New York State Bans Use of Unclaimed Dead as Cadavers Without Consent

By NINA BERNSTEINAUG. 19, 2016

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A bill that Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York signed into law this week concerns the dead as much as the living and signals a big change in public attitudes about what one owes the other.

The law bans the use of unclaimed bodies as cadavers without written consent by a spouse or next of kin, or unless the deceased had registered as a body donor. It ends a 162-year-old system that has required city officials to appropriate unclaimed bodies on behalf ofmedical schools that teach anatomical dissection and mortuary schools that train embalmers.

The state’s medical schools recently announced that they were withdrawing their opposition to the measure, saying they would meet any shortfall in cadavers by expanding their programs for private body donations.

But the only mortuary school in New York City, the American Academy McAllister Institute of Funeral Services, had been pressing for a veto from Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat. “They’re extremely disappointed,” the school’s lawyer, Brian S. Sokoloff, said on Friday. “It’s unfortunate that the governor didn’t heed their pleas.”

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Gov. Andrew M. CuomoCreditHiroko Masuike/The New York Times

Unlike medical schools, McAllister has no body donation program. Mr. Sokoloff would not say what steps the school was considering to acquire bodies for embalmment training.

But advocates of families too poor to claim a relative from a morgue suggest that many might consent to having students embalm the bodies in exchange for a free or low-cost funeral or cremation. Others point to California’s university system, where an exhaustive donor-consent form includes a mortuary school as one of the beneficiaries.

“The death of a loved one is a time of unimaginable grief,” Mr. Cuomo said in an email. “It is vital that we take every possible step to respect and follow the wishes of the deceased and their family members regarding the disposal of their loved ones’ remains.”

The city has offered at least 4,000 bodies to medical or mortuary programs in the past decade, records show. Among these, more than 1,877 were selected for use before being buried in mass graves on Hart Island, the potter’s field for the city.

The state bill, which had stalled last year, passed both houses in June despite strong objections from medical schools, a month after an investigation by The New York Times highlighted provisions in the old law that gave families as little as 48 hours to claim a relative’s body before the city must make it available for dissection or embalming.

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Milton Weinstein, seated, with his wife and their children in 1981. He was buried on Hart Island in 2011, two years after his death, having been used as a medical cadaver.

Many cases never came to light because the city declines to publicly identify bodies in the morgue or to name those transferred to medical schools or mortuary classes as cadavers, citing privacy for the dead. But for survivors, the belated discovery that a relative was used for dissection can be devastating.

“That is shameful,” Michael A. Wynston said when he learned from The Times that the corpse of his father, Milton Weinstein, had been swiftly passed from the nursing home where he died to a city morgue and then on to a medical school for dissection in its anatomy lab, all without the knowledge or consent of his widow or his estranged sons.

Mr. Weinstein, a disabled Jewish typographer who died at 67, was not buried for two years.

“Many have been dishonored by the system and families have been lied to,” Barry Gainsburg, Mr. Weinstein’s stepson, wrote in an email from his home in Florida on Friday. “It is now welcomed that such despicable and deplorable policies have been acknowledged and changed by the State of New York. Perhaps, the dishonor has not been in vain.”

The new law was sponsored by State Senator Simcha Felder, a Democrat who represents a Brooklyn district that includes neighborhoods heavily populated by Orthodox Jews or people of Chinese descent, and State Assemblyman Michael Simanowitz, a Democrat from another diverse district in Queens.

“After numerous cases of unclaimed bodies being delivered to medical schools for uses that may have been in stark contrast with the religious or personal wishes of next of kin, this law now makes it illegal to show such disrespect to the deceased,” Mr. Felder said.

“My colleague Assemblyman Simanowitz and I were both aware of heartbreaking cases that pained families, and we feared that these scenarios would repeat,” he added. “Now, these worries come to an end.”

(This article appeared in The New York Times)

Felder Pitches In at BCA’s Annual Community Clean-Up Campaign

Sen. Felder expressed his pride in the children.

Senator Simcha Felder was proud to roll up his sleeves and grab a broom as the Brooklyn Chinese-American Association (BCA) kicked off its 2016 Annual Community Clean Up Campaign. The opening ceremony took place in front of the BCA main office at the corner of Eighth Avenue and 50th Street where hundreds of children, volunteers and community members were on hand to participate.

“We are so proud of the children who work so hard to keep the community clean,” said Senator Felder to the enthusiastic youngsters who gave the Senator a warm welcome. “More, I continue to be impressed, every year, by the terrific job that BCA President Paul Mak does in organizing wonderful events like today’s community clean-up. Nothing shows respect for our community like keeping it clean. Thank you this wonderful work, which you should all be proud of.”

