MARTY TO CHANCELLOR: NEVER FUGHEDABOUT BROOKLYN!

On June 3rd, Marty told Chancellor Joel Klein, who appeared before the Brooklyn Borough Board, that the City must immediately stop shortchanging Brooklyn schools, many of which are plagued by severe overcrowding. “All we are asking is that Brooklyn receives its fair share – nothing more and nothing less,” Marty said. “We all understand the severity of our fiscal crisis, but during these days of dwindling resources it is even more important that they are allocated equitably. I’m urging you to amend this blatantly unfair capital plan, so our students can continue on their path to achieving all of their hopes and dreams.” Marty recently released a report highlighting that a number of desperately needed school projects had been eliminated, including the Midwood High School Annex and a new 800 seat high school. District 20 and District 22 are also full of schools that are literally bursting at the seams. Yet Brooklyn is losing more than 40% of the nearly 8000 seats that were cut from the City’s most recent capital plan. Queens is receiving more than six times the amount of funding - $704 million versus $108 million for Brooklyn – even though Brooklyn has 65% as many very overcrowded primary and intermediate schools.

LIGHTEN UP BROOKLYN COMES TO A PARK NEAR YOU

On June 3rd, Marty officially launched Lighten Up Brooklyn 2003 that will run throughout the month of June. Our theme is fitness forever – to lighten up and tighten up! The goal is to find the exercise activity that best suits your needs and, just like brushing your teeth, make it part of your everyday life. Throughout June, Brooklynites can join Marty in trying all kinds of fitness experiences and exercise routines in 20 beautiful Brooklyn parks all across our borough on weekends, and at the special fitness events scheduled throughout the month. The exercise menu includes aerobics, pilates, canoeing, dancing, walking, running, bicycling and many others events all geared towards getting Brooklynites into the habit of regularly exercising. They will be led by instructors and personal trainers from almost 25 gyms across Brooklyn. All classes are FREE. A recent study by the Centers for Disease Control reported that nearly 21% of American adults are obese. More than 44 million Americans are considered obese, which is a 74% increase since 1991. Obesity often leads to diabetes, which is growing at an alarming rate in New York City. According to the NYC Department of Public Health, diabetes has doubled to nearly 8% of New York City adults in the last eight years. Exercising just 30 minutes a day can help reduce the risk of developing diabetes by 60%! For more information on Lighten Up Brooklyn 2003, log onto www.brooklyn-usa.org or call 718-802-3875.

HUNDREDS OF STUDENTS HONORED AS THE BEST OF BROOKLYN

On June 4th, Marty was thrilled to honor more than 900 Brooklyn students who captured borough-wide, city, state or national titles in subjects as diverse as the borough itself. “You name a field and Brooklyn students have conquered it!” Marty said at the Borough Hall ceremony. “Whether you have represented your school and Brooklyn as an individual or as part of a team in science or math competitions, as a performance artist or in the fine arts, as a writer or in debating, in athletics, robotics, student government, peer mediation or by performing community service work, Brooklyn is incredibly proud of you all. You certainly represent the best of Brooklyn!”

BROOKLYN PRIDE MONTH CELEBRATION AT BOROUGH HALL

On June 5th, Marty celebrated Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month by honoring a number of Brooklynites for their outstanding contributions and achievements throughout our fantastic borough. “While there is more to be done, I am proud, as we all can be, that so much progress has been made during my lifetime to end discrimination based on gender and sexual orientation,” Marty said. “The struggle for equal rights is not over. In Brooklyn, our diversity is our greatest strength and asset. Working together, we learn from each other, by bringing our different ideas and perspectives to the table.” The honorees included: Ana Maria Bermudez, an ardent advocate for children at the Center for Alternative Sentencing and Employment Services; Ken Diamondstone, Founder and Executive Director of TOUCH Community Dinners, an organization that provides free meals to people living with HIV/AIDS; Alan Fleishman, former president of LAMDA Independent Democrats and Director of Community Relations for City Comptroller William Thompson; Rabbi Ellen Lippman, founding rabbi of Congregation Kolot Chayeinu, a tremendously diverse house of worship; and Community activist Regina Shavers, who is the Founder and Executiver Director of the Girot Circle and Founder of “Pride at Work.”

INCREDIBLE BOROUGH HALL EXHIBITION BY THE FATHER OF ART DECO!

Marty is pleased to present a month-long exhibition by Russian born painter Romain de Tirtoff, known to the world as Erte. One of the foremost fashion and stage designers of the 20th century, Erte’s images are known to the world for their sense of elegance, lyricism and art deco geometry. This collection is on loan from Mark Schachner, a Brooklyn art collector, art dealer and owner of the Mill Basin Deli. The 29 works of art in the exhibition show the breadth of Erte’s creative career, which ranged from fashion illustration to Hollywood set design with Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer. The FREE exhibition is open until June 27th - Monday through Friday from 10am to 5pm. Special evening hours will be held on Wednesday, June 18th and Wednesday, June 25th from 6:00 – 8:00pm.

BROOKLYN MOURNS

All of Brooklyn is mourning the sudden passing of Michael Handy, who was the Director of the Mayor’s Office of Veterans Affairs. He was a force in veteran affairs for more than 30 years and was invaluable in supporting our troops at home and abroad, as well as making sure those we lost were always remembered.