Brendan Krisel

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — A recent court ruling that could force Upper West Side developers to chop floors off of a controversial Amsterdam Avenue development may have a ripple effect on the other side of Central Park, according to new reports.

Upper East Side City Councilman Ben Kallos may use the ruling as the basis of a challenge against the super-tall development planned for 430 E. 58th St. in the small Sutton Place neighborhood, he told the New York Post. The building has long been the bane of neighborhood preservationists, who proposed and passed a Sutton Place rezoning plan to implement strict building height limits.

HARLEM, NY — Parks in Harlem were sprayed with the dangerous pesticide Roundup, which contains the potentially carcinogenic chemical glyphosate, much more often than parks in other Manhattan neighborhoods, according to a study released Wednesday.

Of the 50 Manhattan parks and playgrounds sprayed with the Monsanto-produced pesticide in 2018 only eight were located outside the Harlem neighborhood, according to records acquired by The Black Institute. The group released its study titled "Poison Parks" on Wednesday in support of a City Council bill to ban the use of toxic pesticides and herbicides in city parks.

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — A vast majority of New York City building owners cited with violations for unsafe facades in a crackdown following the Dec. 17 death of Erica Tischman ignored the city's demands to put up scaffolding, Department of Buildings Commissioner Melanie La Rocca said during a Monday City Council hearing.

Councilmember Ben Kallos authored two bills that require the city to meet all after school slot requests for public school students.

An Upper East Side lawmaker authored two bills that would require the city to fill all requested after school slots. (Shutterstock)

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — An Upper East Side representative in New York's city council is helping lead the push for universal after school programs by authoring bills that would require the city to offer programming for nearly 600,000 students who want after school but are kept on a waiting list.

Under legislation authored by City Councilman Ben Kallos awith Staten Island's Debi Rose and Brooklyn's Mark Treyger, all public school students between the ages of three and 21 would be guaranteed space in a program through a Universal After School initiative. The bill requires city education officials to keep an annual report on the availability and need of after school slots as well as costs of the program.

The lawmakers are also pushing a bill that mandates annual reporting on funding, applications and demographics of after school programs at city schools. Both bills were discussed Tuesday during a public hearing at City Hall.

Traffic & Transit

Bike Safety Improves On UES Amid Deadly Year For City, Pols Say

The number of cyclist deaths in New York City rose sharply in 2019, but safety improvements on the Upper East Side are working.

By Brendan Krisel, Patch Staff

Jan 3, 2020 3:32 pm ET

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Bike safety on the Upper East Side has improved in recent years due to new bike lanes and education programs. (David Allen/Patch)

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Bike safety measures taken on the Upper East Side in recent years have reduced the number of cyclists hurt and killed in collisions in the neighborhood despite an uptick in cyclist deaths in 2019, local elected officials announced this week.

Additional protected bike lanes, increased enforcement against cyclists violating traffic rules and new bike safety education programs have shows success in keeping both cyclists and pedestrians safe in the neighborhood, City Councilmembers Ben Kallos and Keith Powers said in a joint statement.

"Our first priority is to keep pedestrians and cyclists safe from cars, and we've made great strides doing so on the Upper East Side," said Council Member Ben Kallos. "Particularly older residents are also afraid of getting hurt in a collision with bikes that disobey the rules every day. Whether it is 'near misses' from a failure to yield to pedestrians, or reports of cyclists who run red lights, go the wrong way, or ride on sidewalks, everyone must know the rules of the road in order to share it safely.

Locals may be surprised that a soup kitchen is opening on the Upper East Side — generally considered one of Manhattan's more affluent neighborhoods — but food insecurity can afflict people in any area, City Councilmember Ben Kallos said.

"No community, including the Upper East Side, is immune to the sad reality of families facing hunger during this holiday season," Kallos said in a statement. "As a City, we must prepare for looming federal cuts to SNAP benefits and bolster outreach to the homeless whenever and wherever possible."

People interested in volunteering at the new soup kitchen can reach out to Bronx Parent Housing Network by emailing

The new hyrdoponic greenhouse facility will teach students about sustainability, climate change and science

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Students at an Upper East Side public school will have the chance to learn about issues such as sustainability and enhance their science skills at a brand-new lab facility funded through participatory budgeting.

Nonprofit organization NY Sun Works — which installs hydroponic science labs in New York City schools — celebrated the opening of its newest facility last week at PS 183 Robert Louis Stevenson, the company announced. Funding for the lab was provided by City Councilman Ben Kallos through a participatory budgeting vote in 2017.

"We must invest in STEM education to prepare students for jobs of the future and today, we cut the ribbon on a $600,000 science lab," Kallos said in a statement. "Voting creates real change. The 11-year-olds and parents who voted can see for themselves, as they learn first-hand the power of democracy, not to mention all the science they'll get done."

Students at PS 183, a pre-k through 5th grade school located on East 66th Street between York and First avenues, will be able to use the facility to grow food and other plants. The experience of growing crops will provide firsthand knowledge of science, a spokesperson for NY Sun Works said.

The new science lab can also be used to teach students lessons about climate change and sustainability efforts such as urban farming. NY Sun Works has built more than 125 similar labs in schools in all five boroughs, teaching about 40,000 students. Construction on the lab at PS 183 took less than a year to complete and included electrical upgrades, a heating unit and new

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sinks, flooring, counters, cabinetry and furniture for the classroom.

"The hydroponic lab will provide students with the opportunity to grow food while learning hands-on about science and climate education as well as food justice and community service," NY Sun Works Executive Director Manuela Zamora said in a statement.

EAST HARLEM, NY — The men and women who fish off of the East River Esplanade have a vital new resource in the form of an ADA-accessible bait station on a stretch of the East Harlem waterfront.

The station — where fishermen and fisherwomen can prepare bait, inspect catches to see if they require release and clean catches to take home — was funded by the group Friends of the East River Esplanade through a $15,000 grant from Sea Grant New York, according to the organization's board chair Jennifer Ratner. In addition to serving as a useful tool for East River anglers, the bait station is outfitted with public art depicting sketches of the types of fish that call the urban river home, Ratner said.

For City Councilmember Ben Kallos, renovations to the playground are personal. The local lawmaker played in Carl Schurz Park while growing up in the neighborhood and now takes his daughter to the playground, he said Thursday.

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"A lot of parents have brought concern about the condition of the equipment — at one point there was actually plywood up," Kallos said. "Thankfully that is now down but this park has been desperately in need of an upgrade."

Kallos and the City Council allocated $2.5 million in funding for the project. Another major backer was Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, whose office allocated $775,000.

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — The basketball courts at the Upper East Side's John Jay Park were bustling with activity Thursday. Neighborhood kids flocked to the courts after the first day of school to practice their shots, play one-on-one and partake in one of the park's largest games of knockout in history.