November News: Election Day Tomorrow, Blood Center/Longfellow Commercial Tower Final Hearing & Internet as a Utility

Dear Neighbor,

Tomorrow, Tuesday, November 2nd, is Election Day, your last chance to drop off your absentee ballot or vote in person on everything from Mayor to City Council and even our State Constitution. Polls are open 6am–9pm. Find your poll site and go vote!

It’s been a year of fighting to save our beloved Julia Richman Education Center and treasured St. Catherine’s Park, the only playground in the neighborhood, from being cast into permanent shadow by the Longfellow 334-foot Commercial Tower proposed by the Blood Center Enterprises conglomerate. Thank you to all the elected officials, community board members, principals, parents, students, and neighbors who testified at the 7-hour hearing. We finally got answers to longstanding questions and some might surprise you. As the project currently stands, I am prepared to vote no.

One thing the pandemic has taught us is that it’s time to treat the Internet as a utility, no different from heat, hot water, electricity, or phone service. That's why I authored legislation that would require Internet as part of all new construction and in existing apartment buildings within three years, at no cost to tenants.

The pandemic has also taught us how vulnerable our supply chain is, especially for food, which we saw skyrocket in price. I am proud to have carried and passed legislation for Eric Adams to establish an Office of Urban Agriculture.

As it gets cold outside, we are bringing First Friday back on Zoom. This month we will pay our respects on Veterans Day to the brave Americans who have served our nation in the military and celebrate Thanksgiving. If you live in our district's public housing, please make sure you get your free turkey by calling our office at 212-860-1950. If you are otherwise in need or know someone who is, we are here to help.

I know I've said it before, but it bears repeating this Thanksgiving, I am thankful for the opportunity to serve you and our community over the past 8 years and for all those I have had the chance to collaborate with in accomplishing more than I ever thought possible. What are you most thankful for?

Thankful in service,

Ben Kallos
Council Member

Election Day: Tuesday, November 2nd

This year’s Election will have everything from Mayor to City Council Members as well as 5 questions on whether to amend the State Constitution. This will be a consequential election you want to miss!

Polls will be open on Tuesday, November 2nd, from 6 AM to 9 AM.

You can hand in your absentee ballot without waiting in line, or vote in person if you are not confident that your absentee ballot was received, or even if you change your mind.

You can check your voter registration status at Vote.NYC. We've added additional early voting sites since the last election, so find yours now at FindMyPollSite.Vote.NYC

This year, voters are also being asked to consider five state Constitutional Amendments as they go to the polls. If they pass, they will be part of the state's governing document.

Ballot Proposal #1: Amending the Apportionment and Redistricting Process
Ballot Proposal #2: Right to Clean Air and Water
Ballot Proposal #3: Eliminating Ten-Day Advance Voter Registration
Ballot Proposal #4: No-Excuse Absentee Voting
Ballot Proposal #5: Expanding the New York City Civil Court Jurisdiction

If you want more information on the candidates or the proposals visit the New York City Campaign Finance guide Voting.NYC/meet-the-candidates

AT CITY HALL

City Council Hearing Uncovers Rezoning Would Print $400 Million for Blood Center & Longfellow at Expense of Park and School

Everyone Can Win!

I opened the City Council's Blood Center hearing with a counter-proposal from the community where everyone could win. The community, led by Friends of the Upper East Side, proposed a “full coverage” alternative that could provide an additional 100,000 square feet of space without going over the 75-foot height limit. I also found at least one developer who is interested in building the Blood Center a new building using the remaining space that the Blood Center doesn’t want for housing we desperately need. I even found nearly one million square feet of vacant commercial office space for Longfellow within blocks of the Blood Center at 919 Third Avenue and 625 Madison Avenue where they could bring biotech space to our city now, instead of in three to five years. Everyone could win: the Blood Center gets a new building, Longfellow and our city get twice as much biotech space, our nearby commercial towers get new tenants, students at Julia Richman can still have sunlight on their playground, and thousands of hospital workers and children can still enjoy the sunshine at St. Catherine's Park, the only park in the neighborhood.

