New and Notes from NYC Council Member Ruben Wills - Council District 38

COUNCIL MEMBERS RUBEN WILLS AND LEROY COMRIE JOIN NON-PROFIT HOUSING ORGANIZATIONS TO ANNOUNCE HOMEOWNER PRESERVATION EVENTS

DISTRICT-WIDE EVENTS WILL HELP RESIDENTS BETTER NEGOTIATE THROUGH MORTGAGE DELINQUENCY

Council Member Ruben Wills and City Council Deputy Majority Leader Leroy Comrie join advocates from the Center for New York City Neighborhoods, CHANGER, Inc., and residents to announce two upcoming homeowner preservation seminars on Saturday, April 16 in the 28th district. Free services and homeowner access will be available on Saturday, April 23 at the 4th Rise Up & Stay Put! Home Rescue Fair at York College. (Photo credit: Office of Council Member Ruben Wills)

Council Member Ruben Wills and City Council Deputy Majority Leader Leroy Comrie, were joined today by Mike Hickey, Executive Director for the Center for New York City Neighborhoods (CNYCN); Yeneika Puran, Executive Director of CHANGER, Inc.; Connect Queens Campaign Coordinator, Rick Echevarria, and residents to announce two upcoming homeowner preservation events in the 28^th district that are designed to assist residents at risk of losing their homes to foreclosure or mortgage delinquency, as well as a homeowner rescue fair at York College to connect homeowners with services and information.

On Saturday, April 16, from 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. at New Haven Ministries in Richmond Hill, and again from 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. at Praise Tabernacle in Jamaica, homeownership preservation events will take place to educate residents about successful strategies and negotiations through mortgage delinquency.

“While the country has shifted its attention to other pressing matters, the neighborhoods that I represent are still struggling with escalating foreclosures, bad mortgage modifications and greedy predatory lenders,” said Wills. “The foreclosure epidemic in Southeast Queens threatens to upset our efforts to improve our quality of life and our chances of owning a piece of the American dream. I am determined to ensure that struggling homeowners in Southeast Queens are educated and no longer vulnerable consumers that continue to lose their wealth as a result of gluttonous lending institutions.”

“I want to encourage Queens homeowners who find themselves in danger of foreclosure to attend the Home Rescue Fair on April 23,” stated New York City Council Deputy Majority Leader Leroy Comrie. “I am proud to join my colleague, Council Member Wills, in continuously raising awareness about this issue. The Southeast Queens community has been disproportionately affected by the foreclosure crisis, due to the increasing number of defaults on subprime mortgages that require homeowners to use a higher ratio of their income. Jamaica, Hollis, St. Albans, Woodhaven, Richmond Hill and Ozone Park- primarily communities of color –are consistently among the top neighborhoods in New York City leading in new foreclosure actions and foreclosure auctions. My office has partnered with organizations like the Center for New York City Neighborhoods, Queens Legal Services and Neighborhood Housing Services of Jamaica to offer free foreclosure counseling in community-wide events and in my district office every Friday afternoon. No one should suffer in silence as they lose their home when there is free assistance available.”

“We recognize Council Member Wills as a local leader who has invested his talent and passion to fight the foreclosure crisis in New York City, especially in Southeast Queens, which remains hard hit by this epidemic,” said Michael Hickey, Executive Director of CNYCN. “Currently, there are 30,000 pending foreclosure actions in New York City and we expect things to worsen in 2011 as general economic conditions remain weak. We are pleased to work with Council Member Wills and other elected officials to offer NYC homeowners access to free services from lenders and housing experts at events like the Rise Up & Stay Put! Home Rescue Fair.”

“South East Queens is a community built around the institutions of church and family,” said Yeneika Puran, Executive Director of CHANGER, INC. “We have organized these homeowner events and designed the CONNECT QUEENS campaign with distraught homeowners in mind. Homeowners who have been wrongfully denied loan modifications, homeowners scammed by fraudulent loan modification consultants, and homeowners who are overwhelmed by the experience.”

Jamaica is considered the epicenter of the foreclosure crisis in New York City. CNYCN and its nonprofit and city agency partners are hosting the 4^th Rise Up & Stay Put! Home Rescue Fair on April 23 at York College in Jamaica, Queens. This fair will provide a platform for homeowners to meet with their lenders and housing experts to seek loan modifications and other financial solutions in order to avoid foreclosure. To date, more than 2,300 homeowners have attended these fairs in Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx, and 40 percent of the attendees were processed for new HAMP or non-HAMP loan modification applications, while 30 percent of the participants received help on existing applications.

