Newsletters

Dear Friend,

I hope you are staying warm and dry as we face another winter storm.  New York City is expected to get up to a foot of snow, with a winter storm warning in effect until 6AM on Friday. My office is your resource to make sure you stay safe and that your city keeps on working for you in spite of the conditions outside.

In my first month as your City Council Member, I am focused on making our schools better and our city government more transparent. We’re already working to assist members of our community with their needs – whether it’s helping you navigate local government or delivering meals to homebound seniors after following our first winter storm.

Dear Neighbor,

You’ve given me a remarkable responsibility: to represent you in City Hall.  Under previous Council Member Jessica Lappin’s leadership, our community  thrived — a legacy I will diligently continue. I am honored to now represent  the community where I grew up and where my mother still lives. My office  will always accessible be and available to you and can be reached by  calling 212-860-1950, visiting us at 244 East 93rd Street, or emailing  bkallos@council.nyc.gov.

We have important work to do together. Every child should receive the same  world-class education that I did at Bronx High School of Science. We can work  together to implement innovative solutions such as identifying new spaces  for schools in our neighborhood, making pre-k universally available to help  children get a fair start, and creating CUNY college loan forgiveness programs  to help our city’s economy thrive.

Older New Yorkers and their caregivers must be supported so they can be  healthy and independent. My mother is a senior who lives in the district, and I  am committed to keeping senior centers open and protecting vital services like  Meal on Wheels.

We must protect and expand affordable housing. Those who made our neighborhood  what it is today deserve to see the benefits of their lifetimes of hard  work. New development, which will come with the completion of the Second  Avenue Subway, must include affordable housing for middle-class New Yorkers.  We also have standing battles to continue. I am a member of Asphalt Green’s  Triathlon Team and will continue to fight the Marine Transfer Station. I am  working to build a broad coalition of elected officials and community leaders  in opposition to any dump in a residential neighborhood. It won’t be easy,  it won’t happen right away, and I will need your help — but together, we can  defeat it.

If we invest in each other — our time, energy and compassion — our government  can work better for all of us. Please join me, so that together we can  build a better city.

Sincerely,

Council Member Ben Kallos
District Five: Upper East Side, Midtown East, El Barrio and Roosevelt Island

In this Issue:

• Participatory Budgeting
• City Council Inauguration
• Supporting Early Education for all New York City Children
• Committee of Governmental Operations
• Recently Married
• Fighting the Marine Transfer Station
• Safer Streets
• Transportation Forums
• Join A Policy Committee
• Summer Reading Challenge
• Summer Fellowship