I was disappointed, but not surprised when the Blood Center refused to even consider our generous offers.

Hearing Forces Blood Center Enterprises and Longfellow to Finally Start Answering Questions

I questioned Blood Center Enterprises’ development team and got the following on the public record which you can watch for yourself:

This Rezoning will PRINT $400 MILLION for the Blood Center Enterprises Conglomerate and Longfellow – The 400,000 additional square feet that would be created by this rezoning are valued at $1,000 a square foot which would print $400 million for the Blood Center Enterprises conglomerate. There is already an endowment of more than $300 million. Blood Center Enterprises testified that the cost to build their new building could be as little as $325 million, meaning the cost could be entirely covered by the endowment if the Blood Center chose not to finance the construction.
Longfellow Commercial Tower Will NOT Require Tenants to Work with Blood Center or Nearby Institutions – Many incubators in our city require tenants to participate in specific programs, come from specific communities, or work with specific partners. Tenants in the Longfellow Commercial Tower will have no restrictions or requirements to work with the Blood Center or nearby medical institutions.
The Longfellow Commercial Tower Could Rise 500 Feet to Become a Skyscraper – The Blood Center is only allowed on a residential block because academic and medical uses are contextual with residential neighborhoods, because people generally want a doctor or school nearby. The rezoning proposal for a Longfellow Commercial Tower by Blood Center Enterprises removes all restrictions on height and would allow them or anyone who purchases the site to build a commercial skyscraper that is 500 feet tall or more.

The Blood Center Will Get LESS Space from the Rezoning then They Can Build As-of-Right – The Blood center can build a 229,000 square-foot building “as-of-right,” but will only get 206,000 square feet as part of the proposed rezoning. It took longer than it should have for the Blood Center to admit that 206,000 was less than 229,000.
New York City’s Blood Supply is NOT Dependent on this Location – When I asked about the duration of construction and what would happen to the city’s blood supply during that time, the Blood Center answered that there would be no impact. That might be because Blood Center Enterprises is not legally allowed to distribute blood from 310 East 67th Street. According to FDA filings, Blood Center Enterprises only has 2 locations in New York State where they can distribute blood and that’s LIC and Long Island. As for research, Blood Center Enterprises has labs in multiple states, with 3 more in New York State in LIC, Nyack, and Long Island.
The Blood Center Lied to City Planning About Laboratory Needs – The Blood Center lied in filings with City Planning stating unequivocally that they needed 16-foot floor to ceiling heights to accommodate modern laboratory space only to announce at the hearing that they could reduce the floor to ceiling heights to 12-feet in order to reduce the tower's height by some 50 feet. Sadly, the project’s shadow impact on St. Catherine’s park would still remain unchanged at times.
The Blood Center Refused to Negotiate with Anyone – I asked Borough President Gale Brewer and multiple Community Board members if the Blood Center was willing to negotiate or offer any concessions as are customary during a rezoning, and all of them said no. Senator Liz Krueger, who has joined the community opposition, also noted that the Blood Center would not negotiate with her either.
$100 Million is NOT ENOUGH for the Blood Center – When I asked about the community's generous offer to print 100,000 additional square feet, worth $100 million, while still fitting under 75 feet in height to protect the public school and public park across the street, the Blood Center feigned ignorance of the proposal and refused to answer.

In the Press

In the wake of the hearing, Our Town provided in-depth coverage of the community’s generous offer and work to find a partner for the Blood Center. BisNow (syndicated) covered the Blood Center as a lesson in “what not to do” when you’ve got an elected official and community with a reputation for supporting biotech projects. The New York Post also reported on the connections between Mayor Bill de Blasio and the Kramer Levin law firm representing the Blood Center project. It just so happens that the Mayor owes this law firm $435,000 and whenever this firm represents a development project in the City—no matter how controversial—the Mayor always seems to support it.

