Christmas and New Year services

Tackling hate crime is a longstanding priority for Hackney Council. In light of recent concerns within the community regarding Anti-Semitism following an incident in which a Rabbi was assaulted in Stamford Hill, we wanted to provide members of the community with an update on how we are working hard with the community, police and other members of our Community Safety Partnership to ensure that we stand with those who are impacted and reiterate that Hackney is no place for hate. Our strategy for tackling hate crime, which launched last year, details how the Council will stamp out hate crime in Hackney, including improving support for victims of hate, raising awareness of how to report hate crimes, and working with residents to build understanding of hate incidents and crime.  In line with our strategy, we have provided 100 Council staff and partners with hate crime awareness training in partnership with Stop Hate UK, held awareness stands with Council staff and police partners to encourage residents to share their ideas on how to tackle hate crime, produced a ‘no place for hate’ reporting leaflet for use by Council teams and community partners to promote reporting hate crime.  We have also reviewed patterns of incidents and offenders with police partners in order to target police and council patrols and reassurance. Our CCTV and enforcement officers are also supporting the police in gathering evidence to tackle hate crime and ensure that offenders are prosecuted.  Following this recent incident, we have been working with the police and members of the community to support the investigation and have held a number of in-depth conversations between the Council, police, members of the community and Shomrim to discuss how we can build on the work to date and strengthen cooperation. We are looking forward to arranging further opportunities in the New Year, alongside Hackney’s No Place for Hate Champion, Cllr Sade Etti, to meet with the wider community to listen and feed back.  We stand against all forms of racism including, but not limited to, Anti-Semitism and Islamaphobia. Our interfaith forum meets regularly to discuss issues affecting the many and varied faiths represented across our borough, and we work hard to protect the rights of disabled people, whose access needs we are continuing to address through our Hackney Access for Everyone scheme. However, as recent events have shown, it is clear that more needs to be done. Hate crime can have a particularly harmful effect on victims, as it seeks to attack an intrinsic part of who the victim is, or who they are perceived to be - compromising the quality of life for both individuals and communities as a whole. It is shameful that in this day and age, people continue to be discriminated against for the colour of their skin, the faith that they follow, who they love, and more.  Hackney is a wonderful, diverse place, where people from all backgrounds – different nationalities, religions, sexualities and people with disabilities – share streets, schools, parks, community halls, workplaces and, crucially, our common values of tolerance and respect. We will continue working hard with partners to ensure that Hackney is a place where everyone feels safe, respected and welcome. If you’re concerned about hate crime, you can contact the police on 101 (in an emergency on 999) or alternatively can call the Stop Hate UK helpline on 0800 138 1625. For more information about how we are tackling hate crime in the borough, please visit: https://hackney.gov.uk/crime-and-safety

Hackney Council is joining forces with charity Trees for Cities to plant a new edible woodland in Hackney Marshes. The woodland will see a mix of around 6,500 fruit and nut trees, broadleaf specimens, and shrubs planted on East Marsh, capturing planet-warming carbon dioxide, promoting biodiversity, and encouraging the local community to learn more about foraging.  The trees and shrubs are being funded by Honest Drinks through the charity Trees for Cities, which works with volunteers, schools and local communities to enhance green spaces in urban neighbourhoods, with land provided by Hackney Council.  Local people are being invited to come along and help plant the woodland with local voluntary group Tree Musketeers as more volunteers than ever are needed to help plant the trees.  The Council, Trees for Cities, and Tree Musketeers are then set to continue working together in the new year and beyond, by planting over 20,000 additional trees on the Marshes and other green spaces, aimed at improving tree canopy coverage and tackling the climate emergency by capturing carbon.  David Elliott, Chief Executive of Trees for Cities, said: "We are extremely excited to be working with Hackney Council and the Tree Musketeers to create this edible woodland, which will enhance local biodiversity, help in the fight against climate change and air pollution, and will provide local communities with a range of healthy produce to forage for years to come. The leadership that the local authority is demonstrating around trees and green infrastructure is setting a new benchmark that hopefully other authorities will aim to match."Christine Kings, Chair, Tree Musketeers, said: "We love the idea of planting a new edible woodland which is the next step on from our community orchards. We're really happy to bring our scores of enthusiastic and skilled volunteers to take part in this."The new edible forest in Hackney Marshes is set to be planted in East Marsh, and will not impact on any of the spaces used for sport and recreation. People are being urged to look out for an announcement about volunteering to plant the trees in the new year. 

