Opposition to Dept. of Education Rezoning Proposal
December 14, 2009
The Upper East Side has faced a steadily worsening overcrowding crisis for the past several years. Schools have been forced to convert art rooms, libraries, and even closets into instructional space to keep pace with rising enrollments. A number of new school projects on the Upper East Side are already or will soon be coming to fruition. These new seats should help ease the space crunch. The District 2 Community Education Council (CEC) and New York City Department of Education (DOE) rightfully understand that rezoning will be needed in order to make effective use of the new school capacity that is becoming available.
However, I do not believe that the DOE’s proposal for the space at PS 158 that will become available after East Side Middle School relocates is appropriate.
The bottom line is that the proposals put forth by the DOE create a school that is simply too big. On the East Side, we are fortunate enough to have supportive, nurturing schools of reasonable sizes. Creating a mega-school in the PS 158 building would be detrimental both to the existing PS 158 community and to the students who would be rezoned to attend the school.
Research from both the Brookings Institute and the Center for the Study of Teaching and Policy found that student learning tends to diminish in schools that enroll over 800 students. In addition, it becomes significantly more difficult to build the sense of community that is the hallmark of successful schools in a school of more than 1,000 students.
I, along with Council Member Jessica Lappin and Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer, wrote to the CEC to urge it to reject the rezoning proposal and instead adopt a plan to incubate a new elementary school, with its own zone, at the PS 158 site. You can download a copy of that letter from the Publications section of this website.
Kill the Drill: Protect New York City’s Drinking Water
November 10, 2009
It is difficult to overemphasize the importance of the New York City Watershed to the
City and State of New York. The Watershed is the largest unfiltered drinking water supply in the
nation, providing 1.3 billion gallons of affordable, high-quality drinking water daily to more
than 9 million consumers in New York City — half the population of the entire state of New
York.
I testified before the Department of Environmental Conservation today at a public hearing on the Draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement on Gas Development in the Marcellus Shale. (My testimony is below.) In my testimony, I opposed any move to allow natural gas drilling in the Watershed, and I have called upon the Department to issue a moratorium on drilling and am a co-sponsor of A.8748, which would set strict standards for protecting drinking water throughout the state, and prohibit drilling in and around the watershed.
The Department of Environment Conservation has extended the public comment period
related to this application until December 31st. Clean water is one of our most precious resources, and the extension of the public comment period is an important step in assuring that decisions regarding drilling in the Marcellus Shale will not be rushed. I encourage everyone to express their opposition through the comment submission process. As a member of the Kill the Drill Coalition, I urge you to visit Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer’s Kill the Drill webpage to find out other things you can do to make the call for environmental justice issue known and heard.
11.10.09 DEC Testimony Re SGEIS Opp to Drilling in Marcellus Shale
Two Kellner Bills Pass Assembly
May 13, 2009
If you haven’t noticed, the Bills section of this website has been updated to include all of my 2009 bills, and now that the budget has passed, I am very busy working on moving my legislative agenda forward. To that end, I was very pleased that two of my bills passed the Assembly, both unanimously, on Monday.
The first was passed as part of the Assembly’s annual observance of Legislative Disabilities Awareness Day, where we passed a comprehensive legislative package aimed at ensuring that people with disabilities receive the same opportunities that all New Yorkers expect and deserve. A.3954 would establish the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Riders’ Council for People with Disabilities to study and investigate all aspects of the day-to-day operations of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and its subsidiaries, monitor its performance, and make recommendations to improve its operations with respect to people with disabilities.
One of the most important ways we can begin to address the lack of representation of people with disabilities is to make sure that people with disabilities are on the board of the MTA itself. In 2006, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer published “The State of Repairs: An Examination of Elevator and Escalator Maintenance and Repairs in New York City’s Subway System.” Stringer concluded that while the MTA does have the New York City Transit Riders Council, “they are not charged with the specific responsibly of representing the needs of disabled riders. And while the MTA has an ADA Compliance Coordination Committee, it is informal and not comprised of appointed members. A legislatively-mandated body representing disabled riders is needed to ensure the issues of the disability community are identified and addressed.” This is exactly what my bill will do. The bill now goes to the Senate where Senator Tom Duane is the lead sponsor.
