FROM THE OFFICE OF
HON. LEROY COMRIE
Council Member– 27th District, Queens, NY
Deputy Majority Leader of The NYC Council
Chair, Committee on Consumer Affairs

For Immediate Release:

February 25, 2008

Contact:
Rance E. Huff/CM Comrie
Office: (212) 788-7084
Cell: (718) 207-1158

Comrie Urges NYPD To Form Taskforce
To Apprehend Queens Rapists

Will Convene Local Legislators & Law Enforcement to Raise Public Awareness About Safety

JAMAICA, NY- Council Member Leroy Comrie (D-Queens) issued the following statement today regarding the latest sexual assault incident in Southeast Queens, which involved the rape of a teenage girl by an assailant who posed as a police officer:

News from New York State Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities
For more information contact: Kara Smith, (518) 474-6601
OMRDD Celebrates disABILITIES Awareness Month with March Exhibit

ALBANY, NY (02/25/2008; 1013)(readMedia)-- The Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities will celebrate Disability Awareness Month in March with a month-long exhibit chronicling the history of disabilities in New York State, and celebrating the achievements of individuals with developmental disabilities.

“Stories of Success: A Celebration of disABILITIES Awareness Month,” will run throughout March in the Empire State Plaza’s South Concourse in Albany. It will feature historic exhibits from the Museum of disABILITY History near Buffalo, NY, and profiles of accomplished individuals with developmental disabilities.

State of New York | Executive Office of the Lt. Governor
David A. Paterson | Lieutenant Governor

For Immediate Release: February 25, 2008
Contact: Armen Meyer | Armen.Meyer@chamber.state.ny.us | 212.681.4605 | 518.258.1338

State of New York | Executive Office of the Lt. Governor
David A. Paterson | Lieutenant Governor

For Immediate Release: February 25, 2008
Contact: Armen Meyer | Armen.Meyer@chamber.state.ny.us | 212.681.4605 | 518.258.1338

FOR RELEASE: FEBRUARY 25, 2008

TODAY CHANGE TOMORROW THE FUTURE

It seems you their is a FINE LINE between.......

EINSTEIN, NEWTON DISPLAYED AUTISTIC TRAITS, February 24 Albert Einstein and Isaac Newton displayed symptoms of psychiatric disorders that may have been a key to their genius, a Dublin psychiatrist said. Full story at www.physorg.com/news123084642.html

The race is on, how are we doing

JAPAN LAUNCHES INTERNET SATELLITE, February 24 (AP) -- Japan's space agency launched an experimental communications satellite Saturday designed to enable super high-speed data transmission at home and in Southeast Asia. Full story at www.physorg.com/news123046442.html

In 1988 at the Democratic National convention, the then state treasurer Ann Richards opened her speech saying she was delighted to be there, “because after listening to George Bush all these years, I figured you needed to know what a real Texas accent sounds like.” She was talking about the father, not W. Next, she made a complaint about being only the second [Texas] woman since Barbara Jordan to address the convention, and then delivered a quote well known to women in politics, “But, if you give us a chance, we can perform. After all, Ginger Rogers did everything that Fred Astaire did. She just did it backwards and in high heels.” In focus groups of baby boom and older women, the reaction to this comment is, “You go girl!”

State of New York | Executive Chamber
Silda Wall Spitzer | First Lady

For Immediate Release: February 24, 2008
Contact: Jennifer Givner | jennifer.givner@chamber.state.ny.us | 212.681.4640 | 518.474.8418

State of New York | Executive Chamber
Eliot Spitzer | Governor

For Immediate Release: February 24, 2008
Contact: Errol Cockfield| Errol.Cockfield@chamber.state.ny.us | 212.681.4640 | 518.474.8418

The following appeared on The Politico.

Imagine if the names were changed from Rick Renzi to Charlie Rangel (or any NY Democratic Congressman) and from John McCain to Hillary Clinton?