Thank You

Thank you to the 120 residents who showed up to testify virtually at a 7-hour zoning hearing in opposition of the Blood Center/Longfellow 334’ Commercial Tower. I am not sure the City Council has seen more opposition to a project and that isn’t even counting everyone who submitted more than 200 pages of testimony in opposition or the more than 1,100 petition signatures in opposition. Testimony in opposition came from Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, State Senator Liz Krueger, Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright, and Borough President Gale Brewer themselves. We also heard opposition from public school principals, students, community board members, doctors from nearby medical institutions, not to mention all the residents who came out in full force. Everyone was fighting to protect our public school and public park.

My Commitment

I continue to fight on behalf of our community alongside Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, State Senator Liz Krueger, and Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, and you have my commitment that I will be voting ‘No’ on this project as currently proposed in the City Council.

Hospital For Special Surgery Secures more Space for Healthcare on the Upper East Side

The Upper East Side will be getting more healthcare facilities and resources as Hospital for Special Surgery is set to break ground on a new 30-story building on First Avenue between East 79th and 80th streets. 200,000 square feet of the 400,000-square-foot medical tower will be used by Hospital for Special Surgery for physicians’ offices and hospital ancillary services. The rest of the floors will be marketed for space in the growing life sciences community. The developer is open to having the Blood Center as a tenant, and I hope that they will consider this well-timed opportunity as an alternative to pushing through a proposal that would condemn a local park and school to forever shadows.

Internet as a Utility Introduced to Help Close the Digital Divide

My office has been fighting to close the digital divide for years. This is a battle that has not been won yet and it is embarrassing for our City that in 2021, one out of every four homes in East Harlem, right here in Manhattan, does not have internet.

A recent study by the Centers for Disease Control found a "strong association" between households with access to broadband and vaccination rates. Given the number of constituents our office helped secure an appointment, we know how important an Internet connection is to getting a vaccine and beating this Pandemic.

Here in New York City, there are 500,000 households without Internet access. That's more people than live in Atlanta. Imagine if no one in Atlanta had Internet, it would be a national embarrassment, and a priority. But here in New York half a million people without Internet go ignored.

Under legislation I authored, every apartment in New York City would have broadband Internet for free. All new residential buildings, as well as those undergoing renovations, would be wired for gigabit Internet. Existing buildings with ten or more units would have to provide broadband Internet to their tenants for free. Tenants could still choose to pay for a faster Internet from a different provider. This would make it so that we treat the Internet as a utility just like heat, hot water, electricity, and phone utilities.

Whether we pass this legislation and put the burden on real estate here in New York City or the FCC finally steps in and forces cable and phone companies to provide affordable Internet to every household in America, all that matters is that we answer the moral imperative to give everyone broadband Internet.

For more information, read or press release or see coverage in New York Magazine's Curbed, Patch, Yahoo News, Z100, and Architectural Digest.

Urban Agriculture Law Passes

In October the City Council passed legislation I carried to establish an Office of Urban Agriculture. The new office will work with existing commercial urban farms to help them expand and to remove barriers to entry into the industry for newcomers. The office will also focus on expanding the industry but doing it from a social and economic justice standpoint. For example, the office will work with NYCHA’s Building Healthy Communities initiative to build farms on public housing land to offer our lowest-income New Yorkers access to healthy food and economic opportunity.

Former Council Member Rafael Espinal and Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, the original sponsors of this legislation, had invested $2 million in partnership with the Economic Development Corporation to build out Urban Agriculture in Brooklyn. The new Citywide version of this initiative will build on that pilot, helping make our city more self-reliant when it comes to access to healthy food. For more information, you can read the new law or my full statement.

Retirement Security for All Goes Statewide

Governor Kathy Hochul just expanded the ‘Retirement Security for All’ law that I authored statewide. The law will help millions of City and State workers who do not have access to savings plans through their employers to get enrolled automatically at no cost to their employers.

