What’s Up at Borough Hall BROOKLYN-USA.ORG
Recent happenings at the People’s House
JUNE
Borough President Adams showed
his support of the LGBTQ+ community
throughout the month of June by his participation
in several Gay Pride events.
The month-long celebration, made more
special this year since it marked the
50th anniversary of the Stonewall Inn
riots, launched at Brooklyn Borough
Hall on Monday, June 3rd with Brooklyn
Pride, in partnership with the Sage
Organization, which created the soonto
open Ingersoll Senior Residences in
Fort Greene—New York City’s fi rst and
the nation’s largest LGBTQ+-friendly senior
housing project. The global contributions
of local LGBTQ+ Brooklynites
were highlighted on Tuesday, June 18th,
at the Destination Brooklyn: Pride Honors
celebration at Brooklyn Borough
Hall. And on Sunday, June 30th, Borough
President Adams joined a host of
rainbow fl ag-wavers as he walked in solidarity
with thousands of other marchers
in the WorldPride parade in midtown
Manhattan.
On Thursday, June 4th, Borough
President Adams and New York City
Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza
jointly launched a pilot program to introduce
the practice of mindfulness, meditation,
and yoga to students throughout
Brooklyn. They were joined by Council
Member Rafael Espinal, Superintendent
Dr. Thomas McBryde, and students,
teachers, and parents from Vista
Academy in East New York, where it
was announced that $111,000 in funding
would be given through a discretionary
grant provided by Borough President
Adams to launch the program—the fi rst
of its kind in the city. The curriculum
will consist of New York City Department
of Education staff learning best
practices through 200 hours of training
in meditation, yoga, and breathing techniques
geared toward reducing anxiety,
stress, and emotional reactivity, while
enhancing cognitive fl exibility, focus,
and memory.
When this year’s City budget was
passed by the City Council on Wednesday,
June 18th, Borough President Adams
achieved some major wins. Initiatives
he pushed that received funding
this year included $45 million in capital
funding for critical projects across
Brooklyn, $40 million to increase participation
in the 2020 Census, $350,000
in support of Brooklyn senior centers,
$150,000 in operating costs for a mobile
shower bus to service the homeless borough
wide, and a Cultural Institutions
Group designation for the Weeksville
Heritage Center, which will allow for
long-term funding for that invaluable
cultural and historical resource. Additionally,
Borough President Adams advocated
for the adoption of other items
not included in this year’s budget, such
as the expansion of the Fair Fares program
26 ONE BROOKLYN | FALL 2019
Borough President Adams presided over the annual 9/11 commemoration at Brooklyn Borough Hall in September.
Borough President’s Offi ce
to Access-A-Ride users and increased
investments in affordable housing.
JULY
A free mortgage assistance forum,
hosted by Borough President Adams, in
partnership with HOPE NOW, Brooklyn
Neighborhood Services, NHS Brooklyn,
and the Center for New York City Neighborhoods
was held at Brooklyn Borough
Hall on July 11th. Brooklynites
had the opportunity to: meet with mortgage
servicers; learn about the Property
Tax and Interest Deferral (PT AID) program,
a New York City initiative that assists
with property tax payments; enroll
in the Community Energy Engagement
program, a sustainable energy program
for city residents; and receive free
counseling from local, as well as US Department
of Housing and Urban Development
(HUD)-approved housing counseling
agencies. Well over 100 attendees
who were unemployed or earning less
than before, who were in arrears with
their mortgage payments, or who were
positioned to leave their home through
a short sale or deed-in-lieu of foreclosure,
received specialized attention at
the event.
On Thursday, July 25th, Borough
President Adams joined the Brooklyn
Arts Council (BAC) in announcing
$22,500 in new Destination>Brooklyn
mini-grant awards to 15 local arts and
culture organizations, in support of cultural
tourism across the borough. This
latest round of grant allocations, funded
by the Offi ce of the Brooklyn Borough
President and the NYC & Company
Foundation, brought the program’s total
investment in local arts and culture
initiatives to more than $160,000 under
the current Administration. The
Destination>Brooklyn mini-grants
program supports the promotion of local
artistic groups to a broader audience
through the creation, production,
and distribution of promotional materials.
Awards this cycler were granted
to artistic endeavors in music, theater,
literature, and poetry, among other
mediums, in neighborhoods such as
Brooklyn Heights, Crown Heights, Park
Slope, Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, and
Williamsbugh. For a full list of current
grantees, visit brooklynartscouncil.org.
Borough President Adams, along
with 26 other leaders, signed on to a letter
to the New York Times on July 24th,
denouncing the verbal attacks against
and water dousing of New York Police
Department (NYPD) offi cers in Brooklyn
and Harlem in incident on July
20th and 21st. The letter acknowledged
that there is more to be done to improve
community/police relations, but commended
the NYPD on its sustained progress
in making New York the country’s
safest big city, acknowledged how neighborhood
policing and other forms of police
community engagement were on the
rise, and that ultimately, that fairness
and respect are due the offi cers who are
charged with protecting and serving the
citizens of this city.
AUGUST
In response to the mass shootings in
El Paso, TX, Dayton, OH, Chicago, IL,
Gilroy, CA, and locally in Brownsville
and Crown Heights that rocked the nation
starting on July 27th through the
fi rst week of August, Borough President
Adams convened a candlelight vigil at
Grand Army Plaza on Monday, August
5th, to pay homage to the victims and to
call on Congress to enact stricter gun
laws. He was joined by Lieutenant Governor
Kathy Hochul, Public Advocate
Jumaane Williams, New York State Attorney
General Letitia James, US Representatives
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
and Nydia Velazquez, Brooklyn District
Attorney Eric Gonzalez, State Senator
Zellnor Myrie, former New York Civil
Liberties Union executive director Norman
Siegel, and a host of local council
members, assembly members, faithbased
leaders, community activists, and
sympathetic Brooklynites as candles
were lit, prayers offered, and calls to action
made in protest against the heinous
acts of violence that claimed 59 lives during
that 10-day period.
A literal pilot program was celebrated
when Borough President Adams
joined members of the NYPD Aviation
Unit, the Young Airmans Association,
and Council Member Alicka Ampry-
Samuel (41st District) on Tuesday, August
6th at Floyd Bennett Field in Marine
Park to bestow a $20,000 grant on
the United Youth Aviators (UYA), New
York City’s fi rst aviation summer camp.
The non-profi t was established by three
NYPD offi cers and natives of Brooklyn
who all earned their pilot licenses and
are seeking to expose youth to aviation
through the teaching of STEAM skills
such as aerodynamics and navigation,
culminating in them learning to fl y a
Cessna 172 Skyhawk, logging fl ight time
towards their own eventual attainment
of pilot licenses. For more information
on the program, visit unitedyouthaviators.
com
Multiple studies have found that
breastfeeding, especially in the early
months, are critical to a baby’s healthy
development. In that spirit, Borough
President Adams, joined by Council
Members Laurie Cumbo, Robert Cornegy,
and Stephen Levin, along with
breastfeeding advocates, gathered in
front of the lactation room at Brooklyn
Borough Hall on Tuesday, August
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