Wouldn’t this be a much bigger story?

http://www.politico.com/blogs/thecrypt/0208/McCain_in_Oct_2006_Renzi_has__tenacity_honesty_and_integrity_beyond_reproach.html#comments

IT IS ALL ABOUT THE FUTURE OBAMA, NOT CHANGE

Plannng your next vacation
SPACE TOURISM TO ROCKET IN 21ST CENTURY, RESEARCHERS PREDICT, February 22 Seeking an out-of-this-world travel destination? Outer space will rocket into reality as "the" getaway of this century, according to researchers at the University of Delaware and the University of Rome La Sapienza. Full story at www.physorg.com/news122897036.html

Just what we need

CHINA TO LAUNCH SECOND LUNAR PROBE IN 2009: REPORT, February 22 China hopes to launch its second moon-orbiting satellite in 2009, state media reported Friday, as the country steps up its space programme. Full story www.physorg.com/news122916636.html

State of New York | Executive Chamber
Silda Wall Spitzer | First Lady

For Immediate Release: February 22, 2008
Contact: Jennifer Givner | Jennifer.Givner@chamber.state.ny.us | 212.681.4640 | 518.474.8418

WHO: Council Member Gale A. Brewer, Chair of Committee on Technology in Government, Council Member Peter F. Vallone, Chair of Public Safety, and Council Member Miguel Martinez, Chair of Fire & Criminal Justice Services.

WHEN: Monday, February 25, 2008 at 10:00am

WHERE: Council Chambers, City Hall

This oversight hearing will concern the Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications' launch of the New York City Wireless Network (NYCWiN), which represents an historic enhancement to public safety communications by enabling data transfer rates 50 times faster than before. NYCWiN will give the City's emergency responders high-speed data access to support large file transfers, fingerprints, mug shots, city maps, and full-motion, streaming video. The network will also support a host of other public service applications that will provide a significant improvement over existing technologies.

FROM THE OFFICE OFHON. LEROY COMRIECouncil Member– 27th District, Queens, NYDeputy Majority Leader of The NYC CouncilChair, Committee on Consumer Affairs
 
For Immediate Release:
 
February 22, 2008
 
Contact:
Rance E. Huff/CM Comrie
 Office: (212) 788-7084
Cell: (718) 207-1158
 
Legislators & Senior Advocates Urge DFTA To Halt Senior Center Plans
 
NEW YORK, NY- New York City Council Member Leroy Comrie (D-Queens) was joined by Council Member Oliver Koppell (D-Bronx), Assemblywoman Audrey Pheffer (D-Queens) and numerous senior advocates at a City Hall press conference today to call upon the Department For The Aging (DFTA) to slow-down the implementation of a new modernization proposal for citywide senior citizen centers and to consider a new course of action that would avoid cuts to the senior services budget, the closing of senior centers and re-examine the regionalization of services.
 
The DFTA proposal projects that senior New Yorkers (defined as age 65 and older) will increase by 44% from the year 2000 to 2030 and they will make up over 15% of the city’s overall population. The agency’s modernization plan calls for a 3% percent budget cut- $3.3 million in FY08 and $5.5 million in FY09 for a total of $8.8 million; 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.
 
DFTA also proposes to restructure senior centers and make them “market-orientated” because a recent survey the agency conducted indicated that 44% are reportedly being underutilized- using a questionable criteria which counts the number of meals served as the sole determination to quantify underutilized senior centers. Under a new regionalization plan, local senior center vendors would compete against city-wide competitors which would dramatically impact the quality of services provided for senior citizens in New York City, including the delivery of hot meals for home-bound seniors.
 
DFTA has set a March 14 deadline to consider public comments to this and intends to issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) in June. Many elected officials and senior advocates believe the timeline for the RFP is processing too rapidly and that implementation of the concept paper, as well as the transition of contracts, needs to be slowed down if not altogether revamped.
 
“I want to thank my colleagues in government and senior advocates for joining me today to speak out about this critical issue, especially Bobbi Sackman of the Council of Senior Centers and Services. We are here today to call attention to what we believe is a poorly conceived idea that has been put forth by the Department for the Aging to restructure how senior services and centers are managed and operated throughout the City of New York,” stated Council Member Leroy Comrie. “We want to prevent our seniors from being left in the cold without a center to attend, the services they require and the meals they depend on.
 
“Providers are going to be involved in transitioning to either losing service contracts or gaining service contracts, which requires a restructuring of their organization. This could cause a homebound senior to loss their case manager, home delivered meal deliverer, and their connection to a senior center. We are asking that the Department for the Aging extend the RFP process by at least six months. This will allow the providers to transition in a smooth and fluid manner, further ensuring that our seniors are not lost in the shuffle.”
 
Council Member Koppell added, "The Bronx is the borough where the approaches encouraged in the Concept Papers were piloted. Contrary to the results of the recent KPMG study commissioned by DFTA, my constituents have consistently described the pilot program as an unmitigated disaster. I am, therefore, vehemently opposed to expanding the Bronx model for home delivered meals on a citywide basis or as a conceptual basis for regionalizing senior centers.”
 
