FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM MAY 10, 2018 • THE QUEENS COURIER 25
Quitting was AG Schneiderman’s only choice: Queens pols
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
rpozarycki@qns.com / @robbpoz
Taking a stand with the women who
have publicly accused former Attorney
General Eric Schneiderman of physical
assaulting them, Queens lawmakers said
that his swift departure from offi ce was the
only way to move forward.
Congresswoman Grace Meng, who
was one of the fi rst Queens offi cials to
speak out about the situation, said that
Schneiderman’s resignation “was the right
decision to make,” calling the allegations
against him “deeply disturbing and shocking.”
Th e New Yorker published a story on
Monday night in which two women formerly
Bilingual classes expanding
at 14 Queens schools
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
rpozarycki@qns.com / @robbpoz
Fourteen public schools across Queens
have been chosen to receive expanded
bilingual education programs that will help
bridge the education gap for English language
learners, Schools Chancellor Richard
Carranza announced on Th ursday.
All but one of the schools will receive
dual language programs for the fi rst
time; in these classes, students who are
English language learners receive instruction
through both English and their native
tongue. Approximately half of dual language
class students are English language
learners, and the rest are English profi -
cient.
Elmhurst’s P.S. 7 and P.S. 13 will both
have Chinese dual language programs; P.S.
7 will also have a dual language program
in Bengali.
Ridgewood’s I.S. 77 and P.S. 305,
Flushing’s P.S. 22, Corona’s P.S. 92 and
P.S. 330, Jamaica’s P.S./I.S. 268 and East
Elmhurst’s P.S. 148 will each have Spanish
dual language programs.
P.S. 71 in Ridgewood will have a dual
language program in Polish to accommodate
the large number of Polish-speaking
students in the neighborhood, and I.S. 25
in Flushing will launch a Korean dual language
program for its burgeoning Koreanspeaking
population.
In addition, William Cullen Bryant High
School in Long Island City will have a
Transition Bilingual Education (TBE) program
in Spanish. Students in TBE classes
receive common home language instruction
with intensive English language support,
receiving more instruction in English
over time until they reach full profi ciency.
“Everyone in our city, including immigrant
families and undocumented students,
deserves a high-quality education,
and language should never be a barrier
to equal access,” Carranza said. “When I
started kindergarten, I only spoke Spanish,
and my parents trusted public schools to
teach me English. I want to make sure
every English language learner in New
York City has the same experience I did
growing up.”
Both the dual language and Transition
Bilingual Education programs aim at helping
students acquire a new language while
simultaneously strengthening their native
language skills and their mastery of other
subject areas.
Queens Senator helps pass drug disposal bills
BY RYAN KELLEY
rkelley@ridgewoodtimes.com
Twitter @R_Kelley6
On the heels of National Prescription
Drug Take Back Day, the New York
State Senate has voted to move forward
with two bills aimed at making it easier
to dispose of unwanted or expired medications.
While one of the bills is simply meant to
help the public be better informed about
the disposal of drugs, the other would
require pharmaceutical manufacturers
to create their own drug take back program
that is free of charge. Queens state
Senator Joseph Addabbo, who co-sponsored
both of the bills, said that not
knowing what to do with old medications
is a common complaint he receives from
the residents of his district in Queens.
“Many of my constituents have complained
about the diffi culties of clearing
out their medicine cabinets and having
safe and responsible options for disposing
of unwanted prescription and
non-prescription drugs,” said Addabbo.
“No one really wants to fl ush them down
the drain and have these drugs seep into
our water sources and overall environment.
Having truly convenient avenues
to get unwanted medications out of our
homes would be a great help to environmentally
responsible consumers, and
would also address the opioid epidemic
by reducing access to narcotics in the
home.”
Th e fi rst bill, introduced by Senator
Kemp Hannon, would direct the departments
of health and environmental conservation
to establish a statewide online
database of drug disposal sites, upcoming
disposal events and any other options
for the safe disposal of drugs. Th e list
would be searchable by ZIP code and be
made available on both of the agencies’
websites.
Addabbo, a member of the Senate
Environmental Conservation Committee,
said that learning about the resources
already available for citizens to get rid of
unused drugs would be as easy as “the
click of a mouse.”
