Brooklyn loses 82,655 thousand pounds during Lighten Up Brooklyn

Marty announced on Friday, June 28th, the final results of Lighten Up Brooklyn, the 8-week challenge to get Brooklynites to lose weight by eating sensibly and exercising more. Here are some of the program’s impressive results:

     7457 people weighed in initially for Lighten Up Brooklyn.
     5921 people stayed with the Lighten Up Brooklyn program until the final weigh-in.
     Those 5921 participants lost 82,655 POUNDS or 41 TONS of weight.
     That comes out to an average of almost 14 pounds per person during the 8-week campaign.
    
Sheepshead Bay was the neighborhood weight loss champion and appeared on Friday with Marty on NBC’s Today show. The Sheepshead Bay weigh-in stations cumulatively lost 26,385 POUNDS - the most weight on average of any neighborhood throughout the borough. The 2387 PEOPLE lost on average 11.5 POUNDS during the program. Brooklyn’s top weigh-in station was the Weight Watchers - Kings Highway/Sheepshead Bay location. "By far the majority of the people who lost weight in Lighten Up Brooklyn joined organized weight loss programs like Weight Watchers, which worked with us on the campaign, or through local churches and hospitals," said the BP. "The reason why these groups were so successful was because they provided the support, encouragement and organization that is so vital to losing weight. I wanted to get communities from across the borough to work together on an issue that is a serious problem for so many of us – the battle of the bulge. These results prove once again that Brooklynites can accomplish just about anything when we put our minds to it. I congratulate all the lighter people out in Sheepshead Bay and all across Brooklyn. Every single person who participated in Lighten Up Brooklyn is definitely a winner!" Anthony Drayton, 39, of Canarsie was Brooklyn’s male weight loss champion. He dropped 24 POUNDS. There was a tie for Brooklyn’s female weight loss champion. Lorraine Salas, 44, of East New York and Una Alcine, 55, of Crown Heights both lost 25 POUNDS. The male and female weight loss champion was each awarded a 4-day, 3-night trip for two to the Islands of the Bahamas compliments of the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism. A drawing was held and Lorraine Salas was declared the female weight loss winner. The top weight loss champion from each weigh-in station was awarded a free night at the New York Marriott Brooklyn. Marty lost 11 pounds during the program – he started at 194 pounds and weighed in at 183 at the end of Lighten Up Brooklyn. Marty also won a bet he had with Mitch Modell. He lost more weight during the program than Modell. Marty announced that Modell will give all Lighten Up Brooklyn participants a 15% on all non-sale items during the month of July at any Modell’s in Brooklyn. Just go into any Brooklyn Modell’s and present your Lighten Up Brooklyn health card for your discount. The New York City Department of Health will be studying all of the data collected during Lighten Up Brooklyn to try and understand why the program was effective and what can be done to improve it for next year. The program received plenty of international media coverage from Germany and England to Spain and Japan. Lighten Up Brooklyn was also covered by the media across the country from California to Florida.

BP hosts first housing summit at Borough Hall and announces plan to help develop more than 500 affordable housing units

     The BP held Brooklyn’s first housing summit, which attracted about 300 people to Borough Hall on Thursday, June 27th, to call attention and to seek solutions to one of the borough’s most pressing problems – the critical shortage of affordable housing. He strongly believes that everyone living in Brooklyn deserves opportunities to remain in quality housing in Brooklyn. Over the past decade, Brooklyn’s housing costs have risen dramatically. Despite a national residential housing boom, the borough has produced only a small fraction of the moderate and middle-income housing that it so desperately needs. This has forced many people, especially younger families, to leave Brooklyn or to live in crowded and unsuitable apartments. "As I promised in my inaugural remarks, together we will brainstorm solutions to our housing crisis and create common sense plans to implement those solutions," said Markowitz. "This summit is the beginning of that process – a dialogue between government agencies, private and non-profit developers, local housing organizations and financial institutions. The summit is part of my effort to set in motion our collective agenda to provide more housing for Brooklyn residents." Even with the limited resources of the Borough President’s office, he believes that Borough Hall must play an active role in finding solutions to our housing shortage. "I am delighted to announce that I have created the Brooklyn Housing Fund – a key recommendation of my housing transition committee – to help provide affordable housing for our residents," said the Borough President. "In the upcoming year, despite the budget crisis, I have allocated $2 million in capital budget funds for this initiative, which will contribute to the development of more than 500 affordable housing units. Among the projects that will receive these funds are the construction of 47 homes in Red Hook, 150 homes in Bedford-Stuyvesant and over 340 units in Ocean Hill and Brownsville, as well as the rehabilitation of over 20 apartments in Bedford-Stuyvesant." Plenary and breakout sessions were also held including perspectives from supportive housing advocates, the business community, academia, developers (for and non-profit), financial institutions, government agencies, community based organizations and elected officials.

