Press Releases

New York, NY - Looking to protect children on their way to and from school, the New York City Council passed a law by Council Member Ben Kallos that will  make New York City the largest school district in the nation to install stop-arm cameras on its fleet of 10,000 school buses. These stop-arm cameras will catch reckless drivers who endanger students by illegally passing school buses during drop off and pickup.

NEW YORK, NY – At this week’s Stated Meeting, the New York City Council plans to pass Int. 1624, requiring key data points already tracked by regularly researched disparities studies governing Minority and Women Owned Business Enterprises procurement  to be updated in real-time. Impacted communities will no longer need to wait years to find relief with out-of-date data having an impact on millions in city contracts.

NYC Parks Commissioner Gabrielle Fialkoff today joined Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, Council Member Ben Kallos, Community Board 8 Parks and Recreation Committee Co-Chair Barry Schneider, and community members to break ground on improvements to the sitting area in John Jay Park on the Upper East Side. 

“John Jay Park is a neighborhood gem, and this reconstruction will make it even better with a greener and more vibrant sitting area,” said NYC Parks Commissioner Gabrielle Fialkoff. “Thanks to funding from Council Member Kallos, the new and improved sitting area will better serve as a community gathering space and make an enormous difference in the lives of Upper East Siders who enjoy the park daily.”  

John Jay Park’s sitting area will be completely renovated to provide a more welcoming space for the community. The project will transform the space with new pavement, benches, and drainage, and expand the amount of green space by converting asphalt areas to plant beds. Construction completion is anticipated for Fall 2022.  

The $650,000 project was fully funded by Council Member Ben Kallos. 

“I commend Council Member Kallos and Commissioner Fialkoff on today’s ground breaking to provide improvements to the sitting area in John Jay Park,” said Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer. “I’m looking forward to enjoying this space and its amenities when construction is completed next year.” 

“The sound of shovels hitting the ground on this project is music to my ears,” said Council Member Ben Kallos. “John Jay Park is a beloved piece of our neighborhood, and the $650,000 I allocated for a reconstruction of the pavement and the addition of new benches, drainage and expanded space for new plantings will make this park even more appealing to visitors. Thank you to the East 79th Street Neighborhood Association, especially its founder Betty Cooper Wallerstein, and to all the residents who participated in coming up with the improvements and to the Department of Parks & Recreation for doing a great job in design and getting us to this groundbreaking.”   

Situated on the East River, John Jay Park is named for New York jurist and statesman John Jay (1745-1829). The site’s pool opened between 1940 and 1942 as part of a Work Projects Administration (WPA) project. The park also features a large open area for basketball, tennis, and handball courts, a playground that was fully renovated in 2011, and two welded steel sculptures by artist Douglas Abdell.  

Roosevelt Island, New York, NY – Students at PS/IS 217 have a new educational green space on their roof, thanks to funding from Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, Borough President Gale Brewer, Council Member Ben Kallos, and Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright. Today they celebrated completion of the project, including a ceremonial planting.

$1 million in funding for this project comes from Council Member Ben Kallos, which was allocated from participatory budgeting that the school won in 2015 and 2016 thanks to the advocacy of the Roosevelt Island Community. Borough President Brewer funded $250,000 and Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright contributed $500,000 to the project.

To win funding through participatory budgeting, the whole Roosevelt Island community worked together to turn out a winning number of votes. Community members that advocated for the project include the PS/IS 217 PTA, Girl Scout Troops 3001 and 3244, Roosevelt Island Garden Club, Roosevelt Island Parents’ Network, Sharon Bermon from the NYPL Roosevelt Island Branch, and community activist Christina Delfico.

“STEM education is a vital part of shaping our future generation of leaders,” said Council Member Ben Kallos. “I am excited to celebrate the completion of PS/IS 217’s green roof, which will provide students with the opportunity to play and learn in new ways. I look forward to seeing all that the school is able to accomplish with this space.”

“I am thrilled to be here at the opening of the new educational green roof at PS/IS 217,” said Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney. “Giving the next generation of leaders the tools to excel in STEM starts in the classroom, and I am proud that our City schools are at the cutting edge of ensuring just that. I thank Councilmember Kallos, Borough President Brewer, and Assemblywoman Seawright for our ongoing partnership in ensuring New York City’s students are at the forefront of learning.”

“I’m excited to be able to celebrate the completion of the green roof at PS/IS 217, a project that will provide educational space to learn about the importance of protecting our environment,” said Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer. “I know that this space will benefit students for years to come by acting as a learning hub for 21st century skills and advancing scientific and environmental knowledge, in addition to supporting our city’s climate resiliency efforts by keeping the roof cooler, acting as an insulator, saving heating and cooling costs, helping to protect the school from environmental wear and tear, as well as reduce noise.”

“As a member of the Assembly Education Committee, proud public school parent and former PTA activist, I was please to award PS/IS 217 on Roosevelt Island with $500,000 for the creation of a Green Roof and construction of a STEM learning Hub. Our students deserve a safe place to learn and play. I commend Principal Mandana Beckman, school leadership, and PTA for seeing this through for the benefit of students and educations at PS/IS 217,” said Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright.

“This green roof provides flexible outdoor classroom space for educational gardening, theater and performing arts, and general student education, and recreation,” SCA President and CEO Nina Kubota said. “It’s a great example of the SCA’s steadfast commitment to provide enhanced educational services and better facilities for the City’s kids and the teachers and staff who serve them.”

“So many people had a small role in making a big impact,” says local sustainability advocate Christina Delfico. “This roof top project proves that community, schools, and government can create a sea of wide open green space to excite students in every subject of learning.”

PS/IS 217 is a New York Public School on Roosevelt Island located at 645 Main St, New York, NY 10044.

Upper East Side, New York, NY – Students at Yorkville Community School (YCS) will soon have a new $2.5 million outdoor play space on their roof. Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, Council Member Ben Kallos, and Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright announced today that construction started during the pandemic and will be completed next year. The students at YCS do not have an outdoor play space, and this project will give them a safe place to learn and play. 

$1.2 million in funding for this project comes from Council Member Ben Kallos, $500,000 of which was allocated from participatory budgeting, which the school won in 2015 thanks to the advocacy of the student and parent community. Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright contributed $125,000 to the project. The remaining funding was carried over from a previous capital project.

“As a parent in New York City, I understand the need for more green spaces for our children to run and play safely,” said Council Member Ben Kallos. “That is why as a Council Member I have prioritized building green and play roofs and gymnasiums for our students. I am excited for students at YCS to have a safe space to get exercise and sunlight during the school day.”

“We are more than excited to have this new rooftop playground. Thanks to our elected officials and our community, it is coming to fruition. We are maximizing space and creating more outdoor play spaces for our children. They deserve this,” said Yorkville Community School Principal Samantha Kaplan.

“I am thrilled to join with Council Member Kallos in breaking ground on the PS 151,” said Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney. “The COVID-19 crisis made it clear just how important outdoor spaces are for New Yorkers stuck indoors. This new roof will provide an oasis for the students to play and be outdoors. I can’t wait to see the project come to completion next year.”

“As a member of the Assembly Education Committee, proud public school parents and former PTA activist I was please to award PS151 Yorkville Community School with $125,000 for the construction of a rooftop play space and garden. Our students deserve a safe space to learn and play. I commend Principal Samantha Kaplan, school leadership, and PTA for seeing this through for the Yorkville Community School community,” said Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright.

Upper East Side, New York, NY – A new “maker space” will be a haven for creative kids at East Side Middle School, thanks to funding from Council Member Ben Kallos. The design for the space was unveiled today, and among its features are a digital fabrication center, an art classroom, and a computer lab. The space will be utilized for art classes and other creative opportunities for the students at East Side Middle, who will also be getting a new dance studio as part of the $1.4 million project.

The funding for this public-school project comes from Council Member Ben Kallos. $500,000 will go to converting a section of a library into the maker space and $937,000 will turn a basement area into an art studio.

“The talented students at East Side Middle School are going to have new opportunities to explore their interests and exercise their creativity with the maker space and dance studio,” said Council Member Ben Kallos. “When I was in school, my favorite part was learning about how technology works hands on, and I wish I had something like this maker space. The students at East Side Middle School never cease to amaze me, and I can’t wait to see how they use these new spaces.”

East Side Middle School (MS 114) is a New York City public school located at 331 East 91^st Street. Their mission statement includes: “We are also driven to create a school environment in which our students can pursue their talents and dreams and ambitions, their ‘element.’"

The fight over the new Blood Center building was never about blood. It has been about two other issues: How high should the center’s for-profit partner Longfellow Development’s commercial offices tower over a residential neighborhood, and member deference.

Despite us not yet having reached a deal I could support, the Land Use Committee voted to approve a modified version of the project, which would be built in the district I represent. To pave the way for this vote, which bucked “member deference,” much was done to paint me as an unreasonable NIMBY and the blood supply as at risk.

My Community Board and I have never opposed a rezoning before. In fact we voted Yes In My Back Yard to a homeless shelter three blocks from where I live and multiple rezonings, including a four-city-block-long life sciences project at Rockefeller University and expanding Hospital for Special Surgery. We cut the ribbon on the Belfer Research Tower, Memorial Sloan Kettering Tower at 74th Street, and acres of space for Cornell Tech. We are building two new towers for the Hospital for Special Surgery on 79th Street and at 71st Street over the FDR Drive.

I have always been willing to build the Blood Center a new building and our blood supply has never been at risk, because they are only permitted by the FDA to test and distribute blood from its complexes in Long Island City just over a mile away and on Long Island — not from the Upper East Side. These sites are part of a vast network of buildings that allows the Blood Center to compete with the Red Cross across 17 states.

During my time in office, I have been proud to support the expansion of the life-science sector in my district. 

I negotiated a 3 city block expansion of the Rockefeller University campus over the FDR Drive which has resulted in $50 million investment in a crumbling waterfront. I also helped secure $9 million to open a new biotech incubator we first thought of back on New Years Day 2014. I cut the ribbon on the Cornell Tech campus, the Belfer Research Building. We opened a new Memorial Sloan Kettering vertical campus on 74th Street, are expanding HSS over the FDR with a new 30-story medical tower on 79th Street and 1st Avenue, and a newly announced hospital building on 74th Street. Just to name a few and that’s not an exhaustive list. Each project involved working closely with the community whether as-of-right or through a discretionary process.

From the beginning of this process, we have agreed that we have an important opportunity to update and upgrade the New York Blood Center so it can continue to be a vital asset to our city. I have believed that the best way to achieve this vision would be through a significantly modified building from the Commercial Office Tower that the Blood Center proposed.

The developers made the unprecedented choice to skip working with the local community board, elected officials, and instead put all their efforts into overturning “member deference” now and forever.

This is the first rezoning where no changes were made at the Community Board or for the Borough President. The first change was offered at the first and only Zoning hearing just last month where more than one hundred residents came out in opposition, along with every single elected official Congress Member Carolyn Maloney, State Senator Liz Krueger, and Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright. 

After more than five separate requests, the developer finally came to the table this Monday. Only after skipping a meeting in the afternoon, did they show up to meet in the evening. We had two more meetings on Tuesday evening. In a Council where land-use projects are often negotiated to the last moment, the developer once again refused to negotiate. We had more conversations in 36 hours than we did in the preceding 36 months.

We came close to a win-win for both sides, but we haven’t gotten there. There remain modest changes to this building, moving a 30-foot mechanical void to the roof, lowering extra luxury 20-foot ceiling heights to something more reasonable, and a contextual height limit to protect against a 500-foot tower that can now be built as-of-right, all of which would have zero programmatic impact on the Blood Center and its partners while getting us to a building that would work for my constituents.

Ultimately, these remaining changes were rejected, and I have to vote “no” on this proposal.

Today’s outcome sets a troubling precedent for council members’ ability to win for the city and their constituents. With today’s vote, we become a City where real estate developers are only emboldened to sidestep the concerns of the communities in which they build.

The longstanding tradition of “member deference,” has been in place to give New Yorkers in 51 council districts across 5 boroughs a voice at the table with the developers who seek to reshape their neighborhoods. 

Thanks to a rarely invoked Charter 200(a)(3) protest filed by buildings included in this spot zoning, when this project comes to a vote of the full council, it will require a ¾ supermajority to pass. I urge my colleagues to consider the precedent we are setting and vote with their conscience. As I have said before, and I will say again, no matter the outcome of the vote, we will work with the Blood Center to build a new modern facility.

Statement on the Expansion of Retirement Security for All of New York State
 

Council Member Ben Kallos is the author of the Retirement Security for All law covering New York City.

"After more than a decade of fighting for workers to have a right to retire, every worker in New York State will have access to a retirement account. Whether through a plan their employer already offers or when they get automatically enrolled in the Secure Choice plan just signed into law.

"When Governor Cuomo adopted 'Secure Choice' in the 2018 budget, it didn't include auto-enrollment, and it was no surprise that with fierce opposition from an industry filled with his donors, that even years later it was never implemented.

"When we passed my 'Retirement Security for All' law for New York City workers, we included the provision that if the state did the right thing our plan would sunset. After all, this is about helping as many New Yorkers as possible.

"Thank you to Kathy Hochul, it is refreshing to have a Governor who cares more about people than Wall Street. A special thank you to Assembly Member Robert Rodriguez who has been fighting for this program for years.

"The bottom line is this law is going to help lift the next generation of workers and their families out of poverty as they are able to save, and see their savings grow, and one day retire."

###

Council Member Ben Kallos, is the author of the Retirement Security for All law covering New York City.

"After more than a decade of fighting for workers to have a right to retire, every worker in New York State will have access to a retirement account. Whether through a plan their employer already offers or when they get automatically enrolled in the Secure Choice plan just signed into law.

"When Governor Cuomo adopted 'Secure Choice' in the 2018 budget, it didn't include auto-enrollment, and it was no surprise that with fierce opposition from an industry filled with his donors, that years later it never got implemented.

"When we passed my 'Retirement Security for All' law for New York City workers, we included the provision that if the state did the right thing our plan would sunset. After all, this is about helping as many New Yorkers as possible.

"Thank you to Kathy Hochul, it is nice to have a Governor who cares more about people than Wall Street. A special thank you to Assembly Member Robert Rodriguez who has been fighting for this program for years.

"The bottom line is that this law is going to help lift the next generation of workers and their families out of poverty as they are able to not only save, but see their savings grow, and one day retire.

The Pandemic has shown us how fragile our food network is.

Whether it was food shortages, toilet paper, paper towels, or groceries whose prices who haven’t gone down.

New York City must have a sustainable food supply.

More and more we are seeing that the future of agriculture is Urban.

That is why today we are establishing an Office of Urban Agriculture to work with existing commercial urban farms, expand them, and remove barriers to entry across agencies through the lens of social and economic justice.

The office will work with NYCHA’s building health communities to build farms on public housing land to offer our lowest income New Yorkers access to healthy food and economic opportunity.

Supporting our vast network of community gardens. Not to mention expanding Grow to Learn, from a current 725 schools, throughout the city.

In my own district, we’ve worked with Grow NYC to bring planters and urban agriculture to every school in the neighborhood.

All of this comes after years of work, starting with Speaker Corey Johnson who proposed the advisory board that will also be implemented by this legislation. There will be representation from organizations focusing on climate, restorative, and social justice, with representation from youth whose voices have been leading this fight.

Council Member Rafael Espinal and Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams invested $2 million in partnership with EDC to build out Urban Agriculture in Brooklyn and originally introduced this legislation to bring it citywide.

I went to public high school in the Bronx on the same block as Dewitt Clinton which now boasts a student-built 1,300 square foot hydroponic farm. Through Teens for Food Justice, I met students who have harvested 25,000 pounds of produce have been harvested. Most of it has shown up in their school lunch, 30-60 pounds donated to local food pantries, and some is still left over to sell at farmers markets.

This isn’t the only program, and we need more. Int. 1663 will create the office of Urban Agriculture and its Advisory Board to get that done!

Thank you Speaker Corey Johnson, Rafeal Espinal, Borough President Adams, and the Economic Development Committee staff including Counsel Alex Paulenoff.

will include important voices from organizations that promote urban agriculture and focus on issues, such as climate, restorative and social justice,as well as restaurant industry, policy experts, promoting diversity including age --a Youth rep

----facilitate cooperation between the office of food policy, department of parks and recreation, department of city planning and other agencies such as NYCHA and DOE.

New York, NY – Internet could be coming to New York City residents with their apartment like heat, hot water, electricity, and phone utilities under new legislation proposed by Council Member Ben Kallos. 500,000 households in New York City still have no Internet access with recent findings of a link between Internet Access and vaccinations. Under the proposal all new construction in New York City would have to be wired for Internet, with all existing housing providing broadband Internet to tenants for free within 3 years.
 
“Every New York City apartment comes with heat, hot water, electricity, and a phone line. It’s time to add Internet, so it is there and just works when a tenant moves in,” said Council Member Ben Kallos. “We can finally end the digital divide and bridge the homework gap by making sure every apartment in New York City comes with Internet. You can’t get a vaccine if you can’t get online to schedule or even find an appointment, this pandemic has shown that the Internet is now a necessity.”
 
Half a million New Yorkers still have no Internet in their homes. Two of the worst neighborhoods for Internet connectivity are Borough Park Brooklyn (CB12) where one-third of households and East Harlem (CB11) where one-quarter of households have no Internet. A recent study published by the Centers for Disease Control found that “COVID-19 vaccination was significantly associated with household internet access in New York City at the zip code level.”

New York, NY – Amidst an affordable housing crisis, with too many studios and one-bedroom apartments, New Yorkers resort to putting up “temporary” or “pressurized” walls to illegally subdivide apartments in order to offer children privacy or add roommates to cover skyrocketing rents. These “Flex Apartments'' are so common that there are thousands of units listed on StreetEasy as “1-bedroom flex 2.” Council Member Ben Kallos, a lifelong tenant, has lived in numerous apartments with these illegal walls installed by previous tenants and even landlords, and is proposing legislation to make these ubiquitous temporary walls legal to make it easier for families and New Yorkers.
 
“No one can afford to live in New York City, but adding a temporary wall can really help split the rent or add a room for a new baby so parents like me can get a good night’s sleep, and maybe some privacy with my wife,” said Council Member Ben Kallos. “It’s ridiculous that these temporary walls are illegal, they are literally everywhere, and they aren’t going anywhere. Making these walls legal and getting them registered means first responders will actually know when and where to expect these walls and it will save lives.”

New York, NY – New York City’s spends $20 billion on contracts for City goods and services. However, most of the details regarding the solicitation, awarding, and spending are hidden behind a set of Byzantine systems that frustrate transparency and impede competition in public procurement. New legislation introduced by Council Member and Chair of the Contracts Committee, Ben Kallos, will adopt open contracting standards by creating one searchable database where anyone can find all the aggregated data around procurement. This bill would further promote transparency, streamline the procurement process, and increase competitiveness in public procurement. 
 
“Taxpayers have a right to know how every penny is spent, from pencils to school buses, and this legislation will make it easier to see where and how the city is spending their hard earned money,” said Council Member Ben Kallos, Chair of the Committee on Contracts.

During Climate Week the New York City Council passed legislation to overhaul an outdated Environmentally Preferable Purchasing (EPP) program that will direct $20 billion in city spending to save the environment. The program originally authored by Mayor Bill de Blasio as a Council Member in 2005 was never followed by his administration, which still included references to outdated VHS and cassette tapes, mini-discs, and answering machines. The laws authored by Contracts Chair Ben Kallos adopt new environmental goals, expands coverage to more contracts, and adds new major categories such as furniture and textiles.

The New Environmental Procurement Laws Focus on Waste Reduction and Highlight Textiles
 

New York, NY – Today New York City passed legislation updating the City's Environmental Preferential Purchasing Program (EPP). The proposed changes affect some $20 billion in spending and reform a program that has not been overhauled in 16 years. With ambitious goals that are responsive to our climate emergency, the legislation authored by Council Member Ben Kallos adopts the toughest standards for electronics and furniture that the City purchases. It also overhauls environmental goals and launches a task force on the textiles bought by the City of New York.

 
“We are in the midst of a climate emergency therefore, New York City government has a responsibility to make sure that every penny of our $94 billion budget that is going to the private sector puts the environment first,” said Council Member Ben Kallos, author of New York City’s declaration of a climate emergency. “This legislation has the potential to make New York City an example to the rest of the world on how major cities can use their economic might to help the environment. Thank you to Speaker Johson for working with me on this and being committed to getting it passed.”
 
In 2005, New York City adopted EPP to minimize the environmental impact of municipal government in its role as a consumer. The original law, which set forth strong environmental standards at the time, was not updated through biannual issuance of regulations as originally intended, leaving the city decades behind other states and even the Federal Government.
 
Int. 2271-A  will:

• Adopt Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) – electronics would be assessed based on their effect on the environment receiving rankings of Gold, Silver, or Bronze, under the EPEAT program managed by the Green Electronics Council. This is the highest standard adopted by the Federal government in 2007, Amazon in 2010, and available in 43 countries. The legislation would also require power management software by activated on all city systems where it available.
• More Ambitious Standards – the city would promulgate rules adding new environmental purchasing standards and overhaul others:
  • Net-Zero Greenhouse Gas Emissions (replacing “Decreasing”)
  • Eliminate Reliance on Virgin Materials (New)
  • Eliminate Reliance on Hazardous Substances (replacing “Reduce”)
  • Improve Outdoor Air Quality (New)
  • Reduce the Negative Effects and Generate Positive Effects for Environment (New)
  • Additional standards that would remain: conserve energy and water, increase use of recycled and reused materials, improve indoor air quality, and promote end-of-line management.
• Prohibit the Purchase of Halogen Lamps (expansion from incandescent)
• Adding Furniture to Environmental Purchasing

 Any contract that did not follow EPP would was required to consider the life-cycle cost-effectiveness, which would now be required to be submitted to the Director of Environmental Purchasing prior to awarding the contract. Reporting would be required annually, with all waivers and reports made public by posting them online.
 
Int. 2272-A would establish a taskforce to research and consider other social costs associated with the production of textiles, including the nature of labor conditions along the supply chain. And reporting on:

• whether such textiles are recycled or organic in whole or in part;
• source and supply chain for textiles;
• value of contracts for textile;
• length of use of textiles; and
• disposal.

Textiles are some of the most reusable items in the waste stream and yet they continue to be sent to landfills. Fashion and garment companies across the world – including H&M, Stella McCartney, and Burburry – are committing to moving the industry towards circularity, whether that be by taking responsibility for their products, after customers have finished using them, or by only using materials that can be fully broken down and re-manufactured into new items. As a key player in the international garment industry, New York City is uniquely positioned to lead this important environmental change.

