Queens lawmakers demand answers after South Ozone Park sewer flood
/
City officials say the flood of human waste was caused by a backed up sewer pipe.
Read More
Richmond Hill town hall highlights lack of South Asians in city and state office
/
No one of South Asian descent has ever won a seat in city or state office, despite the community’s growing strength.
Read MoreSoutheast Queens leaders demand community investment after teen shot and killed
/
Amir Griffin was shot and killed by a seemingly stray bullet on Saturday night. He was 14.
Read MoreThree Queens CMs hit with campaign finance penalties
/
Candidates who do not pay their fines are not able to receive public funds in future elections, forcing them to be more accountable.
Read MoreCity map change would forever ban Rikers jails
/
The proposal comes amid growing pressure from progressive opponents of the plan, which would create a new 1,150-bed jail in every borough but Staten Island.
Read MoreQueens’ 15 councilmembers weigh in on the city’s jails plan
/
Three Queens councilmembers flat-out say they will vote against the plan.
Read MoreThe jail plan will likely pass. And the towers are getting smaller.
/
Where do New York City Council members stand on the jail plan?
Read MoreThe 17th annual Seniors Appreciation Month begins
/
“Senior Appreciation Month is a very special time for us, as we honor the legacy of our senior citizens and their contributions to our society.”
Read MoreCity schools “not sufficiently prepared” for mass shooting incident, 27 councilmembers say
/
Councilmember Adrienne Adams wrote a letter to the Department of Education stating that city schools are “not sufficiently prepared” for a mass shooting incident. The letter was signed by 27 councilmembers. Photo via City Council/Flickr.
By Jonathan Sperling
More than two dozen city councilmembers agree that the Department of Education’s schools are “not sufficiently prepared” for a mass shooting incident, according to a letter signed by the pols and addressed to Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza.
Queens Councilmember Adrienne Adams, who formerly served as the education chairperson of Community Board 12 in Southeast Queens, wrote the letter following an audit by State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. A total of 27 councilmembers signed onto the plea for preparedness.
DiNapoli’s audit found that the DOE can do more to comply with the Safe Schools Against Violence in Education, or SAVE Act, which lays out a comprehensive policy for school staff and administrators regarding the protection of students.
“It is alarming to know that erroneous, outmoded and untimely safety plan submissions are prevalent in our school system,” the letter reads, before urging the DOE to mandate compliance with the SAVE Act prior to the start of the 2019-2020 school year.
DiNapoli’s audit also found that five “of the 25 sampled schools did not conduct the minimum number of evacuation or lockdown drills and, for the 2016–17 school year, 3 of the 25 schools did not conduct drills within the required time frames,” among other findings.
A bevy of Queens councilmembers, including Councilmembers Donovan Richards, Paul Vallone, Robert Holden, Barry Grodenchik and Peter Koo also signed off on the letter.
The councilmembers encouraged the DOE to follow DiNapoli’s recommendations, which include working with the Education Department to develop a process to submit School Safety Plans to state police, as required under both the law and the state regulations, as well as reviewing procedures for monitoring emergency drills to ensure that all drills required by law are completed within the required time frames.
Critics blast council for jail plan calendar conflict
/
The hearing is scheduled for Sept. 5.
Read MoreQueens pols say bus schedule cost-cutting move hurts riders
/
Riders across the city will be left “lost and confused without a physical printout of the bus schedule to guide them,” the lawmakers said.
Read MoreWeak gun laws nationwide put Queens at risk
/
There have been no mass shooting incidents reported in Queens this year, but murders and shooting incidents are on the rise in the NYPD’s Queens North sector.
Read MoreThree Queens CMs opposed bike safety bill, hours before SUV hit Woodhaven cyclist
/
Councilmembers Rory Lancman, Robert Holden and Karen Koslowitz were among the six city lawmakers who voted against the legislation.
Read MoreSt. Albans honors longtime civic leader with street renaming
/
Cardinal Sandiford, an Army veteran best known for his years serving on Community Board 12, spent nine years serving as chairperson of the land use committee.
Read More
