Brendan Krisel

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — A fire house covering a large span of the Upper East Side is set to receive an investment of more than a half-million dollars for renovations.

City Councilman Ben Kallos is allocating $525,000 for fixes at the home of Engine Company 22, Ladder Tower 13 and Battalion 10 on East 85th Street between Lexington and Third Avenues, the councilman announced Tuesday.

"Our firefighters respond to every 911 call as if our lives depend on it, because they do, and they are always there for us, fighting fires, saving lives, and we must be there for them," Kallos said in a statement. "When we run from danger our firefighters run to it, they are our bravest, and we must do everything in our power to support them."

City Councilman Ben Kallos and the New York City Housing Authority teamed up to fund the project.

"The Stanley M. Isaacs Neighborhood Center is truly one of our community's cornerstones," said Council
Member Ben Kallos. I could not think of a better way to put this money to good use in a way that will
benefit the everyday lives of my constituents. I am looking forward to the work being completed and happy for those who will reap the benefits," Kallos said in a statement.

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — An Upper East Side private school has pledged to complete a $1 million renovation project on part of the East River Esplanade in an agreement to lease the space, city officials announced this week.

The Brearley School will lease "The Pier" — an 3,720-square-foot elevated platform above the John Finley Walk between East 82nd and 83rd streets — for the next 20 years with the option for two 10 year renewals, City Councilman Ben Kallos announced.

The school will be required to make $1 million in capital improvements to the space, which has fallen into disrepair and often leaks water onto the John Finley Walk, and will be responsible for maintenance and upkeep for the duration of the lease, Kallos said.

The renovations stem from a 2015 agreement between the Hospital for Special Surgery and the city. In June 2015, the city agreed to allow the hospital to expand its footprint on the Upper East Side in exchange for the esplanade improvements, City Councilman Ben Kallos said in a statement.

"Residents will finally be able to enjoy some peace and quiet, lush greenery and quench their thirst at a new water fountain, in a portion of the park that will be cared for by HSS forever. Sound barriers will quell the noise of passing vehicles, plants that died without water will grow green from irrigation, while residents will have a new water fountain," Kallos said in a statement.

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — The Olympic-sized pool at Upper East Side fitness center Asphalt Green has reopened after a three-week project to install a new water filtration system, the center announced this week.

The 50-meter pool has serviced more than nine million New Yorkers since it opened in 1993, but was using its original water filters, a spokesman for Asphalt Green told Patch. Upper East Side City Councilman Ben Kallos secured more than $600,000 for new Neptune Benson Defender filters for the pool.

The new system will keep the pool cleaner and require less maintenance by filtering a whopping 2.6 million gallons of water per day, an Asphalt Green spokesman said.

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Fifteen bus stations on the Upper East Side have brand-new countdown clocks thanks to neighborhood residents, City Councilman Ben Kallos announced Thursday morning. The clocks — located at stops long the M15, M31, M57, M66 and M72 lines — were a top vote getter in the district's participatory budgeting election years ago.

"I hope that new bus countdown clocks will bring more riders back to our buses, as they walk by and see a bus on the way to help get them where they are going faster,” Kallos said during a Thursday press conference. "Riders will finally know when the next bus is coming or if it isn’t coming at all, so they can make that crucial decision of whether it is faster to ride or walk."

The group attending the ground breaking ceremony include NYC Parks Manhattan Borough Commissioner William Castro, Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, City Councilman Ben Kallos, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney and Community Board 8 Chair Jim Clynes.

The $15 million reconstruction project will target three sites along the East River Esplanade seawall — East 88th to 90th streets, East 114th to 117th streets and East 124th to 125th streets — according to the city. In May, a portion of the seawall at East 88th Street collapsed, sending concrete blocks into the river.