New York, NY – As New Yorkers drift towards slumber each night they can expect a rich cacophony of noises that keep them up each night, from cars blasting bass that shakes windows as they drive by, to motorists leaning into their horn out of anger, to roving motorcycle gangs revving engines amplified by straight exhaust pipes as they speed down sidewalks, even trucks using a jake brake that makes the Home Improvement “Argh, Argh, Argh” as they slow for a red light. The noise wouldn’t be so bad on a highway, park, or distant vista, but it’s happening in neighborhoods across the all five boroughs that have become destinations to drive through with buildings that are 6, 12, and even 30 stories tall housing thousands of New Yorkers. NYPD’s no chase policy has left these annoyances uncurbed. According to data crunched by BetaNYC between Aug 1 2019 to Aug 1, 2020, there were 61,493 noise complaints related to vehicles. From Aug 1, 2020, to Aug 1, 2021, there were 99,621.
 
New Yorkers have had enough and have come out to meetings with elected officials demanding they do something about it. Council Member Ben Kallos are answering the call with new legislation for automated noise enforcement using video cameras and microphone triangulation to catch the booming vehicles and mailing violations of up to $1,575.
 
“As a new parent these assholes drive by waking up my daughter after we just finished our nighttime routine and then I don’t know how I am going to get her to sleep,” said Council Member Ben Kallos. “When I hear the revving from these roving motorcycle gangs barreling down the streets who often ride up on sidewalks, I frantically grab my daughter and find somewhere we might be safe, like by a streetlight pole where they can’t hit us, and I think to myself, ‘this can’t be normal, right?’”
 
Major cities around the world and other states have moved forward with automated enforcement including in California, United Kingdom, Austria, France, Switzerland, and Canada. Technology has advanced to a point where noise can be isolated to individual vehicles in moving traffic.

New York, NY – With thousands of New Yorkers relieved from millions in unfair tax burdens utilizing the help of the Office of the Taxpayer Advocate (OTA), the City Council is looking to ensure this vital work continues.  With the goal of enabling a long term option for New Yorkers seeking guidance and justice with tax issues, Council Member Ben Kallos joins Finance Chair Danny Dromm introducing legislation that will make the office permanent through statutory revision of the city charter.

Established in 2015 as an advocacy and service arm of the the New York City Department of Finance by Director Jacques Jiha, OTA has assisted New Yorkers for 6 years  Passage of this legislation would make New York join Washington D.C. the first cities in the country to codify such an office, joining a number of states and a federal office.

The office has reported on significant results for New York City homeowners, businesses and non-profits. 

Since April 1, 2016, OTA intervention has resulted in $15,633,506 in refunds, $22,687,936 in abatements, plus $22,709,531 in corrections, for a total of $61,030,973 in funds returned to taxpayers as of tax year 2020-21.

The Office of the Taxpayer Advocate provides a venue for independence, impartiality and confidentiality for New Yorkers seeking tax relief and currently employs advocates that listen to the taxpayer’s position, leading to investigation, evaluation, advocacy for changes supported by procedure or law, requests that the Department of Finance to take a second look, and advisement for the taxpayer for next steps.  After an opportunity to evaluate the work of the office for 6 years, the legislation establishes that the office is worth keeping in place, looking to ensure its continued existence as an official municipal office governed by the City’s Department of Finance.

The office allows New Yorkers to cut through the bureaucratic red tape and provide direct assistance when complex issues arise especially involving the real property tax system. Based on community input, the office is able to identify and recommend solutions for systemic issues within the agency that cause difficulties to taxpayers, providing an invaluable resource to policy makers and other stakeholders. This independent evaluation of agency operations can be a gamechanger in identifying larger scale bottlenecks and inefficiencies, leading to better long term tax policy.

“It’s a no brainer that we need this office to be permanent in our City. Too many New Yorkers are often spread thin financially due to the high cost of living in our City. The office of the Taxpayer Advocate is literally saving homeowners from getting into debt or falling behind on taxes by advocating for them successfully, “said Council Member Ben Kallos. “New York City residents cannot afford for a future mayor to do away with this office on a whim to save money. So the best way to prevent that is put it in the law.”

New York, NY – Legislation introduced today (Int 2363) by Council Member Kallos would ask real estate developers to inform the city when they are transferring property on lots over 20,000 square feet. City agencies would then be required to respond within a month with notice to the public so they can get their services built.
 
Even with the pandemic, New York City’s population is still growing as essential city services struggle to keep up due to difficulty finding a place to build in a city that’s largely already built.
Vital infrastructure is necessary to support a growing city where schools are overcrowded and firehouses struggle to cover more and more residents.
 
In 2018, Council Member Ben Kallos secured $92 million to build 824 new school seats by 2024 with no location secured as of 2021 with dozens of new luxury towers keep going up without them.
 
“New York City is already built so there isn’t really vacant land where you can just build a new school.  Right now, the city has to buy existing buildings to build what residents need, which can be tough in the most competitive real estate market in the world. By the time I read about a big real estate deal in the paper and call the developer to beg for a school, it’s already too late, and my community is desperate for school seats,” said Council Member Ben Kallos. “Elected officials ask agencies to build new schools and facilities all the time, but we never know what’s going or even what’s in play till it is too late. This legislation would put the city in the loop on big real estate transactions, force city agencies to share whether they see a need as well as whether they even tried to make a deal, and lets residents know what happened. In Manhattan, the city won’t actually need to buy all of the land, it will just need to be a part of the transaction to build a public-private partnership with municipal facilities in the base and the housing we need above.”

The Blood Center's expansion plans have been opposed by every elected official along with thousands of residents in the community for more than a decade. Environmental impacts of this proposed development cannot be mitigated, from shadows on the park and JREC to new loopholes and the fact that the proposal would include the displacement of thousands of people from 500 apartments. With regard to the stated need for proximity, the Blood Center's exclusion from existing new joint projects in the neighborhood, other sites they won't consider, the 18 other locations in New York and New Jersey, along with a possible headquarters on Long Island, seem to undermine that need. Taking a serious look at finances we found that the New York Blood Center made $269 million selling blood that was donated, spent $75 million buying up blood centers in 5 other states, have $3 million in offshore accounts, and if that isn't enough, spent more buying real estate ($27 million) then on research ($14 million) which only accounts for less than 5% of their program services budget.

Watch Council Member Ben Kallos' Testimony

New York, NY – A neighborhood park will be getting the first full renovation and redesign in decades thanks to more than $8.9 million in discretionary funding from local elected officials. Funding comes from Council Member Ben Kallos, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, Council Member Keith Powers and from the City Council through Speaker Corey Johnson. Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, Community Board 8 and NYC Parks, as well as community stewards for Ruppert Park from the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce, Muslim Volunteers for New York and nearby Knickerbocker Plaza all joined in heralding the announcement.
 
“Ruppert Park has needed an overhaul since I was kid and no one wanted to play there. As a dad in the neighborhood, this is the closest park where I can take my 3-year-old daughter and even she gets bored here. I can’t believe it took my lifetime, but Ruppert Park is going to get a complete redesign to become a destination park in the neighborhood that everyone will want to go to,” said Council Member Ben Kallos. “Thank you to Speaker Corey Johnson, Council Member Keith Powers, Assembly Member Dan Quart, Congresswoman Maloney, the Parks Department and the community for their partnership and investment in Ruppert Park.”

NEW YORK—Mayor de Blasio and the NYC Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) today announced a plan to double the City’s $500 million investment in life sciences to $1 billion as part of LifeSci NYC, a commitment launched in the Mayor’s State of the City address to create jobs and establish New York City as the global leader in life sciences. This expanded initiative is expected to generate 40,000 jobs.

Mayor de Blasio kicked off this next chapter of the city’s support for this industry by announcing a Request for Proposals (RFP) to help advance the commercial research and development of new medicines, medical devices, diagnostics, materials, and research tools. The City will provide up to $112 million in City capital to award $20 million to support one or more innovation projects. Multiple awardees can access up to $20 million each.

New York, NY – Countless New York City students and their families pay hundreds of dollars in college application fees to CUNY institutions each year, disincentivizing chances for higher education opportunities for aspiring college students. A bill introduced today by New York City Council Member Ben Kallos will expand access to City University of New York colleges by getting rid of the applications fees for all city public school graduates

“I’m fighting to equalize access here in public higher education for the same reason I fought for school lunch for all city kids” said Council Member Ben Kallos. “Kids can’t learn if their family’s current economic realities are impacting their ability to go to class with peers learning together, competing together, and applying together for higher educational opportunities.  This is a concrete way to alleviate some of this burden on our city families next year.”
 

"I'm glad to co-sponsor Council Member Kallos' bill providing assistance for application fees for public school students applying to CUNY," said Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer. "College application fees can be a financial burden for our public school students. This legislation will make applying to CUNY more accessible for high schoolers and will help make their dreams of a college education possible.”

The eligibility would include any student of a high school in the city school district of the city of New York, including a charter school, projected to graduate in the current school year or any student who has received a high school diploma from such school.  If the legislation is passed by the end of the year, the program could begin next year.

The proposed legislation  Int 2308-2021 requires the city’s Department of Youth and Community Development, in consultation with the Department of Education, to establish a program to provide financial grants to cover the application fee for New York public school graduates applying to any two or four-year degree program at the City University of New York. 

The current CUNY freshman application fee is $65; fees are as high as $78 at some private universities. Students are required to submit payment using MasterCard, Visa, American Express, eCheck or CUNY fee waiver, with limited current eligibility of veterans, certain low-income students and other groups.  It does not accept waivers distributed by the College Board, NACAC or any other organization. Assuming an average cost of $55 per application, a student applying to ten colleges will have $550 in costs for fees alone.
 

Int 2308-2021

By Council Member Kallos 

A LOCAL LAW 

To amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to the provision of financial  grants to public school applicants to be used for city university of New York application fees 

Be it enacted by the Council as follows: 

1 Section 1. Chapter 4 of title 21 of the administrative code of the city of New York is  2 amended by adding a new section 21-414 to read as follows:  

3 § 21-414 Application grants for city university of New York. a. Definitions. For the  4 purpose of this section, the following terms have the following meanings:  5 Financial grant. The term “financial grant” means the provision of money to an individual  6 or entity without an obligation of repayment. 

7 Public school applicant. The term “public school applicant” means any student of a high  8 school in the city school district of the city of New York, including a charter school, projected to  9 graduate in the current school year or any student who has received a high school diploma from 10 such school.  

11 b. In consultation with the department of education, and any other agency the commissioner 12 deems necessary, the department shall establish and operate a program, subject to appropriation, 13 to annually provide financial grants for the purpose of paying the application fee of all public  14 school applicants applying for admission to any two or four-year degree program at the city  15 university of New York. 

16 c. The commissioner shall establish criteria and procedures for the disbursement of grants  17 pursuant to this section. Such criteria and procedures shall be made publicly available on the  18 department’s website. 

1 

1 § 2. This local law takes effect 90 days after it becomes law, provided that the  2 commissioner of youth services may take all actions necessary for its implementation, including  3 the promulgation of rules, before such effective date.

 ###

Bill de Blasio, Mayor, City Hall, New York, NY 10007
Meisha Porter, Chancellor Department of Education Tweed, 52 Chambers Street New York, NY 10007
Nina Kubota, President School Construction Authority 30-30 Thomson Avenue Queens, NY 11101 

Dear Mayor de Blasio, Chancellor Porter, and President Kubota, 

We are now less than 3 weeks away from the May 28 deadline for parents to apply for 3-K, and  there are too few 3-K options for School District 2, which covers much of Manhattan. In order to  take on this immediate crisis, please (1) direct public schools to make space available, (2) lease  and build out new pre-kindergarten centers to accommodate 3 and 4-year-olds, and (3) open  contracts for expansions by existing providers and applications from new providers. 

We have a long history of working together to find and secure providers and spaces to  accommodate the need for pre-kindergarten on the Upper East Side and Roosevelt Island. After  seven years of fighting for universal free pre-kindergarten to serve three and four-year-olds on  the Upper East Side, I am grateful for the expansion to every neighborhood in the city for the  2021–22 school year. At the announcement, I noted our partnership, and the need to work  together to find new seats. However, since then, despite work on the part of my office, we have  not received any information as to your progress, or any sign of the same level of cooperation  we’ve had in the past that successfully secured more seats for our children. 

We are less than three weeks away from the May 28 deadline for parents to apply for 3-K, and there are only  36 providers in School District 2, which runs from the  southern tip of Manhattan to East 100^th Street. There  are no providers below 23^rd street or on Roosevelt Island, and only one on the Upper East Side. There are  2,966 four-year-olds enrolled in pre-kindergarten in   District 2 as of the 2019 – 2020 school year, which should provide a reasonable expectation for the seat need we will have for three-year-olds.

Direct Public Schools to Make Space Available for 3-K 

Declining enrollment in our public schools during the pandemic offers an opportunity to fill  these seats with three-year-olds.  

This school year saw a 4% decline in enrollment, a loss of 43,000 students, with pre-kindergarten  down 13% and kindergarten down 9%, across the city. Neighborhoods in Manhattan were among  the hardest hit by families leaving the city during the pandemic, leading to elementary schools in  

District 2 losing students at a higher-than-average number, according to Chalkbeat. Two  elementary schools in District 2 lost more than 20% of their enrollment: P.S. 234 lost 171  students (-26.76%) and P.S. 89 lost 104 students (-23.11%). On the Upper East Side, P.S. 158  Bayard Taylor lost 130 students (-16.19%) and P.S. 290 Manhattan New School lost 101  students (-17.50%). Upper East Side elementary schools and K–8 lost a combined total of 543  students. Although we might expect some of these students to return, a portion of these 543 seats  could accommodate 3-K and could meet half the neighborhood’s need for this September. 

Many of these schools have shared concerns that existing pre-kindergarten seats were  underfunded, and that public health guidance during the pandemic has been inconsistent and changed from day to day with little warning from the Department of Education, including  changes relating to the 6-foot rule, 3-foot rule, meals, and indoor spaces. These concerns have left public schools reticent to welcome a new 3-K program. 

To address these concerns, the Mayor and Chancellor must increase funding for 3 and 4-year-old  students in public schools, expand funding to cover overhead, and provide immediate clear and  consistent guidance on reopening this coming school year. Furthermore, the Mayor and  Chancellor must mandate that public schools that have seen declines in enrollment accept new 3- K classes on at least a temporary basis until enrollment is stabilizes. 

Lease and Build Out New Pre-Kindergarten Centers to Accommodate 3 and 4-year-olds 

The Department of Education and the School Construction Authority can and must fill large  empty storefronts with pre-kindergarten centers. 

New York City faced a blight of empty storefronts even before the pandemic. Ever-rising rents  have even begun forcing out national chains and big box stores, leading the Center for Urban  Future to begin studying the phenomenon more than a decade ago. While many chains have a  small footprint, some have very large footprints that can accommodate pre-kindergarten centers  including Duane Reade which closed 64 locations, Rite Aid which closed 10 locations, and many  others. 

On the Upper East Side, we’ve built out three new pre-kindergarten centers. One was built as  part of new construction, another was added to a building that already contained a public school,  and the last involved the conversion of a former garage to a new school. We’ve proven the model  works here and all over the city.

Our office has submitted multiple large vacant storefronts, from all over the neighborhood, but  we have not received updates from the Department of Education and the School Construction  Authority. Please provide an immediate response for the locations provided and a list of other  sites in consideration. 

The time is now to fill our vacant storefronts and build out the infrastructure our city’s working  families need in order to care for their children. 

Open Contracts for Expansions by Existing Providers and Applications from New Providers 

Our community-based organizations that are both non-profit and for-profit can help us address  immediate and long term need for 3-K. The Department of Education must immediately open  contracts for existing providers to expand, and new providers to join the free pre-kindergarten  program. 

Many community-based providers who already offer free pre-kindergarten in partnership with  the Department of Education have multiple locations. Often, each location is structured as its  own corporation to limit liability, despite common ownership and operations. The Department of  Education has taken the position that these providers cannot add seats from additional locations.  This must be immediately corrected. Existing providers should be able to add additional seats at  any locations under common ownership or operations. We need the seats now. 

There are many community-based providers who never participated in universal pre kindergarten, in part because of a low reimbursement rate per student and a failure by the  Department of Education to account for overhead costs, such as the high cost of rent in  Manhattan. Mayor de Blasio recently announced full funding for indirect rates for city contracted non-profits. In a similar vein, community-based providers should be able to submit  CPA-certified financials to demonstrate overhead costs, such as Manhattan rent. The Department  of Education should provide additional funding to cover the share of rent devoted to these  programs and increase per-student funding. 

Without enough seats in our public schools and our existing community-based providers, the  Department of Education must immediately open the contracting process for new providers with  an expedited timeline to open by September. 

Between filling seats in existing public schools, leasing vacant storefronts, expanding seats with  existing providers and adding new providers, we have a shot at getting the 3-K seats we need for  this September, but we must act now. 

Sincerely, 

Ben Kallos 
Council Member 
District 5

New York, NY – New legislation introduced today seeks to regulate Short-Term Rentals by would requiring hosts to register their homes prior to sharing and ensure platforms followed the law. Illegal short-term rentals in New York City add to the variety of long-standing affordability issues the City faces due to the loss of rent-stabilized or otherwise affordable apartments being turned into illegal hotels and listed on websites such as Airbnb, HomeAway, VRBO, FlipKey, Booking.com, and others. The legislation authored by New York City Council Member Ben Kallos and Tenants PAC seeks to help New York City recover from the pandemic by putting a dent in the long-standing affordable housing crisis that continues in part because of thousands of illegal short-term rentals instead of housing real New Yorkers.
  
“We need every apartment being listed illegally on Airbnb back on the market to help our affordable housing crisis. At a time that hotels are closing or sitting there empty it is crazy to see apartments all over the city getting converted into illegal Airbnbs. Moving forward the only listings we should see are actual home sharing where the host is home,” said Council Member Ben Kallos. “Thank you to Tenants PAC and the Coalition Against Illegal Hotels for their expertise and assistance in getting this important legislation drafted and introduced.”

After Years fighting President Trump and Republican Congress
Who Sought to Block States & Cities from Providing Retirement Accounts to Residents this Groundbreaking Legislation Passes City Council Vote
 

New York, NY – At least 1.5 million private-sector workers in New York City that do not have access to retirement plans through their employers will finally get one as “Retirement Security for All'' legislation sponsored by Council Member Ben Kallos passed a vote the New York City Council.  The bill received a public hearing in the City Council in September 2019 but stalled due to legal issues created by the Trump administration.
 
As a result of the new legislation employers with 5 or more employees that do not currently offer a retirement plan would be required to automatically enroll employees through payroll deduction. There would be no cost to employers with small employers and gig workers able to voluntarily join the program.
 
 “Even in our beloved but expensive City where the cost of living is high, every New Yorker should be able to save for retirement. This legislation is a huge first step in helping generations of New Yorkers working for small businesses to save and be that much more ready to be self-sufficient when it is time to retire. With this legislation, New York City is leading the way by providing residents something in addition to their social security,” said Council Member Ben Kallos, who is an Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) attorney. “Thank you to Speaker Corey Johnson for prioritizing this and focusing on it so that it could pass into law today. I can't wait to help millions of New Yorkers to have a more secure future.”
 
New York State Attorney General and then Public Advocate Letitia James first authored the legislation now carried and championed by City Council Member Ben Kallos and Civil Service and Labor Committee Chair I. Daneek Miller, Int. 888 & Int. 901, that would allow every private-sector worker in New York City to save pre-tax for retirement even if their employer did not offer a 401K.
 
The plan met with uncertainty following the passage of House Joint Resolutions 66 and 67 by Rep. Walberg (R-MI) and Rep. Rooney (R-FL) on March 30, 2017 and signature by Trump on April 13, 2017, to roll back regulations permitting States and Municipalities to offer retirement savings plans. With the election of President Biden, New York City one of the largest municipalities in the nation has taken the opportunity to lead through this legislation.
 
In New York City, two-thirds of workers, more than 2 million people in 2009, did not participate in employer-sponsored retirement plans, largely because their employer didn’t offer one, according to a 2011 report by Comptroller John Liu. More than one-third of households led by a member who will become a senior citizen in the next decade will either be unable to retire or have to live on entirely or primarily on Social Security Income, according to the same report. The National Institute on Retirement Security predicts a United States retirement saving deficit of as much as $14 trillion.
 
"There are millions of New Yorkers that are in no way ready for retirement, which is a ticking time bomb for our social safety net. It wasn't always like this, and now that Donald Trump is behind us we are taking steps to make sure that people who have worked hard are ready for retirement. I'm proud that New York City is taking the lead on this, and I hope more cities and states follow suit. I want to thank Council Member Ben Kallos and Daneek Miller for their tireless work and leading the way to get us to the finish line," said Council Speaker Corey Johnson. 
 
“Fulfilling the goal of retirement is fast becoming a lost tradition in America,” said Council Member I. Daneek Miller, Chair of the Committee on Civil Service and Labor. “People are working desperately to keep pace with ever-increasing living costs, but lack the means or direction to avoid falling into poverty in their later years. Our legislation will help more than half of working New Yorkers currently without a savings plan set aside a portion of their earnings so they can begin to lay a foundation for a stable future, and particularly benefit our communities of color who saw their average household wealth plummet for over three decades. I thank my colleagues for embracing this bold proposal that is needed now more than ever.”
 
“Too many hardworking New Yorkers face the frightening prospect of aging into poverty rather than retiring with dignity. We know that retirement plans can make all the difference, but more than a million private-sector workers in New York City have not had access to this benefit that is critical to their financial stability. I applaud Council Members Kallos and Miller for their work on seeing this legislation through,” said New York State Attorney General Letitia James.
“Automatic workplace retirement savings provide an easy pathway for workers to start building a safety net and grow the savings they need to take control of their future,” said AARP New York State Director Beth Finkel. “On behalf of our 750,000 New York City members, I thank the City Council for passing this critical program to help New Yorkers save at work. We appreciate the leadership of Council Speaker Johnson and Council Members Kallos and Miller in making this program a reality for our city’s workers.”
 
On April 12, 2018 Governor Andrew Cuomo signed budget bill S.7505C / A.9505D that established the “New York State Secure Choice Savings Program” as Article 43 of the General Business Law to provide employers that do not currently offer retirement savings to their employees with the option of offering a Roth individual retirement account (Roth IRA) managed by the State.
 