In New York City, two-thirds of workers, more than 2 million people in 2009, did not participate in employer-sponsored retirement plans, largely because their employer didn’t offer one, according to a 2011 report by then Comptroller John Liu. More than one-third of households led by a member who will become a senior citizen in the next decade will either be unable to retire or have to live entirely or primarily on Social Security income, according to the same report. The National Institute on Retirement Security predicts a United States retirement saving deficit of as much as $14 trillion.

This was a long fight, starting with authoring and introducing legislation in 2015 with Public Advocate Tish James to implement the program. In 2016, we worked with a national coalition of state and city governments to advocate before the White House and the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to secure new regulations for states and municipalities. In 2017, Steve Bannon put stopping our legislation on a top ten list on his whiteboard at the White House. Among the first acts of the 115^th Congress was the passage of House Joint Resolutions 66 and 67, which rolled back the regulations we had won. While the regulations simply confirmed that ERISA did not preempt state- or city-facilitated IRAs, New York State and City attorneys didn’t want to risk litigation with the Justice Department in the notoriously strict 2^nd Circuit. With a new White House in 2018, Governor Cuomo passed a state-sponsored IRA, and I re-introduced my auto-IRA legislation. In September 2019, Cuomo still hadn’t even begun steps to implement a state IRA, so we held a hearing where we brought one of the only existing state facilitated auto-IRAs, OregonSaves, along with national experts to testify at the City Council.

On May 11, 2021, my “Retirement Security for All” auto-enrollment IRA was signed into law. This will apply to employers with 5 or more employees who do not currently offer a retirement option to employees, though smaller employers will have the option of joining. Once implemented, employees over the age of 21 who do not already have access to retirement through their employer will have 5% automatically deducted from their payroll. Employees will be able to drop their enrollment and withdraw initial funds or adjust withholdings up to the Federal maximum of $6,000 (or $7,000 at age 50 or above). The auto-IRA will be portable between employers and likely even jurisdictions. The auto-IRA will be low-fee to participants and no-fee for employers.

On October 21, 2021, Governor Kathy Hochul signed legislation to expand our program statewide that was authored by my good friend and colleague Assembly Member Robert Rodriguez, and I couldn't be happier!

IN THE NEWS

Scaffolding Mock Anniversary Party Takes Place On UWS: Recap, Upper West Side Patch, 10/11/21
Council Member Calls For Probe of Alleged 311 Harassment As Colleague Calls Dead-of-Night Calls from Cops ‘Inappropriate’, StreetsBlogNYC, 10/26/21
NYC lawmakers push for Big Apple ‘drag laureate’, New York Post, 10/26/21
New York City Announces $111 Million Project To Improve Appearance of NYCHA Buildings, WCBS-2, 10/26/21
How to regulate Airbnb in NYC: With a registry, Daily News, 10/26/21
The 10 Best Ideas We Heard at Tuesday’s Epic ‘Vision Zero’ Hearing, Streetsblog NYC, 10/26/21
De Blasio Pledges $111M To Tear Down NYCHA Sidewalk Sheds, Patch, 10/27/21
NYC lawmakers push for Big Apple 'drag laureate', New York Post, 10/28/21
Free internet for NYC apartments is doable for landlords, The Ticker, 10/29/2021
Fines For Noisy, Illegal Mufflers And Exhaust Systems Now Raised To $1,000, Gothamist, 10/30/31
De Blasio connected to firms working on controversial NYC Blood Center tower,
New York Post, 10/30/21

AROUND THE NEIGHBORHOOD

New Mobile Command Center for the 17th Precinct

I was proud to cut the ribbon alongside the 17th Precinct's Captain Aaron C. Edwards on a brand new mobile command center for the NYPD. I allocated $550,000 to purchase the state-of-the-art vehicle, which will be used for large-scale events such as the United Nations General Assembly, street festivals, and parades. Check out the coverage in Upper East Side Patch, TapInto or watch the ribbon-cutting ceremony at BenKallos.com/videos

Family Fun Days

I hope all the parents, families, and children had as great of a time as I did last month at our Family Days at St. Catherine’s Park and Samuel Seabury Playground.

