WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES APRIL 29, 2021 15
NYC’s #1 Source for Political & Election News
Biden praises Meng
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
CMOHAMED@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
President Joe Biden commended Queens Congresswoman
Grace Meng and her colleagues
for their leadership in the fi ght against anti-
Asian violence as the Senate passed the COVID-19
Hate Crimes Act to protect Asian Americans last
week.
“I am grateful to Senator Hirono, Senator Duckworth,
Congresswoman Meng and CAPAC’s chair,
Congresswoman Chu, for their persistent and courageous
leadership on this issue — and I look forward
to swift consideration and passage in the House of
Representatives, and signing this important legislation
into law,” Biden said in a statement.
The president lauded the Senate and the leadership
of the Congressional Asian Pacifi c American
Caucus (CAPAC) for passing the COVID-19 Hate
Crimes Act on Thursday, April 22, by an overwhelming
margin, receiving a vote of 94-1.
“This critical legislation will bring our nation
one step closer to achieving justice and equality
for Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacifi c
Islander communities. I was happy to see the Senate
add the bipartisan Jabara-Heyer NO HATE Act as an
amendment, which will further our national eff orts
to stand strongly against acts of hate and violence,”
Biden said.
For more than a year, according to Biden, far too
many Asian Americans have woken up each morning
increasingly fearful for their safety and the
safety of their loved ones having been scapegoated,
(From l. to r.) House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
(D-CA), Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Rep.
Grace Meng (D-NY) and Senate Majority Leader
Chuck Schumer speak at a press conference on
Tuesday, April 13, urging Congress to pass the
COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act.
harassed and assaulted — some have even been
killed.
“It has been over a year of living in fear for their
lives, as acts of anti-Asian bias and violence have
accelerated from coast to coast — an unconscionable
burden our fellow Americans have been forced to
bear, even as so many Asian Americans serve their
communities and our nation tirelessly on the front
lines of the pandemic.”
“Too oft en throughout our history, acts of hate
and violence directed at Asian Americans have
been met with silence,” Biden added. “Our nation
must stand together to speak out against hate, and
declare unequivocally: These acts are wrong. They
are un-American. And they must stop.”
Who do they like?
City Council candidates
demand senior center
reopening plan
BY STEPHEN WITT
EDITORIAL@QNS.COM
@QNS
Yankee games? You bet. But bingo games?
Out of the question.
While Mayor Bill de Blasio has been
moving full steam ahead with reopening the
city to government workers, tourists and New
Yorkers alike with social distancing and health
measures in place, there are no plans on the
table to reopen the city’s senior centers even
with proof of vaccination.
“We as seniors need to get out, especially
to talk, to laugh — that means so much to our
bodies. Laughter is the spirit of our life,” said
senior Peggy Wiley during a rally outside
Alpha Phi Alpha Senior Center in Cambria
Heights, Queens last month about a plan for
reopening the facility.
Now, three weeks after that rally, the city
still has no plan in place to reopen senior
centers, despite having vaccinated more
than 64 percent of the city’s seniors to date.
Vaccination of more seniors, including the
homebound, is ongoing.
“While there are older New Yorkers who
have been vaccinated, there are many who
are not. We continue to consider everyone’s
safety and will continue to follow the science
and the city’s health guidance on congregate
gatherings and activities. It is also important
to note that the Mayor’s Executive Order 100,
which called for the closure of adult centers,
remains in effect,” said a Department for the
Aging (DFTA) spokesperson.
The continued lack of a plan for reopening
senior centers is gaining traction as an issue
in local City Council races.
“I’ve spoken to all the executive directors
of the senior center facilities in our area,
and they say they are ready to be open,” said
James Johnson, who is running to succeed
term-limited Councilman I. Daneek Miller in
southeast Queens. “They know that our elders
need to be back in these facilities.”
Johnson noted the mayor’s recent announcement
that city workers will be going back to
work in May, a signal that New York City will
be returning to business as usual, but he is yet
to announce a plan to open senior centers.
“Where is the plan to get our seniors back to
their routine?” Johnson said. “We understand
our elders are a vulnerable population, but
one year is extremely too long not to have a
plan today.”
Read more on PoliticsNY.com.
@QNS
ROSENTHAL
ENDORSES SANDRA
UNG
State Assemblyman Daniel
Rosenthal endorsed Sandra
Ung for City Council in the 20th
Council District.
Rosenthal said he was proud to
endorse Ung.
“Sandra has the experience,
ideas, and conviction to be
the leader we need in the City
Council,” Rosenthal said. “With
our city in crisis, we need more
leaders like Sandra who truly
put community service before
anything else.”
Ung said she was humbled to
receive his endorsement.
“The assemblyman has been
a steadfast advocate for funding
vital community institutions
like libraries, and I look forward
to working with him to continue
this work for our community,”
Ung said.
WEPRIN, RICHARDS
ANNOUNCE CROSS
ENDORSEMENT
Assemblymember David
Weprin, a city comptroller
candidate, and Queens Borough
President Donovan Richards
announced that they cross endorsed
each other in their bids
for offi ce.
Weprin said he was proud to
accept Richards’ endorsement
and to off er him his.
“This endorsement not only
means a great deal to me as a son
of Queens, but because I know
the level of respect to which
Donovan is held throughout the
entire borough by the more than
2 million residents who have
chosen to make Queens their
homes,” he said.
Richards called Weprin a
dedicated public servant who
will serve well as comptroller.
“His background in the private
sector, as the City Council
fi nance chair, and as a member
of the Assembly, has uniquely
prepared him for the challenges
of managing a complicated
financial system, protecting
the pensions of millions of New
Yorkers and serving as a watchdog
over the city’s agencies and
departments,” he said.
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