Today, the Manhattan Assembly delegation issued a report, NYCHA Crisis: Finding Tenant Solutions, that details the living conditions of several NYCHA developments across Manhattan, and urges New York State to commit substantial and consistent funding for NYCHA’s most urgent capital needs.
“Written prior to the COVID-19 State of Emergency, the pandemic further highlights that, for over 400,000 NYCHA tenants in substandard housing, the public housing crisis is a public health crisis,” said Assembly Member Richard N. Gottfried, the dean and Chair of the Manhattan Assembly Delegation. “New York State can act now with serious funding commitments and lead the way towards the restoration of NYCHA.”
“This is not the best time to be sending people door-to-door,” he said. “It’s the exact opposite of what we’re trying to do. I don’t know the specific solution, but I know it’s something we have to address.”
In the two days between those comments, grumbling from a handful of candidates has turned into a more widespread uproar.“[M]y campaign is immediately suspending efforts to collect further petition signatures for ballot access,” Rep. Carolyn Maloney announced.
“I’m working to make it easier for candidates to get on the ballot in districts affected by COVID-19, and I’m suspending my own efforts to gather signatures for my candidacy for re-election,” tweeted Assemblyman Dick Gottfried (D-Manhattan).
Introduction of “Vehicular Violence Accountability Act” To Crack Down on Dangerous Drivers:
With violent injuries to pedestrians and bi-cyclists at an all-time high in New York City, especially in Manhattan, I have joined with State Senator Tim Kennedy of Buffalo, Chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, to sponsor the Vehicular Violence Accountability Act (S. 7298/A. 9605).
Assembly Member Richard N. Gottfried said, “The 50 West 66th Street development is an abuse of zoning regulations, is contextually out of scale, and would set a terrible precedent for future proposed developments. I stand with Landmark West! and local residents in urging the City to crack down on these and other developers’ abuses of the system.”
Governor Andrew Cuomo has announced two exciting initiatives for the West Side. On Sunday the Governor announced a proposal to require the NYPD tow pound to vacate Pier 76 in the Hudson River by the end of this year. In 1998, the State Hudson River Park Act (which I sponsored in the Assembly) required the City to use its “best efforts” to vacate the Pier so it would become part of the Park. It’s long overdue.
PIER 76: Soon to be part of Hudson River Park (photo credit: Office of Governor Cuomo)
The ownership of the nearly 250,000 square-foot Pier 76, located near West 38th Street across 12th Avenue from the High Line, the Javits Center, and Hudson Yards, will then be transferred to the Hudson River Park Trust (HRPT) and the Pier will become part of the Park. HRPT will develop a plan for Pier 76 and for Pier 40, located near West Houston Street. Planning for Pier 40 has also been in limbo for years. The plan is to balanced maximizing open space and recognizing the financial needs of the Hudson River Park on both piers. The community is to be involved in developing the plan. I’m joining Manhattan Community Board 4 and other elected officials representing the Hudson River waterfront in enthusiastically supporting the Governor’s initiatives for the Park. Second, earlier today, Governor Cuomo announced that the State plans to transform Penn Station, including easier access to the street and to trains and adding eight new tracks under the block south of the Station (30th to 31st Streets, Seventh to Eighth Avenues). This will increase its train capacity by 40 percent. This will help assure Penn Station’s vital role as the busiest transit hub in the Western Hemisphere long into the future. Governor Cuomo also announced that the new Moynihan Station being developed in the old Post Office building will open in December 2020. Happy New Year!
Several new laws – on birth certificates, cash bail, “pre-registering” to vote, farmworkers’ rights, and boating safety, among others – are taking effect beginning in 2020.
And
an increase in the minimum wage began on December 31, with hourly minimums
rising to $15 an hour in New York City, $13 on Long Island and in Westchester County,
and $11.80 in the rest of the state.
I
was proud to have been an Assembly cosponsor of a bill (sponsored by Assembly
Member David Weprin and Senator Andrew Lanza) that allows persons who were adopted unrestricted access to their birth
certificates once they turn eighteen.
Previously, adoptees could only get access by petitioning a court, and
even then only with the consent of both biological parents. The law, which was strongly supported by many
adoptees seeking potentially life-saving information on their family medical
history, takes effect on January 15.
DEFENDING CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORMS: On Dec. 10, I joined advocates and elected officials to defend pre-sentencing reforms like eliminating the cash bail requirement for most non-violent crimes.
