The results are in for participatory budgeting!

It has been a busy month between that and gearing up for a fight on the luxury mega-tower planned for Sutton Place. 

I hope to see you at First Friday tomorrow morning to discuss it all (as a reminder, it is from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. at my District Office at 244 East 93rd St. RSVP online.) You can also join the Attorney General's office and me on May 5th on preventing identity theft. RSVP. There will also be a Roosevelt Island Town Hall on the 21st.

This April, New Yorkers celebrated holidays with their loved ones, or simply celebrated spring. I enjoyed a Passover Seder with friends and family. How did you celebrate the spring or the holidays?

I hope to hear from you soon.

Sincerely,

Ben Kallos

Table of Contents

1. Participatory Budgeting
2. Fighting the Marine Transfer Station
3. Let in the Light, Not the Superscrapers
4. Passover Seder
5. 50th Anniversary of the Landmarks Law
Education
6. Free School Meals
7. Safety for Schoolchildren
8. Debt-Free College
9. Better Subsidized Childcare
10. Council Member for a Day
Jobs
11. Fighting Corruption Through the Civil Service
12. Fair Treatment for Airport Workers
13. Fight for $15
14. Small Business Hearing
15. Budget
Community
16. Fire at East 78th Street
17. Community Board Appointments
18. 81st St Bridge
19. Establishing Friends of Ruppert Park
20. The Big Swim
21. Adopt-A-Planter
22. Tree Census
23. Cherry Blossom Festival
24. Hack Roosevelt Island
25. ASC Ribbon Cutting
Civic Technology and Participation
26. Register to Vote with Your Lease
27. CityCouncil2.0
28. CUNY Law Panel
29. Open Standards With Carl Malamud
30. Open Government Leaders Around the World
31. Five Borough Tech Tour
32. GovLab Class
Office Updates
33. Ben in Your Building
34. Here to Help
35. Summer Internship
36. Legislative Corner
37. In the Neighborhood
38. City Council Events
39. Mobile District Hours
40. Community Events

Participatory Budgeting

Thank you to over 2,000 of you who voted in participatory budgeting and decided on how to spend $1 million in our community. In the schools, parks, public housing, libraries, neighborhood centers and mobile locations across the district, as well as my office.

Over the course of 10 days, 2,140 of you turned out to vote a total for a total of 6,963 votes. I am pleased to announce the top vote getters for the $1,000,000 were green roofs for PS/IS 217 and PS 151. Both projects will cost more than the $500,000 that each won this year and may be back on the ballot next year or until they are fully funded.

There were many other worthy projects, and additional funding decisions will be made by July. Congratulations to the winners and all who participated! So you can learn more and better organize for next year, we are releasing vote totals and paper ballot results by project and poll site, and have profiles of the winners at PS 151 and PS/IS 217. 

If you have thoughts on the participatory budgeting process or interest in becoming more involved next cycle, please sign up. We would like to hear from you, and are already looking forward to next year!

Fighting the Marine Transfer Station

This month, I presented the case against the Marine Transfer Station before the Sierra Club, arguing that it is bad for the city’s waste stream and environmental efforts. I believe it is important to go before many different community groups to advocate against the Marine Transfer Station, and I will continue to do so whenever possible.

In other news, this month, Pledge 2 Protect is collecting community letters to send to the New York State Department of Environmental Control, asking them to revoke the permits for the project. Submit a letter through Pledge 2 Protect, and  please copy my office so we can keep track.

I strongly oppose the Marine Transfer Station and am continuing to fight it. I also support the community's call to move the ramp one block north so that it does not bisect Asphalt Green. In response to my questioning, the administration has said that a decision on the ramp is expected this month. Regardless of the placement of the ramp, this is still the wrong place for a garbage dump.

Let in the Light, Not the Superscrapers

A 900-foot luxury megatower could be coming to Sutton Place, as covered in Our Town. If built, it would become one of the tallest buildings in Manhattan. I am deeply concerned about this project blocking light and air for the rest of the community, and the implications it will have on luxury sky-high development in the future.

You can read my opinion editorial in Our Town expressing my opposition.

If you would like to help, please sign the petition on my website and share it with your friends and neighbors: BenKallos.com/Petition/SuttonPlace

This will help demonstrate that you are part of the efforts to protect the community against a 900 luxury development and are interested in the issue of over-development and rezoning across the city.

