Dear Neighbors & Friends,
It’s a WIM-WIN! The Governor has signed my Weigh-in-Motion (WIM) Bill into Law! Illegally overweight trucks have caused significant damage to the BQE triple cantilever and to our environment. That’s why I’m thrilled that New York is leading the way with our first-in-the-nation WIM program to get rid of these overweight trucks and extend the useful life of the BQE, while reducing carbon emissions.
Approximately 11% of the trucks on the BQE every day are estimated to exceed the federal weight limit of 40 tons, or 80,000 pounds. However, the conventional enforcement method of taking a truck off the road and weighing it on a stationary scale is highly impractical and in the BQE corridor, virtually impossible. This state-of-the-art WIM system will record the axle weights and gross weights of vehicles, with cameras taking photo evidence of vehicles’ license plates, and will electronically issue violations to offending trucks, with DMV mailing a fine to the owner of the vehicle.
As many of you know, this was a long endeavor! I first passed WIM legislation in 2021, but this new 2023 bill was needed to ensure that calibration checks can be properly implemented since the technology is so new that such guidelines didn’t yet exist. Regular calibration checks will ensure the WIM program will use the highest standards in the nation.
I’m thrilled that NYC DOT started the WIM program on 8/10/23. There is a 90-day warning period for overweight trucks once the program begins, after which time trucks will be subject to a $650 fine per violation, with fees up to $1,000.
Thanks to Governor Hochul for signing my bill into law, to Senator Andrew Gounardes for championing this bill in the Senate, to NYC DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez, Councilmember Lincoln Restler, the Brooklyn Heights Association and community groups for their support, and to the 2019-2020 BQE expert panel who first recommended we consider this technology.
This law is good for our infrastructure, our environment, and our neighborhoods.
Sincerely,
Jo Anne Simon
COVID TEST KIT Give Away - Today until 5pm! Stop by our office (341 Smith St in Carroll Gardens) today until 5pm to pick up a free COVID-19 rapid test! My staff and I will be giving out the kits outside in front of our office. If you can't make it today, drop in during our normal business hours to request a test kit.
Back to School Supply Drive. My office is collecting school supplies for
Gowanus Mutual Aid's 2023 Back-To-School Supply Drive! With the new school year starting soon and newly arrived families with children who need support, it's important that we help our neighbors. My office will be accepting donations Mon-Thurs, 9-5. More
details can be found here.
Save 63 Tiffany Place. The residents of 63 Tiffany Place in Cobble Hill are at risk of eviction at the end of this year. My office along with the tenants, Carroll Gardens Association, TakeRoot Justice, and my colleagues banded together to call out the greedy building owner for refusing to engage with the tenants and government agencies. We are united in our message: Save 63 Tiffany! The building’s Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) agreement, which requires it to remain affordable for 30 years, is expiring at the end of this year. Tenants remain in limbo while the owner refuses to engage with state and city agencies on a plan to keep the building affordable. Tenants moved into the building decades ago, before this neighborhood was the highly sought after and expensive one that it is today. They are teachers, artists, and nurses, and many are disabled and older adults. They moved in, added value, and built community in this neighborhood. I am committed to working with city and state agencies to hold this predatory landlord accountable because we must ensure tenants remain in their homes. Our city cannot lose any more affordable housing.
Governor Hochul's Executive Order on Gowanus Housing. On another housing related issue, Governor Hochul issued an Executive Order that permits developers who had already begun construction on their buildings within the Gowanus rezoning area to enter into a lease arrangement with the NYS Empire State Development that would fill the gap left by the likelihood that they would not be able to complete their buildings on time to get the benefit of the now expired 421-a tax credit upon which their projects were financed. The situation of their desiring an extension of the tax credit program came about for two main reasons: (1) supply chain delays in completing their respective clean-up and construction obligations; and (2) lenders requiring them to complete their projects a year earlier than was permissible under the law, leaving builders who had begun their projects between a rock and a hard place. As you may recall, the legislature wasn’t able to agree on a way to address the most immediately pressing housing issues at the end of session due to the complexity and heterogeneity of the housing issues around the state.
