The Brooklyn Day Care Fair!!!

Thank you to all the Child Care Centers, various referrence and referral groups, and other Early Childhood Services that came out to greet and inform parents. Parents from all over Brooklyn were able to walk through the gorgeous Luntze Commons (thanks to LIU's Brooklyn Campus, that lent us the space for the event) gathering information about Child Care.

Even with all the work the centers put into setting up their tables and disseminating information to the parents of young children, ACS still informed at least one day care that we know of that they would be affected by ACS' most recent budget cuts. It is important that we continue to work together to provide for parents and children in our community!!!

Blogs We Love: Council Member Vincent Gentile

We wanted to make you aware of Council Member Vincent Gentile's blog here: http://www.vincentgentile.blogspot.com.

Council Member Gentile posts about things happening in 43rd District (which includes Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, and parts of Bensonhurst), events the Council Member is sponsoring, and information on his policy initiatives (basically, the same stuff we do!). His blog is, like our own, open to public comments.

Team Tish supports fellow bloggers (especially bloggers who make use of free services!), which may not be the most aesthetically-pleasing, but allow public funds to be put towards the needs of constituents.

Thanks for being a blog-lover,
team tish

HealthCare and You: Part II SENIORS AND YOUNG ADULTS

Two groups that Council Member James is particularly focused on are the youth and senior communities, who are often outside of the work force and therefore may have a harder time securing proper and affordable health insurance. Please note that the information below is meant to be a continuation of the prior healthcare information posted.

Seniors:

-I’m sure many of you are aware of the Department for the Aging (DFTA) services RFP, which is an RFP that would centralize senior centers. The proposal calls for a 3% budget cut between FY08-09, a decrease in the number of senior center case managers (from 32 to 23); and the possible closings of some of the 323 senior centers in the City. Council Member James has joined many of her colleagues in calling for a delay of the RFP, and feels that modernization does not necessarily equal centralization, and that local centers are best equipped- when properly funded- to provide services for seniors. Furthermore, once these resources are absorbed, they may be lost to seniors in the future. Anyone desiring further information on this matter should contact our City Hall office at (212) 788-7081, or call 311 to contact DFTA.

-In the meantime, Council Member James, Speaker Quinn, and other members of the City Council encourage seniors to contact both the Mayor's office and their local Council Member. To do so, please print and fill-out the letters below (click images to enlarge):





-Seniors should call their local senior centers, and ask to be kept abreast of information on how they will be affected by projected budget cuts or an RFP. Additionally, if you aren't sure where your local senior services can be accessed, please click the list below to view a working list of senior centers and institutions which provide senior services in the 35th District:



Resources:

-DFTA offers a number of different programs promoting healthy living, HIV/AIDS-support, blood pressure maintenance, exercise, etc; and the Office of Citywide Health Insurance Access (OCHIA) can let you know what public health insurance programs you’re eligible for, and give you additional information for applying to those programs. Note that healthcare programs are State-based, not City-based.

Also, please view the following information from Council Member James' Seniors Information packet (click picture to enlarge):



FYI- Anyone interested in having the Senior Information packet mailed to them should contact the District or City Hall office.

DFTA- http://nyc.gov/html/dfta/html/home/home.shtml
OCHIA- http://www.nyc.gov/html/hia/html/home/home.shtml

Youth:

-Youth are also more likely to have sporadic, insufficient, or no health care. Young adults aged 19-29 are likely to not have health insurance. Living uninsured among young adults (18-24) rose from 23% in 1987 to 31% in 2004. (National Institute for Health Care Management, A Young People's Health Care: A National Imperative) Ironically, young people have the lowest health expenditures, but the are the most uninsured.

-Young people may feel that they are "invincible" because they are relatively healthy, and see insurance as being unnecessary or too expensive. (New York Magazine, The Young Invincibles) Many young people neglect to look into more affordable choices for health insurance, like their senior counterparts. Young adults who are interested in their public health care options should also contact OCHIA through calling 311.

-For students, you may be covered under your guardian's insurance if enrolled at a college or university, and your school (if accredited) should have a health insurance option as part of your enrollment package, meaning you may not have to pay these fees out-of-pocket.

