Saturday, December 30, 2017
Erica Garner, Activist Daughter of Eric Garner, Dies at 27 After Coma
Erica Garner, who became an activist for
police reform after her father's words of "I can't breathe" were used as
a rallying cry for a movement, died Saturday after being in a coma for
several days, according to a statement posted to her official Twitter
account. She was 27.
Garner, the oldest daughter of Eric Garner,
had been hospitalized at a Brooklyn, New York, hospital since going into
cardiac arrest a week prior, her family said.
Her mother, Esaw Snipes-Garner, told the New York Daily News
that the medical emergency was triggered by an asthma attack. Garner
had suffered an earlier heart attack after giving birth to her son in
August, Snipes-Garner said. Her heart was later found to be enlarged.
"Erica the world loves you. I love you. I am
glad you came into our lives," the family said in a tweet. "May you find
the peace in the next life that you deserved while you were here."
Click here for the full article.
On December 9, 2014, The G-Man Interviews met with Ms. Gwen Carr, Erica Garner, and Lisha Flagg Garner, the mother, daughter and sister of the man who’s become a national symbol in the battle for police department reform and justice. His cousins, Bishop Kareem Evans, Desire McCoy and Benjamin Lawton, were also interviewed.
The family discussed the grand jury verdict, comments made by high-profile officials that they view as disrespectful and offensive, and the national and global support they’ve received prior to and after the controversial grand jury decision was announced.
Friday, December 29, 2017
Clothing Drive to Be Held for Victims of Deadly Bronx Fire
Click on the flier to increase its size.
Source: The Office of New York State Assemblyman Michael Blake
Trump Terminated All Members of HIV/AIDS Council Without Explanation
The remaining 16 members of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS were fired on Wednesday.
The
White House has fired the members of the Presidential Advisory Council
on HIV/AIDS (PACHA), the council’s executive director, Kay Hayes,
confirmed to HuffPost on Friday.
The council, which still had 16 members, was then completely decimated with a letter sent through FedEx on Wednesday, the Washington Blade first reported.
“Current
members of Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA) received a
letter informing them that the Administration was terminating their
appointments” on Dec. 27, 2017, Hayes told HuffPost in a statement sent
via email.
“They
were also thanked for their leadership, dedication and commitment to
the effort. Changing the makeup of federal advisory committee members is
a common occurrence during Administration changes,” the statement read.
Click here for the full article.
Since Eric Garner's Death, Not One NYPD Officer Has Received Implicit Bias Training, Despite What the Mayor Says
By
It has been three years since the NYPD announced it would train its
police force on implicit bias—a decision the department came to after
one of its officers killed Eric Garner with a chokehold, a technique the
department had banned—but not one officer has received such training to
date.
Mayor Bill de Blasio and the NYPD announced it would
retrain a significant portion of its police force in December 2014 after
a grand jury declined to indict police officer Daniel Pantaleo, who is
white, for choking Garner, a black man, to death using the banned
technique that summer.
On Thursday, the NYPD’s first deputy commissioner, Benjamin Tucker,
said that no NYPD officer has received implicit bias training since
Garner death in 2014.
“We are in the process of beginning the
implicit bias training,” said Tucker, sitting alongside Mayor Bill de
Blasio, police commissioner James O’Neill and other senior officials in
the department at a press briefing at police headquarters.
De
Blasio, however, has repeatedly touted the implicit bias course as one
of his progressive administration’s and the department’s successes.
Click here for the full article.
Source: Newsweek
Support Grows for Brain-Damaged Activist Erica Garner
Rights groups, artists and politicians have rallied
around Erica Garner, an activist and writer whose father's death at the
hands of police ignited huge protests, as she fights for her life in hospital.
The 27-year-old daughter of Eric Garner, the New
Yorker victim of a police chokehold in July 2014, was hospitalised on
December 24 after suffering a major heart attack.
She went into a coma and on December 27; a member
of her team said that she had suffered "major brain damage from a lack
of oxygen while in cardiac arrest".
