News Briefs 8/23/12

Robinson to meet with local banks
In preparation for a larger community meeting, Assemblywoman Annette Robinson has scheduled a closed door meeting with branch managers at the five banks in her district covering Bedford-Stuyvesant.
The banks invited to the meeting include Carver, Chase and Citibank, which all have branches in Bed-Stuy’s Restoration Plaza, along with Amalgamated Bank on Fulton Street in the neighborhood’s commercial core and New York Community Bank on Broadway and Greene Place.
Also invited are selected community stakeholder organizations and various individuals that represent large constituencies in the district.
The meeting will go over concerns of the local branch managers as well as community concerns regarding overall service at local branches.
Robinson, who chairs the State Assembly Banking Committee, will hold the meeting on Thursday, Sept. 20.

Brooklyn unemployment remains high
For the second month in a row, the unemployment rate in Kings County is at 11 percent, according to the state Department of Labor.
A year ago, in July 2011, Brooklyn’s unemployment rate was 10.2 percent. Overall, the city’s unemployment rate was 10.2 percent up from 9.3 percent in July 2011.
According to the report, the overall unemployment rate for the state is 9.1 percent up from 8.3 percent in July 2011.
Meanwhile, the countries unemployment rate dropped to 8.6 percent as compared to a year earlier when it was 9.3 percent in July 2011.

Clarke holds legal clinic immigration policy
Flatbush Congresswoman Yvette Clarke will hold an appointment-only legal clinic in conjunction with the New York Immigration Coalition and several other nonprofit organizations on September 7.
The clinic follows a recent public forum she held to inform constituents about the immigration policy that will allow eligible youth to obtain employment authorization and deferred action – which provides relief from removal or removal proceedings.
An estimated 1.7 million young, undocumented immigrants could apply for deferred action and employment authorization under the policy, which was announced on June 15 by President Barack Obama and Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano.
While appointments for the clinic are already filled up, Clarke’s office advised interested applicants to be wary of scams calling for fees to apply.
Should any interested applicants needs assistance with filing the application for deferred action of childhood arrivals, they should reach out to the CUNY Immigration Project which has centers offering  free immigration services across the city, the Caribbean Women’s Health Association, or the New York Immigration Coalition.