WALL STREET
CHIN HOLDS STAKEHOLDERS MEETING

At the end of last week, Council Member Margaret Chin called a meeting of community stakeholders to discuss the concerns of Community Board 1 residents with representatives of Occupy Wall Street and learn about OWS’ new “Good Neighbor Policy.” Elected officials, including Rep. Jerrold Nadler, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, State Sen. Daniel Squadron and CB1 Chair Julie Menin, attended.

Local elected officials advocated for the dissemination of copies of the Good Neighbor Policy to the group assembled in Zuccotti Park as soon as possible, and Community Board 1 reiterated the need for a dedicated phone number and email for residents to log complaints with OWS directly. Local elected officials urged Occupy Wall Street representatives to identify individuals to monitor the drumming on-site and to adhere to the two hour a day limit as is called for in the policy.

“Now that the Good Neighbor Policy is in place, it is time for Occupy Wall Street to show they are serious about following through with the stipulations they have agreed upon as a body,” said Chin. “This is their opportunity to be responsive to the surrounding community. If they fail to institute serious changes, they will lose the support they now enjoy.”

“It is imperative to respect the protesters’ First Amendment rights and the needs of the local community,” said Menin. “The two are not mutually exclusive, and the Good Neighbor Policy is reflective of that.”

A copy of the approved “Good Neighbor Policy” is available at nycga.cc/category/news.

EAST VILLAGE
P.S. 94 GETS SENSORY ROOM

State Sen. Daniel Squadron joined P.S. 94 students, teachers and families to open the school’s new sensory room. Squadron and Assembly Member Brian Kavanagh, working with school leaders and Council Member Rosie Mendez, successfully secured Department of Education funding for the room, a critical resource for students with autism. The room will allow students to explore and develop senses and skills through touch, sound and light. P.S. 94 is located on East Houston Street.

CITYWIDE
INTERACTIVE MAP SHOWS CITY’S MOST DANGEROUS STREETS FOR PEDESTRIANS (see inset)

Last week, Transportation Alternatives (TA) released the first of a series of “crash map” reports derived from CrashStat.org, TA’s interactive online map of motorist crashes in New York City. The first crash map report, called “Walking in Traffic Violence,” charts motorist crashes with pedestrians, breaking down the data by community district to give a historic view of road safety.

“We’ve all experienced the epidemic of dangerous driving in New York City,” said Paul Steely White, executive director of TA. “Despite the tremendous efforts made by the DOT to redesign streets for safety, behavior behind the wheel puts people in harm’s way every day.”

According to the map, built using New York State Department of Motor Vehicles data from 1995 to 2009, the neighborhoods with the most motorist-pedestrians crashes in each borough are:

1. Midtown Manhattan (Manhattan Community District 5), 8,604 crashes

2. Jamaica, Hollis, St. Albans (Queens Community District 12), 4,741 crashes

3.  Flatbush, Ditmas Park, Midwood (Brooklyn Community District 14), 3,920 crashes

4.  Concourse, Highbridge, Mt. Eden (Bronx Community District 4), 2,938 crashes

5.  North Shore (Staten Island Community District 1),1,944 crashes

To learn more about the number of pedestrian accidents in your neighborhood, visit CrashStat.org.

Photo: CrashStat.org provides an interactive map to look up the frequency of pedestrian accidents in any New York City neighborhood. (Screen still courtesy of CrashStat.org)

East Side Assembly Member Micah Kellner endorsed his fellow legislator from across the park, State Sen. Eric Schneiderman, for attorney general.

Kellner bucked his East Side colleagues in the Assembly by choosing Schneiderman over Richard Brodsky, a fellow member of the Assembly who represents Westchester. East Side Assembly members Jonathan Bing and Brian Kavanagh endorsed Brodsky May 4.

But Kellner called Schneiderman, whose Upper West Side district covers northern Manhattan and parts of the Bronx, a “true progressive” in the race.

“From ethics reform to environmental protection to marriage equality, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman will be a champion for all New Yorkers,” Kellner said in his endorsement statement.

