See the events my office and I have hosted, community upgrades, upcoming events, and more     Dear Neighbor, I hope this email finds you well. Below you will find updates on what I have been working on during the month of July. This includes a recap of community events and visits, news from City Hall on the legislation I have both passed and introduced, relevant resources, news articles, upcoming events and more! Please do not hesitate to reach out to my office with any questions or concerns. In Community, Hon. Amanda Farías Council Member, District 18 Community Recap: On Your Block and In Your Corner   I joined the Stevenson Commons Town Hall to discuss the exciting development plans happening in the South side of the parking lot which includes my $2 million dollar allocation last year. I also updated everyone on the events and services my office offers and discussed the funding I have brought to Council District 18 throughout my first term. I look forward to working closely with the new management company and tenants to see the project through to completion. NYCHA Family Days have begun and my office and I joined in on the fun at Glebe Senior Houses, Bronx River Houses, and Soundview Houses! Thank you to all the amazing TA President’s and the tenant associations for your hard work in putting together these incredible community events. I love sponsoring these events for our families, and always enjoy the time spent out in the community. I was excited to join my neighbors at the iAHD Dynamic Arts Gallery for their community art fair in Castle Hill! They host art classes for special needs adults, highlight BIPOC artists from our community, and are on the same block as my district office. I toured Planned Parenthood’s Bronx Health Center with my colleague Council Member Eric Dinowitz. The center has been serving Bronxites since the 70's, but just expanded last year. They provide essential healthcare services like HIV testing, birth control consultations, men’s health care, pregnancy testing, and more for those who lack and/or have a health insurance plan. I am proud to support a center that pays attention to the needs of our neighbors across the borough. I was also happy to join the Clover Leaf Towers community in Soundview for their annual Family Day. It was great to speak with residents enjoying the day about issues in the community and sharing great stories from living here! I even ran into the family of one of our SYEP interns from last summer - Saniya! I joined NYC Parks for a ribbon cutting ceremony celebrating the newly reconstructed Noble Playground! This event was a wonderful celebration opening up a much needed renovated park in our neighborhood. Thank you to NYC Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue and our Bronx Parks Commissioner Jessenia Aponte for ensuring this project was timely and ready for the end of summer so everyone in the community can make fun summer memories here like I have from spending summers and weekends in our parks! Happy National Night Out! I started the night at Bruckner Commons with the 43rd Precinct and also attended the 45th Precinct’s event at Westchester Square. I'm always happy to see community leaders, officers, and residents build community and strengthening their partnerships. A special thank you to all of our committed community members and officers who help to keep our neighborhoods safe. I joined the New York Junior Tennis League for their annual Bronx D75/Special Populations Carnival! NYJTL has been in CD18 for years and I’m excited to keep on funding this programming for all our future tennis stars, coaches, and trainers! Thank you to the New York Junior Tennis League for hosting this wonderful event and for creating these enriching opportunities for young Bronxites through free community tennis. Looking forward to our rematch! I joined 32BJ members for their national day of action to support the growing coalition at Starbucks Workers United in Parkchester. Starbucks has broken federal labor laws over 200 times with continued union busting efforts. I was out in CD18’s only Starbucks to showcase that the Bronx is union strong! I of course also ran into a few friendly faces who I even recruited to help us canvas. Thanks to all the volunteers and organizers for being out here with me.   Community Recap: CM Farías Events   We are celebrating Hip Hop’s 50th by declaring July 1st as Disco King Mario Day! In honor of local hip hop legend Disco King Mario, I hosted a co-naming ceremony on the corner of Watson & Rosedale. He hosted a number of block parties and events not only because he was passionate about music but to keep his neighbors off the streets and out of trouble. We honor the movement of community and culture he started in The Bronx! Fridays are for movies! We spent our last community movie night under the stars watching Turning Red at Watson Gleason Playground. We are breaking movie night for summer, but will be back for the fall! One last big thank you to NYC Parks for partnering with us to make movie nights a reality in CD18! Our food distribution at St. Helena’s was a big success! With the help of our