Awards from Sutton Area Community & ESNA

Thank you to the Sutton Area Community board, and especially to their Managing Director Charles Giovanni Vanzan Coutinho, Ph.D., for an award acknowledging my years of public service and assistance to the Sutton Place community. It has been truly an honor to work with residents of the Sutton Area over the years on everything from a first-of-its-kind rezoning as we fought overdevelopment together to opening and improving pocket parks in this neighborhood.

Thank you also to the East Sixties Neighborhood Association for their award. It has been my great pleasure to work with residents of the East Sixties over the years to build Andrew Haswell Green Park, expand our waterfronts, renovate our parks, and clean up the neighborhood with a new trash can on every corner (which was their request).

Cleaning Up Ruppert Park with the Muslim Volunteers

Fun times alongside Muslim Volunteers, Congresswoman Maloney, and Assembly Member Dan Quart as we all worked to help keep Ruppert park clean and looking great for the neighborhood.

Roosevelt Island Bank Tour

Since the only bank on Roosevelt Island closed during the pandemic, we’ve been working with the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation and Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer to bring a new bank to the island. This is a real need that we continue to work on fixing; in October we helped host a tour of our existing bank site and a potential new location for a new bank. A handful of interested banking institutions attended the tour.

Krispy Kreme Opening on UES

I had a sweet time at the grand opening of a new Krispy Kreme donut shop in the neighborhood located on the corner of 86th and Lexington Avenue. So if you are looking for a sometimes treat, there is a new business on the Upper East Side you can visit. For more information on the shop, read the coverage by Upper East Side Patch.

EVENTS

Concert at Ruppert Park (Rescheduled from October 29)

Join me and NYC Parks for a fun afternoon of free live jazz music. Come ready to have a great time! Contact (212) 360-1430 or accessibility@parks.nyc.gov for more information regarding accessibility. For more information or to RSVP, visit BenKallos.com/Events

Music at Ruppert Park
Monday, November 1, 3pm to 4:30 pm
Ruppert Park
91st Street and Second Avenue
RSVP

First Friday (Back on Zoom)

First Friday, November 5, 8am–10am
RSVP

First Friday remains one of my favorite parts of my job, representing you as your Council Member. As the weather turns cold, we are returning to a virtual format. Join me starting at 8 am on Friday, November 5th for a conversation with friends and neighbors over Zoom.

You must RSVP to participate.

Please submit questions with RSVP or by email to Questions@benkallos.com

RSVP now at BenKallos.com/events

Shred-A-Thon: Bring On The Turkey Edition

On Sunday, November 21st, beginning at 10am through 2pm opposite the 92nd Street Greenmarket, on 92nd Street and First Avenue, Upper Green Side and Grow NYC will be hosting a fall Shred-A-Thon. They will be taking any paper documents for shredding. This time around, they will also be taking eyeglasses that need to be disposed of. This event is paid for with funding from Assemblymember Seawright, Council Member Powers, and my office. RSVP at BenKallos.com/events.

Request Your Free Turkey

Thanksgiving is just weeks away. As in past years, in collaboration with New York Common Pantry, I will be delivering free turkeys to residents in my district living in New York City Housing Authority developments ahead of Thanksgiving 2021. Last year we gave out over 200 turkeys, which were paid for by funds allocated by my office. Families residing at Stanley Isaacs, Holmes Towers, Lexington Houses, and Robbins Plaza received the turkeys.

If you live in a NYCHA development in Council District 5 and want a turkey this year, call my office next at 212-860-1950 to get on the list.

You can also get additional food by joining the New York Common Pantry at nycommonpantry.org.

Roosevelt Island Pumpkin Smash

Once Halloween is over, Roosevelt Island is ready for you to bring over your pumpkin and smash it. On November 6th, 11am to 2pm, residents are encouraged to bring there leftover pumpkins, Jack-O-Lanterns, and gourds so they can be disposed of in an environmentally favorable manner and with a little bit of fun.

