Newsletters

1. Rewriting New York City’s Charter
2. Investing in Our Firehouses
3. Quieter Construction
4. Standing With Governor Cuomo for Healthcare in New York State

FIGHTING OVERDEVELOPMENT

5. Pushing Back on Overdevelopment with More Land Use Staff
6. East River Fifties Alliance Town Hall: Bringing Our Fight to Court

EVENT INVITES

7. National Night Out Against Crime
8. Friday Afternoon Concert at Ruppert Park
9. Cooking With Kallos at the 82nd Street Greenmarket
10. Movies on the Hill: Disney’s Coco
11. Jazz, Rock and Caribbean Rhythms at Ruppert Park
12. Movies Under The Stars: The Emoji Movie

TRANSPORTATION

13. Should Uber, Lyft, Via and Apps have their Licenses Capped?
14. Working to Close the Second Avenue Bike Gap
15. Crosstown Bike Lanes Proposal
16. Bike Safety Program
17. More Speed Cameras: Op-Ed in City Limits
18. Summer Streets on Park Avenue in August

PARKS AND THE ENVIRONMENT

19. Upper East Siders Fight Tennis Bubble RFP
20. Greening the Neighborhood with 100 New Tree Guard 

COMMUNITY 

21. Fresh Food Box
22. Five Mile Stone Update
23. Helping the Homeless Through ETHOS
24. Basketball with Ben

OFFICE UPDATES

26. Legislative Corner
27. Free Legal Clinics
28. Here to Help
29. Mobile District Hours
30. Ben in Your Building 

EVENTS

31.  Programs Funded By My Office
32. Community Boards
33. NYPD Events
34. Neighborhood and Tenant Associations
35. Community Events for Kids
36. Community Events for Adults

HEADLINES

1. Victories in the New City Budget
2. Breaking Ground on 180 New Pre-K Seats
3. Congratulating 2018 Graduates
4. Developer Wins Special Treatment to Build Supertall
5. Filling the Second Avenue Gap, New Crosstown Bike Lanes, and Pedestrian Safety Measures
6. Meet the Leaders Interview: Ben Kallos

COUNCIL EVENTS

7. Shakespeare in Carl Schurz Park
8. New Senior Technology Tutoring
9. Five Mile Stone Meeting with Community
10. Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) in Your District

EDUCATION

11. Protecting Specialized Education at Stuyvesant, Bronx Science and Brooklyn Tech
12. Celebrating Bronx High School of Science’s 80th Anniversary
13. Fighting for Speed Cameras Around New York City Schools
14. STEM Training for Teachers at Cornell Tech
15. Universal Child Care Starting with Government Employees
16. Pay Equity for Child Care Workers
17. Governor Cuomo Launches LGBTQ Fellowship
18. YMCA Scholarship For the Children of Servicemembers and Veterans

AFFORDABLE HOUSING & OVERDEVELOPMENT 

19. Affordable Housing Mansion Giveaways
20. Scaffolding Plagues the Upper East Side
21. Won Funding for Public Housing Repairs
22. Low Rent Increase on Rent Stabilized Tenants
23. Crain's Business Breakfast
24. Overdevelopment Forum, Thank You

HEALTH

25. What Lives in Our Subways
26. Fighting Legionnaires’ Disease
27. Partnering with Students to Reduce Childhood Obesity
28. Fresh Food Box

GOOD GOVERNMENT

29. Improving Community Boards
30. Digital Tools to Improve Government

 COMMUNITY

31. Groundbreaking on Senior Center and Youth Center at Stanley M. Isaacs Neighborhood Center
32. Roosevelt Island Town Hall, Thank You
33. Honoring Glaser’s Bake Shop After 116 Years
34. Efforts to Boost Tourism on Roosevelt Island
35. Remembering NYPD Hero Struck Down by 911
36. Ruppert Park Beautification by Muslim Volunteers
37. Summer Fun, Thank You
38. New York Foundation for Senior Citizens City-wide Minor Home Repair Services

OFFICE UPDATES 

39. Legislative Corner
40. Free Legal Clinics
41. Here to Help
42. Mobile District Hours
43. Ben in Your Building

EVENTS

44. Events Funded by My Office
45. Community Boards
46. NYPD Events
47. Neighborhood and Tenant Associations
48. Community Events for Kids
49. Community Events for Adults

Dear Neighbor,

It has been four years, five months and twenty days since I began serving as your City Council Member. Thank you to all the residents who came out to the polls in the Primary and General Elections last year, where we won with 7,847 votes at 75% and 22,514 votes at 81% respectively. This is a testament to our partnership and shows that empowering residents helps to govern honestly and inclusively—and it's the best way to get things done.