“Regionalization of senior services will have a devastating affect on the many senior centers and the vital service they provide in our neighborhoods,” stated Assemblywoman Pheffer. “This proposal fails to recognize the uniqueness of our neighborhoods and the diversity of our senior citizens.  I implore DFTA to rethink this ill conceived plan and continue service to our ‘golden agers’.”
 
“We don’t feel listened to,” stated Bobbi Sackman, Director of Policy for the Council of Senior Centers and Services of NYC Inc. “A surge in senior population requires more centers and the Mayor seems to be moving in the opposite direction. An exemption should be made for DFTA in the budget cuts and we need to slow this process down. Senior centers provide a myriad of services and the City needs to invest in a system that has been neglected.”
 
The switch to an enlarged region for services is another cause for serious concerns for a multitude of reasons.  The extension of area coverage will diminish the ability for providers to offer proper services and will leave seniors searching for locations. There are several unanswered questions that need to be answered. In the DFTA concept paper, there is discussion of regionalization however there is no definition as to how this will be implemented or what it means. Will the services be regionalized? Will the funding be regionalized, leaving less affluent areas to see a decrease in funding? What is the funding formula for regionalization? Of the 329 senior centers citywide, how many are slated to be closed?
 
Advocates and many city and state elected officials believe that DFTA should be exempt from budget cuts during this time of major restructuring. It is a small agency and cuts can only negatively impact services.
 
“While it is crucial that we always look for ways to improve and update our senior services, particularly given the projected increase in the number of seniors in New York City, it is imprudent to overhaul a working system without first examining its successes and failures and testing new ideas for its replacement,” said Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer. “The Department for the Aging must slow down the change process it began with its RFP on case management in order to allow service providers, advocates, seniors, and elected officials to truly evaluate and understand the proposals and
offer insight and guidance of what currently works and where improvement is needed.”
 
Added State Sen. Diaz, ranking minority member of the New York State Senate’s Committee on Aging, “The poor quality of the meals as well as the less frequent visits by the delivery workers are just two of the many examples in which senior citizens are shortchanged with the current frozen meals program. It is disgracefulfor The City of New York to look to save money by diminishing the careand services it provides our beloved senior citizens.”
 
Council Member Comrie has proposed the following be considered:
 

• DFTA annually returns unused funds to the Office of Management & Budget (OMB) and it is estimated to be around $5 million. DFTA consistently averages between 2% and 5% annually in accruals. I propose that the City baseline (make permanent) all City Council funding to DFTA for meals, rent, vans, Health Aging Initiative, SMART cultural arts program.

 

• Hold the line or even increase the number of case management providers,, which the proposal would reduced from 32 to 23 citywide. The case manager to client ratio is currently 65-1, (according to the Council of Senior Centers and Services).  It is virtually impossible to comprehend that case managers will be able to provide the proper services to our seniors with an expanded caseload and the pressures of a curtailed timeline.  Case managers are responsible for are most fragile senior population, we can not afford to allow the services to be jeopardized.

 
Council Member Comrie concluded, “As we all know, our senior population is our greatest generation.  They helped build this great city, they provided the services needed to make this the greatest city in the world and they deserve to spend the twilight of their lives having those services returned to them. The expediency of this new project gives me great pause as seniors are dependent on the services they commonly take advantage of.  By hastily moving this process along at such a hurried pace, we are almost certain to lose a number of senior citizens in the process.”
 
PHOTO CAPTION:
 
(SeniorCuts1) New York City Council Member Leroy Comrie (center), joined by Council Member Oliver Koppell (3rd right), Assemblywoman Audrey Pheffer (2nd right) and numerous senior advocates at a City Hall press conference on Friday, February 22 to call upon the Department For The Aging (DFTA) to slow-down the implementation of a new modernization proposal for citywide senior citizen centers and to consider a new course of action that would avoid cuts to the senior services budget, the closing of senior centers and re-examine the regionalization of services.
 
Joining the elected officials are (l-r) Bobbi Sackman, Council of Senior Centers and Services; Linda M. Leest, Services Now for Adult Persons; and, Priscilla Maysonet, Stein Senior Center.
 
PHOTO CREDIT:
Damion Reid
 
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State of New York | Executive Chamber
Eliot Spitzer | Governor

For Immediate Release: February 22, 2008
Contact: Errol Cockfield | Errol.Cockfield@chamber.state.ny.us | 212.681.4640 | 518.474.8418