“One of the things we’ve pushed for at the BOE is to figure out a brand new way of closing these procedures to minimize the potential error that could arise,” said Commissioner J.C. Polanco at a BOE Commissioners’ meeting Tuesday afternoon.

“Unfortunately, the legislature didn’t move on any of those concerns,” he said.

The Board has been widely criticized for its handling of this primary and past elections, and State Sen. Adriano Espaillat is using vote-count errors and other reported “irregularities” from primary night as grounds for a legal challenge to the primary results, which his attorney Martin Connor filed in New York State Supreme Court today. A group called LatinoJustice is also asking the Department of Justice to investigate the Board of Elections’ handling of the primary.

Polanco deflected criticism that BOE was to blame for any of the reported problems, including stories of a shortage of bilingual poll-workers and voters turned away from polling sites, in addition to the uncounted ballots.

“What you saw that night was reporting done by the AP from numbers given to them by the NYPD,” Polanco said, adding that the NYPD was “not at all” to blame for what happened.

Polanco said the BOE was being unfairly maligned by the campaigns.

“I think its unfortunate. What’s happening is the campaigns are launching incredible vicious attacks to the hardworking men and women here at the board of elections,  and they’re based on absolutely nothing but a conspiracy theory,” he said.

“The reality is we have hardworking men and women here at the Board of Elections that are working tirelessly to make sure that each one of these ballots are counted,” he said.

Common Cause executive director Susan Lerner said the primary SNAFUs were “ par for the course.”

“This is an election where we only had a few primaries. Imagine how much worse this is going to be in September,” she said.

To read the full article at City & State click here.

rep. Maloney Hails Benefits of all
Last week, Rep. Carolyn Maloney met with local health care providers, patients and advocates to tout the benefits of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), as it was recently upheld by the Supreme Court.
“It’s important to remember that, because of the ACA, insurance companies can no longer remove young adults under the age of 26 from their parents’ health care policies, refuse to provide coverage to kids under age 19 with pre-existing conditions or place lifetime limits on coverage, all of which have been pushing families into bankruptcy when facing a catastrophic illness or condition,” Maloney said. “Already, the ACA is offering significant tax credits to thousands of small businesses in our congressional district access to help insure their workers.”
Jeff Gold, chairman of the board of directors of the Metro New York Health Care for All campaign, an Upper East Sider and a general partner in the JI Associates tech firm, joined Maloney in praising the ACA’s benefits to small businesses like his own.
“With the United States paying more for medical coverage than any of our industrial/commercial competitors, we must ensure that small businesses and their employees have access to high-quality, affordable medical coverage,” Gold said. “The ACA will allow millions to get affordable coverage instead of going to the most inefficient hospital emergency rooms for basic coverage, and remove the burden of shoving small businesses like mine into stratified risk pools that make coverage harder to buy, afford or even evaluate.”
Other local residents joined in to voice their support and explain how the ACA has personally affected them. Kenneth Davis, president and CEO of The Mount Sinai Medical Center, also expressed his support for the law.
According to data from a 2012 study prepared by the House Energy & Commerce Committee minority staff, the ACA has saved 10,200 seniors in Maloney’s district $7.7 million in drug costs and allowed 6,100 young adults in the district to retain their health insurance, among other local benefits from grants given to local health centers and hospitals and provisions that prevent patients from being denied coverage based on pre-existing conditions.

Hunter Renovation recently Completed
Last week, Hunter College president Jennifer Raab and City Council Member Dan Garodnick cut the ribbon to reopen historic Thomas Hunter Hall. The 1913 Tudor-style building, which was named after Hunter College’s founding president, has been newly restored, with historically consistent new windows and stones. The renovation cost nearly $12 million and included replacing the roof, repairing existing wood window frames and leaded-glass windows and stone replacement and restoration. The building at one time held Hunter College High School and will be available again to house student clubs, lounges, classrooms and the college’s dance program.

Yorkville Historic Resource Survey
Friends of the Upper East Side Historic Districts is holding a survey of Yorkville to catalogue the neighborhood’s unique historic elements and is looking for volunteers to help with the efforts. The group will be studying a section of the Upper East Side from East 59th to 96th Street, from Lexington Avenue to the East River, encompassing a neighborhood known for its history as a center of German, Hungarian, Irish and Czechoslovakian immigrant communities.
Those interested in helping can contact Matthew Coody at 212-535-2526 or mcoody@friends-ues.org to sign up. Volunteers will get an introduction and instructions at the Friends office, then go out with clipboards and cameras to document building information (address, types of windows, characteristic features, construction material, architectural style) to add to the survey report.

Rep. Charlie Rangel, who voted today in the Democratic congressional primary, is facing a challenge from State Sen. Adriano Espaillat and three other candidates. (Jon Lentz)

After navigating through a crowd of reporters and photographers to cast his primary vote in Harlem today, Congressman Charlie Rangel sought to link his campaign to President Barack Obama.