I opposed extending the 421a program as it existed and I supported the legislature’s action to allow it to expire a few years ago, due to several systemic problems with the program that led to the creation of much more luxury housing than affordable housing. However, the Governor’s Executive Order addressed this local issue in a limited way and will allow a few thousand units of affordable housing to move forward. Builders who had not yet begun their projects are not eligible for this new program.
Carroll Park's New Green Infrastructure. As you may have noticed, there is construction at Carroll Park this summer. The NYC Department of Environmental Conservation (DEP) in partnership with NYC Parks Department are installing new green infrastructure at the asphalt multi-purpose play area at the park to address drainage/flooding conditions. Construction is only happening on one quarter of the asphalt area and DEP estimates two to three months for completion of the work.
New Asylum Seeker Respite Center in Our District. A new respite center overseen by the NYC Office of Emergency Management opened in our district in July near the Brooklyn Navy Yard. This center currently has enough beds for several hundred single adult men. Later this fall, the facility will increase its capacity and provide a wider range of services for the people staying there. Gowanus Mutual Aid is coordinating relief efforts to help ensure our new neighbors have what they need. You can learn more here or view their wish list.
Congrats to Zuzu’s Petals in Park Slope for joining NY’s Historic Business Preservation Registry! This neighborhood gem and women-owned business has been spreading beauty and building community since 1971 through their floral arrangements, plants, and gifts. Fonda and the Zuzu team have overcome a fire, a move, a hurricane, and the pandemic. So glad my staff was able to attend this incredible celebration. Learn more about Zuzu’s.
Medicaid, Child Health Plus, and the Essential Plan Renewals. Under a federal emergency order for Covid-19, individuals were not required to undergo the recertification process for their Medicaid and related benefits. This emergency order has ended, and now the state has commenced sending out renewal packets for Medicaid, Child Health Plus, and Essential Plan recipients. It is necessary to fill out a renewal packet and send it back to maintain coverage. If you have questions or need assistance, please reach out to Community Health Advocates (CHA) at (888) 614-5400 or visit their website.
33rd Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Happy 33rd Birthday, ADA! Thanks to all the advocates and attorneys, Congressmembers and Senators and their staffs who gave birth to the ADA and have continued the legacies of Brooklyn's own Judy Heumann, Ed Roberts, and Brad Lomax.
When Abraham Lincoln spoke of his establishing Gallaudet University (the only liberal arts university for the deaf in the world) he said that he had done so to give deaf people "a fair chance in the race of life." So, too, does the ADA. I couldn't have said it better, Mr. President!
(Photo from White House 20th Anniversary ADA Celebration with Sen. Tom Harkin, an author of the ADA)
I was also pleased that Borough President Antonio Reynoso held the first ADA birthday celebration and Disability Pride event at Brooklyn Borough Hall. I was glad to see a number of consumers and advocates there and they were just tickled that Brooklyn was celebrating Disability Pride. Thanks, BP Reynoso!
DEC Invites Public Comment about a Brownfield Site in Gowanus. The public is invited to comment on a proposed remedy being reviewed by NYS DEC and DOH to address contamination related to the 556 Baltic Street Site, Brooklyn (site ID # C224375). Read the proposed remedy documents here. Submit your site comments to Ruth Curley: [email protected] or (518) 402-9480. The deadline for written comments is September 10, 2023.
BQE Repair Work and Updates:
Overnight BQE Interim Repair Work. The pavement removal work required for the interim repairs at Span 4 (Grace Ct) and Span 34 (Clark St) began early morning on Friday, August 18th and will continue for roughly the next 4 to 6 weeks or until work is complete.
Work hours will be on early mornings Tuesday to Friday from 1am-5am and Saturdays from 1am-6am. As of now, no work will be done on Sundays and Monday mornings. During this work, only one lane will be available in the Queens-bound direction. The Atlantic Avenue entrance ramp to the Queens-bound BQE ramp will also be closed when the right Queens-bound lane is closed and detours identified during hours of construction. NYC DOT has set up decibel meters and will use noise-reducing equipment to limit the disruptions.
