NGLCC: New York City to Become Largest City in America   to Recognize LGBT-Owned Businesses

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New York City to Become Largest City in America
to Recognize LGBT-Owned Businesses

Historic agreement between NYC Dept. of Small Business Services
and National LGBT Chamber of Commerce, five years in the making


January 19, 2021
Washington, D.C. – The National LGBT Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC), the business voice of the LGBT community, is proud to announce that New York City Small Business Services (SBS) has approved a measure to include NGLCC Certified LGBT Business Enterprise® (Certified LGBTBE®) suppliers in contracting and procurement opportunities, as well as capacity building and educational programs from small businesses, throughout the city. For LGBT citizens of New York City, this inclusive policy provides fair and equal access to economic development programs that drive innovation, create jobs, and promote economic growth throughout the city.
“Thanks to the leadership of NGLCC, Mayor Bill de Blasio and the NYC Department of Small Business Services– especially Commissioner Jonnel Doris and Deputy Commissioner Dynishal Gross– LGBT entrepreneurs in New York City will now have the opportunity to create jobs and develop innovations that benefit all who live there. New York City has a legacy of leadership in promoting inclusivity at every level of public life. Now, history has been made here in New York City, and this victory for inclusivity has once again proved our core values that ‘diversity is good for business’ and that ‘if you can buy it, a certified LGBT-owned business can supply it.’ We are excited to see LGBTBEs in every field, from construction to catering and everything in between, help grow the economy of New York City and beyond as M/WBEs and EBEs,” said NGLCC Co-Founder & President Justin Nelson.
New and Current NGLCC Certified LGBTBE® suppliers can utilize their existing certification to meet a majority of criteria needed to be certified by NYC’s Department of Small Business Services (SBS). The additional information required will be submitted via electronic addendum provided when a supplier begins the online application with the City of New York. Learn more at nglcc.org/nyc. 
“Equity of access and inclusion are at the core of the work we do at SBS,” said Jonnel Doris, Commissioner of the NYC Department of Small Business Services. “A diverse vendor pool makes a stronger New York City, and we are excited to maximize the inclusion of LGBTQ certified firms into the City’s certification process. We look forward to our continued partnership with the NGLCC.”
This policy makes New York City the next city to intentionally include LGBT-owned businesses in municipal contracting and procurement opportunities, a best practice of the private sector and of an ever-growing number of states and municipalities. Thanks to the advocacy of NGLCC and its state and local affiliate chambers, New York City follows in the footsteps of large cities like Chicago, Orlando, Nashville, and more as inclusive leaders throughout the United States. 
NGLCC wishes to thank Congressman Ritchie Torres for introducing a New York City Council bill to push this issue forward, which was first raised by Councilmember Daniel Dromm and members of the LGBTQ Caucus.
“LGBTQ-owned businesses in NYC will finally have equal access to city economic development programs thanks to this historic agreement,” said NYC Council LGBT Caucus Chair Daniel Dromm. “When it comes to establishing and growing businesses, LGBTQ entrepreneurs face many significant and manifold challenges. I am pleased that these business owners who were once excluded from sorely-needed contracting and procurement opportunities will be able to participate. I have worked alongside Congressmember Ritchie Torres and the NGLCC to sounds the alarm and raise awareness of this effort which is ultimately about fairness and equity. Thank you to SBS for stepping up and agreeing to this partnership. It will impact the lives of thousands of New Yorkers in a meaningful and lasting way.”
In August 2019, at the 2019 NGLCC International Business & Leadership Conference in Tampa, FL, openly LGBT Mayor Jane Castor announced an executive order to include Certified LGBTBE® suppliers in her city. This order followed Mayor Eric Garcetti’s historic announcement to do the same in Los Angeles just days before, as well as Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s resolution to do the same in her city. In 2018 and early 2019, NGLCC won the inclusion of Certified LGBTBE® suppliers in Orlando, FL; Nashville, TN; Baltimore, MD; Jersey City, NJ; and Hoboken, NJ, while also advancing statewide bills in New York and New Jersey. Currently, California, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania also include Certified LGBTBE® suppliers in city procurement, along with major cities like Seattle, Newark, Columbus, and Philadelphia. Many of America’s largest cities and states are working closely with NGLCC to complete LGBTBE inclusion in 2021. 
“While we have a long way to go for LGBT equality in the nation, NYC has always had a strong and growing network of NGLCC Certified LGBTBE® suppliers and LGBT-owned companies. We hope this resolution in NYC will encourage more cities to proactively include the LGBT community for the optimum social and economic health of their cities. Collectively, LGBT-owned businesses contribute to the $1.7 trillion dollars that the LGBT business community puts into the national economy. Progressive and inclusive leadership, like that of New York City, will ensure greater access to the American Dream for every American,” said NGLCC Co-Founder & CEO Chance Mitchell.