Join the New York Department of Sanitation’s Composting Project, Big Reuse, and the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation for this event, rain or shine. The fun will take place on Roosevelt Island’s Manhattan Park Lower Lawn on the East River facing the Manhattan Skyline Buildings #20 and #30.

Fresh Food Box

Fresh Food Box

Thursdays, 3:30pm – 6:30pm (NO FRESH FOOD BOX ON NOVEMBER 25TH)
93rd St & 2nd Ave
RSVP

Through a partnership with my office, GrowNYC’s Fresh Food Box program has been providing affordable, healthy food since 2016. We are happy to announce that the Fresh Food Box has returned to District 5 for the 2021 season from now through December 21st, every Thursday from 3:30 pm to 6:30 pm outside of my district office!

To purchase a Fresh Food Box, complete the registration form, then come to the site in person to sign up and pay for the Box at least one week before you’d like to pick it up. For more information, or if you have any questions, visit grownyc.org/foodbox/district5

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Universal 3-K Expansion RFP

Over the last 7 and a half years we have worked with providers, parents, and the entire neighborhood to increase the number of Pre-K seats from 154 seats when I came into office to 1243 seats as of this past summer. My office continues to push the City to expand the number of 3K seats in our district, just like we did with Pre-K.

There are three procurement opportunities for early childhood care and education services beginning in 2022. The opportunities build on our expansion of services for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers and will help NYC realize the promise of 3-K for All.

The opportunities are as follows,

Universal 3-K Expansion RFP (“3-K and Pre-K for All Services 2022-2026”) is open until Nov. 30, 2021, at 2:00 PM.

Facilities RFP (“Early Childhood Services in City-Owned or Leased Facilities”) is open until Nov. 30, 2021, at 2:00 PM

Charter School RFI (“Pre-K for All Charter School Providers 2022-2024”) open until Oct. 27, 2021 at 2:00 PM.

The Department of Education is committed to offering robust supports to providers throughout all of thier procurement processes. Providers must submit a written proposal in PASSPort by the deadline listed for each procurement. If providers have any questions about these RFPs and RFI, they should reach out to the DOE at PreKRFP@schools.nyc.gov. Questions about PASSPort should be directed to the PASSPort support team at help@mocs.nyc.gov. Interested applicants are also suggested to attend an upcoming virtual pre-proposal conference to learn more about eligibility, timeline, process, and what it means to partner with the DOE as an early childhood provider. Details about the pre-proposal conferences are included in the RFP/RFI in PASSPort.

If you are interested in helping to open new 3-K sites in the district, email upk@benkallos.com.

If you have any questions about 3-K in the district, email Education@BenKallos.com or visit schools.nyc.gov/enrollment/enroll-grade-by-grade/3k

Childcare Providers can now Apply for the Child Care Stabilization Grant

The Chinese-American Planning Council (CPC) is providing assistance to child care providers on their applications to the State’s Child Care Stabilization Grant. All child care providers are encouraged to apply

The goal of the Child Care Stabilization Grant is to provide financial relief to child care providers to help cover unexpected expenses associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and to help stabilize their operations so that they may continue to provide care. To streamline and simplify the application process, the NYS Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) is offering a single online application. To apply child care providers must meet eligibility requirements, be in good standing, be a licensed/registered, permitted NYC daycare center (Article 47 only), or enrolled as a legally exempt group program in NYS as of March 11, 2021.

Applications are due to OCFS on Tuesday, November 30^th, at 11:59 PM. OCFS has stated that any applications received after this deadline will not be reviewed. Applications are available at https://ocfs.ny.gov/main/contracts/funding/COVID-relief/childcare-stabilization/

Weill Cornell Medicine Do More, Feel Better

Weill Cornell Medicine is hosting a program for individuals 60 and older experiencing depression. The 9-week program is based on research showing that increasing your participation in pleasurable and rewarding activities can lead to improvement in depressive symptoms. For more information contact Kiana, Caroline, or the study team: Tel: (844)-333-3579 ext. 720 / ext. 714