US Army Corps of Engineers to Hold Hearing on E. 91 St MTS in September
August 22, 2008
Asphalt Green is a beautiful recreation center with outdoor athletic fields, a swimming pool, and a playground for children that is threatened by the East 91st Street Marine Transfer proposal by the Mayor.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has announced that it will hold a public hearing on the permit application submitted by the New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY) to undertake dredging and other construction work associated with the Bloomberg Administration proposed marine transfer station (MTS) for East 91st Street.
I am very opposed to the siting of an MTS at this location for a number of reasons. I have previously testified against the proposal at a hearing before the New York State Department of Environmental Protection (I’ll get that tesimony uploaded to my ‘Publications Page‘ soon). I have also introduced a bill, A.10891A, that would prohibit the siting of a waste transfer facility within near proximity to a public housing project.
The proposed MTS would be located less than 300 feet from two public housing projects - the Stanley Isaacs Houses and John Haynes Homes Towers and be situated next door to East Harlem, the asthma capital of New York City. Additionally, the MTS would subject neighborhood residents - especially children, who are most vulnerable - to the pollution from constant streams of garbage trucks, while simultaneously destroying Asphalt Green, one of the area’s only parks.
I urge everyone to come testify at this important hearing.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Public Hearing
Public Notice File Number: NAN-2008-00927-EJE
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
New York Blood Center, 310 East 67th Street
Comments are limited to 5 minutes and written testimony may be submitted until 5:00 p.m. on Monday, September 29th by mail to the New York District Corps of Engineers, Regulatory Branch, 26 Federal Plaza, Rm 1937, and New York, NY 10278-0098. Additional information can be found at http://www.nan.usace.army.mil/business/buslinks/regulat/pnotices/aug08/index.htm.
Assembly Protects Health Care Funding, Schools in Budget Negotiations
August 22, 2008
As the nation’s economic picture worsens, New York has been faced with tough choices about how to keep our fiscal house in order. Earlier this week, the legislature went into special session to find ways to reduce public spending. After difficult negotiations, the Assembly passed a bill that would limit spending by more than $1 billion over the next year and half – reducing this year’s budget by $411 million and next year’s by $600 million. On Wednesday, the revised budget was finalized and signed by the Governor.
I am proud of the tough stance the Assembly took on property taxes. The “circuit breaker” approach what we passed represents real and immediate tax relief to working- and middle-class renters and homeowners, without damaging the fiscal stability of our schools. Maintaining funds for our schools, and holding the State to the task of living up to the principles of the Campaign for Fiscal Equity court decision were major priorities for me personally, and I was proud to work with my colleagues in holding to those principles during such a difficult time.
What’s a ‘circuit breaker’? A lot of people have been asking me that question especially since I was quoted in a New York Sun article on Tuesday, saying that I support that bill (A.11838) instead of a property tax cap. The video (put out by the New York State United Teachers - NYSUT) above gives a very short answer. The union, which represents New York State teachers, has a more complete FAQ on their website.
The Assembly fought hard to ensure that the revised budget avoided deeper cuts to core health care services, like Medicaid. But there is much about the cuts that were approved, like the reductions in premiums paid to insurers (and so ultimately to doctors), that concerns me greatly. I am also disappointed by the reduction of aid to the City University of New York (CUNY). And I was dismayed that funds for accessible polling stations were chopped.
The Governor issued this press release which gives an accounting of the cuts, which are largely across-the-board 6% spending reductions, with some important excceptions. Also, here is a link to a video of the press conference held by Governor Paterson, Assembly Speaker Silver, and other leaders of the Legislature after the budget was finalized.
Opposition to 75%-88% Rent Increases for Westview & Island House on RI
August 14, 2008
This week I testified against the proposed rent determinations for Island House and Westview that would increase rents by as much as 75-88% in these buildings.
The owners of Westview and Island House have applied to the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal for permission to raise rents by as much as 75% (at Island House) and 88% (at Westview). DHCR holds hearings to give the public an opportunity to comment on the proposals. Originally these hearings were to have taken place in June, but as I blogged about then, I was able to convince DHCR to grant a 60 day extension to give tenant associations ample time to prepare for these hearings. This week I testified at two hearings (one for Island House and the other for Westview) on behalf of tenants on Roosevelt Island. Click here to go to the Publications section of this website where my testimony can be accessed.
