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February 21, 2024

BRONX, NY – ASSEMBLYMAN DINOWITZ HENRY HUDSON BRIDGE TOLL REBATE NOW IN EFFECT FOR BRONXITES

My Henry Hudson Bridge Toll Rebate Program for Bronxites successfully took effect on February 3rd, 2024. I negotiated this program into the state budget in 2019. It was scheduled to take effect in 2020 but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The program will be funded through the Outer Borough Transportation Account, established in 2018, to enhance transportation resources in the outer boroughs. Under the program, Bronxites with passenger cars registered in the Bronx and a funded E-ZPass account will get an instant rebate every time they cross the Henry Hudson Bridge. The bridge is one of the shortest bridges in the city. Hence, the toll on the bridge has always irked people. It used to be known as the "10-cent bridge" years ago. Currently, the toll on the bridge is $8.25 one way without an E-ZPass and $3.18 one way with an E-ZPass. Under this program, your account will be charged and instantly credited for the same amount (in essence, free) for Bronxites.

I worked hard during the budget negotiations to make this available for all Bronxites. It is only fair that residents of the Bronx are not subjected to an extra toll when crossing this particular bridge into Manhattan. Especially given that every other bridge providing access to Manhattan from the Bronx is toll-free. Currently, many people avoid this toll and drive into Kingsbridge and Marble Hill, causing additional congestion and pollution in these neighborhoods. Once this program takes effect, some people will save hundreds, even thousands of dollars annually. I am very proud that I could get this in the state budget, and I am thankful to Governor Hochul and the MTA for implementing this fantastic idea.

Important Notice: From Tuesday, February 20th, to Friday, March 1st, NYCDOT will perform wire rope cable cleaning on the Broadway Bridge. As a result, right lane closures in both directions will occur from 7:00 AM to 3:00 PM. Additionally, alternating center lane closures in either direction will take place from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM. Alternating sidewalk closures will be in effect. (At least one lane of traffic and one sidewalk will remain open at all times).

Yanna Almonte is available to provide information about this project at (516) 497-3588 or thenewbroadwaybridge@gmail.com. For all NYC non-emergency services, including inquiries regarding NYCDOT construction, dial 311.

SCHE and DHE renewals due March 15

It’s time to renew property tax exemptions, including the Senior Citizen Homeowners’ Exemption (SCHE), the Disabled Homeowners’ Exemption (DHE), and the Clergy exemption. 

The deadline for homeowners to submit renewal applications is March 15, 2024. Property owners who must renew their benefits have received letters in the mail. If they do not renew, they could lose their benefits, and their property taxes could increase. Please review the eligibility requirements for SCHE, DHE, and other benefits. 

Our business centers stay open late to help customers with questions about applying for or renewing exemptions. Visit www.nyc.gov/nopv and click on “Get help applying for property tax exemptions” for more details.

Attention property owners in NYC! Join the Department of Finance to learn all about your annual notice of property value and get help with property tax benefit programs! Find an event near you at www.nyc.gov/nopv.

MTA Announces OMNY Launching on Hudson Rail Link

Hudson Rail Link Second Non-MTA Operated Entity to Join Tap and Go Fare Payment System

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) announced that the Authority’s tap-and-go fare payment system, OMNY, will be launched on the Hudson Rail Link system for customer use on Monday, Jan. 29. The Hudson Rail Link represents the second non-MTA operated entity to begin accepting contactless fare payment.   

The OMNY readers will allow Hudson Rail Link riders to tap and go with their smart device with a digital wallet, such as a phone or watch, or contactless credit or debit card, or OMNY card, and participate in the MTA's “best fare,” seven-day fare capping program. Customers’ first tap into the system, whether it be on the subway, bus, or tram, will start a seven-day period using the same payment method on any tap-and-go capable transit mode. Customers are charged $2.90 for their first 11 rides, $2.10 for their 12th ride and on the 13th ride, and for each subsequent ride, the ride is free for the rest of the seven-day period. Customers will never pay more than $34 to ride in a seven-day period.