DEFENDING CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORMS: On Dec. 10, I
joined advocates and elected officials to defend pre-sentencing reforms like
eliminating the cash bail requirement for most non-violent crimes.
Important changes are also taking place affecting cash bail and streamlining pre-trial procedure. Beginning on January 1, persons charged with most misdemeanors and Class E felonies will no longer be released from jail while awaiting trial, which will help end the criminalization of poverty that imprisons those not yet convicted simply because they can’t afford bail.
Several reforms to speed up trials and streamline the discovery process also took effect on January 1.
Also taking effect on January 1 was a new
law allowing 16- and 17-year-olds to “pre-register” to vote by completing a
voter registration form that will make them automatically eligible to vote once
they turn 18, making New York the 14th state to allowing pre-registration for
persons beginning at age 16.
Farmworkers have more rights under Farm
Labor Fair Practices Act that took effect on January 1, aligning them with
those already guaranteed other workers in New York: an eight-hour workday, with
one mandatory rest day each week for farmworkers, as well as overtime pay set
at time and a half. The law makes it
illegal for an employer to “lock out” farm workers over pay disputes or for
seeking to unionize.
Starting
January 1, New Yorkers born in 1993 or
later will now be required to take a safety course before operating a motorboat
or jet ski. “Brianna’s Law” – named
after Brianna Lieneck, an 11-year-old killed in a boat crash off Long Island in
2005 – will require every motor boat or jet ski operator to take a course and obtain
a boating safety license before operating a motorized vessel on New York waterways,
by expanding the age group every year until all motorboat or jet ski operators
are included in 2025.
Five Tin Pan Alley
Buildings Are Designated Landmarks
In a big win for the local community and for preservationists, on
December 10 the New York City Landmarks
Preservation Commission (LPC) voted to designate five buildings in New York
City’s fabled Tin Pan Alley as New York City landmarks. We had been
fighting for years to get Tin Pan Alley, the block of West 28th Street between
Broadway and Sixth Avenue, designated. It became famous
in the late 1800s for its association with
American popular music. Dozens of music
publishers and songwriters, including Duke Ellington, George Gershwin, Irving
Berlin, and Cole Porter worked out of offices in a row of Italianate townhouses
on 28th Street, writing classic songs like “God Bless America” and “Take Me Out
to the Ballgame.”
The
most recent testimony I wrote in 2019 and submitted to the LPC along with New
York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson urging it to designate five buildings
in Tin Pan Alley as landmarks: 47, 49, 51, 53 and 55 West 28th Street. The LPC’s action in December is the
culmination of a long and hard-fought battle to preserve this vital piece of
New York’s, and America’s, history.
Public Finance
Commission Issues Recommendations
New York badly needs to combat the impact
that big-money interests exert on State government – and I’ve been fighting to
change the system. It’s not a new cause
for
me
– I wrote New York’s first bill on public campaign financing.
To help address mega-donors’
out-sized influence on New York’s government, the Governor and legislative
leaders agreed that New York State needed to create and implement a small-donor
matching system for elections for State offices. By
matching small donations with public funding,
voices of all New Yorkers are strengthened instead of being overwhelmed
by well-heeled special interests.
Unfortunately,
the Legislature and the Governor did not come to agreement on a campaign
finance reform program before the end of the legislative session in June. Instead, we created a “Public Financing
Commission” charged with approving a campaign finance reform package by December,
with Governor Cuomo promising that it would establish a campaign finance system
that would serve as a “model for the nation.” The recommendations it issued at the end of
November will become law unless the Legislature amends or repeals them.
The
commission process was highly questionable, with its members apparently getting
side-tracked by questions like whether to bar “fusion voting,” which allows
different political parties in New York to endorse the same candidate; and whether
to raise increase how many votes a “third
party” would need to receive
in order to be legally recognized with an official ballot line.
Though the Commission did not act to
eliminate fusion voting outright, as has been feared, it did move to increase
the threshold for parties to obtain a position on the ballot, which puts their
long-term survival in jeopardy. Up until
now, “third” parties like the Working Families Party and Conservative Party had
to receive 50,000 votes in a gubernatorial election to maintain a ballot line
and thus field candidates in a range of elections across the state on that
ballot line over the course of the next four years. Under the Commission’s
rules, instead of qualifying in every four-year gubernatorial election, parties
will have to receive 2% of all votes cast or 130,000 votes, whichever is
higher, for either governor or president, meaning that parties would have to
requalify every two years with a significantly higher number of votes than are
currently required of them every four years.
