FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM APRIL 29, 2021 • THE QUEENS COURIER 17
Queens offi cials celebrate return of composting services
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Queens elected offi cials are welcoming
Queens DA hails latest city initiative to curb gun violence
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
On the same day she announced that
19-year-old Dajuan Williams was indicted
on murder charges for allegedly fi ring
the gun that killed Guedelia Vallinas near
the Woodside Houses in March, Queens
District Attorney Melinda Katz hailed
City Hall’s latest plan to combat gun violence
in the fi ve boroughs.
Mayor Bill de Blasio revealed that
the new “NYC Joint Force to End Gun
Violence” will soon be launched in
Queens before it is expanded citywide.
“As we move forward to reopen our
great city, one of our top priorities must
be putting an end to the scourge of gun
violence,” Katz said on Tuesday, April
20. “We need to be vigilant in our pursuit
of the shooter and the drivers of
gun violence and at the same time keep
guns out of the hands of our young people.
We need to keep the guns too easily
purchased elsewhere — in states such as
Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina
and Georgia — out of our city.”
Th e gun violence initiative will shift 200
NYPD offi cers to hotspots as part of the
annual Summer All Out program, according
to the mayor — double the Cure
Violence workforce across 31 sites citywide
— and launch safe parks and gangfree
zones.
“Eff ective strategies for protecting our
communities must be multifaceted and the
mayor has put forth a wide-ranging plan
that calls for investing in our communities
and our young people with Cure Violence
and other programs that have proven to
be eff ective in reducing crime and violence,”
Katz said. “Th e safest borough is
one where we work with our young people
to make sure they never become part
of the criminal justice system.”
Queens Borough President Donovan
Richards said it is no longer enough to
interrupt gun violence as it happens.
“Keeping our families safe and streets
secure requires a proactive, handson
approach with our youth — actively
engaging our families with numerous
opportunities for employment and personal
enrichment that our historically
underserved communities have sought
for years,” Richards said. “Safe Summer
NYC represents a signifi cant step toward
a future where our neighborhoods are
gun and gang free, and we look forward
to working with our city and community
partners to make that a reality.”
Elected offi cials across the borough said
there is a sense of urgency to act against
gun violence, especially as the weather
gets warmer.
“No one wants to see last summer
repeat itself, and this plan is a step in
the right direction to prevent gun violence
in our streets,” Councilwoman
Selvena Brooks-Powers said. “I’m particularly
excited about the investments
and expansions in cure violence and the
increase in Summer Youth Anti Violence
Employment slots, which have proven to
work across diff erent neighborhoods in
my district. We know that investing in
communities works, and I look forward
to the full implementation of the Safe
Summer plan.”
Councilman I. Daneek Miller noted
that the youth programs in targeted areas
would be a key strategy.
“Leading up to the summer months, it’s
important that we are doing all that we
can to engage our youth and provide proactive
solutions to stemming the tide of
gun violence,” Miller said. “We know what
works and what doesn’t, and I am grateful
for the city’s commitment to investing
in violence interrupter programs, enrichment
opportunities and targeted enforcement
where appropriate. I look forward
to working with our local groups here in
southeast Queens and across the city on
this crucially important initiative.”
the return of several composting programs
that were cut from the city budget
during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic
and the economic crisis caused by
the shutdown.
Th e Earth Day announcement at City
Hall included the resumption of the curbside
composting service provided by the
Department of Sanitation (DSNY) and
the expansion of community composting,
reuse and hazardous waste disposal
initiatives.
“With climate change already taking a
toll on our city in terms of severe storms
like Sandy, it is imperative that we leave no
stone unturned in our fi ght to make New
York City the greenest city in America —
ensuring the long-term sustainability of
our communities in the process,” Queens
Borough President Donovan Richards
said. “Th e restoration and expansion of
these programs are part of a greater puzzle
we must solve to secure the safety of
our families, and Queens is grateful to all
involved for the commitment.”
Queens residents who previously had
curbside composting service can sign up
in August with collection set to begin in
October. Neighborhood drop-off sites will
double to nearly 200 locations across the
city while organic collections return to
nearly 1,000 schools.
In addition to composting, several sustainability
programs were expanded,
including the SAFE Disposal Events —
which collect solvents, automotive, fl ammables,
electronics and other regulated
waste — from two events per borough
each year, to nearly 60 per year. Th e sixfold
expansion means fewer dangerous
chemicals and products on city streets, in
waterways and in landfi lls.
“Th e restoration of curbside composting
and the expansion of the SAFE disposal
events is a welcome development
as we celebrate Earth Day,” Councilman
I. Daneek Miller said. “Many local residents
have been eagerly looking forward
to composting services resuming, and we
are grateful that service will be restored
ahead of schedule. We are also looking
forward to holding a SAFE disposal site in
our district again this summer and greatly
appreciate the partnership with DSNY.”
In making the announcement, Mayor
Bill de Blasio said the city’s commitment
to sustainability would be year-round and
“advance the cause of environmental justice”
in all fi ve boroughs.
“I congratulate Mayor de Blasio and his
terrifi c environmental and sustainability
team for restarting the best-in-the-nation
curbside composting program and for the
major expansions being made to the community
composting, reuse and hazardous
waste disposal programs,” Councilman
James Gennaro said. “For this mayor to
make this kind of bold commitment as
the city is still emerging from COVID
really speaks to the remarkable commitment
to environmental leadership that
Bill de Blasio has always shown throughout
his career.”
DSNY Commissioner Edward Grayson,
a Middle Village resident, said the Earth
Day announcement represents progress
as the city gets back to pursuing its goal
of zero waste.
“When people think about the work
of the Department of Sanitation, all too
oft en they think it’s our job just to make
trash disappear. But we are a sustainability
organization — one of the largest municipal
resource recovery operations in the
world,” Grayson said. “We are providing
an example and an opportunity for all the
communities and all the residents of New
York City to make good choices, to make
the right choices, to make the choices for
our future. And these announcements
today, these service restorations today,
and this expansion of some of our community
programs today is very exciting
and completely the breath of fresh air we
need as we all recover.”
QNS fi le photo
The city will resume composting services that were curtailed amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
QNS fi le photo
Following years of anti-gun violence advocacy, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz applauds the
city’s latest plan to curb the scourge.
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