The second bill that passed on Monday also touches on an issue close to my heart. A.3956 requires the State Office of the Aging to do an annual report to assess the needs of and delivery of services to traditionally underserved populations and to provide technical assistance to organizations that provide services to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) senior populations.
As our senior population continues to explode in number, it is incredibly important that we address the needs of marginalized communities as they age. LGBT seniors, in particular, often lack social and familial support networks that are more commonly available to non-LGBT seniors. LGBT seniors are twice as likely to live alone as compared to heterosexual seniors, and more than four times as likely to have no children. These seniors face stigma from many senior care providers who might not consider that their older clients may be LGBT. As a result, LGBT seniors may be as much as five times less likely to access needed health and social services because of fear of discrimination. Since disease prevention strategies tend to ignore LGBT seniors, and HIV trials generally do not include older participants, LGBT seniors may also face greater health risks. Additionally, same-sex couples have less access to financial benefits as compared to heterosexual married couples. A surviving same-sex partner, for example, will be denied social security benefits and be required to pay taxes on the transfer of assets upon the death of a partner. The bill now heads to the Senate, where Senator Tom Duane is the lead sponsor.
VIDEO: New Bill Prevents MTA from Raising Access-A-Ride Fare to $5
March 9, 2009
Video of Sunday, March 8th press conference announcing paratransit fare equity legislation with Sen. Tom Duane, Comptroller Bill Thompson, and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer. Advocates representing the following groups also attended: United Spinal Association, United Cerebral Palsy of NYC, MS Society of NYC, Disabilities Network of NYC, Disabled in Action, Brooklyn Center for Independence of the Disabled, and the 504 Democratic Club. (Note: Some additional video footage of advocates speaking was unplayable; my apologies!)
When the MTA began operating Access-A-Ride in 1993, during the Dinkins Administration, they signed a written agreement with the City of New York promising never to raise the fare above what they charged regular mass transit users. This fall, the MTA decided to break that covenant and put forward a proposal to charge Access-A-Ride users double what they have proposed to charge everyone else. Right now, when someone with a disability uses Access-A-Ride, they pay $2; the same as when someone takes the subway or rides the bus. If the MTA has their way, straphangers will be paying up to $2.50 — a burden enough for the larger New Yorker riding public — but people with disabilities who rely on Access-A-Ride are expected to pay $5.
This is discrimination, plain and simple. Unbelievably, it is 2009 and a public agency is singling out a class of people and saying, “You should pay more based on who you are.” If this was being done to people based on their race or their gender there would be widespread outrage. But sadly, discriminatory attitudes towards people with disabilities are so deeply ingrained in our society that people still need to be reminded that it is wrong.
This week, Senator Tom Duane and I are introducing legislation to force the MTA to keep their word about treating people with disabilities fairly. Our bill prevents any transportation authority in New York State from raising paratransit fares higher than what they charge regular transit users.
It is sad that this is necessary. At the MTA’s budget hearings we saw hundreds of wheelchair users and other people with severe disabilities braving a difficult commute to tell the MTA that a $5 fare would sentence them to isolation. Articulate and passionate advocates stood before the MTA Board and reminded them of the contract they made with the City of New York and admonished them to keep their word. But the MTA hasn’t changed its mind; instead, it has dug in its heels and decided to balance their budget on the backs of the riders who can least afford it.
We will not allow this to happen. As a person with a mobility impairment myself, and as a legislator, I will not sit back and watch the MTA implement a fare structure that discriminates against a class of New Yorkers. New York has a proud tradition of equality and opportunity for all, and together we can ensure that this continues. We will not allow the MTA to use this fiscal crisis to leave the frail elderly and riders with disabilities stranded.
The New York Post ran an article (”Don’t Hike Disabled Fares: Pols” 3/7/09) about this legislation last weekend.
Join me for the Lenox Hill Democratic Club’s Membership Recruitment Event
February 23, 2009
One of the most common questions I get asked is what regular people can do to get more involved in local politics. There are lots of different ways to get involved, and most involve joining - joining your community board, your PTA, a block association, or your local political club. On the Upper East Side, the Lenox Hill Democratic Club has long been an important organization fighting for progressive politics and responsive government in our community.