(No other state in the country that allows fusion voting requires
“third” parties to qualify during presidential election years.)
The question of party qualification
should have never been a part of this commission. Third parties are an essential part of the electoral system in New
York, shining light on important issues that otherwise may not get the
attention they deserve. The proposed
thresholds for party qualification are unacceptable. We should be making it easier for third
parties to make it on the ballot, not harder.
That’s
why I have introduced legislation to undo the recommendations of the Public
Campaign Finance Commission relating to “third” parties. My bill would restore the provisions of the
Election Law relating to third parties.
I will be working with other
legislators to fix the problems created by the Commis-
sion’s
set of recommendations, ensure the
viability
of smaller political parties, and make the proposed matching campaign finance
system for New York State even stronger.
Looming State Budget
Shortfall Threatens Medicaid Funding
New
York’s budget gap for the coming year stands at an estimated $6.1 billion, with
much of that shortfall attributed to the State’s Medicaid program. In order to maintain a “global spending cap”
imposed by Governor Cuomo on Medicaid spending, his administration shifted more
than $1 billion in Medicaid payments into the next (2020) fiscal year.
Governor
Cuomo’s administration ascribes the Medicaid deficit to several factors,
including the effect of an increase in New York’s minimum wage on health care
providers, a phase-out of some federal funding, an aging population resulting
in greater demand for long-term care, and the rising cost of that long-term
care.
We can’t cut Medicaid spending to the bone
in order to comply with an artificially imposed spending cap without
jeopardizing the health of millions of New York families who depend on this
vital program. As Chair of the
Assembly Health Committee, I’ll be working to protect Medicaid patients by
providing it with additional revenue on high-income earners.
Assembly Task Force on Opiate Addiction
Across
our state, New Yorkers have been struggling to overcome an epidemic of opioid
abuse. To help address the crisis, the
NYS Assembly Majority has formed a “Task Force on Examining Socio-Economic Responses
to People with Substance Use Disorders.”
I was appointed to serve on the Task Force by Speaker Carl Heastie.
Opioid addiction does not discriminate, impacting
New Yorkers of all ages, races, and genders across the state. This Task Force will help guide the state’
response with the insight of stakeholders and experts in the field, as we work
to break down barriers preventing access to care and services.
The Task Force will
convene hearings to receive recommendations on how to address the opioid
epidemic, as well as learn about the impacts of substance use disorders on
those that suffer from the disorder,
on their support systems, and on their communities.
The
formation of the Task Force is not the first step that the Assembly has taken in
2019 to address the crisis; earlier this year, the Assembly and the State
Senate allocated $1 million for NYS substance abuse and rehabilitation service.
Tues., Jan. 7: Workshop on “Cultivate Hell’s Kitchen”
Do you live, work or
play in Hell’s Kitchen? Have ideas about
what the future of this neighborhood should look like? The “Cultivate HK” Town Hall series,
sponsored by the Clinton Housing Development Company (CHDC), is designed to
mobilize neighbors and advance a greener, more interconnected Hell’s Kitchen.
Join your neighbors at the second “Cultivate
HK Town Hall” on Tuesday, January 7 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at 545 West
52nd Street (between Tenth & Eleventh Avenues) on the first floor.🎉
This
event is free and open to the public, and refreshments will be provided.
Mulchfest! Through Sat., Jan. 11, Recycle Christmas
Trees
From now through Saturday, January 11, you
can recycle your Christmas tree or wreath, courtesy of the New York City
Parks and Sanitation Departments.
Just
bring your tree to a Mulchfest location, and your tree will be turned into wood
chips that will be used to nourish trees and make New York City even greener. More than 28,000 trees were recycled last
year.
Help the City top that number in 2020!
In
our Assembly district, drop-off sites are Central Park West and West 65th
Street and on East 14th Street between Broadway and Park Avenue South. Until Jan. 11, you can bring your tree to any
Mulchfest location. Find the complete listing online at https://www.nycgovparks.org/highlights/festivals/mulchfest.
Please
remember to remove all lights, ornaments, and netting before bringing the tree
to a Mulchfest site.
Weather
permitting, the NYC Department of Sanitation will also be conducting curbside
collections for mulching and recycling of Christmas trees from Monday, January
6 through Friday, January 17, 2020.
