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Dear
Neighbor,
Over
the
past
month,
three
people have
lost
their
lives
in
our
district
as
a
result
of
preventable
traffic
accidents. The
families of William
Wine,
Martin
Smith and
Roxina
Clayton continue
to
mourn and
we
need
to implement
policies that
protect
our
residents.
Since
the
implementation
of
Vision
Zero,
the
City
has
taken
serious
steps
to
reduce
the
number
of traffic
accidents
in
an
effort
make
our
streets
safer.
While
there
were
381
traffic
related
fatalities
in
2000,
that
number was
reduced
to
an
all
time
low
in
2011 to
249.
But
there
is still
much
work
to
be done.
As
I
continue
to
work
with
the
administration
and
the
agencies
responsible
for
implementing
the
goals
of Vision
Zero, we
need
to
make
sure
these
policies
are
being
brought
to
Southeast
Queens. That
is
why
on
Thursday, August
26th
at
the
Robert
Ross
Johnson
Family
Life
Center,
my
office
with
other
elected
officials will
be
hosting a
Town
Hall
to
receive
an
update
as
to
what
the
City
is
doing
to
bring
this
program
to
the
community.
To
help
stem
this
problem
I
have
introduced
legislation
that
will
curb
the
illegal
commuter
van
industry.
Introductions
860,
861,
874,
and
570 would
make
sure
that
van
operators are
not
breaking
the
law
and
their
employees
are driving
responsibly.
This
is
an
opportunity
for
all
of
us
to
express
the
needs we
have and
I
encourage
you
to share
this
opportunity with
your
friends
and
neighbors,
and
to
come
out
to
have
your
voice
heard.
Advocating
For
Our
Housing
Needs
After
we
announced
the
first
in
the
nation
Foreclosure
Buyback
Program,
the
legal
organizations
we
have
been
working
with
filed
a
lawsuit
against
the
U.S.
Department
of
Housing
and
Urban
Development
(HUD)
on
behalf
of
minority
homeowners
whose
mortgages
were
sold
to
investors.
Not
only
were
these
homeowners no
longer
protected
by
the
Federal
Housing
Authority (FHA),
despite
the
fact
the
payments
these
families
made
allowed
HUD
to ensure
the
original mortgage,
but they
were
unable
to
refinance with
the
hedge
funds
and
banks
their
mortgages
were sold
to. At
least
one-thousand
of
these mortgages
were
sold
in
New
York
City.
As
detailed
in
the
New
York
Times,
the
new
rules
that
enabled
us
to
create
the
buyback
program
does
not
apply
to
the
more
than
100,000
mortgages
already
sold
by
HUD. In
the
release
announcing
the
lawsuit,
MFY
Legal
Services
states
"The
lawsuit
cites
data
showing
that
HUD’s
Note
Sale
Program
has
had
a
discriminatory
and
devastating
effect
on
homeowners
in
New
York
City
because
a
disproportionately
high
number
of
loans
sold
through
this
program
are
in
predominantly
African-American
neighborhoods,
particularly
southeast
Queens
and
east
Brooklyn."
My
office
will
continue
to
work
with
these
organizations
to
see
how
we
can
be
helpful
and
continue to
help
those
still
recovering
from
the
Great
Recession.
Standing
Up
For
Peace
Today,
I
was
proud
to
stand
with
Speaker
Melissa
Mark-Viverito,
my
colleagues
in
the
City
Council,
and
religious
leaders
of
all
backgrounds
in
support
of
peace. Family
members
and representatives
of
Imam
Maulama
Akonjee
and
Thara
Uddin
were
also
present
to
show
support
and let the
public
know that
hate
cannot
win.
New
York's
diversity
and
willingness
to
welcome
immigrants
has
made
us
stronger.
Economically,
culturally,
and
socially.
We
are
able
to
take
everything
that
is
good
and
unique
about
all
the
different
cultures
and
embrace
it
in
order
to
make
ourselves
better.
That
is
why
when
these
tragedies
happen
to
anyone,
we
come
together
like
we did
today.
As
our
thoughts
and
prayers
continue
to
be
with
the
Akonjee
and
Uddin
families,
I
want
to
thank
the
police
for
their
swift
action
on
this
case
helping
to
bring
justice.
Supporting
Homecare
Workers
This
past
Tuesday
was
a busy
day
at
City
Hall
where
I chaired
both
Committees
on
Civil
Service
and
Labor
and
Finance.
In
both
meetings,
we
passed
legislation
to
support
seniors,
make
sure
home
care
workers
receive
fair
compensation
for
their
work
and
that
working
families
can
afford
their
services.
The Civil
Service
and
Labor
Committee passed Introduction
1084,
which
would
create
the
division
of
paid
care
within
the
Office
of
Labor
Standards,
also
created
by
this
Committee
this
past
November.
This
new
division
will
be
tasked
with
informing
paid
care
workers
of
their
rights,
that
they
themselves
have
health
insurance,
and
of
course
make
sure
they
are
being
paid
a
living
wage.
In
Finance,
we
passed
Resolution
993
which
calls
upon
the
State
Legislature
to
expand
the
New
York
City
Child
Care
Tax
Credit. In
its
current
form,
a
major
limitation
of
the
City
credit
is
that
it
begins
to
phase
out
at
a
household
gross
income
as
low
as
$25,000,
dollars
and
fully
phases
out
to
zero
at
$30,000
dollars.
Consequently,
many
low-income
families
are
ineligible
for
the
credit.
In
addition,
the
maximum
amount
of
the
credit
is
limited
to
only
75
percent
of
the
allowable
State
credit.
