Take the GO GREEN! Challenge
October 17, 2008
In the following weeks, I will be distributing free tote bags to constituents at street fairs, greenmarkets, and outside grocery stores. The idea behind the campaign is to promote the use of durable reusable bags for grocery trips and other shopping needs instead of using plastic bags.
The average family uses 60 plastic bags in only four trips to the grocery store. These American-made (the company is Fabriko) Eco-Spun Recycler Tote Bags I am distributing are made from 100% recycled plastic bottles, a material known as PET. PET is considered the greenest material on the planet today and regularly using just one of these bags for daily shopping can eliminate over 1,000 plastic bags from entering our waste system.
My great hope is that my campaign will begin to raise awareness about alternatives to plastic bags. Single-use plastic bags accumulate and persist on our planet for up to 1,000 years. In New York City, they comprise about 2.87% of our residential waste stream, and they are our largest source of plastic waste – and plastic bags are among the 12 items of debris most often found in coastal cleanups. To read more about this issue, I highly reccomend the website ReusableBags.Com.
My GO GREEN! CHALLENGE comes just after New York City’s Local Law 1, the Plastic Carryout Bag Recycling Law, came into effect on July 23rd, 2008. This new city law requires stores across the City to establish in-store recycling programs for plastic bags and film plastic, such as plastic wrap, dry cleaning bags and newspaper bags. The law applies to stores that use plastic bags and occupy 5,000 or more square feet or have more than five branches operating in New York City. Stores are also required to sell reusable bags.
Introduced just over 25 years ago, the world consumes an estimated 500 billion plastic bags annually (almost 1 million per minute). According to the EPA, over 380 billion plastic bags, sacks and wraps are consumed in the U.S. each year. Four out of five grocery bags in the US are now plastic. Plastic bags don’t biodegrade, they photodegrade—breaking down into smaller and smaller toxic bits contaminating soil and waterways and entering the food chain when animals accidentally ingest them.
I will also be exploring policy avenues to have an even larger impact. Using reusable bags needs to rise to the level of a social imperative, and I think it will, once people realize how simple it is to make such a big difference. A good example is Ireland. That country introduced a new tax in 2002, requiring customers to pay at the register if they wanted to use a plastic bag. Within weeks, use of plastic bags dropped by 94% as the Irish began to adjust to carrying tote bags to the store. Now using a plastic bag is socially unacceptable in Ireland. People are just more aware.
Feel free to stop by my office at 315 East 65th Street during business hours Monday to Friday, 10 am to 5:30 pm to get your free tote bag (while supplies last). Go Green!
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.
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.
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.
$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.
Waste Transfer Station Bill Update
June 12, 2008
As New York City pursues its Solid Waste Management plan, it is important to ensure that waste transfer facilities are not located in areas where they will cause undue harm to nearby economically disadvantaged neighborhoods, which have been shown to have higher asthma rates than other communities. Tthe City has proposed to construct a massive marine transfer station (MTS) at East 91st Street along the East River. The proposed MTS would be located less than 300 feet from two public housing projects - the Stanley Isaacs Houses and John Haynes Homes Towers. 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.
Pictured here is the proposed site of a marine transfer station slated by Mayor Bloomberg for activation less than 600 feet away from two public housing projects. Photo taken from Gracie Point Community Council’s website.
Last month, I introduced a bill (A.10891A) that would prohibit the sighting of a solid-waste transfer station or facility within 600 feet of a public housing project, so that the City’s garbage management efforts do not unfairly burden communities that are already under-served. Senator Ruben Diaz, Sr. is sponsoring this legislation in the State Senate ( S.8168A).
I am pleased to report that yesterday the bill was unanimously reported out of the Assembly’s Environmental Conservation Committee. We are now one step closer to ensuring that a garbage station does not destroy our community.
New Legislation to Support Second Avenue’s Small Businesses
June 12, 2008
I’m a big supporter of the Shop 2nd Avenue campaign and its mission. Visit their website to find out more.