I will be meeting with residents around the Sutton Area Community to hear directly from neighbors and organize the community against the proposal. If you host 10 or more neighbors in your building, I will be happy to join you. Please email scheduler@benkallos.com to schedule a time, and please let your neighbors know about the possibility.

Passover Seder

Every year, I come together with friends and staff from all backgrounds to reflect on the past and the year ahead through a Passover Seder. On this special day, we consider the importance of recalling the past and using its lessons to guide us in the future. How did you spend your spring holiday?

50th Anniversary of the Landmarks Law

We celebrated the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Landmarks Law with a proclamation at City Hall. Our landmarks are essential to our city's character, and this law is even more relevant and urgently needed today.

Education

Free School Meals

No child should go hungry during the school day. My legislation, covered in the Wall Street Journal, would release information to the Council and the public on:

• The number of students participating in school breakfast before the bell and free school after the bell
• The number of qualifying students participating in after-school meals, snacks and supper
• Free salad bars, use and selection of vegetables
• Steps to increase participation through special initiatives and new proposals.  

Only 35% of students who eat free school lunch have free school breakfast. This legislation is one step forward in our fight to get universal breakfast after the bell. To learn more, please read the coverage in the Wall Street Journal or the press release.
 
Safety for Schoolchildren

I joined Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and Council Members Brad Lander and Vanessa Gibson in calling for more school crossing guards. During my visits to every school in the district, the demand for more crossing guards—from parents, teachers and students alike—has been one of the top-identified needs. As part of the City Council’s Preliminary Budget Response, we requested additional funds to hire more crossing guards and pay them more to keep our children safe. 

Debt-Free College

The time has come to say “enough” to the skyrocketing price of college. Our students cannot continue to graduate with an average of $29,000 in debt, debt that often stays with them for decades. I stood with Demos, the Progressive Change Committee and Hunter College Students to demand debt-free college. Our students' futures depend on it.

Better Subsidized Childcare

Under a bill I introduced this month, the New York City Administration for Child Services (ACS), which oversees the largest city childcare system in the nation, would become increasingly transparent and accountable. ACS-subsidized childcare programs, serving around 120,000 low-income children annually, have been plagued by under-enrollment and daycare center closures. Government, the public and watchdog groups would have access to more detailed information on the programs under the new bill, which requires reporting on:

• Closure of childcare centers
• Steps taken to prevent closures
• Notification to children and staff
• Efforts to transition employees to new childcare centers
• Changes in procedure regarding eligibility for subsidized childcare
• Average time elapsed between application to ACS
• Placement in childcare by borough
• The number of children using subsidized childcare sorted by those using additional preventive services and those in foster care.

You can read the press release on my website.

Council Member for a Day

What would you do as Council Member for a Day? One student in grades 5 through 8 who enters my essay contest describing what they would do will win a trip to City Hall during stated session to be Council Member for a Day. The deadline has been extended to May 8. Please submit your essays directly to my office to bkallos@benkallos.com by email or 244 E 93rd St. by mail.

Summer Reading Challenge

Join my summer reading challenge! Students who read five books from the NYPL lists (or your own school's list) will be honored at an end-of-summer ceremony and receive a certificate from our office. Please visit BenKallos.com/ReadingChallenge to learn more and contact my office to sign up.

Jobs

Fighting Corruption Through the Civil Service 

Together with Council Member I. Daneek Miller, we successfully pushed DCAS to lower the amount of time between the administration of the civil service exam and establishment on the list for civil service jobs. Imagine taking a test and having to wait more than a year to know the results, or if you qualified for a much-needed job from it. As covered in the Chief-Leader, our advocacy and a series of hearings reduced the wait periods from 439 days last year to 244 days over the same span this year.

Fair Treatment for Airport Workers

I joined airport workers protesting against unfair treatment by subcontractors Aviation Safeguards outside of British Airways. At the protest, we directly requested a meeting with British Airways about the unfair treatment from their subcontractor, but we were unfortunately denied. Nonetheless, we still practiced our right to protest. Watch the video online. All New Yorkers deserve the right to a fair wage and to organize free from harassment. 

Fight for $15

On April 15, 2015, workers around the nation mobilized to advocate for $15 an hour. Paying our workers a livable wage is essential in today’s economy to ensure that everyone can support their families and save taxpayer dollars by reducing the amount spent on social services. I proudly support the Fight for 15 and will keep standing with our city's workers until it becomes reality.