-Please click the pictures below to view additional health insurance options for students:

Council Members James, de Blasio, Vann Host Day Care Fair on SAT. NOV. 22ND, 10AM-4PM at LIU

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 21, 2008

Council Member Letitia James, Council Member Bill de Blasio, and Council Member Al Vann invite you to a Day Care Fair for parents, families and the community on saturday, Nov. 22nd, from 10 am – 4 pm at Long Island University, Brooklyn

The Brooklyn Day Care Fair answers parent questions, and addresses low enrollment in centers.

Brooklyn child care centers have the lowest enrollment rates of all five boroughs. In this time of budget reductions we must make sure that valuable resources are not cut due to under use, especially when there is a clear need. The day care fair offers residents valuable information about affordable and subsidized day care centers in local neighborhoods.

The Brooklyn Day Care Fair came about several months ago, when on a Saturday, parents from a large child care center in the 35th Council District were informed that the center would be closed, effective the following week. Many parents learned about the closing when they arrived on Monday to drop off their children only to find the doors were closed, without explanation.

“This closing forced me to take a good hard look at the ACS subsidized child cares. Just this week ACS announced plans to reduce the capacity of its subsidized day care centers for low-income families by 18%. Our centers are under siege, and unless we work together to demonstrate the need for these centers by keeping the enrollment rates up, we keep giving the city the excuse to cut them,” said Council Member James.

Bedford-Stuyvesant, for example has the 3rd highest number of low-income children in Brooklyn. In the Bed-Stuy area, the low income rate is 63%, but the service-to-need ratio is 46% and only 81% of the slots are utilized: this means that many child care slots are vacant.

It seems the Administration of Children’s Services is in the process of implementing Project Full Enrollment, effective this Wednesday, to twenty-one of our most vulnerable Child Care Centers. Initially they reported the project would not be implemented until late Spring. Under PFE, Child Care Centers will only receive funding for the number of students enrolled. This will mean budget cuts for all day cares that are under-enrolled. Enrolling our children in day care centers is important because they improve the social and educational development of children; centers help to keep young people safe when parents are working, and many centers also provide after school care for older children.

“I encourage everyone to take advantage of the resource and referral agencies located near the entrance of the fair. These professionals can help you figure out specific questions such as newborn and infant care, special immigrant needs, as well as care during non-traditional hours,” said Council Member James.

The Administration for Children’s Services will also be on hand Saturday to help families walk through the eligibility process, and will provide information about ACS in several languages. The Brooklyn Day Care Fair allows attendees to take their time, ask questions, walk around the room and get to know day care options, as well as meet directors, teachers and parents present to help. It is also possible to set up appointments to visit day cares, and health care organizations will be on-site to offer information and assistance to families.

Councilmember Bill de Blasio, 39th District said: “Despite the large number of Brooklyn families in need of affordable childcare, many day care seats go unfilled. Connecting families directly with providers is key to informing parents about the day care options in their area, and ensuring that center vacancies get filled. I am glad that Council Members James, Vann and I were able to provide these much needed resources to the communities we serve.”

Council Member Albert Vann, 36th District said: “The parents in my district will be most heavily affected by the Administration’s cuts. The closing of any of these centers would be a blow to many economically vulnerable families. Cutting child care services during these tough times only puts working parents at greater risk of losing their jobs, and threatens their overall way of life.”

On-site enrollment for child care centers through the Administration for Children’s services will be available at the day care fair for parents who are prepared with proof of residence; proof of reason for needing child care; legal residency for non citizen children; proof of income; and/or family members.

What: Brooklyn Day Care Fair

Who: Council Members Bill de Blasio, Letitia James, and Albert Vann

When: Sat, Nov. 22nd, 10am - 2pm

Where: Brooklyn Campus of Long Island University 1 University Plaza, Brooklyn (on the corner of Flatbush and DeKalb Avenues) Subway Services: B, M, Q, R to DeKalb Av or the 2, 3, 4, 5 to Nevins Street

Contacts: Eva Ruiz - Council Member James / (212) 788-7081; Dottie Conway - Council Member Vann / (212) 788-7354; and Freya Riel - Council Member de Blasio / (212) 788-6969


###

COUNCIL MEMBER LETITIA JAMES, CROWN HEIGHTS MEDIATION CENTER HOST A RE-ENTRY RESOURCE FAIR, SAT. NOV. 22ND, 1PM-3PM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 19, 2008

COUNCIL MEMBER LETITIA JAMES, CROWN HEIGHTS MEDIATION CENTER, ALONG WITH CHURCHES, AND RESIDENTS OF CROWN HEIGHTS INVITE YOU TO A RE-ENTRY RESOURCE FAIR, FOR FORMERLY INCARCERATED INDIVIDUALS AND THEIR FAMILIES ON SATURDAY, NOV. 22ND, FROM 1PM–3PM

The goal of the Re-Entry Resource Fair is to assist formerly incarcerated people with rehabilitation for successful integration into society, the community, and the workforce.