On May 5, I introduced A.10924 a bill to ease the burden of subway construction on Second Avenue’s hard-working small business owners. My bill is designed to help small businesses by offering property tax relief to landlords who agree to sign or re-negotiate reduced-cost leases for their small business commercial tenants. Senator José Serrano is sponsoring this bill in the State Senate.
I’m also proud to co-sponsor legislation (A.10594/S.8154) introduced by my colleagues, Assembly Member Jonathan Bing and Senator José Serrano, which would create an economic development grant program to provide financial and technical assistance to small businesses in the affected area.
The Second Avenue Subway will bring tremendous benefits to the East Side (and to the whole metropolitan area) in the long run. But during the lengthy construction period - which will last well over two and a half decades - residents, business, and property owners within the affected area will suffer. Already, small business owners along Second Avenue between 91st and 96th Streets have seen dramatic losses in business since construction began, as they face torn-up sidewalks, impeded pedestrian access, lost signage, revoked sidewalk café licenses, and interruptions in utility service.
These business owners have worked hard to overcome such challenges, and I’m proud to support their Shop Second Avenue campaign, which highlights all the many wonderful stores and restaurants Second Avenue has to offer. But I also believe that, since these New Yorkers are making a sacrifice for the betterment of the East Side and the entire region, it is important that New York State lend a helping hand.
Latest Crane Accident Reveals Need for Buildings Reforms
June 12, 2008
I am pictured attending a press conference organized by Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer in response to the most recent crane collapse at 333 East 91st Street in my district on May 31.
This tragedy and the subsequent arrest of the city’s head crane inspector on bribery charges reveals that the City has yet to address the ongoing construction safety crisis. I have reviewed the Department of Building’s public records for 333 East 91st Street and I am angry to discover that 23 complaints were made by New Yorkers who called 311 to express their concern about safety at this worksite in the last year. New Yorkers are always being told, “If you see something, say something.” These 23 New Yorkers did their civic duty, but their government failed them.
The change in leadership at the New York City Department of Buildings was a good first step, but it’s not enough. In April, the Assembly Committee on Cities, of which I am a member, held a joint hearing with the Committees on Codes and Housing, to examine the power, duties, and accountability of New York’s construction authorities. At that hearing, I questioned Acting Commissioner Robert LiMandri about the events surrounding the tragic crane collapse at 400 East 67th Street, as well as the Department’s processes and procedures for enforcing safety violations in general.
It is all too clear that serious reforms are necessary and overdue. Assembly Member Joe Lentol, introduced a bill (A.11074) that I am a sponsor of that would split the Department of Buildings into two separate departments – so that the people that approve a project and those that are responsible for issuing buildings violations are not the same. Particulary after these last few months, New Yorkers are rightfully suspicious of Buildings Inspectors. For too long, the proverbial fox has been guarding the chicken coop. It’s far past time to change the way the City does business so that safety and enforcement become higher priorities.
An Outrageous Lack of Accountability: Taking Action to Improve Construction Safety
April 24, 2008
The horrifying death of a young construction worker at 400 East 67th Street comes at a time when problems with construction safety in New York have reached crisis proportions. The building site where the incident occurred had an astounding 38 open ECB violations, of which 36 were Class A – the most serious.
This building site should have been shut down long before the accident happened. No construction should have been allowed until all the serious violations were cured. The New York City Department of Buildings must answer for this appalling failure of oversight. I am outraged by the lack of accountability at this site and at construction sites citywide. The Department of Buildings needs more inspectors, but inspections alone are meaningless without vigorous enforcement. We should not have to wait for more tragedies to occur before this lesson is learned.
This accident, along with the recent crane collapse tragedy on 51st Street, has highlighted the urgent importance of ensuring better oversight of construction sites in New York City. I have joined with Borough President Scott Stringer to help implement Borough Construction Watch, which will work with community leaders around Manhattan to improve accountability from construction firms and city agencies, to help prevent such disasters from occurring again.