Sending messages from Erica's Twitter account, the team member asked her 38,000 followers to pray for her health.
Thousands of people have sent in their well wishes, including
Democratic politician Bernie Sanders, rapper Common, actress Rosario
Dawson, anti-racism activists DeRay Mckesson and Shaun King, NGOs the American Civil Liberties Union and Color of Change, and civil rights advocate Al Sharpton.
Click here for the full article.
Source: Al Jazeera News
Trailblazers in Black History: Dr. Inez Beverly Prosser
This video was published on YouTube on August 25, 2017.
Source: FilmsByAndy
'Flashback Friday': The History of New Year's Eve In Times Square
This video was published on YouTube on December 31, 2013.
Source: TheLazyCowOnUTube
Recy Taylor, Alabama Woman Raped by Six White Men, Dies at 97
Recy Taylor, circa 1944.
by Erica Ayisi
This report was published on December 28.
Recy Taylor, an African-American woman from
Abbeville, Alabama, whose abduction and rape by six white men in 1944
made national headlines, died Thursday morning, her brother Robert
Corbitt told NBC News.
She would have turned 98 on Sunday.
Corbitt said she passed peacefully in a nursing home in Abbeville.
“[She
was] a brave woman and a fighter who tried her best to get it known all
over the world,” he said during a phone interview from Alabama.
Taylor recently made headlines again as the film “The Rape of Recy Taylor” made its North America debut at the New York Film Festival this fall.
The
film chronicles Taylor, who was 24 at the time, walking home from a
church service on a September summer evening in 1944, when she was
kidnapped, gang raped, and left blindfolded on the side of a road by six
white men. According to reports, the men were armed and threatened to
kill her if she told anyone about the attack. The young, married mother
did tell authorities, however, in the height of the Jim Crow Era.
Click here for the full article.
Source: NBC News
Top 10 Political Moments of 2017
From
West Wing exits to Republican infighting, NBC’s Peter Alexander takes a
look back at the top ten political happenings of the year.
Court Rules Against Oregon Bakers Who Refused to Make Gay Wedding Cake
by John Paul Brammer
The Oregon Court of Appeals on Thursday upheld a
$135,000 fine against two Christian bakers who refused to make a wedding
cake for a same-sex couple.
The case began
back in January 2013, when Aaron and Melissa Klein, owners of the
since-closed Sweet Cakes by Melissa bakery just outside Portland,
Oregon, cited their religious beliefs when declining to make a wedding
cake for Rachel and Laurel Bowman-Cryer.
Following
the incident, the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries found the
Kleins in violation of a 2007 state law that protects the rights of
LGBTQ people in employment, housing and public accommodations.
Click here for the full article.
Source: NBC News
Key Races for Control of the House as Democrats Take Slight Edge Into 2018
News analysis
WASHINGTON — Democrats ended 2016 dejected and
despondent after Donald Trump shocked Hillary Clinton — and the world —
by a tiny combined margin of 77,744 votes in Michigan, Pennsylvania and
Wisconsin to win the presidency.
A year later, Democrats are ending 2017 as the
slight favorites to take back the House in the midterm elections,
thanks to a surge of grassroots anti-Trump activism and an explosion of
credible Democratic candidates.
It's an extraordinary turn.
Click here for the full article.
Dangerously Cold Weather is Enveloping More Than Half of the US
This report was broadcast on December 28.
How President Trump's Legislative Accomplishments Stack Up
This report was broadcast on December 28.
Source: CBS News
NYPD Cops Suspended for Ignoring Order, Brooklyn Mother Was Later Found Dead
By Esha Ray Chelsea Rose Marcus, Rocco Parascandola, Thomas Tracy and Rich Schapiro
The NYPD has suspended two cops for failing to respond to a harrowing
911 call from a Brooklyn mother’s home an hour before she was found
dead, police said Thursday.
“He’s going to kill me,” a caller told 911 the victim, Tonie Wells, was screaming, sources said.
