Contributing Writers: Azad Ali, Tangerine Clarke,
Nelson King, Vinette K. Pryce, Bert Wilkinson
GENERAL INFORMATION (718) 260-2500
Caribbean L 10 ife, JULY 23-29, 2021
By Senator Charles
Schumer
New York’s families have
had a tough year. Kids have
missed sports, school, and
birthday parties. Parents
have faced difficult choices
about childcare. Families
have struggled to cover the
costs of groceries and rent.
The economic downturn
and childcare crisis caused
by COVID-19 shone a light
on one of the most unacceptable
truths about our
society. The United States is
the wealthiest nation in the
history of humankind and
yet 10 million of our nation’s
children live in poverty.
In New York City alone,
450,000 kids live in poverty.
In America we pride ourselves
on the fundamental
promise of opportunity. The
belief that from anything,
you can go anywhere. But
for millions of children growing
up in poverty, who lack
access to quality education,
health care, and nutrition,
the American dream can be
almost impossible.
The painful reality of child
poverty has always outraged
me. So when Senate Democrats
moved forward with
the American Rescue Plan
earlier this year, I fought
tirelessly to include a historic
expansion of the Child
Tax Credit to send help to
America’s families. Securing
this expansion is one of
the accomplishments I am
proudest of as a Senator.
Under this law, a vast
majority of parents will begin
receiving $300 every month
per child under six years old;
and $250 every month for
each child aged 6-17. That
adds up to $3,600 for every
child under six, and $3,000
for every child 6 to 17.
The first payments began
on Thursday, July 15. This
week, millions of New
York families are seeing
extra money hit their bank
accounts, the first in a series
of monthly payments that
will continue through the
end of this year.
Single parents with
incomes up to $112,500 —
and married couples with
incomes up to $150,000 –
are all eligible for the full
benefit.
Here is what you need
to do in order to receive
your payments. If you have
already filed your taxes with
the IRS in either of the past
two years or both, you don’t
have to lift a finger. You will
automatically receive your
monthly check if you qualify.
If you didn’t file taxes in
either 2020 or 2019, there is
a good chance you still qualify
for the child tax credit.
Please go online and register
at irs.gov/childtaxcredit.
Spread the word to your
friends, family, and neighbors.
If you have any questions,
please reach out to my
office. We are ready to help.
All told, this policy is
expected to lift more than
four million children out of
poverty, cutting the childhood
poverty rate almost in
half. It is the single largest
effort to cut child poverty in
the last half century.
In other words, it’s a really
big deal.
I know families who’ve
told me they’re going to
spend the little extra cash
on fixing their car, on rent
that they’ve fallen behind
on, and on basic medicine
for their kids.
This is about giving American
families the extra lift
they need to recover from the
COVID pandemic. It will be a
boon for middle-class New
Yorkers and families across
the country who still need
help making ends meet.
I am happy to say help
is on the way for the vast
majority of New York’s parents.
Senator Charles Schumer,
a Brooklyn native, represents
New York in the United
States Senate, and serves as
Senate Majority Leader.
By Colvin W. Grannum.
Colvin, president & CEO
of Bedford Stuyvesant
Restoration Corp.
Over the past year, COVID-19
has devastated our community.
From hundreds of shuttered
restaurants to high unemployment
rates, Brooklyn’s economy
has suffered. Communities
like ours were hit hardest by
the pandemic and as the world
continues to get back to normal,
the city and state should
be doing everything possible to
ensure a quick recovery.
Since 1967, the Bedford Stuyvesant
Restoration Corporation
has worked with New Yorkers
and businesses to improve the
quality of life for families living
in Central Brooklyn. We
believe a flourishing Brooklyn
community consists of strong
businesses and institutions
that are anchored in a culture
of equity and inclusion. Our
work is focused on closing the
gap in family and community
wealth to ensure all residents
of our community are able to
live in prosperity. Our strategic
direction is to disrupt and
close the racial wealth gap.
Consistent with our mission
and strategic direction, we support
modernizing New York’s
short-term rental regulations
to allow more Central Brooklyn
families to share their homes
with confidence on platforms
like Airbnb; thereby increasing
their housing and economic
stability.
Restoration was the nation’s
first community development
organization, committed to
Brooklyn and Central Brooklyn,
in particular. We have
spent more than five decades
working to bring economic,
cultural, and educational
improvements to our communities,
and we have worked to
create thousands of jobs for
local residents, help people of
all income levels have access to
quality housing and supported
thousands of families and businesses
in more effectively managing
their financial resources
Central Brooklyn communities
like Bedford Stuyvesant,
Crown Heights and Brownsville
have a long history of
African American and minority
home-ownership over many
decades. Many local families
have owned their homes for
generations. These families
anchor their communities.
But economic equity has not
been equally distributed in
Central Brooklyn. Even before
the pandemic, African American
homeowners have been
targeted for predatory lending
practices or more exposed to
losses of rental income making
it difficult for families that have
been here for so long to maintain
ownership.
During the last legislative
session, New York state
had an opportunity to clarify
home sharing regulations and
expand opportunities to help
families stay in their homes,
but it failed again.
Allowing local families to
access more resources to help
them maintain ownership of
their homes is long overdue
and something that needs to be
addressed in the next legislative
session.
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To New York’s parents:
Help is on the way
Modernizing home sharing
regulations could benefit
home owners
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., speaks
to reporters after the Democrats’ policy luncheon, on
Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, July 20, 2021. Associated
Press/Jose Luis Magana
/schnepsmedia.com