Small Business Hearing

As Chair of the Committee on Governmental Operations of the City Council, I co-chaired a hearing with Council Member Robert Cornegy, Chair of the Committee on Small Business Services, on a series of bills designed to make it easier for small business owners to navigate city systems and succeed.

Budget

The City Council has released its budget response, and I am pleased that many items that I support and have advocated for are part of our response. You can read the full document online. I will keep pushing for these important programs to be funded in the final budget. If you see items you care about in the budget, please let me know so we can work together to champion these issues.

Fund new school construction: In response to my questions at hearings, the Department of Education stated that they needed 49,000 new seats in schools to meet needs. Yet the budget only funds for 32,629 additional seats. I am calling for 49,000 new seats in the final budget to reduce overcrowding.

A more secure New York City: Last year, the City Council and I successfully pushed for the civilianization of 200 NYPD positions so that 200 more uniformed officers could patrol the streets. We are also advocating for an additional 1,000 officers in the NYPD to keep more communities safe.

Cut the case management waitlist and homecare waitlists: Seniors must have access to healthcare they need, and this means investing more in the city’s programs that support seniors to reduce the care waitlists by hundreds.

Affordable housing and illegal hotels: Thanks to efforts from myself and my colleagues, the City Council is pushing to increase funding for the Office of Special Enforcement to crack down on illegal hotels. With the Council’s proposal that the Office of Special Enforcement budget increase to $3.6 million, New York City would be better positioned to enforce against landlords who create illegal hotels.

Safe streets: My team met with the advocacy group Transportation Alternatives on the need to fund infrastructure improvements and street safety methods that will keep all New Yorkers safer. We must invest in Vision Zero in the city budget.

Transparency: It is essential that the Mayor’s administration propose to the Council and the public an accurate and detailed preliminary budget. The Council requires details on capital plans to effectively represent New Yorkers in the budget process. 

Pay as you go capital: I support reallocating $250 million to pay for capital projects with money we already have, rather than using debt. This is part of my goal to keep the city financially responsible by reducing our debt.

Pied-à-Terre tax: New York City has become a repository for the world’s wealth, largely in the form of luxury real estate that drives up housing costs for the rest of us. I support a tax on non-resident buyers to disincentive the practice and help the city support affordable housing options.

Bolster staff at the Commission on Human Rights: The New York City Commission Human Rights (NYCCHR) does invaluable work to protect the civil rights violations for New Yorkers each year, but for too long it has been underfunded. My anti-tenant blacklist legislation, currently in committee, requires that the agency handle complaints over tenant discrimination—just one example of how the agency would need greater funding to fully effectively carry out its mission.

Summer youth employment: Youth should have economic opportunities over the summer and a way to stay engaged and occupied. I support a Council initiative that would create more summer jobs for youth, and a year-round program to bolster youth employment. 
  
Increase funding for beacons: These community centers serving ages 6 and up and adults are essential neighborhood services. The City Council calls for all of the 80 Beacons to be funded at the same rate—$407,000 per year. 

Provide $200 million in capital funds to NYCHA: There is a huge gap between what the federal government provides for NYCHA and the funding required to keep our public housing in a state of good repair. The city must invest funds in public housing to improve infrastructure.

Community

Fire at East 78th Street

On April 8, a fire broke out at 78th Street between 1st and 2nd, injuring four. You can see more on CBS2. This follows a March 27 fire that engulfed an apartment building at 66th and 1st—not to mention the horrific East Village fire that killed two last month. I thank the FDNY for their incredible work in all of these instances. My office reached out to offer assistance to those affected by the Upper East Side fires and is here to help. Please contact us at 212-860-1950 or by email if you or anyone you know is in need of assistance.

Community Board Appointments

This month, I announced  the appointment of a sixteen-year-old and six new members to Community Board 8 Manhattan: Zoe Markowitz, David Menegon, Glen Pandolfino, Loraine Brown, Peter Patch and Dr. Katherine LaGuardia. The new members make up more than 10% of the community board, and I am proud to have appointed such a talented and hardworking group. You can learn more about my appointments and their biographies.

81st St Bridge

Our community came together to propose a stop and redesign of the 81st St Pedestrian Bridge to make it more beautiful, more accessible and preserve views of the Esplanade. Together with CIVITAS and representatives from the offices of Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright and Council Member Dan Garodnick, we testified before the Public Design Commission on the proposal. The design passed, but with some key changes that have the potential to integrate the look of the bridge into the community better. Read the testimony online.

