In Public Service – August 28, 2019

August 29, 2019 Paula Katinas

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Cymbrowitz earns perfect score on environment

Assemblymember Steven Cymbrowitz has a perfect legislative rating, according to a leading health and environmental advocacy group in New York State.

Cymbrowitz, a Democrat representing Sheepshead Bay, earned 100 out of 100 points on the 2019 State Environmental Scorecard released by the New York League of Conservation Voters.

The league grades lawmakers according to their votes on environmental and health issues.

During the recent legislative session, Cymbrowitz supported the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, which would require the state to achieve 100 percent clean power by 2040. He supported the Child Safe Products Act, which would ban harmful chemicals from children’s products. He also voted in favor of congestion pricing to reduce vehicle emissions in Manhattan.

“I am honored to have this important recognition from the New York League of Conservation Voters for the work I’ve been doing to safeguard the environmental both in my own community and throughout New York State,” said Cymbrowitz, a member of the Environmental Conservation Committee.

Rose says red tape hurts fight against fentanyl

Bureaucratic squabbles are preventing a new lab from being built to detect fentanyl being illegally shipped into the country, U.S. Rep. Max Rose charged.

Rose, a Democrat representing Southwest Brooklyn and Staten Island, toured the International Mail Facility at JFK on Tuesday.

“Chinese-made fentanyl is coming through the mail into our communities and causing incredible damage and it must be stopped both at the source and at critical ports of entry like JFK. But instead, bureaucratic turf wars and red tape have prevented a critical lab from being installed at our top international mail processing center,” said Rose, chairperson of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Intelligence and Counterterrorism.

Rose said the General Services Administration and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey have delayed finalizing an agreement that would allow the installation of new screening and testing equipment.

Lentol says park to be built beneath Kosciuszko Bridge

A new public park will be built underneath the Brooklyn side of the Kosciuszko Bridge, according to Assemblymember Joe Lentol, who announced that Gov. Andrew Cuomo has committed to provide state funding for the project.

The state is looking to complete the first phase of “Under the K,” a project that will turn seven acres beneath the Kosciuszko Bridge into a park, by the summer of 2020, said Lentol, who represents North Brooklyn.

Under an agreement, the New York State Department of Transportation will provide the use of state land to the North Brooklyn Parks Alliance to allow for the completion of Phase One by next summer.

“This new project to transform space under the Kosciuszko Bridge into a public open space is exactly what this community needs. Not only will this versatile space encourage New Yorkers to spend more time outdoors, it will serve our community through artistic programs, youth programs and entertainment for all ages,” Lentol said.

Malliotakis blasts plan to scrap gifted student programs

Assemblymember Nicole Malliotakis had a swift reaction to a recommendation by a mayoral-appointed education panel to eliminate gifted student programs from city schools, calling it “another misguided action by the mayor in his ongoing effort to bring so called ‘social justice’ to the Department of Education.”

On Monday, the School Diversity Advisory Group issued a report recommending the elimination of gifted programs in the interest of increasing racial and ethnic diversity. Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a statement that he is looking forward to reviewing the panel’s proposals.

Malliotakis, a Republican who represents parts of Bay Ridge and Staten Island, said it’s a terrible idea.

Instead, she said, the mayor should be expanding gifted and talented programs in schools throughout the city and giving all children the opportunity to succeed.

Clarke climate change forum focuses on inequities

U.S. Rep. Yvette Clarke, vice chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, spent Tuesday night hosting “Climate-Resilient Smart Cities,” a forum to discuss climate-resilient technological advancements and they could be applied in Central Brooklyn.

Clarke, a Democrat who represents Central Brooklyn, said many of her constituents impacted by Hurricane Sandy in 2012 have still not returned to their homes and businesses because of the storm’s lasting effects. She also expressed concern over electrical power outages during the recent heat wave.

“As vice chair of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, my colleagues and I have just set the ambitious but necessary goal of achieving ‘net-zero’ greenhouse-gas emissions, nationwide, by the year 2050. With this goal, we will transform every sector of our economy to a clean energy economy that creates jobs, not pollution. We will also strive to put an end to the environmental injustices that have plagued our low-income communities and communities of color, communities that have suffered the greatest burden of climate change and environmental pollution for far too long,” Clarke said.