About Basic STAR and Enhanced STAR

The School Tax Relief (STAR) and Enhanced School Tax Relief (E-STAR) benefits offer eligible New York State homeowners property tax relief.

Who Can Apply

Homeowners not currently receiving the STAR exemption who meet the program's eligibility requirements may apply for the STAR tax credit with the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. If you qualify for the credit, it will be issued to you in the form of a check. More information is available at www.tax.ny.gov/star or (518) 457-2036.

You may apply for the Basic STAR or Enhanced STAR tax exemption with the NYC Department of Finance if:

• Your owned property and received STAR in 2015-16 but later lost the benefit and would like to apply to restore it. Your income must be $250,000 or less to be eligible for Basic STAR.
• You currently receive Basic STAR and would like to apply for Enhanced STAR. You may be eligible for Enhanced STAR if you are 65 or older in the calendar year you apply. The total income of all owners, resident spouses, or registered domestic partners cannot exceed $98,700.

If you qualify for the exemption, it will be applied to your property tax bill. You will not be issued a check.

How to Apply

Suppose you meet the criteria above to apply for the Basic STAR or Enhanced STAR tax exemption with the NYC Department of Finance. You may submit your application online or download the application form (Click "How to apply for the STAR exemption" and download the paper application) at the Property Tax Benefits for Homeowners page.

You may also be eligible for other property tax exemptions.

Exemption or Credit?

If you currently receive STAR or E-STAR as a property tax exemption and earn $250,000 or less, you can register for the STAR credit to receive a check instead. You may receive a more significant benefit with the credit, as the amount of the STAR credit will increase in the future, but the value of the exemption will not. To learn more, visit www.tax.ny.gov/star or contact the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance at (518) 457-2036.

Each week, we provide new streets and their histories, all reprinted from John McNamara's "History in Asphalt," which gives in-depth origins of how current and former Bronx Streets got their name! I picked the two streets for this week from Riverdale and Norwood: Mosholu Avenue and Mosholu Parkway.

Mosholu Avenue: This Riverdale Avenue bears the Indian term for Tippett's (Tibbett's) Brook, thought to mean "smooth stones" or "small stones," which are still found in Tippett's Brook. It leads down to Broadway, on which the 19th-century settlement of Mosholu was situated at about West 254th Street.

Mosholu Parkway: This important highway was laid out as a link between Van Cortlandt Park and Bronx Park, just as Pelham Parkway was a further link between Bronx Park and Pelham Bay Park. The Parks Department designed this boulevard in a European manner.

The name is an Indian one, referring to the small stream called by them "Mosholu", but known today as Tibbett's Brook. Professor Tooker, an authority on the tribal tongue, believed it meant "smooth stones" or "small stones."

In an unprecedented judgment, the Alabama Supreme Court has ruled that frozen embryos are to be considered as children, with individuals responsible for their destruction potentially facing charges of wrongful death. This decision has reignited a nationwide debate regarding the inception of life. It has raised concerns among advocates for reproductive rights, who fear its potential chilling impact on infertility treatments, particularly for the hundreds of Alabama residents who rely on them annually. While the ruling does not outright prohibit in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures, it marks the first instance in which a U.S. court has officially recognized frozen embryos as human beings. Critics caution that this landmark decision may set a precedent for other states to follow suit, leading to the classification of embryos as people and deterring individuals from pursuing IVF treatments.

Last week, I asked, "Do you agree with the decision of DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas being impeached?"

Yes — 21%

No — 70%

Other / No opinion — 9%

NEW LAWS TAKING EFFECT IN FEBRUARY 2024

Effective Date: 2/11/2024

Ch. 723 of 2023

A.2672-B

S.1048-A

Requires any seller imposing a surcharge on a customer who uses a credit card to clearly and conspicuously post the total price for using a credit card and prohibits the surcharge from exceeding the amount of the surcharge charged to the business by the credit card company.