Together we invested in education, successfully winning more than 750 pre-kindergarten seats and providing millions of dollars in STEM funding for public schools, we improved commutes with new Select Bus Service, new buses and a new subway, rebuilt our parks with 200 million in public and private dollars for the East River Esplanade, fought over development by rezoning to stop a super tall tower, cleaned up the neighborhood with a new large trash can on every corner and cleaned up government by making the City Council a full time job and banning outside income.

If you would like to compare my goals with our actions over the past four years, please have a look at my 2013 Policy Book as well as my Inauguration and four States of the District, where we looked to the past and prepared for a bright future. I am proud of these achievements, but I know their is a lot more we can do together. Thank you for your support over the past four years. I am looking forward to all we can accomplish in my second term.  

Regards,

Ben Kallos
Council Member

BY THE NUMBERS

Constituent Service Cases: 7,700 and counting
Legislation Authored: 104
Introductions Authored: 86
Introductions Enacted into Law: 32 (37%)
Resolutions Authored: 18
Resolutions Adopted: 12 (67%)
Land Use Matters Adopted:  6 (100%)
City Council Attendance: 99%
Governmental Operations Committee Hearings Chaired: 67
Legislation Passed by Committee: 55
Legislation Sponsored: 895
Legislation Sponsored Adopted or Enacted: 680 (76%)
Ben in Your Building: More than fifty
First Fridays & Brainstorm with Ben: More than four dozen
Mobile Hours: Hundreds
Free Legal Clinics: Hundreds
Community Meetings: Hundreds
Petitions Signed: 4,290 and counting
Reusable Bags Distributed: 4,000 and counting
Participatory Budgeting Investments in Community: $6.9 Million

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INVESTING IN EDUCATION

1. Ending School Hunger
2. Exposed Need and Secured 400 New School Seats
3. Better Planning for School Seats
4. Advancing Arts Education with Annual Student Show at Sotheby's 
5. Investing in STEM Education
6. Green Roofs 
7. Fighting for Free City and State University
8. Supporting Our Students Through Gender Sexuality Alliances in Public Schools 
9. Opening and Collaborating with Cornell Tech

BETTER COMMUTES

10. Opening the Second Avenue Subway 
11. New Buses Improve Service on the Upper East Side
12. Improving Bus Service with Off-Board Fare Payment for the M79, M86, and Advocating for the M96
13. Ferry Service for Roosevelt Island
14. Ferry Service for the Upper East Side 
15. Roosevelt Island Tram Approved for Another 50 Years
16. Focus on Safety for Our Most Dangerous Streets 
17. Extra Time for Pedestrians to Cross York Avenue
18. New Citi Bike Stations on the Upper East Side and Incentivized Safety Class 
19. Bike Safety Program Expansion to the Entire Upper East Side and Midtown East
20. Accessible Sidewalks for All 

IMPROVING AND CREATING NEW PARKS

21. Expanding and Rebuilding the East River Esplanade with $200 Million
22. East River River Greenway Construction on Esplanade Continues 
23. Completed 81st Street Pedestrian Bridge 
24. Opened a New Park on East 90th Street Pier
25. Rockefeller Ground Breaking on $9 Million Esplanade Renovation
26. Hospital for Special Surgery Renovate Sections of East River Esplanade 
27. Secured One Million Dollar Public-Private Partnership with Brearley to Repair Overhang Above the Esplanade
28. Conservancies and Funding for Local Parks
29. Revitalizing the Waterfront Management Advisory Board

QUALITY OF LIFE

30. A New Trashcan on Every Corner
31. A Plan to Take Down Unnecessary Scaffolding
32. Improved Quality of Life Enforcement
33. Automatic Benefits Study Passes Council
34. Supporting the Homeless with ETHOS
35. Fresh Food Box

PROTECTING TENANTS AND FIGHTING OVERDEVELOPMENT

36. Victory Against Overdevelopment: Rezoned the Sutton Area
37. Thousands of Subsidized Units will Return to Affordable Housing Under Legislation I Authored
38. Lowering the Volume on After Hours Construction Noise in New York City Passes Council
39. Challenging Skyscrapers in Residential Neighborhoods Built Using Loopholes
40. Won Two Rent Freezes
41. Safer Construction with Law to Count Every Life
42. Freezing Rents for Seniors and Disabled New Yorkers
43. Ending Downsizing of Seniors into Studio Apartments
44. Protected Quite Side Streets on the Mid-Block From Overdevelopment
45. Mandatory Affordable Housing for New Neighborhood Plans
46. Protected Landmarks Citywide
47. Recognized for Leading Preservation 
48. Tenant Blacklist Regulation Proposed 
49. Opening Up Privately Owned Public Spaces (POPS)
50. Passed Tenant Safety Legislation
51. Reformed the Board of Standards and Appeals