The officers — identified as Wing Hong Lau and Wael Jaber — responded
to the scene, but apparently never got out of their car outside Wells’
Crown Heights home.
“It’s messed up,” said family friend Victor Brown, 21. “If they would
have done something ahead of time, this wouldn’t have happened.”
Click here for the full article.
Source: The New York Daily News (via The Empire Report)
NY Minimum Wage to Increase Dec. 31
By Robert Harding
Another minimum wage hike will be coming for New York workers Sunday.
Beginning
Dec. 31, the minimum wage for workers at large New York City companies
with at least 11 employees will rise from $11 to $13 an hour. For
employees at small firms with 10 employees or less, the minimum wage
will be $12 an hour, up from $10.50.
Click here for the full article.
Source: auburnpub.com (via The Empire Report)
Thursday, December 28, 2017
Bitcoin is Becoming the Currency of Choice for Racists
After being bounced from traditional online fundraising and payment
platforms, the “alt-right” and other racists are turning to bitcoin to
help fund their activities.
Bitcoins can be used to purchase all manner
of goods as well as to make donations to “alt-right” figures such as
Andrew Anglin. Bitcoin purchases, however, can be traced.
The Southern Poverty Law Center will
release a list of 200 accounts tied to white nationalists and racists in
the coming week.
Click here for the full article.
Source: The Southern Poverty Law Center
Black Men, Black Power: Paul Robeson's Testimony Before the House Committee on Un-American Activities
June 12, 1956
This is an reenactment of the historic and powerful battle between Robeson and the committee. Roberson is portrayed by acting legend James Earl Jones.
Source: Malcolm X Movement
African Americans and the Great Depression
This video was published on October 21, 2015.
Source: Brian Ham
The New Mississippi Civil Rights Museum Refuses to Sugarcoat History
Click on the photo to increase its size.
JACKSON,
Miss. — The last time I visited this Southern city was in June 1964,
Mississippi Freedom summer, when Northern college kids were traveling
south to register voters, though that wasn’t why I was here. A high
school sophomore, AWOL from home, I was on a cross-country bus trip from
Boston, and Jackson was one of the stops. I wanted to meet Eudora
Welty, who I knew lived there and whose early, playful stories I loved.
My plan was to call from a pay phone, then drop by her house to say hi.
Welty’s
writing, wry and linguistically zany, was the only version of “South” I
knew, and it made me eager to go there. But by the time I reached
Jackson, I was feeling uneasy. I’d seen “colored entrance” signs on
public buildings and falling-down sharecropper shacks along the road.
I’d also heard rumors that three civil rights workers had mysteriously
disappeared. I hoped a meeting with Welty might be reassuring. But when I
couldn’t find her in the phone book, and no one I asked knew her name, I
caught another bus and moved on.
Politically, at this stage in my life, I was out of touch, insulated by
privilege, aware only in a muffled way — through reading, mostly — of
the racism that saturated American life. The trip started to change
that. It triggered alarms that have never shut off. And I heard them
loud and clear when I returned to Jackson to see the new Mississippi Civil Rights Museum that recently opened here.
Click here for the full article.
Source: The New York Times
Trailblazers in Black History: Billy Dee Williams
This video was published on YouTube on December 14, 2015.
Source: Pop Goes the Culture TV
Saving Our Youth: 'Identity' (Gang Prevention Program)
This video was published on YouTube on May 24, 2016.
Each year, Identity assists more than 3,000
in-school and out-of-school youth and their families who live in
high-poverty areas of Montgomery County and who are most at-risk for
poor academic and economic life outcomes.
The organization empowers Latino youth to reach their highest potential and work towards successful transition into adulthood.
Source: Identity
Here’s What’s Next for Obamacare
It’s not true that Obamacare has essentially been repealed, as President
Trump tweeted. NBC News’ Hallie Jackson explains why ending the
individual mandate is a blow to the ACA, but not a death sentence.
Eric Garner's Daughter Erica Declared Brain Dead After Heart Attack
By Christina Carrega and Thomas Tracy
Doctors have listed the daughter of police chokehold victim Eric Garner as brain dead with no chance of recovery — five days after the mother of two suffered a massive heart attack.
