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Yang, Gibson endorse each other
A vaccine card. REUTERS/Agustin Marcarian/File Photo
Gibson gives
awards to
businesses
BRONX TIMES REPORTER,BTR MAY 14-20, 2021 15
BY BRONX TIMES
At a joint-campaign rally
on the steps of Bronx Borough
Hall, Council Member Vanessa
Gibson announced her endorsement
of Andrew Yang for
mayor while he announced his
endorsement of her for Bronx
Borough President.
The cross-endorsement
comes about a month before
the primaries on June 22nd.
“Andrew Yang has the bold
and creative ideas we need to
get our City back on track and
ensure that the Bronx is not
left behind in the City’s economic
recovery,” said Gibson.
“I am deeply inspired by his
vision for our City and this
borough, and through a strong
partnership, together we will
uplift Bronx working families
and essential workers who
have gotten us through this
pandemic.”
Gibson is currently the
council member for the 16th
district in the New York City
Council. Her endorsement
should help boost Yang’s base
in the Bronx.
“I’m so proud to be partnering
with Vanessa as our coalition
of next-generation leaders
continues to grow stronger
every day. She is exactly what
the Bronx needs in its next
Borough President and I cannot
wait to work with her in
City Hall to bring cash relief to
New Yorkers, create a people’s
bank, and so much more,” said
Yang.
Yang was also recently endorsed
by State Assemblyman
Kenny Burgos, a representative
of the Bronx.
US Rep. Ritchie Torres,
who was also present at the
rally, also endorsed both Vanessa
Gibson and Andrew Yang.
Torres was
“Andrew Yang and Vanessa
Gibson are two political
leaders who understand that
it’s going to take audacious
thinking and serious policy
proposals to help bring back
the City from the depths of the
pandemic,” said Congressman
Torres. “I am proud to endorse
Vanessa Gibson for Bronx Borough
President and to be the
Co-Chair of Andrew Yang’s
Mayoral campaign.”
Torres has been the US
representative for New York’s
15th congressional district
since 2014, which covers most
of the South Bronx.
Councilwoman Vanessa Gibson, US Rep. Ritchie Torres and Andrew Yang. Photo from the Yang Campaign
BY BRONX TIMES
Councilwoman Vanessa
Gibson presented awards
to two small businesses
along the Jerome Avenue
Corridor in recognition of
National Small Business
Week on May 7.
SUYO Gastrofusion and
Ray`s Smoothies are Latinx
and immigrant owned
businesses in Highbridge,
a neighborhood during
the onset of the pandemic
that had one of the highest
rates of COVID-19 in the
borough.
Ray`s Smoothies is a
family-run business providing
Bronxites with
healthy alternatives to
sugary, carbonated drinks
and SUYO Gastrofusion
is providing a fi ne dining
experience to residents in
the neighborhood while
enforcing COVID-19 guidelines.
Dinowitz looks
to prosecute vax
card forgers
BY BRONX TIMES
A Bronx lawmaker is hoping
to curb the number of
fraudulent vaccination cards
that are available to New Yorkers
and Americans nationwide.
Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz
is introducing legislation
to make it easier for prosecutors
to charge those forging
or possessing a forged immunization
record with a felony.
The new bill from Dinowitz,
chair of the Assembly Codes
Committee, would add explicit
language to the defi nitions of
forgery in the second and third
degrees that addresses forged
immunization records.
As more people get vaccinated,
stories have emerged of
new ways for anti-vaxxers to
circumvent public health regulations
that require proof of
immunization to participate
in potential super spreader
venues and activities. Posts
on social media have drawn
the attention of at least 47 attorneys
general from around
the United States and investigative
journalists have uncovered
numerous options on digital
platforms, including Etsy,
Telegram and others, to purchase
or fabricate fraudulent
vaccination cards.
The bill would add forged
immunization records, “including
but not limited to the
COVID-19 vaccination record
card approved by the U.S. Centers
for Disease Control,” to the
penal law as a class D felony.
If there are 50 or more documents,
such forgery would be
considered a class C felony.
A class D felony in New York
is punishable by up to seven
years in prison and a class C
felony mandates 15 years in
prison.
“There can be no tolerance
for fraudulent vaccination
cards in New York, whether you
are buying or selling them,”
Dinowitz said. “I am confi dent
that this egregious behavior
is already illegal according to
countless state, local, and federal
statutes but we should be
explicitly clear in New York: if
you get caught with a fake vaccination
card, you will go to
jail for a long time.
“I have also begun outreach
to partners in government
at the New York State Department
of Health, New York
State Attorney General, and
New York State Police to solicit
thoughts or recommendations
on how the legislature can help
fi ght against this dangerous
and reckless fraud activity.”
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