The legislation was originally introduced on April 25, 2017 and re-introduced on May 9, 2018. It consists of two bills Int. 1580 of 2015 now Int. 901 of 2018 to establish a board and Int. 1574 of 2015 now Int. 888 of 2018 to establish a plan. The Board would be established to administer the plan, engage in rulemaking, auditing, and reporting, along with public education and community outreach forums. The plan would cover all employers with more than ten employees that did not already offer a retirement plan. At no cost to the employer, private sector employees would be automatically enrolled, with an option to decline, in a payroll deduction pre-tax retirement savings plan administered by the City.
 
Council Member Kallos' work on Retirement for All dates back to 2015 when he was co-prime sponsor to legislation that studied the implementation of implement Retirement Security for All with then Public Advocate Tish James and Civil Service and Labor Committee Chair I. Daneek Miller. The bill was heard in committee in June 2015.
 
Unlike the New York State plan and similar to states like California, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland and Oregon, the New York City legislation would mandate that certain employers automatically enroll their employees if they don’t already offer an option. The New York City plan would default to a Roth IRA with a contribution rate of 5% with an option to change rates or choose an IRA. Established in 2017 the state of Oregon’s plan OregonSaves now boasts more than 100 thousand accounts and nearly $100 million in assets. The average monthly contribution is over $100 with an opt-out rate of less than one-third.
 
In 2016, the new legislation was initially enabled by rules promulgated by the United States Department of Labor (RIN 1210-AB71) prior to the Trump administration stepping in to block it in early 2017. Kallos joined then Public Advocate James in a January letter advocating for cities to be empowered to offer Savings Arrangements Established by States for Non-Governmental Employees.
 
In 2015, Public Advocate James and Council Member I. Daneek Miller had introduced and heard Int. 692 to create a review board to study and issue a report regarding recommendations for the City to establish a retirement security program for private-sector workers.
 
Prior to their election, Kallos practiced Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) law at Gorlick, Kravitz, and Listhaus, representing laborers at the Mason Tenders District Council fighting for the retirements of workers and Miller served as President of Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local No. 1056 and co-chaired the MTA Labor Coalition which represents 29 unions and more than 60,000 workers.
 

New York, NY – Today the City Council's Contracts Committee held a hearing chaired by Council Member Ben Kallos focusing on new legislation which would update the City's Environmental Preferantial Purchasing Program. The proposed changes affect some $20 billion in spending that goes throuhgh the Environmental Preferential Purchasing program which has not been overhauled in 16 years. With ambitious goals that are responsive to our climate emergency the legislation authored by Kallos (D-Manhattan) would adopt the toughest standards for electronics, add furniture, overhaul environmental goals, and launch a taskforce on textiles.
 
“We have a climate emergency and New York City government should make sure that every penny of our $94 billion budget that is going to the private sector puts the environment first,” said Council Member Ben Kallos, author of New York City’s declaration of a climate emergency.
 
In 2005, New York City adopted Environmentally Preferable Purchasing (EPP) to minimize environmental impact of municipal government in its role as a consumer. The original law, which set forth strong environmental standards at the time, was not updated through biannual issuance of regulations as originally intended, leaving the city decades behind other states and even the Federal Government.
 
The first bill would:

• Adopt Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) – electronics would be assessed based on their effect on the environment receiving rankings of Gold, Silver, or Bronze, under the EPEAT program managed by the Green Electronics Council. This is the highest standard adopted by the Federal government in 2007, Amazon in 2010, and available in 43 countries. The legislation would also require power management software by activated on all city systems where it available.
• More Ambitious Standards – the city would promulgate rules adding new environmental purchasing standards and overhaul others:
  • Net-Zero Greenhouse Gas Emissions (replacing “Decreasing”)
  • Eliminate Reliance on Virgin Materials (New)
  • Eliminate Reliance on Hazardous Substances (replacing “Reduce”)
  • Improve Outdoor Air Quality (New)
  • Reduce the Negative Effects and Generate Positive Effects for Environment (New)
  • Additional standards that would remain: conserve energy and water, increase use of recycled and reused materials, improve indoor air quality, and promote end-of-line management.
• Prohibit the Purchase of Halogen Lamps (expansion from incandescent)
• Adding Furniture to Environmental Purchasing

 
Any contract that did not follow EPP would was required to consider the life-cycle cost-effectiveness, which would now be required to be submitted to the Director of Environmental Purchasing prior to awarding the contract. Reporting would be required annually, with all waivers and reports made public by posting them online.
 
The second bill would establish a taskforce to research and consider other social costs associated with the production of textiles, including the nature of labor conditions along the supply chain. along reporting on:

• whether such textiles are recycled or organic in whole or in part;
• source and supply chain for textiles;
• value of contracts for textile;
• length of use of textiles; and
• disposal.

 Textiles are some of the most reusable items in the waste stream and yet they continue to be sent to landfills. Fashion and garment companies across the world – including H&M, Stella McCartney, and Burburry – are committing to moving the industry towards circularity, whether that be by taking responsibility for their products, after customers have finished using them, or by only using materials that can be fully broken down and re-manufactured into new items. As a key player in the international garment industry, New York City is uniquely positioned to lead this important environmental change.
 

Contracts Chair Kallos has led the Fight to Restore Funding Cuts to Nonprofits by Mayor de Blasio Since the Pandemic.

New York, NY - After over a year of fighting for New York City’s nonprofits, today Council Member Kalllos joined the administration in announcing that deep cuts to the nonprofit sector will be restored. As chair of the Contracts Committee Council Member Kallos has been at the helm of the fight to support human services providers in the City of New York as they faced draconian cuts throughout all of 2020.  

"Nonprofits are leading the recovery by supporting low-income black and brown New Yorkers impacted most by the pandemic and our city is finally doing the right thing by restoring cuts to operations that will help keep these vital services going," said Contracts Chair Ben Kallos who has been leading the fight for these funds. "Thank you to Speaker Corey Johnson and Mayor Bill de Blasio for their leadership and investment in our nonprofit community."

• August 22, 2020, during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic Council Member Kallos authored a letter to administration demanding restoration of indirect cuts.   
• September 15, 2020, Contracts Chair Kallos joined the Human Services Council, Borough President Gale Brewer, Council Members, and providers to lead a rally demanding a restoration of these funds. 
• November 24, 2020, Council Member Kallos held a hearing giving nonprofits the ability to testify on the urgent need  and restorations of funding. 

After promising to fully fund indirect costs with $54 million in November 22, 2019, Mayor

Bill de Blasio announced in July 2020 that he would be cutting the city’s reimbursement for these costs both retroactively and moving forward. Prior to this, Mayor de Blasio’s Executive Plan in April 2020 cut indirect funding by nearly 40% to $34 million under the guise of a “right-sizing” assurance for providers that reimbursements from that fiscal year would be completed. Human service providers were already in trouble having already spent funds relying on this reimbursement which was reduced to 10% of contract value or 60% of actual costs and must now continue through this pandemic without the city paying for indirect costs as promised.

Contracts Committee Chair Kallos along with more than  20 Council Members demanded a restoration of these funds by letter in August 2020. Last September, Contracts Chair Kallos joined the Human Services Council, Borough President Gale Brewer, Council Members, and providers to lead a rally demanding a restoration of these funds. 

On November 25th,  the day before Thanksgiving, the Contracts Committee held a hearing seeking to hear from providers on the importance of the city paying for indirect costs and the impact on services for providers and the people they serve. Several Human Service Providers and elected officials testified at the hearing including:

• Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer
• Council Member Brad Lander
• Council Member Helen Rosenthal
• Ariel Zwang, CEO of Safe Horizon
• Wayne Ho, President & CEO of the Chinese-American Planning Council (CPC)
• Rodrigo Sanchez-Camus, Esq., Director of Legal, Organizing, & Advocacy Services at NMIC
• JoAnne Page, President & CEO of the Fortune Society
• William Scarborough, Account Manager in Employment Services at The Fortune Society
• Frederick Shack, Chief Executive Officer of Urban Pathways
• Janelle Farris, Executive Director & President of Brooklyn Community Services

Underfunding was an issue prior to the pandemic, more than half of NYC human services nonprofits could not keep even two months of cash on hand, due to underfunded government contracts, a problem that dates back years. This funding crisis was the main driver behind 2019's groundbreaking commitment to strengthening health and human services infrastructure through increased indirect funding. These retroactive cuts undermine the City’s progress and put providers at significant financial risk when the need for their services is skyrocketing.

The Indirect Cost Rate (ICR) Funding Initiative launched by the City in 2019 and is a result of the City Council pushing the Mayor’ s office and working with nonprofit sector leaders through the Nonprofit Resiliency Committee. 

The announcement today of $120 million over two years brings the total investment for ICR to $94 M per year. 

WATCH THE PRESS CONFERENCE
 

New York, NY— Toxic pesticides will be banned from city parks under a bill passing today sponsored by Council Members Ben Kallos and 31 other Council Members. The bill bans all city agencies from spraying highly toxic pesticides, such as glyphosate (Roundup), and is the most far-reaching legislation to implement pesticide-free land practices in New York City parks and public spaces.
 
The City’s most heavily used liquid herbicide is glyphosate, sold as Roundup, which represents over 50% of pesticide use by city agencies and was sprayed 1,365 times in 2013, according to a Health Department Report. In contrast, Chicago has reduced pesticide use dramatically, and now 90% of its parks are pesticide-free since 2014. The use of this pesticide poses a health risk for anyone who frequents city parks and playgrounds, as well as, city workers, including city parks employees who come into contact with glyphosate containing chemicals while spraying.
 
The bill was re-introduced on April 18, 2019 and was heard in January 2020 in the Committee on Health, after receiving support from a veto-proof supermajority of 34 City Council co-sponsors. Since the hearing, the bill lost 2 co-sponsors due to the exits of former Council Members Rafael Espinal and Ritchie Torres.
 
“Parks should be for playing not pesticides,” said Council Member Ben Kallos. “All families should be able to enjoy our city parks without having to worry that they are being exposed to toxic pesticides that could give them and their families’ cancer. As a new parent my daughter isn’t allowed to play on the grass, especially because as a baby puts everything in her mouth. I look forward to working with all of our city agencies to ban toxic pesticides and keep our children safe.”

"I’m proud we’re voting on this bill to modernize our pest control and keep New Yorkers safe. It’s important that, as technology changes and evolves, New York City government keeps up. We no longer burn coal in our buildings.  We don’t light our offices with gas lamps. And we shouldn’t be using toxic and dangerous chemicals in our public spaces. Now we longer will be. I want to thank the sponsor of the bill and chair of our Contracts Committee, Council Member Ben Kallos, Founder and President of the Black Institute, Bertha Lewis, and all of the community advocates who made this possible, " said City Council Speaker Corey Johnson. 

New York, NY – Legislation to be introduced tomorrow on Earth Day will require the City of New York Department of Sanitation to install solar-powered waste receptacles on at least 1,000 population-dense or high pedestrian traffic street corners throughout the City.
 
Introduced by Council Member Ben Kallos (D-Manhattan), this legislation aims to help keep our busiest intersections clean for longer periods of time by using solar-powered trash cans, which can reduce the need for collections by 70 percent on average. The trash compactors work by using solar panels to harness the energy that is then used to compact the garbage inside, allowing it to hold up to five times more waste than regular trash cans. The modern trash bins are fully enclosed and are highly effective at preventing trash overflow or windblown waste.
 
The solar-powered trash compactors also include the added benefit of preventing rats and other rodents from eating trash. Since trash does not need to be collected as frequently, the trash compactors also drastically reduce the use of plastic trash bags by the Sanitation Department, making them better for the environment. 
 
“Every New Yorker has seen it. Garbage piled up at the corner because the trashcan is full or overflown when one regular can is just not enough,” said Council Member Ben Kallos. “These devices that hold up to five times the amount of trash that regular metal wastebaskets do are a no-brainer in terms of return on investment. They operate on solar power and require less crews picking up multiple times per day.”
 
While thousands of compactors have already been placed around the city in the past decade with municipal and nonprofit funding, this legislation would mark the largest expansion of these modern receptacles to date.
 
At a negotiated cost per receptacle, the City would likely spend under half a million dollars for the 1,000 receptacles that will improve quality of life and help make our busiest city streets cleaner. These costs would be offset by a reduction in the amount of daily pick-up rounds needed in certain high-traffic areas. Currently, Council Members are using expense funding to purchase these receptacles. However, by requiring the Sanitation Department to purchase and place them instead Council Members would see this expense funding freed up for other community uses. The City will have the opportunity to use the solar-powered trash cans as to advertise and have the trash can pay for themselves.
 
During Council Member Ben Kallos’ time in office in 2017 & 2019 he has used discretionary funding to purchase a total of 515 large, dome-shaped covered trash cans to place on every street corner on the Upper East Side. The purchase and installation of these larger trash cans has been largely credited with helping achieve cleaner streets and no more overflowing trash cans on the sidewalks of busy commercial corridors like on East 86^th Street.
 

City, in partnership with City Council, will expand free, full-day, high-quality early childhood education to an additional 16,500 three-year-olds across New York City 

NEW YORK—Mayor Bill de Blasio and Schools Chancellor Meisha Porter today announced that in partnership with City Council, 3-K for All will expand to the remaining sixteen community school districts in the 2021-22 school year – bringing free, full-day, high-quality 3-K to up to 16,500 more three-year-olds across New York City. By this fall, the City will support approximately 40,000 3-K seats across all 32 community school districts.  

In addition to expanding to School Districts 1, 12, 14, and 29 this fall as previously announced, the City will expand to offer 3-K to as many families as possible in the remaining sixteen school districts: 2, 3, 10, 11, 13, 15, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 28 and 30. 3-K is already offered to every three-year-old in School Districts 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 16, 19, 23, 27, 31, and 32. 

“3K has been invaluable for so many kids and working families across our city,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “Now, as we build a recovery for all of us, we are bringing 3K to every district across our city, giving more kids the quality head start they need to grow and thrive.” 

“Providing a high-quality education to every New York City student starts with our youngest children, and I’m thrilled to expand 3-K for All to reach every district citywide and bring access to thousands more three-year-olds and their families during this critical time,” said Schools Chancellor Meisha Porter. “These programs provide children with an invaluable head start in school and life, and I encourage families to explore the 3-K and Pre-K for All options available in their communities and apply.” 

Like Pre-K for All, 3-K for All relies on the partnership of community-based organizations, including Head Start programs, child care agencies, and family child care providers. The timing of the expansion aligns with the culmination of the City’s historic commitment to achieve pay parity for certified early childhood education teachers by October 2021, a goal which is on track to be met. Achieving a pathway to pay parity between early childhood educators in community-based organizations and those working in district schools completes the promise made by the Mayor and City Council to the provider community during summer 2019, as part of agreements with District Council 37, the Day Care Council of New York, and the Head Start Sponsoring Board Council, as well as a commitment to non-represented teachers. Certified teachers saw phased-in wage increases beginning in October 2019. Non-certified teachers and support staff have also seen increases in compensation. 

3-K for All is the nation’s most ambitious effort to provide universal, free, full-day, high-quality early childhood education for every three-year-old child and builds on the success of Pre-K for All. High-quality 3-K helps to make sure children are prepared for kindergarten and have a strong start in school and life. 

“My daughter is 3 years old, and 3K for All is a lifeline that will make it easier for countless families like mine to stay in New York City and thrive. After this pandemic forced our children into isolation for a year, New York City parents will be relying on 3K for All to help our children catch up,” said Council Member Ben Kallos. “Child care on the Upper East Side starts at $30,000 and that’s if you can get a seat. Few can afford this and it’s forcing families out. 3K for All is a game changer, giving every child the fair start that they deserve. Countless families including mine are breathing a sigh of relief with today’s announcement. I know I’ve been persistent about getting UPK and now 3K rolled out, but this was too important for our children’s future to leave it up to the next administration. I want to thank Mayor Bill de Blasio for staying true to his word in making Universal Pre-Kindergarten a reality and now 3K for All by 2021. When it is safe to do so I am giving the Mayor a hug.” 

“My daughter is 3 years old, and 3K for All is a lifeline that will make it easier for countless families like mine to stay in New York City and thrive.

“After this pandemic forced our children into isolation for a year, New York City parents will be relying on 3K for All to help our children catch up.

“Child care on the Upper East Side starts at $30,000 and that’s if you can get a seat. Few can afford this and it’s forcing families out, even before the pandemic.

“3K for All is a game changer, giving every child the fair start that they deserve.

“Countless families including mine are breathing a sigh of relief with today’s announcement.

“I know I’ve been persistent about getting UPK and now 3K rolled out, but this was too important for our children’s future to leave it up to the next administration.

“I want to thank Mayor Bill de Blasio for staying true to his word in making Universal Pre-Kindergarten a reality and now 3K for All by 2021. When it is safe to do so I am giving the Mayor a hug.

NEW YORK, NY - Council Members Menchaca, Lander, Levin, and Kallos announced on Monday that their offices are setting aside a combined total of $4.5 million dollars for their constituents to decide how to invest in their communities. Known as Participatory Budgeting, the citywide process was suspended last year due to the pandemic. This year, these Council Members are reviving the process on their own to accelerate the City's recovery.
 
"What better way to help get New York City on back to normal than with an exercise in democracy and having residents vote on the change they want to see in their neighborhoods," said Council Member Ben Kallos. "Participatory Budgeting brings communities together and although we cannot be fully together just yet, we can still get residents to join the process and get involved. If we are going to ever get back to normal, we cannot let the good things we were doing like PB get lost from our commitments. I am happy to see Participatory Budgeting back as I am sure are my constituents. Thank you to Council Members Menchaca, Lander, and Levin for doing what it takes to literally keep PB alive this year.”

New York, NY – After overwhelming turnout in the 2020 elections leading to long lines at many Manhattan poll sites, communities across New York are clamoring for increased access and more sites to engage in the democratic response. 

New York City Council Member Ben Kallos has responded by introducing legislation to give voice to citizens and create a task force of community members with diverse expertise to work with the Board of Elections in the selection of sites.

“Community stakeholders with deep knowledge of their neighborhoods can be an invaluable resource in examining where we New Yorkers go to vote,” said Council Member Ben Kallos. “This task force will help us improve efficiency and accessibility and help to renew the trust of New Yorkers in our voting system.”

This bill would establish a Poll Site Task Force to promote efficiency and accessibility at polling places in New York City. The task force would be required to review poll sites considered and used in the 2020 presidential election and make recommendations for poll sites for future elections. 

New York, NY – After videos of the NYPD utilizing a robot dog in the Bronx went viral last month, New Yorkers have debated the merits of utilizing military technology to police neighborhoods and how groundbreaking robot technology will affect the lives of New Yorkers.
 
As a result, Council Member Ben Kallos is introducing Int. 2240 which would expand the Public Oversight of Surveillance Technology or POST Act, which requires the NYPD to be more transparent on its surveillance and technology tools. The expansion would create a ban against weaponizing remote or autonomous robots that interact with the public in the City of New York. 
 
“No one wants a future where our City looks and feels like a Black Mirror episode,” said Council Member Ben Kallos. “The technology to arm robots already exists and in order to prevent anything like that from happening we have to act now before the technology gets ahead of the laws.”
 
“After years of unchecked growth, it’s time to ground the NYPD drone program,” said Surveillance Technology Oversight Project Executive Director Albert Fox Cahn. “Killer robots may sound science fiction, but they’ve already been used by other police departments. If the NYPD is willing to waste more than $70,000 on a robotic spy dog, we can’t really know what is next. Council Member Kallos’s bill would be a landmark protection against the next wave of NYPD drones. We urge the council to take action immediately.”
 

New York, NY – The number of vacant storefronts continues to grow due to the COVID-19 pandemic, worsening an issue that has plagued New York City for many years, as landlords demand rents that only national chains and banks can afford. Today a new bill introduced by Council Member Ben Kallos, would require LLC's to disclose who the real humans are behind these corporations leaving New York City's storefronts empty.

Last year City Council Members Helen Rosenthal, Carlina Rivera, Speaker Corey Johnson, Ben Kallos, and others introduced legislation to create a City registry of all storefront property that has been vacant for at least three months to better quantify the scale of the problem. Although having the list of locations available on a registry is helpful to identify vacant locations and the scale of the problem, it does not address the issue of identifying the “real humans” behind these vacant storefronts.
 
A (CO) certificate of occupancy states a building’s legal use and/or type of permitted occupancy and is issued by the City’s Department of Buildings (DOB). New buildings must have a CO, and existing buildings must have a current or amended CO when there is a change in use, egress, or type of occupancy. Further, all must apply for a building permit if conducting any construction, repairs, move, demolish, remove or change the use or occupancy of any building or structure in the city. This legislation would require LLC’s to disclose managers, officers, and owners (of 5% interest and greater) on applications for a CO or building permit allowing the City to know who the “real humans” are behind these corporations.
 
“It is no longer acceptable for faceless LLC‘s to undermine our City one storefront at a time. New York City has a lot of work to do to fully recover and having empty storefronts so that landlords can wait for higher rents is not going to help get us back on track,” said Council Member Ben Kallos. “This legislation is about transparency about getting LLC’s who owe the City money in fines or who have been bad neighbors to be accountable in some way.”

Transparency Around Hiring and New Positions Aimed at

Fighting Nepotism and Patronage in City Government

New York, NY – Appointments for positions that have never been advertised to the public are being targeted for reform by Council Member Ben Kallos. The proposed legislation would force the city government to publicly post any new position or vacancy for at least 14 days before conducting interviews.

Section 2604(b) (3) of the New York City Charter prohibits City employees from attempting to use their positions to obtain financial gain, privilege, or personal advantage for themselves or for people or firms with whom they are associated and cannot influence the hiring of close relatives or relations.  Due to a lack of transparency in hiring practices, unposted jobs in agencies like the Board of Elections enable backroom deals to hire family members or associates of powerful actors in or dealing with city government.

An October 2020 New York Times article that describes the Board of Elections as “one of the last vestiges of pure patronage in government” highlights just a few of these relationships:

• The official who oversees voter registration in New York City is the 80-year-old mother of a former congressman.
• The director of Election Day operations is a close friend of Manhattan’s Republican chairwoman.
• The head of ballot management is the son of a former Brooklyn Democratic district leader.
• The administrative manager is the wife of a City Council member.