Family
members were being called early Thursday to Woodhull Hospital in
Brooklyn to say final goodbyes to Erica Garner, who became an outspoken
critic of police brutality after her father’s death in 2014.
The 27-year-old firebrand remained on life support Thursday morning, said her mother, Esaw Snipes.
“She’s not gone; she’s brain dead,” Snipes said. “Physically she is still with us.”
Click here for the full article.
Source: The Los Angeles Times
Efforts Underway to Enhance Security for New Year's Eve Celebrations
Additional security measures are being put into place ahead of New Year's Eve to enhance protection of more than 1 million visitors who flock to New York City each year to celebrate. At the Governor's direction, the State Emergency Operations Center will be activated on New Year's Eve and state agencies, including the New York State Police, National Guard, the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey are increasing security at high-profile locations in New York City, including airports, bridges, tunnels, and mass transit systems. These measures are all precautionary.
"Our freedoms and our diversity are great sources of pride for New Yorkers, they have also made us targets for those who seek to disrupt our way of life," Governor Cuomo said. "With millions of people set to descend on New York City for New Year's Eve, I have directed our security agencies to enhance their efforts out of an abundance of caution to help ensure the safety of all those celebrating."
State Police & National Guard
The New York State Police have been on a heightened state of alert since before the start of the holiday season, and will continue to have an increased presence at critical state infrastructure and transportation facilities. At the Governor's direction, the State Police is doubling the number of Troopers working at posts throughout the city, including at JFK and LaGuardia airports. This deployment includes additional canine teams, and members of the Bomb Disposal and Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Units. The National Guard will also deploy additional resources and increase surveillance of critical infrastructure including transportation hubs.
Division of Homeland Security & Emergency Services
The New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services has been in contact with key local public safety officials in New York City including NYPD, Port Authority, and MTA. The New York State Emergency Operations Center will activate to Level 4, enhanced monitoring from 6 p.m. on New Year's Eve until 2 a.m. New Year's Day. The Division remains in a state of readiness and prepared to disseminate information to our public safety partners statewide as necessary.
Port Authority of New York & New Jersey
The Port Authority has significantly increased its presence at all of the agency's bridge, tunnel, rail, bus terminals, World Trade, airports and other facilities following a recent attack. The Port Authority has also significantly increased the numbers of police officers, including long gun-carrying police officers, and deployed special tactical teams. Actions include increased patrols and checks of bags, buses, trucks and trains at agency locations.
Metropolitan Transportation Authority
"Our freedoms and our diversity are great sources of pride for New Yorkers, they have also made us targets for those who seek to disrupt our way of life," Governor Cuomo said. "With millions of people set to descend on New York City for New Year's Eve, I have directed our security agencies to enhance their efforts out of an abundance of caution to help ensure the safety of all those celebrating."
State Police & National Guard
The New York State Police have been on a heightened state of alert since before the start of the holiday season, and will continue to have an increased presence at critical state infrastructure and transportation facilities. At the Governor's direction, the State Police is doubling the number of Troopers working at posts throughout the city, including at JFK and LaGuardia airports. This deployment includes additional canine teams, and members of the Bomb Disposal and Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Units. The National Guard will also deploy additional resources and increase surveillance of critical infrastructure including transportation hubs.
Division of Homeland Security & Emergency Services
The New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services has been in contact with key local public safety officials in New York City including NYPD, Port Authority, and MTA. The New York State Emergency Operations Center will activate to Level 4, enhanced monitoring from 6 p.m. on New Year's Eve until 2 a.m. New Year's Day. The Division remains in a state of readiness and prepared to disseminate information to our public safety partners statewide as necessary.
Port Authority of New York & New Jersey
The Port Authority has significantly increased its presence at all of the agency's bridge, tunnel, rail, bus terminals, World Trade, airports and other facilities following a recent attack. The Port Authority has also significantly increased the numbers of police officers, including long gun-carrying police officers, and deployed special tactical teams. Actions include increased patrols and checks of bags, buses, trucks and trains at agency locations.