Th e second bill, also introduced by
Hannon, would enact the drug take back
act requiring certain drug manufacturers
to operate a take back program to
accept and dispose of covered drugs.
Chain pharmacies — or those with 10 or
more locations — would be required to
off er on-site collection for free or mailback
collections with pre-paid envelopes.
Addabbo explained that this variation
to similar legislation passed last year may
have a better chance of getting approved
by Governor Andrew Cuomo.
“Th e Legislature approved similar legislation
last year to implement a take
back program at chain pharmacies, but
it was vetoed by the governor,” Addabbo
explained. “Th e governor didn’t want
consumers or pharmacies to shoulder
the cost of returning the drugs. By ensuring
that manufacturers will assume the
expense, we may be closer to having a
program of this type signed into law.”
Now that the two bills have passed the
Senate they will be considered by the
Assembly Committee on Health.
Th e national movement to safely dispose
of drugs set a new record on April
28 for the 15th National Take Back Day
when approximately 949,046 pounds of
drugs were collected across the country.
associated with Schneiderman spoke
on the record about the abuse. Michelle
Manning Barish and Tanya Selvaratnam
claimed that the attorney general “repeatedly
hit them, oft en aft er drinking, frequently
in bed and never with their consent,”
according to the report.
“Th is kind of conduct is abhorrent and
has no place in our society,” Meng said
in a May 7 statement. “Th e brave women
who revealed this abusive behavior are to
be commended for speaking out. Th ey
refused to stay silent, and I applaud them
for having the courage to come forward.”
Th e report spurred bipartisan calls for
his immediate resignation from offi ce —
including one from Governor Andrew
Cuomo, whom Schneiderman replaced as
attorney general in 2011.
Just before 10 p.m. on May 7,
Schneiderman — while denying any
wrongdoing — announced he would
resign his offi ce eff ective at the close of
business on May 8.
On Tuesday, several other Queens
elected officials said they believed
Schneiderman’s accusers and felt that,
in Assemblywoman Nily Rozic’s words,
quitting the offi ce was the “only option”
Schneiderman had.
“Given the recent allegations of assault
by four women, the resignation of
Attorney General Eric Schneiderman was
the only option moving forward,” Rozic
said. “It is imperative that the reports of
these courageous women are taken seriously
and that investigations continue.
New York women deserve an Attorney
General who champions their rights both
publicly and privately and we should continue
advocating and pursuing a more just
New York.”
State Senator Joe Addabbo also issued
a statement supporting Schneiderman’s
accusers: “I applaud the brave women for
coming forward with their stories because
these actions are not tolerable from a public
servant. I always believed elected offi -
cials should be held to a higher ethical
standard.”
Queens’ newest elected offi cial —
Assemblywoman Ari Espinal, who won in
April a special election for the seat formerly
held by current Councilman Francisco
Moya — said that there must be “no doubt
that any man who abuses, harasses or
assaults women should not be representing
our state.”
“In this era of #MeToo, it takes immense
courage to speak up about something so
personal and traumatic,” Espinal said. “I
stand completely with these women and
support them in their fi ght for justice. As
a state and country, we must do more to
empower all victims of abuse to come forward
so that we can hold perpetrators
accountable and break the cycle of violence.”
Schneiderman had been slated to run for
a third term later this year. Under the State
Constitution, the State Legislature has the
authority to fi ll the vacancy until voters
elect a new attorney general later this year.
In the meantime, Solicitor General
Barbara Underwood is serving as acting
attorney general.
In a statement, the NYPD indicated that
it currently “has no complaints on fi le”
about the alleged abuse. “If the NYPD
receives complaints of a crime, it will
investigate them thoroughly,” according
to NYPD spokesperson Sgt. Brendan Ryan.
On May 8, Cuomo announced that he
selected Nassau County District Attorney
Madeline Singas as special prosecutor
to investigate the allegations against
Schneiderman.
Photo via Wikimedia Commons
Former State Attorney General Eric
Schneiderman
Photo via Twitter/@DOEChancellor
Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza meets with
students in Manhattan on May 3.
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