Keeping Our Dog Runs Safe
July 31, 2009
In a city where most residents lack backyards, dog owners rely on dog runs to exercise their pets. This is especially true on the Upper East Side, where Community Board 8 boasts more licensed dogs then any other neighborhood in the City. Dog runs are an oasis—they allow dogs to work off their energy and socialize while the owners become part of a tight knit community.
The Upper East Side has access to four runs, two at Carl Schurz Park and two at the East 63rd Street Esplanade. My dog, Nina, and I visit the large dog run in Carl Schurz Park at least twice a day, so I understand that it is not only important to have access to a dog run, but to ensure that the environment is safe, clean, and appropriately landscaped.
Recently, neighborhood dog owners have voiced their concerns about the surfacing at the new large dog run at the East 63rd Street Esplanade. I have heard reports that the newly installed soft surfacing has drainage problems, and that there is an excess of dirt and dust.
In response to this, I have reached out to the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation and they have assured me that Parks Department staff will soon begin the process of removing the problem surfacing to better assess the drainage issues and make necessary alternations that address the myriad of problems. The surface will then be reinstalled, and similar to the surfacing at Tompkins Square Park, it will be packed every three inches during installation to prevent any material from becoming loose and sandy.
This is a step in the right direction, and I am pleased that the Parks Department has been responsive to these community concerns.
I will continue to work on behalf of dog owners to ensure that our voices are heard and that all of our beloved pets are safe at our dog runs.
The Fight Continues Against Bloomberg’s Garbage Plan
July 29, 2009
While I was disappointed to learn of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s (DEC) decision granting the City’s permit application for a Marine Transfer Station (MTS) at East 91st Street in my district (see the end of this post for the decision in full), the fight does not end here. In the Assembly, I continue to push my bill (A.6829/S.3112) to prohibit the siting of a solid waste transfer station within 800 feet of a public housing complex. I was pleased that my bill made progress this year and was passed by the Environmental Conservation and Codes Committees. I also strongly support the Gracie Point Community Council’s plans to file an Article 78 lawsuit in State Supreme Court to challenge the validity of the DEC ruling.
There is still time to put a full stop to this madness. How can the Bloomberg administration continue to argue that this makes sense even while the Department of Education prepares for the fall opening of the new PS 151 elementary school on East 91st Street between First and Second Avenues (See “Braced for Garbage,” Our Town, June 17, 2009)? The good news for us is that the Bloomberg Administration has not budgeted for the project for the upcoming fiscal year, pushing back implementation to 2011 at the earliest. Meanwhile, in addition to the Article 78 proceedings, an earlier lawsuit filed by Gracie Point Community Council arguing that the MTS is unlawful park alienation is still pending.
This project is taking longer and costing more than anyone ever imagined. If the Mayor was truly interested in fiscal discipline and efficient government, he’d abandon this boondoggle now. Elections have consequences.
The Upper East Side and East Harlem communities have repeatedly pointed out why this location is inappropriate–for the children who play outdoors at Asphalt Green, park-goers who use Carl Schurz Park, the East Side River Esplanade and Bobby Wagner Walk, the over 40,000 residents of surrounding residential high-rises, and public housing complexes like Stanley Isaacs Houses and John Haynes Homes.
The fact remains that this neighborhood is one of the most densely populated residential areas in all five boroughs. Had there not been an MTS in this location at some point in the past, it would be illegal to site one there today. The neighborhood that the former MTS was part of was a very different one. Gone are the light manufacturing uses and warehouses that once lined the East River–this is 2009, and this is a tightly packed network of high rise residential towers, housing projects, parks, and community facilities. The fact that once upon a time there was an MTS at this location has allowed the Mayor to exploit what amounts to a loophole in the law. In the City’s application, the proposed MTS was referred to as a “reactivation” of an existing MTS. This is hogwash, and it is more than disappointing that the DEC didn’t kick the City to the curb for such transparent word-smithing.
Please check back here for updates as more on this situation develops. I am posting the DEC’s decision in full below for your convenience.
7-27-09 DEC decision on marine transfer stn
We Need an Audit of Roosevelt Island’s Public Safety Department
July 24, 2009
Last night, the Roosevelt Island Residents Association hosted a town hall meeting to discuss community concerns about the island’s Public Safety Department (PSD). The event confirmed to me the importance of developing an independent, transparent, and objective process for reviewing PSD’s effectiveness, and for processing civilian complaints about the Department.
I am working on legislation to create a version of New York City’s Civilian Complaint Review Board that will cover security forces like PSD, so that Roosevelt Islanders have the same rights as any other residents of New York when it comes to oversight of local policing.
In the meantime, I have asked New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, whose office has a sterling reputation for conducting performance audits of local governments, public authorities, and other government agencies, to conduct an audit. Roosevelt Islanders have a right to know that PSD is being held to the highest standards of accountability.
A copy of my letter is below.
7.24.09 PSD Letter to Dinapoli Final
So Where Does the Mayor Stand on 2nd Avenue Relief?
July 17, 2009
Looking south from corner of East 94th St. and Second Ave. Photo courtesy of The Launch Box.
Does the Mayor care about Second Avenue’s small businesses or doesn’t he?
