Neil A. Carousso produces NewsNation original “Kurt’s Country” – a celebration of country music and a slice of Americana with host Kurt Bardella.
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NYPD Support Group Raises Awarness, Fights Stigmas During Developmental Disabilities Month
NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — March is Developmental Disabilities Month, and the NYPD is out to raise awareness.
NYPD Officer Vincent Tieniber of the Transit K9 Unit has an 11-year-old daughter, Hailey, with cerebral palsy. He and several other officers run an organization that connects police with the community affected by special needs – and he is also fighting to defeat stereotypes and stigmas about those with disabilities.
“My daughter, she’s 11 years old. She was born with cerebral palsy. Throughout her life, she’s been to a lot of therapies to get her to where she is today, where she’s a thriving young girl; to interact with the rest of the community,” Tieniber told WCBS 880 Producer Neil A. Carousso. “She looks like a typical child. She goes through her daily regimen where some days are better than others. But we’ve had a great support group I have within my command, as well as my family members, things go very well on a daily basis.”
March is Developmental Disabilities Month. Here's a photo of @NYPDTransitOfficer Tienibar with his daughter, Hailey. She was born with Cerebral Palsy. Join us in raising awareness and fighting the stigma of people who have developmental disabilities.#DDawareness18 @nyc_cares pic.twitter.com/1BW0FGt80G
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) March 8, 2018
Tieniber and several other officers run a support group called NYPD C.A.R.E.S. – Cops for Autism-Related Education Services. He said the group meets monthly at the Police Academy, “and we talk to each other and give us what each other needs to help our everyday lives as police officers, as well as parents, for those kids who have special needs and need our help.
“And we also interact every once in a while with the community, and take our police officer hat off, and talk to other members of the community as parents, and see and talk to them, and it helps a lot for a parent by talking to another parent who goes through their everyday struggles, to understand that they’re not alone,” Tieniber said.
He explained that the general public needs to know that when it comes to a person with special needs, you can’t judge a book by its cover.
“If a child has a rough day – in my daughter’s case – just the way she looks typical, and sometimes she does things that not a typical child would do. Instead of staring at that kid, you know, maybe ask that individual if they need help, and maybe speak to the parents, ‘Do you need help or anything?’ or, ‘Can we help you?’” Tieniber said. “It goes more in the long range if we can help each other instead of putting each other out there and, you know, ‘Oh, that’s his problem not mine.’ You know, we help bring more younger adults together if we help them instead of dividing them.”
He said people should help each other, and step in and offer help if they see someone struggling.
“Give them a hug, or just say hi to them. As a special needs child… they just want to be like everybody else. They want to be included in anything,” Tieniber said. “Just say hi to them, and most of the time you’ll get a big smile. They want to interact with the community. So as a community, we should all get together and help each other.”
NYPD C.A.R.E.S. is focusing all month on members of the NYPD and within the communities they serve wo are affected by a disability, diagnosis or illness.
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Manhattan Certified Financial Planner on Tariffs Affecting Consumers and How to Save Money
New York (WCBS 880) — David Mendels, Certified Financial Planner at Creative Financial Concepts, LLC in New York City says tariffs could hurt consumers, especially if it leads to a trade war. Mendels concedes it could create jobs in the rust belt. In an interview with WCBS Newsradio 880 Producer Neil A. Carousso, Mendels advises on how people should plan for their financial future.
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National Women And Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — Saturday is National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day.
It promotes safe sex and ways to prevent the spread of the virus.
WCBS Newsradio 880 Preducer Neil A. Carousso spoke with Stephane Howze, senior vice president of New York City-based healthcare nonprofit Amida Care, which specializes in HIV treatment for people in under-served communities.
She says with new treatments available, such as PrEP, education is key to prevent the spread of the sexually transmitted disease.
She stresses pre-exposure prophylaxis, daily medication to prevent HIV from taking hold and spreading throughout one’s body, would lead to the reduction of new HIV cases.
“If we’re able to do more education in those communities about the use of PrEP and normalize it, that you can take control of your sexual health by using PrEP or learning about PrEP or having your provider educated about PrEP that they can speak to you about it,” Howze said. “I think that’s one way that we would be able to help with the reduction of new HIV cases.”
“We can be engaging as health care providers, we can be open and thoughtful as insurers, and make sure that we are able to provide a network of providers that are sensitive and competent in serving their needs,” Howze added.
Howze also said doctors should offer HIV tests to their patients.
“You go to your primary care provider you should be getting offered an HIV test,” Howze said. “If we start there with knowing your status and then using some of these more high-tech solutions I think we’ll be able to put a real dent in new infections.”
Four years ago, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced his goal to reduce the number of infections in New York State to 750 from an estimated 3,000 by 2020.
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NYC Comptroller Stringer and Candidate Rev. Faulkner Vie for CFO Job
By Neil A. Carousso
In two separate sit-down interviews, New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer (D) and his Republican challenger Rev. Michel Faulkner discussed their ideas for improving the City’s transit delays, how to work with the Trump Administration and prevent the loss of federal funding for the New York Police Department, among other issues.
New Yorkers vote for City comptroller on the ballot on Tuesday. The polls in the Big Apple close at 9 PM local time.
Featured Image: Comptroller Scott M. Stringer and Rev. Michel Faulkner debate on Spectrum News NY1 in October.
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“Bank on Bo:” Bo Dietl Opens Up about NYC Mayoral Race, His Friendship with President Trump and More in Rare Substantive Video Interview
By Neil A. Carousso
Bo Dietl is the independent candidate running for Mayor of the City of New York. He is a life-long New Yorker who literally shed his blood, sweat and tears in the Big Apple as a New York Police Department officer and detective. He is a self-made entrepreneur and millionaire who never went to college because he had to work to support his family. He was an iron worker on the World Trade Center, and now, a private investigator hired by high-profile celebrities and executives.
Dietl is challenging Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) and New York State Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis (R). He is a registered Democrat who supported his friend, President Donald Trump and donated $50,000 to his campaign, but is disappointed that Mr. Trump has been stalled in accomplishing his “America First” agenda.
“I hope they say to themselves wow this guy is somebody I want to lead this City. This guy will help my kids. This guy will help me get affordable housing,” said Dietl of why New York residents should vote for him.
Dietl tells it the way he sees it with 15-years of law enforcement experience with the country’s largest police force, but oftentimes his “heart,” his “compassion” and his love of New York City and his genuine passion to improve its security, education and the homeless problem is lost in the campaign fighting.
“You got to remember my last case was the Palm Sunday Massacre. Ten Puerto Ricans, eight of them were children under the age of 12 years old, all shot in the head. [I have] vivid memories of those kids being shot in the head and I cried,” Dietl said with passion, adding, “That’s what I want to prevent and I want to help the people of New York. That’s who’s running for mayor: A caring guy against some egotistical, thieving, corrupt pay-for-play guy who wants to get re-elected. That’s your choice.”
Dietl calls Mayor de Blasio a “nincompoop” throughout this interview and rejects the polls, including the latest NY1/Baruch College poll, which puts de Blasio at 49 percent, Malliotakis at 16 percent and Dietl at 3 percent. He says the only poll that matters is the results of Tuesday’s election.
Watch this reporter’s full 44 minute interview with Mr. Dietl, which is substantive on the key issues pertinent to the New York City election and provides an in-depth profile of the “Bo Man.”
