Adriano Espaillat's News items

Minority Labor Leaders March 11 Miles For "99 Percent"

In a show of solidarity for the Occupy Wall Street movement, minority and labor leaders led hundreds of New Yorkers in an 11-mile march from Washington Heights to Zuccotti Park on Monday.

The march began around 10:45 a.m. at 181st Street in Washington Heights and ended right before 5 p.m. at Zuccotti Park, where protesters have been camped for nearly eight weeks.

Led by community leaders, State Senator Adriano Espaillat, Manhattan Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez, other elected officials and grassroots organizers, the march protested how the state's so-called "millionaires tax" is set to expire at the end of the year.

NUEVA YORK — El despido de cerca de cientos de trabajadores de escuelas afectará desproporcionalmente a comunidades afroamericanas y latinas, particularmente en el Alto Manhattan, según denunciaron ayer el senador estatal Adriano Espaillat y el concejal Ydanis Rodríguez, junto al sindicato que agrupa a dichos trabajadores, el DC37.

Every year thousands of New Yorkers attend the annual Dominican Day Parade in Midtown West.

By Claudia Morell Friday, August 12, 2011 - 3:49pm

As the city prepares for the annual Dominican Day Parade on Sunday, lawmakers are urging parade-goers to keep celebrations tame.

Associated Press

CROTON-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. — Swimming in the Hudson River is unsafe 21 percent of the time because of pollution from sewage, according to a report issued Tuesday that sampled the water from New York City to Troy.

But the study, by the environmental group Riverkeeper, said most places are acceptably clean most of the time, and that illustrates progress.

Officials Say City Bungled Sewage Spill Warning Signs

Wednesday, July 27, 2011 - 05:11 PM

By Julia Longoria

City officials and activists ripped into the city Wednesday for how it handled the Hudson River sewage spill last week — saying New Yorkers weren't properly notified of unsafe waters following a fire at a waste water treatment facility in Harlem.

Reverend Earl Koopercamp, the rector at St. Mary's Episcopal Church on West 126th Street, said he saw no warning signs at Harlem Piers on the Hudson River, where he spotted fishermen continuing to fish after the spill. "I saw a Parks worker, and I said, 'How come there's no signs?'" Koopercamp said. "He says, 'Signs? Why?' I said, 'They're pouring sewage in the river.'"

'Frankly, it's very scary'

By Yancey Roy

June 24, 2011

For about four hours now, rank-and-file lawmakers have just been milling around and waiting while backroom negotiations continue on the major bills at the end of the legislative session. Activists on either side of the same-sex marriage issue have been shooed out of the State Senate chamber but have taken to shouting at legislators from behind the glass doors. In general, aggravation is rising.

“You walk the hallways and I’ve been here 14 years and I haven’t seen the levels of anxiety and passion,” Sen. Adriano Espaillat (D-Manhattan) said, “and frankly, it’s very scary.”

State Lawmakers Head Back To Capitol; Same-Sex Marriage, Rent Regulations Await

By NY1 News

The waiting game continues in Albany this afternoon as several pieces of pressing legislation, including rent regulations and a possible vote on same-sex marriage, remain up in the air.

The State Senate adjourned just before 11 p.m. yesterday following a marathon session...

..."We should give New Yorkers closure on this. There should be an answer on marriage. Five extenders on rent and last night they didn't even bring up an extender. Quietly in the middle of the night, with troopers in the galleries and people passionate on both sides, they quietly scooted out of the chambers," said State Senator Adriano Espaillat.

Ethics Bill Not The Whole Package, Says Pol

June 15, 2011

By Adam Wisnieski

It’s not perfect, but it’s a step in the right direction.

That was the general reaction from local elected officials on Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s 113-page ethics bill, which passed the Senate and Assembly on Monday.