Read more here.

QNS.com: Dromm/NYC Council extend gas pipeline inspection & certification deadline

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Typical construction industry installation of utilities in a house

By Bill Parry

Originally published in QNS.com on December 24, 2020.

Queens homeowners will save thousands of dollars under legislation recently passed by the City Council and first introduced by Councilman Daniel Dromm.

The bill will extend the gas line inspection and certification deadline set by Local Law 152 of 2016 to June 30, 2021, and give a much-needed reprieve to thousands of Queens property owners in Community Districts 1, 3 and 10 which are still reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Intro 2151-B will also require the city’s Department of Buildings to conduct thorough outreach to the public, and solicit public comments related to Local Law 152.

“Intro 2151-B spares thousands of Queens homeowners from having to scramble to comply with Local Law 152, with its looming Dec. 31, 2020, deadline,” Dromm said. “It would be difficult to expect our constituents to bring inspectors into their homes in the middle of a pandemic or face thousands of dollars in fines.”

The goals of Local Law 152 are laudable: to ensure that gas lines in buildings throughout the city are sound. However, the initial deadline, set well before anyone could foresee the pandemic, is not practicable at this point.

“As a responsible policymaker, I am simply interested in ensuring compliance with any legislation that is passed and enacted. When circumstances change and call for reassessment, we have to respond,” Dromm said. “I want to thank NYC Council Housing and Buildings Chair Robert Cornegy for working alongside me on this important effort. I also want to thank my constituents for bringing this issue to my attention. You initiated the legislative process that culminated in [this] vote. Even during this challenging time, democracy is alive and well at the NYC Council.”

Read more here.

NY1 Noticias: Más de 60 inquilinos vivían ilegalmente en edificio incendiado

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Por personal de NY1 Noticias

Publicado por NY1 Noticias el 22 de diciembre de 2020

Fuentes oficiales le confirmaron a NY1 Noticias que se descubrió un accelerante de fuego en el lugar del incendio que dejó a tres muertos y varios heridos en el edificio 90-31 de la avenida 48, en Elmhurst, este fin de semana.

La noticia dejó a algunos vecinos indignados ante la situación: “Pues que está muy mal, las autoridades, pero yo creo que las autoridades tendrían que mirar más a fondo esos detalles para que no se pierdan vidas como se perdieron ahora”.

  • Encuentran acelerante en escena de incendio en Queens que dejó tres muertos

Las autoridades también recuperaron un video que captó a un hombre entrando al edificio antes del incendio y saliendo justo antes de que la propiedad estallara en llamas.

Además, datos del Departamento de Edificios muestran que -desde el 2001- el gobierno de la ciudad ha estado recibiendo quejas sobre la división ilegal de los apartamentos en esta propiedad.

  • FDNY: incendio en Elmhurst deja 3 muertos y varios heridos

Desde entonces, las denuncias por la alteración y el alquiler del inmueble han sido constantes.

La más reciente fue presentada este año, donde denuncian que en el edificio de tres pisos vivían más de 60 personas.

Sofía Salas, es residente de Elmhurst y comenta al respecto: “Porque se aprovechan, se aprovechan de la situación, de la necesidad del ser humano que no hay dónde vivir, no hay”.

Una portavoz del Departamento de Edificios aseguró que la agencia había emitido una orden de desalojo parcial en febrero de 2018 después de encontrar 6 unidades de habitación individual convertidas ilegalmente en el sótano.

El edificio acumuló más de $217,000 en multas.