Non-criminal Violations, Summonses, Tickets, and Arrests Made to be Mapped to Track Over-Policing in Neighborhoods under Legislation Re-introduced by Council Member Ben Kallos

New York, NY – New York City has an interactive crime map, that tracks certain felonies across all five boroughs. Currently, the map plots any burglary, felony assault, grand larceny, grand larceny of motor vehicles, murder, rape, and robbery, but fails to plot minor police activity relating to non-criminal violations, summonses, tickets, or any accompanying arrests. This gap in the data makes it difficult for communities and advocates to track where over-policing is occurring. 

"If we're going to meaningfully engage in reforming the NYPD, we will need the information tools to study what's happening inside our neighborhoods," said Council Member Ben Kallos. "It's one thing to hear anecdotal information from residents about unusual police activities in their neighborhoods, versus being able to say last week there were 6 summonses and three arrests for x violation at this intersection, which could be indicative of over policing."

New York, NY – In spite of policies and funding to provide public school students with access to dental, vision, substance abuse, reproductive health vaccines, and contraception in their public schools actual performance goes unmeasured with some services provided onsite, others offsite, and others not at all.

“The city has policies in place to provide every health service they need and expect parents to be satisfied knowing they exist. I am concerned that the city is giving parents a false sense of security, when the truth is that we don’t know which public school students have access to which services,” said Council Member Ben Kallos. “We should know exactly which health services are available to which public schools so that we can ensure all 1.1 million public school students have access to the health services they need.”

 New York, NY – Newly proposed legislation in the City Council would facilitate access to early voting for New Yorkers. The proposed bill would work by significantly expanding early voting locations and times throughout the five boroughs, giving residents more physical opportunities to show up and cast their ballots early. The legislation proposed by Council Member Ben Kallos follows an unprecedented increase in early voting ahead of Election Day on November 3, 2020, which led to widespread reports of voters experiencing hours-long wait times at many of the City’s eighty-eight early voting locations.

 In 2021 New York City will hold elections for Mayor, Public Advocate, Comptroller, Borough Presidents and District Attorneys. This legislation, if passed and implemented in time, would make it so that this next election can run smoother and more efficiently for New Yorkers who just simply want to vote early. 

 “An astonishing, yet not totally surprising, 839,875 votes had been cast in the first 7 days of early voting in 2020. New York City was caught unprepared for such large turnout and we cannot let that happen again if we want people to be engaged, involved and excited to vote.  We can fully expect for the next election cycles to have high turnout. Let’s do the smart thing, save people time and do something about it now,” said Council Member Ben Kallos. 

Community Board 8 Votes in Support of the Safe Haven coming to the neighborhood 

Upper East Side, NY - In contrast to scenes of shelters and hotels for the homeless being protested in many neighborhoods across the city, the Eastside Taskforce for Homeless Outreach and Services is proud to support Goddard Riverside’s plans to open 88 low-entry beds for the homeless in the community. The taskforce, a coalition of elected officials, faith, and nonprofit leaders co-founded by Council Member Ben Kallos, Senator Liz Krueger, and Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, is dedicated to bringing more housing and services to the homeless on the Upper East Side. Safe Haven beds offer a lower barrier to entry than shelters and are a critical tool in helping homeless off the street, with a preference for homeless in the neighborhood.

Safe Haven beds are a critical tool that outreach workers can offer chronically homeless people in a neighborhood with, fewer restrictions that mirror more independent living, along with a bevy of on-site and referral services including assistance with daily living skills, psychiatric and medical care, medication management, entitlement and budget counseling, substance abuse counseling, training in independent living skills, and recreational activities Safe Haven beds are prioritized for chronically street homeless adults and they can be helpful in getting them off the street. On January 13, 2021 Community Board 8’s Health, Seniors and Social services Committee voted unanimously to support the Safe Haven site coming to the Upper East Side.

The Safe Haven being planned is on a block zoned for manufacturing and heavy commercial use. The old Art Farm building at 419 East 91^st Street will be renovated to accommodate seven floors, recreation space, and a private garden rooftop. Goddard Riverside, which is already the homeless outreach provider for the Upper East Side, will operate the 88-bed site for men and women. The Safe Haven will be pet friendly. Goddard Riverside has decades of experience operating with a private bathroom. A full cohort of services will be provided including case management, housing assistance, wellness groups, medical and psychiatric care and three meals a day plus snacks. Once operational in late 2021, there would be staff and security in the building 24/7, with security on the street from a minimum of 8AM to 6PM.

On Wednesday 1/20 this project came passed a full board vote by Community Board 8. The overwhelming support included 46 votes in support one opposed and one abstention.

“These homeless people are on our streets in our community and we finally have an opportunity to offer them a safe haven bed for the night that can get them on a path to permanent housing, and I think that’s a good thing,” said Council Member Ben Kallos, co-founder of the Eastside Taskforce for Homeless Outreach and Services. “This is about housing the homeless that are already in our neighborhood and I think residents will join me in supporting these beds especially since it will mean fewer homeless people on our streets. We’ve worked really hard on the Upper East Side to do more to welcome the homeless and can’t wait to work with the community to continue building public support.”

supportive housing for some of our city’s most vulnerable populations, including older adults, formerly homeless, and those with mental illness. There will be two to four beds to a room along

Governor Cuomo has expanded Covid-19 vaccine eligibility. Beginning today, millions more New Yorkers can begin making appointments to schedule their first dose of the vaccine. 
 
As part of this Phase 1B: any New Yorker 75 and over is eligible to begin taking the vaccine. 

The expansion also makes the vaccination available to:

• Teachers, Child Care Workers, College Instructors, Education workers - 870,00 people
• First Responders - 207,000
• Public Safety workers - 100,000
• Public Transit workers - 100,00 
• Grocery workers & Shelter Residents

The closest city-operated locations to the district are:

NYC Health + Hospitals, Metropolitan
Hospital-Based Health Center/Clinic
1901 Fist Avenue, 4A, Manhattan, 10029
(between East 97th and 99th Streets)

NYC Health + Hospitals, Bellevue
Hospital-Based Health Center/Clinic
462 1 Avenue, Manhattan, 10016
(between East 26th and 28th Streets)
 

For every bike rack in NYC, there are more than 100 free parking spaces for cars 

Bike theft up by more than 27% in 2020; One in four households has had a bicycle stolen

Current and recent mayoral administrations have failed to deliver on 11 separate plans to improve bicycle parking 

Photos and graphics available here

NEW YORK — Today, Transportation Alternatives (TA) released a new report detailing the considerable lack of bike parking in New York City, as well as specific recommendations for improving this crucial piece of transportation infrastructure across the five boroughs. TA also launched an online petition calling on Mayor de Blasio to invest in safe, secure bike parking.  

In the report, The Power of Bicycle Parking: An Easy, Affordable and Effective Way to Save Lives, Encourage Cycling, and Create a Fairer New York City, TA argues that secure bicycle parking  — just like a protected bike lane — is a critical utility that encourages more New Yorkers to travel by bike. At present, bike parking remains far too limited and insecure, and this disproportionately impacts lower income New Yorkers and New Yorkers of color, as they are less likely to ride when bicycle parking is unavailable. With bicycling booming, traffic fatalities increasing, and bicycle theft up by more than 27 percent, the time is now for the de Blasio administration to fulfill and improve upon long-overdue promises for bike parking. 

“Simply put, there is not enough bicycle parking in New York City,” said Danny Harris, Transportation Alternatives Executive Director. “Despite more households owning bikes than cars, bike parking has taken a  back seat to free private car storage on our streets. Even peer cities like Chicago and Washington, D.C. have significantly more bike parking per-capita than New York. As more New Yorkers turn to bikes, our city needs to start building more bike parking now. Installing dedicated spaces at scale will send a strong signal that biking is safe, reliable, and accessible for all New Yorkers.”

Benefits of Bike Parking

The lack of bike parking is one of the top reasons New Yorkers cite for not biking or biking infrequently. Bicycle parking encourages more people to ride and makes cycling safer. It also encourages stopping and spending at local businesses, and research shows that, per square foot, bicycle parking earns business more revenue than car parking — up to 3.6 times more than space used by cars.  

Shortcomings of Recent Bike Parking Efforts by City

The de Blasio administration and previous mayors have failed to deliver on at least 11 separate plans to build bicycle parking. These include failing to meet NYC DOT’s goals for building bicycle parking near transit hubs, adding 1,500 bicycle parking spaces annually, piloting secure bicycle parking in shipping containers and other bicycle lockers, and creating an interactive map of bicycle parking.

Under the Bloomberg administration, bicycle rack installations increased 16 fold between his first and last year in office and averaged over 2,800 installations annually in his final term. Meanwhile, the de Blasio administration has reduced the installations to half the number installed annually by his predecessor. 

Transportation Alternatives’ Recommendations

Any plan to expand bike parking must start in lower income communities and communities of color, where there has been a lack of equitable investment in street infrastructure. More bike parking can have a disproportionately positive impact for lower income New Yorkers and New Yorkers of color as they are more likely to rely on a bicycle for transportation over recreation and less likely to live or work in buildings that offer bicycle storage.

Central to any bike parking plan is the need to transform free car parking spaces into spaces for secure bike parking. In the space needed to park only one car, the City can create seven to ten spaces to park bikes. The City should work with partners like the MTA to build bike parking near transit hubs and to leverage the expertise of the private sector to quickly expand bike parking where it’s needed most. Policy changes are needed too, to ensure the NYPD tracks bicycle theft, and to allow developers to build bike parking instead of car parking if this better suits a community need.

“At the height of the pandemic, I had relied on my used bike to commute more than four miles each way to Astoria, but during one hospital shift, my bike was stolen,” said Dr. George Syros, a cardiologist at Mt. Sinai Queens. “Thanks to the Bike Match program launched by Transportation Alternatives, I was able to get another bike, but nobody should lose their reliable transportation option while dealing with the already challenging COVID situation. Many hospital workers are biking to work now, and secure bike parking needs to be significantly expanded to meet this growing need. I hope that the city improves in this area in 2021.”

"We can't be a bike-friendly city without more bike parking, and the Council will continue pushing for more as we recover from the pandemic. Bike parking is part of cycling infrastructure, just like protected bike lanes, and we need more of all of it to encourage cycling as a sustainable mode of transportation as we rebuild our city,” said Speaker Corey Johnson. 

“As Transportation Chairman one of my main priorities has been to decrease personal vehicular traffic throughout the City by encouraging New Yorkers to transition into more sustainable, safe, and efficient alternative modes of transportation and legislating the expansion of our cycling infrastructure. With the pandemic, our reliance on delivery services has substantially increased and delivery workers, many of whom are immigrants have not received any form of economic relief. These delivery workers rely on their bikes to do their job and many lose hundreds of dollars every month on stolen bikes. We need to ensure the City is installing the needed infrastructure so that all New Yorkers, especially our delivery workers, can keep their bikes safe,” said Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez, Chairman of the Transportation Committee. “The 2020 cyclist boom has to be met with additional bike and rider safety. I thank all the advocates from Families for Safe Streets and at Transportation Alternatives for the work they are doing to ensure our City is the safest and friendliest city for cyclists and pedestrians.”  

“Transportation policy is climate policy,” said Council Member Costa Constantinides, Chair of the New York City Council Committee on Environmental Protection. “So often we hear of emissions policies being talked about in terms of ‘getting a number of cars off the road’ that it’s easy to forget that sometimes, the best answer is to simply get the cars off the road. We can’t do that effectively, however, if there are no safe or secure places to store bicycles in most neighborhoods. The report released today shows that bike parking benefits environmental justice communities, small businesses, and our streets as a whole, and I want to commend Transportation Alternatives for their hard work on this issue.”

"Anyone would be amused or horrified to learn what New Yorkers do to fit their bikes in tiny studio apartments. I once had to put my bike vertically in a bathtub while visiting a friend for lack of bike parking or space in their apartment, " said Council Member Ben Kallos. "I fully support every recommendation from Transportation Alternatives and will work to make them a reality. We've already partnered with residents to place bike racks throughout the district anytime they are requested. I am particularly interested in the climate protected and even pods to protect bikes from theft."  

"New Yorkers took to their bikes this past year in unprecedented numbers, seeking healthier and safer ways to get around the city during a pandemic. But our city still lags far behind in creating the infrastructure to support safe cycling for all communities. It shouldn't take years to get a bike rack installed in a high traffic area. It's time for NYC to follow through on its commitments, starting with much needed infrastructure in low income, communities of color. Transportation Alternatives is right: increasing bike infrastructure, including bike parking is key to helping people move around the city, supporting local businesses, and getting New Yorkers to work safely and equitably,” said Council Member Brad Lander. 

“As this report makes clear, bicycle commuting is up, and adequate bicycle parking is crucial infrastructure for the increasing number of New Yorkers who rely on bike travel. It is critical that we work with our partners across government to provide equitable bicycle parking across the city, something that community leaders have long been calling for. Adequate bike parking is a delivery worker issue, a commuter issue, and a transit accessibility issue — and I look forward to collaborating on Council efforts to make these recommendations a reality. I thank Transportation Alternatives for assembling this report and to leaders like Shabazz Stuart and Oonee for showing what’s needed. These plans should drive the next steps in NYC bike infrastructure," said Council Member Stephen Levin.

"The bike boom is real. New Yorkers are turning to bike transportation more than ever, but we need places to park them. It’s critical that we open up new areas for bike parking, be they personal or shared bikes, including in key commuting areas like Midtown. Thanks to Transportation Alternatives for a dedicated focus on this,” said Council Member Keith Powers.

“Municipal governments across the world ensure that their cities have adequate bike parking. It’s time for New York City to follow their lead. Sufficient biking infrastructure will help accommodate cyclists, many of whom are low income New Yorkers, all while enabling more residents to take up biking as an environmentally responsible, healthy form of transportation,” said Council Member Antonio Reynoso. 

"As more New Yorkers turn to bikes as a safe and affordable form of transportation, it's critical that our streets and infrastructure reflect this shift. For too long cyclists have held back by the fact that public space is overwhelmingly dedicated to cars and car parking. We can't wait any longer to create accessible and equitable bike parking in New York City, and I want to thank Transportation Alternatives for commissioning this report and I look forward to working with them to make this vision a reality," said Councilwoman Carlina Rivera.

"When more New Yorkers bike, we get less traffic congestion and we slash emissions from the transportation sector - our leading contributor to climate change. Expanding access to secure bicycle parking along with protected bike lanes will encourage more families to travel by bike and in turn improve air quality.  This report also reiterates that what's good for our environment is also good for our economy as bicycle parking helps small businesses earn more revenue. We thank Transportation Alternatives for their leadership on this issue," said Julie Tighe, President of the New York League of Conservation Voters. 

“New York City has fallen far short of even its own modest goals for installing bike racks, let alone building more robust secure bike-parking facilities. We can’t achieve the status of a world-class city for cycling if we don’t provide ample parking solutions, like those in many European and Asian cities. We applaud Transportation Alternatives for calling attention to the city’s bike-parking deficit, and we urge elected leaders to commit to the initiatives TA outlines in its report,” said Eric McClure, Executive Director of StreetsPAC.  

"Convenient and plentiful bike parking is a low-cost improvement to make cities better for bikes. Bike parking not only incentivizes people to feel comfortable using a bike to get where they need to go, but creates the visibility required to normalize bicycling as a valid means of transportation within neighborhoods and cities. Bike parking is a critical part of city planning that can help people accomplish a wide range of personal, social and economic goals," said Morgan Lommele, Director of State + Local Policy at PeopleForBikes. 

“Bike infrastructure doesn’t stop at the bike lane,” said Kate Slevin, Senior Vice President, State Programs & Advocacy at Regional Plan Association. “This is a challenge for our entire region and it is long overdue that bikes be prioritized on our streets as cars have been for decades. As our Five Borough Bikeways report outlines, bike networks should also include infrastructure to support riders - including bike parking, bike freight loading zones and monitoring technology to keep everyone safe.”

“Bike parking should be the easy part of the city’s cycling strategy. Its neglect is another head-scratcher by the de Blasio administration,” said Jon Orcutt, Advocacy Director at Bike New York.  

“New York cannot become a cycling city unless we create a large-scale, public secure bike parking system that is both affordable and accessible to all. This is crucial 21st Century infrastructure that other large cities have invested in for years. Moreover, Oonee has shown that medium sized facilities can be built with community support, with no taxpayer subsidy and effectively service a broad array of constituencies. The time is now, we urge New York’s leaders to create a plan for a citywide bike parking system,” said Shabazz Stuart, Founder & CEO of Oonee. 

"It is imperative that we create bike parking infrastructure within underserved communities. By doing so, we inherently encourage exploration of the city, inclusivity, safety and support of local businesses," said Milly Louis of the Good Co. Bike Club

Brooklyn, NY - Today, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams and New York City Council Member Ben Kallos announced the release of a new white paper titled “Bridging the Digital Divide for Every New Yorker with a Universal Internet Guarantee.” The report notes how reliable high-speed Internet connection has become a basic need for every New Yorker, whether for remote learning, working from home, virtual socializing, and more. This need has become especially acute amid a deadly pandemic that has placed severe limitations on people’s ability to safely gather in-person. 

 Borough President Adams and Council Member Kallos, both of whom have been outspoken about the City’s and private sector’s failures to provide Internet access to the communities that need it most, hailed the new report as a comprehensive roadmap for achieving universal Internet access in New York City. 

 "The coronavirus pandemic has shown all of us the importance of a reliable high-speed home internet connection, whether for remote learning and working from home or for gathering virtually with loved ones. With many households in Black and Brown communities lacking high-speed internet, the shift to social distancing has been particularly challenging and has exacerbated long-standing inequities. As we prepare for a second wave, or for the next virus, we must rebuild our society with the guarantee of universal broadband—finally treating the internet as a utility like phone service or electricity. We must use all of New York City’s local regulatory power to deliver on the promise of universal broadband by establishing a Universal Internet Guarantee," wrote Borough President Adams and Council Member Kallos.

The digital divide, which describes the gulf between those that have easy access to reliable, high-speed Internet connection and those that do not, maps onto broader entrenched inequities of race and class in New York City. According to data collected by the U.S. Census in 2015, one in three households in the Bronx and one in four households in Brooklyn lacked access to the Internet. Both boroughs have the highest proportion of low-income communities of color in the city. A report by the New York City Comptroller’s office released last year further found that About 30 percent of Hispanic and Black New Yorkers lack broadband Internet access, compared to 20 percent of White New Yorkers and 22 percent of Asian residents. 

 This divide has been thrown into sharp relief during the COVID-19 pandemic, most notably in the administration of remote learning for New York City students. When the City initially shifted to remote learning in March of this year, it quickly procured 300,000 iPads with LTE for $269 million to distribute to students. But it has struggled in the months since to fulfill every request for a remote learning device, leaving some students - largely Black and Brown - without any way of logging in for remote instruction. In a City Council oversight hearing in late November, the Department of Education (DOE) said roughly 60,000 students who requested a device in the early fall still had not received one. Chancellor Carranza says he expects to fill all outstanding requests for remote learning devices before the winter break. Even those that receive devices, however, sometimes struggle to log in for remote instruction due to a poor or non-existent Wi-Fi connection, especially those living in shelters or public housing. 

 In the report, Borough President Adams and Council Member Kallos lay out several steps which, taken together, could pave the way for universal internet access in all five boroughs. 

 Create a “Mandatory Inclusionary Internet” requirement for new developments akin to the Mandatory Inclusionary Housing program, which requires new developments in rezoned areas to provide a certain amount of affordable units. 

• Require providers of 5G to offer a free or low-cost high-speed Internet option targeted to low-income New Yorkers. 
• Create a free municipal Wi-Fi network using the infrastructure provided by the City’s abandoned “NYCWiN” initiative. 
• Expedite the timeline for installing LinkNYC kiosks, which provide free public gigabit Wi-Fi. 
• Wire the City’s bus stops and shelters with USB charging ports and free Wi-Fi. 
• Use votes on the Franchise and Concession Review Committee (FCRC) to hold providers accountable for offering affordable Internet to all New Yorkers as a condition of their franchise renewal agreements.
• Work with cable franchisees like Spectrum, Altice, and Verizon, to provide free or low-cost broadband to all low-income New Yorkers, modeled after efforts like Spectrum Internet Assist and Altice Advantage Internet. 

 In addition, Borough President Adams and Council Member Kallos urged the passage of legislation they introduced in October, co-sponsored by Council Member Farah Louis, that would guarantee every student who needs one a free, internet-ready laptop with culturally responsive learning materials. The bill would also require the DOE to report on the demographics of which students access these remote learning devices, their housing situations, Internet connections that already exist at their homes, sources of computer funding, and information on all DOE computers.

Download the Report

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The coronavirus pandemic has shown all of us the importance of a reliable high-speed home internet connection, whether for remote learning and working from home or for gathering virtually with loved ones. There is a common cliché that “the virus doesn’t discriminate,” but the reality is that coronavirus disproportionately harms low-income communities of color impacted by systemic racism in government and the private sector. With many households in these communities lacking high-speed Internet, the shift to social distancing has been particularly challenging. As we prepare for a second wave, or for the next virus, we must rebuild our society with the guarantee of Universal Broadband—finally treating the Internet as a utility like phone service or electricity. We must use all of New York City’s local regulatory power to deliver on the promise of Universal Broadband by establishing a Universal Internet Guarantee.

Mayor de Blasio recently took a step in the right direction when he announced $157 million in funding to expand broadband Internet access to 600,000 underserved New Yorkers, including 200,000 public housing residents. But New York City’s public housing authority (NYCHA) has 173,762 public housing units, home to 381,159 authorized residents, and this plan would still leave half without Internet. More than 1.5 million New Yorkers do not have broadband, and this plan would leave nearly one million of them on the wrong side of the Digital Divide.

To deliver truly Universal Broadband, we need several fixes at once. We could start with rezoning to require affordable Internet Mandatory Inclusionary Internet, just like we required affordable housing with Mandatory Inclusionary Housing. We could offer incentives for 5G providers to offer affordable access. We can require cable providers to expand affordable Internet offerings we already won to every single low-income New Yorker. And if the providers won't do it, we can take over their networks and do it ourselves by establishing a Municipal Broadband network. We can upgrade existing infrastructure by speeding along the conversion of old payphones into free Internet kiosks and add WiFi to bus stops. We can even open up the city government’s wireless network to the public. The pandemic has shown us the importance of giving every public school student who needs one a laptop with affordable broadband in the home to eliminate the homework gap and give a whole new generation a real chance at equity. Where all else fails, for those we still haven’t reached in low-income communities of color, we must invest the millions promised by the Mayor in businesses owned and operated by women and people of color to spur innovation and connect every last New Yorker.

