The ABCs of A Better Capital Plan for Our Schools
September 23, 2008
Councilmember Jessica Lappin and I spoke to PS 158 PTA President Erinn Deri this morning before class started to distribute postcards as part of a campaign to encourage Mayor Bloomberg and Education Chancellor Klein to give schools more capital support.
For the next few weeks I will be visiting schools throughout our communities asking parents, teachers, and concerned residents to sign postcards to Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor Klein asking them to give students the small classes they need to learn and grow.
It clear that school overcrowding is a growing problem throughout New York City and especially on the Upper East Side—and it is a problem that will not go away until the Department of Education and the Mayor take action to make a proactive change. I am a member of Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer’s Task Force on School Overcrowding. Since January, we have been working to create a comprehensive plan to submit to the City which we believe would help solve the overcrowding dilemma. This November, it is critical that the City’s new five-year capital plan for school construction take into account the projected growth in population and residential construction, especially on the Upper East Side.
To that end I am working with the Borough President to promote “The ABCs of A Better Capital Plan”. The ABCs would:
Address overcrowding and implement the city’s state-mandated class-size reduction plan: 20 students per class in K-3 and 23 in all other grades.
Be proactive and plan ahead to add school seats as neighborhoods grow.
Correct the way school capacity is calculated so the loss of art rooms and other critical spaces to overcrowding is acknowledged.
If you are interested in signing a postcard please stop by my office. Together we can ensure that the next generation of New York leaders receives the education that they deserve in schools that we can be proud of.
Nothing to Hide: Financial Disclosure Laws for Lawmakers Should be More Transparent
September 18, 2008
A cynical observer might assume that the reason I am so nonchalant about handing over unredacted copies of my financial disclosure forms to anyone who asks, including the New York Sun, who published an article today that featured my doing so (“Taciturnity is the Word on Legislators’ Pay”) is that other than my public service as an Assembly Member, I have no other income. But the fact is that it is precisely because of my elected post that I don’t have any other income. Being a legislator is a full-time gig. Most of my colleagues treat it as a full-time job, and they should.
I was a little surprised that when the Sun called around, I was the only one to comply with their request, but I strongly suspect that if they had called more than just a few lawmakers, they would have received many more forthcoming replies.
As I said in that article, there is an unfair public perception that all lawmakers are crooks or clowns, and the high-profile scandals following the exposure of the occaisonal bad apple only heightens this carictature. But for the vast majority of legislators this is simply not the case, and being more transparent about their finances would demonstrate this. I will work in the next legislative year to improve the laws around transparency. The public deserves to know when lawmakers have other jobs and how much they make from them.
A little over a week ago, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver told the Associated Press that he would be taking steps to reform ethics and disclosure rules for lawmakers next year. When I next spoke to the Speaker, I made sure to tell him that I completely supported what he said and that I looked forward to working with him on legislation to accomplish good government reforms. I will continue to update you on our progress when the legislature goes back to session in January.
Taciturnity Is the Word On Legislators’ Pay
By JACOB GERSHMAN, Staff Reporter of the Sun | September 18, 2008
While other state lawmakers are accustomed to cloaking their financial secrets behind lax disclosure laws, Assemblyman Micah Kellner stands apart.
Unlike most of his Albany colleagues, the 29-year-old Democrat of the Upper East Side has no problem providing an unredacted review of his financial disclosure forms. Not that his forms disclose terribly much: The only income Mr. Kellner earns comes from his $79,500-a-year salary as a legislator.
“I guess I’m very poor,” he said. “It’s the most depressing day having to fill out these forms.”
Other lawmakers contacted by The New York Sun, including the four legislative leaders, were not so forthcoming, refusing to make available the full versions of their annual statements.
Under rules set up by lawmakers in the 1980s, they are permitted to conceal how much outside income they earn, a practice that is coming under increasing scrutiny.
Last week’s arrest of a Queens assemblyman, Anthony Seminerio, whom federal prosecutors accuse of accepting payoffs from hospital executives in exchange for lobbying his colleagues on budget matters, has again trained a spotlight on Albany’s disclosure laws. Critics say they are too weak, allowing lawmakers to hide business interests that could potentially conflict with their public duties.
Mr. Seminerio, who maintains his innocence, established a private consulting firm to sell his services. By law, he was not required to publicly disclose the nature of his business or how much outside income he earned.
In Albany, it’s hard to find a lawmaker defending the current system. In theory, most are supportive of stricter reporting requirements. Some, including Mr. Kellner, are pressing for new resolutions or legislation, saying the Seminerio arrest has undermined their credibility.
Mr. Kellner said he is concerned that the public has a perception that lawmakers are “crooks or clowns.” For the “vast majority of us, neither of those things is true,” he said, adding that by giving the public a fuller account of their outside work, lawmakers could better make that case.
In practice, few are willing to share information beyond what the law requires. Those who are so inclined say they fear such an act of transparency would alienate their less-forthcoming colleagues.
