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Summer 2024 Policy & Community Updates What’s Inside:
Dear Friends and Neighbors, I am pleased to report that I passed major bills this legislative session on gun violence prevention, hospital closures, and to ensure that electric vehicle charging stations and parking spaces are accessible to people with wheelchairs. I also passed a bill to ensure that the State Department of Environmental Conservation preserves the habitats of monarch butterflies which are in steep decline, but which are essential pollinators and help our ecosystems thrive. I am so proud that we passed the Climate Change Superfund Act, which puts a price tag on the fossil fuel industry’s contribution to climate change. It will require that the most prolific oil and gas producers pay an estimated $3 billion a year for the next 25 years to cover their share of total greenhouse gas emissions. Right now, the people of New York are footing the bill for climate resiliency and clean-up caused by the fossil fuel industry, and that is just not right. Unfortunately, the eleventh-hour debacle on congestion pricing sucked a lot of the air out of the room at the end of session (more on that below). There were negotiations underway on key climate change bills that never got a vote, like the NY HEAT Act which would help lower our utility bills and protect the planet. I was set to pass two critical bills - one to lower prescription drug costs and one on wage theft - but we ran out of time for their debate and passage. The district has also been bustling, as usual. My office has teamed up with our partners to conduct mammogram screenings, rain barrel give-aways, and housing workshops. We’ve distributed leaf bags and Covid-19 tests, conducted voter registration efforts and a summer reading challenge for kids. We’ve partnered with mutual aid groups to conduct school supply drives, clothing and holiday drives for our neighbors in need (thanks for your support!). You can contact my office with bill ideas or questions on unemployment, SNAP, HEAP, housing, healthcare, subways and transit, and more. I also want to thank my staff for the work they do day in and day out serving this district. Sincerely,
Jo Anne Simon Bill Passage: Preventing Gun Violence. I am holding Glock and some other firearm manufacturers accountable for enabling the spread of machine guns in our communities. They have refused to redesign their pistols, which are being converted into illegal fully-automatic machine guns using auto sears, commonly known as “Glock switches.” These switches are easy to install and only cost $25. Gun manufacturers will no longer be able to sit idly by as their weapons are turned into illegal machine guns. My bill updates New York’s landmark gun industry accountability law to require firearm manufacturers to take reasonable steps to ensure their handguns cannot be compatible with Glock switches. For decades, Glock has known that its firearms are uniquely susceptible to being easily converted into illegal machine guns but have refused to take action. They have put profit over people. Twelve state attorneys general and the D.C. attorney general have put Glock on notice. NYS Attorney General Letitia James supported this initiative, in addition to our District Attorney in Brooklyn. New York is a national leader in gun violence prevention, with the second-strongest gun safety laws in the nation (Everytown for Gun Safety), which is one of the key reasons why New York City ranks in the top 15 percent safest of more than 800 U.S. cities (NYU Tandon School of Engineering). I am proud that my first-in-the-nation bill passed both the Assembly and Senate. It now awaits the Governor’s signature. Bill Passage: Community Input before a Hospital Closes. After over 9 years of advocacy, the LICH bill has passed both the Senate and Assembly! This will ensure that the state has more oversight – and that there is planning and community input – before the closure of a hospital or unit that provides emergency, maternity, mental health, or substance use care. When LICH in Cobble Hill closed in 2013, the community was not notified or asked for input on the hospital that had served them for 156 years. My bill ensures that no other communities experience such a sudden hospital closure without transparency and oversight. Since the closure of LICH a decade ago, more than 40 hospitals have closed across New York and 10 hospitals have closed maternity services. A number of psychiatric services closed during the pandemic and some still have not reopened. A recent study by the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform found that there are 27 rural hospitals in the state at risk of closing, amounting to 53 percent of all state rural hospitals. In the last year, we saw the closure or possible closures of SUNY Downstate, Beth Israel, St. Catherine of Siena Hospital and Burdett Birth Center at Good Samaritan Hospital in upstate New York. While I had passed this bill in the Assembly a few times, this is the first time this bill has passed both houses. The bill gained a new sponsor this year with State Senate Health Chair Gustavo Rivera joining my efforts. I am incredibly grateful to him and the amazing coalition of patient advocates for working with me for years and never giving up on this. The healthcare industry was fighting this bill up to the very end. Now we have to ensure that Governor Hochul does the right thing and signs this bill into law by the end of the year.
