WWW.BROOKLYN-USA.ORG BROOKLYN NEWS
27
STEPS TOWARDS SAFETY
While Brooklyn is the place to be for all things
hip, fun and diverse, Borough President Adams is
working to ensure that the borough plays it safe
when it comes to safety measures. Through different
forums and educational programs, he is focused
on keeping Brooklynites informed on safety, in all
its forms.
Though overall quality of life has gone up in
Brooklyn, no city is untouchable or without its setbacks.
In the wake of a group of devastating events
throughout the past year, Borough President Adams
spoke out, with the goal of inspiring Brooklynites to
take notice and action.
After five drowning deaths occurred within a
three-week time period in July of 2014,
he urged Brooklynites to exercise proper
water safety habits.
“We must turn pain into purpose,” said
Borough President Adams, “committing
ourselves to ensuring all Brooklynites
know how to be safe around water. Water
is a part of daily life here in Brooklyn,
with the borough surrounded by rivers
and bays; it is an economic driver, an
educational tool and a recreational outlet
for so many. Knowledge is power, and
we are looking to empower Brooklynites
with the information they need to have a
safe, healthy relationship with the water.”
In addition, after several security
breaches on the Brooklyn Bridge, he
joined forces with state lawmakers,
announcing legislation last year that
would raise penalties for trespassing on
any of the city’s crucial infrastructure. He
also launched a borough-wide fire safety
education campaign this past March, as
well as a campaign to open a Brooklyn
burn center, after a fatal fire tore through
a Midwood home, killing seven children.
After the brutal death of three-yearold
Jeida Torres, who was beaten by her
stepfather in October of 2014, Borough
President Adams announced a legislative
effort, again in conjunction with
state lawmakers, which would expand
mandatory reporting requirements for
suspected child abuse cases.
“Anyone that deals with the welfare
of children or families has a moral and
societal obligation to report harm or
potential danger, and this legislation will
ensure that everyone contracted in New
York State for this responsibility will
fulfill that duty,” he said. “In the wake of
recent tragedies that have befallen our
communities, there is an added sense of
urgency to assure New Yorkers that government
is fulfilling its primary mission
of protecting the people.”
On the other side of the spectrum,
with the goal of preventing potentially
devastating situations from happening
in the first place, Borough President
Adams has implemented several preventative
and educational programs
throughout the past year, aimed at
informing Brooklynites on how to stay safe.
Photo: Kathryn Kirk/Brooklyn BP’s Office
Borough President Adams showed local seniors the impact of proposed
sidewalk extensions with a street chalk outline at a press conference
to launch CROSS (Connecting Residents on Safer Streets) Brooklyn,
his new initiative to improve street safety for the borough’s vulnerable
pedestrians; the event was held outside the AMICO Senior Citizens
Center in Borough Park.
In partnership with the Office of Emergency
Management (OEM), he held an emergency preparedness
and hurricane readiness forum in
September 2014.
“Emergency preparedness is more than natural
disasters, it’s also about man-made disasters,”
noted Borough President Adams. “There’s a wealth
of information that can be utilized from the attack
on the World Trade Center on 9/11. Disasters have
such an awesome strain on city agencies, so it is of
the utmost importance that we prepare ourselves
as individual citizens for when disaster strikes.”
He has also held safety-focused forums at
Borough Hall. At one, attendees had the opportunity
to experience a “Texting While Driving” simulatora
3D driving experience, complete with a chair,
steering wheel and pedals, which users manipulate
while navigating a virtual roadway and adhering to
common driving laws (such as speed limits and red
lights), all while texting in support of the city’s Vision
Zero initiative.
At another, a prom safety info session zeroed in
on such subjects as drunk driving, date rape, and
club drugs.
Brooklyn Borough Hall was also busy researching
other important subjects. As a result, in February,
Adams released a new report from his office that
recommended utilizing technology—like fingerprint
recognition and micro-cameras mounted on weapons—
to combat gun violence in New York City.
“We need to make guns safer, for responsible
owners and law enforcement personnel who
use them as well as for the general public,” said
Borough President Adams, a former captain in the
NYPD. “New York can and should lead the nation in
combating gun violence, and there are tangible
steps we can take with utilizing technology and
strengthening common-sense safety measures
that will save lives.”
Additionally, he has recently
unveiled several initiatives
to ensure that vulnerable
Brooklynites are safe as they
move around the borough.
In February, Borough
President Adams joined advocates
from the aging and disabled
communities to unveil Access-
Friendly NYC, a new initiative to
promote a set of guidelines that
would advance accessibility of
public buildings beyond compliance
with the Americans with
Disabilities Act.
“Brooklyn Borough Hall
is the ‘People’s House’, and I
want it to be accessible to people
from every age and every
ability level,” declared Borough
President Adams. “I am issuing
a call to action for every
public building in our city, to go
above and beyond ADA compliance
and meet the accessibility
needs of all of our residents.
We must reduce the safety risks
that senior citizens and disabled
New Yorkers face every day, and
Access-Friendly NYC is a roadmap
to reach that end goal.”
Two months later, he stood
outside the AMICO Senior Citizens
Center in Borough Park to launch
CROSS (Connecting Residents on
Safer Streets) Brooklyn, his new
initiative to improve street safety
for the borough’s vulnerable
pedestrians. The effort includes
a capital funding commitment
from Brooklyn Borough Hall to
construct sidewalk extensions,
known as “bulb-outs” or “neckdowns”
at intersections determined
to be dangerous, based on
crash data from the New York City
Department of Transportation.
This builds on his past work to
advance Vision Zero and pedestrian
safety, including his call
last summer on the City to use its
school crossing guards to assist
seniors in crossing streets.
“Vision Zero has helped New York City turn
the corner toward safer streets for all,” declared
Borough President Adams. “We must have a laser
focus on redesigning our major intersections and
arterial roadways to make pedestrian safety a
top priority.”
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