Share This Article
Congresswoman Yvette Clarke, whose Brooklyn district includes the neighborhoods of Crown Heights, Flatbush, Midwood and Prospect Heights, has introduced legislation that would grant Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to Bahamians impacted by Hurricane Dorian, Caribbean Life reports.
The bill, introduced earlier this month, would allow residents from the Bahamas who are in the United States to remain here for a set period of time as relief efforts continue back home. Approximately 4,000 Bahamians have evacuated to the U.S. since the storm struck at the state of September, NPR reported Thursday.
“As a Caribbean-American myself, my heart hurts for those whose lives have changed as they know it back home in the Caribbean,” Clarke told Caribbean Life. “My legislation will assist in easing these folks’ new reality as a result of the devastation they’ve experienced from Hurricane Dorian.”
Meanwhile, local efforts are underway in to assist The Bahamas and victims of the storm. Gov. Andrew Cuomo is working with the Bahamian Consulate to expand the number of sites where New Yorkers can donate nonperishable goods to the relief effort, according to The New York Carib News, which has compiled a list of such locations across the five boroughs.
Friends of Crown Heights Educational Center in Brooklyn will be accepting donations this weekend, and is organizing a community BINGO fundraiser next month, the Caribbean Times reports.
Similar efforts are being planned in Queens: The United Methodist Church in South Ozone Park is accepting donations through Oct. 11, while Councilman Donovan Richards’ office is hosting a “Stuff the Bus” event to collect relief goods through this Tuesday, Sept. 24, according to the Queens Chronicle.