Significant Achievement for Needy Families New York City Budget Includes Additional $19.7 Million for 2,600 New Vouchers For Needy Families Not on Welfare Following Intensive Intervention by the UJO

Excerpt from Yiddish article in Der Yid’s Friday, June 21, 2019 edition

United Jewish Organization of Williamsburg and North Brooklyn lauds Mayor de Blasio for keeping his longstanding promise to restore the number of vouchers to the 2014 levels. Thanks  are extended to NYC Council Speaker Johnson for securing the funds and to Councilman Stephen Levin for his ongoing fight to increase the number of vouchers to families who depend on it. Thanks as well to  Councilman Chaim Deutsch for his leadership and support for the program and to Councilman Kalman Yeger for participating at the meeting calling for additional vouchers.

Brooklyn, NY – On Friday, June 14, an initial agreement under the new City budget was reached for the fiscal year 2020 that starts this upcoming July. The newly released budget held some very good news for parents who are dependent on childcare to be able to join the workforce. It will provide an additional $19.7 million to the Special Child Care Fund also known as the SCCF vouchers that will, with Hashem’s help, be able to provide another 2,600 vouchers for children on the childcare waiting list. 

“We are very thankful,” said Rabbi David Niederman, UJO Executive Director and President, “to Councilman Levin for his devoted fight towards needy families in the community. During the course of the year, Councilman Levin has delivered tens of millions of dollars in after-school childcare assistance to thousands of families and has continued to fight for this important mission. The Mayor and his administration have been, thank G-d, very sympathetic to the request, and we are optimistic that this will be successful. We want to express a hearty thanks to our dear friend, Chaim Deutsch, Chair of the Jewish Caucus for working tirelessly to bring this assistance to the community and for being someone always ready to help with any issue that impacts the community. Thanks as well to all the Council members who signed the letter calling for assistance to needy families. We also thank Councilman Yeger for participating in the meeting at City Hall regarding the vouchers that will be utilized by thousands of families in the community. I also wish to extend a special thanks to Mr. Lincoln Restler for his assistance with this issue.”

The associated graph in the Der Yid article illustrates the drastic decline in the number of available vouchers after Mayor Bloomberg canceled the program in  2013. It also displays how the number of new SCCF vouchers will be returned to the levels of 2014 after Mayor de Blasio’s new budget increase for FY2020.

Councilman Levin, the General Welfare Chairman Organizes a Letter With 18 Council Members to Request More Funding for Child Care Vouchers

Excerpt from the UJO column in Der Yid’s  June 14, 2019 edition.

Calls to end the annual budget bans which take place yearly requiring a new request for funding each year. Together with Councilman Chaim Deutsch, Chairman of the Jewish Caucus it follows intensive intervention by UJO to assist needy families. Councilman Levin. Councilman Levin staff and Councilman Deutsch and Councilman Kalman Yeger had a meeting a few weeks ago to request in City Hall to seek more funding and for more vouchers to be provided for families on the waiting list.

Brooklyn, NY –An intensive intervention by the United Jewish Organization of Williamsburg and North Brooklyn took place under the leadership of Councilman Stephen Levin, Chair of the General Welfare Committee who spearheaded a powerful letter sent last week. The missive was signed by 18 Councilmembers requesting that the de Blasio administration provide more funding for the Special Child Care Funding Vouchers for families who are on the Child Care waiting list – even if they don’t have welfare.

“We are very thankful,” said Rabbi David Niederman, UJO Executive Director and President, “to Councilman Levin for his devoted fight towards needy families in the community. During the course of the year, Councilman Levin has delivered tens of millions of dollars in after-school childcare assistance to thousands of families and has continued to fight for this important mission. The Mayor and his administration have been, thank G-d, very sympathetic to the request, and we are optimistic that this will be successful. We want to express a hearty thanks to our dear friend, Chaim Deutsch, Chair of the Jewish Caucus for working tirelessly to bring this assistance to the community and for being someone who is always ready to help with any issue that impact the community. Thanks as well to all the Council members who signed the letter calling for assistance to needy families. We also thank Councilman Yeger for participating in the meeting at City Hall regarding the vouchers that will be utilized by thousands of families in the community. I also wish to extend a special thanks to Mr. Lincoln Restler for his assistance with this issue.”