Mon., Jan. 20:
Deadline for Citizens Committee Grant Applications for Local Community Organizations
Do
you have an idea to improve our community?
The Citizens Committee for New York City is now accepting applications
from volunteer-led groups for its Neighborhood Grants program, which offers up
to $3,000 and project planning support for initiatives aimed at bringing neighbors
together and improving the quality of life in neighborhoods across the city. The
deadline to apply is January 20.
An organization does not have to be a registered 501(c)(3) to be able to
receive a grant from CCNYC!
Eligible
groups include block associations, tenant associations, PTAs, gardening groups,
cultural organizations and others.
Examples of projects considered for funding include turning a vacant lot
into a community garden or community composting site; facilitating workshops on
healthy cooking and eating; beautifying public spaces; arts and cultural programs;
youth fitness initiatives; and much more.
Organizations
can access the application for 2020 Neighborhood Grants online at www.citizensnyc.org/grants. For
more information about the application process or eligibility, contact Arif
Ullah, Director of Programs, at aullah@citizensnyc.org or (212) 822-9580.
Wed., Jan. 22:
Workshop on SCRIE & DRIE
SCRIE
and DRIE (Senior Citizen Rent Increase
Exemption and Disability Rent Increase
Exemption) help eligible New Yorkers stay in affordable apartments by freezing
their rent.
From
12:00 noon to 2:00 p.m. on Wed., Jan. 22, the New York City Mayor’s Public
Engagement Unit will host a workshop on the SCRIE and DRIE programs in conjunction
with the office of City Council Speaker Corey Johnson. The event will be held at Selis Manor, 135
West 23rd St. between Sixth and Seventh Avenues in Chelsea.
To apply for SCRIE or DRIE, you must be at least 62 years
old, or 18 with a qualifying disability; have a household income of $50,000 or
less; live in a rent-regulated apartment (either rent-stabilized,
rent-controlled, or a Single-Room-Occupancy hotel); and spend more than 1/3 of your income on rent.
To
complete an application, you must provide photo identification; 2018 tax returns
documenting the income of all household members; copies of your two most recent
leases; and, if applicable, a copy of an Social Security Disability award
letter or Veterans Administration disability or compensation notice of award
letter. Residents of NYHCA developments
or Section 8 housing are not eligible.
Fighting to Preserve
a Historic Fifth Avenue Building
On December 18, I spoke at a rally to
urge the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) to grant landmark designation
to the Demarest Building at 339 Fifth Avenue. An historic Beaux-Arts, iron-framed structure
with four-story-high arched windows located on 33rd Street across from the Empire
State Building, the Demarest was built in 1890 and originally housed a horse
carriage showroom as well as the first electrically operated elevator in the
world. It was designed by the architectural
firm of Renwick, Aspinwall & Russell, whose founder James Renwick also
created the plans for St. Patrick’s Cathedral and the Smithsonian Institution
in Washington, among many other famous buildings. Unfortunately, the Demarest is facing demolition
because its owner, Pi Capital Partners, has filed an application to construct a
new high-rise building.
I have
previously joined with community members and electing officials in unsuccessfully
urging the preservation of the Demarest and other historic buildings in the
area as part of a proposed expansion of the Madison Square North Historic District. Now, our effort to save the Demarest is assuming
new urgency in light of the imminent threat to its survival.
FIGHTING TO PRESERVE NEW YORK’S HISTORY: Last month, I joined members of the 29th Street Association and other elected officials to rally support for designating the Demarest Building on Fifth Avenue as a New York City landmark.
For several years, I’ve joined with the community members, other elected officials, preservationists, and neighborhood organizations like the 29th Street Association to urge the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) to designate Tin Pan Alley on 28th Street between Broadway and Sixth Avenue as a New York City landmark. We were gratified when the LPC designated five Tin Pan Alley buildings as individual landmarks on December 10, 2019. Here’s a news account from Untapped Cities:
Tin Pan Alley on 28th Street Designated NYC Landmark
Within the former Tenderloin district, Tin Pan Alley was the
tiny sliver of a block of 28th Street between Broadway and Sixth Avenue.
Starting in the late 1800s, the stretch was synonymous with American popular
music. Scores of music publishers and songwriters were located there, in former
Italianite rowhouses that can still be seen. It was here that songs like “Take
Me Out to the Ball Game” and “God Bless America” were published. Until
recently, those buildings had been at risk of demolition but today, the New
York City Landmarks Preservation Commission approved the designation of Tin Pan
Alley as an official landmarks.
