Dear Neighbors & Friends,
I want to wish everyone a happy and healthy holiday season! I’ve had the pleasure of attending joyful events throughout the district and enjoying the holiday cheer. There were incredible tree lighting events - complete with children singing and dancing - at Carroll Park, Park Slope’s 5th Ave, Litchfield Villa, and the Brooklyn Heights Promenade. I also celebrated Chanukah with the FDNY and the community at Carroll Park. I’m looking forward to more holiday celebrations and hope to see you around the area.
New Year’s Open House at my District Office on January 11: Please join my staff and me for an open house to welcome in the New Year on Thursday, January 11th from 4-6pm. Stop by for a quick hello or stay a while to get to know my staff and your neighbors. My office is located at 341 Smith Street in Carroll Gardens.
Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!
Sincerely,
Jo Anne Simon
P.S. Our office will be closed Monday, December 25th through Monday, January 1st for the holidays. Please email us at [email protected] and we will get back to you when we return.
Toy Drive: Drop off by Friday, Dec. 22nd at 12noon. There are many ways to give this holiday season. We hope you will join us in spreading joy to our neighbors in need. My office is collecting new and unwrapped toys for ages 0-18. We will be donating them to local NYCHA houses. Drop off donations at 341 Smith St between 9:30am - 5pm today and tomorrow, and Friday by 12noon. Call us if you need to stop by after 5pm.
Thank you to those of you who gave toys to our drive for Camp Friendship!
Sammy’s Law will Make our Streets Safer. Over 10 years ago, a speeding driver tragically killed Sammy Cohen Eckstein, and yet we continue to see preventable pedestrian and cyclist deaths. We must do more to ensure kids and older New Yorkers are safe on the streets. We must pass Sammy’s Law which would allow New York City to set its speed limits and save lives. I’m also pushing for a bill to expand the number of red light cameras the city can have in operation at any given time.
Illegally Overweight Trucks are now Subject to Hefty Fines. As of November 13, 2023, illegally overweight trucks on the Queens-bound BQE are subject to a $650 fine, with fees increasing up to $1,000, through the Weigh-in-Motion (WIM) program, pursuant to legislation I authored. I’m thrilled that after a 90 day warning period and over 30 days of ticketing, DOT has reported a decrease in the number of overweight trucks on the BQE. This initiative will help extend the life of the BQE and help get these illegal and polluting trucks off our roadways. Read more details in DOT’s press release.
I am committed to working with enforcement agencies to keep our residential streets clear of illegal trucks and trucks using non-truck routes in our neighborhoods, which has been a long-standing problem. In October, I joined Council Member Shahana Hanif and local elected officials and sent a letter to the NYPD Chief of Transportation requesting increased traffic enforcement to deter commercial vehicles from residential streets bordering the BQE on the Columbia Waterfront, Carroll Gardens, and in Cobble Hill. We emphasized the need for enforcement around Atlantic Avenue all the way to Columbia Street and Hamilton Avenue.
We have heard from a few community members that some trucks are getting off of the BQE to avoid the WIM scanners. It’s difficult to tell if this is due to long-standing patterns of path finding in this area or the WIM program and we have asked City DOT to monitor this closely. If you see any trucks that seem long or overweight or on a non-truck route, please contact my office with the exact location and we will share the information with DOT and the NYPD. DOT & NYPD are currently engaged in monitoring and ticketing in the surrounding areas.
Assembly Hearing on the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP): The Higher Education committee held a hearing on the 50th birthday of New York State’s Tuition Assistance Program affirming its importance in ensuring New Yorkers can afford college. We've expanded TAP for some, but we need to update the program to increase eligibility to keep up with today’s costs and demographics. Among the issues raised were increasing the amount of available TAP so as to provide a greater share of tuition which has risen astronomically since TAP was created, to provide TAP to graduate students, and to consider providing TAP assistance to students to pay for various mandated student fees.
