Upper East Side Assembly Member Dan Quart announced his endorsement for Speaker Christine Quinn in the race for Mayor on Monday. 

“Speaker Quinn is uniquely qualified to be an effective Mayor,” said Quart. “[She] not only has a strong, forward-looking agenda for New York, but she has the record to back it up. As Speaker, Christine knows how to bring all sides together to make the tough choices necessary to move this city forward.”

“There is no greater advocate for his community than Dan Quart,” said Speaker Quinn. “[He] has been a strong partner advocating for better education opportunities for all New York City children and he, like me, is committed to enhancing New York’s citywide transportation infrastructure. I look forward to partnering with him to find innovative solutions to the issues facing the Upper East Side and in bringing good jobs, investments in education, transportation improvements across the neighborhood.”

Dan Quart represents New York’s 73rd Assembly District, which encompasses the Upper East Side, Midtown East, Turtle Bay and Sutton Place. Quart, a lifelong New Yorker, serves on the following committees: Committee on Consumer Affairs and Protection, Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions, Committee on Housing, Committee on Insurance, Committee on Judiciary, Committee on Tourism, Parks, Arts and Sports Development and the Committee on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse.

What’s going to be the biggest news story to come out of your district in 2013?

Garodnick: Dan Garodnick will kiss every baby in Council District 4 in support of his reelection bid.

Quart: As the first phase of the Second Avenue Subway moves closer to completion, the MTA is going to have to start planning for the next phases of this project. We’ll begin discussing the next phases of construction and how to fund it.

What’s going to be the biggest political upset in 2013?

Garodnick: Hillary Clinton will take Mayor Bloomberg’s advice and run for mayor, but she will lose in a nail-biter to a young, charismatic politician who comes out of nowhere and gives better speeches. He is gracious enough to give her a deputy mayor post.

Quart: Scott Stringer winning comptroller. He has some serious competition in that race.

What will be the single most important development for the downtown community in 2013?

Garodnick: With the Roberts settlement announced, 2013 will be the year Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village tenants get management to work with them on a condo conversion, and begin the process of taking ownership of their community.

What’s one thing that everyone thinks will happen in 2013 that probably won’t?

Garodnick: Joe Lhota will lose the Republican nomination for mayor when his campaign is saddled by allegations that sometimes the MTA’s trains are late.

Who will win the Super Bowl in 2013?

Garodnick: Giants. I got this right last year, so why stop now?

Quart: Anybody but the Patriots.

Read our predictions on literature, Broadway, politics and fashion.

“I have only heard praise from the people she is elected to serve,” said Maloney, a veteran politician representing Manhattan’s East Side who has worked with Lappin on issues like school overcrowding, and whom Lappin claimed as a mentor.

Maloney described Lappin as a champion of progressive reform, capable of cutting through political rhetoric to bring about lasting change. “If you want to see what a person will do, ask them what they have done,” she said, citing Lappin’s role in bringing Cornell’s future tech center to Roosevelt Island, fighting against the proposed waste transfer station by Asphalt Green and authoring a law to regulate pro-life crisis pregnancy centers in the city.

Maloney also listed Lappin’s accomplishments in education, which include supporting the opening of three elementary schools in her district and securing 20,000 additional public school seats across the city. Lappin herself attended Stuyvesant High School and has a child in a public school in the city. “If we aren’t reforming schools, we’re going backwards,” Maloney said.

Lappin promised to continue to support education, affordable housing and senior programs as borough president, and noted the importance of the position in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. “We are clearly in a rebuilding phase in our city, and that demands strong and effective leadership on all levels of government, and leaders who believe in the power and responsibility of government to do for us what we cannot always do for ourselves,” she said. “The next borough president has to be deeply involved in how and where we rebuild. We are going to get billions of dollars in aid, and we have to spend that money wisely. I want to help the borough grow and remain competitive, yet still retain what makes us unique.”

After her speech, Lappin said working in her district had prepared her well for the role of borough president: “What I’ve learned is that there aren’t issues that are ‘Upper East Side problems.’ You go neighborhood to neighborhood across the borough, and you hear the same issues: affordable housing, public schools, jobs and quality of life concerns.”

Lappin was first elected to the City Council in 2005. She chairs the council’s Committee on Aging and co-chairs its Women’s Caucus, and is a member of the district’s Education, Transportation, Cultural Affairs and Land Use committees.

“The results are there,” Kellner said in his endorsement. “Jessica has not only done things for our community, but borough-wide and citywide already as a member of the City Council.”
“I can’t imagine anyone more vested in the future of Manhattan,” Quart said.