For more information on Center for New York City Neighborhoods, www.cnycn.org

For more information on CHANGER, Inc., www.changernyc.org

For more information on CONNECT QUEENS, please call (718) 596-2010.

Saturday, April 16

1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. New Haven Ministries, Starlite Pavilion

130-05 101^st Ave., Richmond Hill

5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. Praise Tabernacle

108-11 Sutphin Blvd., Jamaica

Saturday, April 23

10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. Rise-Up & Stay Put! Home Rescue Fair

York College

160-02 Liberty Ave., Jamaica

COMMUNITY MEETING ON SITING OF HOMELESS SHELTERS

Council Member Ruben Wills will join representatives from the Department of Homeless Services, Skyway shelter provider, Basics, and residents at a follow up community meeting to address the growing concerns caused by the lack of proper notification for the conversion of the Skyway shelter in to an adult male-only homeless shelter. It has also come to the attention of the community that more than one convicted sexual predator will now be living at Skyway which is near a public school and park. Basics will discuss the implementation of a new safety plan to further safeguard the community.

Earlier in the day, Council Member Wills will join Council Member Brad Lander, chair of the Subcommittee on Landmarks, Public Siting & Maritime Uses, at a City Council public hearing, regarding the city's "Criteria for the Location of City Facilities" also known as "Fair Share Criteria."

In 1989, voters across the city adopted a City Charter change that attempted to equally distribute city facilities, like homeless shelters, across all neighborhoods. However, after more than 20 years, Council Member Wills and other elected officials claim that certain communities, particularly those in outer borough, urban neighborhoods, are bearing the brunt of an over-abundance of these facilities, with fewer resources and without proper notification to residents.

COUNCIL MEMBER RUBEN WILLS INTRODUCES LEGISLATION TO CODIFY CITY LAW TO PROHIBIT THE SALE OF EXPIRED OVER-THE-COUNTER MEDICATIONS

LEGISLATION IS FIRST FOR WILLS; LAW WILL PROTECT RESIDENTS FROM CROOKED STREET VENDORS

Council Member Ruben Wills plans to introduce his first piece of legislation on Wednesday that will codify the ban on the sale of expired over-the-counter medications.

Currently, New York State law prohibits the sale of expired over-the-counter medications by retailers such as Duane Reade or CVS. However, vendors and other licensees of the city have easily skirted the law by selling expired medications like Theraflu, Tylenol, Nyquil and Robitussin at street fairs and vendors’ markets.

“The sale of expired over-the-counter medications has serious health implications,” said Council Member Wills. “Residents who are purchasing these medications at neighborhood flea markets are unaware that they are ingesting expired medications. The potency of medication decreases over time and using medication after its expiration creates a greater likelihood that a person will take more in order to increase its effectiveness.”

Council Member Wills’ legislation closes this loophole and broadens the law to include “persons” so that there is no distinction between a vendor and a retailer. Passage of this legislation will make the distribution of expired over-the-counter medication by any individual a class B misdemeanor punishable by a fine of no more than $250, a maximum of 3 months of in jail, or both.

In November of 2009, then Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announced an $875,000 settlement with the national retail pharmacy chain CVS to end its sale of expired products - including over-the-counter drugs, baby formula, milk, and eggs - at stores across New York State.

“This legislation will help prevent the distribution and flow of expired medications,” said Council Member Wills. “It is the responsibility of anyone who is selling over-the-counter medications to put the health and safety of consumers ahead of profits and sales.”

NYC Council Member Ruben Wills Inauguration Ceremony at York College on December 11th...

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Invitation - Inauguration of Council Member Ruben Wills to the NYC Council on Saturday December 11th at York College @ 1pm

What: Inauguration Ceremony for City Council Member Ruben Wills

When: Sunday, December 11th

Time: 1 - 3 pm

Where: York College Atrium

Address: 94-20 Guy R. Brewer Blvd., Jamaica NY

Project Hope Health Fair at York College on November 20th Sponsored by NY Senator Shirley Huntley

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What: Project Hope Health Fair

When: Saturday, November 20, 2010

Time: 10am - 2pm

Where: York Collegee Atrium

Address: 94-20 Guy Brewer Blvd, Jamaica, NY

Direct Questions to: Lois Menyweather - Phone 718-949-1601 or email address: menyweat@nysenate.gov

Names Circulate For Race To Fill Tom White’s Council Seat by Chris Bragg - City Hall News

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The funeral is not until Thursday, but the jockeying was well underway by the weekend.

