BROOKLYN, NY – Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso last night delivered his second State of the Borough address, during which he announced Borough Hall as a satellite Asylum Application Help Center supporting up to 180 undocumented people applying for work authorizations each week. Reynoso looked back at 2023’s accomplishments – such as the launch of The Comprehensive Plan for Brooklyn, the largest borough-specific planning effort ever in our city’s history – as well as the challenges that lie ahead. Emphasizing strained city services and widespread need, Borough President Reynoso called for Brooklyn to get “back to basics,” with a focus on ensuring residents are housed, healthy, and supported. Deputy Borough President Reverend Kim Council performed the event’s invocation, and Attorney General Letitia James, NYC Comptroller Brad Lander, and NYC Public Advocate Jumaane Williams provided special remarks.
“We are a city that does not make excuses. No matter the circumstances we are born into, no matter the challenges we face, we show up for this city and we deliver on the dreams of opportunity from which New York was born,” said Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso. “We do not fearmonger. We do not pit those with little against those with less. No matter how hard it is, New Yorkers get to work. We figure it out. These difficult times call for us to get back to basics: the basics of good governance and the basics of Brooklyn, which means never giving up, never making excuses, and never abandoning our neighbors.”
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A year after Borough President Reynoso invited government partners to use Brooklyn Borough Hall to aid in addressing the migrant crisis, Borough Hall yesterday opened as a satellite Asylum Application Help Center. To begin, between 20 and 25 pro-se applicants for employment authorization documents (EAD) will be supported each day by a team of attorneys and application assistants from the Asylum Application Help Center (AAHC). The center will offer assistance by appointment only and will operate Monday through Thursday from 9am to 5pm, with possible extension of hours and days as the center scales up to serve up to 45 applicants per day. Services will continue at Borough Hall at least through June 30,
2024. To request an appointment, applicants must reach out to their shelter case managers. Additional partners include the NYC Office of Asylum Seeker Operations (OASO), NYC Emergency Management (NYCEM), and the NYC Office of Technology and Innovation (OTI).
In addition to Borough Hall as a satellite Asylum Application Help Center, Reynoso highlighted additional initiatives that will be ramping up in 2024, such as:
- A Housing League of pro-housing elected officials formed alongside Council Member Erik Bottcher to encourage city and state collaboration to create more housing supply;
- A redesign of Columbus Park outside of Borough Hall in partnership with Council Member Lincoln Restler, Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, and WXY Studio;
- A collaboration with Asian Americans for Equality (AAFE) to offer one-on-one business counseling and education opportunities in English, Chinese, and Korean, along with access to affordable small business loans;
- An initiative to tackle deed theft in Central Brooklyn; and,
- A hub for inter-agency coordination at Borough Hall to bring waterborne freight back to Brooklyn.