amazing partners at St. Helena’s Church and Albanian American Open Hands Association, we were able to provide over 250 people with fresh produce and non-perishables, and we were able to stock St. Helena’s pantry with some veggies! Being active in fighting for food justice is about access to quality food for all through availability, adequacy and sustainability. That’s the holistic approach I have as a Council Member, and I’m committed to continuing with all our community partners. We held the first TLC event in The Bronx right at our office with Commissioner Do! Thank you to the NYC Taxi team and the Van Hailin Mobile Outreach Unit for being in CD18 serving taxi drivers from our community and across the borough! We are always looking for ways to increase accessibility to our city agencies, especially when we know some of the offices are not conveniently located. Van Hailin brought their office to our drivers and saved them the cross-borough commute.   Resources and Opportunities Health Bucks Available at my District Office The Parkchester greenmarket is open on Westchester Ave and White Plains Road every Friday from 8 AM - 3 PM until November 17th. At the greenmarket you can find my office distributing health bucks for you to use at the market to purchase fresh and locally grown fruits and vegetables. Health bucks are $2 coupons good for fruits and vegetables at NYC farmers markets - anyone can use them and every $2 spent with SNAP benefits at the NYC farmers market you get $2 back in health bucks, up to $10 per day. Cannabis NYC Loan Fund RFP NYCEDC is issuing a Request for Proposals to launch the Cannabis NYC Loan Fund. This Loan Fund will aim to offer flexible capital at below-market rates to cannabis businesses run by Social and Economic Equity Applicants who have been awarded licenses to operate in New York City. NYCEDC is seeking respondents to this Request for Proposals to participate in one to two roles: Loan Fund capital partners and a fund administrator. To learn more please visit edc.nyc/RFPs. Did you know that we have free compost bins in CD18? Composting is one of the most effective ways we as individuals can help to lower greenhouse gas emissions. When we throw our food and other organic waste into the trash it ends up creating high amounts of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, while it sits at the landfill. By composting our food and other organic waste we are significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions and protecting our planet. Check out the NYC Compost app to find the bin nearest you to drop off your compost.   City Hall Recap It is a short recap this month as the Council does not hold as many hearings in the summer. At this month’s two Stated meetings I was proud to introduce seven new bills and pass seventeen bills that focus on several issues including, CityFHEPS, civil service exams, a commercial and residential linkage fee, parking structure penalties, public bathrooms, supporting union members, urban agriculture and more. Read more about this on my social media @CMAmandaFarias. Ahead of the Civil Service and Labor committee hearing, Council Member De La Rosa and I announced two resolutions we would be hearing on the floor today in support of striking members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and SAG-AFTRA. The film and tv industry has fundamentally changed due to the pandemic, technology, streaming, and more - but yet union contracts have not. As a former teamster and L210 member, the Chair of the Committee on Economic Development, and someone who represents a large studio in my district, I am proud to have sponsored these resolutions which both passed unanimously. I stood with 1199 SEIU-UHWE members as they called for just treatment and fair pay for the brave EMS workers who risk their life everyday to serve the healthcare needs of New Yorkers. I am always proud to be alongside our unions as they call for greater pay equity.   Upcoming Events     In the News The Bronx Times: Column: The city budget at work for Council District 18 City And State: New York City’s uphill battle to save manufacturing The Real Deal: Pols keep trying to save manufacturing as landlords seek more lucrative uses News 12: Department of Sanitation installs new cameras in effort to crack down on illegal dumping Harlem World: Mayor Adams And Comptroller Lander Cut Red Tape For Nonprofits’ Timely Payments From Harlem To Hollis City Land: Parks Department Celebrates Reopening of Noble Playground in the Bronx Daily News: New Rules for NYC Parking Garages Introduced in City Council We Want to Hear From You Did you read about our Menstrual Equity Bill Package? If not, read more here. We are working with Period Law to fight for more equitable access and want to hear from parents and students on their personal experiences in the city. Check out their survey here! Contact the office at 718-792-1140 or [email protected] NYC Council District 18 | 778 Castle Hill Avenue, Bronx, NY 10473 Unsubscribe [email protected] Update Profile | Constant Contact Data Notice Sent by [email protected] powered by Try email marketing for free today!