Queens Lawmakers On The Move April 8, 2019

Schumer Pushes Plan For NY’s Fentanyl Firewall

U.S. Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) yesterday pushed a plan to beef-up New York’s fentanyl firewall: JFK airport and the local post offices it supplies.

Specifically, Schumer wants New York to receive at least 30% of a $16 million dollar just-proposed by the administration fund (page 23) to enhance opioid detection equipment and safeguards across the country.

“As the biggest International mail processing facility in the Nation, JFK should be New York’s fentanyl firewall and filter out illicit fentanyl and other opioids at our local post offices. We need to both beef it up and make sure it has the real-time tools to meet everyday demands,” said Schumer. “We know China’s opioid assembly line to New York and Long Island starts at JFK, but it can end there, too, and that is what tough sanctions accompanied by new fed funds can help us deliver: a wrench to China’s opioid supply chain.”

 

Schumer explained that the funds would help increase and upgrade detection equipment at JFK, including hand-held devices and other x-ray-esque technology that identifies opioids well-packed and disguised to look like everyday packages, like new shoes.

Donovan Looks At Banning Probation Department Form Doing Drug Tests On Marijuana

City Council Member Donovan Richards (D-Arverne, Brookville, Edgemere, Far Rockaway, Laurelton, Rosedale, Springfield Gardens), chair of the Committee On Public Safety, today will have the committee look at a proposed local law that would ban the Department of Probation from conducting drug tests for marijuana.

Richards is the prime sponsor of the measure and the proposed law has already been heard before several other committees. It comes as the state legislature is taking up legislation to possible legalize marijuana for recreational use.

The hearing, which is open to the public, is slated for 11 a.m. at City Hall in Lower Manhattan.

Liu Gets CACAGNY Applause for Calling Out SHSAT Changes as Racist

State Sen. John Liu (D-Bayside, College Point, Flushing) on Friday received The Chinese American Citizens Alliance of Greater New York (CACAGNY) applause for the lawmaker’s recent statements with the press and in public meetings that Mayor de Blasio and Schools Chancellor Carranza‘s plan to change the admissions to the Specialized High Schools is racist.

In an April 3 video from Sinovision Liu said, “The mayor and the chancellor excluded the entire Asian community from the process, and my position, and my conclusion from that, was that the plan that the mayor announced last year was a racist plan, it’s racist because it deliberately excluded the entire Asian community and because it’s racist, we cannot use that as the starting point of any kind of discussion.”

CACAGNY has long opposed the divisive planned changes as racist against Asians and long supported keeping the unbiased, single SHSAT (Specialized High School Admission Test)  admissions criterion to the Specialized High Schools, while improving enhanced academic preparation K-8 for all students, of all races and ethnicities, throughout the city.