In addition to Senator Felder, other distinguished guests who attended the Kickoff Ceremony included Assemblyman Peter Abate and Captain Kenneth Quick, Commanding Officer of the NYPD’s 66th Precinct. Senator Felder joined the guests in launching the campaign by personally cleaning the sidewalk in front of the BCA office. After the ceremony, the participants cleaned up the neighborhood along Eighth Avenue, Seventh Avenue and Fort Hamilton Parkway, from 39th Street to 60th Street. Along the cleaning route, participants have also educated businesses and community members on the importance of maintaining a clean environment.

Law And Order – Or Chaos?

If a novice were to ask for my counsel about going into public service and running for higher office, I would start with this tidbit of advice: Pick a side. You are either for law and order or you’re against it.

And if you’re against law and order, find another career path. Elected officials owe it to their constituents to hold the law and those who defend it in the highest regard.

As we saw with the events surrounding Occupy Wall Street, certain elected officials – to say nothing of some community leaders – are too quick to ride populist waves, sowing seeds of anger and tacitly encouraging lawlessness and violence. And now, as this summer of discontent unfolds and policemen are randomly assassinated in the streets, precisely because they are policemen, many are wondering how it ever got this far, while in fact we should be worrying about how much further it will go… and for how long.

But it doesn’t have to be this way.

In Pirke Avot 3:2, Rabbi Chanina the deputy high priest taught, “Pray for the welfare of the government, for were it not for the fear of it, men would swallow one another alive.”

In 1964, pressured by a non-violent civil rights movement and under the leadership of President Lyndon Johnson, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibited segregation in public accommodations and made discrimination in education and employment illegal. In 1965 Congress passed the Voting Rights Act, which suspended the use of any voter qualification devices that prevented blacks from voting. Other civil rights battles still lay ahead, but the civil rights movement had used a campaign of nonviolent actions to end centuries of open, legal racism in the United States.

A half-century later, we’ve allowed a quest for justice to devolve into absurd political correctness. Being pro-equal rights does not mean having to tolerate crime, regardless of the race of the perpetrators, or of the victims. Being anti-prejudice should not require blindness to facts or tolerance of abhorrent happenstances.

Those who are kind to the cruel will eventually be cruel to the kind. When we tie the hands of our police, we make it impossible for them to effectively protect our citizens. When we take away police-recommended (and highly effective) measures like stop and frisk from law enforcement, we make it harder (and sometimes impossible) for them to enforce the law.

But this is what our elected officials did. And in so doing, they encouraged some people to hate the police. The president of the United States, above all other U.S. elected officials, should be an icon of law and order for all of us. But how many of our citizens – even his political supporters – regard him that way? His refusal to condemn groups that encourage violence against police amounts to a deafening silence. How much the more so other elected officials closer to home?

First they sow seeds of discontent, then we all reap the whirlwind.

Clearly, as we define deviancy down (as Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan phrased it) and watch the disintegration of law and order in America – as public urination is decriminalized in our city and police are shot at all over our nation – the connection should be clear.

One definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Perhaps it’s time to consider a new direction – respect for the police and law and order – and find more satisfying outcomes.

This column originally appeared in The Jewish Press on July 27, 2016.
http://www.jewishpress.com/news/us-news/ny/law-and-order-or-chaos/2016/07/27/

682 CHILDREN DIED IN HOT CARS

“Over the last 15 years, 682 children have died in hot cars,” says Senator Simcha Felder. “That’s 682 too many.”

Senator Felder issued his warning this morning when two more children died over the weekend after being left in hot cars. More, the Senator and his colleagues unanimously passed a bill introduced by Senator Jack Martins this year to make it illegal to leave children younger than 8 alone in a vehicle.

Studies show that when outdoor temperatures reach between 70 and 96 degrees, the temperature inside a car can quickly rise more than 40 degrees in an hour. Cracking the windows has been shown to have little effect on the temperature inside a car.

“Parents should be aware of the risks of leaving children alone in hot or cold cars, even for a short time,” said Senator Felder, who praised Senator Martins for remaining in the forefront of this issue. “It should be the law—and hopefully it will be soon—but minimally it’s common sense. And we’re in the middle of a heat wave,” said Felder. “Do the right thing. Don’t leave children alone in your car.”

Press Contact: Yehudah Meth, (718) 253-2015

Don’t Take Free Transportation for Granted

For some young parents, it might seem like free after-school transportation for children has always been around. That’s not the case. There was a time when City service picked up students and dropped them off door-to-door. Then to save money they established central bus stops. One can only imagine how difficult it was for a mother to walk for blocks with several children and a baby.

For decades, many families suffered from an inequitable and frankly dangerous denial of transportation services for certain New York City school children. Why dangerous? Boys and girls had different bus stops, so mothers with a son and daughter had to leave at least one child unsupervised. In addition, older Yeshiva students were dismissed from school in the late afternoon, so parents found themselves forced to pay for private transportation to bring children both to and from school. The average cost for this transportation was approximately $1200 per child. For those who couldn’t afford or reconcile the out-of-pocket expenses, the other option was having children use city buses. During the winter months, when dismissal occurred after nightfall, there was an additional safety concern.