In partnership together, with an eye toward each of our roles in the city’s franchising, with votes, as Borough President on the Franchise and Concession Review Committee (FCRC), and as Council Member, on Internet franchises in the New York City Council, respectively, we have authored a report that focuses on some of the most important aspects of this digital divide and proposed solutions to help close it, bridge it and bring us closer to the equitable New York City we need to move toward today. The full report follows.

Legislation is accompanied by the Council’s new “Planning Together” report on failures of City’s long-term planning process 

New York, NY – New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson today issued the Planning Together report, which details the failures of the City’s long-term planning processes and explores trends and national best practices for long-term planning. The report also proposes a new comprehensive planning framework for New York City, which is the basis for accompanying legislation that will be sponsored by Speaker Corey Johnson. The report can be found on the Council’s website.

The legislation will be introduced at the Council’s Stated meeting on Thursday, Dec. 17.

This planning framework is designed specifically to help correct neighborhood disparities and decades of disinvestment in communities of color and support equitable growth to create a more resilient and inclusive City. The new legislation would amend the Charter to create a new ten-year comprehensive planning cycle for New York City consistent with the recommendations of the report.

The legislation requires the city to streamline its planning mandates into a single process. The City’s strategic planning, budget, and land use planning process is now currently spread out over a dozen documents, reports, and plans already required by local law.

The legislation will also require the City to connect its policy and land use planning to the City’s budget priorities.

As documented in the report, the City’s affordable housing and homelessness crisis, neglected aging infrastructure, and vulnerabilities to the impacts of climate change are all worsened by the failures of the City’s current long-term planning processes.

This comprehensive planning legislation can help us address these challenges.

Comprehensive planning is a world-recognized planning process in which a city or a region holistically examines its existing conditions, identifies challenges, opportunities, and goals, and proposes policies to achieve them.  New York City is the only major American city that does not engage in some form of comprehensive planning.

“Our planning process is completely broken. As we seek to recover and rebuild in the wake of COVID-19, our increasingly contentious and unproductive planning regime will continue to undermine our ability to equitably respond to the challenges we face. We must adapt and grow It’s time for a new approach. Comprehensive Planning will bring a cyclical and fully integrated framework for us to work with that balances citywide and community needs to take on our challenges together. This is how we get things done,” said Speaker Corey Johnson.

The report identifies seven key issues with the City’s current planning processes:

• The City’s planning mandates are insufficient and scattered across over a dozen siloed plans and reports, raising issues of public transparency and accountability.
• A lack of coordination across City agencies creates inefficiencies in how the City operates and limits multi-disciplinary policy making.
• A lack of proactive planning for our neighborhoods has forced communities into reactionary and defensive positions, contributing to a contentious land use review process that fails to sufficiently invest in communities suffering from decades of disinvestment or support the equitable growth we need in order to solve our City’s housing crisis.
• The City’s piecemeal approach to planning responds best to the neighborhoods with resources to agitate for change, which has resulted in an uneven, unequal, and unfair distribution of zoning policy–and the deprioritization of the needs of low-income people, immigrants, and people of color.
• The City’s long-term budget planning bears very little meaningful relationship to the City’s policy or land use planning, undermining our City’s ability to achieve citywide goals of sustainability and equity. 
• The long-term planning that the City does complete with respect to capital infrastructure is unrealistic and does not align with the City’s demonstrated ability to execute capital projects, making it difficult to accurately track performance or effectively prioritize the City’s short- and long-term spending.
• Budget decisions remain divorced from assessments of capital needs, which are incomplete and insufficient.

To address these issues, the report proposes a ten-year comprehensive planning framework, which is the basis for the legislation.   

Specifically, the ten-year comprehensive planning framework, which will be mandated by legislation, will: 

• Center racial and economic justice within a full range of budget, land use, and policy tools;
• Meaningfully connect the City’s budget, land use, and strategic planning processes;
• Streamline and increase the utility of more than a dozen planning and budget related documents, reports, and plans already required by the City Charter;
• Require the City to regularly review and report on the current conditions of the City, including an assessment of short- and long-term risks, economic and racial disparities, the impacts of recent development and investment decisions, and a thorough assessment of current infrastructure needs;
• Integrate citywide and community-based planning, through requirements for on-going robust public engagement and the creation of new representative decision-making bodies;
• Set measurable citywide and district-level targets for housing, jobs, open space, resiliency infrastructure, schools, transportation, and other infrastructure;
• Develop a proactive land use plan for all of New York City’s neighborhoods in partnership with communities, prioritizing any projected growth in areas with high access to opportunity and low risk of displacement; 
• Identify and prioritize communities’ urgent budget needs, regardless of whether or not those neighborhoods will be rezoned;
• Require the City to regularly review and update zoning policy in response to the successes, failures, and unintended consequences of the City’s rezoning decisions;
• Require the City to produce a Generic Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS) to evaluate the impacts of the Long-Term Plan and incentivize development that is consistent with the plan by reducing developers’ projects costs; 
• Incentivize rezonings, development, and infrastructure spending that align with the City’s Long-Term Plan;
• Increase and improve coordination across City agencies to create efficiencies in government to achieve citywide goals; and
• Implement strong reporting and oversight measures to hold every Mayor accountable to the Long-Term Plan’s commitments and priorities.

Adoption by the City Council of the Long-Term Plan will ensure that it represents a vision for New York City shared across mayoral agencies, elected officials, and the New Yorkers that they represent that sufficiently addresses citywide needs.  agencies, elected officials, and the New Yorkers that they represent that sufficiently

Good afternoon,

I am Council Member Ben Kallos. Thank you to the Department of City Planning for hosting this meeting.

This scoping session is crucial for the community to have a voice in this proposal’s environmental impact statement.

I am your Council Member and I will have a vote on this project as it goes through the ULURP process.

From what I have seen so far, I have concerns about the shadow study and the impact on St. Catherine’s Park. I have expressed these concerns at Community Board 8 meetings and listened to support, opposition, and suggestions to improve the project.

As you know, the current Blood Center building is located on a through lot in the mid-block on 66th and 67th st., zoned R8B for residential use with a height limit of 75 feet. This proposal would rezone half of the block to allow the construction of a 16-story, 334-foot-tall building.

As with any zoning change, we must carefully study the impact on our climate and on the surrounding neighborhood. With a proposal of this magnitude on a mid-block, we have to ask if there are mitigation measures that can sufficiently address the project’s impacts.

I am particularly concerned by the impact the new building would have on sunlight in St. Catherine’s Park. 

The environmental impact study should investigate the impact to our only Park in the East 60's.

1. How many children and families use St. Catherine’s Park each year and during what hours? Specifically, how many children use what areas of the park during the hours that of projected shadow impact in the build scenario? 
2. How would the new shadows impact activation and use?

If there is an impact, what will be the impact on the health of children playing outside for fewer hours a day, burning fewer calories, particularly on childhood obesity rates in a city with an epidemic of overweight children and adults?

As the applicant looks at mitigation measures, is there an example of a similar project with a similar or greater loss of light to a city park, where mitigation actually increased the use of the park during shaded hours after the construction of the project?

I ask this because a community as a whole should be better off following discretionary land use actions than before.

Mitigation will need to overcome the negative environmental impacts of this project.

We should not only look at St. Catherine’s Park. The Blood Center sits across the street from the Julia Richman Education Complex. Julia Richman houses six schools with students from across the city of New York, including one school focused on students from immigrant families and a school for children on the autism spectrum.

The science of effective learning spaces has shown that natural light in classrooms “boosts mood, alertness, concentration and energy levels” and improves test scores.

How much natural light will be lost in classrooms at Julia Richman? 

A peer-reviewed study in the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America confirmed what might be common sense: “External noise was found to have a significant negative impact upon performance.” How much construction noise will be audible in the classroom or outdoors during classroom and construction hours? 

What will the impacts of this project be to students with autism trying to learn across the street? Can those impacts be completely mitigated? If not will the children ever be able to catch up?

I was proud to support the passage of Local Law 19 of 2019, known as the Climate Mobilization Act, which sets ambitious carbon emissions standards for New York City’s biggest polluters: its buildings.

• What will the difference in CO2 emissions be between the current building and the building as proposed? 
• Will the building as proposed be compliant with the long-term requirements of the Climate Mobilization Act? 
• If not, what will the difference in CO2 emissions be between the building as proposed and after required retrofits to meet the Climate Mobilization Act's long-term regulations?

What impact will rezoning this half-block of residential zoning to commercial zoning have on projected affordable housing for the neighborhood? What would be the impact of this rezoning were it repeated once, twice, or on every block of the Eastside? What is the impact on the commercial core and emissions from vacant spaces 9 blocks away with the addition of several million FAR of commercial space?

These are just some of the questions that I would like to see studied in the environmental impact statement and hope that we can get these answers for the community. Thank you for having me today and for allowing me to testify.

[The conclusion of this testimony was made extemporaneously, no transcript is currently available]   

New York, NY – Following an unprecedented rise in civic engagement, new legislation introduced by City Council Member Ben Kallos would seek to make engagement with the government easier for residents of New York City. The proposed bill would force the City to adopt a standard format and template for the presentation of participation information for every City government meeting, whether virtual or in person. This information would be available through multiple formats, including on the agency’s website, through a mobile application, and through any other commonly used form of communication.

“If 2020 has taught us anything it is that New Yorkers are paying attention to politics and government and want to get involved,” said Council Member Ben Kallos. “By standardizing  how government meetings are presented and how we notice those meetings both virtual and in person it will be easier for more people to participate and get involved.”

Following the death of Greg Floyd in Minneapolis the beginning of the pandemic, more and more New Yorkers have become engaged with their government. During the City Council’s 2020 budget cycle, many took to the streets, held protests, and gathered at City Hall, demanding a voice on the budget vote. This desire to engage with government translated to a record turnout during the November general elections and is likely to continue to next June’s municipal primaries.

Currently, if a member of the public wants to attend or testify at a public hearing, they would have to either receive an invitation, check the City Register (which the average New Yorker does not check daily), or check each agency and organization’s website for each of their schedules and for each of their methods to participate. This cumbersome process leads to low attendance and low participation by the public. The bill would simplify the process by having one standard template that can be shared easily across any online platform.

"Not only has this pandemic amplified existing inequities, it has exposed the City's digital divide and municipal disorganization when hosting virtual meetings" said Noel Hidalgo, executive Director of BetaNYC, a Public Interest Technology Nonprofit Organization. "BetaNYC has long advocated for digitally accessible meetings and looks forward to working with Council Member Kallos to ensure that our public meetings are designed for the digital era we are in. Centralizing a digital standard for the City's myriad of digital meetings starts the process. There is no better time than the present to ensure that our civic institutions are ready for the digital era they operate in."

New York, NY – Today the Upper East Side welcomed a new Urban Outreach Center location dedicated to feeding and caring for the neighborhood’s residents in deepest need. The ribbon-cutting ceremony was attended by members of the Eastside Taskforce for Homeless Outreach and Services members, including Avenue Church NYC Senior Pastor the Rev. Beverly Dempsey, Urban Outreach Center Executive Director the Rev. Jordan Tarwater, and ETHOS co-founders Senator Krueger and Council Member Ben Kallos. The new site features a supermarket-style food pantry allowing individuals the comfort of being able to choose from available foods, just as if it were a regular supermarket. This carefully planned feature adds dignity and a sense of normalcy for people receiving fresh produce and other healthy staples from the food pantry. The Urban Outreach Center is a new 501(c)3 nonprofit, created from the historic homeless services mission of Avenue Church NYC, formerly Jan Hus Presbyterian Church, is now located at 1745 First Avenue.

•  Food Pantry - Distributing basic essentials like tuna, peanut butter, and locally grown fresh vegetables to thousands of people in the community

• Community Dinner - Serving hot, restaurant-quality meals to food-insecure families, senior citizens, and low-income New Yorkers on Tuesday evenings.

• Clothing Rooms - Extending a lifeline for homeless residents who need clothing for many occasions, including job interviews.

• Mail Distribution - Providing a transitional mailing address for hundreds of individuals.

• Resource and Job Center - Connecting anyone in need with a range of social services resources designed to educate and prepare individuals for finding a new job. Resumé, computer use, and mock job interviews help by appointment.

Both the Urban Outreach Center and Avenue Church NYC are members of Eastside Taskforce for Homeless Services, which was launched in late 2015 by Council Member Ben Kallos, Borough President Gale Brewer and State Senator Liz Krueger as a way of combining the efforts of the local faith-based and non-profit organizations, electeds, and city agencies to help homeless individuals off the street and to the services they require. In the summer of 2019 ETHOS members including Council Member Kallos welcomed a Win Supportive Housing Facility for Women and Children to the Neighborhood, cutting the ribbon of 17 new one and two-bedroom apartments dedicated to homeless women and their children. The facility is just steps away from Council Member Kallos’ district office and home.

“When Jan Hus Presbyterian Church began our homeless outreach and advocacy program over 35 years ago, the church was transformed alongside the thousands of lives we have impacted along the way. Now as Avenue Church NYC, we are at once grateful and humbled to be able to host UOCNYC in our new location largely designed for addressing the needs of the most vulnerable New Yorkers,” said The Rev. Beverly Dempsey, Senior Pastor of Avenue Church NYC and Chair of the Board of the UOCNYC.

“The Urban Outreach Center is committed to ending the hunger gap in East Harlem and the Upper East Side – providing our low-income neighbors with the healthy food they need, with the dignity they deserve. We are so grateful for the warm reception from the neighborhood and the outpouring of support from those who share our vision that no parent, child, or senior citizen in NYC should struggle because they lack access to food or other basic resources,” said The Rev. Jordan Tarwater, Executive Director of the Urban Outreach Center of NYC.

“Those with the most need to do more for those with the least, and we are doing everything we can on the Upper East Side to help fellow low-income New Yorkers. We are opening the first local supermarket-style food pantry to give low-income New Yorkers dignity and choice. New Yorkers in need will have a multitude of services available and we couldn’t have done any of it without the commitment and determination of Reverends Beverly Dempsey and Jordan Tarwater to serve low-income residents out of this community,” said Council Member Ben Kallos, Co-founder of ETHOS.

“New Yorkers experiencing homelessness come from every community across the five boroughs, and now more than ever, we need every community to come together to address homelessness amid this unprecedented crisis,” said Department of Social Services Commissioner Steven Banks. “We thank the Eastside Task Force for Homeless Services for spearheading this initiative and look forward to collaborating with neighborhoods across the City to continue identifying new ways in which we can support New Yorkers experiencing homelessness as they get back on their feet.”   

“The Urban Outreach Center is a much-needed resource on the East Side,” said Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (NY-12). “As we are battling a recession and pandemic, record numbers of New Yorkers are finding themselves homeless and jobless. The Urban Outreach Center will help mitigate that by providing essential services - such as a jobs center and food pantry - to help New Yorkers rebuild during and after the COVID-19 crisis.”

"As our city faces its greatest-ever homelessness crisis, the Urban Outreach Center's opening of a new soup kitchen and resource center is welcome news for New Yorkers in need on the East Side," said Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer. "I am proud to join my colleagues on the East Side Taskforce for Homeless Services (ETHOS) in expressing our gratitude for the Urban Outreach Center's hospitality and mission."

“Over the last year, as our nation, our city, and our state have been crippled by the devastating pandemic, we have seen a dramatic increase in the number of our neighbors in need. There could not be a better time for the Urban Outreach Center to open. I am very pleased to welcome them to the East Side, and very thankful for the work that they do, particularly in these challenging times,” said State Senator Liz Krueger.

Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams said, "The pandemic has brought hardship on so many this year and has changed the way we celebrate the holiday season, which is why it's more important than ever to come together and support those most in need. I applaud the Urban Outreach Center's mission, and thank all the elected officials, nonprofits and faith-based organizations who've worked to bring this critical resource to the community."

"As a member of the East Side Task Force for Homeless Outreach and Services, I am proud to welcome a new Urban Outreach Center location dedicated to helping our neighbors in need.  I commend Council Member Ben Kallos, our fellow ETHOS Taskforce members, Urban Outreach Center's Executive Director Jordan Tarwater and Avenue Church's Senior Pastor Beverly Dempsey for their efforts in making this new community resource a reality," said Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright. 

"Congratulations to the Urban Outreach Center on your expanded services and your new location. Avenue Church and Urban Outreach Center are important partners in our work serving those experiencing or at risk of homelessness. The services that Urban Outreach Center will provide at this location reflect their dedication to the community and couldn’t come at a more critical time," said Ann L. Shalof, Chief Executive Officer, Neighborhood Coalition for Shelter

"The Stanley M.  Isaacs Neighborhood Center welcomes the new Urban Outreach Center of NYC location to our neighborhood. As a meal provider operating throughout the public health crisis, we have seen an unprecedented increase in food insecurity at this time, and look forward to partnering with Avenue Church to meet the ever-growing need,” said President and Executive Director Gregory J. Morris. "Thank you to Rev. Beverley Dempsey, Council Member Kallos, and the other ETHOS members who have diligently pushed to get this facility open and ready to serve the community."  

“As food insecurity and unemployment continue to reach deeper into our community the work of the Urban Outreach Center is more vital than ever.  Lives that can be so easily ignored will instead be enriched because of the faith, commitment, and generosity of the staff, volunteers, and donors that support this critical work day after day.  I offer my congratulations to all who have made this new Center possible.  A Center where the most vulnerable among us are a little less vulnerable.  A Center where dignity, equity, inclusion, and justice are not just ideals to reach for but the foundation from which all good and just works do proceed,” said The Reverend Roy A. Cole, Church of the Epiphany.

“As a community leader, this new facility will assist so many residents that are experiencing food insecurities.  Our homeless neighbors are not excluded and can benefit greatly too from the services offered. The resource center will be an asset to those who are seeking employment, rather than returning to the workforce or first-time job seekers. There is a beacon of light on the Upper East Side,” said Saundrea I. Coleman, Co-Founder of The Holmes-Isaacs Coalition. 

“The secret to making a difference in the lives of those who need help is not what you give or receive, it’s what you share. This Urban Outreach Center and Avenue Church shares its compassion along with the basic elements to survive,” said Rita Popper, Knickerbocker Plaza Tenants’ Association.

"The East Side Middle School staff, our students, and our community are delighted to be sharing a city corner with the Urban Outreach Center, which will provide so many essential services to our neighborhood's residents most in need. Our students, especially our very active student council, is looking forward to partnering with the Center and helping it serve the homeless and food insecure fellow New Yorkers," said David Getz, Principal of East Side Middle School.

"At PS 527, we pride ourselves on educating future community leaders, and participating in many community service projects each year.  This is our community, and we want to make sure everyone has the necessities in life.  We know how hard the pandemic has been, and we welcome this wonderful resource to help others," said Daniel R. McCormick, Principal PS 527- East Side School for Social Action.

ABOUT THE URBAN OUTREACH CENTER:

The Rev. Beverly Dempsey is the 12th installed pastor of Jan Hus Presbyterian Church and Neighborhood House—now Avenue Church NYC.

Beverly brings to her years of pastoral ministry a wealth of experience from a first career in banking, an MBA in marketing and finance, and a second career in marketing and strategic planning. Beverly earned her Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary in NYC and is in her final project phase of her Doctor of Ministry from Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. 

Beverly is the Chair of the Board for the Urban Outreach Center of New York City. She serves on the Boards of Trustees for Auburn Seminary.

The Rev. Jordan Tarwater is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA), currently serving as the Executive Director of the Urban Outreach Center of New York City and as the Jan Orr-Harter Minister of Social Justice at Avenue Church NYC on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.

ABOUT ETHOS:

Council Member Kallos launched the Eastside Taskforce for Homeless Outreach and Services (ETHOS) with Borough President Brewer, Senator Krueger, Council Member Garodnick, Department of Social Services (DSS), community and faith leaders and service organizations. The taskforce works to get every unsheltered person living on the street the help they need. If you see one of our City’s most vulnerable on the street, please call 311 or use the NYC 311 App to ask them to dispatch a “homeless outreach team.” They will ask where you saw the person, what they looked like, and offer report on whether the person accepts our city’s offer of shelter, three meals a day, health care, rehabilitation, and job training. By connecting our dedicated nonprofits and religious institutions with city services, ETHOS is really making a difference.

ETHOS Providers:

Office of Council Member Ben Kallos

Office of Manhattan Borough President Brewer

Office of State Senator Liz Krueger

Office of Council Member Keith Powers

Department of Homeless Services

Human Resource Administration

The Urban Outreach Center of NYC

Avenue Church

Church of the Epiphany

St. James’ Church

Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church

Jan Hus Presbeteryian Church

All Souls Church

Park Avenue Christian Church

Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church

Congregation Or Zarua

Temple Shaaray Tefila

Lenox Hill Neighborhood House

New York Common Pantry

Neighborhood Coalition for Shelter

NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell

Community Board 8

New York Public Library- Webster Branch

Urban Pathways

Park Avenue Women's Shelter

Goddard Riverside

Bronx Parent Housing Network

Women In Need

UOCNYC Board Members:

The Rev. Beverly Dempsey, Chair

Alexander Watson, Treasurer

Mona Baird

Matthew Chacko

Johan Halsberghe

The Rev. Richard Hong

Amanda Ingram

Luisa Lopez

Kristen Steen

Eva Vega-Olds

Deborah Widerkehr

Wednesday, December 9th 

Good evening members of the Voter Assistance Advisory Committee of the NYC Campaign Finance Board I am New York City Council Member Ben Kallos.

Thank you for providing this opportunity to the public in order to get feedback on what was one of the most consequential elections of our lifetime. My comments today will be brief.

More poll sites

In the most recent presidential election, New Yorkers finally had the opportunity to vote early, however, many voters had to wait for hours in the rain to vote early. An astonishing, yet not totally surprising, 839,875 votes had been cast in the first 7 days of early voting. We have known for years about the possible long lines, especially ahead of this particular election, due to insufficient hours and locations in the state’s implementation of Early Vote. That is why I have been calling for longer hours and additional early voting sites in order to take on hours-long lines.

 In 2019, the Albany legislature passed early voting, requiring only 60 hours of voting over 9 days and only up to 7 early vote sites per county, regardless of the county’s population. I first raised alarms about the insufficiency of this mandate at a City Council hearing on March 12, 2019, demanding more sites from the Board of Elections.