Any rent increase like the ones proposed would be a disaster - it would drive out long-term residents and would essentially mean the end of affordable housing for much of Roosevelt Island.
Roosevelt Island was conceived as a planned community, offering affordable homes for a diverse mix of working New Yorkers. Driving up rents at two of the Island’s remaining Mitchell-Lama buildings is a betrayal of that mission and of the families who have long called the Island home. The owners’ request is especially obscene because they have failed to do their part. The owners have not tried to cut their own costs and when they were given rent increases in the past, they didn’t do with that money what they were supposed to in terms of improvements to the buildings.
Why should we trust them again?
Artists with Cerebral Palsy Display Their Photos in My Community Office
August 14, 2008
Cerebral Palsy Associations of NYS staff and photographer-clients with their families came by my community office to loan the otherwise lifeless walls their breathtaking artwork (see below!)
As many of you may know, I have cerebral palsy and issues relating to people with disabilities are very close to my heart. One organization that does fabulous work for New Yorkers is the Cerebral Palsy Associations of New York State.
When they stopped by my community office last winter and noticed my bare walls, they realized that this was an opportunity to showcase the amazing artwork by some of their clients. Today, three artists came by to present their artwork to me and it is on loan and soon to be hanging on my walls for everyone in the community to enjoy when they stop by (So, please stop by!).
Elva Monsanto presents me her artwork, a photograph taken under the Manhattan Bridge that will be on loan from CP of NYS and hung for the public to view in my community office.
By Elva Monsanto. I love photos taken in black and white, and this gorgeous pedestrian view of the bridge will hang in my office over my desk (I’m selfish that way, ask my staff!)
Anando Perez (pictured here with his mother) presents me his artwork, a photograph taken of a glass container of brightly colored candies that will be on loan from CP of NYS and hung for the public to view in my community office.
By Anando Perez. I am struck by the how well Anando captured color in this photo, particuarly the angle of the shot and beautiful play of light on the top of the glass container, make this a truly delightful piece of art.
Emiliano Perez presents me his artwork, a photograph taken of an Upper East Side street that will be on loan from CP of NYS and hung for the public to view in my community office.
By Emiliano Perez. At first I thought this photo was a double exposure. Amazingly, this is a clean shot. The flowers and toys are reflected on the window as Emiliano took this picture looking out on an Upper East Side street. Look how full of life our neighborhood is!
Kellner, Lappin Help UES Kindergarteners with School Placement after DOE Drops the Ball
August 14, 2008
Jennifer Sapienza (left) and Pankaj Jha (not pictured), two parents of UES schoolchildren, attended a press conference (the press release is available here) with Council Member Jessica Lappin and myself to draw attention to an ongoing problem with kindergarten school placements for UES families living in the PS 151 zone.
The new school year is fast approaching, and while some parents rush around for new lunchboxes, others are still waiting to find out where their children will be heading to class in September. With 19 days left to go before the big first day, a number of UES parents (the DOE says approximately 10 families) who live in the District 2 Zone 151 area were left hanging when a “computer error” by the NYC Department of Education resulted in a stressful summer.
The PS 151 school, which was closed almost 10 years ago, has never been replaced so when parents living in this zone apply for kindergarten they are entering a lottery. This year, an error resulted in a number of parents receiving letters stating that their young children had spots at PS 158, the Bayard Taylor School - but they were later told that this was an error, and no spots existed for their kids.
These parents contacted my office and Council Member Jessica Lappin’s office for help but after 2 months of phone calls with the Department of Education there was still no resolution. After we held a press conference today at least one of our parents received an email from the DOE saying that her child now had a placement secured.
But why did it have to come to this? Looking at the bigger picture, it is clear that a long-term sustainable plan must be made by the DOE to deal with the increasing and disgraceful overcrowding problem at Upper East Side schools. Obviously, an immediate plan is also necessary to help the parents in the PS 151 zone so that next year is not a repeat of this one. We need more spots for Upper East Side residents, including making better use of existing resources, planning for growth, and new school seats. I blogged awhile ago (”Kellner to DOE: PS 66 is the Solution to School Overcrowding on the UES“) about how we need a rezoning. These sorts of incidents underscore this desperate reality.