So if you’ve ever wanted to get more engaged in local politics, now is the time to get your feet wet. I hope you will join me at the Lenox Hill Democratic Club Membership Recruitment Event this Thursday, February 26th at Rathbone’s (1702 Second Avenue @ 88th Street) from 6:30 to 8:30 pm. I will be attending along with Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, Comptroller William Thompson, Jr., Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, State Senators Liz Krueger and Jose Serrano, and Council Members Jessica Lappin and Dan Garodnick.
This is a great opportunity to talk politics and meet new people. All are welcome and there will be free food and drinks. To RSVP or if you have any questions, please email LHDCevents@ymail.com.
Get involved and be a part of change in 2009!
Opposition to Eastwood Submetering Scheme
February 9, 2009
It was standing room only as Eastwood residents packed the Chapel of the Good Shepard Church for an emergency community organizing meeting last Saturday.
Last fall the residents of the Eastwood complex on Roosevelt Island were informed by their management company, Urban American, that management was applying to the New York State Public Service Commission (PSC) for the building to be converted to submetered electricity. Submetering, as opposed to mastermetering, is when tenants are billed individually for their unit’s electrical usage rather than the landlord.
From the get-go, I was skeptical that a 33-year-old building with a baseboard electric heating system, energy-inefficient appliances, faulty thermostats, and a host of other issues, could establish a submetering scheme that wouldn’t result in a de facto massive rent increase that prices families out of their homes. However laudable the environmental goals of submetering, it doesn’t always make sense. In order for submetering to result in cost-savings and energy conservation, tenants need to be able to have the tools to conserve electricity. This is simply not possible in a building like Eastwood.
It was for these reasons that I requested two months of sample billing be sent to residents prior to the start of actual billing. What we have seen since those bills began to arrive last week is alarming. Bills totalling $600, $700, $800, $900, and even $1000 are not uncommon - for all unit sizes.
This morning, the New York Times published an article about this issue and in it Douglas Eisenberg, CEO of Urban American is quoted as saying the following:
“I think that changing one’s habits is a difficult thing to do, and this really takes people being proactive about saving energy[…] A lot of these residents have lived in this building a long time. They haven’t been responsible for their electric bills. Now they are. I think at the end of the day, I feel pretty good that we’re doing the right thing here.”
I am fairly offended by these remarks, as I am sure Eastwood tenants are. If I ran every appliance in my apartment 24-hours a day for a month, I doubt I could match most of the electric bills that Eastwood residents are facing. Electric baseboard heating is simply the most inefficient system you can have in a building like this. And what’s worse is that Douglas Eisenberg knows this. His company has been paying this electric bill since they bought the building, and now they don’t want to do that anymore. Blaming the tenants and accusing them of being wasteful is a low-ball move and it’s not fooling anyone.
I have only seen two bills so far, out of hundreds, where the rent reduction covers what was approved by the PSC, and most tenants are many hundreds of dollars away from that mark. If you are an Eastwood tenant and you have not yet faxed me a copy of your sample bill, please do so. My fax number is 917-432-2983.
One piece of good news to report is that through my negotiations with the NYS Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR), the rent reduction schedule will be improved slightly. DHCR is responsible for setting the amounts for Section 8 tenants based on a strict interpretation of federal HUD regulations. (And the rent reductions for Section 8 tenants were applied to all tenants.) However, the initial calculations by DHCR assumed a lower dollar per kilowatt/hour amount than what tenants are actually going to be charged by Con Edison (14 cents per kwh as opposed to 18 cents per kwh). The new rent reduction rates can be accessed by clicking here, and while they do not solve the problems tenants are facing, I am pleased that DHCR has taken the step to review their calculations in order to ensure that tenants are at least given what they are entitled to under the law.
Despite this small victory, I do not believe that Eastwood is an appropriate candidate for submetering, under any rent reduction scheme. Having now viewed the sample bills, I, along with my colleagues (Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, Borough President Scott Stringer, State Senator Jose Serrano, and Council Member Jessica Lappin) wrote to the Public Service Commission and petitioned for the Eastwood submetering application to have a re-hearing so that a number of factors that may have been initially overlooked may be examined more closely.
***UPDATE*** The Public Service Commission has granted my request for a stay of submetering and the landlord’s application is now in a re-hearing process. Tenants at Eastwood have until April 1st to submit comments to the PSC on the application itself. Please contact my office for more information at 212-860-4906.
Fighting for the Rights of People with Disabilities
January 17, 2009
As many of you know, advocating on the issues that impact people with disabilities is very important to me. Last week was very busy on the disabilities rights front, and I wanted to give a brief update about what I’ve been up to.
