NYC

Immigration – Mayor de Blasio, community groups, elected leaders and labor activists rallied hours after the Supreme Court’s tie decision effectively blocked the Obama Administration’s Executive Action on immigration.  220,000 New Yorkers would have immediately benefited had President Obama’s executive action been affirmed. In the words of the Mayor at the City Hall rally, “We are a city of immigrants and proud of it, and we will not accept anyone who demeans immigrants. We won’t give in to the voices of hatred that have come up so strongly in this country this year attacking immigrants. We will remain true to New York values and defend immigrants, defend the rights of those who are here, and one day – one day we’ll make this nation whole with true comprehensive immigration reform.” Mayor de Blasio had previously joined over 100 mayors in signing on to an amicus brief in favor of Obama’s executive action. 

Zika Day of Action –In a coordinated effort to spread awareness about the Zika virus, the City engaged New Yorkers across the five boroughs by deploying dozens of outreach teams from the Health Department, the Mayor’s Community Assistance Unit, New York City Emergency Management (NYCEM) and the Medical Reserve Corps to visit 20 subway transit hubs at peak travel hours between 7AM – 10 AM to hand-deliver 40,000 educational materials on mosquito prevention and Zika testing information. The teams targeted communities with close ties to Zika-affected countries.

Child Care Connect –The Health Department announced that it will post lead water test results for day care programs on Child Care Connect – the City’s directory of licensed day care programs that was launched last year to help parents make informed decisions about child care settings. This follows a proposal earlier this month to the Board of Health to require childcare operators to test for lead in water every five years – an upgrade from the current once-only requirement – matching the protocol recently adopted by City schools. This action mirrors the Department of Education’s recent water test of every school in the five boroughs.

City’s Arts Groups Speak Up For Gun Violence Awareness Month – The Department of Cultural Affairs, in collaboration with Council Member Laurie Cumbo, engaged arts groups to speak out against gun violence in our communities by participating in the #NYCArtsGoOrange campaign during New York’s observation of Gun Violence Awareness Month in June. Dozens of cultural organizations responded, including Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, whose image of an open grave with the message “Less Business is Fine With Us” was widely shared on Facebook.