 Way back in 2014, I proposed Introduction 593 to establish early voting for municipal elections. This legislation would have guaranteed at least one early vote site per Council District for a minimum total of 51, voting open for 12 hours on each weekday and 8 hours on each weekend day. Since then we have updated the requirements and reintroduced the bill to reflect the state’s new early vote program. The bill now mandates at least 8 early voting sites per district, and adds 4 hours per weekday and 3 hours per weekend day to the hours we saw in the 2020 election, totaling 32 additional hours of voting and a 92 hours altogether to vote early.

VOTER PORTAL

In 2016, I authored and passed  Local Law 65 to require the Board of Elections to provide voters with absentee ballot tracking from their request, to when it gets mailed, and when it gets received. Despite testifying that the Board of Elections (BOE) could implement the system in 2015, they chose not to, leaving more than 100,000 voters disenfranchised in the Primary. It took 5 years and a pandemic to finally implement and it isn’t even fully complete with missing 

Online voter registration

Currently you can only register to vote online if you have a New York State issue identification or driver’s license and that’s not good enough. In late 2017, the City Council passed online voter registration that I authored as Local Law 238 to mandate that the Campaign Finance Board build an online portal to expand access to voter registration. In June 2019 the Campaign Finance Board was ready to launch, just in time for the legislature in Albany to blocked our implementation with a new law. To be clear Albany blocked New York City residents from being able register online to vote for President. As of October 2020, a total of 40 states have online voter registration, but not New York, it needs to change now. Next year is an off-year election everywhere else in New York, if Albany won’t enfranchise the rest of the state, then at least let us register New York City residents in time for 2021.

Ballot Access

When Covid-19 hit New York in the middle of petitioning for the 2020 elections, Governor Cuomo cut petitioning short and lowered the threshold needed for candidates to get on the ballot, in order to limit the spread of the virus.. With hundreds of candidates running for municipal office in 2021 during a pandemic, we have heard renewed calls for a ballot access system that will not put New Yorkers at risk of contracting and spreading Covid-19. I have introduced Introduction 730, which would allow a candidate to qualify for the ballot without petitioning if they have qualified for the city’s public matching campaign finance system that candidates should be able to be on the ballot. Adding this as an option to the way candidates can get on the ballot would minimize risk to candidates and the public during the pandemic. If deemed necessary and safe, petitioning could remain an option for candidates who have not met the matching funds threshold. We are all familiar with the face-to-face interactions petitioning and canvassing require, and I am worried that it will exacerbate the spread of Covid-19 by forcing hundreds of candidates and volunteers to approach strangers, share pens, and take other unnecessary risks. Petitioning is an archaic requirement that dates back to the 1800s, and this year is the right year to give candidates another option, which is even more representative of support in from voters.

Ranked Choice Voting

[Full testimony Not Available yet, delivered extemporaneously

Wednesday, December 9th 

Good evening members of the Voter Assistance Advisory Committee of the NYC Campaign Finance Board I am New York City Council Member Ben Kallos.

Thank you for providing this opportunity to the public in order to get feedback on what was one of the most consequential elections of our lifetime. My comments today will be brief.

More poll sites

In the most recent presidential election, New Yorkers finally had the opportunity to vote early, however, many voters had to wait for hours in the rain to vote early. An astonishing, yet not totally surprising, 839,875 votes had been cast in the first 7 days of early voting. We have known for years about the possible long lines, especially ahead of this particular election, due to insufficient hours and locations in the state’s implementation of Early Vote. That is why I have been calling for longer hours and additional early voting sites in order to take on hours-long lines.

 In 2019, the Albany legislature passed early voting, requiring only 60 hours of voting over 9 days and only up to 7 early vote sites per county, regardless of the county’s population. I first raised alarms about the insufficiency of this mandate at a City Council hearing on March 12, 2019, demanding more sites from the Board of Elections.

 Way back in 2014, I proposed Introduction 593 to establish early voting for municipal elections. This legislation would have guaranteed at least one early vote site per Council District for a minimum total of 51, voting open for 12 hours on each weekday and 8 hours on each weekend day. Since then we have updated the requirements and reintroduced the bill to reflect the state’s new early vote program. The bill now mandates at least 8 early voting sites per district, and adds 4 hours per weekday and 3 hours per weekend day to the hours we saw in the 2020 election, totaling 32 additional hours of voting and a 92 hours altogether to vote early.

VOTER PORTAL

In 2016, I authored and passed  Local Law 65 to require the Board of Elections to provide voters with absentee ballot tracking from their request, to when it gets mailed, and when it gets received. Despite testifying that the Board of Elections (BOE) could implement the system in 2015, they chose not to, leaving more than 100,000 voters disenfranchised in the Primary. It took 5 years and a pandemic to finally implement and it isn’t even fully complete with missing 

Online voter registration

Currently you can only register to vote online if you have a New York State issue identification or driver’s license and that’s not good enough. In late 2017, the City Council passed online voter registration that I authored as Local Law 238 to mandate that the Campaign Finance Board build an online portal to expand access to voter registration. In June 2019 the Campaign Finance Board was ready to launch, just in time for the legislature in Albany to blocked our implementation with a new law. To be clear Albany blocked New York City residents from being able register online to vote for President. As of October 2020, a total of 40 states have online voter registration, but not New York, it needs to change now. Next year is an off-year election everywhere else in New York, if Albany won’t enfranchise the rest of the state, then at least let us register New York City residents in time for 2021.

Ballot Access

When Covid-19 hit New York in the middle of petitioning for the 2020 elections, Governor Cuomo cut petitioning short and lowered the threshold needed for candidates to get on the ballot, in order to limit the spread of the virus.. With hundreds of candidates running for municipal office in 2021 during a pandemic, we have heard renewed calls for a ballot access system that will not put New Yorkers at risk of contracting and spreading Covid-19. I have introduced Introduction 730, which would allow a candidate to qualify for the ballot without petitioning if they have qualified for the city’s public matching campaign finance system that candidates should be able to be on the ballot. Adding this as an option to the way candidates can get on the ballot would minimize risk to candidates and the public during the pandemic. If deemed necessary and safe, petitioning could remain an option for candidates who have not met the matching funds threshold. We are all familiar with the face-to-face interactions petitioning and canvassing require, and I am worried that it will exacerbate the spread of Covid-19 by forcing hundreds of candidates and volunteers to approach strangers, share pens, and take other unnecessary risks. Petitioning is an archaic requirement that dates back to the 1800s, and this year is the right year to give candidates another option, which is even more representative of support in from voters.

Ranked Choice Voting

[Full testimony Not Available yet, delivered extemporaneously

New York, NY – On the day before Thanksgiving, non-profits on the frontlines of this pandemic who are struggling to feed the hungry shared the devastating impact of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s retroactive and prospective cuts of tens of millions of dollars. The hearing on cuts to non-profits was held in the New York City Council Committee on Contracts Chaired by Council Member Ben Kallos and joined by dozens of providers and residents who are struggling through the holiday season.

After promising to fully fund indirect costs with $54 million in November of 2019, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced in July of 2020, that he would be cutting the city’s reimbursement for these costs both retroactively and moving forward. Prior to this, Mayor de Blasio’s Executive Plan in April cut indirect funding by nearly 40% to $34 million under the guise of a “right-sizing,” assurances for providers that reimbursements from that fiscal year would be completed. Human service providers are now in trouble having already spent funds relying on this reimbursement which was reduced to 10% of contract value or 60% of actual costs and must now continue through this pandemic without the city paying for indirect costs as promised.

“It’s time for Mayor de Blasio to grow a heart and come to his senses, if Scrooge could come around, so can he, and I am not above showing up at Gracie Mansion dressed as a Jacob Marley, to convince him to do the right thing,” said Contract Committee Chair Ben Kallos referencing A Christmas Carol. “Mayor de Blasio said he would support our non-profits working on the frontlines to help those in need then cut their funding for the previous year and the next, and it is time to pay up. This Thanksgiving I would be thankful if Mayor de Blasio fully funded non-profits feeding our hungry.”

Contracts Committee Chair Kallos along with 20 Council Members demanded a restoration of these funds by letter in August. In September, Contracts Chair Kallos joined Human Services Council, Borough President Gale Brewer, Council Members, and providers to lead a rally demanding a restoration of these funds.

Historic Landmark Brings Community and Visitors Together to Experience Some of the Islands Most Historic Treasures 

See Pictures and Information Here 

(ROOSEVELT ISLAND, NY – November 2020) The Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation (RIOC) today announced the ribbon cutting for the newly renovated Blackwell House. Located at 500 Main Street, this two-story landmark is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and is home to some of the island’s most historical treasures, records, and archives. This socially distanced, special invite only event will take place at 11:30 AM and will be live streamed on RIOC’s Instagram page (rooseveltislandrioc).

Candidates would see spending reduce campaign spending limits with

liability for independent expenditures

New York, NY – Candidates seeking to get an unfair advantage by coordinating with independent expenditures to get around spending limits would see their cheating frustrated under legislation proposed by campaign finance reformer and Council Member Ben Kallos. In 2013, two campaigns were fined a combined $15,000, for getting around spending limits by coordinating their campaigns with an Independent Expenditure through a plan to share the same campaign consultant. The two bills would create strict liability for sharing a consultant and extend liability to those responsible for the independent expenditure.

“Voters want a fair election. Candidates should know they can’t cheat their way into office. No more outspending opponents using coordinated independent expenditures then paying a small fine once elected, this money will go against your spending limit as it should,” said Council Member Ben Kallos, a campaign finance reformer who authored the current full public matching system.

Under New York City’s public campaign finance system, campaigns have limits on how much they can spend starting at $190,000 in a general election for City Council. Despite prohibitions against corporate giving directly to candidates Citizens United allows corporations unlimited spending provided it is done independently. In 2013, the last competitive citywide election, Independent Expenditures totaled $15.9 million. The Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) backed independent expenditure Jobs for New York spent $4.9 million on 541 communications to voters. In 17 out of 41 primary elections for City Council, total independent spending exceeded the individual candidate spending limit and in nearly half those cases was more than double the spending limit.

A total of $31,000 in fines were issued, the most ever to a campaign consultant and two candidates for City Council in 2013 by the Campaign Finance Board. Regardless of the fines that were issued, the issue with coordinating independent expenditures is that it removes limits on amounts, corporate contributions, as well as on spending, to undermine the campaign finance system and the integrity of free and fair elections.

Under the proposed legislation, spending by an independent expenditure would immediately reduce candidate spending limits, including but not limited to the following specific instances:

1. Campaign consultant shared in common;
2. Fundraising for the independent expenditure by someone in common with the campaign;
3. Independent expenditures suggested, formed, or requested by the candidate;
4. Prior relationship between candidate or staff and the subsequent independent expenditure;
5. Office space shared between candidate or consultants and the independent expenditure; and
6. Communications between candidate and independent spender through a third-party.

“Extend liability for violations to agents of independent spenders” was recommendation number 9 of “Keeping Democracy Strong” the New York City Campaign Finance Board’s 2017 Post-Election Report:

Under the Act and the City Charter, penalties for violations committed by independent spenders are treated differently than those for violations committed by campaigns. Under the Act, the candidate, the principal committee, the treasurer, and “any other agent” of the candidate may be liable for penalties assessed by the Board. The Charter, which sets the requirements for independent expenditures, does not explicitly extend liability to agents of the person or entity responsible for the expenditure.

The Board Rules were changed in 2016 to extend liability for penalties to agents of independent spenders, but Charter authority would provide further clarity on this issue. The Board recommends an amendment to the Charter that establishes liability for violations and penalties to any agent acting on behalf of an independent spender.

Taken together both bills would seek to prevent illegal coordination between campaigns and independent expenditures by reducing candidate spending limits and fining independent spenders directly.

New York, NY- The Upper East Side, known for its quaint side streets and expensive housing, will be offering affordable housing opportunities to 10 lucky individuals through newly constructed cooperative apartments. Today, Council Member Ben Kallos and the City Council approved a tax exemption for the 10 units developed by Beach Path, LLC  and Hirschen Singer & Epstein LLP and at 1402 York Avenue, located in Council District 5 and Community District 8. Kallos worked personally with the developers to reduce costs for coop owners in comparison to what was initially proposed. The units will be offered to eligible buyers that qualify as low-income households at 80% AMI  $63,860 for an individual or $72,800 for a couple, with an estimated sales prices ranging from $23,972 to $64,437.. Applications for affordable housing will be available in the coming weeks at HousingConnect.nyc.gov

“New York City is a city of renters. However, homeownership should also be possible and that is where this great program with HPD comes into place,” said Council Member Ben Kallos. “I am grateful for the work and the cooperation of Beach Path, LLC and Hirschen Singer & Epstein LLP and here to make this possible for middle-income New Yorkers who qualify. As a city, if we are ever going to get past this housing crisis we will have to use every tool available.”

“As developers we are very proud to finally be able to bring this project to fruition and work with the councilman and HPD to help curb the housing shortage that our city faces,  said Enrico Scarda on behalf of Beach Path, LLC”  

 One of the newly constructed studio apartments will be on the first floor, separate from the affordable coop apartments. The project came together as a result of a partnership between New York City’s Housing Preservation Department’s (HPD) Inclusionary Housing program, Council Member Ben Kallos The Crest Group, and the development was designed by Kossar + Garry Architects, LLP, at a construction cost of approximately $9 million. 

Amenities in the building for residents’ use include a bicycle storage room, fitness center and common roof terrace. The studio apartments include washer and dryer hookups and expansive street-facing windows to maximize natural light. Transit lines near the building include the Q train and the M15-SBS, M31 and M57 bus lines.

These are the first affordable homeownership opportunities in Council District 5, bolstering the Council Member’s record of creating or preserving 1,000 units of affordable housing. 

As the former chair of the subcommittee on Planning, Dispositions and Concessions, Kallos was able to preserve nearly 6,000 units of affordable housing, all of which are listed in the housing portal that HPD was required to create as a result of legislation he authored.

####

Antiquated, Turn of the Century Petitioning System to be Replaced by Meeting the Minimum Threshold to Receive Public Funds through the City’s Campaign Finance System

New York, NY – Petitioning was cancelled abruptly this year, leaving many candidates without enough signatures to get on the ballot. With hundreds of candidates running for municipal office in 2021 during a pandemic, Government Operations Chair Fernando Cabrera and Progressive Caucus Co-Chair Ben Kallos have renewed calls to hear and pass Introduction 730 to put candidates on the ballot if they qualify for the city’s public matching campaign finance system in order to minimize risk to candidates and the public during the pandemic.

"For the past four years we've been pushing ballot access reform with a reasonable alternative to petitioning, which was canceled in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Since then candidates have not been given any other means to get on the ballot.  It's now time to allow candidates to get ballot access by qualifying for the city's public matching finance system.  Any candidate who qualifies for public matching funds has already demonstrated their community's support and this is enough.  With key offices and numerous Council seats open in 2021, the time is now to end this antiquated system, get big money out of our elections and support entry of more people of color into elective politics.   This is the intent of Intro 0730.  As Chair of the Governmental Operations Committee, I’m proud to co-sponsor this bill and give my full support to this approach,” said Council Member Fernando Cabrera

We need a safe way for candidates to get on the ballot during a pandemic. Ballot access reform is more than a century overdue. Democracy must mean giving voters more than one ‘choice’ on the ballot,” said Council Member Ben Kallos. “Candidates who qualify for public matching are required to demonstrate support from the community with in-district small dollar donations and that should be enough to get on the ballot knowing that they will have the funds they need to run a competitive election.”

Decimated by the Pandemic, Taxi Cab Drivers Offered a Life Line with “Universal eHail App”

New “Universal eHail App” & Open API Would Increase Competition and Allow Drivers to Accept eHails without Uber or Lyft

New York, NY – Following Tuesday’s $200 million victory in California for Uber and Lyft re-classifying drivers from employees with a minimum wage and health care back to independent contractors with neither, lawmakers in New York City are re-introducing legislation for a “Universal eHail App” to allow any cab driver to accept eHails through a municipal app and open API. Under legislation proposed by New York City Council Transportation Chair Ydanis Rodriguez and Council Member Ben Kallos, riders would be able to electronically hail 16,591 yellow and green cabs together with 120,000 for hire vehicles from a single municipal app or using third party apps. The legislation originally proposed in 2014 before a string of more than 8 taxi driver suicides seeks to empower them over app companies and level the playing field.

Roosevelt Island Essential Worker Parents Describe “Disparity” and “Nightmare” As City Refuses to Open “Learning Bridges” Site

Roosevelt Island, NY - Families and public school students at PS/IS 217 on Roosevelt Island serving 632 students rallied for a “Learning Bridges” - remote learning center - where there currently is none. Island Kids had been working since August to become a Learning Bridges site to serve 45 children, but was rejected on October 27, 2020 with a form letter that included no explanation. Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright, and Acting RIOC President Shelton Haynes joined Council Member Ben Kallos and more than 40 families for a virtual rally with signs drawn by children calling for the city to open Learning Bridges on Roosevelt Island. An online petition for Learning Bridges started on October 30 has already exceeded 100 signatures.

WATCH THE RALLY

Prevailing Wage Proposed for Human Services Workers by Contracts Chair Kallos, Council Members Lander and Rosenthal
 
Legislation Aims to Force City to Stop Contracting to Pay Human Service Workers Poverty Wages and Close Gender Pay Gap.
 

New York, NY – New York City provides services to millions of youths, seniors, homeless, and veterans in poverty through human service non-profits whose government contracts ironically pay workers poverty wages. Legislation proposed by Contracts Chair Ben Kallos and Council Member Lander, would raise wages for 200,000 human service employees working at non-profits who do business with the city by setting a prevailing wage rate. Once passed into law, the Comptroller would work with the human services sector to determine the average wage or adopt a collectively bargained wage for new contracts which would be required to provide this funding. Once prevailing wage rates are adopted, the city would be required to fully fund wage increases as part of new contracts, modifications, or renewals increasing overall funds to non-profits providing vital human services.
 
Undervalued & Underpaid: How New York State Shortchanges Nonprofit Human Services Providers and their Workers, released by the Human Services Council in 2017, found the following staggering statistics:

• Average annual pay for human services workers is $29,600 in New York City. Such pay is only about 40 percent of the average for all workers and falls far short of the income needed to meet United Way’s survival family budget needs.
• Human services workers in New York City are overwhelmingly women (over 82%) and four-fifths of which are women of color (80%). Across New York State they are well-educated — 41 percent have a four-year college degree and another 25 percent have an associates’ degree or some college — and most work full-time or close to full-time schedules.
• Inadequate pay is not just a problem for the lowest-paid human services workers. Average pay for middle-tier occupations such as social workers and substance and drug abuse counselors is 20 - 40 percent greater in hospital, school and civic organization settings than in primarily government funded nonprofit human services providers.
• Pay is so low that 60 percent of those working in the human services sector were utilizing or had a family member utilizing some form of public assistance benefit such as Medicaid or food stamps.

Free Laptops and Tablets with Internet for All Public School Students Loaded with Culturally Responsive Digital Textbooks Proposed by Electeds

Following Broad Systemic Failures, Department of Education to be Required to Report on Cost, Stock and Distribution of Devices for Oversight and to Ensure Equity

New York, NY — With every single one of New York City’s 1.1 million public school students learning online partially or fully, the Department of Education estimates that there are still upwards of 77,000 students who still need internet-capable devices despite repeated assurances from Mayor Bill de Blasio that “every student who needs one gets one.” Oversight legislation authored by Council Members Ben Kallos and Farah Louis and sponsored by Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, Education Chair Mark Treyger, Borough Presidents Eric Adams and Gale Brewer, and Council Member Stephen Levin would force the city to give free laptops and tablets with Internet for all public school students loaded with culturally responsive digital textbooks and report on numbers, costs, and distribution along with the demographics of students receiving devices.
 
Since the start of the pandemic in March and the transition to remote learning, parents and students have reported inability to access to high speed internet, lack of adequate remote learning devices, and an exacerbation of racial disparities in student engagement with remote learning. In April, the Department of Education spent over $269 million on 300,000 iPads, equipped with T-Mobile LTE for $10 a mobile. The number of devices distributed, the number of students who received devices, and the number actually used, remain outstanding. Last month, the City Council even had to subpoena Department of Education remote attendance data.

“Every child who qualifies or simply wants one should be guaranteed a gifted and talented education and we are grateful that the Schools’ Chancellor Carranza is recognizing that. Free of the physical limits of a physical school or classroom, public schools can desegregate and open these programs to students across our city.”

“As we see a new surge in cases with parents and students choosing between continuing a hybrid in-person model or fully remote, we must implement a citywide remote learning option this school year that offers enrichment programs like gifted and talented or teaches to students’ learning style. With remote learning varying by classroom from hours of live streamed instruction to independent learning assignments followed by weekly reviews, we can and must connect families and parents with an education that supports their learning style.”

Background:

On August 7, as reported in the New York Post, former Black, Latino, and Asian Caucus Co-Chair Robert Cornegy, Jr. and Council Member Ben Kallos demanded that public schools use all remote learning as an opportunity to desegregate schools while catering to student learning styles and offering enrichment such as gifted and talented for all.

On August 23, the New York Post Editorial Board supported this proposal in an editorial “How NYC could make remote learning into a winner for many kids.”

On October 16, at an Education Committee Hearing, in response to questioning by Council Member Ben Kallos, Schools’ Chancellor Carranza expressed openness to using remote learning to expand gifted and talented programs requesting a copy of the letter which was sent again (see video at 2:35:14).

On October 22, at a Queens parental advisory board meeting, Chancellor Richard Carranza, said “In a virtual environment, if you have some criteria, then a student could ostensibly, with a very gifted teacher, have more students having an experience of a gifted experience, not just in one classroom. Let’s say you have a really gifted and talented teacher that is willing to have 60 students across five schools in Queens. Now you have the ability to give that experience to more students,” according to the New York Post. 

French Dual Language Program Celebrates Start on the Upper East Side with 36 Pre-K Seats

Ribbon Cut after Partnership with Local Parents, the Department of Education and Council Member Kallos Yields Results

Upper East Side, NY- Today Council Member Ben Kallos, the New York City Department of Education, parents, teachers, school administrators and the French Consulate General to New York cut a ribbon celebrating two new French dual language classes that have opened at the District 2 Pre-K Center located at 355 East 76^th Street.

The joyous occasion for the families who attended the ribbon cutting and for Council Member Kallos comes after a very dedicated group of parents, including members of the Francophone community from Canada, Africa, and France, met with more than two hundred families who pledged to send their children to a French dual language program in Manhattan if one was created. 

