Dear Neighbor,

As we look ahead to 2012, I want to bring you up to date on what has been doing in our community during the past 12 months. Economically, 2011 was not a stellar year, but we did pass a balanced, on-time budget that did not rely on tax increases. We also were able to adjust the tax codes in a special session so that New Yorkers will be paying less and next year’s projected budget deficit will be reduced. Legislatively, the Assembly and State Senate passed several pieces of significant legislation including more protections for tenants, ethics reforms for elected officials, same gender marriage, and an expansion of the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) to include rabbinical students.

Looking around our community there is much to be optimistic about, a great deal is happening. This newsletter includes some of the events and issues in which I have been involved.

On January 4th, the Governor will give his State of the State address and the Assembly starts its new session. I have been working on my legislative agenda, but it’s important that I know what you think about the issues, as well as if you have ideas for new legislation. Please don’t hesitate to email, write the old fashioned way, call, or drop by my office. My staff and I are here to help you.

Sincerely,

Assemblyman Cymbrowitz’
Office is Here to Help:

CALL:
718-743-4078

COME IN:
Monday to Thursday:9:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Friday: 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

WRITE:
1800 Sheepshead Bay Road
Brooklyn, NY 11235

E-MAIL:
cymbros@assembly.state.ny.us

Assemblyman Cymbrowitz Awards Summer Readers

Some of the students who took up Assemblyman Cymbrowitz’ Summer Reading Challenge proudly display their Excellence in Reading Certificates.

Studies show that students who read during their summer vacations do better when school resumes in September. To encourage students to not only read, but read more over the summer, Assemblyman Cymbrowitz sponsors a Summer Reading Challenge. Students who read for at least 15 minutes a day, 40 or more days over the summer, received an Excellence in Reading Certificate from Assemblyman Cymbrowitz and had their photo taken with him. Assemblyman Cymbrowitz reports that this year he presented more certificates than ever.

Assemblyman Cymbrowitz’
Office is a “Safe Stop”

Assemblyman Cymbrowitz’ office is now a “Safe Stop.” This program, created by District Attorney Charles J. Hynes, provides the public with a safe place to go if they have any urgency or emergency. Passersby who are lost, experiencing a medical emergency, were a victim of a crime, or are just scared or confused, seeing the octagonal “Safe Stop” window decal would enter the store where the merchant either calls 911 for an emergency or the District Attorney’s office for other matters. Parents should talk to their children about this program. The District Attorney’s office is looking for additional stores to join the program, because the more participating storefronts, the safer our community.

Above is the “Safe Stop” logo that parents should tell their children to look for, on store windows, if they need help.

Assemblyman Cymbrowitz Introduces
Israel’s UN Consul General to Local Turkish Leaders

Ido Aharoni, Israel’s Consul General to the United Nations, is displaying the gift that was presented to him by representatives of New York City’s Turkish community. Pictured with Assemblyman Cymbrowitz are (L-R) Mehmet Kilic, Vice President and Zafir Akin, President of the Turkish Cultural Center New York.

Fully aware of the strained relations between Israel and Turkey, and representing the largest population of Turkish-Americans in New York State, Assemblyman Cymbrowitz arranged a meeting between Zafir A. Akin, President, and Mehmet Kilic, Vice President, of the Turkish Cultural Center New York and Ido Aharoni, Israel’s Consul General to the United Nations. “I realize that negotiations at the very highest diplomatic levels will be necessary to resolve the differences between these former allies, but I wanted to provide Consul General Aharoni with the opportunity of talking directly to the leaders of the Turkish community here in New York City,” Assemblyman Cymbrowitz explained. The Consul General learned of the Turkish Cultural Center’s many programs designed to share their culture with fellow New Yorkers.

Assemblyman Cymbrowitz Presents
Holocaust Contest Winning Schools with Computers

Assemblyman Cymbrowitz presenting a laptop computer to the winning Midwood High School class, during a brief ceremony at which students read some of the moving poems they had entered in his Holocaust Memorial Essay, Poetry, Performance and Art Contest.

“While the Holocaust is taught as part of history, the important lessons that are to be learned from that horrendous period are pertinent today. Unfortunately, hatred and anti-Semitism still exist in America and our community isn’t spared from such incidents, as last November’s anti-Semitic incident on Ocean Parkway showed,” Assemblyman Cymbrowitz explained. The Holocaust Memorial Essay, Poetry, Performance and Art Contest that Assemblyman Cymbrowitz has sponsored for the past 11 years, encourages students to study the Holocaust and express their knowledge and emotions through their entries. The first place schools this year were Yeshiva of Flatbush (elementary division), P.S. 209 (middle school division) and Midwood High School (high school division).