Daniel Dromm, el concejal por Elmhurst, nos dijo que para evitar la alteración de edificios presentará un nuevo proyecto de ley.

La legislación buscará que el Departamento de Edificios pueda acceder a los apartamentos que hayan acumulado varias quejas y miles de dólares en violaciones sin la necesidad de una orden judicialpara entrar al inmueble.

“El Departamento de Edificios es difícil para ellos para entrar a un apartamento. El problema es que ellos, aunque ellos saben que la situación existe, ellos tienen un tiempo difícil para entrar o para reinspect”, comena Dromm.

El concejal Dromm agregó que introducirá esta legislación a principios del año entrante.

Leer más aquí.

Queens Chronicle: Troubled building burns, killing three

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A body is taken down in an FDNY cherry picker after a fire in Elmhurst killed three people on Saturday morning.
PHOTO BY MICHAEL SHAIN

By Michael Shain

Originally published in the Queens Chronicle on December 21, 2020.

Fire marshals are investigating a blaze that killed three men in Elmhurst early Saturday morning, including reports that several men were trapped inside by locked gates.

The fire department believes there were eight people in the house at 90-31 48 Ave., a property that had been illegally subdivided, according to Department of Buildings records.

Two died on the second floor and one was on the third. A body had to be slid out the window onto an FDNY cherrypicker because the staircases were no longer passable after the roof collapsed. One fireman was injured when he fell through the floor.

The New York Post reported that FDNY investigators believe it was an electrical fire.

Gustavo Escubero, a former super of the building, said a new landlord showed up in January and tried to force people out, cutting gas and water. He said most of the tenants left but around 10 stayed.

Escubero lived in a studio apartment on the first floor, while the rest of the space was divided into 10 rooms. When the utilities were turned off, he moved two doors down.

He said one victim probably couldn’t get out because the previous landlord put bars up in front of the sliding doors that led to the second floor balcony.

“The previous landlord, he divided up all the rooms, very very small rooms,” Escubero said. “No windows, very narrow, he broke apartment building rules. The basement and the floors had 10 people on each one.”

The site was hit with more than 20 violations in the last decade. Two years ago, there was a fine for converting the building from a one- to two-family house into one that would accommodate four or more families, DOB records show.

Escubero said one of the men who died lived right next to the window but the previous owner didn’t give him the key to the sliding door.

“They would just sit there and look out the window when they needed fresh air … I would ask him, doesn’t it give you claustrophobia to not be able to leave and he said yes, of course,” he said. “Someone died because of that window.”

He added, “The situation got bad but the truth is these people just didn’t want to leave.”

Councilman Danny Dromm (D-Jackson Heights) said his hearts goes out to the residents of the building.

“It is outrageous that the property owner raked up $217,000 in fines for illegally subdividing most of the property and reportedly ignored a partial vacate order,” he said in a statement. “Elmhurst has been plagued by unscrupulous landlords who habitually flout the law to fatten their wallets.”

Dromm said he will meet with city agencies and colleagues to address the issue.

“I will do all that is in my power to ensure that the property owner is held accountable for his malfeasance,” Dromm said. “Slumlords, you have been put on notice.”

A neighbor, who wouldn’t give a name, said the bank had foreclosed on the property and that it’d been sold to a new owner last January.

City records show the building was sold to an LLC for $1.2 million.

Read more here.

Queens Daily Eagle: Council formally calls on state to repeal ‘walking while trans’ ban

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THE CITY COUNCIL PASSED A RESOLUTION TO REPEAL A LAW KNOWN AS THE WALKING WHILE TRANS BAN ON THURSDAY.
EAGLE FILE PHOTO BY ANDY KATZ

By Rachel Vick

Originally published in the Queens Daily Eagle on December 11, 2020

The New York City Council passed two resolutions Thursday formally calling on state lawmakers to repeal a prostitution-related loitering misdemeanor dubbed the “walking while trans” ban and to seal the records of people convicted of the offense.

The section of state penal law related to “loitering for the purposes of engaging in prostitution” gives police officers the power to arrest a person for allegedly stopping, talking to or beckoning at others in a public place. In practice, officers have used observations like a defendant’s clothing, gender identity or gender expression as grounds to make an arrest — in essence, profiling trans women as sex workers.

