Miosotis Familia honored by Congress in Washington

U.S. Rep. Adriano Espaillat took to the House floor in Washington July 19 to remember New York Police Department officer Miosotis Familia, who was shot and killed July 5 in the Bronx.

“It is with both sadness and pride that I rise today to honor the memory of a leader, a hard worker, and an outstanding member of our community,” Espaillat said, according to a release. “Today, Officer Familia’s legacy lives on through her family, the police officers of the 42nd Precinct, and all the other loved ones she leaves behind. My New York colleagues and I stand here on the House floor to salute Officer Familia, as well as other offices who have been killed in the line of duty — including State Trooper Joel Davis.”

Abreu outraising Cabrera

Fundraising momentum in the race for Fernando Cabrera’s city council seat has appeared to shift from the incumbent over to one of his opponents, Randy Abreu.

Abreu raised a little more than $19,700 between the middle of May and earlier this month, topping the just under $10,500 Cabrera picked up from donors. For Abreu, that’s his biggest financial quarter haul yet, and brings him to $48,500, with some $34,000 still in the bank.

The two other Democrats seeking the District 14 seat didn’t raise nearly that much as both Felix Perdomo and Justin Sanchez were closer to the $2,000 and $2,500 range.

Abreu’s biggest check was $2,750 from the United Healthcare Workers East union, while Cabrera picked up the same amount from a different labor organization, Mason Tenders District Council, which represents primarily construction workers, hazardous material handlers and Catholic high school teachers.

Although Cabrera didn’t get the 1199 SEIU endorsement, he did get $2,000 from another Service Employees International Union member — the Doctors Council. 

Cabrera’s fundraising might be waning a bit, but he still has the money advantage over Abreu with more than $75,000 in total raised, and more than $62,000 in the bank. That’s almost in-line with the $78,750 he raised through both private and public funds in 2013, and there’s still a few months to go.

In the District 11 race, Andrew Cohen is still fundraising on his own, quietly picking up $4,325, bringing his campaign war chest to $32,425, with $18,730 on-hand.

A tunnel to the Bronx?

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has been spending a lot of time on transit lately, and he probably should, considering many have deemed all the problems with getting from Point A to Point B in the city the “Summer of Hell.” 

But Cuomo is now floating an idea that might suprise some — a direct tunnel link from the Bronx to Long Island.

“Why do you have to drive all the way down Long Island to go north?” Cuomo asked during a luncheon last week in Woodbury celebrating expansion of the Long Island Railroad. “Those are extra hours. Those are extra tolls.”

The idea of increasing ways off Long Island isn’t a new one, Cuomo added. President Franklin D. Roosevelt pushed adding north routes into New York City, Westchester County and Connecticut as far back as 1938.

Of course, back then Roosevelt had bridges in mind. But today, building a tunnel would be the better way to go. 

How New York would pay for that? Cuomo didn’t share.

Dinowitz pushes lead bill

How much lead is in the paint covering the elevated train stations throughout the city? That’s what Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz and state Sen. Jose Peralta want to find out.

To do it, however, Gov. Andrew Cuomo will need to sign into law their legislation that requires the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the New York Transit Authority to study the amount of lead paint in elevated subway stations, tracks and trestles throughout the city. 

District 9 International Union of Painters and Allied Trades found that in some samples of paint chips falling onto the streets from the elevated 7 train that were 40 times the legal threshold.

The study would be conducted in cooperation with the environmental protection and health departments. 

Hotel union endorses Cabrera

The New York Hotel and Motel Trades Council likes Fernando Cabrera when it comes to the city council, but not Andrew Cohen.

Cabrera, who represents the 14th district, was one of 24 candidates endorsed by the union, and is considered one of the trades council’s candidates who have a “deep commitment tow workers.”

The union represents 32,000 employees at more than 300 hotels in the city, representing 75 percent of the entire industry in the five boroughs. The union didn’t share how it selected candidates to endorse, but it has advocated a number of positions recently, including efforts to limit or completely eliminate vacation rental sites through apps like Airbnb.