New York Post

PR firm BerlinRosen is also working for the Blood Center. The firm’s co-founder, Jonathan Rosen, has been one of the mayor’s closest advisers.

“It just seems weird to me that every time Kramer Levin is involved in a project, the mayor supports it, especially when he owes them so much money,” said City Councilman Ben Kallos, who represents the Upper East Side and is a leading opponent of the Blood Center plan.

The bill would provide the laureate — to be named before Jan. 30 every year — with a stipend and “in-kind resources” to cover the costs of the duties associated, though no dollar amount is specified in the legislation.

“The drag laureate would serve to champion and highlight the contributions of the drag community in New York City’s business, arts and cultural spaces,” said Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Queens), the chief sponsor of the measure, which is also backed by Councilmen Carlos Menchaca (D-Brooklyn) and Ben Kallos (D-Manhattan).

The commission’s 8-2 vote Wednesday would allow the Blood Center to tear down its East 67th Street building and replace it with a 334-foot tower that opponents say rivals the footprint of the Empire State Building and would cast shadows on a school and park. Most of the tower would be rented out as a “life sciences center.”

City Councilman Ben Kallos (D-Manhattan) introduced legislation Thursday to legalize so-called “flex apartments,” where temporary walls are installed. This longtime, unlawful Big Apple practice has historically provided greedy landlords with additional rooms to rent and enterprising tenants with extra privacy to attract roommates to help cover rent.

Under city law, it’s illegal to install temporary walls or other floor-to-ceiling dividers unless proposed changes are submitted to the city by a licensed engineer or architect and then greenlighted through a Buildings Department permit.

Before opening day, Department of Education and City Hall flacks assured The Post that the city didn’t face a driver shortage. Oops. Nor has the DOE rolled out its long-promised bus-tracking app.

“Parents are worried enough about the Delta variant; they shouldn’t have worry about where their children are” aboard a city school bus, says Manhattan Councilman Ben Kallos, who wrote the law mandating the GPS-tracking system. He also says the tech for the app is stuck sitting on a shelf at the DOE’s HQ.

Meanwhile, state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli says the mayor is leaving a ticking DOE fiscal time bomb for his successor: New initiatives launched with federal assistance will impose costs of $1 billion a year by 2025, as the grants run out.

But that doesn’t guarantee drivers will know their routes: In past years, that’s taken days and even weeks to sort out. The bus-tracking app, which DOE promised after a paralyzing snowstorm in November 2018 trapped kids for hours aboard school-buses, has yet to show. City Councilman Ben Kallos (D-Manhattan) says the technology is just sitting on a shelf at Tweed.

City Councilman Ben Kallos is pushing legislation that would waive application fees for city public school students hoping to enroll at CUNY colleges.

Roughly 75,000 Department of Education kids apply to the public schools each year and pay $65 to do so.

“It’s unacceptable that right now, a 17-year-old can be told by a high school guidance counselor their rent-burdened single mother isn’t poor enough to get a break on hundreds of dollars of fees to apply to colleges and compete for scholarships,” said Kallos, who co-sponsored the bill introduced last week.

Overall, the initiative would cost the city roughly $4.8 million.

Around 75,000 New York City public schools students apply to CUNY colleges every year.

Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images

“This legislation is about bringing more access and equity to the families that struggle,” he said. “A $65 fee should not be what prevents a talented kid from getting into a CUNY.”

The largest urban university system in the country, CUNY currently runs 11 senior campuses along with seven community colleges across the boroughs.

Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer is co-sponsoring Councilman Ben Kallos’ effort.

Stefan Jeremiah for New York Post

The schools currently enroll roughly 275,000 students.

Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer is co-sponsoring the legislation.

Mayoral candidate and Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams also supports the effort.

Ron Adar / M10s / MEGA

“College application fees can be a financial burden for our public school students,” she said. “This legislation will make applying to CUNY more accessible for high schoolers and will help make their dreams of a college education possible.”

Mayoral candidate and current Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams is also backing the push.

Kallos, who has proposed legislation to ban NYPD from using any weaponized robots or drones, told the Times that the dog underscored what he called the “militarization of the police.”

“At a time where we should be having more beat cops on the street, building relationships with residents, they’re actually headed in another direction in trying to replace them with robots,” the Manhattan rep said.

City Councilman Ben Kallos, who represents the area, said the Blood Center has not been transparent about the lab.

“I hate to think of what they’re cooking up in there,” he said.

The Blood Center told The Post the lab will be for its use only and “is a necessary component for the research and development of new antivirals and vaccines.” It said it has used the lab for hepatitis and HIV research in the past.

The Blood Center has tried unsuccessfully for a rezoning and expansion several times, Kallos said.

The city council wants to force NYPD to reveal the cost of its new “Digidog,” days after Mayor Bill de Blasio suggested the city “rethink” its use of the dystopian police robot dog.

Council leaders on Monday subpoenaed the NYPD for any robot-related contracts or agreements with Boston Dynamics, the company behind the four-legged robo-cop.

“The public should know how much each of these devices is costing the city,” said Councilman Ben Kallos (D-Manhattan), who issued the subpoena along with Council Speaker Corey Johnson.