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Press Releases
April 24, 2014
Today Council Member Ben Kallos, Chair of the Committee on Governmental Organization, applauded the New York City Council’s response to the Mayor’s FY 2015 Preliminary Budget and FY 2014 Preliminary Mayor’s Management Report. Kallos praised the budget response as promoting transparency and efficiency in government, and increased opportunity for all New Yorkers.
April 17, 2014
Public Advocate Letitia James will be joined by food advocates on the steps of City Hall to announce a proposal that would provide universal free lunch for all New York City public school students. Over 75% of city public school students are eligible for free or reduced-price school lunch. That’s an estimated 780,000 students.
April 15, 2014
Council Member Ben Kallos joined students and educators of P.S. 290 and other Manhattan schools to protest this year’s New York State English Language Arts (ELA) Exam, following the conviction of educators across the City that this year’s exam was unfair, incompetent and contrary to their teaching.
April 15, 2014
Council Members Ben Kallos, Jimmy Vacca and Mark Levineintroduced a resolution today adopting sweeping reforms to the recruitment and appointment process for community boards and calling on borough presidents to do the same. Resolution 164, co-sponsored by Council Members Danny Dromm, Antonio Reynoso, Carlos Menchaca, Brad Lander, Ydanis Rodriguez, Ritchie Torres and Debi Rose, includes recommendations for instituting member term limits, instituting independent screening panels for applicants and requiring conflict of interest forms of applicants.
April 10, 2014
Elected officials, Housing Alliance Against Downsizing (HAAD) and hundreds of tenants from 28 former Mitchell-Lama buildings protested HPD’s downsizing of elderly, medically challenged and single-parent tenants who are being forced to downsize into 0-bedroom and 1-bedroom apartments, demanding a moratorium on the disastrously-implemented policy.
April 9, 2014
New York, New York -- Council Member Ben Kallos is demanding an independent review of the skyrocketing costs to build and operate new Marine Transfer Station costs in the 2006 Solid Waste Management Plan. In a letter to the Independent Budgeting Office, Kallos calls for an updated investigation into the Upper Manhattan Marine Transfer Station costs due to dramatic changes since the IBO’s last review in 2012. Estimated capital costs have gone from $43.9 million in 2002-2005 to $121.8 million in 2008-2009 to $181.6 million in 2013-2014 while it has been estimated that the barged trash will cost New Yorkers a billion dollars over 20 years; $600 million more than the current system.
April 4, 2014
NEW YORK, NY -- The Progressive Caucus of the New York City Council announced new leadership for the 2014-2017 legislative session today. The five officers were determined by majority vote of the Progressive Caucus members, and are as follows:
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Co-Chairs: Council Member Donovan Richards (CC 31, Queens) and Council Member Antonio Reynoso (CC 34, Brooklyn)
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Vice-Chair for Policy: Council Member Ben Kallos (CC 5, Manhattan)
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Vice-Chair for Budget Advocacy: Council Member Helen Rosenthal (CC 6, Manhattan)
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Treasurer: Council Member Margaret Chin (CC 1, Manhattan)
“I look forward to working with the Progressive Caucus to advance a bold and innovative agenda so the city serves every New Yorker, no matter what background or neighborhood,” said Council Member Ben Kallos. “Through collaboration and with input from all members, the policies of the Progressive Caucus will translate into better education and jobs, more affordable housing, and greater government accountability.”
April 2, 2014
City Hall – City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and Council Members today released locations where New Yorkers can cast a ballot in the week-long 2014 Participatory Budgeting vote. Launched in 2011, with the goal of making budgeting decisions more transparent and to give New Yorkers a greater say in how their tax dollars are spent, Participatory Budgeting has grown to encompass 10 Council Districts, allowing New Yorkers to directly decide how allocate more than $10 million dollars for neighborhood projects.
“Participatory budgeting helps engage New Yorkers with the Council by empowering community residents to make decisions about how City funds are spent,” said Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito. “I’m proud to have helped start this important initiative and encourage all New Yorkers in participating districts to cast their ballots for the projects they would like to see funded in the year ahead.”
April 1, 2014
City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and over a dozen members of the City Council distributed flyers at subway stations across the City this morning to alert New Yorkers about the first day of the Earned Sick Time Act going into effect.Passed by the City Council in February and signed into law by Mayor de Blasio last month, the Earned Sick Time Act provides paid sick time coverage for all businesses with five or more employees.
April 1, 2014
New York, NY – City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and over a dozen members of the City Council distributed flyers at subway stations across the City this morning to alert New Yorkers about the first day of the Earned Sick Time Act going into effect.
Passed by the City Council in February and signed into law by Mayor de Blasio last month, the Earned Sick Time Act provides paid sick time coverage for all businesses with five or more employees.
Beginning today, New Yorkers will start accruing paid sick time that can be used when either they or a family member falls ill. Speaker Mark-Viverito and Council Members Koo, Ferreras, Miller, Espinal, Kallos, Johnson, Dickens, Chin, Levine, Dromm, Rosenthal, Crowley and Richards marked the inaugural day of the Earned Sick Time Act by distributing flyers outlining the new regulations to commuters.
