Historic Investment in Preschool Special-Education Support: Mayor Adams announced an expansion of early childhood education special-education seats across the five boroughs, in partnership with community-based providers, that will provide an early childhood education special-education seat for every child living with a disability by the spring of 2023. Previously, early childhood seats for children living with disabilities were few and limited, and their educators were paid less than their general education peers. The Mayor is expanding the number of seats reserved for students living with disabilities across early childhood education as well as increasing pay for educators and providers.
Preliminary Design Concepts for Re-Envisioned BQE Central: Mayor Eric Adams marked a new phase in his effort to accelerate a long-term fix and redesign for the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (BQE), unveiling preliminary design concepts for a re-envisioned BQE Central, the city-owned section of the BQE from Atlantic Avenue to Sands Street. The concepts offer a modernized, resilient structure with significant public space upgrades for community members and visitors as well as safety upgrades for pedestrians, drivers, and cyclists. The design concepts and an abbreviated version of the presentation given at tonights public meeting are available online.
Community Driven "NYC Speaks Action Plan” Released: Mayor Adams released the “NYC Speaks Action Plan” — created in partnership with civic and community leaders — outlining policy goals for five issue areas that are priorities for New Yorkers: Housing and public safety, youth mental health, community spaces, jobs in high-growth sectors, and civic engagement. NYC Speaks is a public-private partnership led by Deputy Mayor for Strategic Initiatives Sheena Wright, working alongside various philanthropic partners, community leaders, and civic institutions to inform the priorities and policies of the Adams administration.
"Making New York Work for Everyone" Action Plan Released: Mayor Adams and New York Governor Kathy Hochul today released "'New' New York: Making New York Work for Everyone," set of 40 proposals intended to make New York City the best place to work and serve as a roadmap for the city's future. The New New York panel was launched in May 2022. The broad and diverse panel of civic leaders and industry experts worked for six months to generate recommendations for the city and state – at a time of historic alignment between the two – to partner with each other and across sectors to reimagine a "New" New York that propels the city and the region forward for its next chapter of equitable, inclusive growth.
More Than $58 Million in Grants Awarded to Over 1,000 Nonprofits: Mayor Adams announced over $58 million in Cultural Development Fund (CDF) grants to 1,070 cultural organizations across the five boroughs. This year’s process introduced a series of equity reforms dedicated to identifying and reducing biases in DCLA’s grantmaking process, and saw the return of the competitive, peer-panel review process for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. With a record investment from the Adams administration and the City Council, DCLA awarded the most funding to the largest number of cultural organizations ever, marked by major boosts for smaller groups and organizations led by people of color, as well as an increase in the number of groups receiving city support for the first time.
