4 BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP • MAY 13 - MAY 19, 2016 Senate passes pol’s bill to rename highway for veterans New York State Senate has passed legislation that seeks to dub a portion of the state highway system “Brooklyn Veterans Memorial Highway.” State Senator Marty Golden introduced the bill which, if passed into law, would rename a portion of Interstate Route 278 in Brooklyn from the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge to the Queens county line. Assemblymember Peter Abbate is set to co-sponsor the legislation in the state Assembly. DA announces young-adult focused bureau, court Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson announced on Friday, May 6 the creation of a Young Adult Bureau that will operate in the newly-formed Brooklyn Young Adult Court, in partnership with the Offi ce of Court Administration and the Center for Court Innovation. According to Thompson, the new specialized court – the fi rst in New York State – will handle all misdemeanor cases of defendants between the ages of 16 and 24. In addition, it will offer riskneeds assessments, counseling and other services tailored to young adults, including substance abuse, mental health, anger management, GED, vocational and internship programs. The Brooklyn Young Adult Court will begin operations out of Brooklyn Criminal Court, 120 Schermerhorn Street. Beep announces expanded breastfeeding initiative Just in time for Mother’s Day, Borough President Eric Adams joined with maternal healthcare providers, breastfeeding advocates and local moms at the Brooklyn Hospital Center to announce a partnership with Brooklyn hospitals for his baby cards initiative. The initiative will offer a note of greeting to new mothers, information on breastfeeding, and other resources to parents. The cards, which expand on Adams’s Family Friendly Brooklyn Initiative, also include information about the lactation lounge at Brooklyn Borough Hall, a comfortable, private space open to the public for breastfeeding. Hospitals involved in the initiative include Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center, Maimonides Medical Center, New York Methodist Hospital, NYC Health+Hospitals/Coney Island, NYC Health+Hospitals/ Kings County, NYC Health+Hospitals/ Woodhull, NYU Lutheran Medical Center, SUNY Downstate Medical Center, the Brooklyn Hospital Center, and Wyckoff Heights Medical Center. --Meaghan McGoldrick The Greenmarket is Back BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP/Photo by SB News The ninth annual Bay Ridge Greenmarket kicked off for the season on Saturday, May 7 in the parking lot at Walgreens, 95th Street and Third Avenue. The market – which features fruits, vegetables and even some wild caught sh – will be open every Saturday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. (with food scrap collections from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.) now through November 19. See story on page 38. Brooklyn of cials sound off on bag fee BY ANNA SPIVAK [email protected] Love it or loathe it, Brooklynites will soon be shelling out fi ve cents for carry-out bags from “retail, convenience, and grocery stores, with limited exceptions,” as the City Council passed legislation requiring a single-use bag fee by a 28-20 vote on Thursday, May 5. It was signed into law by Mayor Bill de Blasio after a public hearing on Tuesday, May 10. Part of a citywide plan to “signifi cantly reduce consumption of natural resources and waste,” the the more than nine billion single use bags -- both plastic and paper -- used annually. “In city after city, a small fee has been overwhelmingly successful in getting people to bring their own reusable bags when they shop and generated a 60 to 90 percent drop in plastic bag waste,” explained Lander. Although the fee would not apply to restaurant meals, prescription drugs and groceries bought with food stamps, the surcharge will be applied as of October 1 – with stores that fail to comply within six months facing a $250 to $500 fi ne. But, the legislation -- which Mayor Bill de Blasio is expected to sign -- is hardly universally beloved. “Even at fi ve cents, the fee is without a doubt a regressive tax that will be borne disproportionately by the city’s poor, seniors, blue-collar workers and struggling families,” contended Councilmember Vincent Gentile. “Instead of changing consumer behavior, I feel this bill will only increase the constantly surging cost of living in New York City.” Councilmember Mark Treyger put a long post on Facebook explaining his opposition, noting, “While the goal to reduce the use of plastic bags is noble, I have serious concerns about the fee approach.” Instead, Treyger said, “We should allow innovation to reach its potential to solve environmental and economic challenges. Why not invest in new technology to make environmentally friendly bags and have these industries set up a base HERE in NYC!.” State Senator Diane Savino is backing a bill sponsored by State Senator Simcha Felder that would prohibit the city from imposing the bag fee. “What the bill essentially says is that no locality or municipality can levy a charge in the use of paper or it’s not all stores,” Savino went on. “If I buy my food in a restaurant, that take-out plastic bag is not as offensive as the one from Key Food?” Savino is also concerned about the fact that, under the legislation, the stores will pocket the fee. “The most important element in sound environmental policy – if you’re going to impose a fee for the purpose of changing people’s behavior – is that the money go towards the recycling of that item,” Savino said. “The idea that stores can take the money for themselves goes against environmental policy.” bag fee was introduced by Councilmembers Brad Lander of Brooklyn and Margaret Chin of Manhattan to rid the city of plastic bags in a retail establishment,” Savino explained. “There are so many holes in BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP/fi le photo this, starting with the fact that To discourage sights like this, single-use bags will soon cost ve cents.
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