REMARKS
by the
Honorable Nydia M. Velázquez
2002 Big Apple Innovations Awards
May 2, 2002
Thank you very much, everyone, and thank
you, Denise Scott, for inviting me here today. I am sorry
the voting schedule in Washington has kept me from being
here in person.
I am tremendously honored to receive this
award. It represents the years of hard work by many, many
people to secure safe and affordable housing for every
New Yorker.
Last year, we had some successes. One was
an amendment to a public housing spending bill that allocated
$10 million to the YouthBuild program to provide at-risk
young people with marketable job skills and training.
Another success was more than $28 million
for Section 202 elderly housing in Brooklyn, where it
is most needed.
The fight has not been easy. Nor is it over.
Last year, I introduced the Housing and Employment Opportunities
and Reform Act to enforce an existing requirement that
public housing agencies employ residents in construction
projects on their own homes. This requirement has been
on the books for 30 years, but is almost never followed.
Similarly, as the only New York Democrat
on the Housing Subcommittee, I am working with my colleagues
to block pending legislation that could end public housing
altogether over 20 years. It is important to remind people
in Washington of how difficult it is to provide affordable,
family housing in cities like New York --- and how important
public housing options are to those communities.
But affordable housing is just one part
in achieving vibrant, livable urban communities.
The neighborhoods that people want to live
in must be free of environmental hazards that disproportionately
threaten the health of children and the elderly. That
is why the community has banded together to fight the
construction of new polluting power plants and waste transfer
stations --- which are already disproportionately located
in the 12th District. I introduced the Community Environmental
Equity Act to protect communities from this kind of environmental
discrimination.
Communities must also have job opportunities.
We know that the most powerful engine for job growth are
small businesses, which produce three-quarters of all
new jobs and employ one of every two American workers.
I am working with Republicans and Democrats on the House
Small Business Committee to make sure small enterprises
have the resources and protection they need to thrive
and build communities.
Finally, neighborhoods need places for people
to go and enjoy the outdoors. That is why it was important
to secure $1 million to help build the Brooklyn Bridge
Park, where people can gather by the riverside. The recent
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to study a dredging plan
will also help return the historic Gowanus Canal to recreational
use.
This is all part of a larger way of looking at what makes
communities come together. People need a safe and health
place to live, a place to work, and a place to have fun.
I hope that my work, and the work of thousands of others,
has contributed to this vision of community
Thank for this honor. It recognizes the
good work of many, many others, and I am proud to share
it with them.
Thank you very much.
