On March 13, 2024, Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso delivered his second State of the Borough address. 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 before Reynoso took the stage.
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.
“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.”
A year after Borough President Reynoso invited government partners to use Brooklyn Borough Hall to aid in addressing the migrant crisis, Reynoso announced that Borough Hall would open as a satellite Asylum Application Help Center. To begin, between 20 and 25 pro-se applicants for employment authorization documents (EAD) would be supported each day by a team of attorneys and application assistants from the Asylum Application Help Center (AAHC).
The center offers assistance by appointment only and initially operated Monday through Thursday from 9 am to 5pm, though later expanding the number of hours and days as the center scaled up to serve up to 45 applicants per day. 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 would 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.