New York CIty Council Member Ben Kallos

Deborah L. Rose

Introduction 1100-2018: Universal After School

I believe providing after-school programming to all New York City students will increase and equalize educational opportunities, keep kids out of the criminal justice system, and make life easier for parents whose jobs keep them at work until at least 5pm. It is far more common than a generation ago for parents to work late and far less common for children to have a stay at home parent. The gap between school dismissal and when parents are able to pick up their kids can be difficult for many families, and can leave kids without food, shelter, or mentorship if after-school programming is not available. With after-school programming we can meet Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and slow the school to prison pipeline.

Introduction 1100 of 2018 by Council Members Kallos, Treyger and Rose would provide “Universal After School” with a mandate for an after school slot for any student that request one. The legislation would also require an annual report to implement universal after school including how many slots are needed, availability and cost, participation rates, advertising and outreach to increase participation, along with implementation dates and progress reports. Reporting would sunset once the city certified that sufficient after school slots are available for all students.

Introduction 1064-2018: Healthy Happy Meals

Restaurants in New York City that serve children’s meals would only be include drinks that do not contain added sugars or sweeteners. Specifically, combination children’s meals may only offer water, sparkling water, flavored water, flavored or unflavored nonfat or one percent milk, non-dairy milk, 100% fruit or vegetable juice, or fruit or vegetable juice combined with water or carbonated water as the default option. Customer could substitute a different drink of their choice by request, with monetary penalties up to $2,500 for restaurants that violate this law.

Introduction 1638-2017: Gender Sexuality Alliances in Middle and High Schools Act

This local law requires the DOE to report, for each middle and high school, whether such school has a gay-straight alliance or gender-sexuality alliance (GSA); the number of teachers and administrators who have received trainings related to supporting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning and gender non-conforming (LGBTQGNC) students; and a narrative description of the training offered by the department to support LGBTQGNC students, including whether any such training includes training related to GSAs.

Introduction 1393-2016: Board of Standards and Appeals (BSA) Reporting on Variances

This bill would require the Board of Standards and Appeals to report information about applications for variances and special permits, and appeals of decisions regarding variances and special permits, to the Council twice per year, on dates approximately one and a half months prior to the mandated due dates for the Preliminary Mayor’s Management Report and the Mayor’s Management Report.

Introduction 1015-2015: Affordable Housing Registration and Application

The legislation seeks to solve the following longstanding problems with affordable housing:

  • Non-Registration – owners fail to register thousands of buildings with tens of thousands of units for which they receive hundreds of millions in tax breaks each year.
  • Paper Applications – applicants must mail an application request, receive the application by mail, return the application by mail, and wait hoping nothing got lost in the mail.
  • Lotteries and Rejections – three quarters of applications have been rejected in lotteries because individuals apply for the wrong affordable housing for their income.
  • Waiting List Corruption – investigations revealed dozens of instances of corruption and bribery surrounding waiting lists for affordable housing.
  • Numerous Individual Places to Apply – Multiple websites offered by DHCR,HPDHDC  and non-profits like Met Council as well as at individual affordable housing buildings.

This local law would create an affordable housing internet portal. It provides requirements for both the portal itself and for units that would be listed on the portal.

 

Introduction 931-2015: Applying Tax Liens to Buildings with Outstanding Violations

This bill allows the city to impose tax liens on buildings which contain 20 or more dwelling units where the total value of all such judgments against the building is $60,000 or more, or a building which contains between 6 and 19 dwelling units, where the value of the judgments is $30,000 or more. The bill contains exceptions for the Department of Housing Preservation and Development’s preservation projects.

 

 

 

Introduction 855-2015: Automatic Benefits Study

Local Law 60 of 2018, amends the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to a study regarding the feasibility of notifying individuals who may be eligible for public assistance. Requiring the Mayor’s Office of Operations to to produce a study by December 31,2018, regarding the feasibility and cost of of utilizing City administrative data to determine the individuals who are likely eligible for public assistance and to provide notice to those individuals of their likely eligibility. The study will include all forms of public assistance for which an individual can apply through the city.