Cohen names ‘Activist of the Month’

Bronx Councilman Andrew Cohen announced the winner of his inaugural “Activist of the Month” award, in an effort to encourage residents of his 11th District to become engaged and involved in their communities. 

The winner in October was Audrey McAllister of Wakefield who served as a delegate during Mr. Cohen’s participatory budgeting process last month. 

“In devising this program, my plan is to single out residents who have pushed for, and achieved, civic improvements, whether large or small,” he said. “Audrey McAllister has modeled the type of community activism I’d like to nurture—she has persistently and thoughtfully targeted issues in Wakefield, and possible improvements that could benefit many individuals, and we were able to resolve a number of her concerns as a result of her cooperative efforts with my office.”

Mr. Cohen and his office will be announcing a new winner each moth moving forward. 

New bill would give healthy options at vending machines

Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz proposed a new law in Albany this week that would put healthier snack options at vending machines in state-owned buildings. 

The bill is aimed at providing state employees with a wider range of snack options, as well as combating the still rising rates of type two diabetes and obesity. 

“It is one of a number of bills I have to try to make people a little bit healthier,” he said in a phone interview. “It wouldn’t ban all unhealthy things from the vending machines, but it would require that there be healthy choices as well, and it’s defined in the bill what counts as healthy.”

Mr. Dinowitz said the definitions for what constitutes “healthy food” is based on caloric intake, as well as the amount if fat and sugar in the snacks. Part of the reason for this legislation, he said, is simply to provide the option of healthier food choices for state employees, or anyone visiting a state-owned building. 

“We can’t force people or tell them what to eat but in state owned facilities, we can at least require that people have these choices because left to their own devices, the companies that choose what goes into these vending machines will probably not give you those healthy options,” he said.