John,

The City’s budget is due July 1st. Stay tuned for updates on the budget negotiations! A handshake deal and basic details on the budget should be coming down the pipeline soon.
We’ve heard from a number of community members about the unsanitary conditions at the Harmony Park playground, and rest assured that we are in touch with the Parks Department to remedy the situation. Please continue to reach out if there are further issues!

A Week of Hearings

As promised, this was a big week at City Hall! In addition to our Stated Meeting (we’ll get to that next), we held two important hearings. The first was on Tuesday, 6/20 for my bill to expand the City’s Earned Sick Time Act to gig workers and independent contractors. Intro 617 would ensure the 140,000 gig workers and independent contractors receive up to 56 hours of paid sick leave every year, paid for by the companies that profit from their labor. This issue is especially important to me because when I was young, my father worked as a construction day laborer and was seriously injured on the job. He couldn’t take a day off when we were growing up, so he worked through his injury to put food on our table, and as a result, he’s still recovering from that injury today. I found it fitting that we held this hearing right after Father’s Day. This work is to ensure no other family has to decide between their health and making ends meet.

Then on Wednesday, 6/21, I went head-to-head with members of the Mayor’s team on another bill of mine, Intro 942. This bill would establish minimum standards for asylum seeker housing, essentially ending the shadow shelter system that has sprung up under this administration. While I am deeply grateful for the herculean effort of city workers across dozens of agencies to serve our newest neighbors, housing people in substandard spaces without access to showers is wrong and illegal in our City under our Right-To-Shelter laws. I find the development of the new respite centers, initially designed to be temporary, but we know people are housed there for upwards of a month, especially troubling under the backdrop of the Mayor’s attempt to roll back the Right-To-Shelter mandate and vetoed critical housing legislation. Members of the administration made it clear they stand in firm opposition to my proposed legislation, but I will not stop fighting to ensure dignity for our immigrant communities.

Stated Meeting Update

In addition to our hearings, I was back at City Hall on Thursday, 6/22, for our second Stated Meeting this month. You can check out our Twitter thread covering some of the legislation I co-sponsored and celebrated the passage of, and I’m especially proud to support the new bill from Council Member Barron to protect healthcare coverage for our City’s retirees! This legislation has been in the works for a while, and having heard from hundreds of constituents asking for me to support it, I am proud to have my name on this bill. A bill was also introduced to rename a street in our community to Thomas Marrinan Way. Located in Community Board 12, I’m proud to support this street's renaming to honor Thomas Marrinan, a retired NYPD officer who was tragically killed helping a senior when stray gunfire ended his life.

We noted this at the top of the newsletter, but despite it being almost the end of the month, we have no real updates on the budget. The clock is ticking, so please stay tuned for what might be a very quick budget announcement and subsequent vote.

Community Bulletin

Join the Parks Department on 6/27 at 6 PM for an in-person meeting on accessibility upgrades to the beloved Old Stone House! RSVP is recommended, and the event will be held at the Old Stone House.
This summer, the Department of Transportation (DOT) will start repair work on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway between Atlantic Avenue and Sands Street. Preliminary work near the Columbia Street on and off-ramps will begin this coming week. DOT will host a virtual public information session on these upcoming repairs on Thursday, 6/29 at 6:00 PM. You can register to join the meeting here.
DOT is conducting community outreach to understand how the Beverley Road Open Street is used and how the community wants to see this new public space evolve in the future! Take this short survey to share your feedback and ideas for the Beverley Road Open Street – the survey will remain open until 6/30.
Join our office, fellow community members, greenway users, and Brooklynites at Brooklyn Greenway Initiative’s City of Water Day Stewardship Event at the Van Voorhees Playground on Saturday, 7/15, at 10 AM. Help clean the green space on adjacent berms, weed, aerate, and remove litter from young street tree beds!
Like me, I’m sure you love the Open Streets on 5th Avenue - but did you know that running an Open Street is expensive? The 5th Avenue BID is looking for help to fund and maintain their incredible work of keeping our streets open to the public and available for local businesses to use. Remember - Open Streets on 5th Avenue run through 10/28!
Our friends at the ACC of New York have dozens of furry friends looking for a new home! This summer, adoption fees for large dogs and adult cats are cut to just $5 to help these animals find a new home! See who’s up for adoption here. Not looking for a new pet right now? Their Brooklyn Care Center needs food and pet supplies as their shelters are at capacity. Check out their wishlist and help them care for their animals!
The winners of the 2023 Pasta Rose Scholarships have just been announced! This yearly scholarship is awarded to two Brooklyn high school students who have lost a parent to cancer.
- Receiving $10,000 toward her college education is Sarra, who lost her mother to leukemia when she was 13. After this loss, Sarra took on the responsibility of caring for her younger brother, who has Down syndrome. Despite the heavy care burden during the pandemic, Sarra maintained a high GPA and was on the Principal's List every semester. Sarra hopes to one day become an architect and plans on donating time and money to help low-income families put food on the table.
- Receiving $6,000 toward her college education is Symphony, who lost her father to cancer when she was 15. Symphony believes in raising up all the women around her and is especially proud of her work with the Prom Squad initiative at The Young Woman Leadership School of Brooklyn. Volunteers like Symphony give free makeup, hair, and nail services to seniors going to the prom in New York City who otherwise couldn't afford it. Symphony hopes to continue helping women when she grows up by becoming a gynecologist to make sure Black and Latina women have the same access to healthcare as everyone else.
Lithium-ion battery fires can be deadly. New Yorkers are encouraged to call 311 to report safety concerns about lithium-ion batteries. For a full list of best practices for lithium-ion batteries, visit Safety Tips for Devices with Lithium-Ion Batteries - FDNY Smart.

In Solidarity,

Shahana

P.S. It’s with a heavy heart that I share with you all the passing of Ibrahim Abdul-Matin. Ibrahim was a Black Muslim scholar and leader in environmental justice and touched the lives of so many people with his work. A few weeks back, I was proud to publish an op-ed with Ibrahim celebrating the passage of our bill to mandate universal residential composting. It was such a privilege to work with him shortly before his passing. His book, Green Deen: What Islam Teaches about Protecting the Planet, had such a major influence on how to orient my faith toward my commitments to climate equity. Please consider supporting his legacy by making a contribution to NuLeadership, an organization dedicated to advancing justice.