Julio Cesar Garcia

Shekar Krishnan, councilman for the 25th district of Queens returned to Pura Política to talk with Pura Política host Julio César García about his legislative priorities.

Regarding his bill called the “Back Home Act,” the councilman said that “the most urgent crisis we, as a city, face is housing. And in this crisis there is a problem where tenants are facing eviction from their homes. And if we are going to solve this housing crisis, we have to protect tenants in their own homes and prevent eviction.â€

The local legislator assured that when tenants are evicted from their apartments in the five boroughs due to incidents such as fires, it takes a long time for them to return home. “They are not months, but years. And the guilt? We can definitely put the blame on the bad owners. But we can also put the blame and blame the city,†he said.

The proposed legislation would make it necessary for the city to work with building owners to ensure that upon departure due to fires, harassment cases, illegal construction, tenants can quickly return to their homes to retrieve their belongings.

It also expedites the correction of reported problems at its properties, and requires the city to relocate displaced tenants within their same school districts so as not to disrupt their children’s education by having to change classrooms.

The councilor reiterated that “it is quite clear that we are not now facing an immigrant crisis that is at the center. We are facing a leadership crisis here, because Mayor Adams’ budget says he is going to cut all the services and programs that all New Yorkers, including immigrants, depend on.â€

Krishnan suggested that instead of cutting those services, we need to restore those programs and invest in publicly resourced services so that all activity can be successful. “The truth is that we cannot cut our path to prosperity. We have to invest in services for immigrant communities,†he said.

Regarding the councilman’s proposal to expand the hours and calendar during which the city’s public pools and beaches are open, Krishnan indicated that “we are a city surrounded by water, but each of four children is not knows how to swim in this city.

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2024-04-13 16:20:00
#Shekar #Krishnan #Legislative #proposals #tenant #protection

We spoke with Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine about the issues New Yorkers care about, including housing, transportation safety, and public spaces.

One of these is the elimination of the so-called 12 FAR Cap, a law from the sixties that limits the height of buildings.

“As you know and viewers know, we are in the midst of an affordable housing shortage crisis in New York. Some say why don’t we build bigger buildings with more apartments, so more New Yorkers have housing. The problem is that oddly enough, New York State has prohibited the construction of buildings above twelve stories and it is a limit that has cost us thousands and thousands of apartments since it was approved in 1961,†Levine said.

“There are office buildings now in the middle of Manhattan that are virtually empty due to the pandemic, many are working from home. We could convert those commercial buildings into housing, the problem is that many are huge, thirty stories or more, so due to this limit, if it is converted, only half can be housing and the rest remains. empty, it has no logic,†the official added.

We also asked the president about another issue that also worries many New Yorkers, transportation security, specifically what has been his reaction to the presence of the National Guard on the subway?

“There is a security problem in the subways, that cannot be denied, New Yorkers feel it, although crime figures are improving, the public does not feel it,” he points out. “It seems to me that sending soldiers there was not the correct solution, the public prefers to see the police normal, to see social workers fighting for those who have mental health problems. There are solutions for me that would have been better. This was a mistake by Governor Hochul, who finally had the decision to send more budget to the NYPD or send National Guard agents. She is trying to do everything possible because the public is demanding action, I thank her for the effort, for me it would have been better to give funds to the police,†she said.

Speaking of transportation, the official says that part of the money collected from the congestion charge has to be used to add more free buses.

“This is something that really impacts those who need help the most. Who are those who ride the bus? Older adults, people who use wheelchairs, people who do not have options, to be able to help that public it would be very impactful and a single line has been made, which is the M16 that passes through East Harlem. What has been seen is that it has caused more passengers to use that line. It is a success to date.

The official has called for the expansion of bicycle lanes along the West Side Highway, a southern portion of Manhattan. We asked him where he is in the process.

“On the Hudson River there is a park that runs along the shore, there is a path for those who are walking, running, cycling, but on a nice day you can’t walk, it’s even dangerous. What we want to do is take a lane of the highway and dedicate it to bicycles and electric bicycles. We’re going to give people another option to get to work by bike, so it’s clearer. What comes out of the process is going to be much more accessible, prettier, whether you ride a bicycle or a car,” Levine added.

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2024-04-09 14:31:00
#Mark #Levine #affordable #housing #public #transportation #safety

In our Pura Política segment, we spoke with the City Commissioner for Elderly Care, Lorraine Cortés-Vásquez, about the importance of valuing our older adults.

“It is important to ensure that we have a link between the young population and older New Yorkers,” says Lorraine Cortés-Vásquez.

Age discrimination is one of the last ones left in society, tells us the city commissioner for the care of the senior population.

In conversation with Pura Política, he shares that he is working and encouraging the community to eliminate the belief that an older person has fewer skills at work.

In addition, it emphasizes the focus on health, calling for older people to stay in their communities, instead of being sent to nursing homes, remembering that in our Latin culture, we take care of our elderly.

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We invite you to visit us on the new NY1 Noticias channel on WhatsApp. There you will find the most relevant news about what is happening in New York, as well as other coverage about the rest of the country, Latin America and the world. click in this link to access the channel. We thank you in advance if you become one of our followers and express your reaction to what we publish with an emoji.

2024-03-16 18:45:00
#PURE #POLITICS #Commissioner #Lorraine #CortésVásquez #older #adults