Brooklyn Democratic Party Chair Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn (left) and
Councilmember Adrienne Adams. Offi ce of Council Member Rodneyse Bichotte
Hermelyn
Caribbean Life, December 24-30, 2021 3
By Nelson A. King
The United States Coast Guard says
crew members from the Relianceclass
Coast Guard Cutter Dauntless
(WMEC 624) have offloaded more
than US$148 million of illegal narcotics
at Base Miami Beach from
three separate interdictions in
the Caribbean Sea in the past two
weeks.
The US Coast Guard said that following
the three interdictions, nine
suspected drug smugglers of the
Dominican Republic and Colombian
nationality were apprehended.
The Wave-class Royal Fleet Auxiliary
Wave Knight (A389) crew seized
about y 1,200 pounds of cocaine, the
US Coast Guard said.
It also said that the Sentinel-class
Coast Guard Cutter William Trump
(WPC 1111) and the offshore patrol
vessel His Netherlands Majesty’s
Ship Holland (P840) crew seized
about 6,700 pounds of cocaine in
two interdictions.
The US Attorney’s Offices for the
District of Puerto Rico, Southern District
of Florida, and the Eastern District
of Virginia are prosecuting these
cases.
“These successful interdictions are
the result of professional partnerships
between the US Coast Guard, RFA
Wave Knight, and HNLMS Holland
crews,” said Hansel Pintos, US Coast
Guard Seventh District spokesperson.
“The Coast Guard’s strong international
partnerships, counter threats
in the maritime domain, protect each
of our countries from transnational
organized crime, and work to stabilize
and promote good governance in the
region.”
The US Coast Guard said this effort
is part of an Organized Crime Drug
Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF)
operation.
By Nelson A. King
New York City Public Advocate
Jumaane Williams, the son of Grenadian
immigrants, hailed the City Council’s
passage of Intro 1867, expanding the
right to vote in municipal elections to
roughly 900,000 non-citizen New Yorkers,
including Caribbean nationals, with
legal permanent residence status or other
valid work authorization.
“Today, New York will finally restore
the right to vote to New York City permanent
residents, regardless of federal
citizenship status,” Williams, a candidate
for New York Governor in next June’s
Democratic Primary, told Caribbean Life.
“This is a city of immigrants, and New
Yorkers deserve a voice in their city representatives
and the policies that will
shape their lives.
“I’m grateful to the elected officials
and advocates who have worked on this
issue for so long, and that, even as some
states work to strip voting rights from
communities of more color, our city joins
others across the nation which already
have restored this right and expanded
democracy,” he added.
Queens Borough President Donovan
Richards, Jr., who traces his roots
to Jamaica, said that “in a time when
democracy itself is under threat across
the world, I applaud both the City Council
for its courageous vote to enfranchise
nearly one million our neighbors and the
countless advocates who fought tirelessly
for years to make this victory possible.
“Our city, and our democracy, is a
fairer and stronger place today because
of this vote and the dedicated activism it
took to get here,” he said.
The New York Immigration Coalition
(NYIC), an umbrella policy and advocacy
organization for more than 200 immigration
groups in New York State, said it
collaborated, for years, with other groups
and allies, such as the Our City, Our Vote
Coalition (OCOV), and United Neighborhood
Houses (UNH), in working hard
for the eventual passage of the historic
measure.
NYIC said Thursday’s vote, “the most
significant expansion of New York City’s
democracy in over a century, also marked
a significant victory in the ongoing fight
for voting rights across the country.”
“Today, we finally gave immigrant
New Yorkers who raise their kids here,
build our economy, and contribute to
this vibrant city every single day a voice
in their local democracy,” NYIC Executive
Director Murad Awawdeh told Caribbean
Life.
By Nelson A. King
District Council (DC) 37, the largest
municipal union in New York City, said
on Friday that Council Member Adrienne
Adams clinched victory in the race for City
Council Speaker, as 33 members of the
51-member City Council committed their
support or released statements backing
her Speaker candidacy.
The broad support for Council Member
Adams from legislative leaders across the
five boroughs comes on the heels of a
coalition of labor unions, including 32BJ
SEIU, DC 37, CWA District 1 and NYSNA
declaring their support for her campaign
for Speaker.
DC 37 said Adams will lead a historymaking
City Council, with a majority of
women serving on the Council for the
first time.
“An inclusive and diverse coalition, with
members from across the city and across
the political spectrum, is supporting Adrienne
Adams,” said DC 37 in a statement,
adding that Adams will assume the office
on Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022 at the first
Stated Meeting in the next session of the
City Council.
“I am honored to have earned the support
and the trust of my colleagues to
be their Speaker,” said Adams, who represents
Council District 28 in Southeast
Queens (Jamaica, Richmond Hill, Rochdale
Village and South Ozone Park). “Our
coalition reflects the best of our city.
“We are ready to come together to
solve the enormous challenges we face in
order to not just recover from COVID but
to build a better, fairer city that works for
everyone,” she added. “I want to thank the
Council members, labor and party leaders,
women’s groups, and everyone in our
broad coalition for their support.
“The City Council will be a collaborative
and effective legislative body that
incorporates what makes New York City
great and focuses on the needs of our
communities,” continued Adams, who
was first elected to represent Council District
28 in November 2017.
Brooklyn Democratic Party Chair
Assembly Member Rodneyse Bichotte
Hermelyn, the daughter of Haitian immigrants,
said she fully supports Adams as
Speaker of the City Council.
“Adrienne Adams has the support
needed to become NYC Council speaker,
and I am proud to stand with her,”
Bichotte Hermelyn, who represents the
42nd Assembly District in Brooklyn, told
Caribbean Life.
“With the most diverse council yet, a
qualified woman of color is the best choice
to lead us toward an equitable recovery,”
she added. “Adams will get the job done.”
Wikimedia Commons
Adrienne Adams clinches victory
in Council Speaker’s race
Williams hails right to vote in municipal elections
US Coast
Guard offloads
millions of
illegal narcotics