Major Reforms to School Lockdown Drills: I’m happy to report that the NYS Board of Regents and the NYS Education Department adopted new regulations to reform New York's harmful and ineffective lockdown drills. They included many of the reforms that I had been advocating for, along with Senator Andrew Gounardes through our bill A6665/S6537. However, New York State still must reduce the number of mandated drills, which has to happen through legislative action. The updated regulations include significant reforms: they ban active shooter simulations, require advance parental notification of lockdown drills, ensure that students and staff are informed that the exercise is in fact just a drill and not a real school shooting event, and ensure that drills are age-appropriate and trauma-informed. For far too long, we have put students through ineffective and an excessive number of mandated school lockdown drills - four per year - for no justifiable reason. In 2016 under the former Senate Majority, the legislature passed a mandate through the budget that schools conduct 4 lockdown drills a year - that's more than 46 other states in the nation. The number of statutorily mandated drills was made up from whole cloth, without any reference or support in academic literature. My bill reduces the number of mandated lockdown drills in New York schools from four to two, while ceding flexibility back to school districts which can conduct more drills if they so choose. A large and growing body of evidence suggests that the drills are causing lasting emotional harm to students, teachers, and the larger community. Everytown for Gun Safety found that excessive and aggressive lockdown drills contributed to a 42% increase in anxiety and a 39% increase in depression amongst students. Some children even fear for their lives not understanding their drill was a simulation. Further, there is no evidence that the drills prevent gun violence and virtually no evidence showing their efficacy. We are doing more harm than good. We must take the onus off children to keep themselves safe and instead focus on gun violence prevention policies that are grounded in evidence-based research and that prevent such shootings. We are extremely fortunate to have not had a mass school shooting in New York State; though they are horrific, they are rare – nationwide, one-half of 1% of school-age victims of gun homicide are killed at school. I’m thrilled about the reforms achieved thus far and I will keep pushing to right-size the number of lockdown drills mandated by the state. New Street Safety Bill: Daylighting. I recently introduced a bill A9985/S9769 to ensure that New York City is no longer exempt from the state’s daylighting law. Daylighting creates additional space and safe visibility at curbs for pedestrians. This bill would improve street visibility at intersections and enhance pedestrian safety. Several Community Boards (CBs) across the city have recently passed resolutions in support of universal daylighting. I’m thankful to them for their forward-thinking work, especially our very own CB8 and CB6. We are seeing far too many preventable fatalities and injuries from crashes at intersections throughout the city. The community is still reeling from the untimely death of a 7-year-old in Prospect Heights after being struck by a driver who was not able to see him at the intersection. Universal daylighting is a simple, effective way to improve street visibility and keep such tragedies from happening to anyone else. If you would like to be involved in advocacy for this bill, or share a story about a particular intersection in need of safety upgrades, please contact my office at [email protected].
Free Flu Shot Clinic, October 2nd, 2024. We are partnering with NYU to provide flu shots to the community at the NYU Langone Health Cobble Hill ED (70 Atlantic Ave) on Wednesday, October 2nd from 2pm-7pm. Insurance is not required. You must be 18 years or older. Appointments are required. RSVP online or call 718-246-4889. School Supply Drive for Students: My office, in partnership with Camp Friendship, Gowanus Mutual Aid, and Save 63 Tiffany Place, is collecting new backpacks, pencils, pens, erasers, folders, sharpeners, notebooks, binders, paper, rulers, markers, crayons, scissors and glue sticks. We will be accepting donations at our office, 341 Smith Street, Monday - Thursday 9:30am - 5pm, until September 9th (though we greatly appreciate donations by 8/23). For more information on additional drop off sites, check out Camp Friendship and Gowanus Mutual Aid.