On January 14th, I testified at the MTA hearing in Manhattan in opposition to the fare hikes and service cuts being proposed. I urged to give the state legislature and the federal government the time we need to come up with the funds that are needed. Paramount in my testimony was my opposition to fare hikes proposed for Access-A-Ride riders. While the MTA is considering raising the fare for those straphangers who are physically able to use the regular mass transit system by as much as 50% (from $2 to as much as $3), they are asking riders with disabilities to absorb an outrageously disproportionate fare increase of as much as 300% (from $2 to as much as $6).
Affordable and accessible transportation is a lifeline for people with disabilities and the frail elderly. 64% of Access-A-Ride users have total household incomes at less than 250% of the federal poverty level. It is a matter of simple mathematics. The many riders who depend on Access-A-Ride will literally be unable to leave their homes under this proposed fare structure. My testimony can be found in the Publications area of my website.
I am pictured here with Paul B. Feuerstein, Board Chair of the Disabilities Network of NYC and President/CEO of Barrier Free Living
(left) and Lawrence Carter-Long, Executive Director of DNNYC (right). Note: We are standing in front of the VISIONS banner, the organization which hosted the meeting. VISIONS is a tremendous organization serving and advocating for people who are blind or visually impaired.
I had the great pleasure of addressing the Disabilities Network of New York City at their visioning meeting on January 15th. This is a truly diverse organization representing people with physical, vision, and hearing disabilities. The community gathering’s purpose was to determine the shared vision for advocacy goals of DNNYC. I delivered welcoming remarks at the event. Here is a brief snippet of those remarks:
As someone with a mobility disability myself, I understand from firsthand experiences the myriad of challenges that people with disabilties face. We need to ensure that all New Yorkers have access to transportation options that serve them and the MTA and the TLC won’t do this without our continued advocacy and creative thinking. We need to ensure that all New Yorkers have access to affordable, comprehensive, and quality health care. And this will not happen without our vigilance and persistence. The secret of effective politics is participation. That’s it. And is must come from people with disabilities in order for our issues to be at the forefront. It is the task and the responsibility of everyone here to make your voice heard by those that represent you, be they in City Hall, Albany or Washington, DC.
We are not an insignificant minority that can brushed aside. We are 20% of the general population and the attention the media has given to our issues while increasing, has never matched our numbers.
In less than a week we will be witnessing a changing of the guard in Washington, DC and last week we saw one in Albany —now is the time for DNNYC to make a coordinated effort to ensure we leverage our community’s growing political strength.
If you are interested in getting involved in advocating for the rights of people with disabilities, I highly recommend giving your time to this important organization.
Assembly Member Alan Maisel and I talking about health policy with PJ Weiner, Manager of Advocacy Programs for the MS Society of NYC (far right) and Robin Einbinder, Vice President of the MS Society of NYC (second from the right).
After the DNNYC event, I headed over to the Multiple Sclerosis Society of New York City inaugral legislative reception. I had the great honor of being asked to co-host this event. An impressive gathering of members of the MS Society met with their legislators including the newly minted Chair of the Senate Health Committee, Tom Duane, Assembly Members Linda Rosenthal and Alan Maisel, NYC Council Members John Liu and Gale Brewer, and representatives from the offices of Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, Senator Daniel Squadron, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, Assembly Member Jonathan Bing, and Council Members Jessica Lappin and Oliver Koppell.
There were many issues discussed at this event, but paramount on the minds of the MS Society members I spoke to was the issue of Tier IV pricing — and the need for support for a ban on this practice in New York. The MS Society has worked with Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith on legislation that would ban Tier IV drug pricing, a bill that I am excited to support in the New York State Assembly.
The proposed legislation would ban the creation of a fourth tier in a company’s prescription drug pricing forumlae. In states where this has been allowed to happen, medication treating diseases such as anemia, cancer, MS, and hepatitis C are categorized separately from other prescription drugs and co-payments have amounted to up to 33% of the total cost of each prescription. Patients with chronic diseases are seeing fees dramatically increase to hundreds or even thousands of dollars per prescription per month. This can never be allowed to happen in New York and I am greatful to the MS Society of New York City for raising this important issue and working with the legislature to protect all New Yorkers from this unacceptable threat to access to health care.
