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By David Freedlander 5/30 4:30pm

letters

skin-cancer

Doctors Ask For Dean Skelos’ Help In Keeping Kids Out Of Tanning Salons

The American Cancer Society and a group of 150 health professionals sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos with a simple message: Don’t let our kids grow up to be the Tanorexic Mom.

A bill, which would ban the children under the age of 18 from frequenting tanning salons, is now before the full Senate, having passed the Assembly and the Senate health committee.

Speaking of a study by researchers at the Yale School of Public, the letter states:

The authors stated that indoor tanning was strikingly common in the study of young skin cancer patients, especially women, which they concluded may be the reason why 70% of early-onset BCCs occur in females. Also, the authors concluded that reducing indoor tanning could translate to a meaningful reduction in the incidence of both melanoma (which accounts for the majority of death from skin cancer) and BCC. Another study published this month in the Journal of Clinical Oncology followed 70,000 women for 20 years and found increased risk for all three types of skin cancer associated with tanning bed use before age 35. Read More

By David Freedlander 1/23 5:49pm

letters

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Pre-SOTU, Bloomberg Pushes Obama on Guns and Giffords

President Barack Obama is set to deliver his annual State of the Union address tomorrow night, and Mayor Mike Bloomberg would like to revisit a theme from last year’s speech–the tragic shooting in Tuscon which killed six people and injured Congresswoman Gabby Giffords.

In a letter to the president, Mayor Bloomberg writes, “This week will mark Congresswoman Giffords’ last days in Congress before she steps down to focus on her truly inspiring recovery…[W]e hope that you will take the opportunity to address her departure, and the causes of it, in your State of the Union Address tomorrow.”

The letter is co-signed by Tom Menino of Boston, who is, along with Hizzoner, head of the Mayors Against Illegal Guns coalition. Gun control advocates have been stymied in recent years but how little these kinds of tragedies have moved the needle in favor of stricter laws. The last time meaningful gun control seemed at hand was after a series of random shootings in the mid-90′s.  Read More

By David Freedlander 1/23 11:07am

letters

Soldier Killed

In Wake of Army Private’s Death, Gillibrand, Velazquez Call For Oversight of Hazing

Today  Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez (D-NY) joined two California House Democrats–Judy Chu and Mike Honda–to call on the U.S. Army to review how the department tracks its hazing and harassment incidents and implements anti-hazing training.

The letters comes after the death of Danny Chen, a 19-year-old Private from Manhattan’s Chinatown who committee suicide after undergoing near-daily hazing and physical abuse.  ”Last month, Senator Gillibrand called on the Defense Department for a system-wide review of bullying and mistreatment after another New York City based soldier,  Marine Pvt. Hamson McPherson, Jr., of  Staten Island committed suicide, allegedly due to hazing. Read More

By David Freedlander 12/29/11 1:55pm

letters

Ed Koch Comes Out (Mostly) Against The Living Wage Bill

The New York Times came out in favor of a living wage bill earlier this week,  and today Ed Koch sent a message to his email list outlining his own thoughts on the bill.

In short, the former mayor is against it, even though he favors an increase in the minimum wage.

“I would support a national law creating a minimum wage of $10 plus benefits or $11.50 per hour without benefits, or any other reasonable increase for those at the minimum wage level.  But I would do so only if it applied to all states, not simply to New York City,” he writes.  Read More

By David Freedlander 12/15/11 1:33pm

letters

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King, Turner Push Back On NYPD Criticism

Yesterday three members of Congress circulated a “Dear Colleague” letter expressing their disapproval of reports that the NYPD was spying on Muslim and calling for the Department of Justice to investigate.

Write Reps. Judy Chu and Mike Honda of California and Bobby Scott of Illinois:

According to reports, since 2002, the NYPD has engaged in conduct that has singled out Muslims for police contact – stops and investigations – based upon their race, ethnicity or national origin.  This surveillance allegedly included targeting mosques, student groups, restaurants and even motorists in both NYC and outside the NYPD’s jurisdiction.  The NYPD has reportedly been collecting information on U.S. citizens without probable cause and electronically storing this information and has a database of Muslims in the NYC area.  The NYPD has also reportedly been crossing state lines without the knowledge of states that they entered to conduct this operation. Read More

By David Freedlander 11/01/11 9:01am

letters

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Nadler Welcomes Romney To New York

Ken Langone is hosting a major fundraiser for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney at the Conrad Suite of the Waldorf-Astoria on Park Avenue today.

And late last night, west side Congressman Jerry Nadler sent a letter to the former Massachusetts governor, welcoming him to our fair city and asking him why he, in Mr. Nadler’s words, “so consistently put the needs of working- and middle-class people last?” Read More

By David Freedlander 10/21/11 11:20am

letters

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Lawmaker Calls For Crackdown On Union Square Salon Sellers

You know those groups of model-seeming types who hang around Union Square and compliment women on their hairstyles, then try to pass along coupons for haircuts and spa treatments?

Well, if downtown Assemblywoman Deborah Glick has her way, they will go the way of the squeegee men.

Ms. Glick writes to Manhattan Parks Commissioner William Castro to remind his agency that such practices violate Parks Dept. rules, and also, well, annoying. Read More

By David Freedlander 9/28/11 3:35pm

letters

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Nydia Velazquez Warns ‘Super Committee’ Over Cuts

Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez became the first local rep to issue a blunt warning to the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction–a.k.a “The Super Committee”–writing a letter to members that stated that any efforts to reduce the deficit must not include cuts to federal housing programs.

“From affordable housing, to job creation, New York’s entire economic well being could be fundamentally shaped for the next decade by the Super Committee’s decisions,” Velázquez.  “We need to make our City’s voice heard early and often throughout this process.” Read More