Until Tom White is buried, at least, the potential candidates for his Council seat covering southeast Queens seat are reluctant to go on the record about their ambitions. But though they will not speak publicly, the consensus on who is on the list of potential candidates has already begun to take shape, as has the consensus that Assembly Member Vivian Cook—who is herself suffering from health problems that kept her out of Albany and had some questioning her own plans for a re-election run—will play the kingmaker in the non-partisan special election set for Nov. 2, the day of the general election.

Of the dozen names floating around, the most serious possible contenders are seen as Martha Taylor Butler, the chief of staff for Assembly Member Michelle Titus, and Anthony Andrews, the director of student activities at York College, who came in just behind Allan Jennings in the 2001 race for the seat. Andrews was extremely close with White, and is also close with Cook.

Reached by phone, Andrews declined to comment on his plans out of respect for White.

“I’ve certainly been involved in the community in the past, and certainly would like to be in the future, but for now it’s too soon to discuss anything like that,” Andrews said.

Butler did not return a phone call seeking comment.

Ruben Wills, the former chief of staff for State Sen. Shirley Huntley, who ran for the Council last year—and reportedly threw a punch during a dispute at the Board of Elections last year with Allan Jennings, who was trying to reclaim the seat he lost to White in 2005—is also seen as a potentially strong candidate.

Others who may run include Jennings, who was censured for sexually harassing staffers while on the Council, and Albert Baldeo, a perennial candidate who ran for the seat in 2005 and is now running for district leader with the county party’s backing.

Jennings and Baldeo also declined to comment out of respect for White. Wills did not return a phone call seeking comment.

Others being talked about as potential candidates include Taj Ramjkumar, a local district leader and professor at Borough of Manhattan Community College; political consultant Patrick Jenkins (though his candidacy appears less likely after his appointment Monday as deputy director of Andrew Cuomo’s campaign for governor); Elizabeth Goldsmith, the president and founder of Mothers Against Guns; and Charles Bilal, an imam at the Masjib Al Hamdul Lillah mosque in Jamaica.

One potential wildcard: if State Senate candidate Lynn Nunes loses the Sept. 14 primary against Huntley, he would technically have enough time to switch gears and mount a campaign for the Council seat. Nunes came within four votes of beating White last year, and his name recognition has only increased since then in a Senate campaign in which he has already raised more that $175,000.

Reached by phone, Nunes declined comment.

Were Huntley to lose the primary, she could also end up in the Council race.

Cook, president of the Queens County Democratic Committee, is a key powerbroker in the area who helped put Senate President Malcolm Smith, Rep. Greg Meeks, Titus and others into office.

But Cook has been sidelined with an unspecified illness and has not attended an Assembly session since Mar. 23, according to Assembly records. Still, she is running for re-election and controls some 40 percent of the district leader votes in the Council district.

The Queens Democratic Party’s decision will likely be a bellwether of whether Cook still holds the same sway over local politics as she did before her health began to decline.

Though the election is non-partisan and candidates will be able to win matching funds, the county party’s endorsement will still be a major boon, given the condensed time frame to petition onto the ballot and to fundraise.

Update 12:20 p.m.
A reader wrote in to point out that the deadline to apply for Campaign Finance Board matching funds is Tuesday, Sept. 7. That makes it unlikely that either Nunes or Huntley would be able to join the program in the case of a possible Council race, since applying for matching funds in advance of their Sept. 14 State Senate primary would be very politically difficult.

Federal Stimulus Package Town Hall Sponsored by Senator Malcolm Smith at York College on March 12th...

As part of his efforts to bring government directly to his constituents, Senator Malcolm Smith has arranged together with his fellow Senators, a number of town hall forums regarding the Federal Stimulus Package...

Here, you will find out how your community may benefit from the stimulus package, what projects are eligible for funding and other information you may need to know regarding this important topic.

Please join him at the first event in Queens:

Thursday, March 12, 2009

6:00 - 8:00 p.m. - York College - 94-20 Guy R. Brewer Blvd. - Jamaica, NY 11421 - (Room 3D01)

Invited guests include: Members of Congress, the NYS Assembly and City Council, the Queens Borough President and members of Governor Paterson's Economic Recovery Cabinet, including Chairs and Commissioners of various State Agencies.

RSVP: Please contact Senator Smith's office at (212) 298-5585