Effective Date: 2/15/2024

Ch. 632 of 2023

A.458

S.548

Provides a deceased tenant's legal representative the option to terminate such tenant's lease upon notice to the landlord.

Effective Date: 2/15/2024

Ch. 635 of 2023

A.2134-A

S.2294-A

Ch. 1 of 2024

A.8494

S.8035

Requires owners and agents of multiple residences and multiple dwellings to provide names and contact information of residents to emergency personnel upon the request of such personnel, where the physical safety of such residents must be accounted for by ascertaining their whereabouts.

Effective Date: 2/15/2024

Ch. 651 of 2023

S.1688

A.1630

Expands the Department of Economic Development's authority to conduct market analysis, including demonstration projects, to include the reuse of waste tires in agricultural settings and to conduct an analysis of waste tire reuse opportunities.

Effective Date: 2/15/2024

Ch. 656 of 2023

S.3255

A.501

Extends the statute of limitations for filing complaints about any alleged unlawful discriminatory practices to the New York State Division of Human Rights (DHR) from one year to three years.

Effective Date: 2/17/2024

Ch. 511 of 2022

A.6727-A

S.8746

Makes the profession of physical therapy assistant a licensed profession.

Effective Date: 2/19/2024

Ch. 676 of 2023

A.6856

S.5487

Makes non-competitive and labor-class employees subject to the same layoff provisions as competitive-class employees.

Effective Date: 2/19/2024

Ch. 732 of 2023

S.4266-A

A.5088-A

Ch. 12 of 2024

S.8026

A.8545

Establishes a task force on missing women and girls who are black, indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) to develop policy changes that will work to address the lack of care and concern for missing and murdered BIPOC women and girls with New York state governmental agencies.

Effective Date: 2/20/2024

Ch.756 of 2023

S.1931-B

A.7456-A  

Prohibits residential and commercial properties from operating digital billboards or signs that use flashing, intermittent, or moving lights near certain Mitchell-Lama housing.

Effective Date: 2/22/2024

Ch. 539 of 2023

A.150

S.2702

Increases the age for use of ATVs by minors from age 10 to 14.

Effective Date: 2/22/2024

Ch. 588 of 2023

S.3608-A

A.4987-A

Directs the Department of Health to provide a video on the dangers of drowning for infants and young children to be viewed by parents of newborn children.

Effective Date: 2/22/2024

Ch. 604 of 2023

S.7526

A.7673-A

Authorizes construction mentoring programs for small businesses and minority and women-owned enterprises in New York City.

» 9/11 Memorial & Museum — Spring 2024 Field Trips, FREE for New York City Schools, Started January 16th

• Reservations are now open for Spring 2024 field trips at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum. Beginning January 16, we'll offer interactive on-site and virtual programs that help students understand what happened on 9/11 and its ongoing relevance today.

•Thanks to public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, both on-site and virtual field trips are FREE for New York City schools. Proof of eligibility will be determined using a school’s zip code and subsequently confirmed by Museum staff.  

•Fill out a booking request form to plan your on-site student field trip to the Museum. To schedule a virtual field trip, visit our Virtual Field Trips page. Space is limited for all programs, and requests will be processed on a first-come, first-served basis. Programs are appropriate for students in grades 3 through 12. We look forward to welcoming you!

» Woodlawn Conservancy — Woodlawn Black History Tour, February 25th

• Sunday, February 25th at 7:00 PM

• This Black History Month, join us for a Trolley Tour and visit the gravesites and memorials of Woodlawn's African-American and Afro-Caribbean notables. Honor the legacies of such trailblazers as international star Florence Mills, America's first Black female self-made millionaire Madam CJ Walker, supervisor of Grand Central's "Red Cap" railroad porters James H. Williams, and jazz giant Duke Ellington, among many others.