The movement to repeal the law has gained momentum in recent years, fueling the Council’s vote Thursday.

Queens Councilmember Daniel Dromm recalled his own experience with profiling related to the law.

“I was arrested when I was 16 years old and charged with prostitution, something that has gone on as a tool to use against the LGBT community for many, many years, and it’s about time that we ended it,” Dromm said.

Manhattan Councilmember Carlina Rivera, the repeal bill’s sponsor, celebrated the vote in a tweet Thursday.

“Whether you’re a survivor who has shared your story, an organization working to bring justice, or an ally in this fight, thank you,” she said. “It passed and we are grateful to so many! It’s time to repeal the #WalkingWhileTrans ban in NYS.

Six conservative councilmembers voted against the repeal resolution. They were Councilmembers Robert Holden, Chaim Deutsch, Kalman Yeger, Joe Borelli, Steven Matteo and Ruben Diaz, Sr.

Holden, Deutsch, Borelli, Matteo, Diaz and Queens Councilmember Eric Ulrich opposed he sealing resolution, Gay City News reported.
The walking while trans ban has had a disproportionate impact on trans women of color in Queens.

More than half of the 121 arrests for the offense in New York City in 2018 took place in Queens, concentrated in Jackson Heights and Corona, according to an analysis by the website Documented.

That year, 49 percent of people charged with Loitering for the Purpose of Prostitution were Black and 42 percent were Latino.

“As a trans, Latinx woman in Jackson Heights, for over 14 years I have lived the violence that exists, between the police intimidation and patriarchy that impacts our community,” Make the Road organizer Bianey Garcia said at a virtual rally in September. “[Trans community members] tell us they are afraid to express their gender, to wear anything sexy or put heels on for fear of being arrested.”

Though the repeal was not included in the State’s 2020 legislative agenda, Gov. Andrew Cuomo would likely be open to the amendment, a spokesperson told the Eagle in January.

“We would have to review the final bill, but the Governor has been a champion for the transgender community … and strongly opposes the unequal enforcement of any law as a means to target a specific community,” said spokesperson Caitlin Girouard.

Read more here.

WSJ: New York City Council Eyes Bill to End Solitary Confinement 

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A solitary confinement cell at New York City’s Rikers Island jail. The city council is set to begin fast-tracking legislation this week to end the practice. PHOTO: BEBETO MATTHEWS/ASSOCIATED PRESS

By Rich Calder

Originally published on December 8, 2020 in the Wall Street Journal.

Nearly six months after Mayor Bill de Blasio pledged to end solitary confinement as a means of punishment in New York City’s jail system, the city council this week is set to begin fast-tracking the process by reviewing new legislation to halt the controversial practice.

Councilman Daniel Dromm, a Queens Democrat, is introducing a bill at Thursday’s council meeting that would prohibit inmates from being locked in an isolated cell for violent offenses—except for up to four hours whenever it is necessary to “de-escalate immediate conflict,” according to a review of the legislation.

Under current city law, solitary confinement, also known as punitive segregation, allows inmates to be locked in cells up to 20 hours a day for serious offenses.

“Solitary confinement is torture in the truer sense of the word,” Mr. Dromm said in an interview Tuesday. “Depriving people of human contact for long periods of time is un-American, and we shouldn’t be engaging in it.”

The city’s Department of Correction referred requests for comment to the mayor’s office.

Mr. De Blasio in June pledged to have New York become the first major city in the country to halt solitary confinement, and he set up a panel to come up with a plan, but it has yet to announce any recommendations.

Since he took office in 2014, the city’s jail system has significantly reduced its use of solitary confinement and the overall inmate population. As of Monday, there were 65 people in punitive segregation, compared with a daily average of 567 in 2014, according to the Department of Correction.

Mayoral spokeswoman Avery Cohen said in a statement that the mayor’s office is committed to ending punitive segregation and would “continue working with stakeholders in government and those with lived experience to create a system that ensures the safety and well-being of staff and people in custody.”