Food Pantry Donations Needed: Friends of Thomas Greene Park is hosting a Pantry Day, in coordination with others, on Saturday, September 21, 2024, 10am until supplies last, DeGraw Street, (Third Ave between DeGraw & Douglass). Join us as friends helping friends, in securing food access and combating food insecurities. All are welcome to participate by donating food or partaking of the pantry. Contact [email protected] for details. You can drop off food at our office on 341 Smith Street before 9/21, or at the park on the morning of 9/21. Summer Reading Challenge for Youth! There’s still time to participate in the summer reading challenge. We invite elementary and middle school students to read for 15 minutes a day during the week, on their own or with a partner. Participants will receive an Excellence in Reading certificate recognizing their efforts. The theme for this year’s challenge, “Adventure Begins at Your Library,” celebrates the journeys books can take readers on, whether transporting us to a different world or delving into our history. To request a calendar to keep track of the reading, or bookmarks, stop by my office at 341 Smith Street or email [email protected]. Voter Registration and Election Information. Below is information for the November 5, 2024 General Election. You can visit the Brooklyn Board of Elections (BOE) at 345 Adams Street, 4th Fl, Brooklyn, NY 11201, or call 718-797-8800. Register to vote by October 26th, 2024. You can register online at https://e-register.vote.nyc or via mail or in person. Applications must be received by BOE no later than October 26, 2024 to be eligible to vote in the General Election. Request an absentee ballot by October 26, 2024. Submit your request for an early mail ballot or absentee ballot online (https://vote.nyc), by mail, email, or fax. Vote Early: Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024 - Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024. Early voting hours vary by day, so check before you go: https://findmypollsite.vote.nyc/ Military & Overseas Voting Deadlines: Please see deadlines here: https://elections.ny.gov/military-and-overseas-federal-voting Ballot Proposition Number One. Voters will also have the opportunity to vote on a ballot proposition, so remember to flip your ballot. There is currently a lawsuit to amend the ballot language in Prop 1, so the final language may change (read more here). The text of Proposal Number One from the NYS Board of Elections is as follows:
Gowanus Soil Vapor Intrusion (SVI) Testing. The Gowanus Canal was designated a superfund site in 2010 by the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The cleanup plan includes dredging and capping the canal floor and installing controls to prevent combined sewer overflows and other contamination from compromising the cleanup. Another aspect of the cleanup of the area near the Canal is run by the NY State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), which is the agency in charge of the Brownfield Cleanup Program. DEC is currently conducting SVI testing, a process typically conducted during the heating season to ensure no contaminated vapors are infiltrating homes, and to help with remediation when it is necessary. I urge all property owners who have received a testing request from DEC to authorize the agency to do this critically important testing. This step will contribute to a safer and cleaner community. SVI Testing at PS 32, PS 372, and International School of Brooklyn: State DEC and DOH recently held information sessions for parents about the SVI testing done at the schools. They reported that while no remediation is needed at PS 32 or ISB, remediation is necessary at the PS 372 Annex but that it is safe for students to attend the school during the annex's remediation. We have heard from many parents and concerned community members. I am working with elected officials and I’m in contact with government agencies to ensure all community members have access to timely, relevant, and understandable information about the clean-up and SVI testing. Ensuring my constituents' health and safety is a top priority and I will keep you informed as I monitor the situation. Please sign up for my bi-weekly email alerts if you would like to receive more regular communication about the Gowanus clean-up. If you have any specific health concerns or questions, you can contact these agencies:
New Good Cause Tenant Protections are in Effect: I was proud to pass good cause eviction protections against unreasonable rent hikes and retaliatory or discriminatory evictions. If you are eligible for Good Cause, you now have a right to remain in your home as long as you pay rent and follow your lease. You may be protected under the new law if you live in a building with 11 or more units that was built before 2009. If your building has 10 units or fewer, you may still be protected if your landlord owns other buildings. The law does not apply to small landlords or tenants in rent-regulated/rent-stabilized buildings, public housing, or Section 8 housing. Tenant protections include restricting rent increases by more than 5-10% based on inflation, guaranteed lease renewals or the ability to stay month to month without a lease, and preventing eviction without the landlord showing good cause. The NYS Department of Homes and Community Renewal (DHCR), must publish each year’s reasonable rent increase by August. You can visit Housing Justice 4 All and the Legal Aid Society for more detailed information and to see if you are protected. The city’s Tenant Helpline can also answer your housing questions, refer you to legal services, and provide ongoing housing case management. You can access this helpline by calling 311 and asking to be connected to the Tenant Helpline. While the version of Good Cause Eviction that made it into the state budget was a compromise and did not include all the protections that I had been fighting for, it still provides many tenants in market-rate apartments with protections they have never had before. 