Starting Kindergarten is a particularly stressful time for the families of young children that takes a lot of adjusting to. In order to ensure a smooth transition, it is important that families have enough time to prepare for that big day. What happened to the Sapienza and Jha families was unacceptable and I will be keeping tabs on how the DOE works to ensure these sorts of problems do not cause hardships for next year’s new kindergarteners.
DHCR Proposal a Step in the Wrong Direction on ‘Phony Demolitions’
August 13, 2008
I spoke at a press conference yesterday, along with other local elected officials, including Senator Martin Connor (pictured to my left), to oppose DHCR’s regulations proposals on demolition provisions.
It is no secret that the current real estate market provides landlords with strong incentives to find ways to remove rent-regulated tenants and convert their apartments to market-rate units. My office is contacted on a daily basis by rent-stabilized and rent-controlled tenants facing harassment, denial of services, improper refusal by landlords to renew leases or acknowledge succession rights, as well as numerous other pressures brought to bear by landlords who seek to raise rents and ultimately remove their units from regulation. In this context, it is all the more vital that the NYS Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR), the watchdog for affordable housing in New York, to uphold the central principle of the Rent Stabilization Laws, which is that landlords may not evict tenants simply because they wish to charge higher rents for their apartments.
One increasingly common loophole landlords seek to exploit in order to rid their buildings concerns what we have come to call “Phony Demolitions.” The law grants landlords the right to refuse to renew leases when an owner intends to demolish the building. Increasingly, landlords have tried to convince courts that “demolition” includes cases where an apartment is merely gut renovated.
Phony demolitions represent an assault on affordable housing in New York, and an assault on the principles of the Rent Stabilization law. They reduce the stock of housing available to low- and middle-income New Yorkers, they upend families without justification, and they damage the public’s confidence in the government’s commitment to upholding the principles of rent stabilization.
In the past few years, tenant leaders and elected officials have called on DHCR to remove any ambiguity about the legal definition for “demolition” by updating the Rent Stabilization Code to clearly define it as razing a building to the ground.
Today, DHCR held a hearing on new regulations, but unfortunately what they propose is a step backward from any common-sense definition. The new language would allow landlords to evict rent-stabilized tenants in order to perform a “complete gutting of all interior space in the building.”
This change would essentially give property owners a green light to continue this abuse. I testified at the hearing today and urged DHCR not to approve these regulations because of their potential to undermine affordable housing in New York.
I asked them to instead adopt the common-sense definition as well as to guarantee tenants the right to a hearing when a landlord files a demolition application. Longstanding DHCR policy affirmed such a right, but a policy change during the Pataki administration eliminated this crucial guarantee of due process.
Also at issue is what happens to tenants in buildings that are demolished. Right now, tenants receive an inadquete stipend as compensation, but the proposed changes to the stipend have a complex formula based on “the mean registered rent of the zip code of the housing accommodation proposed for demolition.” DHCR has not clarified how such a figure would be calculated, and until they do, it’s hard to judge what this means.
But ultimately it is the stipends themselves that are the problem. They require landlords to provide minimal compensation for a limited period of time – eventually, leaving tenants to fend for themselves in an increasingly difficult real estate market. All this does is postpone the date when tenants will no longer be able to afford to live in their own neighborhoods. It’s a system, if anything, that encourages a vicious circle.
When I testified today, I told DHCR that I think the stipend should be eliminated and instead owners should be required to relocate their rent-stabilized tenants to similarly-sized apartments, in the same neighborhood, at comparable rents. If a new apartment is not rent-stabilized, DHCR should require landlords to ensure that the relocated tenants are contractually guaranteed the same rights as those provided under rent stabilization.
Surveys, Publications now on MicahKellner.net
August 5, 2008
I’ve introduced two important new features to this blog. The first is the ‘Publications‘ page, in which (slowly but surely) I am uploading all of my testimony, reports, press statements, and even some key letters that I have written so that you can see what I’m up to.
