Category: Mental Health

QNS: Hundreds rally to make Jackson Heights’ 34th Avenue Open Street permanent

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Photo by Dean Moses/QNS.com

By Angélica Acevedo

Originally published in QNS.com on October 27, 2020.

Hundreds of families and local elected officials gathered at the widely popular 34th Avenue Open Street in Jackson Heights, with a mission to demand Mayor Bill de Blasio and the Department of Transportation (DOT) keep the COVID-19 program permanent, on Saturday, Oct. 24.

At the event, during which several Queens and city elected officials showed their support of the idea, they also called for the Open Street on 34th Avenue to be extended to 114th Street in Corona.

For many families in a community that became the “epicenter of the epicenter” during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 34th Avenue Open Street served as a lifeline — especially in a district ranked fifth to last in per capita park space compared to other districts in the city, according to a 2019 report by NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer.

Dawn Siff, a member of the 34th Avenue Open Streets Coalition and co-organizer of Saturday’s rally, said this is the moment to “radically reimagine our streets and who they are for.”

“If we don’t seize this moment to reclaim space for our families, for our children, for our elderly, shame on us,” said Siff. “The 34th Avenue Open Street has changed lives in our community and it is made possible by dozens and dozens of volunteers and by all the members of our community who use it every day, and will not rest until it is permanent and extended.”

Photo by Dean Moses/QNS.com

 

Photo by Dean Moses/QNS.com

The march and rally was hosted by 34th Ave Open Streets Coalition, with the Queens Activist Committee of Transportation Alternatives.

Juan Restrepo, Queens organizer for Transportation Alternatives, said more than 1,600 community members have already signed their petition to make the 34th Avenue Open Street permanent and extend it to Flushing Meadows Corona Park.

“The 34th Avenue Open Street is the crown jewel of New York City’s open street program,” said Restrepo. “We look forward to collaborating with the community and all the elected officials in support of this project to make those goals happen.”

34th Avenue runs from Woodside, through Jackson Heights toward Corona. The 1.3-mile stretch is home to more than half a dozen local public schools, including P.S. 398, I.S. 145, I.S. 230, P.S. 149, P.S. 280 and P.S. 212.

Photo by Dean Moses/QNS.com

 

Photo by Dean Moses/QNS.com

The rally featured speeches from Jackson Heights elected officials, including state Senator Jessica Ramos, Assembly member Catalina Cruz, Assembly candidate Jessica González-Rojas and Councilman Danny Dromm.

“I am proud to have worked closely with the NYC DOT and the de Blasio administration to ensure the permanent closure of 34th Avenue,” said Dromm. “Certain details of what the street will eventually look like remain to be ironed out and the DOT has assured me that community input will be given high priority for the redesign of the avenue. I want to thank the DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg and all the advocates Dawn Siff, Nuala O’Doherty, Jim Burke and many others, along with fellow elected officials Senator Jessica Ramos, Assembly member Catalina Cruz, and Democratic Nominee for AD34 Jessica Gonzáles-Rojas, who worked with me to help make this dream come true for our community.”

Other City Council members also attended the rally and march, including Council members Carlina Rivera, Donovan Richards, Jimmy Van Bramer and Brad Lander.

Community members then marched from 34th Avenue and Junction Boulevard to Travers Park.

“Our community has always lacked sufficient green spaces and locations where families can play, exercise and spend time with their friends and neighbors. This was only exacerbated by the isolation we all endured during COVID,” said Cruz. “Having 34th Avenue be accessible to families all around Jackson Heights, Corona, and the surrounding neighborhoods have been key in keeping many of us healthy and safe during a very tough time.”

Photo by Dean Moses/QNS.com

 

Photo by Dean Moses/QNS.com

 

Photo by Dean Moses/QNS.com

The day also had activities for kids, street performers, music and exercise classes, as well as bake sale so participants could experience the flavor of 34th Avenue Open Street.

Dasia Iannoli, a 7-year-old resident of 34th Avenue in Jackson Heights, said she loves 34th Avenue’s Open Street.

“I live on 34th Avenue and I love Open Streets because I get to bicycle and play and roller skate and scoot and play soccer and basketball and tennis and badminton with my friends and stay safe. 34th Ave. is the best place to be,” said Iannoli. “Please keep 34th Ave. open.”

Photo by Dean Moses/QNS.com

 

Photo by Dean Moses/QNS.com

 

Photo by Dean Moses/QNS.com

On Oct. 23, the DOT said the city will keep the 34th Avenue Open Street program going while they look into a plan for its “long-term” transformation.

The DOT revealed it will present a plan to keep the street permanent at a Community Board 3 committee on Wednesday, Oct. 28, according to Streetsblog.

