Newsletters

Happy summer.
 
In August, our neighborhoods tend to empty out with many of us on vacation. But there’s plenty to do for those of us staying behind. In fact, I strongly encourage you to have a look at the “Community Events” section at the bottom. From outdoor concerts to summer movies in the park, there is much to do in our neighborhood in August. 
 
Enjoy the warm weather, and, as always, please reach out for assistance or just to express your thoughts and ideas.

Sincerely,

Ben Kallos

Table of Contents
1. Passing Laws
2. Fighting the Marine Transfer Station
3. Conflict in the Middle East
5. Free Law Founders
6. Labeled a Hero by the Daily News
7. Free Housing Clinic
8. Fighting Waste 
9. Advocating for Net Neutrality
10. Park Avenue Historic District
11. Summer of Science
12. Partnering with Manhattan Borough President Brewer for Transparency
14. Mental Health Resources
15. Fighting Unsafe Factory Farms
16. Supporting Women's History 
17. Delivery Bike Forum
18. GrowNYC Fresh FoodBox
19. Safer Sex Resources
20. Vision Zero Map
21.Taste of Jewish Culture Festival
22. Cooking with Kallos
23. Around the Community
24. Legislation Corner
25. Mobile District Hours
26. Events from Our Office
27. Community Events

On July 1st, I marked six months in office. To mark the occasion, I asked you to reach out to me to share your ideas and feedback. Your responses have been illuminating. Many of you shared the issues that matter to you and your families. Many were kind enough to share positive experiences you have had with my office. Many offered ideas for neighborhood issues to address.

Now, we will move forward together:

• To fight the marine transfer station;
• To protect safe, clean and livable streets;
• To use technology to improve New Yorkers' daily lives;
• To promote a transparent, accountable government; 
• To protect tenants' rights and promote affordable housing, especially for seniors; 
• To improve our neighborhood infrastructure and open space; and
• To improve education and invest in our children.

I hope you will join me at First Friday on August 1st from 8AM-10AM at my District Office or Policy Night on Tuesday, August 12th, at 6:30PM at my District Office so we can work together to improve our neighborhood.

Sincerely,

Ben Kallos

This month, our community experienced tragedy in the form of a fatal traffic collision. In moments like these, we come together to mourn and demand action. 

On the East Side, I have piloted a "Livable Streets" program to solicit street information from nearly 60,000 households.  I also held a safety walk along Second Avenue Subway construction in April in order to empower residents to investigate and improve safety along the construction site. 

Last week, the Council passed an 11-bill street safety package, and I will keep working with colleagues and city agencies to make Vision Zero a reality.

Please join us at a Vision Zero forum on June 24 at 6:30PM at Hunter College's Lang Recital Hall co-sponsored with State Senator Liz Krueger and Council Member Dan Garodnick.

You can share dangerous intersections or other safe streets information you have by visiting BenKallos.com/Livable-Streets. If you are experiencing trauma as a result of the tragedies, please reach out to me at 212-860-1950 or bkallos@benkallos.com so our social work staff can assist you in finding the services you need.

New in this issue, you will find the "Legislative Corner," where you can chart the progress of laws to better our city. And I hope you can join me on this Friday for our monthly First Friday event.

Only through teamwork can we improve our neighborhood, our streets and our city as a whole.

Sincerely,

Ben Kallos

Marking 100 days of representing you in the City Council was a chance to take stock of the progress made and where we still have to go together. I'm proud of advances on key issues such as the fight against the Marine Transfer Station, bringing public pre-k funding to New York City, reforming community boards so they better represent neighborhoods, reforming the New York City Board of Elections to make them a more effective institution and allowing you to vote on how public money gets spent.

Many of these fights are long-entrenched and difficult to tackle, but we have seen movement in all of them in just the past few months. Only with your help and involvement can we continue making meaningful strides forward.

We are now in the budgeting season, where we decide how to allocate funding for a fairer, better city. I have been working with the Council to determine our budget priorities as a body, and distributing our own discretionary funds based on the community's voice.