Atlantic Yards: Developer Defaults on Bonds as Housing Remains Unbuilt. As the chronically delayed Atlantic Yards project marked its 20th anniversary, I joined community members and BrooklynSpeaks to call for change in New York State’s oversight process, including increased accountability for unfulfilled housing and other promises made by developers.
Twenty years ago, the public was promised a ‘Garden of Eden’ above ‘blighted’ rail yards. Empire State Development (ESD) green-lit the risky project, took private property through eminent domain and now – during an historic housing crisis – the public is left without the promised affordable housing and nothing above the rail yards.
In addition to the now two decades of delays, the project hit a potentially fatal roadblock last month when the current developer Greenland USA — a subsidiary of China’s Greenland Holdings — defaulted on EB-5 debt borrowed to finance the project. Greenland USA will likely lose control of six development sites over the MTA rail yards between Sixth Avenue and Vanderbilt Avenue in Brooklyn, which are going to be auctioned on January 11, 2024 as a result of the default.
In the wake of the developer’s default, I have no confidence that damages owed for missed deadlines will ever be paid. By not holding developers accountable from the onset, ESD encouraged them to take large risks. This default is a direct result of ESD’s bungled stewardship. I will continue to fight for a new oversight process and a more equitable and transparent Atlantic Yards.
BQE and Traffic Diversions: NYCDOT will conduct underdeck shielding maintenance at multiple locations on the Staten Island-bound BQE from the Brooklyn Bridge to Atlantic Avenue on the next few Thursdays (December 21, December 28). As a result, double-lane closures will take place on the Staten Island-bound BQE from 11PM to 5AM. At least one lane will always be available during this time.
NYCDOT will continue to close the Pearl Street Ramp to the Brooklyn Bridge on weeknights from 11PM to 5AM until December 22nd. The ramp closure is necessary for installation of railings on the ramp. Please see the detour notice here and community notice here.
There is no parking on Hicks Street and Kane Street due to construction today through Friday, December 22nd.
Reach out to NYCDOT with any questions or to get BQE-related updates directly: contact their Community Liaison, AnitaNavalurkar, at (347) 647-0876 or [email protected]
New Asylum Seeker Shelter Opening in our District. My office recently learned that the NYC Department of Homeless Services (DHS) is opening up a new emergency shelter in Gowanus in early 2024 to house up to 400 single adult men who are asylum seekers. We have been in close communication with our elected official partners, DHS, and the shelter provider, BHRAGS. Because this shelter is opening under the city’s emergency orders, elected officials do not have a say on its location.
This provider is a Brooklyn-based non-profit that has been operating other asylum seeker shelters for over a year. They will provide onsite services for residents, including job training and assistance with immigration paperwork. We look forward to working closely with DHS and elected officials to ensure our new arrivals have access to the resources they need to start their new lives here in Brooklyn and that community members have the requested information as soon as possible. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to my office at 718-246-4889 if you have any further questions.
Clean Slate has been Signed into Law! As a proud co-sponsor of the Clean Slate Act, I was glad to be in attendance at the bill signing. The Clean Slate Act is a critical piece of criminal justice legislation that will seal convictions once an individual has served their sentence and completed a waiting period. This will allow people who have paid their debt to society to have improved access to housing, education, and employment opportunities.
Congestion Pricing Update: New York City’s congestion pricing plan for lower Manhattan is moving forward with the Traffic Mobility Review Board (TMRB) recommending the following fee structures: a $15 fee on passenger vehicles; $7.50 fee for motorcycles; $24 fee for small trucks, buses, and vans; and $36 for large trucks. The fees would be the daytime rates which will be in effect from Monday-Friday (5am-9pm) and weekends (9am-9pm). The rates will be about 75% less during the nighttime off-hours. There will also be a discount for people with lower incomes (the NY State congestion pricing law that the legislature passed already ensures exemptions for certain emergency vehicles & vehicles transporting people with disabilities). You can read the TMRB report here, including credits for those paying a tunnel toll, and a summary from the Gothamist here.