It was only a few years ago that a NY State budget all children would receive door-to-door transportation at no cost to parents.
bill, which I was proud to sponsor, finally resulted in an amendment to the state’s school transportation law. At last,

It wasn’t easy getting it passed. The city certainly wasn’t interested. Liberal Democrats in particular opposed the measure vehemently and screamed that it would cost the city $300 million, a bizarre exaggeration on their part rooted in their accountability to the unions (who didn’t want to lose the bus services).

But my colleague Assembly Member Helene Weinstein and I fought hard, and we won. The result was genuine savings for parents, as well as measurable benefits for yeshivas and their students. Because they were now being reimbursed appropriately for transportation, schools could now afford new safer, and air-conditioned busses.

The new law did three things: It guaranteed transportation from city public or private schools for all children from kindergarten through sixth grade, even those dismissed after 4 pm; it mandated that all bus stops be no more than 600 feet from a child’s house; and, in the case where two or more school-age children in a family attended more than one school, it authorized the family to pick one bus stop for all children involved.

When the law passed, parents were happy, children were happy, schools were happy and I was ecstatic. But eventually, like with all good things, free transportation soon became a way of life, which everyone took for granted. I couldn’t take it for granted, though. Because of the way we were able to push transportation through initially, I understood that the statute had to be preserved and grown. That’s one of the things I was fighting for this year.

During the first year of the program, 9,500 children benefitted and by year two the number reached 14,300. More students meant more money needed to be budgeted. Then, this year, more than 20,000 kids needed transportation. Between new and existing students, more than $25 million was needed to continue funding the program. By Feb. 1st the City was ready to stop the program without a commitment of greater funding.

There was more than one problem to address. New York City complained that new students shouldn’t be funded. Their argument was based on the statutory language, which they interpreted as a temporary measure that had to be revisited each year. We needed to make certain that language was corrected this year so transportation would become a permanent part of state law.

My colleagues and I worked hard to devise a solution that involved increasing the budget and devising language so more children would be eligible. This required agreements with the State Education Department and the NYC Department of Education. I’m pleased to report: Mission accomplished.

Something can be a great idea but somebody has to pay for it. We fought hard for you this year to make sure that every student—children who had used after-school transportation, children who had not yet used it, and all new students—would be covered. Free transportation for our children is too important to lose. Once again, our families will have those benefits this year. But we shouldn’t take it for granted.

Simcha Felder

[This Op Ed originally appeared in The Flatbush Jewish Journal]

Combating Prejudice with Understanding

Operation Understanding’s mission is to build a generation of African American and Jewish community leaders who promote respect, understanding and cooperation while working to eradicate racism, anti-Semitism, and all forms of discrimination. So when the ensemble of college-age, young adults hailing from Washington, DC, decided to visit Boro Park, Senator Simcha Felder’s staffers Judah Wohlgelernter and Herzka Grunfeld (pictured with the students) gave them the grand tour along with a greater understanding of what Boro Park is all about.

“Operation Understanding is doing important work and I’m happy that they include Boro Park each year in their quest for knowledge of diversity,” says Senator Felder. “This is a delightful group of open-minded young people eager to learn and we explained the unique identity of the Boro Park neighborhood, how Orthodox businesses work, and how the community works with government toward everyone’s mutual benefit.”

Sick of Waiting for Your Meds? New Law Will Increase Supplies

It may soon be much easier for patients to avoid co-payments and obtain larger supplies of their prescription medication from local pharmacies, thanks to the efforts of Senator Simcha Felder (Brooklyn) and Assemblyman Michael Simanowitz (Queens). The effort is designed to improve medication compliance, lower medical costs for New Yorkers, and make it easier for residents to maintain the necessary supplies of their medications.

Currently, people who are on long-term medications must return to pharmacies once a month or use mail-order pharmacies to refill their prescriptions. This can prove to be a costly and troublesome trip, which has resulted in a decrease in adherence to medication.

Ninety day refills have shown to increase a patient’s adherence to their medication by 15% and reduce costs, but existing law does not allow local pharmacies to offer 90-day refills. The new legislation would allow local pharmacies to fill prescriptions, provided that the medication is not a controlled substance and that the patient’s doctor is in agreement.

“The only opposition I expect to this law is from on-line pharmacies, and most of those are in Canada” said Senator Felder. “This is common-sense legislation that protects vulnerable New Yorkers, particularly the elderly and those with chronic illnesses.”

“The passage of this legislation is a huge win for public health and New York State,” said Assemblyman Simanowitz. “New Yorkers will now be able to obtain life-saving medication from their own pharmacies while keeping medical costs low. I am hopeful that Governor Cuomo will do the right thing for our patients and sign this bill into law.”