Daniel L. Squadron's posts related to Constituents Corner

By Duncan Osborne

At the close of a town hall meeting on the political future of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community in the wake of same-sex marriage’s enactment in New York, Ross Levi, the executive director of the Empire State Pride Agenda (ESPA), the statewide gay lobby, threw cold water on any impulse to declare victory and shut down the movement.

“We can’t pop the champagne and say, ‘We’re done,’” Levi told the crowd of roughly 100 who turned out for the August 16 forum “After ‘I Do’: What’s Next for LGBT New Yorkers?” at the Borough of Manhattan Community College.

Levi was one of four speakers on a panel moderated by State Senator Daniel Squadron, a Democrat who represents much of Lower Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn. The forum was sponsored by Squadron and endorsed by roughly 20 state and federal elected officials from New York.

New York's Junior Senator, Kirsten Gillibrand, made an appearance at an LGBT symposium held in New York City on the future of marriage equality in New York State (video and summary here). An attendee asked her about the right-wing's attempts to walk back LGBT progress made of late. Specifically mentioned was Representative and Presidential candidate Michele Bachmann's promise to reinstate "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," a signature achievement for Gillibrand in her first term in the Senate.

The Senator's answer left no ambiguity on her perspective. It was concise, resolute, and the picture of "no nonsense." It was a mere four words in it's entirety:

“No. They will fail.”

As the applause and laughter dies down, my own state Senator, Daniel Squadron, himself a great ally on LGBT rights and host of the evening, said, "Let that be a lesson to us all on brevity and effectiveness."

By Georgia Kral

Earlier this summer, the State Department of Transportation closed the Hamilton Avenue Pedestrian Bridge, which links Red Hook and Carroll Gardens, for repairs. The DOT alerted residents, elected officials and community leaders only days before the closure.

According to Craig Hammerman, District Manager of Community Board 6, the short notice was only one aggravating aspect of the way the state handled the bridge closing. Hammerman said the community had long offered solutions to problems with the pedestrian bridge, and had received little if any response.

“We were completely caught off guard by this sudden news from your department,” he wrote in a letter to State DOT Commissioner Joan McDonald. “It is frustrating to think that the State of New York will be investing hundreds of thousands if not millions of scarce tax-payer dollars into a band-aid approach to improve the condition of this pedestrian bridge, while associated problems that have vexed this community for too long continue to go unaddressed.”

Issues include safety, the bridge has long been considered a "convenient way for perpetrators while in the commission of crimes to evade capture, according to Hammerman, and basic maintenance.

Hammerman’s letter, along with feedback from the community, prompted State Senator Daniel Squadron to host a meeting with the interested parties, from the DOT to community leaders including Maria Pagano of the Carroll Gardens Neighborhood Association.

At the meeting, the DOT agreed to work with the community on making sure people who use the bridge on a daily basis, including school children who attend the Brooklyn School for Collaborative Studies and the Brooklyn New School on Henry Street, are aware of safe detours.

"The Hamilton Ave Bridge construction raised legitimate concerns about safety -- for the community at large and for students as they travel to and from school," said Squadron.

A flyer is being created by the DOT that will be distributed to the local schools.