DOMINICAN DAY PARADE BRONX STYLE

I was proud to take part in the Dominican Day parade in the Bronx on Sunday. It was a great day for Dominican pride and a festival where everyone could feel welcome. Somos unidos!

OPPORTUNITY OF A LIFETIME

I have always been a strong advocate for education. It is the key to success and impacts your life and your family also. The W.R. Grace Institute offers a wonderful opportunity for young women to learn skills. The tuition is free. I urge you to avail yourselves of this golden opportunity.

The following is a message from the W. R. Grace Institute.

Come to Grace today. Change your life tomorrow.For over 100 years, Grace Institute has been helping women succeed. Grace women learn valuable career skills and discover they can achieve more than they ever thought possible. We want you to be a part of a long history of Grace students who are taking advantage of this TUITION-FREE opportunity and changing their lives!

Whether you are a recent high school graduate, looking to change careers or ready to advance in your current position, Grace offers training in a variety of subjects. Grace Institute provides students with a lasting bridge to the working world and a foundation for continuous education and training. With the advantage of professional networking opportunities and extensive alumnae connections, Grace's learning experience does not end in the classroom. Graduates receive career development skills and job placement assistance in top businesses in New York City.

Grace graduates have been hired by companies including Citigroup; Forbes; J.P. Morgan Chase; Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; New York University School of Medicine; The American Museum of Natural History; and Fordham University. The close-knit environment at Grace brings women of all ages, backgrounds, and cultures together with a common desire for professional, academic, and personal success and self-improvement. What is more, the learning experience continues outside the classroom through interaction among students, faculty, staff, and alumnae.Please call us at 212-832-7605 or email info@graceinstitute.org for more information.We look forward to meeting you!

THE COST OF GOING GREEN

Earlier this week, Mayor Michael Bloomberg held a photo op with three hybrid taxis. Bloomberg has been advocating hybrid cabs for the past year. He has issued a mandate that all NYC Black cars, (those that ferry executives), must be hybrid by 2010. He also states that yellow cabs should take the initiative to "go green." The problem is that many yellow cab drivers simply cannot afford the cost of a hybrid car.

Yellow cab drivers, many of whom live in the 33rd., have asked Bloomberg for a $1 surcharge.

The surcharge would cover the cost of the rising price of gasoline. However Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the TLC are opposed to the surcharge, saying the drivers have gotten two raises in the past four years. "I don't think that at this point you need a fuel surcharge on taxis," Bloomberg said. "We need a surcharge on automobiles." The TLC claims the average driver earned about $290 a day in June, between $13.40 and $16 an hour depending on whether they have a hybrid car. But drivers state the opposite.

Several drivers said they had to work longer hours to make ends meet.
Victor Salazar, an owner-operator who drives a 2007 Toyota Sienna, and who took part in the protest, said, “To fill up the gas tank, I spend almost $80 per shift. My shift now is about 14 hours. I have to work more hours to compensate. I work six shifts a week. Actually it’s more like six and a half, because on my day off, I have to go out.”

Although "Going Green" is a necessary cause, it is difficult for the poor and the working class. For example, the cost of an energy efficient light bulb starts at $3.00. The price of a hybrid car is approximately $31,000. In the final analysis, money is saved and the environment is spared.

But, the initial cost needs to be subsidized for those who cannot afford it.
New York City enjoys a brisk tourist trade. Perhaps one of the highest ever experienced in NYC history. Thus, a $1 taxi surcharge is not unreasonable to ask. For a European tourist, this is the equivalent of .50 cents. And for the average taxi riding public, the $1 burden is a lot less cumbersome than the cost of living for a cab driver.

Mayor Bloomberg continues to appease the white collar contingent, overlooking the working class. In fairness, he has made great strides in the Black and Latino communities. However, " Going Green" means considering the Black and Brown also.

I call upon the City to grant a $1 surcharge to taxi drivers and to aid citizens with subsidies in the pursuit of creating a better environment for all New Yorkers.

6th Annual Mount Hope Jazz-Fest

Once again, it was wonderful attending and seeing friends at the Mount Hope Housing Company 6th Annual Jazz Festival. Watch the video and enjoy!

GED CONFERENCE

Dear Friends,

Last month, I organized a GED Conference in my Albany office and the event was attended by numerous educational advocates and governmental representatives, including Governor David Paterson's office.

I called this vital meeting for various reasons, but the recent loss of GED testing centers in the Bronx and other boroughs was of immediate concern to me. As many of you are aware, I am a past recipient of a GED. While I am working with officials to develop a comprehensive resolution to this GED crisis, I expect to release a report in short-order examining solutions to the GED controversy.

In the meanwhile, I would like for all concerned individuals to visit www.ahorre.com/ged and read recent articles posted by Professor Martin N. Danenberg, a well-known national GED program advocate. In addition, take a look at this exclusive video footage and share your thoughts with me on this issue.

NYC Agencies Fail Littman Family

UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS EXTENDED

Today, the New York State Labor Department announced an extension of unemployment insurance benefits. Unemployment insurance benefits are now available to people who have exhausted their 26 weeks of benefits. An extra 13 weeks has been provided.

In order to be eligible, workers, must have exhausted their regular UI benefits on a current claim or have a claim with a benefit year ending May 6, 2007.

The overall unemployment rate for the Bronx is 6.9%, higher than any of the other boroughs.

Also, the present administration has done little to alleviate the plight of the unemployed.

Reagan-Bush reduced funding for worker retraining by 50 percent, and every year of his presidency, Bush during budget negotiations pencilled out worker retraining for workers displaced by foreign trade.

Training people with marketable skills is a priority in my tenure as your senator in the 33rd.

State Senator Efrain Gonzalez Speaks at Kingsbridge Heights

Two weeks ago, the New York regional office of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) filed a complaint against Kingsbridge Heights Nursing Home, saying that the home’s owner violated a contractual agreement when she did not pay into the 1199 Health Benefit Fund. The complaint also says that Kingsbridge Heights violated federal law by spying on workers, blocking worker efforts to meet with union officials and asking workers to sign contracts that would amount to giving up union membership. The labor board papers say that Kingsbridge Heights entered into a new contract with the union, and then failed to honor it.

Even more hopeful news arrived, as the workers stand strong after four months on the picket line. The Labor Board may grant a temporary injunction that would allow the Kingsbridge Heights employees to return to work. Such an injunction, requested by the union, would force Kingsbridge Heights to take back the workers under the terms of a contract to which 1199SEIU says the home has already agreed. News is expected shortly.

CLERGY MEETING

The church has always held a significant place in our community. This is where our children are baptized, we are married and even eulogized. I was pleased to speak to a group of clergy in the Bronx. These are the "spiritual warriors" who comfort us and advise us when we are in need.



As they pray for us....let us pray for them also.

SENATORS HOLD PRESS CONFERENCE AT CITY HALL

The Senate Democratic Conference has established the NYC School Governance Task Force to probe the effectiveness mayoral control has had on the New York City educational system.



The nine member task force will hold it's first hearing next month in Manhattan and will be co-chaired by Senators Martin Malave Dilan (D-Brooklyn), Shirley Huntley (D-Queens) and Martin Connor (D-Manhattan/Brooklyn)

THE BLOG BEGINS

I am pleased to announce that this is the inauguration of my blog. It is meant to be an interactive forum of ideas, commentary and information. The main stream media has a tendency to exclude many topics that are important to our community. This blog is the place for those issues.

I invite you to send your opinions and your suggestions. This is the "People's Network"