I’ve also created a new ‘Surveys‘ page. Knowing your opinion makes all the difference when I have to make key decisions. The current survey posted is specifically geared towards residents of Roosevelt Island regarding transportation issues. If you live on Roosevelt Island, I hope you will take the survey (the newsletter I am sending out in early September will also have the survey on the back page).
I also put up a link to the report that I wrote based on the results of my 2007 Congestion Pricing survey. Look out for more surveys to come and never stop sharing your thoughts and ideas.
$250K for New Computers at the Ella Baker School
August 5, 2008
The Ella Baker School is an incredible K-8 elementary located in the Julia Richman Education Complex on East 67th Street in my district. Every time I have visited Ella Baker, I have been struck by the high quality educational environment that the school provides to our children.
When Principal Laura Garcia wrote to ask for help in securing funds for purchasing multimedia PC labs and science carts and to upgrade obsolete computer hardware, I made this request my highest priority.
Part of the purpose of the new equipment is also to allow parents to learn more about computers during monthly workshops so that families are able to be partners in their children’s education.
Having the latest technology available for elementary students is not an option in the 21st century – it is a basic requirement for providing a modern and competitive education. I am very proud to have been able to secure $250,000 in state funds for computers and multimedia equipment for the Ella Baker School.
Kellner to DOE: PS 66 is the Solution to School Overcrowding on the UES
August 1, 2008
One of the problems I hear about almost more than almost any other is overcrowding in our public schools.
On the Upper East Side, 5 out of 6 elementary schools were over capacity during the previous school year. This problem is further reflected by the fact that 3 of the most overcrowded schools are located near the former PS 151, which was closed in 2000 without an appropriate plan to relocate its students.
Students in the PS 151 zone still do not have a zoned school, making the surrounding schools, which are already bursting at the seams, even more overcrowded. The families of these students are also placed in the unfair and stressful position of not knowing where their children would be placed until late May.
Community School District 2, which includes the Upper East Side, must be rezoned (see the June 4th NY Sun article on the subject: “Klein Eyes the Rezoning of City School Districts,” ) so that the New York City Department of Education (DOE) can get a clearer picture of the needs of Upper East Side students and families.
Rezoning District 2 will enable the DOE to redraw the map—thereby creating school zones which reflect the growth in student populations. Students in the PS 151 zone will no longer be left hanging at the end of the school year while they wait to find out where in New York City they were placed. Students in zones that already have schools will be redistributed more evenly so that existing schools can better handle class sizes. Rezoning would also force the DOE to take a hard look at District 2 and see where new schools are best utilized. However, rezoning by itself will not be effective without creating more elementary and middle schools to respond to capacity needs. As more and more people move to New York City, the needs of their children and the children who already reside here are being overlooked. A plan must be formulated that relieves existing school overcrowding while simultaneously planning for the future.
One specific way to solve the problems facing District 2 is to reclaim PS 66, presently housing Richard Green High School. The high school could be moved to another location. When this is completed, PS 66 could then be rezoned to accommodate the students who formerly attended PS 151, while relieving overcrowding from our other neighborhood elementary schools. This solution has the potential to be implemented quickly and with little interruption to Richard Green’s students and those being relocated to PS 66 if done in a transparent and coordinated manner. I have repeatedly called on the DOE to look into this scenario as a possibility, most recently at a meeting with Chancellor Joel Klein in August, and I believe he recognizes this as a serious possibility for a long-term solution.
We should also be looking for creative opportunities to build new schools. For instance, when the City negotiates with developers who are seeking zoning variances for a more lucrative development, these developers should be asked to provide classroom space in their buildings. For example, in recent dealings with New York Presbyterian Hospital, I have urged the City to negotiate to win two floors dedicated to a new public elementary school in the their proposed development on East 69th Street.
In July and August, I, along with other East Side elected officials, met with the DOE to stress the importance of reducing overcrowding in District 2 on both an immediate and long-term basis. I will continue to press the DOE for a rezoning and a plan to add additional classroom seats to our district.
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My community office is here to help you.
315 East 65 Street
New York, NY 10065
Tel 212-860-4906
Fax 917-432-2983
Email KellnerM@assembly.state.ny.us