Re-adjusting within the community for formerly incarcerated individuals is often a difficult experience. It has been argued that incarcerated persons do not receive adequate resources during their time in prison to equip them upon their release.

Within the employment environment, the formerly incarcerated face limited opportunities, as well as discrimination from potential employers. The U.S. Department of Justice states that, in 2007, 30% of people released from prison are rearrested in the first six months following release, 44% in the first year, and 67.5% in the first three years. This can partly be explained by inappropriate planning at the end of an inmate’s jail or prison term as well as a lack of employment opportunities and affordable housing upon release. The Independent Committee on Reentry and Employment reports that up to 60% of formerly incarcerated individuals are unemployed, as are 89% of those who violate parole or probation. Yet, if an individual has a job at the start and end of a supervised release from jail or prison, federal court statistics show that the success rate is 85%.

Finding housing for formerly incarcerated individuals is also a difficulty. Private property owners typically inquire into the background of individuals and often deny housing to anyone with a criminal background. Before1988, public housing was a solution to this issue. Ex-offenders were placed on a list like all other public housing applicants and considered based on a number of factors, including age, marital and parental status. However, Congress removed this through an amendment to the public housing statute, adopting a one-strike eviction policy for tenants in federal public housing who engage in certain types of criminal behavior. It has become virtually impossible for formerly incarcerated individuals to find stable and suitable housing.

The Re Entry Resource Fair is an opportunity for formerly incarcerated individuals, and their families, to gain professional and unbiased information on many issues that affect their everyday lives. The fair will contain information on Housing, Legal Advocacy, Counseling, Family Services, Education, Employment and Career Development, Medical Services, Substance Abuse Treatment, and Spiritual Resources.

What: Re-Entry Resource Fair for formerly incarcerated individuals and their families

Who: The Formerly Incarcerated, Churches and Residents

When: Saturday, November 22nd, from 1:00 pm until 3:00 pm

Where: Calvary Community Church, 1575 St Johns Place (at the corner of Buffalo Avenue), Brooklyn

Contact: Faye Biggin at (212) 788-7081, and CHCMC at 718-773-6886

###

Honoring Legendary Jazz Musician Bill Lee

On the Stated held yesterday, Council Member Letitia James and the New York City Council honored legendary jazz musician William “Bill” James Edwards Lee III, with a proclamation for his life’s work.

William "Bill" James Edwards Lee III was born on July 23, 1928, and is an American musician. The jazz musician, composer, educator and acoustic bassist was born in Snow Hill, Alabama more than 80 years ago. He now lives Brooklyn's 35 District with his wife Susan.

This profound jazzman continued in the footsteps of his parents, Arnold and Alberta. Bill Lee’s father was the first bandmaster of Bethune-Cookman College, and his mother was a concert pianist, (also Bill Lee’s grandfather- his namesake- graduated from Tuskegee Institute and founded the school Snow Hill Normal and Industrial Institute.) Today, Bill Lee is the father of five boys and a girl, including director Spike Lee; he has composed original music for many of his son's films, such as She's Gotta Have It; School Daze; Do the Right Thing; and Mo' Better Blues. His children by his first wife Jackie (deceased) are: Spike; Chris; David; Joie; and Cinque; and his youngest son, with his second wife Susan is Arnold VI.

While residing in Brooklyn for the last 50 years, Bill Lee has had the opportunity to be in the presence of the greatest performers on the planet, and has written more than eleven folk–jazz operas. He has played the bass for many artists including Aretha Franklin, and Bob Dylan. Bill Lee has recorded with Billy Wallace; Frank Strozier; Bob Dylan; Chris Anderson; Johnny Griffin; Bruce Langhorne; Chad Mitchell; Eric Weissberg; Ray Bryant; and Judy Collin; to name a few, and he wrote for Max Roach; Richard Davis; Ted Dunbar; Booker Little; Muriel Winston; Clifford Jordan; Donald Harrison; and others. Bill Lee also appeared with Billie Holiday; Sarah Vaughn; Dinah Washington; Carmen Mc Rae; Betty Carter; Dizzy Gillespie; Clifford Brown; Art Blakey; Duke Ellington; Billy Strayhorn; and hundreds of more great musicians.

