In Public Service – September, 25 2019

Clarke supports impeaching Trump

U.S. Rep. Yvette Clarke has called on President Donald Trump to be impeached in the wake of revelations that the president pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to launch an investigation into Joe Biden.

“With Donald Trump in office, our democracy remains at stake. It is unconstitutional and completely unacceptable for this president to contact foreign governments in an attempt to tarnish presidential candidates to interfere with and attempt to puppeteer our elections.  I’ve been a vocal proponent of impeaching Donald Trump since 2017, and this latest law-breaking incident only validates my beliefs that we must move forward in impeaching Donald J. Trump from the highest office in our country,” said Clarke, a Democrat representing Central Brooklyn.

“The American people deserve a president who abides by our Constitution. Simply put, Americans deserve much more than Donald Trump,” Clarke added.

Salazar demands hearing on real estate speculation

State Sen. Julia Salazar and leaders of the Coalition for Community Advancement are calling on New York State to hold hearings on gentrification and aggressive real estate speculation, which they said often targets vulnerable homeowners, including senior citizens and people at risk of foreclosure.

Real estate speculation occurs when investors buy property in a community in the hope that the property will increase in value.

Salazar, a Democrat representing Bushwick and East New York, planned to go to the U.S. Post Office at 2645 Atlantic Ave. on Thursday with the Coalition for Community Advancement to mail surveys filled out by over 500 residents to the New York Department of State to request a hearing.

In addition to Salazar and the coalition, the civic and religious organizations seeking state hearings include Arts East NY, Blessed Sacrament, Community Board Five, Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation, Homeowners Assoc. Inc., Muhammad Mosque, North Brooklyn YMCA, Saint Peter’s Church and United Community Centers. 

Myrie, Richardson hold Census meeting

State Sen. Zellnor Myrie and Assemblymember Diana Richardson held the first meeting of the Census Complete Count Committee on Sept. 23 to discuss ways to get the public more involved in the 2020 Census. The meeting took place at Medgar Evers College.

Complete Count Committees are volunteer committees established by local governments, community leaders and organizations to increase awareness of the 2020 Census.

“A lot of the problems our community faces, from the lack of resources for affordable housing, the lack of resources for education, and so much more, can be traced to our being undercounted in the Census,” said Myrie, a Democrat representing Crown Heights and parts of Park Slope and Sunset Park.

Richardson, who worked with Myrie to organize the meeting, represents Crown Heights and Prospect-Lefferts Gardens.

The meeting’s participants discussed how to overcome Brooklyn’s traditional poor showing in Census counts, according to Myrie.

Gounardes, Brannan form Special Ed Advisory Committee

State Sen. Andrew Gounardes and Councilmember Justin Brannan have formed a Special Education Advisory Committee to discuss ways to assist parents of special needs students navigate in the city’s public school system.

The committee, which is comprised of parents and educators, had its first meeting on Sept. 23.

There are more than 200,000 special education students in the New York City public school system. 

Gounardes and Brannan, who are both Democrats representing parts of Southwest Brooklyn, will use input from the committee to help guide them in addressing the issue of special needs education.

“Every single student with special needs deserves to have a world-class education and to have the services they need, but too many children are suffering right now with insufficient services or poor educational quality,” Gounardes said.

“Too often, parents of children with special needs feel like they are on their own, up against a bureaucratic behemoth. Our goal is to find solutions for each and every student, and this advisory committee, by pooling our collective knowledge of how to best navigate the public school system, will strive to do just that,” Brannan said.

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