Specifically, five buildings on 28th Street, numbers 47, 49,
51, 53 and 55, are the latest New York City landmarks. Landmarks Preservation
Commission Chair Sarah Carroll said, “Tin Pan Alley was the birthplace of
American popular music, was defined by achievements of songwriters and
publishers of color, and paved the way for what would become ‘the Great
American Songbook.’ Together, these five buildings represent one of the most
important and diverse contributions to popular culture.”
The Landmarks Preservation Commission notes the unique
coalescing of activities in Tin Pan Alley that would have a profound influence
on how popular music was produced and promoted: “Here, composers, arrangers,
lyricists, performers, and printers came together as collaborative firms and
revolutionized the music industry’s practices,” the Commission contends in a
press release.
And equally important was the opportunities afforded by the
Tin Pan Alley businesses to marginalized populations, like Blacks and Jews.
According to the Commission, “Tin Pan Alley’s music publishing brought ragtime
to an international public, and Jewish and African-American artists and
publishers were able to create new and unprecedented opportunities for
themselves in mainstream American music.”
Some of the most prominent among them include Irving Berlin, George
Gershwin, Duke Ellington, and Cole Porter.
Tin Pan Alley also has a fun Erie Canal connection. According to Jack Kelly, the author of
Heaven’s Ditch: God, Gold, and Murder on the Erie Canal who wrote an article
for us at the launch of his book, “In 1905 a Tin Pan Alley songwriter named
Thomas Allen published sheet music for a tune called “Low Bridge, Everybody
Down.” The piece begins, “I’ve got a mule and her name is Sal . . .” It became
the classic Erie Canal song, offering a nostalgic look backward at a time when
mules were being phased out. Pete Seeger, Bruce Springsteen, and countless
millions of school children have sung the song down the decades.”
Today, Tin Pan Alley overlaps with the city’s Flower
District, itself a disappearing industry existing on top of another already
lost. On a visit during a weekday, you may see flowers and trees taking over
part of the road and workers actively cutting and arranging the goods.
The effort to landmark Tin Pan Alley has been a multi-year
effort and in addition to the testimony of local preservationists and political
figures, the descendants of many of the musicians such as the grandchildren of
Duke Ellington, also wrote in support.
Assembly Health
Committee Hearing on Youth Tackle Football
Should children 12 and
under be playing tackle football? On
October 29, the Assembly Health Committee, which I chair, held a hearing in
Lower Manhattan on the health impacts of that.
There is a bill in the Assembly (A. 2692) to outlaw organized team
tackle football for children 12 and under.
The bill is sponsored by Assembly Member Michael Benedetto of the Bronx,
and I am a co-sponsor.
Following many news media
reports of cases of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) disproportionately
affecting professional football players and former players, many families,
physicians and researchers have been raising concerns regarding the health
effects of tackle football on children. Repeated
concussions can cause serious lifelong brain damage. The damage is greatest when players start
when their young brains are developing, and even more when play continues for
years.
Working Group Formed
to Consider Plans for Fulton and Elliott-Chelsea Houses
Like almost all New York City
Housing Authority (NYCHA) developments, Fulton and Elliott-Chelsea Houses
urgently need extensive and expensive work.
Because of concerns about the City’s
proposal for responding to this need, all of Chelsea’s local elected officials,
including me, called on Mayor de Blasio’s administration to put a hold on its
plans and participate in a working group with the elected officials, tenant
representatives, Community Board 4, and other advocates. We want real input from the tenants and the
community. We also stated that we will
not allow any plan that does not protect and preserve the Fulton Houses
community, with no displacement of residents from Fulton Houses or any
reduction of tenant rights or affordability.
The City agreed to put a hold on its
plans and join the working group, which is now looking at all the options for
organizing and funding the needed work.
Earlier this year, the City was developing
a plan to generate badly needed revenue to repair these public housing
developments in Chelsea. At Fulton
Houses, the City is proposing new construction, replacing some buildings,
repairs, and installing new private-sector management, to raise the funds
necessary to renovate, repair, and improve conditions at Fulton Houses and at
the nearby Elliott-Chelsea Houses. NYCHA
estimates that meeting the combined capital needs of the two developments would
cost approximately $344 million.
NYCHA’s draft plan for Fulton
entails constructing three new buildings in the complex, with tenants in two
existing buildings then moving into the first of the new buildings. The City would then replace two older,
low-rise buildings with two big new buildings.