UPDATE - See article on NYC FY20 Budget Adds an Additional $19.7 Million to Fund Thousands of New Child Care Vouchers for Working Families https://www.blogger.com/u/1/blogger.g?blogID=1356882540300254446#allposts/postNum=1

After Close to 200 Families on Bedford and Myrtle Avenue Lost Power Before the Shavuos Holiday, Con Edison Brought in a Large Number of Trucks and Workers to Restore Electricity Following Intervention by City Hall

Excerpt from Yiddish article in Der Yid’s June 14, 2019 edition

UJO expresses thanks to Mr. Lincoln Restler for heeding the plea of UJO and for being instrumental in creating a rapid response to the 200 families who had no power. Thanks as well to Councilman Stephen Levin and Pinny Ringel for their assistance in this critical matter. Con Edison amassed all of their resources from Brooklyn and Queens and had a vice president and other top leaders on site to assure that electricity was restored as quickly as possible. All houses had electricity by candle-lighting time right before the three day holiday was about to begin.

Brooklyn, NY –A massive power outage took place on the eve of Shavuos. The loss of power impacted close to 200 Williamsburg families and included the large Satmar Shul - Bais Yaakov Nechemia as well with its hundreds of congregants. A large number of stores were also impacted by the widespread outage. All of these locations had electricity restored right before the three day holiday thanks to the tireless intervention by the United Jewish Organization of Williamsburg and the assistance of Mr. Lincoln Restler, Chief of Staff to Mayor de Blasio.

“I would like to express heartfelt thanks,” said Rabbi David Niederman, UJO Executive Director and President, “to Mr. Lincoln Restler, an energetic and devoted friend to all the needs of the area, a man who doesn’t take no for an answer. His herculean efforts saved the holiday for close to 200 families and the additional hundreds of worshipers and others who would have suffered greatly had the power outage continued into the holiday.

“We stressed the importance of returning power before the advent of the holiday for families to start crock pots, air conditioners and more all of which would not have been possible to turn on after the holiday began. Thankfully, Con Edison realized the critical need for the community and did everything in its power to assure that the electricity was restored in time, so preparations were able to be made before candle lighting. This was something that at the beginning of the day seemed impossible. We are very thankful for the leadership of  Con Edison, and we express our thanks to Councilman Levin for his concern and for keeping tabs on the progress. We also thank our dear friend, Pinny Ringel for being instrumental in the intervention as well.” 

NYC FY20 Budget Adds an Additional $19.7 Million to Fund Thousands of New Child Care Vouchers for Working Families

Major Achievement for Hardworking Families 

UJO lauds Mayor de Blasio for keeping his longstanding promise by increasing funding to restore non-mandated vouchers to 2014 level. Thanks to Speaker Corey Johnson and General Welfare Chair Steve Levin for their continued efforts to increase Special Child Care Funded Vouchers, and Councilman Chaim Deutsch for his leadership and support.

Brooklyn, NY—After tremendous efforts by Williamsburg’s Councilman Stephen T. Levin, Chair of the General Welfare Committee, Speaker Corey Johnson and the de Blasio administration - a much-needed increase in the Special Child Care Funding was secured in the FY20 City budget that was announced today. The Mayor and Speaker announced the much-anticipated increase today, adding an additional $19.7 million to the program, bringing the total funding for the program benefitting hard-working families to nearly $47 million. This will add roughly 2,600 new vouchers for working-needy families and children. 

This much-heralded increase will alleviate the strain to families created after Mayor Bloomberg, in his final year, ended the issuance of new Priority 5 vouchers that provided child care for families leaving the welfare rolls post one-year transitional child care.