Resolution
993
asks
the
State
to
remove
those
limitations
by
increasing
the
income
threshold
for
the
full
credit
to
$35,000
dollars,
increasing
the
phase-out
to
zero
threshold
to
$45,000
dollars,
and
deepening
the
maximum
credit
to
100
percent
of
the
allowable
State
credit.
In
addition,
while
the
federal
and
State
credits
cover
expenses
for
the
care
of
adult
dependents
with
hild
care
expenses,
the
City’s
credit
does
not.
The
need
to
care
for
seniors
and
other
adults
unable
to
care
for
themselves
is
also
a
barrier
to
employment,
and
therefore,
this
resolution
would
also
call
for
the
City’s
credit
to
be
expanded
to
include
the
cost
of
caring
for
adult
dependents.
Talking
About
Police
Reform
We
continued
our
discussion
of
police
reform
at
New
Greater
Bethel
Ministries
with
Assemblywoman
Alicia
Hyndman,
Senator
Leroy
Comrie,
and
Congressman
Gregory
Meeks,
to
talk
about
the
Right
To
Know
Act,
and
how
we
can
create
better
relationships
with
the
Precincts
that
serve
Southeast Queens.
Like
the
Joint
Remedial
Process
we
took
part
in
last
week,
this
was
a
Town
Hall,
open
to
the
public
with the
Queens South
Commander
hief
David
Barrere
and
105th
Precinct
Commander
Jeffrey
D.
Schiff.
The
turnout
was
great
and
I
was
pleased
to
participate once
again
in
a
fruitful
discussion
on
how
to
keep
our
community safe
without sacrificing
our
rights.
Pat
Williams
Park
Groundbreaking
After
many
years,
I
was
pleased
to
have
finally
broken
ground
on
Pat
Williams
Playground
in
Queens
Village.
Pat
Williams
was
a
renowned
leader
in
Southeast
Queens
for
her
leadership
in
the
fight
against
drugs
with
the
105th
Precinct
Community
Council,
outspokenness
about
the
importance
of
civic
engagement.
Her
dedication
to
groups
such
as
the
Order
of
the
Eastern
Star
and
her
own
Concerned
Citizens
for
a
Safe
Queens
Village,she
helped
to
bring
our
community
together
with
the
goal
of
increasing
everyone’s
quality
of
life.
This
playground
is
named
after
her
because
of
her
great
efforts,
and
this
reconstruction
project
will
ensure
her
park
continues
to
give
back
just
as
much
as
she
did.
This
long
overdue
project
will
create
a
great
new
space
for
our
youth
and
adults
who
do
not
have
any
other
park
in
the
immediate
area
to
exercise
or
play
in. I
cannot
wait
to
use
the
new
fitness
equipment,
and
I
am
sure
when
we
have
weeks
of
hot
weather
as
we
are
experiencing
now,
families
will
want
to
take
their
children,
and
I’m
sure
lots
of
students
after
school
will
want
to
come
to
the
park.
Watch
NY1's
Coverage
of
the
Groundbreaking
Block
Parties
Last
weekend, I
had
a
great
time
going
around
to
all
the
block
parties visiting
neighbors
and
taking
part
in
the festivities. I
saw
so
many
people
come
out
and
enjoy
the
games,
food,
and
music.
Thank
you
to
all
the
block
associations
and
organizations
who
made
it
happen.
South
East
Queens
Credit
Union
Members
of
the
South
East
Queens
community
has
united
in
the
formation
of
the
South
East
Queens
Federal
Credit
Union
(SEQFCU).
Our mission
is
to
encourage
economic
development
and
community
enhancement
within
South
East
Queens.
We
are
committed
to
providing
the
highest
level
of
financial
services;
encouraging
saving
and
the
wise
use
of
credit;
increasing
the
knowledge
and
ability
of
our
members
and
the
community
to
manage
and
control
their
financial
well-being;
providing
sound
financial
management
in
order
to
maintain
earnings
for
longevity
and
growth;
and
to
providing
employees
with
a
challenging
and
rewarding
career.
This
initiative
is
for
the
community
by
the
community.
In
order
to
make
this
a
success
the
National
Credit
Union
Administration
requires
the
submission
of
surveys
which
confirm
community
demand
and
need.
Please
assist
in
this
process
by
completing
the
SEQFCU
survey
using
the
link
below.
Click
Here
To
Take
The
Survey
Happy
Independence
Day,
India!
On
August
15,
India
celebrated
its
70th
year
of
Independence
from
the
British
Empire.
This movement,
led by
Mahatma
Gandhi,
showed
the
world
that
nonviolence
protest
and
civil
disobedience
were
more
powerful
than
one
of
history’s
greatest
empire.
Future
world
leaders
such
as
Reverend
Dr.
Martin
Luther
King
employed
similar
practices
in
their
own
struggle
for
basic
human
dignity
and
civil
rights.
I
would
like
to
wish
all
those
of
Indian
descent
a
happy
independence
and
continuous
peace
and
prosperity
for
India.
Employment
Opportunities
The
Department
of
Citywide
Administrative
Services
(DCAS)
has
posted
the
August
2016 schedule
for
Civil
Service
Exams.
A
variety
of
positions
are
available
including
Firefighter,
Environmental
Police
Officer,
School
Safety
Agent.
To
see
the
full
schedule
click
the
link
below,
and
CLICK
HERE to
see
how
you
can
sign
up.
DCAS
Exam
Schedule
August
2016
Laborers
Local
79
is
Hiring
Construction
Workers
Upcoming
Events
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