Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams (front) with COVID-19 honorees on the steps of Brooklyn Borough Hall.
Erica Krodman/Brooklyn BP’s Offi ce
Caribbean Life, Oct. 2-8, 2020 3
By Tangerine Clarke
After four years of exceptional delivery
of service to citizens at the Guyana
Consulate to New York, Consul General
Barbara Atherly, said goodbye at a grand
farewell dinner on Sept. 25, organized
by the Executive of Guyanese in the
Diaspora Inc., at the Trattoria Casa Di
Isacco Restaurant in Manhattan.
The diplomat, who was an educator
in all 10 regions of Guyana, and
served over 20 years as an international
public servant with (UNICEF), before
being appointed consul general in 2016,
under the Coalition government, was
celebrated as a competent leader who
went beyond the call of duty to bring
Guyanese together.
Atherly, who will return to Georgetown
after her tenure ends in October,
listened to tributes that expounded her
kindness, her brilliant transformation
of the consulate, and the cohesion she
brought to the Guyanese community.
The highly educated individual, who
admits she becomes emotional at farewell
gatherings, was presented with a
sculpture of the map of America designed
by renowned Guyanese artist, Jonathan
Locke, on behalf of the organization.
A Certificate of Honor, presented,
along with a poem by Stanhope Williams,
spoke of the grateful appreciation
the group felt for the dedicated,
consistently high standard of service CG
went beyond the normal call of duty to
provide.
Applauded for her enormous historic
outreaches across New York and New
Jersey, Atherly who also chaired the
CARICOM Consular Corp. during the
Caribbean flood disaster of 2019, was
thanked for her non-stop commitment
and passion to the diaspora, wherein she
delivered speeches at festivals, alumni
functions, and town hall meetings.
By Nelson A. King
Two Caribbean American legislatures
on Tuesday expressed outrage over
faulty absentee ballots sent, with different
names on the outer and inner envelopes,
to as many as 100,000 Brooklyn
voters.
Brooklyn Assembly Member Rodneyse
Bichotte, chair of the Brooklyn
Democratic Party, whose parents hail
from Haiti, and New York City Public
Advocate, the son of Grenadian immigrants,
said they were deeply troubled
by the snafu.
New York City Board of Elections said
that Phoenix Graphics, a vendor that
was charged with printing and mailing
the ballots, is responsible for the error,
according to Bichotte, representative for
the 42nd Assembly District in Brooklyn.
She said voters who signed these
faulty ballots will not have their vote
counted.
Bichotte said the Board of Elections
will be overnighting new ballots to everyone
in the impacted areas and that
all of those voters should complete and
submit the new ballots.
She said the vendor responsible for
the error will reprint the ballots, labeled
“second ballot” at their expense.
“Brooklyn voters wishing to safely
participate in our democratic process
are once again being disenfranchised
by systemic errors caused by third
party participants in the electoral process,”
Bichotte said. “I am outraged that
Brooklynites are receiving erroneous
ballots impeding their ability to effectively
vote by mail.
“I am demanding an immediate fix
to this problem,” she added. “I have
recommended that, in addition to sending
new ballots to all effected voters,
the Board implements further quality
checks, including sending trained staff
members to oversee the production and
shipment of ballots at off-site locations.
“The Board will also need to inform
voters, who unknowingly returned the
erroneous ballots, that they will not be
counted, and make sure these voters are
educated about the need to fill out the
new, corrected ballots,” she continued.
Bichotte said she has recommended
that the Board apply the steps established
under Assemblymember Charles
D. Lavine’s bill (A10830/S8370-B) to
notify voters that faulty ballots will be
rejected and new ballots should be submitted.
These steps include sending a notice
to the absentee voter’s address and contacting
the voter by electronic mail or
telephone, she said.
“To ease the burden on voters, the
United States Postal Service has said
they will work with the Board to deliver
ballots without postage,” Bichotte said.
“This needs to be an on-the-ground
effort, and the financial burden of this
major mistake must not be placed on
the back of taxpayers.
“To ensure that these problems do not
continue, Brooklyn needs to install an
elections commissioner,” the assemblywoman
added. “I demand the expeditious
installation of this individual to
oversee the process and prevent future
rollout errors from occurring.
By Nelson A. King
Brooklyn Borough President Eric
Adams last Tuesday held a special
“COVID-19 Heroes” ceremony at Brooklyn
Borough Hall paying tribute to
people who have made a difference in
their communities during the coronavirus
pandemic, as part of his regular
“Heroes of the Month” event series.
Adams said those who received recognitions
represented the diversity of
Brooklyn and the diverse range of largely
unsung heroism on display in recent
months as the borough and city battled
the virus.
“When some were looking to divide
us, these heroes demonstrated through
their selfless actions that we are more
powerful when we are united,” Adams
said. “These past six months have been
among the most challenging in our
city’s history; but, instead of losing
hope, these heroes spread light in a
dark time and showed our country what
true grit and resilience looks like.
“It was my pleasure to recognize
these heroes for their contributions,
and I thank them for their tireless
efforts to help their fellow New Yorkers
during the pandemic,” Adams added.
More than 80 honorees attended the
event and received citations on behalf of
the borough of Brooklyn from Adams.
Consul General of Guyana to New
York, Barbara Athrely left, is being
presented with a sculpture of the
map of America from renowned
Guyanese artist, Jonahtan Locke,
as his wife Brenda looks on. Photo
by Tangerine Clarke
Adams honors COVID-19 heroes
Caribbean pols outraged over faulty absentee ballots
Guyanese
diaspora bids
farewell to
consul general