• Eric K. Washington is a New York City-based independent historian and author. The eponymous subject of his award-winning biography Boss of the Grips: The Life of James H. Williams and the Red Caps of Grand Central Terminal is one of the pioneers with Harlem connections featured on this tour. His groundbreaking book won the Herbert H. Lehman Prize and GANYC Apple Award and was a special finalist for the Brendan Gill Prize; the work also inspired a movement in Victor Goines’s 2021 jazz opus The Woodlawn Suite.

• To purchase tickets, please click here. 

• To buy a copy of Eric's book, click here.

» KRVC — GALLERY 505 Presents "Daylight Tibbetts En Plein Air," A Solo Exhibit By Noel Hefele, January 4th - March 29th

• Art Exhibit located at Gallery 505 (505 W 236th St, Bronx, NY).

• Gallery Hours are Friday from 2:00 PM-4:00 PM, viewings by appointment

• For more information, contact LindaKRVC@gmail.com or visit KRVC

» KRVC — Community Karaoke at KRVC, February 2024

• Fridays from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM at Gallery 505 (505 W 236th St, Bronx, NY).

• All ages and all languages are welcome. Bring your snacks and support your local food spots.

• For more information, contact LindaKRVC@gmail.com or visit KRVC

» NYC Parks — The BE BOLD Afterschool Dance Program, February 12th - May 1st, 2024

• Mondays and Wednesdays from 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM at the Willliamsbridge Oval Recreation Center (3225 Reservoir Oval East, Bronx, NY).

• NYC Parks, in partnership with the Misty Copeland Foundation, invites children ages 6 - 13 years to enroll in the BE BOLD afterschool Dance program, which is a fun introductory ballet class with live music. The BE BOLD program offers a new approach to afterschool dance education, and our core values are Leadership, Curiosity, Kindness, Knowledge, Persistence, and an Appreciation of Dance and Music. Please register with Tatiyana.Lewis@parks.nyc.gov or call (718) 543-8672.

• Participants must have an NYC Parks Recreation Center Membership. Membership is free for youth and young adults 24 years and under.

• For more information, call (718) 543-8672, Tatiyana.Lewis@parks.nyc.gov, or visit nyc.gov/parks. Contact accessibility@parks.nyc.gov or (212) 360-1430 for more information regarding accessibility.

» Van Cortlandt Park Alliance — Springtime Shingdig! May 16th

Save the Date: Springtime Shindig is on Thursday, May 16!

Join us!

Cocktails • Lite Bites • Dessert

Music • Picturesque Setting • Raffle

HONOREES

Betty Campbell-Adams Park Angel Award:

Nina Habib Spencer

Carol J. Samol

Cultivating the Bronx Award:

Daylighting Tibbetts Brook Team

NYC Parks, Natural Resources Group

Department of Environmental Protection

Hazen and Sawyer

Starr Whitehouse Landscape Architects & Planners

Bronx Council for Environmental Quality 

Tickets: $300

Sponsorship from $1,000

Journal ads from $250

Proceeds from the Springtime Shindig support Van Cortlandt Park Alliance’s Education programs for Bronx kids and teens, ecological restoration and research, and community stewardship programs in Van Cortlandt Park.

The painting above is part of the “Daylighting Tibbetts en Plein Air” by Noel Hefele.

» E-ZPass NY — 24/7 E-ZPass NY Account Access!

• Preparing for a trip or already on the road? Forget to add that new license plate before your vacation? Want to check your balance? Is your account balance low? No worries! Use our Tolls NY Mobile App.

• Real-time payments and account updates are made without speaking to a representative.

• Scan the QR code or click the link below to easily download the app from the App Store or Google Play today!

Please visit our YouTube channel to learn more by clicking here.

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Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz

3107 Kingsbridge Avenue

Bronx, New York 10463

Phone: 718-796-5345 | E-Mail: dinowitzj@nyassembly.gov