Punitive segregation has come under fire from criminal-justice advocates who say it’s inhumane. But law-enforcement advocates, including the Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association, the union representing city correction staff, say it is a necessary deterrent to keep violent inmates in line and jails safe.

On Friday, the council’s committee on criminal justice will hold a hearing on the bill, which Mr. Dromm believes has enough support to become law.

The prompt scheduling of the hearing by Council Speaker Corey Johnson, a Democrat, only a day after the bill’s scheduled introduction has raised concerns among some council members and the correction officers union. They say the legislation is being rushed into law for political reasons at the risk of endangering jail staff.

Historically, bills usually sit for weeks or months—and sometimes more than a year—before the council speaker’s office schedules a hearing to field testimony from city agencies and other affected parties.

Both Mr. Johnson and Councilman Keith Powers, a Manhattan Democrat who chairs the criminal justice committee, said they support ending solitary confinement.

“This bill is being heard because it’s ready and will continue to go through the legislative process,” a spokeswoman for Mr. Johnson said. “There’s nothing unusual about that.”

The legislation would still allow the city to keep detainees in other types of restrictive housing separated from a prison’s general population. Under the proposal, inmates in restrictive housing could leave their cells at least 10 hours a day, compared with 14 hours for a jail’s general population.

The city’s Rikers Island jail complex currently allows inmates in restrictive housing to leave cells for seven hours.

Six council members sent a letter to Johnson on Monday expressing “great concern regarding how quickly” the bill is getting a public hearing. The letter cited a series of recent attacks by inmates on correction officers.

“We firmly believe that rushing to pass a bill of this magnitude would have serious implications for the safety of our jails and could actually result in increased violence,” said the letter written by Robert Holden, a Queens Democrat, and cosigned by three Republicans and two other Democrats.

COBA President Benny Boscio Jr. accused Mr. Johnson of fast-tracking the bill into law in order to eclipse Mr. de Blasio politically on the issue.

“Speaker Corey Johnson is once again trying to beat the mayor in a race to ban punitive segregation entirely, which will only increase violent assaults on correction officers and non-violent inmates,” he said.

Read more here.

The City: De Blasio Promised Nearly Six Months Ago to End Solitary Confinement. So Where’s the Plan?

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Surveillance video shows Layleen Polanco being escorted to her solitary cell on Rikers Island before her death in 2019. Source: The City

By Rosa Goldensohn and Reuven Blau

Originally published in The City on December 6, 2020.

In June, when Mayor Bill de Blasio announced he would end solitary confinement in city-run jails, he said he expected a working group to give him recommendations on how to do it “in the fall.”

The chair of the Board of Correction, which makes the rules for city lockups, said on Oct. 21 that the plan would be presented “literally in the next several days” and then voted on by board members.

Now, with the new year approaching, details of the proposal have yet to be unveiled. The Board of Correction promises a plan will be released before the end of the month.

“The City of New York and the Board of Correction, after hearing from persons with lived experience, understand that it is time to end solitary confinement in the New York City jail system,” Board Chair Jennifer Jones Austin said in a statement late last week.

“Such a complex undertaking requires meaningful planning and collaboration with the Department of Correction, the union and those with lived experience to ensure the result is a system that ensures the safety and well being of staff and people in custody,” she added.

A so-called punitive segregation unit inside the George R. Vierno Center on Rikers Island.

Meanwhile, the City Council could pass its own bill to end the practice of punishing people in jails for rule-breaking by imposing isolation for most of the day and night. Some 95 people were in so-called punitive segregation in city jails as of Thursday.

Bill sponsor Danny Dromm (D-Jackson Heights) told THE CITY he believes there is enough support in the Council to approve the measure.

“I think that there are enough people have been educated on this at this point to understand that solitary is torture,” he said.

The City Council is scheduled to hold a hearing on the subject Dec. 11.

Spurred by Polanco Death

Despite a growing consensus on the psychological harms of such confinement, New York would appear to be the first major city in the country to officially ban punitive segregation outright.

De Blasio announced the change in June, citing the case of 27-year-old Layleen Polanco, who died in a solitary cell on Rikers Island just over a year earlier.