Metropolitan Transportation Authority
The MTA has also increased their patrols and surveillance in order to provide heightened protection at major rail hubs. The MTA Police Department has stepped up its uniformed and plainclothes presence in Penn Station and Grand Central Terminal as well as other major stations throughout the Metro-North Railroad and Long Island Rail Road network. Police canine teams and units with heavy weapons will provide extra protection as well as a noticeable sign of increased security. Railroad customers will also see surge patrols, increased step-on/step-off patrols of trains, and random bag checks at various locations.
Behind the scenes, the MTA Police Department, MTA New York City Transit security and MTA Bridges and Tunnels Officers share intelligence information and coordinate their threat response with other police and security agencies to ensure a seamless web of protection throughout the region.
New York State Police and the New York National Guard members have been assigned to high-profile MTA locations for more than a year, and they are helping secure these locations as well as reassuring the public that the authorities are dedicated to ensuring their safety. The MTA closely monitors large public events that occur in or near its facilities and will provide heightened awareness of activities there.
The MTA works closely with the NYPD to secure New York's subways and buses, and MTA Bridges and Tunnels Officers are using a mix of visual and technological surveillance to ensure safety at its seven bridges and two tunnels in New York City.
"If You See Something, Say Something"
New Yorkers are reminded to stay alert to their surroundings, and to report any suspicious activity. Reports can be made to the Counter Terrorism Center at the New York State Intelligence Center via its terrorism tip line: 1-866-SAFENYS (1-866-723-3697); or by email: ctcenter@nysic.ny.gov.
New Yorkers can also download the See Something, Send Something app on your smartphone to inform authorities of a potential threat. Click here for more information.
Source: Press Office, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo
Behind the scenes, the MTA Police Department, MTA New York City Transit security and MTA Bridges and Tunnels Officers share intelligence information and coordinate their threat response with other police and security agencies to ensure a seamless web of protection throughout the region.
New York State Police and the New York National Guard members have been assigned to high-profile MTA locations for more than a year, and they are helping secure these locations as well as reassuring the public that the authorities are dedicated to ensuring their safety. The MTA closely monitors large public events that occur in or near its facilities and will provide heightened awareness of activities there.
The MTA works closely with the NYPD to secure New York's subways and buses, and MTA Bridges and Tunnels Officers are using a mix of visual and technological surveillance to ensure safety at its seven bridges and two tunnels in New York City.
"If You See Something, Say Something"
New Yorkers are reminded to stay alert to their surroundings, and to report any suspicious activity. Reports can be made to the Counter Terrorism Center at the New York State Intelligence Center via its terrorism tip line: 1-866-SAFENYS (1-866-723-3697); or by email: ctcenter@nysic.ny.gov.
New Yorkers can also download the See Something, Send Something app on your smartphone to inform authorities of a potential threat. Click here for more information.
Source: Press Office, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo
Mayor de Blasio to Meet Privately with NYCHA Leaders...
By Greg B. Smith
Mayor de Blasio was meeting behind closed doors with public housing
tenant leaders Wednesday as more questions arose about NYCHA's scrambled
effort to remedy its lead paint inspection crisis.
Tenant leaders in Throggs Neck Houses in the Bronx told the Daily News
NYCHA has found lead in 78 apartments in the last few weeks but did not
inform the tenants who live in these apartments about the findings.
"There has been no transparency from day one," said Monique Johnson,
president of the Throggs Neck Residents Council. "I have absolutely no
faith in this agency at all."
Click here for the full article.
Source: The New York Daily News (via The Empire Report)
ICE Field Director Defends Stepped-Up Enforcement
By Wendy Liberatore
When it comes to being arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement,
there is no difference between a violent felon and an undocumented
worker with a traffic ticket.
If you are in the United States without the proper papers, you are
subject to deportation, Tom Feeley, the upstate New York field office
director of ICE, said Wednesday.
