Tag: featured

My Brother’s Keeper forum takes aim at opportunity gap in education

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Gale smiling with my brothers keeper group In November, we held the second meeting of the Manhattan My Brother’s Keeper initiative, which is aimed at closing the opportunity gap by supporting boys and young men of color in Manhattan. President Barack Obama launched the My Brother’s Keeper (MBK) initiative in 2014 to improve outcomes for students of color in schools across the country. New York was the first state to enact the initiative into law and has… Read more

Statement on Amazon HQ2 announcement

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long island city on a cloudy day Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer issued the following public statement on the announcement of Amazon’s HQ2 plans in New York City: “New Yorkers are being told Amazon needs and deserves billions of dollars in payments and tax breaks to locate in Long Island City, minutes from Manhattan, when we have no certainty on a range of issues from local hiring to the effects on rents throughout the city. “Moreover,… Read more

How we can make New York City government work better

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Gale stating her testimony at Charter 2019 Manhattan Hearing Last night, I testified before a packed house at the Manhattan hearing of the 2019 Charter Revision Commission. We have a real opportunity to improve the way city government functions. Good Evening. Thank you to Gail Benjamin and to each Commissioner for taking on this enormous role – and welcome to Manhattan! I am delighted that the legislation I sponsored with the Speaker and Public Advocate calling for a Charter Revision Commission has resulted in this illustrious group coming together.

Manhattan Hearing: 2019 Charter Revision Commission

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text of "Join us!" How can city government work better for Manhattan? The NYC Charter is the city’s constitution and sets out how the city makes decisions. It’s an important document, but it hasn’t had a serious review in 30 years — so it’s due for a major overhaul. If you or your organization have ideas about what needs changing, start writing testimony now and plan to attend on Wednesday — the first hearing… Read more

Students across the city return to school

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Gale handing out flyers to parents in front of a public school The beginning of September means back to school for more than 177,000 students in 301 public schools across Manhattan. I was out bright and early this morning in front of P.S. 36 in Morningside Heights greeting students and their parents and handing out copies of my Manhattan Public School Help Guide, which lists the contact information for NYC Department of Education staff and the parent-run Community Education Councils (CECs). Each… Read more

Fresh Food for Seniors relaunches in Northern Manhattan

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seven smiling women boxing leafy greens Since 2012, I have partnered with GrowNYC, government agencies, nonprofits, and colleagues in the City Council to make fresh, healthy, locally-grown fruits and vegetables available to seniors in a growing number of Manhattan neighborhoods, from the West Village to Roosevelt Island. Starting Sept. 4, I’m pleased to relaunch our program in northern Manhattan. For just $8, seniors can bring home a bag with $15 or more worth of fresh produce!… Read more

Letter to MTA: Don’t slash Manhattan Select Bus plans

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m34 select bus service moving on a NYC street Earlier this month, my office discovered details in a Metropolitan Transportation Authority budget document indicating it plans to slash promised expansions of Select Bus Service in Manhattan, pushing back the improvements to 96th Street crosstown service and other lines through at least 2021. The Wall Street Journal also unearthed these details and reported on them, and around the same time I sent a letter to Andy Byford, president of MTA-New… Read more

Seniors explore the benefits of creativity at Aging Artfully conference

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room full of seniors for aging artfully conference Growing older shouldn’t solely be about loss of abilities – it can be a time of enrichment and new growth. By 2030, it’s estimated that New York City’s 65-and-over population will be nearly double what it was in 2010. As this population grows and people live longer, staying culturally engaged is life-enhancing—and easy to do in a city as vibrant as New York. That’s why my office sponsored “Aging … Read more

Brewer salutes new leaders for Black History Month

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Brewer delivers speech at Black History Month event It’s no secret that we’re living through a storm. The progress we’ve made toward correcting injustices in our society is looking more fragile than we hoped, and we are being challenged as racism, sexism, xenophobia, homophobia, and transphobia once again rear their ugly heads. But a new wave of activists is rising to meet those challenges and fight injustice on a variety of fronts, and they are lighting a path… Read more