Hundreds of people packed into Foley Square to hold a vigil for Layleen Polanco, a 27-year-old transgender woman who died in solitary confinement on Rikers Island, June 10, 2019. Ben Fractenberg/THE CITY

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed a bill last year limiting solitary stays to 20 days at a time, and no more than 30 days in a 60-day period.

In Chicago, Cook County Jail eliminated solitary and created a “special management unit” in its place. De Blasio previously ended solitary in the city for those under the age of 22.

In the five boroughs, solitary confinement is only allowed as a punitive measure in response to an infraction of jail rules.

A DOC captain in charge of adjudicating jailhouse infractions can dole out a sentence of up to 30 days “in the box.”

Administrative segregation, the isolation of inmates to smooth the running of the jail, is not allowed under a 2010 court ruling. But functionally, the punishments remove people who have done something violent from the general population for a period of time.

The correction officers’ union has long opposed limits on solitary, saying the tactic is needed to help keep the peace.

The city proposal will include an end to punitive segregation and an alternative way to deal with acts of violence in the jail, according to the Board of Correction.

The Council bill would also put time limits on other forms of what jailers call “restrictive housing.”

The challenge, Dromm said, is to eliminate solitary without allowing for loopholes.

Wary of Name Game

Incarceration reform efforts elsewhere have spawned replacements for solitary confinement units that critics say are merely solitary by another name.

In Canada, courts deemed prolonged solitary confinement unconstitutional. But in the “structured intervention” units meant to replace solitary, according to outside observers, prisoners often did not receive the time outside of their cell or “meaningful social contact” as promised.

Under New York State rules, local jails must allow those held in segregation four hours out of their cells daily.

But that time is not necessarily spent interacting with others. The State Commission allows showering time to count, for instance.

The city Department of Correction has also counted showering in its tally, as well as trips to the doctor and visiting time, though those do not necessarily reflect the actual daily schedule of people in segregation.

State prisons, which regularly hold people in solitary for months at a time, are not subject to the four-hour rule. Some prisoners are held alone 24 hours a day, with an hour out in a solo cage attached to their cell.

As of Dec. 1, some 1,173 inmates were serving a “Special Housing Unit” (SHU) disciplinary sanction in solitary cells across New York State prisons, officials said.

‘Meaningful Human Engagement’

A bill to restrict solitary in state prisons failed last year even though it had enough co-sponsors to pass on their votes alone. Gov. Andrew Cuomo and legislative leaders Carl Heastie and Andrea Stewart-Cousins quashed the measure in favor of a set of looser requirements that were then delayed.

The Dec. 11 hearing will include discussions of the de Blasio administration’s proposal and the City Council’s legislation to end solitary, according to Councilmember Keith Powers (D-Manhattan), who chairs the Criminal Justice committee.

“There’s a groundswell of support to end harmful solitary confinement policies in New York City jails,” he said in a statement. “This is a long-overdue conversation.”

Advocates against solitary, who put out their own plan to end the practice in city jails last year, said the Council action was “positive,” but that it should make sure to avoid “carve-outs.”

“The basic minimum standards in the city jails of 14 hours out-of-cell per day with access to meaningful human engagement and programming should apply to everyone,” Anisah Sabur of the #HALTsolitary Campaign said in a statement.

The union representing frontline city correction officers opposes scrapping solitary.

“With jail violence soaring in our jails year after year, it’s time for our elected officials to put safety and security first and empower us to separate violent offenders from non-violent offenders,” said Benny Boscio Jr., president of the Correction Officers Benevolent Association.

Read more here.

NY1 – City Council Moves to End Solitary Confinement

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By Courtney Gross

Originally published by NY1 News on November 30, 2020.

“Let’s end solitary confinement all together,” Mayor de Blasio declared at the end of June from City Hall.

It’s been five months, and last week there were about 102 inmates locked in their cells for much of the day.

Now, the City Council is taking up the proposal.

“Solitary confinement as we know it will come to an end as we see it on Rikers island,” Queens Councilman Daniel Dromm told NY1 in an interview on Monday.

He introduced legislation to end the use of solitary confinement in city jails. The bill would allow correction officers to isolate inmates, but only for four hours to de-escalate immediate conflicts.

