What’s Up at Borough Hall BROOKLYN-USA.ORG
Recent happenings at the People’s House
NOVEMBER
In the wake of widespread voting
problems at poll sites across Brooklyn
and New York City on Election Day,
Borough President Adams convened
a rally outside the Brooklyn Board of
Elections offi ce in Downtown Brooklyn
on Wednesday, November 7th that
demanded a series of fundamental reforms
in how the city runs elections.
He called for in-depth investigations
at both the City and State levels to review
what went wrong in the planning,
staffi ng, and voting machines;
training poll workers including simple
maintenance and repairs to voting machines
for fi xes as simple as removing
a stuck ballot; adopting early voting;
piloting innovative technologies that
will provide secure and reliable methods
for voters to cast their ballots like
mobile voting, and getting buy-in from
all stakeholders for structural reform
at the Board of Elections. On Monday,
January 14th, the New York State Legislature
passed a comprehensive series
of voting reforms intended to improve
elections statewide; the measures taking
effect in 2019 include early and
same-day voting, automatic updates to
voter registration, “no excuses” absentee
voting, voting by mail, and holding
federal and state primaries on the
same day. Starting in 2020, 16- and 17-
year olds will be able to preregister to
vote when they turn 18.
On Monday, November 26th, Borough
President Adams and Council
Member Robert Cornegy, Jr., the
chair of the Committee on Housing
and Buildings, called for a full-scale
forensic audit and investigation on the
federal, state, and city levels into the
issue of deed fraud in the borough of
Brooklyn, including the role that the
New York City Department of Housing
Preservation and Development’s Third
Party Transfer (TPT) program may be
unintentionally playing in defrauding
homeowners of their property. In letters
they sent on Monday, November
19th to United States Attorney for the
Eastern District of New York Richard
P. Donoghue, United States Attorney
for the Southern District of New York
Geoffrey S. Berman, New York State
Attorney General Barbara Underwood,
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric
Gonzalez, and Public Advocate Letitia
James, they jointly asked for partnership
with the City Council to enact a
temporary moratorium on TPT seizures
and other foreclosures in Brooklyn
such as to ensure no illegal activity
is occurring. Borough President
Adams and Council Member Cornegy
emphasized the need to do more in ensuring
bad actors and government programs
are not forcing seniors and lowincome
residents out of their homes in
the face of a changing borough.
26 ONE BROOKLYN | SPRING 2019
Joined by Representative Yvette D. Clarke, center-right, and other local leaders and community
advocates, Borough President Adams addressed detainees at the Metropolitan Detention Center in
Sunset Park amid the crisis of inhumane conditions at the facility. Borough President’s offi ce / Stefan Ringel
DECEMBER
On Friday, December 21st, Borough
President Adams and NYC Health +
Hospitals/Bellevue announced the
launch date of January 16, 2019 for their
pilot program to help patients transition
to a plant-based diet and healthy
lifestyle. The program attracted more
than triple the initial interest expected,
with more potential enrollees
every day. The Plant-Based Lifestyle
Medicine Program includes a wholefoods,
plant-based diet to improve, and
in some cases reverse, chronic conditions
such as heart disease, diabetes,
obesity, high cholesterol, and high
blood pressure. It is designed to serve
as an intensive resource for adult patients
with chronic diseases who wish
to reduce their cardio-metabolic risk
through healthful lifestyle changes,
including following a diet that emphasizes
legumes, whole grains, fruits,
vegetables, nuts, and seeds, and reduces
animal products, fried foods,
refi ned grains, and added sugars. The
$400,000 pilot program is funded by
NYC Health + Hospitals and is a result
of Borough President Adams’ advocacy
around plant-based nutrition.
In the spirit of “home for the holidays,”
Borough President Adams unveiled
more than $3 million to create
and preserve more than 550 new and
existing affordable housing units for
people in need across Brooklyn. He
joined project grantees, which are all
part of his Faith-Based Development
Initiative, on Tuesday, December 11th
at the site of Abraham Residence I in
Sea Gate, a 75-unit single room occupancy
independent living facility for
formerly homeless seniors 55 years of
age and older. These grants includes
funding to create and preserve lowincome
housing for seniors, formerly
homeless individuals, and families,
as well as to help develop community
facility, communal, and green roof
spaces. Borough President Adams also
allotted funding to Love Fellowship
Tabernacle in Brownsville; Catholic
Charities Progress of Peoples Development
Corporation in Brownsville;
Hanson Place Church Support Corporation
in Fort Greene, and BEL
Community Housing, LLC at Bishop
Philius and Helen Nicolas Senior Residence
in East Flatbush.
JANUARY
It’s tax season! Borough President
Adams and Grow Brooklyn, Inc,
joined together to host a series of free
tax preparation and fi ling services, in
partnership with the Mayor’s Offi ce,
New York City Department of Consumer
Affairs, NYC Free Tax Prep,
Brooklyn Cooperative Federal Credit
Union, Internal Revenue Service, and
Single Stop. The services kicked off on
Friday, January 25th, with appointments
available at Brooklyn Borough
Hall from Tuesday, January 29th to
Monday, April 15th by appointment
only on Mondays from 12:00 PM to 7:00
PM, Tuesdays from 10:00 AM to 2:00
PM, and Wednesdays from 10:00 AM to
2:00 PM. To schedule an appointment,
visit growbrooklyn.org/taxes or call
(347) 682-5606.
Following Governor Andrew Cuomo’s
announcement of changes to
the L train shutdown plan on Thursday,
January 3rd, Borough President
Adams and Manhattan Borough
President Gale Brewer led a group of
community leaders representing constituents
along the route of the L train
line in demanding answers to a range
of questions regarding the viability of
the proposal. The proposed changes,
including keeping the tunnels opera-
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