MARINE TRANSFER STATION

52. Fighting the Marine Transfer Station 

GOOD GOVERNMENT REFORM AND TRANSPARENCY 

53. Eliminated Outside Income and Legal Bribery
54. Online Voter Registration Becomes Law, In New York City 
55. Opened the City Budget to the Public
56. Weakening the Influence of Specials Interest Money in Politics
57. Voter Information Portal Law Enacted
58. Won Affordable High-Speed Internet for Low-Income New Yorkers
59. Spectrum Internet Assist
60. Millions for the Community Voted for by Residents in Participatory Budgeting
61. Demanded Answers on the Rivington Nursing Home Scandal
62. Focusing on Better Management
63. Get Big Money Out of New York City Politics 

PASSED LEGISLATION

64. Quality Of Life Enforcement
65. Construction Safety
66. Protecting Neighborhood Planning From Overdevelopment
67. Ethics Reform
68. Campaign Finance Reform
69. Election Reforms
70. Transparency In Government
71. Coastal Resiliency For Climate Change
72. Women’s Issues
73. Best City Council Members

HEADLINES

1. Participatory Budgeting 2018, Funding Winners
2. Getting Big Money out of Elections, Proposal for Ballot
3. Overhang on East River Esplanade, Redesign Unveiled
4. Fresh Food Box Is Back

JUNE EVENT INVITES

5. Join the Fight Against Over Development at Our Annual Forum
6. Roosevelt Island Town Hall
7. Family Day at John Jay Park
8. Skate Night (Free Skate Rentals)
9. Outdoor Movie Series Continues
10. New York Classical Theatre Reading of “The Widow of Valencia” by Lope de Vega
11. Personal Democracy Forum
12. Shred-A-Thon 92nd Street Green Market Edition
13. Citi Bike Skills Classes Start in June 

 
HEALTH AND SAFETY

14. Reducing Childhood Obesity by Targeting Less Sugary Drinks in Kids Menus
15. Fighting for More Funding for Senior Services
16. Advocating for Safety Reforms to the City's Private Trash Hauling Industry
17. Eastside Scaffolding Injury, New Safety Bill to Be Discussed at Crain’s Forum
18. Rikers Island with the Progressive Caucus

 
HOUSING

19. Tenants’ Rights Forum, Thank You for Coming
20. ETHOS: Eastside Task Force for Homeless Outreach and Services
21. Welcoming More Supportive Housing to the District
22. Successfully Saving the First Avenue Estates
23. Good News If You Live in an “Unregulated” Apartment

 
TRANSPORTATION

24. New Speed Bump Adds Safety for P.S. 290
25. Five Boro Bike Tour
26. Bike To Work Day
27. Out In Support of Fair Fares

 
EDUCATION

28. Meeting with the Manhattan Student Leadership Council
29. Supporting CUNY Students Rights
30. Child Care at Government Meetings Re-Introduced

 
COMMUNITY

31. Visit Our Table at the First Avenue Street Fair
32. Honoring Hunter College President Jennifer Raab
33. James Cagney Place, Celebration of Music
34. Celebrating The Tank's 15th Anniversary
35. Sutton Place Parks Conservancy Spring Garden Party

OFFICE UPDATES

36. Legislative Corner
37. Free Legal Clinics
38. Here to Help
39. Mobile District Hours
40. Ben in Your Building

 
EVENTS

41. Special Events
42. Programs and Events Funded or Sponsored by My Office
43. Community Boards
44. NYPD Events
45. Neighborhood and Tenant Associations
46. Community Events for Kids
47. Community Events for Adults

HEADLINES

1. Ban the Sale of Single-Use Plastic Water Bottles
2. Our Fight Against Over-Development Continues as Sutton Developer Appeals
3. Public/Private Partnership with Brearley for One Million Dollars to Repair Overhang Above the Esplanade

 
MAY EVENT INVITES

4. Tenants’ Rights Forum
5. Bike with Ben (to City Hall)
6. Help Redesign the Brearley Overhang Above the Esplanade
7. Jazz Concert at Andrew Haswell Green Park
8. Movies Under the Stars
9. Mammogram Van