Heartless Proposal by MTA to Double Access-A-Ride Fares is Discrimination, Plain and Simple.
November 24, 2008
I am thoroughly disgusted with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s proposal to double fares for Access-A-Ride users. While the MTA is considering raising fares for able-bodied straphangers by as much as 50% (from $2 to $3); they are asking riders with disabilities to absorb an unprecedented 100% fare increase from $2 to $4.
This past weekend, I joined Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, State Senator Eric Schneiderman, Assembly Member Jonathan Bing, and Councilmember Gale Brewer at a press conference along with advocates representing Disabilities Network of NYC, Cerebral Palsy Associations of New York State, Center for Independence of the Disabled NY, Disabled in Action, and the 504 Democratic Club. At the press conference we collectively denounced the proposed fare hike. Access-A-Ride is critical to those who need it, and the revenue that doubling this fare will bring is comparatively unimpressive.
The current standard of fare equity is the minimum a just society should expect. Like a good old fashioned train robbery, the MTA is ambushing paratransit riders because they know that people with disabilities have no other transportation options. This is the most regressive fare hike the MTA has ever proposed because those who can least afford to pay are being asked to shoulder the greatest burden.
I am also not convinced that this is a legal proposal. The transportation provisions of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act cover public transportation services, like the MTA system. Public transportation authorities may not discriminate against people with disabilities in the provision of their services. So if a local authority like the MTA chooses not to adequately serve clients with disabilities in its regular system, it is instead required by federal law to create a parallel paratransit system. Decades ago when the ADA was passed, the MTA chose not to make the regular transit system accessible (today there are just over 50 subway stations of 468 that have elevators), so it was required to create the Access-A-Ride service. It goes against the spirit of the ADA to charge people with disabilities more to use a system designed to compensate them for not having access to the regular mass transit system.
I will be doing everything I can to oppose this proposal and I will continue to keep you updated. My press release on this topic can be found in the Publications area of this website.
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.
Pride 2008 - A Photojournal
July 1, 2008
As a member of the LGBT community myself, I’ve always loved marching in the Heritage of Pride Parade and this year - despite the rain - was no exception. Part of what made last Sunday’s celebration so special was that Governor David Paterson marched with us. No sitting Governor in New York State’s history has ever marched in the Pride Parade.
Here’s a short photo diary of the day.
Gay and Lesbian Independent Democrats (GLID) President Colin Casey and I pose next to the rockin’ GLID float during our multiple-hour line-up on West 54th Street.
My friend John Reddy, who is running for Manhattan Surrogate and some of his supporters and family.
My Chief of Staff, Eliyanna Kaiser, and her wife, Danielle DeCerbo who works for the New York City Council, hold up their Marriage Equality New York (MENY) t-shirt. They’ve actually been together 4 years, but Eliyanna got confused by the fill-in-the-blanks on the shirt and wrote in how many years they’ve been married. Aren’t they cute?
I spent most of the march with the Stonewall Democrats of New York City, a club I’ve been a member of for many years. Here I am with some of our fabulous Board Members.
Here I am with my friend and colleague, and one of New York City’s greatest LGBT heroes, State Senator Tom Duane, and a phalanx of his New York City staff.
My good friends, Maureen Bobrovnicky and Randi Anderson.
National Stonewall member and GLID member, Jon Winkleman is one of the hardest-working LGBT activists in New York City. He told me he has a big box of the amazing Hillary/Pride shirts like the one he’s wearing, so if you are interested let him know!
Stonewall board member, Aubrey Lees and I actually get along very well. But we put on a show for the camera after Eliyanna demanded that we not just pose and smile.
The moment - and I do mean the moment- that it was our turn to start marching down Fifth Avenue one of the most angry-sounding thunderstorms, complete with lightening and booming thunder came pouring down on us. But LGBT pride will not be rained on and we marched on!
GENDA activist extraordinaire, Melissa Sklarz, and Manhattan Community Board 2 Chair, Brad Holyman, try to keep dry under an umbrella.
The Stonewall Democrats marching down Fifth Avenue.
Then the sun came out and rain went away! Here is Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer and I, now almost dry, somewhere in the West 30s on Fifth Avenue.
Finally, I don’t know this mother or her son, but they told me I could take their photo for the blog and I really wanted others to see it. This is what the Pride march is all about - family.