Ramos, a fierce advocate for the 34th Avenue Open Street program, said the city needs to “transform the way we are using our streets.”

“Streets are for people, not cars! The more we talk about climate change and how to better protect our communities, we must begin taking concrete steps to reverse car culture. Making 34th Avenue Open Streets permanent and extending it further is step number one,” said Ramos. “I am also here as a resident and mother to say that 34th Avenue Open Street changed my life. It allowed me and my kids to practice and learn how to bike in a safe space. Honored to stand with just about every community activist in our district to call upon the mayor to make it official and keep 34th Avenue open for our families.”

Read more here.

Gay City News: City Council Legislation Would Require Intersex Education, Outreach

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Out gay City Councilmember Daniel Dromm has proposed legislation aimed at informing doctors and parents or guardians of intersex children about medically-unnecessary interventions.
NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL/ WILLIAM ALATRISTE

By Matt Tracy

Originally published in Gay City News on October 27, 2020.

The New York City Council will hold a hearing at 10 a.m. on October 28 on legislation that would require the city’s health department to create an intersex-inclusive outreach campaign intended to educate doctors, parents, and guardians about best medical practices regarding a child born with intersex traits.

The educational information would address medically-unnecessary treatments and interventions that are often performed on children who are intersex, or born with reproductive systems or anatomy not fitting the standard definition of male or female. There is a long history of intersex individuals being forced to undergo surgeries intended to align their bodies with male or female anatomy, but most of those surgeries are deemed unnecessary — and many intersex folks, when they are older, have said the surgeries did not align their bodies with their gender identity.

A summary of the bill, which was first proposed last October by out gay Councilmember Daniel Dromm of Queens and has 10 co-sponsors, states that the material would explain whether medical interventions could be “delayed until the infant is older and can voice thoughts about the procedure.”

In addition to educating parents and doctors, the bill also calls on the health department to “identify outreach partners and opportunities,” though the bill’s language did not elaborate further on that point.

In June of last year, then-City Health Commissioner Dr. Oxiris Barbot and Human Rights Commissioner Carmelyn P . Malalis penned an op-ed for ozy.com calling on doctors to respect the rights of intersex folks “and only perform surgery when the health of a child is at imminent risk or it is consensual.”

At the state level, out gay State Senator Brad Hoylman of Manhattan announced legislation last November requiring informed consent from an intersex minor before doctors can proceed with any non-medically necessary treatment or intervention.

Dromm posted a tweet about the hearing on October 26, Intersex Awareness Day, which he said is “a time to center Intersex people across the globe.”

“It is also a time to commit ourselves to advocating for this community wherever and however we can,” Dromm said in his tweet. “I introduced Intro 1478, legislation that will equip parents of infants born with intersex traits with the knowledge they need to protect their babies from unnecessary and harmful surgeries. Parents of infants with intersex traits are often forced to rely on quackery masquerading as medical science, leading them to make decisions that inflict life-long physical and psychological trauma on their children. When enacted, my bill will provide these parents with the sound medical info they need to make healthy choices for their babies.”

On Twitter, activist Cecilia Gentili brought up Dromm’s legislation and posted a series of tweets featuring testimonials collected by interACT, a policy and media organization that encouraged Hoylman to propose his legislation last year.

One of those testimonials came from an individual named Hanne Gaby, who said, “I was born as a perfectly healthy intersex child, and yet the medical establishment used fear tactics to convince my parents that I needed to be altered… this led to unimaginably traumatic surgeries and experiences as well as irreversible complications that have broken my trust in the medical establishment.”

The bill’s co-sponsors are out gay Councilmembers Jimmy Van Bramer of Queens and Carlos Menchaca of Brooklyn as well as their colleagues Carlina Rivera, Helen Rosenthal, Ben Kallos, and Margaret Chin of Manhattan; Diana Ayala of the Bronx and Manhattan; Farah Louis of Brooklyn; and Costa Constantinides and Donovan Richards of Queens.

The bill is one of several pieces of legislation on the agenda during a joint hearing between the Committee on Health and the Committee on Women and Gender Equity. The committees will also hear proposals to establish a committee on female genital mutilation and cutting, to create an advisory board for gender equity in hospitals, and to require multiple city agencies to conduct culturally competent training on recognizing the signs of female genital mutilation and cutting.

Read more here.

Bond Buyer: Coronavirus colors New York City Council’s budget response

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By Chip Barnett

Originally published in the Bond Buyer on April 8, 2020

The New York City Council issued its response to Mayor Bill de Blasio’s $95.3 billion fiscal 2021 preliminary budget, focusing on supporting the social safety net as the coronavirus has ravaged the city and its finances.