"We were ordered not to fully enforce the law under the
previous administration," said Feeley, who is based in Buffalo, said.
"Under President Trump, we are enforcing the law the way Congress wrote
it. If it's a heinous crime, like a Columbian drug lord who was a cartel
member who we just deported or a rapist, a murderer, a pedophile or
somebody who is here illegally, we are going to enforce the law. We make
no apology for that."
Click here for the full article.
Source: timesunion.com (via The Empire Report)
NYC Weather: Freezing Temps Prompt Code Blue Alert for Homeless
By Lisa L. Colangelo
The city won't see temperatures above freezing for at least the next week, the National Weather Service said.
There's a high of 21 degrees on Thursday, with a low of 12 degrees overnight. Friday's high is expected to be around 23 degrees and it will be slightly warmer Saturday with a high of 27 degrees, the weather agency said.
There's also a 50 percent chance of snow on Saturday, according to the NWS.
Temperatures will be in the teens or 20s for the next 10 days, meteorologists predict.
Click here for the full article.
Source: amNEWYORK (via The Empire Report)
New York State Participates in Firstnet First Responder Network
New York will join the FirstNet First Responder Network - a nationwide,
high speed, wireless broadband network that was created exclusively for
first responders and the public safety community. The network, which was
created through a public-private partnership between AT&T and the
federal government, will put advanced technology, and devices into the
hands of first responders to give them the tools they need to better
communicate and share information in emergency situations.
"During emergencies and disasters, every second counts, and ensuring our first responders have the tools they need during a crisis is vital to the safety and security of all New Yorkers," Governor Cuomo said. "The entire state, from the Great Lakes to the most remote areas of the Adirondacks to New York City, must have seamless communication for our public safety community so that they can get more information quickly, make better informed decisions, and save lives."
FirstNet, an independent authority within the U.S. Department of Commerce was born out of a recommendation from the 9/11 Commission to enhance communications used by fire, police and EMS to develop, build and operate the first nationwide, broadband network that modernizes communications used by the public safety community. Since that time, the FirstNet-AT&T partnership worked with New York public safety officials to design an implementation plan for New York.
The final, accepted plan states that AT&T will build, operate and maintain the highly secure wireless broadband communications network at no cost to the state. It was also designed to address the state's unique communications needs, including:
Expanding coverage in rural areas such as the Adirondacks, in urban areas such as in buildings and the subway system and along waterways such as the Great Lakes and Long Island Sound
Improving interoperability to support better coordination with border states and Canada
Making the cost of services and devices more affordable for smaller communities.
Specifically, the network will transform the way New York's fire, police, EMS and other public safety personnel communicate and share information by:
Connecting first responders to the critical information they need in a highly secure manner when handling day-to-day operations, responding to emergencies and supporting large events like New York City's New Year's Eve celebration which attracts over 1 million spectators to Times Square, the New York City Marathon that attracts over 50,000 runners and nearly 2.5 million spectators each year, and the Great New York State Fair which welcomed over 1 million fairgoers in 2017.
Creating an efficient means of communication for public safety personnel in agencies and jurisdictions across the state during natural disasters and emergencies.
Enhancing network coverage across New York's diverse landscape, benefitting first responders and residents throughout the state's densely populated metro areas to rural areas and tribal lands.
Providing first responders with access to dedicated network assets that can be deployed for additional coverage and support when needed.
Driving infrastructure investments and create jobs across the state.
Ushering in a new wave of dependable innovations for first responders. This will create an ever-evolving set of life-saving tools for public safety, including public safety apps, specialized devices and Internet of Things technologies. It also carries the potential for future integration with NextGen 911 networks and Smart Cities' infrastructure.
Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services Commissioner Roger L. Parrino, Sr. said, "It is important to recognize that our first responders need reliable tools to complete their mission at all times and this is especially true when communicating important information with our local, state and federal partners during a disaster or emergency. I look forward to the completion of the nationwide public safety broadband network and its ability to provide dedicated access to the first responder community when it is needed most."