From the ongoing fiscal crisis and income inequality to healthcare reform and the high number of young people going to prison, Rangel asserted he was the only candidate in the Democratic primary race who could combat the ongoing problems and defend the president’s policies.

“It wasn’t the identification with his color,” Rangel said of the reason he had been inspired by President Obama. “It was the identification with his ideas. The fact that he realized that all Americans have to be invested in an education, and research and science, not because it’s the right thing to do, but if we’re going to compete with other nations, we cannot do it with a population that should be creative, rotting away in jail.”

He also applauded Obama for pushing through healthcare reform to address the problem of sick, uninsured people relying on emergency rooms. The Supreme Court is set to issue a ruling on the president’s landmark legislation later this week.

“We have to stop it,” Rangel said of the many uninsured people relying on emergency rooms. “Republicans, Democrats, conservatives, liberals know we have to do it. Then he came with this exciting idea, that was adopted by Romney in Massachusetts, and hopefully will be adopted this week by the courts.”

Rangel, who touted his support from Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Mayor Bloomberg and other elected officials, started his press conference outside the polling station by seeking to dispel what he called “nonsense questions,” including concerns about his age and his ability to serve.

“Am I too old to run for re-election?” he asked. “Clearly, I’ve gone through the process. I’ve done what candidates are supposed to do. … I don’t think anybody that’s running – or not running – should challenge my health.”

To read the full article at City & State click here.

I was pleased last month to convene an important and exciting conference that brought together uptown business owners with representatives of Washington federal agencies. The purpose of the event was to provide useful information on everything from writing effective business plans to competing for government contracts.
More than 250 small business owners representing many different sectors and sizes packed the April 10 sessions, which provided them with a unique opportunity to not only hear but network with highlevel representatives of federal agencies. More than 150 participants took part in smaller breakout sessions that covered critical topics, including
accessing capital and government contracting.
Karen Mills, administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration, lauded those in attendance as “the backbone of our economy and America’s greatest strength.” I couldn’t agree more. David Hinson, director of the Commerce Department’s Minority Business Development Agency, and his staff provided detailed information about accessing alternative sources of financing and growing client bases. I thank them all.
I also commend my friends in the leadership of the uptown business community: Walter Edwards, president of the Harlem Business Alliance, Lloyd Williams, president of the Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce, and Ken Knuckles, president of the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone. Their contributions made the conference possible.
For those with the entrepreneurial spirit, this is a critical time of challenge and opportunity, particularly for small businesses. President Barack Obama often speaks of the vital role of the private sector in growing the economy and creating jobs. The boutiques, restaurants
and retail establishments of all kinds that are proliferating in our community are a part of that movement. They are making the baby steps that soon will help walk the country out of the economic doldrums.
That is why the president is pushing for initiatives that will help small business owners and entrepreneurs to grow. My recent business conference was a way of bringing home the president’s message, while making available to our entrepreneurs some of the tools and resources needed to expand their businesses or start new ones. Democrats in Congress are fighting intense Republican opposition to our efforts to strengthen the nation’s economy. Briefly, our proposals would provide incentives to invest in business, to ease access to capital, and reward companies that create more jobs in this country. At the same time, we must beat back Republican efforts to cut Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and education while showering millionaires with more massive tax cuts.
As former chairman and now the most senior member of the powerful Ways and Means Committee, I’ve been involved in similar struggles. At the beginning of his presidency, I helped President Obama to enact the historic health care law and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act—the so-called Stimulus Act—which saved the economy from total collapse. The law also reduced payroll taxes for middle- class people and extended unemployment benefits for jobless workers.
These benefits, along with the Earned Income Tax Credit—which I had earlier spearheaded to enactment—are among the most important federal government safety nets deployed during the recession.
Even during these difficult times, it is impossible to miss the positive changes that have transformed the appearance of our congressional district. The 125th Street corridor is bustling like never before; scores of new retail establishments, restaurants and a major new hotel have enlivened the area and made Harlem a residential and tourist destination.
Much of the credit for the renaissance should go to the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone, the economic development and jobs project which I authored and spearheaded to enactment in the 1990s.
Upper Manhattan was selected as the site of one of the local projects, armed with $300 million of federal, city, state and private funding. I give all credit to the Zone and the many leaders of the community, academia and private sectors who have contributed to its work, itsleadership and imagination.
The Empowerment Zone is responsible for creation of at least 9,000 jobs in Upper Manhattan. And more than any other single institution, it has encouraged national retailers and small entrepreneurs to take a chance on Upper Manhattan.

As you may know by now, our congressional district has been extended into a portion of the South Bronx and renamed the 13th Congressional
District. I am running for reelection to represent my old and new constituents in the U.S. House of Representatives. I truly believe I can continue to help President Obama while improving the lives of my constituents in the newly drawn congressional district better than anyone else.

Congressman Charles Rangel represents the 13th Congressional District including part of the Upper West Side.