Levine Ranked #10 on City and State NY’s Health Power 100
Last week, City and State NY released their annual “Health Power 100” list; Council Member Mark Levine (D-Manhattan Valley, Manhattanville) came in at #10.
The Health Power 100 honors the leading figures in New York’s health care community. Levine was chosen for the list on the merit of his policy achievements in health care, particularly confronting the health crisis around vaping and helping create a new insurance program for underinsured New Yorkers.
“Honored to be named as one of City and State NY’s Health Power 100, and to be fighting for those on the margins of NYC’s health care system,” Levine said in a tweet.
Espaillat: MLK Day is “More Significant Than Ever”
Representative Adriano Espaillat (D-Washington Heights, Sugar Hill) released a video on Twitter yesterday, commemorating Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
In the video, Espaillat says that while the holiday has always been important, it’s particularly significant today, given the recent rise in hate crimes against immigrants, Jews and other marginalized groups.
“[King] fought not only for the African-American community, but he fought for the Latino community, he fought for women, and he fought for the LGBT community,” said Espaillat. “When he fought for civil rights, he fought for civil rights for everybody. And at a time when we see anti-Semitism, when we see racism on the rise, when we see attitudes that are very negative against immigrants, the legacy of Martin Luther King becomes more important than ever.”
Rivera Writes Op-Ed Calling for Disaster Refugee Program
Council Member Carlina Rivera (D-East Village, Gramercy Park) wrote an op-ed for City Limits last Friday, making the case for a disaster refugee program in the wake of the earthquake that hit Puerto Rico.
As Rivera points out, an estimated 130,000 Puerto Ricans moved out after Hurricane Maria, and a large percentage of those fled to New York and Florida. Last year, she introduced legislation that would establish a Climate Migrant Services Coordinator in the Mayor’s Office; the official would be responsible for accommodating refugees who have been displaced by natural disasters.
“We need to ensure that evacuees arrive with clear direction on where to go to receive supplies, connections to services, and healthcare and education screenings,” said Rivera. Our city’s housing plan for new arrivals can’t just be federal help, family friends, or a homeless shelter. And most importantly, New York’s response to these climate refugees can’t simply disappear when the headlines do.”
Read the full article here.
Brewer to Host Info Session on Imagine NYC Schools
Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer (D) will be hosting an information session on the Imagine NYC Schools initiative next week.
The initiative’s purpose is to allow students and communities to play an active role in determining the future of education. Students, teachers and families are invited to create design teams, whose ideas will be used to design new schools and reimagine existing ones.
The event will take place on Thursday, Jan. 30 at 6 p.m. at the Adam Clayton Powell Jr. State Office Building, 163 West 125th St.