Supporters from the neighborhood gathered around Lappin with campaign signs and led cheers as she spoke. They also spoke highly of her. “I think that she’s actually fearless,” said Rita Popper, a member of Community Board 8. “She has conviction. She has passion. We need that, especially when we’re battling something like the marine transfer station, especially after Hurricane Sandy.”
“I don’t know anything about the others running against her,” admitted Lorraine Johnson, another supporter. “At this point, I don’t even want to know anything about the other people. From her experience and everything she’s done over the years, there just couldn’t be anybody better than that.”

Other contenders in the 2013 election include former Community Board 1 Chairperson Julie Menin and City Council Members Gale Brewer and Robert Jackson.

Congressional District 12, Carolyn Maloney vs. Chris Wight

U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney

In this race for Congress, our endorsement goes to Democratic incumbent and prolific legislator U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney. Maloney has consistently delivered federal funding and services to her district, championing the Second Avenue Subway and other capital projects, working hard on the 9/11 Zadroga bill to grant healthcare to those affected by the terrorist attacks, and pushing against the Republican onslaught on women’s rights at the national level. While her Republican opponent Christ Wight has said that he is pro-choice, he doesn’t have a platform for promoting continued access to abortion and reproductive healthcare. Wight also toes the Republican line on cutting taxes and said that he would focus more on reducing corporate taxes than bringing federal dollars into the state and the district, which we believe would hurt, not help, the Upper East Side.

Senate District 28, Liz Krueger vs. David Garland

Sen. Liz Krueger

David Garland, a Republican and Independence Party candidate, presented a strong campaign with well-developed ideas for the Upper East Side. Garland, who speaks six languages and works at a management consultant for Fortune 500 companies, is a fiscal conservative, advocating for better use of tax incentives at the state level as well as reducing taxes for small businesses and corporations to keep them in New York. He also is a social libertarian, supporting gay marriage and reproductive and abortion rights. He is running, however, against a very strong opponent in State Senator Liz Krueger, and our endorsement goes to her in this race. Krueger has been a consistent champion of women’s rights as well as a powerful force in the Senate, as she serves as the ranking Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee and could become the chair if her party takes the majority. She consistently provides excellent constituent services while diving into the weeds of budgets and complicated legislative issues, like the Reproductive Health Act that would move the state’s reproductive health laws from the penal to the civil code. While we support Sen. Krueger in this race, we hope to see David Garland continue in politics and would have considered endorsing him against a weaker Democratic candidate.

Senate District 31, Adriano Espaillat vs. Martin Chicon

We are declining to endorse either candidate in this race. While Republican Martin Chicon argued that he would be able to better serve the district as part of the (currently) majority party in the Senate and said that he would bring development and transit improvements to the district, we were not completely convinced that he would be the best representative for the Upper West Side’s heavily Democratic and liberal constituency. We are unable to endorse his opponent, incumbent Sen. Adriano Espaillat, however, since he did not make himself available for an endorsement interview.

Assembly District 76, Micah Kellner vs. Mike Zumbluskas

Assembly Member Micah Kellner

Democratic incumbent Micah Kellner presented a compelling case for promoting his reelection, specifically with an eye toward his advocacy on behalf of creating a new middle school in the district and his work against the East 91st Street Marine Transfer Station. He also is supportive of raising the minimum wage as well as creating an angel investor tax credit, similar to what other states have implemented successfully, to keep tech innovators in New York. He is a strong opponent of hydrofracking in the state and said that he will continue to push to prevent or restrict it. His opponent, Mike Zumbluskas, is an Independent candidate running on the Republican line, and while he presented some ideas similar to Kellner, his emphasis on reducing taxes and challenging the Democratic majority in the Assembly were not strong enough reasons for voters to choose him. Despite the widely circulated rumor that he will be running for city council in 2013 (which he would neither confirm nor deny), we endorse Kellner in this race.

Assembly District 73, Dan Quart vs. David Casavis 

Assembly Member Dan Quart

In this race, we endorse the freshman incumbent Assemblyman Dan Quart. After winning the seat just over a year ago in a special election, Quart is running for a full term with a focus on improving the state and city’s energy policies and improving access to quality education on the Upper East Side. While we wish that Quart had presented a slightly stronger case for voters to return him to Albany, we also recognize that he’s only had a year in the job and we look forward to seeing what he can do if he wins reelection and had a full term to develop some of his positions and advance his ideas, especially in promoting green energy. His Republican opponent, David Casavis, who ran for Manhattan Borough President against Scott Stringer in 2009, presented little in the way of specific plans to help his district and almost no indication of the type of legislation he would pass, aside from opposing Democrats.

