In Public Service – October 23, 2019

Myrie hosts Senior Resource Fair

More than 100 people attended a Senior Resource Fair sponsored by State Sen. Zellnor Myrie at the NYCHA Seth Low Senior Center in Brownsville on Tuesday. 

Participants were able to meet with representatives of over 20 city agencies and community-based organizations providing a range of social services.

“Up in Albany, we spend a great deal of time discussing major policy reforms and challenges that face our whole state, but if we can’t help the people in our district with their day-to-day problems, then none of that matters. Today was about serving our community directly with all sorts of issues, whether it’s housing, home care, nutrition, social services or health care, and bringing all of those resources under one roof,” said Myrie, a Democrat whose district includes parts of several neighborhoods in Central and Eastern Brooklyn.

The fair also focused on housing issues. A study by New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer found that senior citizens are more likely to pay more than 30 percent of their income on housing than the general population.

Richardson to hold emergency training session

Assemblymember Diana Richardson will hold a Disaster Preparedness Training session on Saturday, Oct. 26, at Middle School 61, 400 Empire Blvd., from 2 to 4 p.m.

Richardson, a Democrat representing Crown Heights and Prospect Lefferts Gardens, has invited representatives from the New York City Office of Emergency Management, the Community Emergency Response Team and the Police Department to make presentations at the training session.

For more information, call Richardson’s office at 718-771-3105 or email District 43@nyassembly.gov.

Menchaca calls on Census Bureau to hire non-citizens

Council Members Carlos Menchaca and Carlina Rivera, who co-chair the New York City Council’s 2020 Census Task Force, have sent a letter to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) urging it to allow the U.S. Census Bureau to hire non-citizens for outreach positions that might be hard to fill with U.S. citizens.

“Allowing the Census Bureau to hire non-citizens is critical to ensuring a complete and accurate count of every New Yorker,” said Menchaca, a Democrat representing Red Hook and Sunset Park. “Moreover, what we are asking OPM to do is no more than what the U.S. Census Bureau has already sought to do, hire from the largest, most diverse and most qualified applicant pool possible.”

The U.S. Census Bureau has launched a nationwide recruitment campaign and is hosting job recruitment events all over the country.

In New York City, the bureau needs to recruit 40,000 people for positions like census taker, recruiting assistant, office clerk and office supervisor, Menchaca said.

Brooklyn pols co-chair education hearing

The State Senate’s Standing Committee on Higher Education is coming to an institution of higher learning in Brooklyn to hold a hearing on Thursday, Oct. 24.

Led by State Sen. Toby Ann Stavisky, the committee’s chairperson, the panel will hold a hearing at Brooklyn College at 11 a.m. focusing on the cost of higher education. State Sens. Andrew Gounardes, Zellnor Myrie and Julia Salazar of Brooklyn are co-chairing the hearing.

The lawmakers will examine the accessibility and affordability of public higher education, financial aid programs, as well as student borrowing, officials.

Treyger introduces education bills

Councilmember Mark Treyger, chairperson of the Education Committee, recently introduced bills and resolutions aimed at helping parents navigate the educational bureaucracy.

One bill on student and parent rights seeks to amend the city’s administrative code to require the Department of Education to report the number of individualized education programs that are translated. Treyger also introduced a resolution to support state legislation that would allow mental health days for students.

Treyger, a Democrat representing Coney Island, Gravesend and parts of Bensonhurst, also introduced a non-education resolution to allow city workers who donate organs to help save lives to get paid medical time off. The resolution would direct the mayor to grant paid medical leave for city employees who provide an organ donation.

“The legislation I introduced will benefit and enhance city life for all residents. I am confident that my bills will lead to better outcomes for New Yorkers and I look forward to my initiatives progressing through the Council’s legislative process,” Treyger said.