[Click here to read more…]
Supporting Film Production, Post-Production Industry in NYC
September 17, 2008
Bobby Cannavale, an Emmy-award winning actor of ‘Will and Grace’ fame, talks about the importance of the production and post-production film and television industries. Also pictured are myself at left, Assembly Member Jonathan Bing (center), and Councilmember David Yassky (right). Photo by William Alatriste.
I may be the only New York elected official with my own Internet Movie Database (IMDb) profile. I was proud to work in college on a 2000 film called Five Feet High and Rising, which was later turned into a feature film launching the career of the movie’s director, my friend Peter Sollett. I was so proud when New York’s production tax credit helped enable Peter to film the anticipated October release, Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist in New York City. Film production located in New York City is tremendously important for our economy — but it is clear that we can and should be doing more to encourage production and post-production work.
Yesterday, I joined Councilmember David Yassky and my State legislative colleagues Assembly Members Jonathan Bing and Michael Gianaris and State Senator Martin Golden to call on the New York City Council to pass two bills introduced by Councilmember Yassky; one would expand the City’s film production tax credit and the other would create a new credit for post-production work. Our effort was reported on in today’s New York Sun.
Tax credits for the film and television industry are proven to bring jobs and help the local economy. Since New York State tripled its film production tax credit, heavy employment shooting days are up 84%. This means that more union actors have jobs. Screen Actors Guild officials say that a significant number of previously uninsured actors are now in union-sponsored healthcare programs because of the availability of these jobs in New York. According to the Mayor’s Office, the initial 5% tax credit that Councilmember Yassky achieved with his 2005 legislation has generated $600 million and over 6,000 new jobs for the City’s economy. His new production credit expansion legislation would triple this.
Equally important is post-production. As a film school graduate, I watched as many of my friends moved to Los Angeles because of a lack of jobs here in New York City. Particularly, in film and television post-production, most people don’t realize that most of the work that goes into making the movies and TV shows we love comes after the camera stops rolling — sound mixing and re-recording, foley artists, adding the track, digital effects, and more. The ripple effect of a post production tax credit encouraging that industry here would be a major boon to our local economy.
Councilmember Yassky’s post-production credit and a state-level credit (A.10689) proposed by Assemblymember Steve Englebright, which I co-sponsor, would stimulate the ripe field of post-production in New York City. New York has three major, state of the art post-production facilities, rivaling what Los Angeles has, but Los Angeles still wins 95% of all post-production jobs.
Joining us at yesterday’s press conference were actor Matt Servitto of The Sopranos, actress and writer Nancy Giles of CBS Sunday Morning and representatives from the Motion Picture Editors Guild, Screen Actors Guild, Writers Guild, Cinematography Guild, American Federation of Musicians, Theatrical Teamsters, IATSE and the Deluxe New York post-production facility.
Join Me Sunday For a Free Event for Realabilities, NYC’s First Annual Disability Film Festival!
September 12, 2008
This movie poster is for SHAMELESS: The ART of Disability, a film that is being included as part of Realabilities, the first annual New York City disabilities film festival dedicated to promoting awareness and appreciation of people with different disabilities. The festival will present award winning films in various locations throughout New York City.
As a person with a disability, I am very excited about this new festival and hope that it will bring together both people with disabilities and others in our shared community to discuss and appreciate the diversity of the human experience.
I was honored to be asked to participate in the kick-off event for the festival, being held in my district on Roosevelt Island. This is especially appropriate because Roosevelt Island is home to many people with disabilities, and as a planned community, it boasts some of the most accessible public spaces in New York City. I will participate in a discussion after the film about individual and shared societal beliefs and views about disability in today’s society.
Joining me in that discussion will be Claude Ritman (Executive Director, Coler-Goldwater Hospital) and Virginia Granato (President, Roosevelt Island Disabled Association).
I hope you join me for this free event!
Sunday, September 14
1:30 PM
Goldwater Memorial Hospital
1 Main Street
Roosevelt Island
New Survey - Wheelchair Users and Taxis/TLC Central Dispatch Program
September 5, 2008
As an advocate for a 100% accessible taxi fleet I am attempting to gauge the quality and success of the New York City Taxi & Limousine Commission’s accessible services for people with disabilities, particularly the recently instituted Central Dispatch pilot program for wheelchair accessible taxis and livery vehicles that will last for the next two years. Through Central Dispatch, wheelchair-users can now call 311 and a wheelchair accessible taxi will be sent to their location anywhere in the five boroughs. Pick ups can also be scheduled in advance.
I have created a survey just for wheelchair users that ride in taxis that can be found in the Surveys section of my website, so that you can share your experiences with me. The data collected from this survey will be made public. I ask that if you are a New York City wheelchair user that you fill out the survey every time you ride in a taxi, whether or not you use Central Dispatch for that ride.
(Photo above is from the NYC TLC website.)