Bill Lee is the founder of the New York Bass, Violin Choir, and he continues to mentor up-and-coming musicians.


(Photo courtesy of William Alatriste, New York City Council)

Term Limits Article

We don't usually post media articles, but this one is rather fabulous.

Courtesy of the City Hall news:

Facing New Challenges, Allies Emerge from Term Limits Battle Emboldened
Natural partnership hits its stride during confrontation with mayor

November 13th, 2008
Sal Gentile

Council Members Bill de Blasio and Letitia James (D-Brooklyn, both) like to joke that they are politically married.

If so, James said, “He has to continue to court me and not take me for granted.”

As political husbands go, de Blasio is an especially skilled bread-winner. His political savvy and connections to labor lend credibility to their campaigns together—even the underdog fights they often gravitate toward.

She, meanwhile, infuses a sort of understated ferocity into their campaigns that manages to pull in valuable media attention, while avoiding the charges of radicalism that have dogged some of her colleagues.

“She’s eloquent, she’s a lawyer,” de Blasio said. “Tish is a pretty decisive person when she’s in battle.”

They have crafted an image as the “loyal opposition,” as de Blasio put it, forged for the most part in the fires of the term limits debate, during which they became the public faces of a consistently aggressive opposition.

The task now is to identify fresh political opportunities where that strategy will work.

As she sat in an airport waiting for a flight back to New York, for example, James was firing off emails to de Blasio about assembling a “coalition” to push back on the mayor’s proposed budget cuts, which they both see as the next battleground.

They have extracted a considerable reservoir of political capital from their very public face-off with a popular, even intimidating, administration. That battle—and the bitter back-room dealing that sometimes spilled out into public view—has burnished their image as scrappy, progressive underdogs.

But the image they sometimes present of themselves as the politically pure, disadvantaged crusaders, some of their opponents say, is only that: an image, and one that does not always reflect reality.

The idea that they were not pressuring or even threatening some of their colleagues during the term limits debate is “just horseshit,” according to Council Member Lew Fidler (D-Brooklyn), who works alongside them in the Council’s Brooklyn delegation.

Fidler and other members of the Council who fought rather publicly for Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s (Ind.) bid to extend term limits have accused de Blasio and James of the same bare-knuckled tactics used by Bloomberg and Council Speaker Christine Quinn (D-Manhattan), threatening to amass labor and grassroots organizations against members who voted for the bill.

Several members of the Council have indeed reported feeling threatened or intimidated by the sprawling political coalition—labor unions, the Working Families Party—hastily assembled by de Blasio and James. Some of those bruising tactics may impair their ability to bridge political divides in the future.
James and de Blasio dismiss those claims, but clearly what makes them formidable as a pair is that they have married their activist values with a hard-nosed ability to build coalitions, craft a convincing message and—if necessary—apply considerable political pressure behind the scenes.

The strategy has so far proved effective, at least in making them credible power brokers. The question now is how they apply that strategy—molded by the frenzied intensity and breakneck pace of the term limits debate—to other items on their agenda, such as the mayor’s proposed budget cuts.

“You take a budget battle as an example, some of the same speed dynamics exist toward the end of the budget process,” he said. “I think we will see a very intense final few weeks of the budget process.”

De Blasio and James both see the term limits battle as having strengthened their hand and proven to people that they are capable of at least challenging Bloomberg on some of his signature issues, such as mayoral control of schools and management of the financial crisis.

They are actively engaged in building a “progressive coalition,” as James calls it, pulling in likeminded Council members, labor organizations and the Working Families Party, and applying their own distinct political flourishes.

When asked who might belong to such a coalition, de Blasio rattles off a few likely names: Council Members Melissa Mark-Viverito (D-Manhattan/Bronx), Rosie Mendez (D-Manhattan), Charles Barron (D-Brooklyn).

But successfully squaring off with the mayor and his allies will involve more than just identifying other progressives in the Council willing to vote against Bloomberg’s priorities.