Assembly District 65, Sheldon Silver vs. Wave Chan 

Assembly Speaker Sheldon SIlver

While we wish that there were a stronger challenger running against all-powerful Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, our endorsement in this race still goes to him. Especially in light of his botched handling of the Vito Lopez sexual harassment scandal, many argue that Silver’s iron-clad hold over the Assembly could use a shake-up, but the Tea Party Republican candidate Wave Chan isn’t the person to do that. Silver remains popular in his district and does advocate for his constituents’ needs, while Chan could only present vague ideas about severely cutting corporate taxes and encouraging new housing development without clear plans as to how he would specifically help the Lower East Side. He also would be a poor fit for a district with an active LGBT population, as he does not support gay marriage, only civil unions.

As kids prepare to go back to school, classroom crowding and the fight for more schools continues

As students back their backpacks and get ready for the school year that will kick off next week, parents and education advocates are gearing up to fight the continuing battle for quality public school education on the Upper East Side.

While the neighborhood, part of Community Education Council District 2, enjoys many top-notch public schools, overcrowding and budget tightening are constantly threatening the balance.

The biggest concern in the district is over the lack of school space for future classes.

“I think the questions of overcrowding continue to predominate on the Upper East Side, and that’s what we’re hearing most from parents,” said Council Member Dan Garodnick. “The inclusion of new school spaces will certainly help, but it does not eliminate the challenges that we have today.”

The district recently won a long-fought battle in gaining a new elementary school at the Our Lady of Good Counsel building on East 91st Street. Over the summer, DOE Chancellor Dennis Walcott joined U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney and Assembly Member Dan Quart at the official announcement of the DOE’s deal with the Catholic Archdiocese to lease the space for 15 years. The building had been the temporary home to P.S. 151, the Yorkville Community School, before it moved into its permanent location on East 88th Street, and then P.S. 51, which had relocated from Chelsea while its building was under construction. The DOE’s lease on the building had been set to expire this fall, and parents in the community pushed hard to renew the lease for a longer term. Now the building will be home to P.S. 527, helping alleviate some of the area’s elementary school crowding.

“School overcrowding remains a critical problem on the Upper East Side,” Quart said at the ceremony. “As enrollment rates continue to increase, it is crucial that school construction keep pace with this growth.” Quart had a real-life prop to back up his claim—his 5-year-old son, Sam, who will be attending the school as a kindergartener this fall—standing at the podium with him.

Shino Tanikawa, the president of the District 2 Community Education Council (CEC), said in a letter addressing this year’s upcoming challenges in the district that overcrowding continues to be a major concern.

“District 2 schools continue to be overcrowded even with new schools that have started in the last four years,” Tanikawa said. “This coming year, we will be rezoning the east side of Midtown for a new school located on First Avenue at 35th Street. Plans are under way for a new school in Chelsea and another in the Financial District and negotiations to acquire 75 Morton St. are ongoing.”

Most new school plans are for elementary schools, which is what the DOE says the district needs. Some parents and elected officials, however, say that the numbers don’t indicate the real picture of what the district needs, since it encompasses many different neighborhoods—the Upper East Side as well as most of Lower Manhattan.

Assembly Member Micah Kellner has been leading the charge to ask the DOE for a new middle school, petitioning local parents to get on board. He said that many parents with middle school-aged kids feel that they face a choice between private school and moving out to the suburbs instead of relying on public middle schools.

“I wish the DOE would stop playing games with middle school numbers and admit we need another middle school on the Upper East Side,” Kellner said.

Community Board 8’s Youth and Education Committee has also been pushing for a middle school, specifically that the building that houses P.S. 158, which will soon have space for another school, will use that space for a middle school.

“We’re ever watchful about what’s happening with P.S. 158 that it becomes a middle school. All the electeds have spoken out that they don’t want it to be a charter school,” said Judy Schneider, co-chair of the committee.

“In September the DOE is expected to release Educational Impact Statements for co-location [of charter schools],” said Tanikawa. “While it seems the elementary and middle schools in District 2 are spared from co-location, we still need to voice our concern for having elementary students with high school students in the same building, and for potential overcrowding that could result from co-location.”
One small victory that parents around the city are celebrating is the reinstatement of a program that was recently cut—Wellness in the Schools, which pairs professional chefs with public school cafeterias to create healthy, scratch-made menus for the kids. Earlier this week, DOE officials said that they would have to cut the program to ensure that all schools would be able to meet more stringent federal school lunch regulations or risk losing federal money. Thanks to an immediate outcry from parents and elected officials, including Council Speaker Christine Quinn, the DOE announced that it would keep the program and work with the schools and chefs on keeping the menus within guidelines.