1.6 million households statewide are covered (roughly half of the state’s renters) and in some counties, especially upstate, 75% of tenants will be covered (HJ4A). Victory on Getting Rid of Illegally Overweight Trucks on the BQE. It’s a WIM-win! I’m thrilled that our first-in-the-nation Weigh in Motion (WIM) program to electronically ticket overweight trucks on the BQE is a success! NYC DOT has reported a significant decrease in the number of overweight trucks on the BQE since WIM took effect. I’m proud to have authored this legislation - these massive illegal trucks have no place in NYC. The aging BQE triple cantilever is deteriorating, and overweight trucks have caused significant damage to the BQE triple cantilever and to our environment. The WIM program is removing these illegal trucks from our streets and extending the life of the BQE. Not only will this reduce the harmful carbon emissions these trucks produce, but it will provide us with more time so that we can reimagine a 21st century transportation corridor that reduces our reliance on polluting trucks and prioritizes climate justice. In November 2023, the ticketing system on the Queens-bound direction of the BQE was turned on, and since then, we have seen a 64% decrease in the amount of overweight trucks on the triple cantilever. I’m proud of the effective collaboration between the City and State to enact my law and implement this innovative program. I’ve urged NYC DOT to roll out the program on the Staten-Island bound direction of the BQE as soon as possible. Other BQE Updates. This past summer, NYC DOT held another round of community workshops on the redesign of the triple cantilever portion of the BQE. They proposed a few design options and are looking at a three and two-lane design. They are also studying what a temporary roadway would look like. My sense is that the community prefers these designs over the last set of designs, but that they would still like to see more transformative options, to see more details, and designs that explore forward-thinking options that re-imagine the entire BQE corridor for the health and well-being of New Yorkers and our planet. NYC DOT will begin hosting public meetings to kick off their pre-environmental review process this fall. The feedback collected in these meetings will contribute to the final project so I encourage you to visit https://bqevision.com or sign up for my bi-weekly email alerts to stay informed. I am pleased to share that the NYC DOT received $5.6 million from USDOT for a Reconnecting Communities grant. This will allow NYC DOT to complete at least two projects, one in the south section of the BQE and the other in the north section. This money will contribute to reimaging the BQE corridor, making it a healthier, safer, and more beneficial space for pedestrians and residents alike. Congestion Pricing & Transit Updates. As the 2024 legislative session was wrapping up in June, I was outraged to learn about the Governor’s backtracking and derailment of our first-in-the-nation congestion pricing program. I’ve advocated for congestion pricing for over 20 years, first as a community activist and then I co-sponsored New York’s congestion pricing bill. The decision to indefinitely delay congestion pricing is a major setback for climate justice, traffic reduction, and MTA funding. It also breaks New York's promise of accessibility to people with disabilities. It's profoundly disappointing to see a program that has been studied for years, debated extensively in the legislature, and opened to broad public engagement put on the back burner days before implementation. $700 million of infrastructure is already in place just waiting to be turned on. We need a strong mass transit system as it’s the way the vast majority of New Yorkers travel, especially lower-income New Yorkers. However, congestion pricing does far more than just fund MTA capital needs and mass transit. The indefinite delay is a major setback for climate change, air quality, traffic reduction in the most congested city, and accessibility for people with disabilities. Congestion pricing traffic modeling also shows congestion relief for our neighborhoods since drivers are pathfinding through local streets to the free bridges in our district. Once implemented, history shows that naysayers become supporters as the benefits begin to accrue. Congestion pricing is the right answer for New Yorkers and their lungs. I will continue to advocate for congestion pricing. I want to thank the community for their outpouring of support and advocacy on the program. New Plans for the Brooklyn Marine Terminal. The NYC Economic Development Corporation (EDC) recently held an information session focused on the Brooklyn Marine Terminal (BMT) project and upcoming community engagement opportunities. If you were unable to attend you can now access the presentation and a recording of the webinar hosted on August 12. They explained that this terminal project is part of the City’s plan to innovate maritime and freight shipping and to create more green infrastructure. This year the EDC will be conducting extensive community engagement to steer the vision for the revitalized marine terminal which comprises 128 acres. I urge you to stay involved in this process by signing up for their emails. They will be having drop-in info sessions on the following days:
Housing Help through HPD’s Mobile Outreach Van: 9/17/2024 and 10/1/2024 at 197 Bond Street from 10am-5pm. Stop by the NYC Housing Preservation & Development’s (HPD) mobile outreach van to get your housing questions answered. HPD can help you prepare to apply for affordable housing, understand your rights and responsibilities, file a housing complaint, finance improvements and repairs, register your building, remedy a violation, and more! This is a walk-in only event. No appointment necessary. Visit nyc.gov/hpdoutreach for more details. Events & Community Resources: Join me at the annual Atlantic Antic street festival on September 29! Running from Fourth Ave to the Waterfront, this is Brooklyn’s oldest and largest street fair. Building Owners Must Submit Department of Buildings (DOB) Annual Parapet Inspection by December 31. Beginning January 1st of this year, the DOB requires building owners to submit a parapet observation conducted by a person competent to inspect parapets, including, but not limited to a bricklayer, building superintendent, handyman, mason, architect, engineer, an inspector working for a NYS-authorized insurance company, or a NYS-authorized building inspector. This requirement applies to all buildings with parapets fronting the public right-of-way, regardless of height, except detached 1 or 2 family homes or buildings with a fence or other barrier preventing access to the exterior wall. Learn more here or email your questions to [email protected]. Help with your Heating Bills: Home Energy Assistance Program. HEAP helps people pay the cost of heating their homes. Eligibility is based on income, household size, primary heating source, and if anyone in the home is under age 6, 60 or older, or disabled. Applications typically open in early October. If you are a homeowner, you may be eligible for a Heating Equipment Repair and Replacement benefit to keep your home's primary heating source working. Apply online at www.mybenefits.ny.gov or https://otda.ny.gov/programs/heap or call 718-557-1399. Need Help with a Neighbor Dispute or Tenant / Landlord Issue? New York Peace Institute (NYPI) is one of the nation’s largest community-based mediation programs. NYPI provides people and communities in conflict the resources they need to resolve disputes and address incidents of harm by offering mediation and restorative justice processes for a variety of situations, including housing issues between landlords and tenants, interpersonal conflicts between neighbors, educational disputes between parents of children with a disability and the school, workplace conflicts between co-workers and supervisors, issues impacting a community, such as discord around shared space, or disputes within an organizational setting, cases pending in court, such as for custody, visitation, small claims. Learn more and get in touch by visiting https://nypeace.org Supporting Nursing Mothers in the Workplace. A new state law requires 30 minutes of paid break time for employees to express breast milk during the workday. This law will help support working mothers up to three years after childbirth. This break can not be subtracted from employees' pre-existing meal breaks or other paid breaks. Help Applying for Student Loan Relief. The Education Debt Consumer Assistance Program (EDCAP) is a program funded by NY State that helps you navigate the student loan system regardless of the type of education debt, federal or private. This support includes free webinars, email, phone, and 1:1 counseling. edcapny.org, 888-614-5004, [email protected] Reduced Fares for Subway Riders. You may be eligible for MTA’s Fair Fares reduced-cost subway program depending on your income. There is also a Reduced Fare program for those 65+ and those with a disability. www.nyc.gov/FairFares or call 311 to apply. New Student Subway OMNY Cards. At the start of this school year, all eligible students will receive brand new Student OMNY Cards with expanded transit benefits. Starting September 5th, students can tap their Student OMNY card to receive: four free rides every day; all day (not just certain hours); every day of the year (not just school days), and one card for the entire year. The new card is a faster, easier, and better way to ride! Learn more https://bit.ly/3YyfMqE Rent Freeze Programs for Seniors (SCRIE) and People with Disabilities (DRIE). These programs help people stay in affordable housing by freezing their rent. Eligibility is based on age, household income, disability status, and the type of building you live in. Many eligible people do not take advantage of this program. It’s easy to see if you are eligible: call 311 or visit nyc.gov/freezeyourrent. To search for housing lotteries, visit https://housingconnect.nyc.gov New Garbage Bins: The NYC Department of Sanitation mandates that all 1-9 unit properties use secure garbage bins with lids by November 12, 2024. If you already use a bin with a secure lid that is 55 gallons or less for trash, you may continue to use it until JUNE 2026. After that, you will need to switch to the official NYC Bin, found here https://www.bins.nyc. According to DSNY, the bins are inexpensive, robust, and designed to keep rodents out. Learn more here: https://on.nyc.gov/4cXwRP4. Please note that this rule doesn’t cover recycling bins; people can continue to use the bins they have been using. Sign up for my Bi-Weekly Email Alerts. To receive my bi-weekly emails about community events and policy alerts, please sign-up here or email [email protected]. |