Schools—yeshivas, parochial, public—are now exempt from the MTA payroll surcharge. Non-profit organizations with payrolls under $1.25 million are also exempted. Assemblyman Cymbrowitz was at the forefront of the legislative effort to exempt schools from this burden. “I’m glad the Legislature agreed with me in making things right. We have to properly fund mass transit, but not at the expense of our children’s future. Schools are finding themselves with dwindling resources, and asking them to figure this surcharge into their already tight budgets is unfair. Subway and bus riders should know that they will not suffer because the monies lost due to the exemptions will be made up by allocations from the State’s general fund,” Assemblyman Cymbrowitz stated.

Assemblyman Cymbrowitz Visits Local Schools

Assemblyman Cymbrowitz regularly visits local schools addressing assemblies, talking to individual classes or meeting with parents’ associations. On a recent visit to the Brooklyn Amity School, which moved into a new building this September, students welcomed him with flowers. Here he is pictured with students, parents, and school administrators.

Assemblyman Cymbrowitz Meets with FEMA

Assemblyman Cymbrowitz discussing procedures necessary to apply for grants and low interest loans from the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) with representatives from the agency. While our community was spared the worst of Hurricane Irene, some homes did suffer damage.

Jay Freese, President, and Board Members of the Avenue Z Jewish Center, standing in front of their “clear and free” building, thanking Assemblyman Cymbrowitz for making the City’s bureaucracy realize that their synagogue hasn’t owned the building for many years. That realization saved the synagogue over half a million dollars.

Assemblyman Cymbrowitz came to the rescue of the Avenue Z Jewish Center when they hit a bureaucratic wall in trying to resolve a $560 thousand real estate tax bill that wasn’t theirs. The problem began when they sold a building adjacent to the building in which their sanctuary is located. The two properties were never separated in City records and adding complexities to the problem, all the synagogue leaders involved in the sale have passed away. Assemblyman Cymbrowitz contacted the Department of Finance and explained the situation. After investigating, the Department of Finance agreed that this 51 year old religious institution was not responsible for the real estate tax due on the building it sold.

To help you prevent identity theft, Assemblyman Cymbrowitz has once again scheduled a shredding truck to come to our community to securely destroy any paperwork with sensitive information. The truck will be here Wednesday, April 25th. The time and location will be announced. Assemblyman Cymbrowitz reminds you that, “Anything with your name, address, social security number or an account number should be destroyed to prevent the possibility of identity theft.”

Assemblyman Cymbrowitz Makes Thanksgiving Tastier for Seniors

Our Lady of Grace Senior Center winner proudly displays her prize.

In what has become an annual tradition, Assemblyman Cymbrowitz visited our community’s senior centers conducting “turkey raffles.” He presented two winners at each center with gift cards that may be used to purchase a turkey (or anything else) at Stop and Shop on Avenue Y. “I always look forward to visiting our senior centers, but it’s particularly enjoyable at this time of the year when I am giving away ‘turkeys,’” Cymbrowitz said.

Assemblyman Cymbrowitz Welcomes New Community Board District Manager

Assemblyman Cymbrowitz and his Community Liaison Roslyn Sokol wishing Community Board 14 District Manager Shawn Campbell (R) good luck on her new position.

As an elected official, Assemblyman Cymbrowitz works closely with the community boards in his district to be sure that the residents he represents receive the City services that they deserve. When Community Board 14 named a new district manager, he met with newly appointed Shawn Campbell to discuss issues affecting the northern part of his district, which lies within the borders of her board.

Assemblyman Cymbrowitz with a blood donor. Last summer, 26 community members donated blood at his annual blood drive. Traditionally, blood supplies are low over the summer months. To help, Assemblyman Cymbrowitz will sponsor another blood drive next summer on a date that is still to be determined.

Assemblyman Cymbrowitz being thanked personally by a Menorah Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing Care patient after the official “thank you” ceremony.

Many people would be surprised to know that there is a growing incidence of drug and alcohol abuse in the Jewish community. Something needs to be done. That’s why Assemblyman Cymbrowitz, Chairman of the Assembly’s Committee on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse joined with the Orthodox Union in sponsoring a round table discussion, held at the Young Israel of Midwood, that brought together 30 social workers, doctors, rabbis, and program directors. The experts shared information and discussed what steps need to be taken to deal with the current problem and what must be done to prevent it from growing. “While the symptoms of drug and alcohol abuse in the Jewish community are rarely obvious, lives are being destroyed and this must be addressed to prevent others from becoming statistics. This meeting was just the beginning, however it did result in a call for research, a planned intense parent education effort in target communities, and the development of a listserv of resources,” Cymbrowitz explained.

The New York State Liquor Authority has denied a liquor license to Pleasure Island, a lounge that was to open at 816 Avenue U. A restaurant, previously at this location, with the same name and owners caused problems for the surrounding community all the years that it was open. Neighbors asked Assemblyman Cymbrowitz for assistance in preventing the business from getting a liquor license. He provided testimony at a liquor license hearing and encouraged community members to contact the NYS Liquor Authority. This combined effort resulted in the community’s quality of life being preserved.