 PARKS AND THE ENVIRONMENT

10. New Trees and Tree Guards Come to 2nd Avenue Bike Lane Islands
11. Waste Reduction and Diversion Legislative Package Introduced for Earth Day
12. Working to Reduce Light Pollution

 
EDUCATION

13. District Schools Get Funding Boost
14. Bringing Attention to School Seat Shortage
15. P.S. 290, P.S. 198, and P.S. 527 Auctions

HOUSING AND QUALITY OF LIFE

16. Recognized for Influence on Zoning, Preservation, and Affordable Housing
17. New City Map Monitors Scaffolding in Real Time
18. Rallying for a Rent Freeze in 2018
19. Homelessness Forum Attended by Nearly 100 Residents
20. New Affordable Housing Opportunity on East 95th Street

 
TECHNOLOGY

21. LinkNYC Kiosks to be Monitored Hourly
22. NYC Announces First-Ever Cybersecurity App to Protect Residents 

COMMUNITY

23. Summer Internship at My Office
24. Second Annual Spirit of Service Day
25. New York Junior Tennis Is Back
26. Shred-A-Thon: Thank You
27. Alice Aycock Sculpture Park Reopens
28. Basketball With Ben
29. Earth Day Recap
30. New York Public Library: Invest in Libraries   
31. Big Swim at Asphalt Green
32. UAW Rally Supporting Graduate Workers
33. Grant Opportunity: Kamil Kubik Foundation

OFFICE UPDATES

34. Legislative Corner
35. Free Legal Clinics
36. Here to Help
37. Mobile District Hours
38. Ben in Your Building

 
EVENTS

39. Special Events
40. Programs Funded and Sponsored by My Office
41. Community Boards
42. NYPD Events
43. Neighborhood and Tenant Associations
44. Community Events for Kids
45. Community Events for Adults

Chag Sameach and Happy Easter for those who celebrate. We're kicking off spring, by asking residents aged 11 and older to vote on how $1 million gets spent in our community from April 7 to 15. Cast your ballot in person at my office, nearly a dozen mobile voting sites, or online. Learn more at BenKallos.com/PB In March we continued our fight to improve democracy by trying to make it easier to vote with legislation to distribute voter registration forms with leases and register high school seniors in schools. We are also continuing our fight to get big money out of city politics and you can sign the petition at BenKallos.com/BIGMONEYOUT Activism is also core to our democracy and I had a chance to support the next generation joining thousands of New Yorkers for National Walkout Day and at the March For Our Lives, advocating and marching in favor of gun common sense laws to keep us safe across our nation. Join us for our annual Earth Day Forum to get a free reusable bag along and learn how to take action for the future of our city and planet. After you file taxes please join us and the Upper Green Side for a Shred-A-Thon. Regards, Ben Kallos Council Member P.S. First Friday is canceled this month in observance of Passover.

Special Events 4/7 - 4/15 Participatory Budgeting 4/12, 6:30pm – 8pm Homelessness Forum, CB 8 4/19, 6pm – 8pm Earth Day Forum, Free Reusable Bags 4/21, 10am – 2pm Shred-A-Thon Monthly Events First Friday   Canceled Due to Religious Observance 4/10, 5pm – 6pm Brainstorm with Ben By Appointment Only

APRIL INVITES

1. Vote on How to Spend $1 Million in Our Neighborhood
2. Earth Day Forum, You Are Invited
3. Homelessness Forum with Community Board 8
4. Shred-A-Thon, Earth Day Edition

DEMOCRACY

5. Get Big Money Out of City Politics
6. Fighting to Improve Democracy

SUPPORTING YOUNG ACTIVISTS FIGHTING GUN VIOLENCE

7. National Walkout Day
8. March For Our Lives
9. Listening Session at ELRO with Congress Member Maloney

EDUCATION

10. Fighting for More Seats and Physical Education in Our Schools
11. Sotheby’s Student Art Show, Thank You
12. P.S. 77 Annual Auction, Honored Guest
13. Ben Kallos Chess Challenge Thank you to Participants

TRANSPORTATION

14. Rallied for More Speed Cameras in School Zones
15. Deadly Chopper Crash Leads to Calls for More Safety
16. Keeping up the Fight Against Cuts to Crosstown Bus Service
17. Sign this Petition and Pressure the MTA to include ADA Access at E 86th St & Lex Station

BUDGET

18. Questioning Parks Commissioner on East River Esplanade and Queensboro Oval
19. Questioning DCAS on Provisional Employees and Transparency Since the Rivington Scandal
20. Department of City Planning Answers questions on Urban Planning and Excessive Voids