First Responder Network Authority CEO Mike Poth said, "It is especially meaningful to welcome New York into FirstNet as it was a recommendation of the 9/11 Commission that led to our very creation. Governor Cuomo's decision will bring expanded and enhanced communications capabilities to the great state of New York. From giving public safety in New York City dedicated spectrum to bringing a reliable, high speed wireless connection to rural and remote areas of the state, FirstNet will improve connectivity and foster innovation for law enforcement, fire, and EMS."
"This is a special day for the brave men and women that serve New York. And I applaud Governor Cuomo for his leadership and commitment to public safety," said Marissa Shorenstein, president, Northeast Region, AT&T. "Opting in to FirstNet will put New York's first responders on the cutting-edge of innovative communications, helping them operate faster, safer and more effectively when lives are on the line. We're honored to bring this life-saving solution to the state."
By opting in to FirstNet, fire, police, EMS and other public safety workers subscribing to the service will have dedicated access to the information they need, 24/7/365, when and where they need it.
For more information on FirstNet, click here. For more about the value FirstNet will bring to public safety, click here.
Source: Press Office, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo
"During emergencies and disasters, every second counts, and ensuring our first responders have the tools they need during a crisis is vital to the safety and security of all New Yorkers," Governor Cuomo said. "The entire state, from the Great Lakes to the most remote areas of the Adirondacks to New York City, must have seamless communication for our public safety community so that they can get more information quickly, make better informed decisions, and save lives."
FirstNet, an independent authority within the U.S. Department of Commerce was born out of a recommendation from the 9/11 Commission to enhance communications used by fire, police and EMS to develop, build and operate the first nationwide, broadband network that modernizes communications used by the public safety community. Since that time, the FirstNet-AT&T partnership worked with New York public safety officials to design an implementation plan for New York.
The final, accepted plan states that AT&T will build, operate and maintain the highly secure wireless broadband communications network at no cost to the state. It was also designed to address the state's unique communications needs, including:
Expanding coverage in rural areas such as the Adirondacks, in urban areas such as in buildings and the subway system and along waterways such as the Great Lakes and Long Island Sound
Improving interoperability to support better coordination with border states and Canada
Making the cost of services and devices more affordable for smaller communities.
Specifically, the network will transform the way New York's fire, police, EMS and other public safety personnel communicate and share information by:
Connecting first responders to the critical information they need in a highly secure manner when handling day-to-day operations, responding to emergencies and supporting large events like New York City's New Year's Eve celebration which attracts over 1 million spectators to Times Square, the New York City Marathon that attracts over 50,000 runners and nearly 2.5 million spectators each year, and the Great New York State Fair which welcomed over 1 million fairgoers in 2017.
Creating an efficient means of communication for public safety personnel in agencies and jurisdictions across the state during natural disasters and emergencies.
Enhancing network coverage across New York's diverse landscape, benefitting first responders and residents throughout the state's densely populated metro areas to rural areas and tribal lands.
Providing first responders with access to dedicated network assets that can be deployed for additional coverage and support when needed.
Driving infrastructure investments and create jobs across the state.
Ushering in a new wave of dependable innovations for first responders. This will create an ever-evolving set of life-saving tools for public safety, including public safety apps, specialized devices and Internet of Things technologies. It also carries the potential for future integration with NextGen 911 networks and Smart Cities' infrastructure.
Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services Commissioner Roger L. Parrino, Sr. said, "It is important to recognize that our first responders need reliable tools to complete their mission at all times and this is especially true when communicating important information with our local, state and federal partners during a disaster or emergency. I look forward to the completion of the nationwide public safety broadband network and its ability to provide dedicated access to the first responder community when it is needed most."
First Responder Network Authority CEO Mike Poth said, "It is especially meaningful to welcome New York into FirstNet as it was a recommendation of the 9/11 Commission that led to our very creation. Governor Cuomo's decision will bring expanded and enhanced communications capabilities to the great state of New York. From giving public safety in New York City dedicated spectrum to bringing a reliable, high speed wireless connection to rural and remote areas of the state, FirstNet will improve connectivity and foster innovation for law enforcement, fire, and EMS."