The French dual language classes began on September 21st with seats for 36 pre-K students.

The Department of Education will operate these classes using a side-by-side instructional model where it will have one Early Childhood-certified teacher who is fluent in French and who has or will work towards a bilingual extension, alongside a second Early Childhood-certified teacher.

“I am incredibly proud of the people who did the work in order to make this program a reality. Knowledge is power so any opportunity we get to expand and improve education in my district I will be supportive of. We all know the benefits of dual language education and I am proud that we were able to bring them to this district,” said Council Member Ben Kallos. “Thank you to Deputy Chancellor Josh Wallack for his ongoing partnership in expanding early education opportunities, the French Consulate for supporting the Francophone community, and especially to Stephane Lautner and Catherine Remy who worked closely with my office to put meetings together and organize hundreds of other parents.”

New York, NY - Mom and pop stores are the small businesses that make New York City great that have remained inaccessible to 1 million residents, and 7 million tourists with disabilities would receive government assistance to retrofit for accessibility and indoor safety during the pandemic. Today Council Members Ben Kallos introduced legislation to provide grants and low-interest loans of up to $250,000 along with education for small businesses in storefronts to make accessibility and public health improvements, coupled with securing long sought after rent reductions from landlords.
 
“The blight of empty storefronts has only gotten worse since the pandemic and we need to do everything we can to help them retrofit for accessibility and public health to welcome more customers with disabilities while securing lower rents. It’s a win-win-win for small business owners, customers susceptible to coronavirus or with disabilities, and even landlords,” said Council Member Ben Kallos. “Thank you to Victor Calise Commissioner of the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities for working with us on this program since I was elected, together we can open up the best parts of our city for everyone.”

Outdoor Dining Would Get Easier for Small Business with Temporary Permits for Lapsed Licenses and New Owners Proposed by Kallos

Cumbersome Bureaucratic Sidewalk Café Permit Re-Applications Would Be Replaced with
Easy Temporary Renewal Process for Cash Strapped Businesses
 

New York, NY – Outdoor dining has become a hallmark of New York City’s pandemic resurgence for restaurants and nightlife as businesses face bureaucratic hurdles to obtain and maintain their license to do so. Small businesses that are already struggling or new owners who may seek to fill an empty storefront, must start an expensive, cumbersome, bureaucratic and lengthy process to get a new sidewalk café permit, even where one was previously granted. Legislation proposed by Council Member Ben Kallos would allow a sidewalk café permit that had been valid in the previous 3 years to be easily renewed or transferred temporarily for the business or a new owner provided the plans were the same.
 
“Outdoor dining is a welcome change in our urban environment that is beautifying and activating streets that had gone empty for far too long. We are cutting the red tape to make it easier for restaurants to renew and new owners to take over sidewalk cafes,” Council Member Ben Kallos. “I wish I could take credit for this idea, but it came right from a small business owner, as an example of a bureaucratic problem, that seemed stupid not to fix. Thank you to the New York Hospitality Alliance for hosting opportunities for small businesses to meet with elected officials so that we can work together to foster a better environment for small businesses to thrive.”

New York, NY - Mom and pop stores are the small businesses that make New York City great that have remained inaccessible to 1 million residents and 7 million tourists with disabilities would receive government assistance to retrofit for accessibility and indoor safety during the pandemic. Council Members Ben Kallos and Committee on Consumer Affairs Chair Andrew Cohen are introducing legislation to provide grants and low-interest loans of up to $250,000 along with education for small businesses in storefronts to make accessibility and public health improvements, coupled with securing long sought after rent reductions from landlords.

“The blight of empty storefronts has only gotten worse since the pandemic and we need to do everything we can to help them retrofit for accessibility and public health to welcome more customers with disabilities while securing lower rents. It’s a win-win-win for small business owners, customers susceptible to coronavirus or with disabilities, and even landlords,” said Council Member Ben Kallos. “Thank you to Victor Calise Commissioner of the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities for working with us on this program since I was elected, together we can open up the best parts of our city for everyone.”

Mom and pop storefronts have been the target of American with Disabilities Act (ADA) lawsuits filed growing year over year, both nationally and locally. Recent reporting shows that the number of such cases in New York surged more than 300 percent from 543 in 2016 to 2,338 last year. A number of these cases are filed by “frequent flyer” serial litigants who specialize in these types of “drive by” lawsuits. Small businesses are particularly vulnerable to these types of suits because they have less income to spend making ADA alterations to their spaces and less to spend on legal counsel. The worst part is that many of these lawsuits are settled costing mom and pop owners the money they could’ve spent staying open or making the accessibility improvements that are rarely required by these settlements or ever happen.

The first bill, led by Council Member Kallos would create an accessibility fund for small businesses. The fund would make grants and loans of up to $250,000 available to any small business (100 employees or less), for the purpose of renovating existing storefronts to become ADA compliant. The grants or low-interests would be made available to either the building owner or the storefront lessee. In either case, the Commissioner could require an agreement between the landlord and tenant to a decrease in rent, in proportion to the size of the grant, in return for these permanent improvements. 

The second bill led by council member Cohen, would provide training and education to small businesses on compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The bill would make available information for all small businesses on the various requirements under the ADA and would be updated whenever there are any changes to the current guidelines. The bill would also help small business owners complete a detailed survey of their commercial property or business website to determine improvements suggested or required in accordance with the ADA. Both bills would help to curb the onslaught of vexatious litigation against the most vulnerable business owners.

“As our city’s restaurants and bars fight for survival, providing them with government support to retrofit their businesses so they are more accessible to people with disabilities and allow greater indoor safety during the pandemic is important policy. We thank Council Member Kallos for their support and leadership on these important issues,” said Andrew Rigie, Executive Director of the New York Hospitality Alliance.

“We look forward to seeing permanent improvement to the accessibility of local small businesses. We believe that people with disabilities would love to support small businesses in their community and look forward to an equal opportunity to do just that,” said Susan Dooha, Executive Director of the Center for Independence of the Disabled of New York.

“We are thankful that Council Member Kallos has realized the precarious financial position many small businesses find themselves in and is taking active steps to aid in a growing expense for many,” said Melissa Fleischut, President & CEO of the NYS Restaurant Association. “Accessibility changes are often incredibly cost prohibitive, especially when alterations need to be made to older buildings. This program will allow for important capital to be put towards these needed changes, allowing these businesses to more easily accommodate all customers and meet all current safety standards.” 

Int. No.

By Council Members Kallos and Cohen

A LOCAL LAW

To amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to accessibility in small businesses

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

Section 1. Chapter 10 of title 22 of the administrative code of the city of New York is amended by adding new section 22-1007 to read as follows:

§ 22-1007 Accessibility fund for small businesses.

a. Definitions. For the purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings:

Chain business. The term “chain business” means an establishment that is part of a group of four or more establishments that share a common owner or principal who owns at least 30 percent of each establishment where such establishments (i) engage in the same business or (ii) operate pursuant to franchise agreements with the same franchisor as defined in section 681 of the general business law.

Commissioner. Notwithstanding section 22-1001 of this chapter, the term “commissioner” means the commissioner of the department of small business services, the commissioner of the mayor’s office for people with disabilities or its successor agency, or any other designee of the mayor.

Small business. The term “small business” means a for-profit or not-for-profit entity, excluding government entities, that is not a chain business and that employs no more than 100 employees. The number of employees of such small business shall consist of an average of all persons that performed work for the small business for compensation on a full-time, part-time or temporary basis for all payroll periods occurring in the 90 days prior to the date on which such property owner or tenant applies for the fund set forth in subdivision b of this section, as demonstrated by the payroll documentation of such entity, in accordance with rules promulgated by the commissioner.

Storefront. The term “storefront” means a premises owned or operated by a small business that is open to the public and is a public accommodation as defined in section 12181 of title 42 of the United States code.

b. The commissioner shall, subject to appropriation, operate a program that provides loans, grants, in-kind services or in-kind materials, or some combination, to small business tenants and property owners for the purpose of making physical features of their storefront accessible to people with disabilities. Any funding provided to a small business shall not exceed 250,000 dollars in total value per storefront. No loan provided through such program shall include an annual interest rate higher than three percent.

c.     1. The commissioner shall set a timeline for the review of applications for the program operated pursuant to subdivision b, the approval or rejection of such applications, and the disbursement of the approved loan or grant amount, if applicable, which shall not exceed 90 days in total for each such application.

2. Any loan, grant, services or materials provided by the program operated pursuant to subdivision b shall be made available to the person or entity responsible for bearing the cost of the construction project that would make such storefront accessible, whether the property owner or tenant of such storefront, provided however that both the property owner and the tenant must consent to the receipt of such loan, grant, services or materials unless a prior contractual agreement between the parties requires otherwise.

3. As a condition of the receipt of a loan, grant, services or materials pursuant to subdivision b, the commissioner may require the store front’ s property owner to agree to decrease the rent charged to their tenant for the use of such storefront by half the value of such loan, grant, services or materials received, distributed across the remainder of the rental term in a manner agreed upon by such property owner and tenant.

d. The commissioner shall promulgate rules to implement the requirements of this section.

§ 2. This local law takes effect 180 days after it becomes law, except that the commissioner, as defined by subdivision a of section 22-1007 of this local law, shall take such measures as are necessary for the implementation of this local law, including the promulgation of rules, before such date.

SJ

LS #9004, 13913

9/1/20

New York, NY – Today, several of New York City’s nonprofit human services organizations held a rally demanding that Mayor de Blasio restore funding for their indirect costs and end retroactive budget cuts to the Indirect Cost Rate (ICR) Funding Initiative.
 
Human services nonprofits cannot provide the necessary services and jobs New York City needs to continue to respond and recover from Covid-19 if the City does not honor its financial commitments to them. When the mayor’s FY20 April Executive Plan (April 2020) cut ICR funding nearly 40% (from $54 million to $34 million) under the guise of a “right-sizing,” providers were told that all FY20 reimbursements would be completed, as the City guaranteed in November 2019. More than a month after approval of the FY21 Adopted Budget – six weeks after the end of FY20 – providers were informed that FY20 indirect funding would actually be cut retroactively up to 40%.
 
FY21 indirect funding remains uncertain. The City is asking providers to wait five months into FY21 to find out if they will receive their full indirect funding for the current fiscal year, despite past commitments that the ICR Funding Initiative funding would not be cut due to the City's budget deficit.

 Underfunding was an issue prior to the pandemic: more than half of NYC human services nonprofits cannot keep even two months of cash on hand, due to underfunded government contracts, a problem that dates back years. This funding crisis was the main driver behind last year's groundbreaking commitment to strengthening health and human services infrastructure through increased indirect funding. These retroactive cuts undermine the City’s p

August 14, 2020 By ECF Hon. Katherine Polk Failla,

U.S.D.J. United States District Court for the Southern District of New York Courtroom 618,
Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse 40 Foley Square New York, New York 100017

Re: Uniformed Fire Officers Association, et al. v. de Blasio, et al. No. 20 Civ. 5441 (KPF) (RWL)

Dear Judge Failla:

         I write on behalf of the Progressive Caucus of the New York City Council to seek the Court’s leave to allow it to submit the attached amicus curiae brief in this matter.

        The Progressive Caucus was formed in 2009 with the goal of advancing policies to build a more just and equal New York City. The Caucus is comprised of twenty-two Council members and the Public Advocate. Its members have campaigned on issues of police accountability and transparency, sponsored legislation to make the City’s data open to the public and sought to use their oversight and budgetary powers to transform law enforcement in New York City. They have also advocated for the state legislature to repeal New York’s police secrecy law, Civil Rights Law § 50-a, precisely so that system of law enforcement that is transparent and accountable to the public it serves in New York City would be possible. As councilmembers, the Progressive Caucus’s members have a particularly strong interest in receiving information regarding the police disciplinary process and police misconduct settlements because they are considering numerous potential policy responses to police misconduct, including legislation or Charter amendments, oversight hearings, and further budgetary responses in the next budget cycle.

       The Progressive Caucus seeks to submit an amicus brief in this matter to explain the importance of open public records as the council examines these policy responses and to advocate for the principles of transparent and open government. As the attached brief explains, one of the most important issues for the Progressive Caucus’s members to understand is whether and why the disciplinary process is failing to hold officers who commit misconduct accountable. Case 1:20-cv-05441-KPF Document 120 Filed 08/14/20 Page 1 of 2 Hon. Katherine Polk Failla, U.S.D.J. August 14, 2020 Page 2

        Transparency is critical to understanding that, and transparency about instances where investigations began or complaints were made and yet the Department did not impose discipline are particularly important for the Council and the public to understand.

        As an organization of City Councilmembers who are charged with oversight and legislative reform over police, the proposed amicus provides a unique perspective that may be of assistance to the Court in deciding the issues before it. The Progressive Caucus, as a group of members of the legislative branch of City government, also may have different perspectives to the City’s executive branch; indeed, in some instances, the Progressive Caucus’s members may seek records from the City’s executive branch that the City may wish to withhold.

       Accordingly, the Progressive Caucus respectfully requests the Court’s leave to allow it to file the attached proposed amicus curiae brief.

Respectfully submitted, /s/ Aaron Marks, P.C. Aaron Marks, P.C. cc: All counsel of record, via ECF

QUEENS, NY – New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) today announced the extension of NYC Ferry’s Astoria route to serve the East 90th Street landing in Upper Manhattan.

The new connection, which will officially launch Saturday, August 22nd, comes at no additional operating or capital expense and will not change travel time to or from existing landings on the Astoria Route. After launching, the newly extended Astoria Route will now terminate at East 90th Street and Pier 11.

We the undersigned are deeply concerned about the retroactive cuts to the Indirect Cost Rate Initiative (ICR) for human services contracts which represent a reversal of the commitment to fully fund the agreed-upon indirect rate. This is not only a devastating blow to FY20 budgets for providers, but the lack of commitment for FY21 funding before the November plan puts providers in an even more precarious position.

Re: Demand to Desegregate All Remote Learning Now

Dear Mayor de Blasio and Chancellor Carranza,

With as many as one quarter of public school families opting for full remote learning in the fall, we have a historic opportunity and, we believe, a mandate to desegregate classes and achieve educational equality online. With the school year fast approaching, only incomplete plans for what digital classrooms will look like have been shared. We demand that you desegregate all remote learning for this school year.

New York City public schools are more segregated today than they were during Brown v. Board of Education, largely because our city’s neighborhoods are: the result of a long history of government-enforced racism and de jure segregation right here in New York City. Many students live in school zones dictated by geography that stems directly from racist redlining that continued rampantly and legally through the 1970s, and which continues to impact neighborhoods to this day, with investigations and even settlements here in New York State as recently as 2015. While desegregationist housing policy is an imperative, we cannot wait for or rely on it. We must find ways to bring communities together in our classrooms. Enrichment programs have been credited with providing access for black and brown students to our best schools, but early in this administration, racial segregation was found to persist in these programs, with gifted and talented programs missing from black and brown low-income communities.

The Covid-19 pandemic has exposed systemic racial disparities in healthcare, as the virus has disproportionately impacted Black, Indigenous, and other communities of color. As we transitioned to remote learning for 1.1 million students during the height of the pandemic, the Department of Education kept students segregated by geography and school district. However, with the benefit of a summer to plan for next school year, it would be irresponsible to preserve those same systems, particularly for full remote learning.

We have all been students at one point or another, and many of us are now parents who want the best for our children. Though we all hold varying opinions based on lived experiences, anecdotes, and media exposure, it is essential that we concede to evidence-based, peer-reviewed and scientific articles to help guide our stances and make informed decisions. Fifty years of academic, peer-reviewed research in the social sciences has found that we can improve learning outcomes for students when teachers are able to thoroughly and actively engage with their students' individual differences and learning styles.

We propose the creation of a new desegregated citywide school district to serve every student enrolled in all remote learning. The virtual schools within this new district would be organized around learning style, enrichment, and even common interest. Initial online diagnostics or results from remote learning earlier this year would help identify how students learned, so we can best match them with teachers and virtual classrooms filled with diverse groups of students who learned the same way.

Enrichment programs like gifted and talented programs or those tailored to specific interests and remote learning styles could finally be offered to every student who qualified, with additional classrooms opened for students who may not have qualified or even known to take the test but who deserve the access and opportunity none the less. Enrichment programs such as dual language programs in English and Spanish, French, Creole, Chinese, Korean, Russian, Arabic, Hebrew, Urdu, Bengali, and more could proliferate and attract students of every color and creed. The roster of schools organized around standard common subjects such as STEM, Arts, English, or History could be expanded to include more areas such as sports and modern media. With the availability of real-time diagnostics and analytics for students as they complete assignments online, teachers and administrators would be able to provide support and guidance for any student who might have fallen behind in the traditional education system, which has over relied on high stakes testing and grades.

In order to meet new demand, the Department of Education, free of the constraints of physical school buildings and a limited number of classrooms, could offer teachers who have requested to teach fully remote, as well as any staff with a teaching certificate, the opportunity to lead these classrooms. We can reorganize virtual schools, classrooms, and teachers in an agile, data-driven approach to meet parent and student demand every step of the way.

Desegregation has always faced resistance, whether in Little Rock, Arkansas, or right here in New York City. Some might object that there is a short lifespan to any solution that relies heavily on remote learning to overcome the obstacles of geography and limited resources. However, what we offer is a path forward, leveraging this unique moment and the power of technology to take on systemic racism and desegregate now, not in some never occurring future. As we approach the end of the pandemic and a return to in-person learning, the all-remote program we’ve proposed might still be appropriate for some students or some programs. In the alternative, it can serve as a model for the city to learn from as we reorganize physical school buildings and classrooms to finally desegregate our school system.

Others might argue that they already have many of these programs in their district. Allowing for enrollment in programs from across the city will only open more options to parents, many of whom will find that in the status quo, even in school districts that do offer gifted and talented or other enrichment programs, roughly two-thirds of the children who qualify are routinely turned away.

Families of students of color or other traditionally marginalized communities may also prefer their children to be in a classroom with other kids of similar backgrounds. We must avoid a tokenistic approach to integration and proactively find ways to foster communities and learning environments where students who come from shared backgrounds can support and learn from each other. Remote learning provides more flexibility to create various learning environments to achieve these goals.

Though we are a little more than a month away from the start of school without a final plan for re-opening, we must acknowledge how ambitious our plan might be given the short time before us. The Department of Education must prioritize a safe re-opening and if desegregating all remote learning proves to be too resource-intensive, then we ask that a citywide pilot be launched. As a pilot, parents and students could be asked this week if they wish to participate, setting up a limited number of virtual classrooms to address specific need. Once established enrollment could be expanded for the Spring Semester and depending on the pandemic and success of the program rolled out citywide for the next school year.

Imagine the public education system we can create together, with the ambitious goal of taking on systemic racism and segregation, all while providing a historic opportunity for students of every race and ethnicity. There would be no more lotteries. No more geographic preference based on racist red lining. No more false constraints created by generations of disinvestment in communities of color. Parents and students could simply apply and be guaranteed a seat in the virtual classroom of their choice. Equal educational opportunities for all.

Sincerely,

Dear Mayor de Blasio, Chancellor Carranza, and President Grillo,

Following your announcement that New York City would plan to reopen its schools in the fall with a mix of in-person teaching and remote learning, we both raised concerns about the need for childcare as parents go back to work. On July 10, Council Member Kallos wrote a letter to you urging you to address what United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew has called the impending “Childcare Crisis” by exploring opening “remote learning centers” for children who cannot stay at home, and suggested that you look at existing public spaces such as libraries or youth, senior and community centers where available, as well as vacant storefronts to establish these centers. On July 11, Council Member Lander published a plan calling for wraparound enrichment services for children, employer accommodations for parents, and support for existing child care providers.

We were pleased to see your announcement on July 16 that the City will “provide quality, safe, free childcare options for 100,000 children this fall” by utilizing “schools, community centers, libraries, cultural organizations, and more.” We are concerned, however, that 100,000 childcare seats will not cover the children in need of a place to learn remotely. According to your plan one-half to two-thirds of those students will be out of school on any given day. New state social distancing guidelines for schools will greatly restrict the number of students able to be at school at any time, as we prioritize preventing the spread of Covid-19 and keeping our teachers and students safe.

Thank you for providing a portal for submitting property sites to be considered for this program. We ask you to continue to include elected officials and parents in your search for space to accommodate 100,000 socially distanced students and report on your progress regularly. We are eager to be of assistance and to learn about your progress in securing now-closed private and parochial schools, including 26 closed by the Archdiocese, existing public spaces such as libraries and community centers, as well as existing businesses and empty storefronts. First and foremost, we must find sites than can accommodate the social distancing guidelines, and ensure that whether in schools or remote learning centers, our teachers and students are safe.

More than 800,000 children from 3K through 8^th grade attend New York City’s public schools. If in-person learning is divided into two or three shifts, then approximately 400,000 – 533,000 of these students will be learning remotely at any given time. We are concerned that the planned 100,000 childcare seats will be inadequate.

As the New York State economy continues to move forward with re-opening Phase 4, it is our responsibility in government to provide parents and children with the safest possible plan for re-opening schools with sufficient capacity. We join countless parents in demanding more information, including how placements will be determined if there is more demand than seats and in particular that the city plan for and guarantee a seat for every family and student who needs one even if that number is closer to 533,000. Parents continue to reach out to me to share their anxiety regarding the upcoming school year, and any additional information we can provide will help New York City’s families plan for this uncertain time.

Sincerely,

When I got elected the Esplanade was falling into the East River and now it has not once but twice. No sooner than we finished repairs on the collapse between 88th and 90th did we see a new sinkhole collapse at 76th Street. As Co-Chair of the East River Esplanade Taskforce with Congress Member Carolyn Maloney we’ve secured more $278 million to repair this Esplanade with the hope of getting ahead of these collapses. Where previous repairs have taken years or months, the Parks Department will be using funds we’ve already secured to mobilize and promised to begin repairs in the coming weeks. Our taskforce will work to keep this repair on track and restore this vital park space.

Dear Mayor de Blasio and Commissioner Trottenberg,

In recent weeks residents in my district have expressed concern about how difficult it can be to simply walk down the sidewalk in a safe, socially distant manner, proposing a suggestion that I support of designating different sides of each street for pedestrians to walk in a particular direction.

