New York CIty Council Member Ben Kallos

Public Safety

We must work together to keep our neighborhood safe from crime and emergencies like construction accidents. In the wake of the two crane collapses on the Upper East Side last year that claimed 9 lives, we must increase financial support for emergency services, improve construction regulation and community notice, as well as expand our&nbsp;<a href="http://www.nyc.gov/html/oem/html/get_prepared/cert.shtml&quot; target="_BLANK"><strong>Community Emergency Response Teams</strong></a>.

Letter to Mayor Bill de Blasio proposing $15.24 billion in potential savings and revenue in order to invest $827 million in spending on programs that support children, families, seniors, and our planet

Monday, June 15, 2020
Letter to Mayor Bill de Blasio proposing $15.24 billion in potential savings and revenue in order to invest $827 million in spending on programs that support children, families, seniors, and our planet

As we face unprecedented times and a budget that must-see painful cuts, we should look for possible waste and opportunities for revenues and savings. I have proposed $15.24 billion in potential savings and revenue for our city’s budget in order to invest $827 million in spending on programs that support children, families, seniors, and our planet that will reduce costs and generate revenues. 

New York Post NYPD faces first major budget cut in decades amid ‘perfect storm’ of factors by Julia Marsh, Nolan Hicks

NYPD faces first major budget cut in decades amid ‘perfect storm’ of factors
Julia Marsh
Nolan Hicks

The NYPD is facing its first budget cut in at least two decades — thanks to a “perfect storm” of events including “dire economic circumstances,” fallout from the George Floyd killing and calls for reform from the progressive wing of the City Council, experts and insiders said.

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Meanwhile, the City Council’s 21-member progressive caucus is meeting with criminal justice reformers who want $1 billion in cuts this year to the NYPD’s $6 billion budget as a response to charges of police misconduct.

“Many members of the progressive caucus have already come out in favor of #Defund NYPD and we will be taking a formal position as a caucus shortly,” said Ben Kallos (D-Manhattan), the group’s chair co-chair.

Habitat Buildings Owners Ignore $31 Million in Fines Over Unsafe Facades by Press Staff

Buildings Owners Ignore $31 Million in Fines Over Unsafe Facades
Press Staff

Just days after the city’s Department of Buildings (DOB) issued stricter rules and stiffer fines for facade inspections, the New York Times reports that there are about 1,400 sidewalk sheds outside city buildings where facades present a serious safety threat. Over the past decade, according to an analysis by the Times, building owners have ignored more than $31 million in fines over unsafe facades. During that period, more than 6,000 buildings higher than six floors did not inspect their facades or failed to file their findings, as required by law. 

Upper East Side Patch City To Install 152 Scaffolds In Crackdown After Woman's Death by Brendan Krisel

City To Install 152 Scaffolds In Crackdown After Woman's Death
Brendan Krisel

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — A vast majority of New York City building owners cited with violations for unsafe facades in a crackdown following the Dec. 17 death of Erica Tischman ignored the city's demands to put up scaffolding, Department of Buildings Commissioner Melanie La Rocca said during a Monday City Council hearing.

New York Times Facades on 1,400 Buildings in New York Are a Threat to Pedestrians by Mattew Haag

Facades on 1,400 Buildings in New York Are a Threat to Pedestrians
Mattew Haag

The warning from the New York City building inspector was blunt. The facade of the apartment building in the Bronx was crumbling and a corner was separating. The playground outside a day care center in the building had to close immediately.

That was in 2001. Nineteen years later there is still a three-foot gap in the brick facade and the playground, for the center’s 50 children between 2 and 4 years old, is still off limits.

FOX 5 WNYW New York City Council holds hearing on façade inspections by Fox 5

New York City Council holds hearing on façade inspections
Fox 5

NEW YORK - Leaders of the New York City Department of Buildings testified before the City Council’s Committee on Housing and Building on Monday in the aftermath of two recent deadly accidents where falling debris off building façades killed two pedestrians walking on the sidewalk. 

Calling the Department of Building’s current inspection system archaic, some city council members are calling on the DOB to begin using drones to inspect buildings.

"I think it could be a huge game-changer," said City Council Member Ben Kallos. 

However, the Department of Buildings is standing by what it calls its “tried and true” inspection system.

During the hearing, DOB Commissioner Melanie La Rocca said that there are currently almost 600 buildings in the city that are considered unsafe, and that the owners have a repair and maintenance plan. 

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