The real task of the coalition will be to apply the model James and de Blasio forged during the term limits debate, fueled by the political capital they earned, to future confrontations with the administration—hopefully, of course, with more success. Even at the height of the term limits battle, the two held a joint town hall on education. They came close to doing an event criticizing the Board of Elections the weekend before Election Day, but pulled back from that after talking with staff there and being reassured that enough provisions were in place so that polling place hours would not need to be extended to give seniors more time to vote.

“The more we’ve held public forums and town halls and did a lot of grassroots organizing,” he said, “the stronger we became. And I think that’s going to be the model going forward.”

He added: “If the discussion occurs only at City Hall, it’s a losing equation.”

There will inevitably be setbacks, and perhaps even some breakthroughs. But de Blasio and James are unlikely to see themselves as anything but relentless, battered crusaders—now with some political muscle to flex.

“Whenever you do that which is right, there are no regrets, none whatsoever,” James said. “If people feel uncomfortable whenever they see us together, to me, it’s a compliment.”

HealthCare and You: Part I GENERAL HEALTH STATISTICS AND ACCESS

Team Tish will be doing a few (2-3) posts on healthcare specifically in relation to the budget cuts. We feel this is a timely and appropriate discussion to have following tonight's informative community forum on how healthcare institutions will be affected by the economic bailout and recession, specifically the budgets cuts proposed by Governor Paterson and Mayor Bloomberg on the State and City levels. These cuts have been made public (as most of you probably are aware, the New York City Council Committee hearings concerning the Mayor's financial plan are are being held from November 17-24th). The City Financial Plan updates can be found here: http://www.nyc.gov/html/omb/html/home/home.shtml

A few things that we'd like to point out are some statistics (fun!) regarding healthcare access in the United States:

-The United States government covers around 28% of the US population's health insurance through programs such as Medicaid, Medicare, etc. (U.S. Census Bureau, Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2007)

-The Commonwealth Fund, an organization that promotes health care interests, puts the number of US adults between the ages of 19 and 64 with no insurance, sporadic insurance, or insufficient insurance at 60 Million, or 35% of the US population. (The Commonwealth Fund, Insured But Not Protected: How Many Adults are Underinsured?)

-The exact number of uninsured adults in the US was $45 million in 2007 (U.S. Census Bureau, Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2007), and expected to increase by at least 2 Million in 2008 (Kaiser Family Fdtn, Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured)

-About half of federal expenditures outside of defense and interest are devoted to people ages 65 and up. Population aging alone- a result of the baby boomers generation- is expected to cause Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid costs to rise by about 3.5% of the GDP by 2030. (Urban Institute, Can Faster Economic Growth Bailout Our Retirement Programs?)

-Additionally, the much-talked-about State and City budget cuts include cuts to health and social services- including but not limited to Oral Health Services, a Manhattan STD clinic, Summer School Nurses & Dentists, and reductions in the Health and Hospital Corporation’s budget.

-There are a number of health organizations and non-profits which may be able to aid residents. Please click on the picture below for a working list that provide services to residents in the 35th District:




What We’re Currently Doing:

-Council Member James has shown support for the implementation of a universal healthcare program that is a fair and balanced structure that takes into consideration our currently fragile economy. She has co-signed onto Res. 75, which is supportive of a universal healthcare plan. The resolution may be found here: http://webdocs.nyccouncil.info/textfiles/Res%200075-2006.htm?CFID=1814151&CFTOKEN=84343293.

-Our office is currently hearing alternative budget proposals from organizations that focus on fiscal policy. The Council Member’s position feels strongly that in consideration of State and City budget cuts, social services should be at the bottom of the list of services cut. Alternative cuts are currently being researched and we hope to develop some proposals soon. The Council Member’s position is that “across the board” cuts are unacceptable (these would include cuts on childrens and senior services, education, housing, health, etc.)

If you had problems on Election Day, you are not alone...Please follow Up!