Currently, solitary confinement, sometimes called punitive segregation, keeps inmates locked in their cells for the vast majority of the day.

The new City Council proposal still allows the city to keep inmates in other types of restrictive housing. Under the City Council proposal, inmates in restrictive housing could leave their cells for 10 hours a day. Currently in similar housing units on Rikers, those inmates leave their cells for seven hours.

Supporters of the push, like Dromm, say there are other ways to punish detainees on Rikers.

“They need to come up with those alternatives: taking away commissary, restricting phone calls, whatever it may be,” Dromm said. “They have other things they can use to deal with that.”

Not surprisingly, the correction officers union disagrees.

“We have to have a mechanism in place to be able to segregate those inmates who are violent towards correction officers and towards nonviolent inmates,” said Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association President Benny Boscio.

Boscio says officers need to use solitary confinement to punish unruly detainees on Rikers Island. Otherwise, his team gets hurt.

The union started a new social media campaign last week to try to convince City Council to reverse course, detailing horrible violence against its members and targeting the council speaker.

“Our legislature has sacrificed us,” Boscio said. “Name a bill that Corey Johnson has put forth that benefits correction officers?”

Boscio had been a part of a working group created by the de Blasio administration this summer to come up with recommendations on how solitary confinement could be eliminated. Boscio left the group, unhappy with where it was going.

The city’s jail oversight and regulatory board, the Board of Correction, has received recommendations from that group and is working on new rules to end solitary confinement. Those rules could be approved while the council moves forward its legislation as well.

No matter what, it appears to be something Mayor de Blasio now wants to happen. A spokesperson for de Blasio said his office looked forward to working with City Council on how to put an end to solitary confinement.

See more here.

NY1 Noticias: Vandalizan vehículos en Queens con pintas de ‘BLM y ‘AOC’

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By NY1 Noticias (Spectrum)

Originally published by NY1 Noticias on October 28, 2020.

Mayra tuvo que recoger a su nieta para llevarla a la escuela. Su nuera se había demorado porque se quedó limpiando su carro en el que alguien había pintado las iniciales BLM.

“Tuve que venir más temprano porque nos dijeron que si lo lava tal vez con tiempo que le pusieron ‘Black Lives Matter’ allí en carro, que lo podía tal vez quitar”, dijo Mayra.

Su caso no es único. Tan solo esta semana la policía confirmó que en East Elmhurst hasta 13 vehículos estacionados aparecieron con las letras BLM y AOC escritas en pintura blanca.

Son las iniciales del movimiento “Black Lives Matter” y de la congresista demócrata “Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez”.

En Jackson Heights se contabilizaron hasta 20 automóviles vandalizados que estaban parqueados en la Calle 77 entre las avenidas 34 y 37.

Los vecinos del área piensan que estos incidentes podrían estar relacionados con una respuesta a las protestas actuales por la reciente muerte de Walther Wallace, un hombre afroamericano, a manos de la policía en Filadelfia.

“Ella que tiene que saber con que mataron a ese señor, muy triste sí, pero ella no tiene nada que ver con eso”, agregó Mayra.

Nelson Larios tiene un taller de carros en Corona. Dos de sus clientes fueron víctimas de estos actos vandálicos. Nelson explica que no es la primera vez que reclaman sus servicios por incidentes similares en Queens y Brooklyn.

“A veces le rompen los carros y a veces le queman los carros en las protestas y cosas asi”, explicó Larios.

El concejal del área Daniel Dromm indica que ha recibido varios correos electrónicos con quejas de vecinos.

Añade Dromm que no es la primera vez que la calle 77 ha sido objeto de acciones vandálicas que pueden costar a los dueños de los autos alrededor de 500 dólares en gastos de seguros.

“Yo creo que es una persona que está contra estas causas y yo creo que ellos están tratando mandar un mensaje a contrario de este movimiento y de nuestra congresista”, dijo el concejal.“.

El NYPD informó que se encuentra investigando y que no tiene sospechas de que los autores estén relacionados con el movimiento BLM.

En la mañana del jueves la policía puso un mensaje en redes sociales en el que informa que ha detenido a una persona en relación con las pintas en los vehículos.

Leer más aquí.

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.”

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