Sutton Area Community News Bulletin

Engine 8, Ladder 2 at Taste of Sutton with Councilman Ben Kallos, Abby Sorman, SAC Director and her husband Goran Sorman

Councilmember Ben Kallos has been actively engaged in opposing this project and has posted an online petition (BenKallos.com/petition/suttonplace) that has received over 2000 signatures.

Council Member Ben Kallos showed his continued support for our community by attending Taste of Sutton. He has been a great partner with the Sutton Area Community by carefully listening to us, taking our concerns to heart and working directly on improving our community.

Ben answers to a constituency of 168,000 people, 100,000 of which are voters. He defines his commitment to these citizens by stating, “This office belongs to the people.” Indeed, the first Friday morning of every month, from 8 to 10, his doors are open to anyone who wants to stop by and discuss issues. In addition, the second Tuesday of each month is “policy night”, also a venue for open exchange.

Winter is here, and I am pleased to report that traffic agents are back on duty at 57th St. and First Avenue, one of the busiest and most dangerous intersections on the east side. Many thanks to Senator Liz Krueger and Councilmember Ben Kallos for this action. It is reassuring to our residents when they see the bright yellow vests worn by the traffic agents , and knowing that we have better safety when we cross 57th Street and First Avenue.

Bike messengers continue to pose problems for our residents. They ride on sidewalks, go through the lights, and ride the wrong way. We are working with Councilmember Kallos to improve these problems. Please call 311 to report any bike related incidents. Our office will be sending letters out to merchants who have food deliveries in the neighborhood, reminding them about the bike rules.

I hope everyone has a safe and healthy winter season. We'll have more news in the spring.

—Gail S. Haft, Chair Government Committee

Ben Kallos, City Councilman 5th District. To increase representation, Mr. Kallos began by encouraging people who live in our area of his district to sign up for vacancies on CB6 Committees or in his office. He addressed various issues of concern, including bike infractions, the expansion of Citibikes and new bike paths and the Homeless. He stressed the importance of calling 311 to create a record of a complaint with as much detail as possible. If you are not satisfied that your complaint is being addressed, call him with the details, so his office can follow up with the appropriate City department. He is working on improving Internet service (especially for the lowincome population), visiting schools and obtaining new yellow/ green Taxi Apps to compete with Uber. He chairs the Governmental Operations Committee and works on fair elections, campaign finance reform, the Tax Commission and is trying to trim the number of City employees to rid it of patronage. He is available to meet with any group of 10 or more. His door is open.