The Villager

BY ALEJANDRA O’CONNELL-DOMENECH | Lawmakers from both sides of the East River want the city to make part of the Ed Koch-Queensboro Bridge a walkway solely for pedestrians.

Manhattan Councilman Ben Kallos along with Queens City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer and state Senator Michael Gianaris called on the Department of Transportation to not stall any longer and turn the Queensboro Bridge’s South (Queens-bound) Outer Roadway into a walkway.

“I don’t think we need to wait, I think we need to get it done before congestion pricing,” said Kallos at a press conference held the South Outer Roadway’s entrance at 59th Street. He was joined by Van Bramer and Gianaris, along with a crowd of activists from Transportation Alternatives and Bike NY.

Currently, people crossing the bridge by foot in both directions have to share a narrow pathway on the North Outer Roadway with cyclists crossing the bridge also traveling in both directions.

On June 24, Councilmembers Ben Kallos and Costa Constantinides called on the city to declare a climate emergency as a crowd of activists waved signs and cheered on the steps of City Hall under the blistering sun.

Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping want the City Council to “cast out” Monsanto’s demonic spawn by passing Councilmember Ben Kallos’s bill banning chemical pesticides and herbicides in the city.

Young immigrant artists are getting some much needed space in an Upper East Side apartment building.

Some commercial space at the St. Tropez building on 340 E. 64th St. has officially been transformed into a new gallery by Chashama, a nonprofit organization that finds unused real estate for artist gallery and studio use. City Councilmember Ben Kallos, who funded all four of the exhibitions scheduled to occupy the gallery, has allocated a total of $80,000 to the nonprofit over the last three years.

A bill currently under consideration by the City Council could soon overhaul New York’s landmarks designation process — and potentially hand some historic buildings to developers, according to opponents.