Back in February, at a press conference to mark the beginning of construction on the MTA’s Number 7 train extension project, Mayor Bloomberg made a point of talking about the suffering of small business owners in the Second Avenue Subway construction zone:
“[The construction] is literally destroying every business on Second Avenue,” the mayor said at a press conference intended to show off a 100-ton cutting head that was to begin churning out the West Side extension for the 7 train.
“It is an economic disaster for the people who have stores and restaurants on Second Avenue and we have to find something to do for them.”
I am all too familiar with the disaster facing small business owners in the Second Avenue Subway project area. The new subway line will be great for New York in the long run, but the construction process is devastating the neighborhood. These small business owners are being asked to sacrifice on behalf of the public interest, and we owe it to them to find a way to help weather the storm.
This is why I sponsor legislation (A.3949/S.1393-Serrano) to provide targeted relief to small business owners, by giving their landlords an incentive to lower their rents. My bill gives property tax breaks to building owners in the construction zone if they renegotiate leases at lower rates for small business tenants. This bill gives Second Avenue’s businesses a a fighting chance, and in tough economic times it will help preserve the city’s tax base by working to prevent the shuttering of a once-dynamic commercial neighborhood.
The relief bill passed the Assembly last month, and for the second time in two years. But yesterday, Mayor Bloomberg instructed Republican State Senators to oppose the legislation, and without any GOP support, the measure could not come to a vote.
If the Mayor recognizes that the construction is an “economic disaster” for Second Avenue, and says that “something” should be done to aid the suffering businesses, why is he standing in the way of actual efforts to help?
Great News for Bank Customers on Roosevelt Island
July 13, 2009
As Roosevelt Island residents know, the island’s only bank branch, operated by New York National Bank, is set to close soon. Fortunately, Amalgamated Bank is willing to step forward to provide continued services to all current Island customers of NYNB.
I’m happy to report that we have taken a major step forward in making Amalgamated’s presence on Roosevelt Island possible. Historically, Roosevelt Island is “underbanked,” meaning that banks have chosen not to operate in the community unless they receive incentives to do so. For this reason, New York State’s Banking Department designates certain areas as “Banking Development Districts (BDD).” Under the BDD program, the State deposits public funds - up to $10 million per branch - in designated bank branches, in order to make them financially viable for underbanked communities.
As a member of the Assembly’s Committee on Banks, I worked with Committee Chair Darryl Towns to ask the State Banking Department to designate the island’s new Amalgamated branch as a BDD branch. I am thrilled to announce that on July 6, the NYS Banking Department agreed to the designation. This means that public funds will be deposited in the new Amalgamated Branch, providing the security it needs to serve as a reliable long-term bank for Roosevelt Islanders. Island residents can take comfort in having a local bank that will be around for many years to come.
Interviewed on PBS
July 10, 2009
Recently, I was featured in a lengthy interview with Dara Welles on WLIW 21’s “New York Insiders.”
We had a great conversation about what’s next for New York City’s schools, as well as Second Avenue Subway construction issues - and we also discussed broader topics like marriage equality, disability rights, the upheaval in the State Senate, and my own plans for the future.
PBS is linking things strangely, so when you click to see the video of my interview the title will read Suffolk County Legislator Steve Levy - but don’t worry, it’s me.
Now on Twitter!
July 9, 2009
I have joined Twitter!
Twitter is a great new media tool to keep track of news, friends, and interests you have. All over the world, people follow friends and news leaders most relevant to them via Twitter, taking in events as they happen. If you have a twitter account, you can follow me @micahkellner.
Justice for Joseph Holladay and All Victims of Bias Attacks
July 6, 2009
On June 28th, New York celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising, when the LGBT community drew a line against violence and oppression. On the same Sunday, one former New Yorker was apparently the victim of a brutal homophobic attack outside an apartment building on East 85th Street.
My thoughts and my very best wishes are with the victim, Joseph Holladay, as he recovers from this horrific assault. I am also determined that he should find justice, both against the perpetrators and in a society where such violence continues to take place.
I am personally outraged by this attack, not just because it happened in the neighborhood where I live, in the district I represent, but because as a New Yorker and as an American I recognize it as an assault on our shared values of dignity, security, and freedom.
It has recently come to light that this attack is part of a disturbing pattern. The suspected perpetrators may have been involved in as many as six attacks on the Upper East Side, going back as far as the end of May. Right now, three of these incidents are being looked at as hate crimes.
I will be working with the New York Police Department, as well as the Anti-Violence Project and my fellow elected officials, to ensure that the investigations into all of these assaults are vigorously pursued and the attackers are brought to justice.
Our best efforts must always vigilantly be directed towards creating a better New York in which such obscenities do not occur. I will update readers of this blog as the situation develops. I would ask my constituents to exercise caution, especially when walking home late at night.
The media has reported extensively on these incidents. For more information see the following news pieces (warning: there are some disturbing photos accompanying a few of these links): Gay Bashed on Pride Weekend on the Upper East Side (Village Voice, June 28, 2009), Number of Hate Crimes Decreased, Severity Increased (WNYC, July 2, 2009), East Side Assault Reflects Larger Trend (Gay City News, July 1, 2009), Police: Anti-Gay Hate Crimes on the Rise in NYC (CBS News, July 2, 2009), UES Attack Toll Grows (New York Post, July 3, 2009), Upper East Side Gay Bashing Epidemic? (Village Voice, July 2, 2009), Police: Upper East Side Attacks May Be Linked (NY1, July 3, 2009).
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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