For senior citizens and immunocompromised New Yorkers, simple but essential errands can become a daunting task when narrow sidewalks are filled with pedestrians walking and running – many without masks – both ways to get to the pharmacy or grocery store. Similarly, parents with small babies and children who are too young to wear masks that we now know are susceptible to coronavirus in the form of multisystem inflammatory syndrome are fearful of putting their children in danger walking down a narrow street to get to a park with some semblance of social distancing. I personally share both of these concerns.

I propose that we create space for social distancing on our sidewalks by facilitating opposite flows of foot traffic in high-density areas of our city. Similar to ‘one-way’ streets for vehicles, pedestrians would be encouraged to use sidewalks in one direction so that they do not have to cross pedestrians coming the opposite direction. On streets running east to west, the north side would be designated for westbound pedestrians and the south side would be designated for eastbound pedestrians. On avenues or streets running north to south, the east side would be designated for northbound pedestrians, the west side would be designated for southbound pedestrians.

“We cannot keep watching bricks fall, scaffolding collapse, injuring and killing New Yorkers. These bricks should never have been allowed to deteriorate to the point that they fell and the scaffolding should never have collapsed. We must pass a law forcing the inspection of every inch of scaffolding as soon as possible. We must pass a law to require building owners to maintain their buildings or step in as a city and do the work ourselves. My deepest sympathies to the families of those killed and injured in this latest collapse and they have my pledge to keep fighting so no one faces the same threat.”

New York Council Member Ben Kallos represents the Upper East Side of Manhattan and has introduced a package of legislation to require the city to inspect scaffolding when installed and over time as well as to require building owners make repairs or face steep fines with the city stepping in to do the work.

Dear Mayor de Blasio, Chancellor Carranza, and President Grillo,

As you prepare to open New York City public schools in September offering parents the option of staggered schedules or remote learning, I urge you to explore bolstering this blended learning model with remote learning centers for children who cannot stay at home.

Remote learning centers could be temporarily established by utilizing closed private and parochial schools or finding a new use for existing public spaces such as libraries or youth, senior and community centers. In neighborhoods where these existing schools or public spaces are already in use or provide insufficient space, we can look to the countless empty storefronts, houses of worship, or other temporarily closed or partially closed businesses. Remote learning centers established in these spaces would be supervised, required to follow social distancing measures, and would provide a safe space with a computer and an internet connection. Most importantly, they would provide a space for students whose parents cannot watch them at home to do remote learning, on days when they are not scheduled for in-person instruction at their school, or even full time if attending school requires a dangerous commute.

Coronavirus has claimed the lives of over 21,000 New Yorkers, magnified systemic racism, and blown a 9 billion dollar hole in our city’s budget.

The Mayor’s proposed budget left the NYPD budget largely intact while zeroing out services for youth, families and seniors, a budget that would rather invest in policing our children then caring for them.

Our budget has grown by $24 billion under this administration and we’ve missed an opportunity to trim more than $15 billion in fat. Before eliminating jobs and essential services, we should cut billions in corporate welfare that goes to a handful of our nation’s wealthiest corporations.

When we heard George Floyd plead “I can’t breathe” as he was murdered by police, it opened the unhealed wounds left in our city from the murder of Eric Garner.

New Yorkers took to the streets in the name of Black Lives Matter to demand that we Defund NYPD by $1 billion to invest in communities harmed by over-policing.

Since then, we have received over 125,000 emails and thousands of calls. Frankly, I’ve never seen anything like it.

As a person benefiting from white privilege, it is my responsibility to use that privilege to empower New Yorkers from all communities, particularly voices of color, black voices, and listen when they demand that we Defund NYPD.

As a member of a Council that made the mistake of adding 1,300 police officers and increasing the NYPD budget by a billion dollars, it is our responsibility to right that wrong.

When the Black, Latino, and Asian Caucus Members led our body in a bold statement with Speaker Johnson supporting cuts of at least 1 billion dollars this year, the Progressive Caucus, which I co-chair, stood in solidarity.

The cuts we are voting on today depend on a half-billion-dollar transfer of school safety agents from the NYPD to the Public Schools budget that seems like an accounting trick.

I join the Speaker and so many of my colleagues on the Budget Negotiating Team who fought so hard -- in their disappointment in a budget that fails to achieve our initial proposal.

This is not the transformative change of the NYPD that New Yorkers are demanding.

I vote no on the budget and vote yes on all other matters.

Watch the Press Conference

All New Yorkers should get a Covid-19 swab test; mobile testing site will be available at Motorgate Helix Field from Monday, June 29 to Friday, July 3 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Site was made possible with the support and advocacy of Council Member Kallos,

Roosevelt Island elected officials, and the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation

Roosevelt Island, NY (June 25, 2020) – NYC Health + Hospitals today announced the first Covid-19 testing pop-up site on Roosevelt Island. The site will be available at Motorgate Helix Field from Monday, June 29 to Friday July 3 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with a capacity to do 80 Covid-19 diagnostic nasal swab tests per day. This is the first testing site on Roosevelt Island, an island in the East River with more than 12,000 residents. The site was made possible with the support and advocacy of Council Member Kallos, Roosevelt Island elected officials, and the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation. All New Yorkers should get a Covid-19 nasal swab test. The test is free and there are no out-of-pocket fees or copays; however, patients with insurance will be asked for their insurance information.

“NYC Health + Hospitals is grateful to have such passionate advocates in every corner of this city that will support the access to important health care needs,” said NYC Health + Hospitals President and CEO Mitchell Katz, MD. “Accessible, comprehensive care for all New Yorkers is foundational to the City’s public health system, and universal Covid-19 testing is a critical tool to help stop the spread of the Coronavirus and keep the City on track to re-open.”

“The key to beating Covid-19 is testing, testing, testing; I cannot stress that enough. We need to get as many New Yorkers tested as possible and that certainly includes the 12,000 or so residents living on Roosevelt Island,” said Council Member Ben Kallos. “Thank you to NYC Health + Hospitals for working to bring this mobile facility into the island. It is our goal to get as many residents tested during these seven days, so please spread the word and make sure all your neighbors get tested if they have not done so already.”

More than 1,000 Affordable Units Built or Preserved During Council Member Kallos’ Tenure

Roosevelt Island, NY- 313 units of mixed-income apartments have opened up on Roosevelt Island as part of the City’s affordable housing lottery program for applications due on July 6th. The Riverwalk Park complex is a 21-story permanently affordable building. Preference for 50 percent of the units will be given to residents of Manhattan Community Board 8 on the Upper East Side and Roosevelt Island. This comes just days after a law authored by Council Member Ben Kallos helped the City’s Housing and Preservation Department (HPD) identify an unprecedented 2,500 affordable housing units that will be re-rented on the new Housing Connect website for New Yorkers to apply for this July.

Council Member Kallos and Hudson Related will host an announcement and information session on Tuesday, June 30th at 6 pm to educate the public on how to apply in time for the deadline on July 6th. The Riverwalk Park units are available for qualifying New Yorkers earning 40, 50, 80, 130, and 165 percent of the area median income corresponding to incomes as low as $20,298 for a one-person household to as high as $187,605 for a family of four. Rent for these apartments ranges from $506/month for a studio to $3,432/month for a three-bedroom apartment.

“We are facing an affordable housing crisis and every unit counts. Opportunities to build hundreds of units like this are few and far between and we couldn’t be prouder to bring this affordability to the Upper East Side and Roosevelt Island,” said Council Member Ben Kallos.  “The units that have opened up on Roosevelt Island will go a long way in helping rent-burdened families that apply and win. Thank you to David Kramer at Hudson Related for building this affordable housing and Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation for their partnership. I encourage anyone who qualifies living on the Upper East Side and Roosevelt Island along with the rest of the city to apply the right way.”

Over the years Council Member Ben Kallos has been instrumental in opening or preserving countless affordable housing units throughout the Upper East Side.

In July of 2019, L+M Developments announced it would be purchasing a portfolio of 2,800 New York rental apartments that were set to age out of affordability requirements. Thanks to a deal brokered with the support of Council Member and the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation, two-thirds or 1,800 of these apartments, including more than 600 on Roosevelt Island were preserved as affordable in exchange for tax breaks for L+M and Invesco the two companies that made the buy. These apartments had been developed under New York State’s Mitchell-Lama affordable-housing program but many had left the program and were no longer subject to rent restrictions. 

In May of 2019 Kallos worked with Extell Development and HPD to build 28-units of affordable housing starting with incomes of $36,858 for individuals to $96,800 for a family of six (at 70% to 80% of the area median income. The properties are located on 1768 Second Avenue at 91st Street across the street from his district office. The new buildings also offer private childcare on the ground floor operated by Alef Bet Preschool.

In August of 2018 Council Member, Kallos collaborated with supportive housing organization Win and construction companies RiverOak & Azimuth Development to open up a seven-story building located at 316 East 91st Street, which contains 17 one- and two-bedroom apartments dedicated for homeless women and children. That same year in May, Council Member Kallos also partnered with Urban Pathways to open the Howard Amron House, an 11-unit building on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. That facility houses formerly homeless individuals and offers residents supportive services like case management to encourage independence and wellness.

In February of 2018, Kallos worked with Azimuth Development and HPD to open a 21-unit residential building located at 321 East 60th Street in the Lenox Hill section of Manhattan. All of the units in the building are 100% permanently affordable to low-income households earning at or below $53,440 annually.

The Pilot Program is a Result of Years of Collaboration between Council Member Kallos, the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation, and Lyft.

Watch the Announcement

Roosevelt Island, NY- Citi Bike is coming to Roosevelt Island with brand new stations. The first stations are being installed today and throughout the week and will be home to 74 bikes as the bike share program expands to Roosevelt Island to serve its residents for the first time. In 2014 there were more requests for CitiBike in Roosevelt Island’s zip code than anywhere else in New York City, with a bikeshare pilot dating back to 2010. This was a campaign promise of Council Member Ben Kallos who has spent years working with Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation and Citi Bike now operated by Lyft to finally get wheels down.

This pilot program by Lyft, which operates Citi Bike, is part of an expansion bringing a $100 million investment to improve, strengthen and expand Citi Bike over the coming years -- doubling its current service area by thirty-five square miles and more than tripling its number of bikes to nearly 40,000. As Lyft expands its physical footprint, it is also expanding its programming to ensure Citi Bike is equitable and accessible to the communities it serves.

“Citi Bike for Roosevelt Island was one of my first campaign promises,” said Council Member Ben Kallos, whose Fifth District includes Roosevelt Island. “Now, the years of work to make this happen are paying off. I am looking forward to riding a Citi Bike on Roosevelt Island after years of working with RIOC, RIRA, and residents, through multiple owners of Citi Bike, in pursuit of this expansion. None of this would have been possible without the power of the press and a commitment to covering this and every issue by the Roosevelt Islander. From Four Freedoms to Lighthouse Park and destinations in between, Citi Bike is going to make getting around Roosevelt Island more convenient and more fun.”

This has been a multiple year long collaborative effort. Through it all, Council Member Kallos has worked with all the key figures in private industry and government to bring Citi Bike to the 12,000 residents who live on the island.

“We are so excited to bring the first Citi Bike stations to Roosevelt Island as we double the Citi Bike network in the coming years,” said Laura Fox, Lyft's General Manager of Citi Bike. “Now more than ever, Citi Bike is meeting the needs of this moment, offering New Yorkers a reliable, affordable, sustainable, fun, and socially distant way to get around. We are grateful to RIOC and Council Member Kallos for their partnership through this process and look forward to Roosevelt Island residents incorporating bikeshare into their daily lives.”
“ RIOC is proud to support this pilot program that gives our residents and visitors a convenient, environmentally responsible way to experience Roosevelt Island,” said Shelton J. Haynes, RIOC’s Acting President and CEO.

“Delighted to see that Citi Bike is finally coming to Roosevelt island! Access to various transit options is always important, but is especially welcome now as our city grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic. I thank Council Member Ben Kallos for his dedication to bringing Citi Bike to the residents of Roosevelt Island and delivering this highly requested bike sharing program to our constituents,” said Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney.

“Access to bike sharing will not only provide a green transportation option for Roosevelt Island residents, but will enhance opportunities for safe exercise and recreation during the current health emergency and in the long term. A truly successful bike share program must link together the entire city, and Citi Bike's expansion into Roosevelt Island is an important step toward ensuring equity across all neighborhoods. Thank you to Commissioner Polly Trottenberg, Lyft, Councilmember Ben Kallos and my other colleagues in government for their leadership on this issue,” said State Senator Jose Serrano.

"It is exciting to once again to have Citi Bike further its footprint on New York City by expanding into new territory," said Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer. "With residents looking for new means of travel amidst the COVID-19 crisis, Citi Bike will be a welcome addition to an island that already has unique transportation needs."

“I commend Council Member Ben Kallos for his cyclist advocacy and commitment to closing gaps in transportation and to the expansion of transportation alternatives. Roosevelt Islanders have awaited the expansion of Citi Bike to come to their part of the Manhattan Borough.  Now, more than ever, we need to help people get around outside of the confines of our buses, subways and tram cars,” said Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright. 

Kallos previously worked with Roosevelt Island Residents Association and Manhattan Community Board 8 to pass resolutions in 2012 in favor of bringing CitiBike to Roosevelt Island.

About RIOC
The Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation (RIOC) was created in 1984 by the State of New York as a public benefit corporation with a mission to plan, design, develop, operate, and maintain Roosevelt Island. With a focus on innovative and environmentally friendly solutions, RIOC is committed to providing services that enhance the island's residential community. RIOC manages the two-mile-long island's roads, parks, buildings, a sports facility, and public transportation, including the iconic aerial tramway. Additionally, RIOC operates a Public Safety Department that helps maintain a safe and secure environment for residents, employees, business owners, and visitors.

About Citi Bike
Citi Bike is New York City's bike-share system, and the largest and most popular in the nation with more than 90 million rides taken to date across more than 13,000 bikes at nearly 900 stations. Over the coming years, Citi Bike will greatly expand into new neighborhoods as Citi Bike doubles its service area by 35 square miles and triples the number of bikes in the fleet to 40,000. Annual memberships are $169 for 365 days of unlimited 45-minute rides, and New Yorkers who live in NYCHA developments or receive SNAP benefits can access Citi Bike for only $5 a month through Reduced Fare Bike Share, presented by Healthfirst. Citi Bike is now available in the Lyft app, where customers can find real-time station information and unlock bikes. Learn more at https://www.citibikenyc.com/.

Watch the Announcement

OPEN RESTAURANTS: AS NEW YORK CITY PREPARES FOR PHASE 2 OF REOPENING, MAYOR DE BLASIO ANNOUNCES OUTDOOR DINING GUIDANCE FOR RESTAURANTS

Qualifying restaurants can use sidewalk, roadways and other outdoor space to allow for social distance among customers; Mayoral Executive Order creates a new and streamlined application process to allow restaurants to expand capacity outdoors

NEW YORK—Mayor Bill de Blasio today announced guidance for the City’s Open Restaurants program, which allows qualifying restaurants and bars to expand outdoor seating on sidewalks, curb lanes, backyards, patios, plazas, and Open Streets as New York City begins Phase 2 of reopening. The City has established an expedited approval processes by allowing restaurants and bars to self-certify their eligibility for curb lane and sidewalk seating using a new, streamlined application process at NYC.Gov, which will be available starting Friday, June 19^th. The mayor codified the guidance by signing Executive Order 126.

“Restaurants are the backbone of New York City’s neighborhood culture, and they’ve done their part in slowing the spread of COVID-19. It’s our City’s turn to help them reopen safely and responsibly,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “These commonsense guidelines will help local businesses get back on their feet – and let New Yorkers safely enjoy the meal they’ve earned.”

"Cautious step by cautious step, New York City restaurants will come back and thrive again," said Council Member Ben Kallos. "The City allowing for restaurant seating on sidewalks, patios, plazas, and open streets is a smart move that will help our small businesses recover faster and push our local economy in the right direction. While ultimately the responsibility is on individuals to socially distance, get tested, wear masks, and wash our hands often, this plan will give mom and pop shops a fighting chance to come back. Thank you to Mayor de Blasio and Department of Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg for listening to suggestions and making this plan a reality in the coming days."

As we face unprecedented times and a budget that must-see painful cuts, we should look for possible waste and opportunities for revenues and savings. I have proposed $15.24 billion in potential savings and revenue for our city’s budget in order to invest $827 million in spending on programs that support children, families, seniors, and our planet that will reduce costs and generate revenues. 

New York City Rent Guidelines Board (RGB)

Public Hearing and Comment on Proposed Rules

June 10, 2020

I am Council Member Ben Kallos, representing the Upper East Side, Midtown East, Roosevelt Island and East Harlem.

Good afternoon to the Rent Guidelines Board Chair David Reiss, Public Members Joza, Schwartz, Gonzalez-Rivera, and DeRose, Owner Members Stone and Walsh, and Tenant Members Garcia and Goodridge.

To New Yorkers following online today, and especially tenants, thank you for participating in this hearing. I am proud to stand with you today.

This year, I am calling on the Rent Guidelines Board to vote for a rent rollback or -2% for one-year leases and -1% for two-year leases. If the Board does not support a rent rollback, I urge you to at least vote for a rent freeze.

While I understand that in your preliminary vote, you voted for a rent freeze for one-year leases, I urge you to consider voting for a rent rollback given the extended pain caused to tenants by the Covid-19 pandemic.

If there’s one thing we can learn from this crisis, it’s that we are all in this together. We cannot continue with a mentality that every person must fend for themselves.

Based on March and April 2020 numbers, New York State is currently seeing higher unemployment than at any time since the Great Depression, and job losses are most serious in New York City.

With a City unemployment rate of 14.2%, many New Yorkers simply cannot make rent. It is important to acknowledge that landlords, particularly small landlords, have also been affected by this crisis. However, while evictions have been delayed, rent has not been canceled, but jobs have, and we must adjust rents to reflect that.

Certain factors have made things easier on landlords as well. The 2019-2020 winter was the seventh-warmest on record, with an average temperature more than 4 degrees above the norm and only 4.8 inches of snowfall compared to an average of 21.3 inches. With the economic fallout from the pandemic, the price of crude oil dipped below $0 and has remained below $40 per barrel throughout the crisis. All of this is to say: it has been and will likely remain a relatively inexpensive time to keep New York City buildings heated—one of the major cost factors for landlords. Further, many landlords have also received mortgage relief during the crisis.

The Board’s Income and Expense report, which was not able to factor in Covid-19 impacted value, found that landlords’ Net Operating Income dipped slightly from 2016–2018. Even following this dip, however, Net Operating Income remains near an all-time high, and it has not dipped back below the record threshold of $500 that was exceeded for the first time in 2014.

As a City, we face great challenges that we must address together. High rents will cause more evictions and put more New Yorkers out on the street, adding to our unconscionably high homelessness numbers. The difference this year is that with businesses closed, the virus posing a risk to anybody who lives within the five boroughs, and many New Yorkers leaving the City, if we raise rents and cause a massive wave of evictions, it will not be easy to find new tenants for those vacant apartments.

We have to remember the lesson of this pandemic: that we are all in this together. The best way to keep New York running and rent coming in is to acknowledge the extraordinary nature of our situation and accommodate the impacted economic needs of tenants to keep them in their homes.

After two straight years of historic rent freezes, the Board has now voted for low increases three years in a row. More needs to be done to balance tenants’ rent burdens with landlord’s revenues.

Year after year, as rents go up, tenants have shouldered an undue burden. Meanwhile, income cannot keep pace; average incomes only crept up by 2.3% between 2005 and 2013 in real terms. The approved rent increases each year were largely based upon the landlord’s operating costs, measured by the price index of operating cost (PIOC). This practice not only failed to consider tenants, but was also proven to be inaccurate: based upon data from the Department of Finance (DOF), the PIOC has overstated landlord costs by 11% since 2005. This miscalculation led to unfairly high rent increases in past years, which must be corrected with a rent freeze.

Over the past six years, the Board has done a lot of work to improve this process, both by adapting the way it evaluates the data, and by expanding its public hearings to reach more tenants and landlords in more parts of the City. In 2016, the Board instituted a second hearing in northern Manhattan, and has kept up that level of accessibility since then. Thank you to the members of the Board for these changes.

This year, as New York City remains in shutdown, the Board has moved to hold its hearings on Zoom. I urge you going forward to adjust your approach to virtual hearings to accommodate more New Yorkers who want to participate. You can do this by providing interpretation at all meetings, keeping the comments section on YouTube turned on so viewers can chime in, and expand your outreach efforts to inform communities of hearing dates and how they can access them.

In establishing rent adjustments this year, we must acknowledge that, even after the freezes and low increases of the past six years, Rent Guidelines Board increases have far outpaced inflation and the consumer price index. I have compared 25 years of RGB increases to the Consumer Price Index and found that, even following recent freezes and low increases, rent increases have outpaced the Consumer Price Index by over 10%. That means a $500 a month apartment in 1994 is now a minimum of $950.00 a month with an annual rent of at least $11,400. Following inflation, that same unit would be $864.77 a month and $10,377.24 a year.[i] [JT1] 

Those increases have come with consequences. A unit is considered affordable if the rent is no higher than 30% of their household income. The median rent-to-income ratio of tenants in rent-stabilized apartment is 36.4%. By this standard, a majority of rent-stabilized tenants have units that are not affordable. The stress of financial insecurity takes a toll on New Yorkers every day.

The impact of this rent squeeze is seen in our city’s dire homelessness crisis. As of this morning 56,116 New Yorkers woke up in a shelter, having nowhere else to go.

As we seek to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, New York City is at a crossroads. If we take the path of continuing the rent squeeze, we will see more New Yorkers on the streets, and we may not even see their vacant apartments filled. If we acknowledge that we are all facing challenges together, and accommodate our city’s financially burdened tenants with a small rollback, we will keep New Yorkers in their homes and their rents on the rolls.

The time is now for a rent rollback, for the 29,000 rent-stabilized units in my district[ii] and for tenants across New York City.

As a final note, I would like to acknowledge that so much of the data, analysis, and expertise that many of us who participate in this process have relied on over the years came from Tom Waters, who died in April from what was presumed to be Covid-19. Mr. Waters was a board member and former director of Tenants & Neighbors, and the long-time housing analyst at the Community Service Society. For so many Mr. Waters provided the data that underwrote the housing movement, and in his analysis, he thought big about how to provide housing for all New Yorkers. I count myself among the many who owe a debt of gratitude to Tom Waters. Unsurprisingly, his research is cited in this testimony.

Comparison Chart of Rent Guidelines Board Orders[iii] and Consumer Price Index[iv]

14% Difference between RGB One Year Increases and Annual CPI Average