I look forward to redoubling my efforts on your behalf in the next 100 days, and all the days after that.

Sincerely,

Ben Kallos

Recently, I was pleased to sponsor and vote for an expansion of Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption (SCRIE), and you or your neighbors may now be eligible for these important rent benefits. Int. 243, which was recently signed into law, raises the income eligibility for seniors receiving SCRIE benefits to $50,000 from $29,000.

New York City's budget was passed this week, and it is a budget that you can have confidence in. The progressive, compassionate budget puts residents first and brings more opportunity to our neighborhood and city. It was reached through a transparent negotiating process that took the voice of every Council Member and community into account in order to serve all New Yorkers. 

It has been six months since I became your City Council Member. In these six months, we have built a stronger community together. Through it all, the City has become more fair and compassionate, thanks to measures such as:

• Expanding Senior Citizen Income Exemption (SCRIE); 
• Funding Universal Pre-K; and
• Paid sick leave, all of which I was proud to support and advocate for.

 I have also been fighting to improve our neighborhood and city as a whole:

• As Chair of the Governmental Operations Committee of the New York City Council, I have taken on waste and corruption;
• Introduced legislation to make our often cynicism-inducing government more transparent.
• Took the fight against the Marine Transfer Station to another level; and
• Protected our neighborhood by prioritizing safe streets, healthy food, safe construction, science education and affordable housing.

Now, I want to hear from you: Have you received assistance from our office? Have you and I gotten the chance to meet? Have you been happy with the direction of the City and the advocacy I've taken on? Please reply with your feedback and ideas.
 
This is just the beginning. I hope you'll take a chance to share your feedback at this six-month stage so we can continue to grow, learn and build a better neighborhood together.
 
Sincerely,

Ben Kallos

Last week, I celebrated 100 days representing you in the New York City Council. In just this short time, I have already been able to achieve many of the promises made before I took office. With a few well on their way, it seems that they weren't promises but plans.

You can see for yourself by reading my policy book, but here are a few items from the book that we've been able to accomplish by working together:

• I was front and center in the movement that won $300 million in pre-kindergarten funding for New York City with to make us a nationwide leader by giving every child a fair start;
• I am committing millions in funding to support Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education in our schools;
• Stop and frisk reform has become a reality; and
• I co-sponsored the bill to expand paid sick leave to half a million New Yorkers so we can all be healthier.

There is still much more to do. I am more committed than ever to taking on the challenges and seizing on the opportunities that face our neighborhood and city.  As your Council Member, I am taking on the tough fights on your behalf:

• I am fighting the marine transfer station on 91st Street every day, reorienting the debate to focusing on increasing recycling and reducing waste citywide;
• I am protecting residents from unsafe construction and being kicked out of their affordable housing;
• I am bringing accountability to city agencies, from the Board of Elections to community boards;
• I am advocating for ferry service for Roosevelt Island; and
• I am working to provide educational support outside the classroom by supporting community learning schools.

And I am proud to maintain an attendance record of 100% -- because you deserve a representative that shows up!

This April, you can vote on how to spend $1 million in your neighborhood. This program, participatory budgeting, has been piloted with great success in many neighborhoods around the world and here in New York City.

It has been a busy month of budgeting, oversight and advocacy on your behalf. As always, my office is a space for you to meet your needs and interact with the major issues in your neighborhood. Scroll to the bottom of this newsletter for events from my office and the community. 

For those of you celebrating this month, I wish you a joyous Easter or Pesach, a chance to celebrate the beliefs we hold dear. As we gratefully welcome the spring, let's renew our spirit of engagement and work together on the issues that face our community.

Sincerely,

Council Member Ben Kallos
District Five: Upper East Side, Midtown East, El Barrio and Roosevelt Island
 

After two months in office, I am working around the clock to ensure you have the services you need, while also fighting to expand pre-K to all children, open up government for public participation, fight the marine transfer station slated to be built in our neighborhood and ensure all New Yorkers have the services they need.