The MTA board has advanced the plan to the next step, which is a 60-day comment period (12/27/23 - 3/11/24) that will include four public hearings. These hearings will allow for possible tweaks for this program before the final vote in the spring of 2024. We will share details on how to comment once that information is available from the MTA. The tolling will go into effect after the final vote. The tolls will help reduce gridlock, improve air quality, and bring in much needed revenue to the MTA so they can improve our public transit system.
Still Time to Enroll in Health Care for 2024: New York’s Healthcare Marketplace, NY State of Health, is a way for individuals, families, and small businesses to find quality health insurance, including stand-alone dental plans (Note: the Marketplace is not for people who have Medicare). All health plans offered through NY State of Health cover preventive care, such as routine doctor visits and screenings, at no additional cost.
- Enrollment in a Qualified Health Plan is open through spring of 2024 so NYers who are no longer eligible for Medicaid, CHIP or the Essential Plan can remain covered under another plan. But, apply as soon as possible so your health care can kick in.
- Need Financial Help? Financial aid to buy insurance is available for most consumers.
- How Do I Apply? Apply online at www.nystateofhealth.ny.gov, or call the Marketplace at 1-855-355-5777.
- Need Free Help Applying? Trained assistors, or navigators, are available to help you apply. To find a navigator near you, call the Marketplace or click here for a list.
- Apply any time of year for Medicaid, Essential Plan, and Child Health Plus.
- You may also apply outside the open enrollment period if you have a qualifying life event, like divorce or marriage, pregnancy, etc.
SUNY New Paltz’s online Microcredential Course on the Science of Reading. This new 7 week course empowers educators with innovative, research-backed tools and techniques for enhancing literacy instruction. Earn continuing education credits via a fully online, self-paced environment. More information available here.
Pick up a COVID TEST KIT & KN95 masks! Stop by our office (341 Smith St in Carroll Gardens) weekdays from 9am-5pm to pick up a free Covid-19 rapid test kit. Use the City’s vaccine finder tool to find a place near you to get a free vaccine or the latest booster.
Small Businesses Affected by Sept. 29, 2023 Floods Can Apply for Federal Low-Interest Disaster Loans. Eligible New York City residents and businesses in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island affected by the significant flash flooding event on September 29, 2023, may now apply for low-interest disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration. These loans are made available for those whose homes and/or businesses were damaged due to flooding. The filing deadline to submit applications is February 2, 2024 for physical damage, and September 4, 2024 for economic injury.
Brooklyn Borough-Based Jail Dismantle Project extended work hours. The construction work continues at the site of the former Brooklyn House of Detention as crews work to dismantle the current structure. Extended work hours at the site have been approved by the city through December 23. Please note that work will occur from 7am-10pm Monday-Friday, as well as 9am-5pm on Saturday. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to the project’s Community Construction Liaison, Lucien Allen at 917-270-2370 or [email protected].
Community Board (CB) Applications Due Feb. 19, 2024. Interested in taking on a leadership role in your community? Apply for your local CB! There are 18 CBs in Brooklyn. Boards have an important advisory role in dealing with land use and zoning matters, the City budget, municipal service delivery, and many other matters relating to their communities' welfare. Each CB also has committees, such as a land use committee and public safety committee. City Council Members nominate CB members, and the Borough President appoints them. Members serve staggered 2 year terms, so each year, half of the members must be re-appointed. You can learn more here.
Free Leaf Bags! Stop by our office at 341 Smith St. for free leaf and yard waste bags, Monday - Friday, 9am-5pm.
HEAP Benefit Applications are Open! The Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) can help eligible New Yorkers heat their homes. You may receive one regular HEAP benefit per program year and could also be eligible for emergency HEAP benefits if you are in danger of running out of fuel or having your utility service shut off. Eligibility and benefits are based on income, household size, the primary heating source, and the presence of a household member who is under age 6, age 60 or older or permanently disabled. To learn more and apply, visit here.
