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WEEK OF OCTOBER
9 2014
OURTOWNNY.COM
OurTownESide @OurTownNYC
WOMEN’S HISTORY MUSEUM HITS HURDLES NEWS The passion project of Upper East Side Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney faces challenges from budget hawks, and historians BY MEGAN BUNGEROTH
At a time when more women are serving in Congress than ever before in history - 79 in the House and 20 in the Senate - passing a bill on a women’s history museum might seem, if
M.T.S. OPPONENTS TURN ATTENTION TO HEALTH CONCERNS WASTE TRANSFER STATION Pledge 2 Protect rallies school kids while doctors send protest letter to health commissioner Opponents of the 91st St. waste transfer station have opened a new front in their effort to kill the Upper East Side project. Pledge 2 Protect, the main group fighting the garbage station, focused attention last week on the health effects of the M.T.S., which they say will exacerbate asthma and other health problems in a neighborhood that already is one of the most polluted in the city. More than 200 school kids attended at Pledge 2 Protect rally on Oct. 1 that began across the street from the site of
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not easy, then at least non-controversial. But the sponsor of that bill’s House version, Upper East Side Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, has hit a few roadblocks in her mission to establish the first and only museum in America that would deal solely and comprehensively with women’s history. The bill before Congress now, which passed the House with a major bipartisan push and fierce advocacy from Maloney, would establish a Congressional commission to prepare a report on recommendations for
creating and maintaining a national women’s history museum on federal land in Washington, D.C. The eightmember commission, appointed by members of both parties, would have 18 months to study the issue and deliver a report to Congress. Despite resounding public support and that of prominent Republicans including Speaker Boehner and former Majority Leader Eric Cantor, however, the bill is facing a major obstacle in the Senate.
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In Brief S.U.N.Y. SYSTEM TO GET NEW SEXUAL VIOLENCE POLICY New York’s 64 SUNY campuses are getting a new policy on sexual violence designed to address what Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Thursday was an “epidemic” plaguing the nation’s colleges. The changes include a new campus definition of sexual consent as a clear, active and unambiguous agreement to engage in sexual activity and stress that silence cannot be interpreted as consent. The new policy also calls for comprehensive training for campus police, a public awareness campaign and a sexual assault victim’s bill of rights that ensures students can report sexual violence to either campus law enforcement or to local or state police. Implementation of the new policy, which was endorsed by the SUNY trustees, will be overseen by Linda Fairstein, a former prosecutor who led the Manhattan district attorney’s sex crimes unit. Public awareness campaigns and training programs are a big part of the new policy. Campus police and college administrators will receive new training on how to prevent sexual violence and help victims. The topic will also be incorporated into orientation for all incoming freshmen at SUNY colleges. As part of the new policy, students who come forward to report sexual violence will be given immunity from any student disciplinary actions relating to alcohol or drugs. The new rules will also create a uniform reporting program to ensure each campus is accurately reporting cases of sexual violence.
Jewish women and girls light up the world by lighting the Shabbat and the Holiday candles. Sukkot, Thursday October 9 after 7:06 pm* Friday October 10 6:05 pm* Shemini Atzeret eve. Wednesday October 15 - 5:58 pm (* from a pre-existing flame) For more information visit www.chabaduppereastside.com.