The Hyer-Spencer Report: Bay Ridge Community Update

Donate to our holiday charity drives!

Assemblywoman Hyer-Spencer’s community office will serve as a drop-off point this holiday season for the following charity drives:

Dress for Success • Now – Dec. 4
Sponsored by the Bay Ridge Brooklyn Chapter of New York State Women, Inc. Dress for Success helps disadvantaged women by providing them with professional clothing for job interviews or work. Skirts, pant suits, blouses, blazers/jackets and shoes are appreciated.

Toy Drive • Now – Dec. 8
Sponsored by the 68th Precinct Community Council and the Dyker Heights Civic Association. Unwrapped gifts for children are appreciated.

New York Cares Coat Drive • Dec. 1 – Dec. 18
Gently used warm coats and jackets for men, women and children are appreciated.

Domestic Violence Cell Phone Drive • Throughout the year
Used cell phones, cell phone batteries and chargers for domestic violence victims are appreciated.

As your Assemblywoman, it’s my job to keep you up to date on all of the activities and issues that are happening in Bay Ridge. This newsletter helps to serve that purpose. It contains important information for you and your family, so I ask that you take just a few minutes to look it over.

In these tough economic times, many individuals and families are in need of a little extra help, especially during the holidays. I am committed to helping those in need. That’s why my community office will be collecting donations for multiple charities this holiday season. Now more than ever, we need to band together as a community and help out in any way we can. I encourage everyone to donate an item, because we all have a responsibility to help our community and our fellow neighbors.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to call or e-mail me. You can also stop by my office. My staff and I are always available to help. I look forward to hearing from you.

Assemblywoman Hyer-Spencer put her best foot forward in the Miles for Meals Walkathon

Assemblywoman Hyer-Spencer and her staff took part in the Bay Ridge Community Service Center’s Miles for Meals Walkathon on Sept. 26. She has participated in this event for the past three years to raise funds to help support the program in Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights.

“Home-delivered meals help countless New York seniors maintain their health and avoid hospitalization and nursing home placement,” Assemblywoman Hyer-Spencer said. “Ensuring that homebound residents retain their independence, health and dignity is vital. Having hot, nutritious meals delivered directly to their front door helps homebound seniors achieve those goals.”

For more information on home-delivered meals for seniors, please call the Bay Ridge Community Service Center at (718) 748-0873.

Local student receives real life experience as intern

In January, Jessica Scarcella, a local college student, began her internship with Assemblywoman Hyer-Spencer. At the time, Scarcella was considering a career in nursing. However, after working a few months with Assemblywoman Hyer-Spencer, Scarcella is now considering law school after she graduates.

“This internship showed me how rewarding public service can be,” Scarcella said. “Working with Assemblywoman Hyer-Spencer made me want to give back to the people in my community.”

For information on internship opportunities, call Hyer-Spencer’s community office at (718) 492-2462.

Important college tax information:

The American Opportunity Credit has modified the existing Hope Credit for tax years 2009 and 2010. The credit is now available to a broader range of taxpayers, including those with higher incomes and those who owe no taxes. Many of those eligible will qualify for a maximum annual credit of $2,500 to cover tuition, books and other related school fees.

For more information, please visit www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=205674,00.html.

Fighting for clean water in New York City

After more than a year of community protests and objections from Assemblywoman Hyer-Spencer and Community Board 10 in Bay Ridge, the Chesapeake Energy Corporation announced they would not drill for natural gas near the city’s watershed, which supplies water to nearly nine million people.

“Although Chesapeake Energy said it will not exercise its drilling permit at this time, we need a guarantee that there will be no drilling in the future,” Hyer-Spencer said. “Safe, clean water is a basic need that cannot be compromised.”

As part of her efforts to stop the drilling, Hyer-Spencer sponsored legislation to ban natural gas drilling within two miles of the New York City watershed and impose a two-year moratorium on natural gas drilling in New York State (A.1322). She is also pushing for the complete exclusion of natural gas drilling near the watershed and holding natural gas companies responsible for any environmental damages caused by drilling (A.8748).

“This legislation provides real protections against drilling near our watershed. I will continue working to ‘kill the drill’ to help keep Bay Ridge families safe and healthy,” Hyer-Spencer said.

Assemblywoman Hyer-Spencer honored the winners of the Women’s History Month essay contest she sponsored to commemorate remarkable women in our nation’s history. The first-place winners were Lauren Twomley, a seventh-grader at St. Anselm’s School whose essay centered on Mary Eliza Mahoney, the first African-American registered nurse in the United States, and Mohamed Moustafa, a sixth-grader at I.S. 187 who wrote his essay about former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt.

The second-place winners were Fatima Elmansy, a sixth-grader at I.S. 187 who took suffragist Susan B. Anthony as her subject, and Jenny Yuen, a sixth-grader at I.S. 30 who wrote an essay about the Lowell Mill Girls, textile workers in 19th century Massachusetts who played an integral role in efforts to reform labor policies in our country.

“It is my hope that the essayists have become inspired by the women they chose to write about,” Assemblywoman Hyer-Spencer said. “Learning about all the adversity and tribulations that those women overcame should prove to the students that they can achieve anything and be whatever they dream of being.”

Winners from left to right: Mohamed Moustafa, Assemblywoman Janele Hyer-Spencer, Lauren Twomley, and Jenny Yuen. Not pictured: Fatima Elmansy.

In September, Assemblywoman Hyer-Spencer hosted the first Brooklyn Leaders Reception at the community room in Shore Hill to discuss the measures that she is working on to keep Bay Ridge affordable, safe and healthy. Legislation she has authored includes:

Prohibiting the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority from raising tolls on bridges, like the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, to fund the MTA or New York City Transit Authority (A.3970).
Extending discounted E-ZPasses to CUNY and SUNY students (A.8986).
Freezing state property tax rates in New York City for one year, which was signed into law by Governor Paterson (Ch. 207 of 2009).
Requiring health insurance providers to cover mental illness and chemical dependence (A.4440).
Increasing income limits for the Elderly Pharmaceutical Insurance Coverage (EPIC) program, allowing more seniors to qualify (A.4403).
Banning cell phone towers from being installed within 500 feet of a school in New York City (A.4374).

Assemblywoman Hyer-Spencer also secured $75,000 for the 68th Precinct. She will continue working to ensure our police officers and neighborhoods have the safety resources they need.