First, in partnership with the CUNY Community Legal Resource Network, residents facing landlord harassment, possible eviction, rent overcharges or a lack of repairs now have a new avenue for legal consultation and representation. The free legal housing clinic is located at the New York City College of Technology and is made possible by a legislative grant secured by Assemblyman Jeffries. Residents who need legal assistance should contact the clinic Thursdays from 4:30-8:30 p.m. via telephone at (718) 260-5324 or e-mail at operationpreserve@gmail.com, to schedule an intake session.

Second, Operation Preserve involves an intensive effort to overhaul rent regulation laws in New York State, which heavily favor landlords. The Assembly recently passed a package of bills that included repeal of vacancy decontrol, reform of the preferential rent law and increased penalties for landlords that harass tenants. All of these bills were either sponsored or co-sponsored by Jeffries.

Third, Operation Preserve will entail regularly scheduled public meetings designed to address housing-related issues. On March 13, Jeffries organized a meeting to support residents facing eviction or foreclosure. The meeting was held at the Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church, and featured representatives from Neighborhood Housing Services of Bedford-Stuyvesant, the Pratt Area Community Council, and lawyers from the CUNY Community Legal Resource Network. In April, Jeffries hosted a forum for residents with property tax or water bill liens at Clara Barton High School, enabling individuals to meet with representatives from the New York City Department of Finance and the New York City Department of Environmental Protection. As a result, many residents successfully reduced the amount owed on water or tax bills and were able to stay in their homes. Several additional events are planned for the remainder of the year.

There are currently no speed control protections outside the front entrance to the school, which serves as the main entry point for hundreds of students arriving from and returning to the Farragut Houses. A single crossing guard is responsible for ensuring the safety of the nearly 300 students who attend P.S. 307 and Satellite West Middle School. This situation is not acceptable, particularly because cars and trucks frequently speed past the school en route to the Brooklyn Bridge or the BQE.

When student government leaders brought this issue to the attention of Assemblymember Jeffries, he immediately contacted Borough Commissioner Joseph Palmieri of the Department of Transportation. Shortly thereafter, Palmieri visited the school with Assemblymember Jeffries and committed to a comprehensive traffic safety study. Jeffries wants the Department of Transportation to complete the study and implement the suggested traffic safety measures in time for the beginning of the school year this Fall.

During his address, Assemblymember Jeffries articulated the challenges facing the district, including the displacement of working families and senior citizens caused by the affordable housing crisis. He outlined some of his accomplishments during his first term in the legislature, particularly in the affordable housing area. The Assemblymember took a lead role passing 421-a reform to bring affordable housing to our community and encouraged the creation of the “Keep the Dream” loan refinance program to help community residents with sub-prime mortgages stay in their homes. He also acquired a commitment from the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) to keep open all public housing developments in the community, and not pursue privatization.

Assemblymember Jeffries further talked about attending the funeral of a 19-year-old gunned down on the streets of Clinton Hill on Christmas eve, an experience he called the most difficult during his first year in office. Highlighting the need to provide after school and positive recreational opportunities for the youth in our community, the Assemblymember announced plans to partner with other colleagues in government to turn a vacant building located at 1024 Fulton Street into a state-of-the-art youth center, which will provide academic enrichment and recreational programming. He looks forward to delivering his annual state of the district address next January.

In conjunction with the Ebbets Field Residents Organization, the event was held at the Ebbets Field Houses, in the Crown Heights section of our community. Joined by hundreds of community residents, Jeffries commemorated the 61st anniversary of Jackie Robinson becoming the first African-American to play Major League Baseball, shattering the color barrier at the site where the Ebbets Field Houses now stand. Following the conclusion of his Hall of Fame career, Jackie Robinson served on the board of the NAACP and became an icon of the Civil Rights movement.

Assemblymember Jeffries also recently called upon Major League Baseball to bring its Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (“RBI”) program to central Brooklyn. The RBI program combines baseball and academic enrichment programs to provide young people with constructive alternatives to the perils of the street corner. While nine RBI leagues exist in New York City, none are currently operating in Brooklyn. In a letter sent to MLB Commissioner Allan H. Selig, Assemblyman Jeffries urged the creation of RBI leagues in Crown Heights and other neighborhoods throughout the community to provide much needed sports and academic enrichment programs. He will work diligently to rekindle the relationship between Brooklyn and Major League Baseball.