Establishing Friends of Ruppert Park

It is my goal to start and support a conservancy to every park in my district. I joined Friends of Ruppert Park in an early meeting led by Nancy Ploeger to start to plan a Friends of Ruppert Park conservancy so we can revitalize this valuable neighborhood asset. I also secured $100,000 in the city budget to irrigate Ruppert Park. Read more in Our Town.

The Big Swim

I grew up across from Asphalt Green and attended as a child. Later, I trained for triathlons there. That is how I know firsthand the incredible work that they do. It was a pleasure to see Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, State Senator Liz Krueger and Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright at the Asphalt Green Big Swim on Saturday, April 25, where I presented a proclamation to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the event. The Big Swim is an incredible event that raises money to help tens of thousands of children from all backgrounds access fitness programs. Visit Asphalt Green's website to learn more.

Adopt-A-Planter

Have you noticed that the plantings along First Avenue are looking nicer? That's in part because of my office's Adopt-A-Planter program in partnership with Upper Green Side and its head, Sarah Gallagher. If you wish to exercise your green thumb on our city streets, please contact my office.

Tree Census

The 2015 Tree Count has been announced by the New York City Parks Department, and you can protect NYC greenery by signing up to help. To assist counting trees in parts of the East Side, you can contact community groups Upper Green Side or Friends of the East River Esplanade at uppergreenside@gmail.com or 212-759-6895.

Cherry Blossom Festival

What a beautiful afternoon to attend Roosevelt Island's Cherry Blossom Festival and deliver a proclamation for organizer extraordinaire Junko Hasegawa. Thanks to all Roosevelt Islanders who made this such a special day.

Hack Roosevelt Island

It was a pleasure to join Roosevelt Island seniors for an incredible tech event at the Cornell NYC-Tech campus. As a software developer, it is clear that learning technology skills can be very useful, and I hope to work with many more members of the community on learning STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math).

ASC Ribbon Cutting

The Aids Service Center New York City does incredible work to assist New Yorkers with HIV/AIDS. It was my honor to cut the ribbon at a new location along with Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, New York State Assembly Member Richard Gottfried, and Council Members Rosie Mendez and Inez Dickens.

Civic Technology and Participation

Register to Vote with Your Lease

As covered in the Daily News, I introduced a bill that would require landlords to provide voter registration forms with a new residents’ lease. According to the Furman Center, approximately two-thirds of New Yorkers are renters—and, when they move to a new location, New Yorkers are legally required to change their voter registration forms within 25 days. This bill makes it easier to register and more likely that recently relocated residents will vote.

CityCouncil2.0

The City Council released its digital plan for more engagement and more innovative tools, a product of hard work between myself, the City Council Speaker and many other members. The plan includes changes to the City Council website and an Open Application Processing Interface (API) that allows app-makers to create their own tools with information from the City Council’s legislative website. I am proud to have helped shape the open technology plan as part of the City Council's rules reform. You can read more in Gotham Gazette and AmNY.

CUNY Law Panel

You can use your law degree in public service – I know, because I did. I addressed a crowd of CUNY Law Students on the benefits and possibilities for using your law degree as a public servant. 

Open Standards With Carl Malamud 

Carl Malamud is an open government hero and one of the leaders in the movement to release public domain records. It was a pleasure to meet one of my personal heroes and talk about how to make government more open and accountable.

Open Government Leaders Around the World

Last month, I had a great time meeting with open government local leaders in Brazil and Turkey. It has been my pleasure to host local government delegations interested in transparent, accountable and data-driven government here in New York City and I hope to continue to do so.

Five Borough Tech Tour

I have joined multiple five-borough technology tour events in Manhattan to present on the integration of technology tools and government. Our technology industry here in New York city is deeply important, and these meetings are essential to growing collaboration between private tech companies and government.

GovLab Class

Office Updates

Ben in Your Building

The "Ben in Your Building Program" is a chance to discuss issues of importance to you and your neighbors in person, in your home. If you gather 10 or more friends, I will come to you. Last month, I went to two buildings to discuss matters of importance in the neighborhood, including efforts to fight the marine transfer station, sanitation and condo owner issues. Please call 212-860-1950 or email scheduler@benkallos.com in order to schedule a "Ben in Your Building" event.