Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke . Photo by Nelson A. King
Caribbean Life, FEBRUARY 12-18, 2021 3
By Nelson A. King
Public Advocate Jumaane Williams
said on Tuesday that he was “excited” to
announce my first round of City Council
endorsements for the upcoming Democratic
Primary in June.
“As many incumbents leave the Council
due to term limits, voters will have the
opportunity to elect a new generation
of leaders who reflect the diversity and
values of our City,” said the son of Grenadian
immigrants in a statement.
He said was “confident that each of
the eight individuals” will be “excellent
partners in government as we work to
build a more just, equitable and sustainable
city for all New Yorkers.
“I hope you’ll join me in supporting
these progressive champions,” Williams
said.
They are: Alexa Aviles – District 38;
Tiffany Caban – District 22; Amanda
Farais – District 18; Jen Gutierrez – District
34; Mercedes Narcisse – District 46;
Sandy Nurse – District 37; Edwin Raymond
– District 40; and Lincoln Restler
– District 33.
“I am honored to endorse Alexa
Avilés for City Council in District 38.
She brings a long history of fighting for
the dignity of people caught in our City’s
criminal (in)justice system, and has supported
local and national initiatives to
get people out of the prisons and jails,
and back with their families and communities,”
Williams said.
He said Cabán is a bold leader in
the movement for reimagining “how we
approach public safety, and I am proud to
endorse her in her race for City Council
District 22.
“Tiffany isn’t afraid to call out the
public health failures of our government,
and build with her community to
demand equitable solutions, and she has
more than enough fight in her to make
sure those policies come to fruition,”
Williams said. “I’m proud to support her
and welcome her leadership in the City
Council.”
By Nelson A. King
Caribbean American Congresswoman
Yvette D. Clarke (NY-09) took significant
action to protect Americans
from climate change’s devastating
impacts by reintroducing legislation to
place the climate crisis at the center of
the Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA).
Companion legislation was also
reintroduced in the Senate by Sen.
Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.).
“Like so many Americans, I watched
in horror last year as wildfires and
storms ravaged our nation,” said Clarke,
the daughter of Jamaican immigrants.
“Climate change is a crisis. Our duty
in Congress is to take bold action
to tackle climate-warming emissions
and protect the American public from
future climate impacts.
“My legislation with Sen. Markey,
the FEMA Climate Change Preparedness
Act, will ensure that the Federal
Emergency Management Agency is
fully equipped to help our communities
prepare for and recover from the
natural disaster implications of climate
change,” she added.
Clarke said there is wide-ranging scientific
consensus that climate change
is triggering sea-level rise and causing
more frequent and extreme weather
events.
As a direct result, she said the costs
and devastation associated with natural
disasters continue to rise every
year, especially for low-income communities,
communities of color and
tribal communities on the front lines
of the climate crisis.
The congresswoman said not only
was 2020 the second warmest year on
record, it also set an alarming record
of 22 climate disasters in the United
States with losses each exceeding $1
billion – five more disasters of such
magnitude than the previous record
held jointly in 2011 and 2017.
Despite this clear and immediate
threat to our nation, she said the
Trump administration took unprecedented
steps to ignore the role that
climate change increasingly plays in
natural disaster frequency and severity.
Clarke’s legislation, the FEMA Climate
Change Preparedness Act, takes
immediate action to re-incorporate climate
change impacts into the agency’s
current and future strategic planning.
The congresswoman said this
bill ensures that America’s emergency
management community will be better
prepared for future climate disasters by
comprehensively integrating climate
change mitigation, adaptation, and
resilience building throughout FEMA’s
policies, strategies and programs.
“The prior administration’s decision
to remove climate change from FEMA’s
lexicon was a clear abdication of the
federal government’s responsibilities,”
Clarke said. “We must comprehensively
prepare for, respond to, and help mitigate
all-natural disaster threats facing
our nation.
“This abdication must never be
allowed to happen again, which is why
my legislation permanently incorporates
climate change preparedness into
the Agency’s mission,” she added.
“Our climate is changing, and FEMA
should too,” said Sen. Markey. “Climate
change has fueled a devastating rise
in extreme weather disasters, making
FEMA’s job of protecting Americans
more critical and more challenging
than ever before.
“For FEMA to fulfill its important
duty in a new and uncertain world,
climate must be at the forefront of the
agency’s planning and mission,” he
added. “All relevant agency policies,
plans, programs, strategies and operations
must incorporate and center climate
change, and this legislation will
ensure that our national lifeline against
natural disasters stays in top condition.
I thank Rep. Clarke for her partnership
on this critical legislation.”
Clarke was joined by 33 other members
of the House of Representatives in
introducing the FEMA Climate Change
Preparedness Act.
New York City Public Advocate,
Jumaane Williams. Photo by Steve
Solomonson, fi le
Clarke introduces legislation to
combat impacts of climate change
Williams makes
‘first round’
City Council
endorsements