UJO worked closely with Councilman Levin and was assisted by Councilman Chaim Deutch, Chair of the Jewish Caucus and the Council Finance team, to request additional funding to reach the level of vouchers during the start of the current administration.

A month ago, Rabbi David Niederman, UJO President, joined a meeting to discuss the restoration of the lost vouchers with Councilman Levin’s staff, Councilman Chaim Deutsch, Councilman Kalman Yeger and representatives from ACS, OMB and City Council Finance staff. The meeting took place at City Hall, with the close aide to Mayor de Blasio, Mr. Lincoln Restler, who consistently works diligently for all communities and has a keen understanding of the Brooklyn community’s needs.

Councilman Levin also organized a letter – co-led by Councilman Deutsch and signed by 18 council members asking for the restoration of the vouchers to the 2014 level.

Today’s announcement will add services to thousands of children in the coming months, increasing the total number of non-mandated Child Care Vouchers to the 2014 level.

"We are elated that today’s handshake on the budget, is extending a helping hand to thousands of needy children and families," says Rabbi David Niederman, UJO President. "We are indebted to Councilman Steve Levin for his leadership on this and for establishing and championing the SCCF vouchers. Today’s achievement was only made possible thanks to the compassionate leadership of Speaker Corey Johnson, who led the negotiations which brought this to fruition. All hardworking New Yorkers are grateful to you.

“We are very grateful to Councilman Deutch for joining the advocacy on this issue. We are thankful as well to Councilman Yeger for joining the efforts, and to all the Council members who signed the letter including Council Majority Leader Laurie Cumbo; Council Member Ben Kallos; Council Member Robert Cornegy; Council Member Helen Rosenthal; Council Member Vanessa Gibson; Council Member Mark Treyger; Council Member Margaret Chin; Council Member Justine Brannan; Council Member Rafael Espinal; Council Member Brad Lander; Council Member Inez Barron; Council Member Alan Maisel; Council Member Alicka Ampry-Samuel; Council Member Carlina Rivera; and Council Member Carlos Menchaca. Last, but most important, we are thankful to the Mayor and his administration for reversing the unjust trend of hardworking families losing much-needed support, and for increased funding for the vouchers for now and going forward. A special shout-out goes to a dear friend, Lincoln Restler, for his assistance throughout this process."

Letter sent by the City Council asking for the funding

Mayor Bill de Blasio Announces in the Presence of UJO and Community Leaders that NYC Will Open Special Office This Summer to Prevent Hate Attacks

Excerpt from Yiddish article in Der Yid’s June 7, 2019 edition

In light of the increased anti-Semitic attacks to our city, following the law of the City Council that was passed by Councilman Mark Levine; Councilman Chaim Deutsch, the Chair of the Jewish Caucus; and Councilman Donovan  Richards who all worked  to establish such an office, Speaker Corey Johnson and Councilman Deutsch and other Council members called two weeks ago for the opening of this office at a press conference with the UJO.

The special, new office will be established this summer in New York City to prevent, and combat hate crimes.

The establishment of the office was announced this week in a special press conference with city authorities headed by Mayor de Blasio and Police Commissioner James O’Neil who also released statistics about hate crimes in the city these past few months which underscores the importance of this office. “We are very concerned about the rise of hate crimes,” de Blasio said. The Mayor said the new office will be stationed at the Municipal City Building in lower  Manhattan. It will cost $307,000 annually to operate.

Councilman Deutsch commended the mayor’s announcement for opening this new office. “New York City has seen a shocking rise in hate crimes during the last several years,” said Councilman Deutsch, “especially with anti-Semitic crimes. Since the six months since the City Council passed my law to establish the Office of Hate Crime Prevention, we have seen a 68% rise in hate crimes in general. The office is a critical component of the puzzle necessary to solve these issues to prevent hate crimes by going into communities to help people from all ages and backgrounds to understand the consequences of baseless hate and animosity.

“I am thankful to the Speaker Corey Johnson, for his leadership and my colleagues Councilman Mark Levine and  Councilman  Donovan  Richards  for working with me on this law.”