Tapped In: Notes from the Neighborhood

CAR WASH WORKERS TARGET UES OWNER

Last Friday, a group of car wash workers rallied at LMC Car Wash on East 109th Street to protest what they claim is its mistreatment of workers and to campaign for better working conditions. The car wash is one of about 20 in New York City operated by Lage Management Company; owner John Lage was ordered to pay over $3 million in back wages to workers in 2009 after the U.S. Department of Labor found that he had violated labor laws. Now, workers claim that conditions at Lage’s car washes are still unfair, that workers sometimes don’t make minimum wage and often work unpaid overtime.

Photo Credit: Andrew Schwartz

Sharing Titanic History

On the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, great grandson of Isidor and Ida Straus, Paul Kurzman, speaks with students at P.S. 198 the Isidor and Ida Straus School about the history of his family. The Strauses were founders and owners of the Macy’s department store. (INSET) Kurzman shared with students a locket recovered from Isidor Straus’ body.
DIABETES AND HEARING LOSS

Local audiologist group Audio Help Associates of Manhattan is offering free hearing screenings March 21-27 at their Upper East Side location, 186 E. 76th St. Hearing loss is about twice as common in adults with diabetes as in those who do not have the disease, according to a study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine. Doctors conducting the screenings will also be available to explain the connection between diabetes and hearing loss. To make an appointment, call 212-774-1971 and refer to code ADA SCREEN.
LAPPIN WANTS COMMUNITY BOARDS ONLINE

City Council Member Jessica Lappin introduced legislation last week that would require community board meetings to be broadcast live on the web. The bill would also mandate that recordings be archived and made available to the public within five days of meeting
dates. Community Board 6, which covers Turtle Bay, Murray Hill, Kips Bay and Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village, may be launching a pilot program later this year, and Lappin hopes that other boards will soon follow suit. “New Yorkers are always on the go, and with technology, we can bring community board meetings to them,” Lappin said in a statement. “With live webcasting, we can connect New Yorkers and make government more accessible and transparent.”
CENTRAL PARK GETS HISTORIC NOD

Last week, the preservation advocacy group Friends of the Upper East Side Historic Districts presented the Central Park Conservancy with its
Distinctive Achievement Award for the restoration of the park’s East Meadow. The last of
seven major lawns to be restored by the Conservancy, the 6-acre stretch of East Meadow was revamped over the course of a year and reopened to the public in September 2011.

Drainage was improved and paths reconstructed and an automatic irrigation system was installed on the landscape. “With this project, the Central Park Conservancy has once again proven their determination to invest in this exceptional scenic landmark, which the Upper East Side is lucky to call our backyard,” said Matthew Coody, a Friends of the Upper East Side Historic Districts associate. The East Meadow will reopen to the public for passive recreation, following its fall/winter closure, in April.

Photo Credit: Andrew Schwartz

Some Fine Tuning

A high school student recieves some free instruction from Classical guitarist Ben Verdery, chair of the guitar department at the Yale School of Music, during the 92nd Street Y’s High School Guitar Day on March 18. The free day of guitar instruction for New York City teens of all playing levels, included workshops on Beginner Afro-Cuban; Hawaiian Slack Key; Classical Guitar; and Solo Flamenco Guitar Art and Technique. Visit our website at www.ourtownny.com for more photos from Guitar Day.
HELP PLAN BIKESHARE

The Department of Transportation is holding a community planning session to get input from local residents on how to develop the BikeShare program for the Upper East Side. The program, which will be funded by sponsorships and user fees, will place bike rental stations around the city, allowing members to rent bikes 24 hours a day and return them
to docking points at any station. One of the program’s aims is to connect people to other forms of public transit in areas where subways and buses aren’t accessible.

Representatives from Community Board 8, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, Council Members Dan Garodnick and Jessica Lappin and Assembly Members Micah Kellner and Dan Quart will be at the session to hear community ideas and feedback about where to place BikeShare stations and how the program should be implemented. There will be two sessions Monday, March 26, at 6 and 7 p.m. at The Lighthouse, 111 E. 59th St., BV Hall, on the second floor. For information prior to the sessions, contact Josh Orzeck at jorzeck@dot.nyc.gov or call 212-839-6218.
FREE MAMMOGRAMS

Assembly Member Micah Kellner is coordinating with Project Renewal to provide free mammograms for the community Friday, April 20. Screenings will be conducted by appointment from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Lenox Hill Neighborhood House, 331 E. 70th St. Call Kellner’s office at 212-860-4906 to schedule an appointment in advance; all are eligible for the free service.