Environment

“We don’t have enough parks in the district,” Kallos said. “We have some of the lowest numbers of parks space per capita. Any place we have park land, we need to be using it as park land for the entire community.”

According to a study done by a parks advocacy organization in 2013, Kallos’ District 5 ranked the fifth worst in the ratio of land area to parks space out of all 51 Council districts.

In the New Yorkers for Parks’ study, the district falls far short of the standards set out by the group, which call for 2.5 acres of total open space per 1,000 residents. Kallos’ district scored only 0.47 acres of open space per 1,000 residents.

The group’s study also noted that the balance between public use as a ball field and private use as tennis courts shifted in 2012 to the advantage of the courts’ operator, when it secured an additional six weeks of time that keeps the bubble in the park into June.

To combat what they deem a slow creep of private use, Kallos said he would be working with the community board by reviewing the current contract with Sutton East, making sure the contract isn’t renewed, and trying to secure city funds to revert the park into public space year-round.

“In order for this to work, we’re going to have to pay a lot of attention between now and 2017 and make sure this contract doesn’t get renewed,” Kallos said.

Manhattan Parks Commissioner Bill Castro, Councilmember Ben Kallos, Rockefeller University President Marc Tessier-Lavigne, Minna Elias (on behalf of Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney), and Deputy Borough President Matthew Washington celebrate the repairs to the seawall near Rockefeller University and the revitalization project of the East River Esplanade.

HSS agreed to invest in the East River Esplanade as part of a favorable land use vote held recently by the city council. The hospital will repair and maintain a two-block stretch of the esplanade and, in a partnership with Rockefeller University that’s being led by Kallos, will work with key community stakeholders to develop a master plan for the esplanade from 62nd Street to 78th Street.

The letter to de Blasio is signed by Council Members Garodnick, Donovan Richards, Fernando Cabrera, Rafael Espinal, Corey Johnson, Ben Kallos, Andy King, Stephen Levin, Mark Levine, Carlos Menchaca, Rosie Mendez, I. Daneek Miller, Antonio Reynoso, and James Vacca. It states, in part, "Creating a sustainable regional food system that meets [the $1 billion] demand and offers equal access to nutritious food will improve public health, bolster the city's "good food" economy, build resilience in the wake of extreme weather events and reduce the city's "foodprint" as a way to mitigate the impacts of climate change."

The bill is being introduced by Councilman Ben Kallos (D- Manhattan). He said the purpose of the legislation is to reduce carbon emissions stemming from the production of concrete. 

Asphalt recycling is gaining momentum as a budget-savvy alternative to landfilling the waste. The process of re-using the material is called full-depth reclamation, and is often used at construction sites. The debris is crushed and used as a base for streets and parking lots. The conglomerate is estimated to last two years longer than projects that don’t incorporate the reclamation process. 

A new City Council bill would mandate the use of recycled concrete in all new street construction projects.

Councilman Ben Kallos (D-Manhattan) is introducing the legislation that would require at least 30% of concrete to come from demolished roads and buildings.

It’s a move to cut carbon emissions that come from concrete production, he said.

“We need to make sure that any new construction is limiting our greenhouse gas emissions,” Kallos said. “The city deals with tens of thousands of tons of demolition waste every day.”

“Superstorm Sandy, a sign of things to come from climate change, hit New York City two years ago, and we are still rebuilding our City,” said Vice-Chair for Policy, Council Member Ben Kallos. “We join together in the peoples’ climate march, steps from the United Nations, so our world leaders will take the necessary action to fight climate change.”

The Council bill, as introduced by Council Member Ben Kallos, would require all city agencies to be on an Open FOIL portal within one year. The bill would require much more robust reporting from the City. As proposed, the bill would not show the name of the requester, but would have a status, date submitted and filled, as well as the data from the request.

The development includes a multimillion-dollar investment in the esplanade and a number of other community benefits secured by local community leaders and elected officials, according to local Councilman Ben Kallos.