Mr. Gregory C. Soumas
Board of Elections in the City of New York
Executive Office
32 Broadway
New York, NY 10004-1609

November 17, 2008

Dear Mr. Soumas:

I would like to publicly apologize for being such a dim-witted dilettante on Election Day. I was under the naïve assumption that I could vote where I voted in the last two elections. Your thoughtful letter pointed out that if I had voted in the recent primary election in September I would have discovered that I was no longer registered in the polling place I have voted in since 2004. Considering your position at the Board of Elections and your deep respect for the democratic process I must assume that my local 14th St. poll worker, Betty J. Williamson's assertion that my name was on the active voter rolls for the primary in September of this year was erroneous and that she must be as confused and wrongheaded as I am. If Ms. Williamson saw my name in the book in September that would mean that you are lying. Certainly you wouldn't lie about a thing like that. That is unbecoming of a man of your bureaucratic stature. And why would anyone in the Board of Elections be eliminating legitimate voters from the rolls in late September and October of 2008? That's just crazy and un-democratic.

I should also apologize for the misguided actions of Justice Paul G. Feinman in issuing a court order on Election Day allowing me to vote on 14th St. He apparently thought that a printed out record from your own Board of Elections computer verifying my polling place as 14th St was justification for issuing the court order. If he had only thought to contact you, you could have helped him understand the logic and wisdom of eliminating my name from the book on 14th St. where I have always voted and leaving my name registered at a place I have never voted.

I must also thank you for sending your letter not to me but to all the major newspapers in the New York area and across the internet. I understand it was your way of clearing up this matter and for that I am grateful. I am particularly appreciative of your sending a copy of my voter registration card with my home address and driver's license number to all the newspapers and, by extension, to millions across the internet. What celebrity dilettante wouldn't want his private information made public? What kind of snob gets angry that his family's safety might be compromised? It comes with the territory, right? I was thinking of returning that favor by publishing your home address in this letter but then I thought that maybe one of the thousands of New Yorkers that were taken off the voter rolls in the last two months might not understand what a patriotic upstanding man you are and might show up at your doorstep with the misguided assumption that you are a petty vindictive corrupt scumbag.

Tim Robbins
New Yorker since 1961
Voter since 1976

P.S. If anyone reading this letter had a similar experience on Election Day it can and should be reported at 866ourvote.org.

ATTENTION: A Community Forum on the Economic Bailout- Impact on Healthcare Institutions. Wed., Nov. 19th. 6PM

THE ECONOMIC BAILOUT & CRISIS:
What will be the Impact on Our Healthcare Institutions?

A Community Forum & Panel Discussion featuring

Togba Porte, DC 37 Healthcare Workers Local 420
Judy Wessler, Commission on The Public’s Health System
Kate Navarro-McKay, Greater New York Hospital Association
______________________________________________

DATE: Wednesday, November 19, 2008

TIME: 6pm

LOCATION: Brown Memorial Baptist Church
484 Washington Avenue (Enter on Gates Ave.)
Brooklyn, N.Y.

SPONSORS

*57th Assembly District Democratic Organization*
*State Senator Velmanette Montgomery, Member*
Health Committee, New York State Senate
*State Senator John Sampson, Ranking Democrat*
Health Committee, New York State Senate
*Council Member Letitia James - 35th District*
*District Leader Olanike Alabi - 57th Assembly District*

A Message from Council Member James Regarding Vending

Attention:

Today, the New York City Council Committee on Consumer Affairs and the Committee on Immigration held a hearing to discuss vending-related bills before the New York City Council. Although I not a member of the Consumer Affairs Committee or the Immigration Committee, I am continuing to monitor the progress of this issue closely, with specific interest to the needs of immigrant communities who often rely heavily on vending as a way of accessing goods, and those who look to vending as a source of economic empowerment.

I recognize that vending is a vital economic and cultural lifeline in New York City. After meeting with unified street vending organizations, and corresponding with art street vendors, I have a strong understanding of the issues that street vendors face. These issues include vending laws that are often outdated and unenforceable, increasing fines, and unequal and improper regulation of a system that should encourage economic growth and empowerment. I believe that vending needs to be regulated efficiently and fairly.

There are 17 recent vending-related bills currently before the New York City Council, and today's hearing focused on seven specific bills. Of those seven bills, I have co-sponsored the following:

Int. 828, which would amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to prohibiting general vendors from leaving pushcarts, stands or goods unattended;

Int. 834, which would amend the administrative code of the city of New York in relation to increasing the number of licenses for general vending.

I have also co-sponsored Proposed Int. 324A, which would increase the number of full-time vending permits to 25,000, with 5% increases in the following years. This bill differs from the above-mentioned Int. 834, which would increase the number of vending licenses for general vending 20% (from the current 853 to 1023).

