Cuomo Announces Billion Dollar Plan to Boost Brooklyn

BY THUY KYAW

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Thursday announced the launch of Vital Brooklyn, a $1.4 billion community development project which includes affordable housing, job creation, youth development, and community-based violence prevention.

The development, primarily targeting the Central Brooklyn region, will become the largest ever state investment in Brooklyn, the governor said.

Speaking at a press conference in Bedford-Stuyvesant YMCA, Cuomo, who is running for a third term in this year’s New York gubernatorial election, outlined the details of the development.

“Today, we begin to create a brighter future for Brooklyn,” he said. “And make New York a model for development of high need communities across the country.”

It was not lost on political observers that the largesse bestowed on a borough of some 2.7 million, which would qualify it as the nation’s fourth largest city, happened in an election year.

Vital Brooklyn would entail building  more than 3,000 multi-family affordable housing units, as well as eight new schools, more than 20 anti-violence programs, and eight new playgrounds.

The plan also includes job training for young people, strengthening local healthcare facilities and mental health services, adding new hires through Brooklyn Unemployment Strikeforce, and starting a midnight basketball program.

In addition, Cuomo spoke about working with the government to create the largest state park in Brooklyn by securing a major waterfront parcel, although he said he could not yet reveal the full details.

So far in his seven-year tenure, the 60-year-old politician has made some progressive changes to the state – including the legalization of same sex marriage, expanding the assaults weapons ban, and vowing to protect immigrants from the illegal arrests by U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. He faces a challenge for the Democratic nomination from the actress Cynthia Nixon.

“As a governor, I’ve always wanted to do something special, and this is something special,” Cuomo said. “It’s real, it’s happening, and it will make a difference in the lives of people who have been struggling for too long.”