“The impact of COVID-19 on our economy has been much like the effect of the virus itself — sudden and with a quick decline,” Council Speaker Corey Johnson, Council Finance Committee Chair Daniel Dromm and Capital Budget Subcommittee Chair Vanessa Gibson said in a joint letter released late Tuesday.

The preliminary fiscal 2021 budget was released by the mayor three months ago, when the city was a drastically different place, the council members said.

The council said its response contains what it deems are essential programs and services that must be retained.

“We recognize that revenues are decreasing because of severely reduced business activity, deferred tax collections, and a sharp drop in tourism. And we understand that a substantial amount of resources will be needed to combat the spread of coronavirus and to protect the health and safety of our people and the heroic essential workers,” the Council members said. “However, as we make the tough decisions about where to find savings and efficiencies, it is imperative that the basic social safety net programs remain untouched, and in some cases expanded with additional investments.”

The Council members said it was crucial that both the city and the state continue to press the federal government for additional stimulus and recovery funding.

“The city’s ability to stabilize its economy, help the tens of thousands of newly unemployed or underemployed workers, provide loans to small businesses, and pay for the public health response to the virus hinges on federal assistance,” the Council members said.

De Blasio released the $95.3 billion fiscal 2021 preliminary budget in January and the council held the first round of hearings on the budget.

The mayor will release his revised executive budget later this month. The 51-member council will hold a second round of hearings, after which they will negotiate adjustments with the mayor.

The mayor said the council’s response would be looked at closely.

“We are in an unprecedented crisis and facing billions of dollars in lost revenue. There is no doubt this budget cycle will be painful,” said Laura Feyer, the mayor’s deputy press secretary. “We are laser focused on fighting COVID-19 and protecting the health and safety of all New Yorkers. We are reviewing the Council’s proposals.”

By law, the council must vote on a budget by July 1. The last four budgets were all approved ahead of schedule.

New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson, left and finance chair Daniel Dromm, right, joined capital budget subcommittee Chair Vanessa Gibson in signing the letter to the mayor.William Alatriste

Last month, the mayor said the budget will be on time despite the spread of COVID-19 forcing $1.3 billion of cost-cutting measures.

The council called on the administration to:

  • Continue to prioritize and maintain services that focus on the prevention and identification of infectious diseases; provide needed mental health supports; address health disparities in the city’s communities of color that cause an excess burden of ill health and premature mortality; support the full range of health services; and conduct surveillance of environmental-related diseases.
  • Invest at least $25 million in food pantries, expand all feeding programs, and increase food allowances for all emergency housing programs. With the drop in employment, thousands more New Yorkers are food insecure.
  • Ensure that every older adult who requests a meal receives one and to adequately fund the enhanced need for senior services.
  • Fund a robust rental voucher program, move families out of shelters into vacant units, invest in homeless street solutions, and expand anti-eviction services, and preserve NYCHA’s affordable housing stock.
  • Continue to support human services providers by ensuring that workers feel protected, safe, and properly compensated; that contracts reflect the increased costs associated with COVID-19; and that agencies allow flexibility in contract scope and services.
  • Support a rent relief and deferral program for adversely impacted families and implement tax deferral programs for struggling homeowners and small property owners.
  • Implement measures to stabilize the small business community. Businesses have certain bills that need to be paid whether or not they are operating, such as rent, utilities, loan payments, insurance costs, and taxes.

“The upcoming budget negotiations will involve many tough choices, but it is clear that there are certain basic items that should remain protected, including investments in public health and the social safety net,” Johnson said. “This is a crisis unlike any we have ever seen, but I believe in New York City.”

The council’s finance chair said average New Yorkers need the city as a backup in these trying times.

“The city must deliver for the thousands of New Yorkers who rely on our social safety net in this time of great need. The COVID-19 pandemic has presented an unprecedented challenge to our city and to the budgeting process,” Dromm said. “There is a lot of uncertainty but one thing is clear: services that keep New Yorkers housed, fed, healthy and open for business should remain strong. Because the need for many of these services will only grow in the coming months, New York City needs to prioritize them to the fullest extent possible so that no one falls through the cracks.”

The city is one of the largest issuers of municipal debt in the United States. As of the end of the second quarter of fiscal 2020, the city had about $37.7 billion of general obligation debt outstanding. That’s not counting the various city authorities that issue debt.

Moody’s Investors Service rates the city’s GOs Aa1, but has placed the rating on negative review. S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings rate the city’s GOs AA.

The NYC Transitional Finance Authority has $38.9 billion of debt outstanding while the NYC Municipal Water Finance Authority has $30.8 billion of debt outstanding.

Read more here.