16 BROOKLYN NEWS
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Borough President Adams hosts a public meet and greet at
Brooklyn Borough Hall with new NYPD Commissioner Bill
Bratton, joined by Deputy Borough President Reyna, senior
NYPD offi cials and community leaders.
Public Safety
Photo: Bratton Meet & Greet
Caption: Borough President Adams
hosts a public meet and greet at
Brooklyn Borough Hall with new NYPD
Commissioner Bill Bratton, joined by
Deputy Borough President Reyna, senior
NYPD offi cials and community leaders.
SAFEGUARDING
ONE BROOKLYN
Brooklyn is number one when it comes to things like hip neighborhoods,
culinary delights and the latest in the arts, fashion and culture. But
there’s one list that it needs to work harder to get off – the borough
with the most traffi c fatalities and accidents. According to New York
State crash statistics, more than 23,000 Brooklynites were injured in
traffi c accidents in 2011, with 79 Brooklynites killed. In fact, Brooklyn’s
numbers were higher than any other borough. Any traffi c death in New
York City is unacceptable, but surely Brooklyn can do better.
“I stand with Mayor de Blasio in support of ‘Vision Zero,’ a plan to
protect our residents, particularly young children and seniors,” said
Borough President Eric Adams. “We have seen far too many victims
on Brooklyn’s streets in recent weeks and months, and I believe that
a comprehensive, multi-agency approach will lead our city to a safer
future.”
Borough President Adams convened a meeting with transportation
experts early in his term and the group suggested many of the same
traffi c safety enhancements that are part of the Vision Zero plan,
including increased enforcement of existing parking regulations to
curtail double parking, as well as safety improvements like pedestrian
countdown signals at traffi c lights, neighborhood “slow zones,” speed
bumps, mile-per-hour (MPH) electronic signage to slow vehicular
traffi c, and enhanced speed-camera enforcement. The group also
suggested that alternative forms of transportation—Select Bus Service,
ferry service and Citibikes—can save lives by decreasing the number
of motorists on the road.
Of course, as a former NYPD captain with a 22-year record of
distinguished service, Borough President Adams knows only too well
that traffi c safety isn’t the only issue challenging our residents’ health
and well being. Illegal guns shortchange too many lives. Hate crimes
and domestic abuse destroy the victim’s sense of personal safety
and peace of mind. And our residents within public housing need to
know that their safety is not compromised by the lack of security, from
locks that work to surveillance that prevents and/or helps apprehend a
would-be attacker.
Initiatives like Vision Zero are proof that government has a vital
role in creating a safe urban landscape. Borough President Adams
feels that every Brooklynite needs to join in that effort, to work
toward providing a safe and secure borough to call home, including
obeying speed restrictions and parking regulations, being vigilant
about locking the entrance to a residential building and reporting
any security lapses. Parents and caregivers have a profound
responsibility to be fully involved and present in their children’s
lives so that every single moment, the child is safe from harm.
MAKING “DOLLARS AND SENSE” TO BROOKLYNITES
On March 31, Borough President Adams declared April as Financial
Literacy Empowerment Month in Brooklyn, citing key economic
indicators that underscored the need for greater fi nancial literacy across
Brooklyn. As an example, for every two dollars the fi nancial service
industry spends on fi nancial literacy and education, they allocate
an additional fi fty-four dollars on consumer marketing. Additionally,
the average person has over $15,000 in credit card debt and nearly
$33,000 in student loan debt. These issues are compounded by the
reality that one in fi ve Brooklynites lives below the poverty line and only
28% of its high school students are ready for college.
Borough President Adams’s effort to help achieve economic stability
and prosperity across the borough’s neighborhoods has involved
working with Brooklynites of all ages and socioeconomic backgrounds
to ensure they are able to make fi nancially sound decisions while
learning ways to better manage their money and to protect our
vulnerable Brooklynites from fi nancial scams. The launch of this
borough-wide fi nancial literacy initiative was announced with a month
full of empowerment and educational events provided by organizations
from the fi nancial, grassroots and small business communities. The
series was highlighted by fi nancial literacy workshops and seminars on
topics including budgeting, family fi nancial planning, identity theft and
management of student loans.
The highlight of Financial Literacy Empowerment Month culminated
on April 29, Financial Literacy Empowerment Day, when there were
over forty sites throughout the borough offering free, hands-on fi nancial
literacy workshops. Brooklynites were able to sit with professionals to
better understand their credit score, manage a household budget, save
for retirement or to buy a new car.
“I believe that fi nancial literacy is the crucial tool that can be used
to achieve economic stability and prosperity here in Brooklyn,” said
Borough President Adams. “As often as we’ve heard the phrase ‘a tale
of two cities’ in recent months, we can’t be numb to its reality in our
communities. It’s important that we look for ways to help Brooklyn
residents make fi nancially sound decisions, to learn ways to better
manage their money and to protect our vulnerable Brooklynites from
fi nancial scams.”
Following his fi rst Financial Literacy Empowerment Month, Borough
President Adams has discussed the creation of a Financial Literacy
Council with his organizational partners. This council would monitor
fi nancial trends specifi c to each neighborhood in the borough, provide
suggestions on how to best address those fi nancial obstacles and
facilitate empowerment workshops throughout the borough.
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