The Mayor of Hackney and Cabinet Member for Transport have welcomed the introduction of a new Overground timetable at Hackney Central, after Hackney Council analysis revealed “concerning” levels of delays and cancellations over a two week period in November. During that period, Council data showed there were cancelled trains on the service almost every day, with 14 peak periods out of 20 affected by cancellations, making it harder for local people to get around.  Thirteen of the peak periods were affected by more than one cancellation, and on four occasions, four services were cancelled during any one peak time. This most recent analysis follows demands in the summer from Hackney and Tower Hamlets mayors and MPs that Overground services improve. When asked to explain the most recent delays and cancellations, operator Arriva Rail cited a number of reasons, including power supply issues, problems with trains, and ‘unexpected passenger loads’ on one day. On most of the occasions where trains missed stations in Hackney or were cancelled entirely, this was attributed to trains already running late.  The new timetable at Hackney Central will see ten trains an hour run on the line, which it is hoped will meet growing customer demand.  For more information about the new timetable, visit: https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/london-overground/london-overground-timetables

Over 70 new dockless bike bays have been installed in Hackney, as part of the Council’s landmark agreement with Beryl and Jump to introduce dockless bikes to the borough.  The bays, which have been funded by both operators, have replaced car parking spaces, with only dockless bikes allowed to park in them, ensuring that the borough’s pavements remain accessible to everyone.  Following the installation of the bays, residents are set to be able to try out the new dockless bikes as Beryl and Jump introduce 50 bikes each over the Christmas period.  The operators are celebrating the launch by offering everyone in Hackney access to free rides over the festive period, with people encouraged to feed back on the bikes ahead of the wider rollout of 500 bikes in the new year.  The bikes will provide a range of benefits for those looking to cycle for one-way trips, with Jump bikes costing £1 plus 12p a minute for its electrically assisted bikes and Beryl bikes available from just 5p per minute on its prepaid minute bundles or 5p per minute with a £1 unlock fee on the Pay As You Ride pass for its pedal-powered bikes.  Riders who leave their bikes outside of the bays will face an additional charge from the operators.  Philip Ellis, CEO of Beryl Bikes said: “We built our bike share here in Hackney, we could not be prouder to be bringing bikeshare back to the area. At Beryl, our mission is to lower the barrier to cycling and help as many people as possible to enjoy their cities by bike. We know that changing habits and replacing that first car journey with a bike ride can be difficult, especially in the winter months, so we’re offering everyone the chance to enjoy Beryl Bikes totally free for a full day.“Our hybrid scheme has been built to incentivise users to park responsibly, and we are very excited to partner with Hackney Council and champion green transport by working to repurpose car parking spaces in the borough. We look forward to all the feedback from Hackney residents and visitors in the coming weeks and months, please get in touch!” Dinika Mahtani, General Manager for JUMP in London, said: “We’re excited to launch our JUMP e-bikes in Hackney, one of London’s top cycling boroughs. Together with Hackney Council, we’re working to encourage more active and environmentally friendly travel with shared electric bikes. Already, more than 60,000 Londoners have taken their first JUMP trip and this is just the beginning with plans to expand in the new year.” People who want to feed back on how the service is operating, or report a dockless bike that isn’t parked in one of the new bays, should contact each operator directly: Beryl: contact them in their app or email support@beryl.ccJump: contact them in their app or online at: jump.com/gb/en/contact-us/ If a bike from another operator is obstructing the pavement, residents should contact the Council at movegreener@hackney.gov.uk or 020 8356 8023. The Council will then pick the bike up and store it at its Millfields depot until it’s collected. Redeeming the discount code BerylBeryl are offering all riders in London the opportunity to try their bikes for a full day free by using the code FREEDAYLDN. Simply download the Beryl app and enter the code at sign up or in the ‘promotions’ tab. From redemption, riders will have a full 24 hours of access to enjoy the Hackney and wider London bike share scheme. You can find more details about the promotion directly in the beryl app beryl.app/Hackney or on the Beryl community blog at beryl.cc/news/free-day-london-promotion. JumpJump is offering all Londoners one free 15-minute trip* valid from Wednesday 18 December - Wednesday 26 December. *The £3.00 promo code is valid for JUMP riders for one JUMP bike ride, which begins and ends in the London JUMP zone indicated in your app, and applies from 12:01pm on 18 December 2019 to 11:59pm on 26 December 2019. The £3 discount includes the £1 unlock fee per trip. You will be charged 12p per minute after the £3 is used up. Total free rental time is a total of 16 minutes over one trip. Offer cannot be used in combination with other promotions or discounts. Offer can only be used once by each Jump rider. Charges for incorrect parking will still apply and are not subject to the discount. Offer is subject to the Terms & Conditions, found at jump.com/promo-terms. To redeem your free JUMP trip in Hackney Download and open your Uber app between 18-26 December, 2019Tap the bicycle in the bottom right corner of the main screen. You’ll see all JUMP bicycles nearby.Select a JUMP bike nearby to ride and click ‘Reserve’On the '£1.00 to reserve' page tap ‘Change’ next to your default card information Click ‘Add promo code’ and enter ‘HACKNEYLAUNCH’ Press the ‘x’ to return to the booking page and start your ride!