPCC. “This report encourages a frank conversation about the systemic and individual barriers that we all struggle with, and offers recommendations and strategies to truly center equity in their work.”

The report’s findings are a culmination of 420 online survey respondents and 37 focus group participants, representing nonprofit Chief Executive Officers/Executive Directors (CEOs/EDs) and board members throughout the five boroughs of NYC. The survey asked respondents to provide the composition of their board in terms of age, gender identity, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, and disability status; their board policies and procedures; as well as, successes and challenges with regards to addressing DEI on their boards. The focus group interviews assigned NYC nonprofit CEOs/EDs and board members to separate focus groups to encourage open dialogue. Using an open-ended interview method, the participants discussed what they thought it meant to diversify a board; successes and challenges with recruitment and onboarding; reasons for joining a board; and barriers to and recommendations for achieving board diversity, equity, and inclusivity.

Council Member Ruben Diaz Sr - The Caravan has become the Democratic Party’s Achilles Heel


What You Should Know
By Councilman Rubén Díaz Sr.
District 18 Bronx County, New York 

 
The Caravan has become the Democratic Party’s Achilles Heel

You should know that according to the Greek Mythology, Achilles was a powerful and immortal semi-god. The story says his mother, in order to make her son immortal, immersed him in the River Styx. As an infant, he was submerged into the river by his mother who held him by his heel, and so this part of his body remained mortal.

Achilles was immortal and there was no way to kill Achilles. He was all powerful. The only way he could be killed was through his heel.

That brings me to the Democratic Party and the caravan of immigrants coming through Mexico headed to invade the United States of America. According to some accounts, the number of individuals involved with the caravans ranges from 7,000-15,000 people. All of them heading to the United States. This includes all kinds of individuals from innocent children and women to criminals, members of the terrible gang MS-13, and terrorists making believe they are immigrants.

It is important for you to know the way in which the leaders of the Democratic Party have behaved requesting the abolishment of the Immigration & Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE), and the manner in which Democratic leaders have incited people to disturb the peace of Trump’s cabinet members, have given Trump the opportunity to turns the march into the Democrats Achilles heel.

Even Puerto Ricans who are US Citizens by birth and many Hispanic immigrants who came here legally and waited so many years before becoming US Citizens are turning against the Democratic party. So much that a few weeks ago, it was almost certain that the Democrats would take control of the US Senate, now it seems that the Republicans will be keeping control and might be gaining up to 55 Senators.

As you know countries have their own immigration rules to protect their borders. This is not only happening in America, this happens in the Dominican Republic with the neighboring Haitians. This caravan could also inspire other immigrants to invade other countries, especially among Latin American countries.

Another issue that was poorly handled by the Democrats was the case of Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court Hearing. All these issues have given President Donald Trump a boost in popularity and the Republican Party the opportunity to keep control of the Senate and the House.

Ladies and gentlemen, the Democratic Party nationally has less than two weeks to come up with the right strategy or I am afraid on November 6th they will be hit in the “Achilles heel” by a Republican arrow.

I am Councilman Rev. Rubén Díaz and this is what you should know.

BP DIAZ ANNOUNCES TOUR DE BRONX 2018



Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., Bronx Tourism Chair Olga Lutz, and BOEDC President Marlene Cintron joined others at Mercy College to urge cyclists some who come from all over the world to participate in the 24th annual Tour de Bronx, which takes place on Sunday, October 28.

The Tour de Bronx, established in 1994 by the office of the Bronx Borough President and The Bronx Tourism Council, not only showcases the burgeoning neighborhoods, scenic waterfronts and greenways that The Bronx has to offer, but also promotes a healthier lifestyle in the borough.


Above - Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. sits on one of the bicycles that will available for rent for the Tour De Bronx 2018.
Below - A few of the sponsors join BP diaz to promote the Tour De Bronx 2018 


Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. and the 40th Precinct Community Council "Halloween Safe Street & Treats"


Sunday, October 21, 2018

MICHAEL BLAKE ANNOUNCES RUN FOR NEW YORK CITY PUBLIC ADVOCATE TO CHAMPION JOBS AND JUSTICE #FORTHEPEOPLE










Blake shares his vision for the future of New York City at a kickoff rally in The Bronx

Today, Michael Blake announced his candidacy for New York City Public Advocate at a kickoff rally in The Bronx.

“I walk through the streets of New York City, and, I see how many opportunities we have to build the best possible future for everyone,” said Blake. “But, there is so much work left to do to ensure unity, equity, fairness, justice, and opportunity for the people. It is absolutely critical New York City has an agenda that addresses jobs and justice. As Public Advocate, I’ll fight every day to make those ideas a reality for every New Yorker.”

As a member of the New York State Assembly, Michael Blake helped lead efforts to create the first and only statewide My Brother’s Keeper education program in the country to empower young men of color. He helped lead the charge to Raise the Age of criminal responsibility so that 16 and 17-year-old children are not tried as adults in criminal court. He’s worked to increase funding for New York City public housing and fought to secure funding for Diversity in Medicine medical scholarships. Blake’s signature legislation signed into law helps Small, Minority and Women-owned Business Enterprises with less than 300 employees who contract with New York state get paid in 15 days instead of 30. This agenda demonstrates Blake’s record of fighting #ForThePeople.

As Public Advocate, he will build on the promise he made to the voters of the 79th District and continue fighting for better opportunities for every New Yorker.  Blake's key vision is JOBS & JUSTICE and seeks to focus on unity, equity, opportunity, fairness, and justice. Blake believes we need a dramatic overhaul in the management and culture of the New York City Housing Authority. We must implement a comprehensive Criminal Justice reform that implements Alternatives To Incarceration, bail reform, speedy trial, and Open Discovery so that we build schools, not jails while changing the culture and training within Rikers Island.  He will advocate for a jobs and skills agenda, with a focus on the future of work and labor, to help lift more families into the working class.

“The people of New York deserve a better quality of life than they’re getting,” said Blake. “In every borough, people need dramatic improvements in on time, public transportation, deserve basic promises like the guarantee of lead-free homes in NYCHA along with more affordable housing units so people can remain in their desired neighborhood and know that we are focused on creating jobs and economic opportunities while simultaneously improving our social services. I am running for Public Advocate to fight for the people, all of our people.”

Blake is also a Vice Chair at Large of the Democratic National Committee helping lead efforts in engaging with millennials, communities of color, local elected candidates and training. He is a Five Year Term Member fellow of the Council on Foreign Relations and a national Honorary Co-Chair of the New Leaders Council, which has trained more than 7,000 millennials in progressive policies and political organizing. He is a licensed minister in the United Methodist Church and African Methodist Episcopal church. Michael is on the board for iVOTE, served as a 2016 Resident fellow at the Harvard University Institute of Politics and recently was an advisory board member for the My Brother's Keeper Alliance.