Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, left, listens as Congresswoman Yvette
Clarke speaks during a press conference outside police headquarters in
New York. Associated Press/Bebeto Matthews, fi le
Caribbean Life, MARCH 12-18, 2021 3
By Nelson A. King
New York’s Unified Court System’s
Committee to Celebrate Black History
Month, The Tribune Society, Inc., and
the Judicial Friends Association have
bestowed the Hon. Theodore “Ted”
Jones Lifetime Achievement Award
on Barbadian-born Justice Sylvia O.
Hinds-Radix, the first president of the
newly-formed, Brooklyn-based Caribbean
American Lawyers Association
(CALA).
Justice Hinds-Radix, who serves
as an Associate Justice of the New
York State Appellate Division, Second
Department, received the award during
the groups’ annual Black History
Month celebration.
Brooklyn-born Theodore Theopolis
Jones, Jr. (Mar.10, 1944 – Nov. 6,
2012) was a judge on New York State’s
Court of Appeals.
He was appointed to the court by
Democratic Gov. Eliot Spitzer in 2007
for a 14-year term.
Judge Jones, who attended public
schools in New York City, graduated
from Hampton University in Hampton,
VA in 1965, receiving a Bachelor
of Arts degree in history and political
science.
He served on active duty with the
United States Army from 1967-1969.
While in the service, he was stationed
in Vietnam, and attained the rank of
captain.
Judge Jones graduated from St.
John’s University School of Law in
Jamaica, Queens in 1972.
“I feel honored and humbled to be
the recipient of this year’s Hon. Theodore
‘Ted’ Jones Lifetime Achievement
Award,” Justice Hinds-Radix
told Caribbean Life. “This is a great
honor, and I am happy and blessed
to have been chosen to receive such
a prestigious award from my court
family.”
By Nelson A. King
New York Attorney General, Letitia
James on Friday announced an agreement
with KeyBank that will deliver funding
to assist low- to moderate-income
New Yorkers buy homes.
James said the agreement resolves an
investigation into the bank’s deceptive
advertising practices surrounding the
“KeyBank Plus” program that was intended
to help New Yorkers cash checks for
low fees but was not as readily available as
KeyBank’s advertising claimed.
As part of the agreement, James said
the Ohio-based bank has agreed to pay $5
million to the State of New York Mortgage
Agency (SONYMA) to be used for down
payment assistance for low- to moderateincome
New York homebuyers, as well as
lend $145 million to low- to moderateincome
New York homebuyers over the
next five years.
“Owning a home is a cornerstone of the
American Dream, and, today, we bring
New Yorkers one step closer to that goal,”
James said. “When companies fall short
on the commitments they make to our
communities, we will always hold them
accountable and ensure they are providing
the services that were promised.
“As a result of this agreement, we’re
delivering much needed resources to help
New Yorkers with buying a home and
starting their future,” she added.
After previously being implemented in
other regions across the nation, the Key-
Bank Plus program was introduced in the
Buffalo-Niagara region in 2018.
The program was advertised as offering
New Yorkers without a bank account
a method to cash government and payroll
checks at a low cost, James said.
The Office of the Attorney General
(OAG) launched an investigation into the
KeyBank Plus program in Albany, Buffalo,
Plattsburgh, Rochester, Syracuse and
Watertown, as well as in areas of Westchester
County, and found that the program
was not being implemented as advertised.
Specifically, OAG found that KeyBank’s
false and deceptive advertisements regarding
KeyBank Plus violated both Executive
Law § 63(12) and General Business Law
Article 22-A.
The matter was initially referred to
OAG in 2019 by the Buffalo Niagara Community
Reinvestment Coalition (BNCRC)
and the Western New York Law Center
(WNYLC).
As of result of this agreement, James
said KeyBank has agreed to pay $5 million
to SONYMA to be used for down payment
and home-closing cost assistance
for low- to moderate-income New Yorkers,
in addition to agreeing to apply to become
a participating lender with SONYMA.
By Nelson A. King
Brooklyn Democratic Congressional
Representatives Yvette D. Clarke and
Hakeem Jeffries on Wednesday joined
their Democratic colleagues in the US
House of Representatives in voting for
final passage of H.R. 1319, the American
Rescue Plan Act.
The landmark, life-saving legislation
will provide urgently-needed resources
to defeat COVID-19 virus, and put vaccines
in people’s arms, money into families’
pockets, children safely back into
classrooms and people back to work.
President Joe Biden was expected on
Thursday to sign the measure into law.
“Millions of Americans are feeling
the daily devastation of the pandemic,
not only in their lost loved ones or
their health but in their ability to put
food on the table or send their kids to
school safely,” said Clarke, the daughter
of Jamaican immigrants, who represents
the 9th Congressional District in
Brooklyn.
“With 530,000 Americans’ lives lost,
millions without jobs and countless
more suffering silently, my greatest fear
for relief was doing too little,” she added.
“I am proud to support the American
Rescue Plan, which I know will
bring our country’s people the aid they
deserve, and save lives and livelihoods.”
Speaking on the floor of the House
of Representatives in support of the
$1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, Jeffries,
chairman of the House Democratic
Caucus and a member of the Budget
Committee, noted that the COVID-19
pandemic is “a once-in-a-century crisis.
“It requires a once-in-a-century comprehensive,
compassionate and continuing
congressional response,” said Jeffries,
whose 8th Congressional District
includes parts of Brooklyn and Queens.
“That is what the American Rescue Plan
is all about.
“More than 500,000 Americans have
died, hundreds of thousands of businesses
have closed, almost 30 million
Americans infected by the coronavirus,
tens of millions of Americans dealing
with unemployment or food insecurity
or on the brink of homelessness,” he
added. “So much pain, suffering and
death, and our Republican colleagues
want us to do nothing? What is wrong
with you?
“We are going to act with the fierce
urgency of now,” Jeffries continued.
“We will crush the virus, we will provide
direct relief to everyday Americans
who are struggling, we will revive the
economy.
“We will send the American Rescue
Plan to President Biden’s desk,” the congressman
said. “We will ‘Build Back Better
for the People’. Help is on the way.”
Justice Sylvia O. Hinds-Radix. Jovia
Radix, Esq.
Clarke, Jeffries vote yes on
historic American Rescue Plan
James delivers funding for low-to moderate-income homebuyers
CALA prez
receives
award