http://www.micahkellner.net Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:30:13 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Last night I delivered testimony to the Panel for Education Policy (PEP) in support of the proposal to co-locate P.S. 267, a new elementary school, in the P.S. 158 building beginning in the 2010-11 school year. This proposal represents a big victory for East Side students and their parents, ... http://www.micahkellner.net/2010/03/10/support-for-the-creation-of-ps-267/ New York could take an important step this year in improving access to hearing aids for the growing number of hearing-impaired. This week, I along with Assembly Member Jeff Dinowitz of the Bronx introduced legislation that will make it possible for patients to purchase hearing aids directly from their doctors. A ... http://www.micahkellner.net/2010/03/03/enhancing-access-to-hearing-aids/ While city life is never perfectly peaceful, New Yorkers have a right to expect that their local businesses will be respectful neighbors. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case. My office has received numerous complaints from Yorkville residents about Saloon, a bar and nightclub on York Avenue between 83rd ... http://www.micahkellner.net/2010/03/02/kellner-to-sla-revoke-saloons-liquor-license/ In these difficult economic times, it is easy to forget that there are dozens of not-for-profit organizations that could use our support. One such group is Gilda's Club, which was recently named one of nine most vulnerable charities in the city by New York magazine. Gilda’s Club was founded in ... http://www.micahkellner.net/2010/02/25/support-gildas-club-on-march-2nd/ With Governor Paterson proposing that New York’s public universities be allowed to freely raise tuition, opening the floodgates for cash-strapped colleges to hit students with big bills as they scramble to overcome cuts to tuition assistance, I have released a report showing that ... http://www.micahkellner.net/2010/02/22/taking-aim-at-digital-publishing-to-bring-down-the-cost-of-e-texts-for-college-students/ On February 1st, I was honored to be named 2010 Legislator of the Year by the NYC-Southern New York Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society at their annual meeting at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Midtown. The MS Society, an organization I am grateful to have worked with since my ... http://www.micahkellner.net/2010/02/16/micah-kellner-is-ms-society-of-nyc-legislator-of-the-year/ View more news videos at: http://www.nbcnewyork.com/video. I was horrified to learn of a situation here in Manhattan where a building superintendent who was sexually harassing tenants was discovered to be a level three sex offender. It is disgusting and unfathomable that someone who abused three children in Long Island was given ... http://www.micahkellner.net/2010/02/02/protecting-tenants-against-sex-offenders-working-in-their-buildings/ Every penny counts in today’s economy, yet many working people are overlooking an important tax credit that could put up to $5,657 in their pockets. While over 1.5 million New Yorkers claimed the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) last year, putting an average of $2,011.49 in the hands of struggling ... http://www.micahkellner.net/2010/01/29/money-in-your-pocket-the-earned-income-tax-credit-2/ Tenants protest RGB hearings in 2009. (Photo by Housing Conservation Coordinators.) For the past two years, the NYC Rent Guidelines Board (RGB) has outrageously imposed minimum, flat rent increases to tenants who have been in their apartments for longer than six years. When a tenant moves from a stabilized unit, landlords ... http://www.micahkellner.net/2010/01/28/a-huge-victory-for-tenants-in-court-case-ruling-against-unjust-rgb-rent-hike/ I am proud to congratulate Margie Smith and Michael Shinozaki on their long-awaited confirmation by the State Senate to the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation Board of Directors, as well as Dr. Kathie Grimm on the confirmation of her re-nomination. Margie, Michael, and Kathie are three of Roosevelt Island’s most ... http://www.micahkellner.net/2010/01/27/congratulations-to-new-rioc-board-members/