If you have questions or concerns, or want to be notified directly of future DOT repairs to the BQE or community meetings, reach out to DOT Community Liaison, Anita Navalurkar at (347) 647-0876 or [email protected].
BQE Repairs Meeting, Fri. 8/25. Join DOT officials on Friday, August 25, 12pm-12:45pm for an update on the interim repairs that will be taking place over the next several weeks. Learn about the upcoming work, ask questions, and share any concerns. Click here to join the meeting.
Community Groups Weigh in on City DOT’s BQE Plans. The Brooklyn Heights Association, El Puente, FAC, Cobble Hill Association, and several community and citywide groups sent an open letter to the City and State to express their concerns with the BQE designs that the city has shared thus far: “We want to state unequivocally that the concepts, designs, and indeed the overall car and truck – centric approach to this work do not meet the expectations or needs of the impacted communities nor the warming planet.”
You can read their full letter here, Eagle article, Streetsblog article. Their letter makes several salient points about the need to address the BQE corridor holistically rather than piecemeal by neighborhood, and to embrace a plan that takes into account the climate change crisis.
Congestion Pricing & the Importance of Equalized Tolling. I was proud to support the congestion pricing plan bill in 2019, which will invest in public transit, reduce congestion and improve our air quality. The Traffic Mobility Review Board (TMRB) is making final determinations on tolls and system functionality in accordance with the state law. I recently sent a letter to the TMRB, along with several elected officials throughout the area, to express my strong support for equalized tolling. You can read the full letter here.
We must ensure that the TMRB implements a system of credits that will provide cost equalization between NYC DOT bridges and MTA tunnel crossings between Brooklyn and Manhattan, such that drivers are equally incentivized to use any crossing into Manhattan. Without such a system, drivers will still be incentivized to “bridge shop”, thereby diverting more traffic to less expensive crossings. That outcome would be particularly disastrous for the communities along the BQE corridor and triple cantilever section, which is frequently traveled as a means of accessing the free Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Williamsburg Bridges.
Livingston Street Safety Improvements. This month, NYC DOT will begin work on Livingston St (Boerum Pl to Flatbush Ave) in Brooklyn. This work will: improve bus speeds, add loading zones, install pedestrian islands, and create one-way conversion. I’m looking forward to these street safety measures!
New Local Opioid Treatment Program: I was thrilled to join the opening of Center for Community Alternatives Wellness Center in Downtown Brooklyn, the first integrated opioid treatment program focusing on justice-impacted individuals. This is a significant step forward to addressing our growing opioid crisis, which has seen a dramatic increase in overdose emergencies and deaths since the start of the pandemic. The Medication Assisted Treatment, as well as behavioral therapy, support groups, and other services, will help individuals get their lives back on track. This new center will save lives and alleviate our opioid crisis while helping to break the cycle of incarceration and addiction.
Subway News!
Faster service is coming to the N & R lines! I’m proud to have voted for the historic NYS budget this year that is making our subways more accessible and efficient. I joined the MTA to announce subway service improvements coming to the N and R lines on weekdays, beginning Monday, Aug. 28. Customers will experience shorter wait times with trains arriving every eight minutes instead of every 10 minutes between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. on weekdays. These service improvements are expected to benefit the 180,000 customers who ride the and lines midday during the week. After all, NYers need to get to their destinations at all times of the day!
More Weekend Services on the J, G, M. The MTA also added service increases on the J, G & M lines that began on July 2, with weekend trains arriving every eight to 10 minutes instead of 10 to 12 minutes. In early August, C trains began running every eight minutes instead of 10 minutes on weekdays.
Subway Discounts: The Fair Fares program provides a 50% discount on subway/bus rides for low-income New Yorkers. Check your eligibility here.
Apply by August 31 for NY State's Excelsior Scholarship. If you're a full-time undergraduate student at CUNY or SUNY & your household made less than $125k in 2021, you may qualify for up to $5,500 in tuition assistance. Click here for more details about the scholarship.