Those buildings would be a mix of market-rate and affordable
apartments. The new income generated
would be dedicated to repairs and renovation of Fulton Houses and
Elliott-Chelsea Houses.
Under the City’s proposal, Fulton
and Chelsea-Elliott Houses would then enter the federal “Rental Assistance
Demonstration” (RAD) program, which uses Section 8 vouchers instead of
traditional public housing subsidies, and management of the complex would be
turned over to a private sector entity.
The working group held its first two
meetings in October. There will be more
meetings and public forums. We expect
the Working Group to present its proposals by year’s end.
I have serious concerns about the
City’s proposal. I am always wary of
privatization.
To raise critically needed funds for
the MTA’s capital plan, NYCHA and other programs, I am co-sponsoring several
proposals in Albany. These include
re-instating the stock transfer tax and raising the state income tax rate on
tax brackets above $1 million a year. I
also support proposals to increase corporate income taxes and to enact a
surcharge tax on so-called “pied-a-terre” luxury apartments that are not the
owner’s primary residence.
Enforcing the New
Law Against Floating Billboards
This past legislative session,
Senator Brad Hoylman and I sponsored legislation in Albany to prohibit boats
with illuminated billboards from operating in the navigable waters of the State,
such as the Hudson River. Governor Cuomo
signed our bill into law in August.
Despite the fact that it took effect immediately, Ballyhoo Media
continued to operate its “floating billboards” in New York waterways
in flagrant violation of the new law.
In September, Senator Hoylman and I
wrote to Mayor de Blasio asking that the City provide a detailed plan of how it
would enforce the law. Soon after, the
City announced that it had reached an agreement with Ballyhoo that bans it from
operating its floating billboards on any New York state waterway. The company agreed to pay $100,000 to the
City, and has since relocated its billboard boat to Florida. Now President Trump can enjoy them.
Tues., Nov. 12:
Upper Manhattan Town Hall on New York Health Act
At 6:30 p.m. on
Tuesday, November 12, I will be speaking at a Town Hall hosted by NYS Senators
Robert Jackson, on the New York Health Act, my bill that would provide
universal health care coverage in New York state by establishing an “improved
Medicare for all” single-payer health care program. The Town Hall follows up on last month’s
joint hearing on the NY Health Act, held in the Bronx by the Assembly and
Senate Health Committees.
NEW
YORK HEALTH ACT: I
co-chaired a joint hearing of the Assembly and Senate Health Committee on the
New York Health Act in the Bronx in October.
The Town Hall, which
is free and open to the public, will be at the YM/YWHA of Washington Heights
and Inwood at 54 Nagle Avenue (take the A train to 190th Street). Please RSVP by going online to
SenatorRJackson.eventbrite.com.
Wed., Nov. 20: NYCHA
Town Hall Meeting
On the evening of Wednesday,
November 20, the Manhattan delegation of the New York State Assembly is hosting
a Town Hall meeting on New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) public housing. It is free and open to the public. People will have a chance to voice their
concerns about NYCHA developments, hear from NYCHA officials on maintenance and
re-pairs, and learn how to connect with tenant lawyers.
The Town Hall meeting will be at
6:00 p.m., Wednesday, November 20 at the Boys and Girls Republic at 888 East
6th Street between Avenue D and the FDR Drive service road.
Census Job
Opportunities
Every ten years the United States
Census Bureau takes a count of every person living in the United States. It’s required by the Constitution. Getting accurate Census data in New York is
vital for ensuring that we receive our fair share of $650 billion in federal
funds for public education, public housing, infrastructure, and more — as well
as the number of seats we have in the U.S. House of Representatives. It also determines how much representation
each community has in the State Legislature and the city council.
It’s critical that every New Yorker
be counted in the 2020 Census. In the
last Census in 2010, New York City’s self-response rate was less than 62%,
significantly lower than the national 76% response rate.
There
are many jobs now available for workers to conduct the 2020 Census. To inquire about Field Representative Testing
in New York, please send an email with your name, zip code, and phone number(s)
to new.york.recruit@census.gov, or call 212-584-3495. For other questions or inquiries about Census
opportunities outside New York City, please call the New York Regional Census
Center at 212-882-7100.