I look forward to continuing discussion on how to improve the business of vending for both vendors and other residents in New York City, and will continue to support legislation that expands employment opportunities, and establishes a safe and efficient atmosphere for such business. It continues to be a great pleasure to serve the 35th Council District of the City of New York.

Letitia James

Council Members Letitia James and Bill de Blasio Host a Brooklyn Day Care Fair on Saturday, November 22nd, from 10AM at LIU

Brooklyn Day Care Fair hosted by Council Member Letitia James and Council Member Bill de Blasio

WHEN: Saturday, November 22, 2008, 10 A.M. – 2 P.M.

WHERE: Long Island University- Brooklyn Campus
1 University Plaza
(on the corner of Flatbush and DeKalb Avenues)


Subway Services: B, M, Q, R to DeKalb Av or the 2, 3, 4, 5 to Nevins Street.

A, C, G to Hoyt-Schermerhorn

Bus Services: B25, B26, B37, B38, B41, B45, B52, B54, B67, B103


Do you need Day Care for your child? Want to learn about affordable and subsidized day care centers in and near your neighborhood?

COME TO THE BROOKLYN DAY CARE FAIR TO LEARN ABOUT LOCAL CHILD CARE OPTIONS FOR YOU CHILD!


At the Brooklyn Day Care Fair you can:

-Meet local Day Care Centers Director

-Enroll your child in Day Care

-Learn about eligibility for subsidized Day Cares

-Obtain information about immigrant needs

-Learn about options for newborn and infant care, as well as special needs

-Find out about care during non-traditional hours

ON-SITE enrollment for the child care centers through the Administration for Children’s Services [ACS] - in order to enroll you will need:

• Proof of Residence

• Proof Reason for Needing Child Care

• Legal Residency for Non Citizen Children

• Proof of Income

• Family Members

Door Prizes!!! Door Prizes!!! Door Prizes!!!

ATTENTION: Traffic Changes on Brooklyn Streets

Council Member Letitia James and Assembly Member Hakeem Jeffries joined business owners, churches, and residents of Fort Greene today at 11:00AM in Brooklyn to discuss traffic changes on major streets in Brooklyn, specifically the change of street directions (from a one-way to a two-way) on Hanson Place. This street direction change affects the Atlantic Center Mall, as well as the Brooklyn State Office Building (location of the office of Assembly Member Jeffries), the Office of Council Member James, MoCADA, restaurants, businesses, apartment buildings, brownstones, and the Atlantic Avenue subway station. This unannounced change is putting people and drivers in harms way due, by and large, to improper notification by the Department of Transportation (DOT).

In response to this, Council Member James's office is currently developing legislation geared towards the DOT, and traffic rules implementation. There will be more to state concerning this legislation at a later date.

Round 2: Ask Team Tish

Since the addition of the visitor counter to the teamtish blog, we are able to see that the blog receives 75-150 hits a day! We encourage all readers to submit questions or comments about posts in the comments section, and are once again opening-up the comments section to any questions you may have. As always, we'll try our best to answer...

President-Elect Barack Obama!

Please view President-elect Barack Obama's victory speech from Chicago, Illinois: http://elections.nytimes.com/2008/results/president/speeches/obama-victory-speech.html#

Barack Obama will serve as the 44th President of the United States of America, having defeated Republican Senator John McCain, and becoming the first person of color to be elected to the presidency. Obama's victory followed a remarkably strong campaign in which the call for "Change" served as the centerpiece. Delaware Senator Joe Biden will serve as Obama's Vice President. Barack Obama will be sworn-in on January 20, 2009.

teamtish could not be more thrilled by Obama's victory, and looks forward to a new administration and the great work we all have left to do! May America- that shining city upon a hill- continue to be blessed.

Get Out And Vote!

We just want to remind you (a bit late) to get out and vote. This morning, NY1 reported that in some Brooklyn voting locations, the line was around the corner! It's possible that the after-work crowd will be similarly large, but the importance of this election has been long-discussed on television and at dinner tables, so we won't be redundant. Please make your voice heard, and vote!

Tish, myself, and some great volunteers were out this morning distributing cookies, cake, and pudding from Choice Market (located at 318 Lafayette Avenue) at a local voting location. If anyone took pictures, please email some to me at AWorthyDavis@council.nyc.gov.

Thanks Choice Market for helping us keep people alert and sugared-up!