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Who are they
endorsing?
Lander Endorsed
by Sunrise NYC
Sunrise NYC endorsed
Brad Lander
for NYC Comptroller.
“Lander understands
that in order
to bring a just transition
away from fossil
fuels and towards
climate justice to our
city, every position
must play a part – including
Brad Lander. File photo
our Comptroller,” said Grace Cuddihy
and Judah Klingsberg, co-leads of the Sunrise
NYC Political Endorsements Team.
Lander welcomed the endorsement, and
credited Sunrise organizers for building
grassroots power to advance the Green New
Deal and related climate policy locally and nationally.
“I’m eager to be your partner in the work
ahead to hold NYC accountable to ambitious climate
action – ensuring we meet our emissions
reduction goals, expand green energy opportunities,
and invest in resilient infrastructure –
so that we can secure a healthy and resilient
future for all New Yorkers,” said Lander.
Reynoso Endorsed by Family
Members of People Killed by Police
Brooklyn Borough
President candidate
Antonio Reynoso
received the
endorsement of Terrence
Floyd, Victoria
Davis, Iris Baez,
Constance Malcolm,
and Valerie Bell, all
of whom are family
members of individuals
killed by
Floyd is the
Antonio Reynoso.
Photo by William Alatriste for
the New York City Council
brother of George
Floyd; Davis is the sister of Delrawn Smalls;
Baez is the mother of Anthony Baez; Malcolm
is the mother of Ramarley Graham; and Bell
is the mother of Sean Bell.
“I have heard the cries of New Yorkers
and Americans whose loved ones have been
wrongly killed or injured by the police -- they
are sick and tired of hollow promises that
don’t end police killings of our neighbors,”
Reynoso said. “I am committed to ending the
over-policing of our communities and investing
in the resources we need to thrive.”
Caribbean Life, APR. 30-MAY 6, 2021 13
Democracy in action
BPL partners with Schneps Media to host Brooklyn debates
BY STEPHEN WITT
When it comes to showing versatility
as a local community asset,
the Brooklyn Public Library
(BPL) is hard to beat.
A case in point is the BPL doing
a full-court press in educating
and acting as a resource for
the coming 2021 citywide primary
and general elections.
This includes the BPL partnering
with Schneps Media to host
debates for every contested city
council race in Brooklyn as well
as for the Brooklyn Borough President.
These Zoom webinar debates
will start next month with
dates, times and login information
to be announced in the coming
week.
“Fostering civic and community
engagement generally is an
important role for all libraries and
it’s one that we’re particularly focused
on in Brooklyn. We’ve been
doing work along these lines, certainly
for the past few few years,
and we were very engaged with
the city, and a lot of community
groups throughout Brooklyn on
the census,” said BPL Executive
Vice President David Woloch.
Woloch said several libraries
assist in helping people register
to vote and about a third of the library’s
59 branches have served
as polling places on election day.
Woloch said the challenge this
year – aside from the pandemic – is
to get people aware that primary
day has been moved from September
to June 22. Additionally, there
is the issue of educating voters in
the community about rank-choice
voting (RCV) this year he said.
“There’s been a lot of dialogue
over the past few months and a
lot of organizations doing great
work around getting information
to folks, about rank choice voting.
I think our role isn’t to duplicate
that work, but to make our reach
and our resources available to
help some of these other civic and
community partners,” said Woloch.
Woloch said with 35 of the 51
city council seats open due to term
limits as well as the open mayor
and comptroller’s race, it is imperative
that civic organizations
work together to foster a greater
local democracy.
“Our thought is we can be helpful,
particularly by partnering
with some of the other civic and
community actors and groups to
help encourage them to vote at this
very important time,” he said.
Leading the charge for NYCHA fi xes
BY ARIAMA C. LONG
New York City Housing Authority
developments are getting
a badly needed $80 billion
investment and improvements
announced by U.S. Senate Majority
Leader Chuck Schumer
last week. But improvements
are extending past the buildings
and reaching into the communities
for input as well with a new
Resident Roundtable.
Schumer, who’s been working
doggedly on this with housing
advocates and City Councilmember
Alicka Ampry-Samuel, said
through federal public housing
funds via the just-proposed
American Jobs Plan, wrongs can
be righted after decades of disinvestment,
bad management and
federal neglect of NYCHA and
all its mostly low-income and
struggling residents.
Schumer explained that the
initial plan was a $40 billion investment
in public housing capital
needs from the Biden Administration,
but with a solid
push, was doubled to address
U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, speaking
with NYCHA residents about repairs.
Contributed photo
“NYCHA’s repair backlog, years
of can-kicking, Republican-led
federal disinvestment and delays
that have left tenants frustrated.”
“For far too long, our public
housing infrastructure needs
have been left unaddressed, left
to get worse, and have brought
serious harm to hundreds of
thousands of New Yorkers,” said
Schumer. “Lead in the bodies of
our children. Toxic mold in the
lungs of our friends and neighbors.
Leaky roofs. Dilapidated
playgrounds. Non-working elevators.
Unsafe environments.
Polluting and expensive boilers
and heating systems. The maddening
list goes on and on.”
NYCHA houses about 380,299
residents in over 177,611 apartments
within 335 housing developments,
and serves hundreds
of thousands more through
programs like Section 9, This
money will aim to speedily address
all corrective work orders,
inspections of apartments
or other needed areas, routine
maintenance of elevators and
faulty heating, and severe violations,
like rodents or mold in developments
across the city.
Meanwhile, NYCHA offi -
cials said that it’s establishing
a roundtable that will include
about 30 residents from each development
that can weigh in on
things like, lease enforcement
and compliance, quality of life
complaints, safety and security,
feedback, and quality assurance.
police.
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