"This is a special day for the brave men and women that serve New York. And I applaud Governor Cuomo for his leadership and commitment to public safety," said Marissa Shorenstein, president, Northeast Region, AT&T. "Opting in to FirstNet will put New York's first responders on the cutting-edge of innovative communications, helping them operate faster, safer and more effectively when lives are on the line. We're honored to bring this life-saving solution to the state."
By opting in to FirstNet, fire, police, EMS and other public safety workers subscribing to the service will have dedicated access to the information they need, 24/7/365, when and where they need it.
For more information on FirstNet, click here. For more about the value FirstNet will bring to public safety, click here.
Source: Press Office, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo
The Long Rise and Fast Fall of New York’s Black Mafia
'You can’t become known as a gangster. Once you’re known you’re finished. The old-timers understood that.’
By C.J. Sullivan
In 1974, it looked like the Godfather model was fading amid
indictments and hits on its leaders and as middle-class white residents
poured out of America’s inner cities.
That was when Francis A.J. Ianni published Black Mafia: Ethnic Succession in Organized Crime, expanding on the idea at the end of A Family Business,
his anthropological study of a Mafia family two years earlier, that it
was a natural progression in the order of crime that the Italians “must
weaken and give way to the next wave of aspiring ethnics, just as the
Jews and Irish did before them.”
Legendary New York journalist
Pete Hamill blurbed the book, calling it “nothing less than a major
ethnic succession to power, as Italian-Americans and the remaining
pockets of non-Italians give way to the new rulers of the Mob… It is no
accident, of course, that now that Blacks are beginning to run numbers,
we are hearing more calls for legalization…”
I asked Hamill this
year whatever happened to the Black Mafia. He laughed: “Well, I guess I
didn’t see the Colombian and Russian mobs coming.”
Click here for the full article.
Source: The Daily Beast
Wednesday, December 27, 2017
Update on Erica Garner's Condition
The following statement was posted on Erica Garner's Twitter account earlier this afternoon.
"As of now, there are no updates on Erica's condition. She is still in a
medically-induced coma. Doctors will continue to monitor her over the
next few days. We appreciate your individual and collective prayers.
You can hold off on monetary donations at the moment."
From The G-Man is communicating with a member of the Garner family via Facebook and will provide additional information as soon as possible.
"G-Man"
How Hospitals Are Failing Black Mothers
ProPublica analysis shows that women who deliver at hospitals that disproportionately serve black mothers are at a higher risk of harm.
by Annie Waldman
by Annie Waldman
NEW YORK — When Dacheca Fleurimond decided to give birth at SUNY
Downstate Medical Center earlier this year, her sister tried to talk her
out of it.
Her sister had recently delivered at a better-rated hospital in
Brooklyn’s gentrified Park Slope neighborhood and urged Fleurimond, a
33-year-old home health aide, to do the same.
But Fleurimond had given birth to all five of her other children at
the state-run SUNY Downstate and never had a bad experience. She and her
family had lived steps away from the hospital in East Flatbush when
they emigrated from Haiti years ago. She knew the nurses at SUNY
Downstate, she told her sister. She felt comfortable there.
She didn’t know then how much rode on her decision, or how fraught with risk her delivery would turn out to be.
It’s been long-established that black women like Fleurimond fare worse in pregnancy and childbirth, dying at a rate more than triple
that of white mothers. And while part of the disparity can be
attributed to factors like poverty and inadequate access to health care,
there is growing evidence that points to the quality of care at
hospitals where a disproportionate number of black women deliver, which
are often in neighborhoods disadvantaged by segregation.
Researchers have found that women who deliver at these so-called “black-serving” hospitals are more likely
to have serious complications — from infections to birth-related
embolisms to emergency hysterectomies — than mothers who deliver at
institutions that serve fewer black women.
Click here for the full article.
Source: ProPublica
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