“Every American worker should have the right to paid sick leave,” said Rep. Donald M. Payne Jr., ranking member of the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials for the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

Payne has introduced the Freight Rail Workforce Health and Safety Act, a bill to provide seven days of paid sick leave to railroad workers. “I am disappointed that the railroad industry did not provide this benefit on their own, especially when you consider it provides this benefit to railroad management,” Payne said.

RELATED: Congressman Payne urges the Biden administration to cancel student debt

“These workers risked their health during the COVID-19 pandemic to keep food and medicine on store shelves. They deserve paid leave to care for their own health. When employees come to work sick, they threaten the health and safety of their co-workers. This bill would allow them to take care of their health without worrying about their income.”

Payne represents New Jersey’s 10th Congressional District, which consists of portions of Essex, Hudson, and Union counties, and includes the cities of Newark and Orange. The subcommittee has influence over national infrastructure and all modes of transportation, including aviation and mass transit.

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There has been a second push to get the Transit to Trails Act passed. Reintroduced in the Senate and House by its sponsors, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker and California Rep. Jimmy Gomez, the Transit to Trails Act is an effort to create a program that awards grants to groups that can provide transportation from critically underserved urban and rural communities to the countries’ green spaces.

“Due to unjust, racist policies such as redlining and economic segregation, communities of color are three times more likely than white communities to live in nature-deprived places,” said the nonprofit Wilderness Society. “Seventy-four percent of communities of color in the contiguous United States live in nature-deprived areas, compared with just 23 percent of white communities.”

“Getting out in nature is essential for our mental health and physical wellbeing, especially for our children. But many cities are built in a way that makes America’s national parks and public lands inaccessible for underserved communities,” Gomez said in a statement. “Everyone deserves access to green spaces, not just those who can afford to drive to them. That’s why I’m proud to partner with Senator Booker on this legislation that will remove barriers between our cities and our parks to ensure everyone, regardless of their ZIP code, can enjoy the beautiful outdoors.”

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Hinchliffe Stadium, one of five still-standing Negro Leagues stadiums, is being updated and refurbished so it can be used again. In the 1930s and ’40s, the Paterson, N.J.-based stadium was the homefield ballpark for the New York Black Yankees, New York Cubans, and often the Newark Eagles baseball teams.

After a campaign of fundraising and $100 million in state tax credits, renovations began in April 2021 on what was once a deteriorating landmark.

Hinchliffe will be re-opened as the new home stadium for the New Jersey Jackals baseball team. The Paterson Public Schools will also be able to use the stadium for events and a museum commemorating the history of the Negro Leagues professional baseball league will be part of the new Hinchliffe Stadium.

The project, under the auspices of Baye Adofo-Wilson’s real estate development company, BAW Development, LLC, will also see to the opening of an affordable senior housing apartment complex dubbed the Hinchliffe Residences, a restaurant, and a 5,200-square-foot preschool.

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Harlem Bespoke:  One of the majestic brownstones on West 144th and Convent Avenue returns to the market for new season and the grand 21 foot wide home is also a rare semi-detached townhouse.  Number 452 West 144th Street is now available for $3.65 million $3 million and the 2-family home appears to be in turnkey condition with lots of original details within.  We have been writing about this block for over a decade now and buyers who want to live on one of the most charming neighborhoods in Manhattan should definitely check out one of the open houses in the coming weeks.  Restaurants, cafes, supermarkets and the express train stations are minutes away by the 145th Street corridor.  More details and contact information can be found on Streeteasy: LINK

* This article was originally published here