Good Morning, Brooklyn: Friday, August 12, 2022
NEW WAY OF SAFELY DISPOSING PRESCRIPTION DRUGS: A new partnership will bring to New York State an innovative safe way of disposing expired prescription drugs. The New York State Office for the Aging, New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS), have joined forces to ship 100,000 Deterra Drug Deactivation and Disposal Pouches for distribution and delivery to older adults. Deterra Pouches are designed to destroy unwanted or expired medications safely and permanently, making them unavailable for misuse and accidental ingestion. Once activated, the pouches can be disposed in the normal trash.
The effort is underway, with 69,000 pouches being shipped statewide. The remainder will be distributed in future rounds as requested by providers in need of resupply.
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ELECTEDS: PUBLIC LAND SHOULD GO TO NON-PROFITS, NOT DEVELOPERS: The City of New York should be required to dispose of publicly owned land to non-profit entities before for-profit developers, says a coalition of elected officials who rallied yesterday on legislation to ensure that genuinely affordable housing is built on publicly-owned land. Leading the rally was City Councilmember Lincoln Restler (D-33/Brooklyn Heights/Downtown Brooklyn/Williamsburg/Greenpoint.) This legislation prioritizes the selection of Community Land Trusts, community development corporations, or other nonprofit organizations to be the responsible developers that will effectively meet the needs of communities, whether for housing or economic development purposes. This bill builds on years of organizing by local community groups, who stood alongside Council Members at the rally, and who have been calling on the city to turn over public land set for disposition to community land trusts and nonprofit developers to ensure community control and deep affordability.