BP statement on the $175 million restored to the Mayor’s budget by the City Council

     "I want to commend the City Council for fighting to restore $175 million to the Mayor’s executive budget that will be directed to key city agencies. In February, the Brooklyn City Council delegation and I worked together to create the Brooklyn Borough Board Statement of Budget Priorities. I am extremely pleased to see that the City Council adopted many of those recommendations. While there were some very great restorations, the city’s services are still reduced in order to close the budget gap.  Next year we will probably find ourselves facing the same tough budget decisions. The budget process this year was extremely cooperative and collaborative, and I look forward to working with the Brooklyn City Council delegation, Speaker Gifford Miller and the Mayor in the same way next year. I want to extend a special thanks to Speaker Miller, Councilman Lew Fidler, and the entire Brooklyn City Council delegation for making sure that many vital Brooklyn programs received as much city funding as possible during these difficult economic times." Here is a partial list of some of the programs that were saved or received additional funding: The Department of Aging will be able to keep open the Marcus Garvey Senior Center, Senior Citizens of East Flatbush and Hope Gardens. Plus there will be a partial restoration of weekend meals programs and full restoration of senior services contracts. The Brooklyn Public Library will be able to ensure six-day service at all branches. The Department of Transportation received funding for ferry service to and from Sheepshead Bay.

BP creates Brooklyn’s 1st Council on Higher Education

     Brooklyn is often thought of as the borough of churches and brownstones, but it is also a great college town. A historic meeting took place on Wednesday, June 26th, at Borough Hall. The BP invited ten presidents and highest-ranking officers of Brooklyn’s colleges and universities to create for the first time a Council on Higher Education. He promised to be an advocate on their behalf in every forum, and someone they could count on at all times. During the course of the meeting, it became clear that all the institutions believed in the benefits that would accrue their colleges and the Borough by the formation of a Council on Higher Education. The fact that there are twelve colleges located in Brooklyn and that each of them makes an important contribution to their communities is one of the better kept secrets about Brooklyn. The operating budgets and grant awards of Brooklyn’s twelve colleges, when added together, approaches one billion dollars. When it naturally flow into the community it serves, it increases the economic vitality of Brooklyn. The presidents committed themselves to working together to bring the story about higher education in Brooklyn into the consciousness of Brooklynites and all New Yorkers. They also agreed to meet again in the fall following a survey of all the colleges and an analysis of what are some of the common needs and issues they face.

The BP testifies before the New York City Rent Guidelines Board

     On Wednesday, June 26th, Marty testified before the New York City Rent Guidelines Board to fight against any proposed rate increases. He argued that against proposed increase of 2% for one-year leases and 4% for two-year leases. The BP testified that rents should go down, not up. "If you don’t lower rents this year — then when? Unfortunately, even in years when owner operating costs were unchanged — as happened three times in the last decade — the Rent Guidelines Board approved increases anyway. But maybe this year you will finally take note of the dramatic rise in owners’ net income as reported to the City Finance Department . . so I urge you to roll back rents by 1.75% for one-year leases and 3.5% for two-year leases, and to say no, once and for all, to supplementary rent increases like those being proposed," said Markowitz. The BP also noted that many tenants already pay more than 40% and even 50% of their income on rent. With the national economy remaining sluggish and the City’s economy still deeply affected by the disaster of September 11th, this year tenants especially need and deserve relief. The BP also stressed that hopefully the free market will function properly and we’ll finally be able to end rent-regulation, but until then, the system must be administered fairly, with tenants protected from unwarranted increases and owners able to earn a fair return.

BP honors Brooklyn’s Community Boards for 25 years of service

     On Monday, June 24th, Marty honored Brooklyn’s 18 Community Boards on their 25th anniversary and for helping to make the Borough what it is today – an incredibly vibrant and diverse place to live and work. About 700 Brooklynites packed Borough Hall for this incredible celebration. The Flavors of the Brooklyn Community featured some of the best food from all over the Borough for this special anniversary. The BP also honored Gerald Esposito, district manager of Community Board 1, and Howard Feuer, district manager of Community Board 11, for their 25 years of service. Marty hosted this event in cooperation with The Brooklyn Restaurant Association, which is a chapter of the New York State Restaurant Association. Joe Chirico, President of the Brooklyn Chapter, and Chuck Hunt, Vice President of the State Chapter, also played a major role in making this event a reality.

BP pays his respects to the Dyker Heights family who died in fire

     All of Brooklyn is mourning the tragic deaths of the Nadeem family who were died in a horrific apartment fire in Dyker Heights on Sunday, June 23rd. The parents and their five children were trapped when flames from a kitchen fire below swept through their apartment. On Wednesday, June 26th, the BP paid his respects at a funeral service at the Makki Mosque.

In brief

On Monday June 24th, Marty and NY Waterway President Arthur E. Imperatore, Jr., christened The Brooklyn, NY Waterway’s newest high-speed ferry. The christening marks the takeover from New York City of free commuter ferry service between the Brooklyn Army Terminal at 58th Street in Sunset Park and Pier 11 at the foot of Wall Street in Manhattan. Councilmen Marty Golden & Simcha Felder, Rep. Vito Fossella, Assemblyman Felix Ortiz and State Senator Seymour Lachman were also on hand.

On Wednesday, June 26th, Marty helped celebrate the 75th birthday of the world’s greatest roller coaster - the Cyclone at Coney Island. Finally, our thoughts and prayers are with Community Board 13 chairperson Mitch Wesson. We wish him all the best and hope that he gets out of the hospital soon.