“It has been a long time,” said Rabbi David Niederman, UJO Executive Director and President, “that we have called for more to be done regarding hate crimes. For example, we see that it is often youths who conduct these attacks. It is important to go into schools to talk to them and discuss the severe punishment one may face for such attacks and to convince them that it is not worth it.

“I commend the Mayor for working to establish this office this summer to, with G-d’s help, end the serious hate attacks from which we are suffering. I thank Councilman Chaim Deutsch, Councilman Mark Levine and Councilman Donavan Richards for championing this law. I also thank Speaker Johnson for standing with us two weeks ago to condemn the attacks and calling for the funding of this office.”

Boro Park JCC Launches Lead Child Safety Campaign in Conjunction With UJO

 Excerpt from Yiddish article in Der Yid’s June 7, 2019 edition

Children in Williamsburg and Boro Park Have the Highest Blood Lead Levels in the City

Boro Park—The Boro Park Jewish Community Council (BPJCC) is now launching a public campaign to bring parents’ attention to the high rate of children in Boro Park with elevated levels of lead in their blood. High blood lead level can negatively impact a child’s development and trigger a number of serious health issues. The campaign encourages parents to have children ages one and two tested for lead in their blood.

This campaign has been undertaken in conjunction with United Jewish Organizations of Williamsburg (UJO), which has been working for several years with the New York City Department of Health to reduce the danger to the public from lead.

Reports from the New York City Department of Health indicate that the area including the Orthodox Jewish community of Williamsburg had the highest rate in the city of children with a blood lead level of 5 micrograms per deciliter or more. Boro Park follows closely behind with the second highest rate in the city of children with a blood lead level of 5 or more.

High levels of lead in the blood can lead to many serious health problems, among them brain development issues. Studies have found that even low levels of lead in the blood can create behavioral and growth problems.

The most common source of lead poisoning is the dust from lead-based paint in old homes, exposed after the paint peels or flakes off. These bits of paint and dust fall onto toys or to the floor, where children may lick them or put them in their mouths while crawling on the floor and playing with their toys. Lead-based paints in homes have been banned in New York since 1960, but not banned nationwide until 1978.

People who live in old homes or whose children spend time in such buildings should be especially vigilant for cracking or peeling paint, which can be dangerous. Remember that even after being painted over many times, the lead paint underneath can still be exposed when the paint cracks or peels off.

The UJO has been addressing the issue for several years now, to bring awareness to the public in Williamsburg about the dangers from lead-based paint in old buildings and to educate parents on how to protect their children. Now the BPJCC is undertaking a similar campaign in Boro Park in conjunction with the UJO.

Last week ads were placed on bus shelters to inform residents about the danger from lead and urging them to take steps to protect their children. Ads with a similar message were hung up in Williamsburg through the UJO, and they will also be published in newspapers.

“I was shaken,” says Rabbi Avi Greenstein, Executive Director of the Boro Park, “that as many as 531 children in the Boro Park neighborhood – that’s 20 to 25 full classes – were diagnosed in just one year with high levels of lead in their blood as that can damage their abilities to learn and to develop. If parents would know this, fact, they would certainly be more careful to protect their children from the dangers of lead. We are grateful to the UJO and the Health Department for enabling us to undertake this campaign for the safety of Boro Park’s children.”

“Parent do everything so that their children will grow up to be smart and healthy and will succeed in their studies. We were shocked to hear about the high number of children with high levels of lead, which can negatively affect their growth. We feel it our duty to inform the public about this, to undertake the necessary steps and not to take the matter lightly,” said Rabbi Moshe Dovid Niederman, Director of UJO. “In recent years, we have staff in our office to provide the public with information about lead and also to help homeowners apply for grants to repair lead problems. We are happy that this service is spreading to Boro Park.”

In addition to the public awareness campaign, as of the beginning of the summer, the Boro Park JCC will have a staff member on hand to assist residents with information and other forms of aid to protect themselves and their children from the dangers of lead.