New York County Politics

Kallos Announces Launch of Pre-K Dual Language Programs

Council Member Ben Kallos

Last Wednesday, Council Member Ben Kallos (D-Yorkville, Lenox Hill) announced the launch of two French dual language at a Pre-K center in his district.

The center, located at 355 East 76th St., will use a side-by-side instructional model; each class will feature two Early Childhood- certified teachers, one of whom will be fluent in French. Kallos conceived the idea last December, when he hosted a petition urging the New York City Department of Education (DOE) to establish a French dual language program for School District 2. His petition accumulated 200 signatures from parents.

“I hear so many languages spoken in my district from every corner of the world and now we are working with the Francophone community to address a need in the neighborhood as we hope to increase the overall diversity of our schools,” said 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.”

Kallos, Maloney Cut Ribbon on $212K Worth of Renovations at Eleanor Roosevelt High School

Council Member Ben Kallos

Last Friday, Council Member Ben Kallos (D-Yorkville, Lenox Hill) and U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens) cut the ribbon at Eleanor Roosevelt High School, to celebrate the completion of renovations and upgrades to the school’s library and resource center.

Kallos facilitated the project with the allocation of $212,000 in funding out of his discretionary budget. The center was provided with new LED lighting, new flooring and new podcasting equipment, among other upgrades.

“High school libraries should be modern and welcoming places where students are comfortable and it is easy to learn,” said Kallos. “Funding education initiatives has been a priority of mine since I got into office. I am proud to have allocated these funds because I know they will have a positive impact on the students that attend Eleanor Roosevelt High School.”

Kallos, Holden Propose Bill to Create New Office of Technology

Council Member Ben Kallos

Council Members Ben Kallos (D-Yorkville, Lenox Hill) and Robert Holden (D-Queens) have authored a bill to create an Office of Technology and Digital Services in New York.

The office would compete for city technology projects and help support advances in agency technology, among other duties. The City would nominate a Chief Technology Officer (CTO) to preside over the office.

“We need to bring city government into the 21^st century with tech officers embedded in every agency who can solve old problems by building new technology quickly,” said Kallos. “New York City’s new Chief Technology Officer can use a platoon of Tech Officers to modernize the government from the inside out to better serve our city.”

Senator Elizabeth Warren delivered a stirring speech at a packed rally in New York last Monday.

The rally took place in Washington Square Park, a block away from the site of 1911’s Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. Warren used the fire as a cautionary tale about what happens when we let corporate interests dictate governmental policy. She claimed that history is repeating itself, as our government is still beholden to massive industries, from the oil companies to the gun lobby to big pharma.

“Everybody knew about these problems, but the fat profits were making New York’s factory owners rich,” said Warren. “Instead of changing conditions at the factories, the owners worked their political connections. They made campaign contributions and talked with their friends in the legislature. They greased the state government so thoroughly that nothing changed. Business owners got richer, politicians got more powerful, and working people paid the price. Does any of this sound familiar?”

What’s the best way to get rid of rats? According to Caroline Bragdon, director of neighborhood interventions and pest control services for the Department of Health, the answer isn’t brute force but firm persuasion.

“What we talk about in neighborhood rat management is controlling them at the places they need to survive,” said Bragdon. “Many times in New York, when we get complaints, people want us to spray them, they want us to bomb them, they want us to nuke the place. But they’re gonna keep coming back unless the conditions that attracted them are removed or addressed.”

City Council Member Ben Kallos (D-Yorkville, Lenox Hill) got a little emotional when he stood up to testify at a recent hearing on zoning loopholes. By his account, the jogs he takes with his infant daughter at Central Park are becoming less and less enjoyable, as the surrounding architecture casts a larger and larger shadow over the park.

“Objects to the south cast a shadow, at least in this hemisphere, to the north,” said Kallos. “I go running with my daughter; she’s in a jogging stroller. And when I take her jogging in the afternoon, when I finally get to do it, it’s dark in the southern part of the park, particularly in the winter months when it gets cold. And she gets cold, and so we have to stay away from the southern end of the park, because it’s starting to be very, very dark and very, very cold.”