The two legislators worked together on a bill tackling government corruption that would strengthen local law enforcement’s ability to prosecute these cases, reform bribery laws and increase transparency of disclosure reports.

Schneideman also unveiled support from powerhouse union 32BJ, which represents building workers, May 7. It was the union’s first endorsement in the 2010 statewide elections.

East Side Council Member Jessica Lappin has also given her support to Schneiderman.

Other candidates looking to succeed Attorney General Andrew Cuomo include class action lawyer Sean Coffey, former state insurance superintendent Eric Dinallo and Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice.

Kellner bucked his East Side colleagues in the Assembly by choosing Schneiderman over Richard Brodsky, a fellow member of the Assembly who represents Westchester. East Side Assembly members Jonathan Bing and Brian Kavanagh endorsed Brodsky May 4.

State Sen. Eric Schneiderman is running for attorney general.

But Kellner called Schneiderman, whose Upper West Side district covers northern Manhattan and parts of the Bronx, a “true progressive” in the race.

“From ethics reform to environmental protection to marriage equality, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman will be a champion for all New Yorkers,” Kellner said in his endorsement statement.

Schneideman also unveiled support from powerhouse union 32BJ, which represents building workers, May 7. It was the union’s first endorsement in the 2010 statewide elections.

East Side Council Member Jessica Lappin has also given her support to Schneiderman.

Other candidates looking to succeed Attorney General Andrew Cuomo include class action lawyer Sean Coffey, former state insurance superintendent Eric Dinallo and Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice.

As presidential election results poured in at the New York Democrats’ party at the Sheraton Hotel in Midtown, the room was aquiver with news that Queens Council Member Joseph Addabbo and Brian Foley, a Long Island town supervisor, bested two GOP incumbents. That put the Democrats over the 30-seat threshold necessary for a majority.

State Sen. Eric Schneiderman (left) reveling in the Democrats’ victory with presumptive Senate majority leader Malcolm Smith, of Queens. Photo By: Andrew Schwartz

“The Obama surge is the surge of people voting for change, and that’s what we’re fighting for in the State Senate,” said State Sen. Eric Schneiderman.

As expected, Manhattan Democrats effortlessly won their re-election campaigns with yawning margins—no Democratic incumbent dipped below 73 percent of the vote—which looks like further proof the GOP is all but dead in the borough.

If there were a winner to be culled among the Republican candidates, that person would be Republican Party stalwart David Casavis. At 25.17 percent of the vote, Casavis, who ran against Assembly Member Jonathan Bing, received the highest percentage of votes among Republican candidates out of the borough’s 16 State Legislature races. Bing’s district, however, does have the highest GOP enrollment of any Manhattan Assembly district.

The new Democratic majority in the Senate was a personal victory for State Sen. Liz Krueger. A majority was, in part, the culmination of her efforts as head of her conference’s campaign committee in 2006.

“Since I first ran for office, my commitment has been to help the Senate go Democratic,” said Krueger, who succeeded Manhattan’s last Republican state senator, Roy Goodman. “We can move legislation that is in the best interest of the State of New York and the best interests of my district.”

With newfound power in the majority, Manhattan’s state senators are poised for new legislative roles as they are likely to be picked to chair committees and snag leadership roles.

Democratic control of the Senate and Assembly will likely mean more bills moving out of the legislature and onto the governor’s desk. With a Republican-controlled Senate, Democratic bills would often die in committee. For Assembly Democrats, bills would pass their chamber and flounder in the GOP-controlled Senate.

“There are so many progressive objectives we have fought for that have not been possible with GOP-control of the Senate,” said Assembly Member Brian Kavanagh.

Kavanagh said he hopes to advance issues like tenant protection, campaign finance reform and a marriage equality bill.

“That is as big a change you’ll see in politics in a generation,” he said.
Unlike the races in 2000 and 2004, this year’s election—the results, McCain’s concession and Obama’s victory speech—was wrapped up soon after midnight. For Borough President Scott Stringer, ending the party early was welcome.

“When the party lasts long, we Democrats don’t win,” Stringer said. “It should be short, sweet and to the point.”

–Dan Rivoli