Deadline to Register
to Vote for Presidential Primary
Under a new law passed by the
Legislature, you can now change your party enrollment closer to next year’s New
York presidential primary. February 14 –
Valentine’s Day – is the deadline to re-register to change which political
party you are enrolled in, or to enroll with a party for the first time, in
time to vote in New York’s April 28 presidential primary. If you are already registered at your current
address and enrolled with the party of your choice, you do not need to do
anything.
To make a change, send a Voter
Registration Form with your new choice to the board of elections office for
your borough or county. You can learn
more about registering or changing your party affiliation by going online: https://www.elections.ny.gov/VotingRegister.html.
If you want to print out and mail
your voter registration form, the address for the New York County (Manhattan
& Roosevelt Island) Board of Elections is:
New York County Board of Elections
200 Varick Street – 10th Floor
New York, NY 10014
EPL/Environmental
Advocates Name Me an “Environmental Champion”
In October, EPL/Environmental
Advocates, the leading statewide organization that has advocated for stronger
environmental protections since 1969, released its 2019 Environmental
Scorecard, which grades all state legislators’ voting records on environmental
legislation.
I was proud to earn a 100% score
this year, and EPL/Environmental Advocates named me an “Environmental
Champion.” I am honored by this
recognition, and will continue working hard to earn the trust and support of
New Yorkers who believe that helping to protect and preserve our environment
remains one of government’s most critical functions.
In its “Scorecard,” which you can
find online at www.eplscorecard.org, EPL/Environmental Advocates rated
legislators on their votes on several critical bills that have now been signed
into law by Governor Cuomo. These
include the Climate Leadership and Protection Act; congestion pricing in
Manhattan; allocating $500 million for water infra-structure; a ban on
single-use plastic bags; and a bill to deny offshore drilling companies access
to state marine and coastal district lands.
Other
environmental legislation that has passed both houses of the Legislature and is
awaiting the Governor’s signature include bill to ban the dangerous pesticide
chlorpyrifos; bar the sale in New York of personal care products that contain
the toxic chemical 1,4-dioxane; and The Child Safe Products Act, which requires
manufacturers to list toxic chemicals that are present in their products, as
well as begin the process of phasing them out.
GENDA Law Defending Transgender Rights Takes Effect Today!
Today is an historic day: the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act takes effect in New York State. For far too long, transgender and gender-nonconforming individuals in New York had waited for their rights to be recognized, with discrimination and bigotry standing in the way of opportunities they should never have been denied.
That ended earlier this year with the passage and signing of the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA), a bill which I introduced in the Assembly eighteen times before it finally passed both houses of the Legislature in January, and took effect today. In past years, the Assembly had passed the bill 11 times, but the Senate’s Republican Majority refused to let the bill have a floor vote. In 2019, the new Democratic Majority joined the Assembly in protecting the rights of New Yorkers regardless of gender identity or expression.
GENDA protects the rights of transgender and gender-nonconforming New Yorkers and makes gender identity or expression one of the state’s protected classes. No one should ever be denied basic needs like housing and health care or employment opportunities because of another’s narrow-mindedness. Today, the provisions of GENDA that make it a hate crime to harm a person based on their gender identity or expression go into effect, providing more protection from discrimination.
Earlier this year, the Assembly and the Senate also passed a law that bars the ‘gay and trans panic’ defense, which had allowed a victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity to be used as an affirmative defense to reduce a murder charge. This “blame the LGBT victim” legal stratagem helped bias-driven killers try to evade responsibility for their own actions, instead of calling the murders they committed what they are – hate crimes.
The fight against bigotry against members of the LGBT community is far from over, but New York won’t stand idly by while people are discriminated against for being themselves. GENDA is a victory for all transgender and gender-nonconforming New Yorkers.
I received a pen from Governor Cuomo after he signed GENDA into law at Manhattan’s LGBT Community Center on January 25, 2019. (Also pictured are NYS Lt. Governor Kathy Hochul and NYS Senator Brad Hoylman, the Senate sponsor of GENDA.)
On Tuesday New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed legislation banning floating billboards in state waters.
In a statement, Cuomo said, “These floating billboards are a nuisance
that blight our shores and distract from the great natural beauty of
our waterways.”
He added, “This action will help make our waters more enjoyable and safer for everyone.”
I represent Chelsea, Hell’s Kitchen, Midtown, and parts of Murray Hill and the Lincoln Center area in the State Assembly. I have been chair of the Assembly Health Committee since 1987. During off hours, I like to write Chinese calligraphy.
