Press Releases

NEW YORK -- Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (D-Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn) was joined City Councilman Ben Kallos and Trudy Mason, Manhattan Representative, MTA Citizens Advisory Committee as she presented a check to Dr. Michael Horodniceanu, President, MTA Capital Construction for more than $203 million in federal funds appropriated for the current fiscal year. 

The East Side Access Project will be the first major expansion of the Long Island Railroad in generations.  The project will create a stop at Grand Central Terminal which would reduce the burden on Penn Station and afford faster, easier access to the East Side. Presently LIRR passengers have to go all the way to the West Side and then take a subway back to the East Side.

"East Siders will travel more freely when East Side Access opens and the Second Avenue Subway opens. Federal funds are integral to these important transit projects, and I applaud Congresswoman Maloney for her efforts to secure resources," said City Council Member Ben Kallos.

New York, NY -- New York City has added its to voice to the growing call for a National Women’s History Museum in DC, after a resolution in support passed the City Council today. The Council, under the leadership of Speaker Melissa Mark Viverito, passed Resolution 354, calling for the Senate to end delays and pass legislation advancing the museum's formation on the National Mall. Congresswoman Maloney successfully passed legislation to move forward with a National Women’s History Museum in the House of Representatives 383-33, but two Senators, Mike Lee of Utah and Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, are holding up the companion bill in the Senate, which has the support of all 20 women senators. 

Council Members Ben Kallos and Laurie Cumbo, Chair of the Women’s Issues Committee, co-sponsored the resolution in support of federal bill H.R. 863 by Congresswomen Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), and urging passage of its companion bill in the Senate. The museum would be supported through donations already being raised by 501(c)3 organization, National Women's History Museum.

The NYC Century Bike Tour is a one-of-a-kind cycling event. That’s
because all of the routes – 35, 55, 75, or 100 miles – are designed to
show riders the diversity of New York’s neighborhoods and how to
navigate them safely. To illustrate bicyclists’ right to the road,
there are no street closings during the tour – bicyclists ride with
traffic and obey traffic laws.

“There are few things as beautiful as an early morning sea of bikers
coursing through the veins and arteries of New York City’s pathways,
said City Council Member Ben Kallos. “The NYC Century Bike Tour
represents New York City neighborhoods in all our diversity, from the
scenic Rockaways to the Bronx—a real taste of our city’s vast and
varied parks and transportation infrastructure.”

New York, NY–The following statement can be attributed to Council Member Ben Kallos, Chair of the New York City Council Committee on Governmental Operations, on the newly-adopted reforms in the appointment process to the New York City Board of Elections: 

"Speaker Melissa Mark Viverito is adding an unprecedented transparent and open process for appointing a Board of Elections Commissioner. The Speaker's voluntary improvement of appointment practices to the Board of Elections by having a public Rules Committee hearing demonstrates once again her commitment to fair decision-making that empowers members and the public."