MARINE TRANSFER STATION

21. Less Trash Means Fewer Trucks, Update

TECHNOLOGY

22. City Launches Free Mobile App to Help with Cyber Security

COMMUNITY

23. 2018 Passover Seder
24. Sewing Station Ribbon Cutting
25. Talking to Seniors at the 92nd Street Y
26. Hunting for Eggs at Sutton Place and Carl Schurz Park
27. Presenting at the Fourth Annual GANYC Apple Awards
28. Joined Junior States of America for a Lesson on Civics

OFFICE UPDATES

29. Legislative Corner
30. Free Legal Clinics
31. Here to Help
32. Mobile District Hours
33. Ben in Your Building

EVENTS

34. Special Events
35. Community Boards
36. New York Police Department
37. Neighborhood and Tenant Associations
38. Community Events for Kids
39. Community Events for Adults

HEADLINES

1. Fixing Democracy from the City Council
2. Apply Now for Universal Pre-Kindergarten - 200+ New Seats
3. Every New Yorker Deserves Paid Family Leave, and More Men Should Take It

MARCH EVENT INVITATIONS

4. Sotheby’s Student Art Show
5. Ben Kallos Chess Challenge
6. Himan Brown Senior Program at the 92Y
7. Finding Solutions to our Transportation Crisis

LAND USE

8. Filed in Fight Against Overdevelopment
9. Ribbon Cutting for 21 Units of 100% Affordable Housing on the Upper East Side
10. Tenant Blacklist Bill Reintroduced

 
SUPPORTING BUSINESS

11. Scaffolding Bill Reintroduced
12. Business Improvement District Progresses

 
IMPROVING TRANSPORTATION

13. East 86th Street & Lexington Station, Petition for ADA Access
14. Pushing for Transportation Improvements
15. Citibike Station Valet Hiring Event

 
PARKS and THE ENVIRONMENT 

15. New Senior Space for John Jay Park 
16. Perfect Score from the League of Conservation Voters

 
COMMUNITY

17. Roosevelt Island Food Scrap Drop-Off Site
18. Run for the Future

 
OFFICE UPDATES

19. Here to Help
20. Mobile District Hours
21. Ben in Your Building

 
EVENTS

22. Special Events
23. District Office Events
24. Community Board Meetings
25. New York Police Department
26. Events for Adults

HEADLINES

1. Paternity Leave
2. 400 New Pre-K Seat Seat Are Coming to the Upper East Side
3. Noise Legislation Signed Into Law
4. Affordable Housing Registration Bill Ages Into Law  
5. Chair of Planning Dispositions, and Concessions

PARKS

       6. New Senior Space for John Jay Park

TRANSPORTATION

       7. East 86 Street & Lexington Station, Petition for ADA Access
       8. Access-A-Ride Customer Complaint Audit
       9. Commercial Bike Safety Training
      10. Proposed New Locations for LinkNYC Kiosks

STARTING OUT 2018 CIVICALLY INVOLVED
     
      11. State of the District, Thank you
      12. Mayoral Town Hall, Thank you
      13. Online Voter Registration
      14. Get Big Money Out of NYC Politics

WOMEN'S ISSUES
     
      15. Women's March
      16. Mammogram Van Invitation

IN THE COMMUNITY

     17. Community Board Eight Retiring Chair, District Manager, Staff Honored
     18. Congresswoman Maloney Holds Forum on the Effects of Republican Tax Law
     19. Meeting the President on Madam Secretary’s Set
     20. Tenants and Neighbors Annual Membership Meeting
 
OFFICE UPDATES
   
    21. Here to Help 
    22. Mobile District Hours
    23. Ben in Your Building
 
SPECIAL EVENTS

   24.  District Office Events
   25.  Community Board Meetings
   26.  New York Police Department
   27. Events For Adults

Join Congress Member Maloney, Borough President Brewer, and over a hundred neighbors warming up with a free cup of hot coffee, bagels with Ben, and learn what's going on in the neighborhood and how to get involved at our annual State of the District tomorrow.

You are cordially invited

State of the District

1:00PM Sunday, January 7, 2018
12:30PM Volunteer Fair, Musical Performance & Childcare

Memorial Sloan Kettering Auditorium
430 East 67th Street, New York, NY 10065

RSVP for your FREE Reusable Bag at BenKallos.com/event/state-district-2018
Free childcare upon request at RSVP@BenKallos.com
 

RSVP Now