We asked the state senators and assembly members from our neighborhoods to respond to Gov. Cuomo’s State of the State address

Last week, Gov. Andrew Cuomo delivered his annual State of the State speech, addressing a population that had recently been shaken by the devastation of Hurricane Sandy and the unthinkable violence of the school shooting in nearby Newton, Conn. The governor proposed a bevy of sweeping legislative changes to bolster the state’s economy, strengthen the public education system, and crack down on guns and assault weapons. We spoke to state legislators from Manhattan to find out how the governor’s proposals might affect New York City residents and how these leaders plan to follow through on these important issues.

Sen. Liz Krueger, Upper East Side

“I was thrilled to see Gov. Cuomo commit to moving key items in my own legislative agenda, especially a comprehensive women’s equality package including several key measures I’ve sponsored or supported.

“Fair pay, workplace fairness, reproductive health, preventing domestic violence—these are priorities I’ve fought for since I joined the Senate, and I welcome Gov. Cuomo’s leadership and hope he can help us break through the deadlock in Albany that has prevented real action on too many of these issues.

“I was happy to see Gov. Cuomo continue his commitment to passing a comprehensive gun control package including a stronger assault-weapons ban.”

Assembly Member Micah Kellner, Upper East Side

“Gov. Cuomo put forward a progressive agenda to make New York a model for equality, innovation, education and technology. I look forward to working with him and his administration to implement the toughest assault weapons ban in the nation, enact meaningful campaign finance reform, provide equality for women and raise the minimum wage for working New Yorkers.

“Encouraging new businesses to thrive in New York City is something I have long promoted as the sponsor of an Angel Investor Tax Credit, which provides tax incentives to individuals who invest in startups so that companies that develop in New York remain in New York. The governor’s proposed “innovation hot spots”—tax free zones to ensure new technologies developed in New York are commercialized here—is an exciting idea, which could not come at a better time as the new Cornell-Technion campus breaks ground on Roosevelt Island.”

Assembly Member Dan Quart, Upper East Side

“I support the governor’s broad thinking on education issues. The governor’s competitive grant program will allow public schools the opportunity to reimagine their school days with more instructional time. Families who are looking for a longer school day or year will be able to find a public school that can provide those things.

“I applaud the governor for taking a strong stand against gun violence in New York. I support a policy of using the state’s buying power to curb the sale of semi-automatic machine guns. As the ultimate decision-maker when it comes to contacts for firearms for the New York State Police, Gov. Cuomo can and should leverage the state’s buying power against gun manufacturers who have prioritized profits over the safety of New Yorkers.”

Sen. Adriano Espaillat, Upper West Side, Manhattan Valley, Washington Heights

“As the sponsor of legislation to raise the minimum wage, I was heartened to hear Gov. Cuomo express his support for this initiative, which will help millions of New Yorkers rise out of poverty and be able to better make ends meet.

“I commend the governor for his commitment to enacting swift gun reform legislation. As the sponsor of legislation to restrict gun sales and strengthen our gun laws, I am pleased to join the governor in calling for strong reform to gun laws that will make New York’s the toughest in the nation.

“I applaud Gov. Cuomo for his decision to direct $1 billion toward the production and preservation of affordable housing in New York City.

“Additionally, I strongly support the governor’s call for a Women’s Equality Act, ensuring that all women have true equality regardless of gender.

“Finally, I also commend Gov. Cuomo for his call to invest in the future, by educating our youth, including a plan for fully funded pre-K.”

Sen. Brad Hoylman, Chelsea and Hell’s Kitchen, Upper West Side, Midtown/East Midtown, the East Village and Lower East Side

“I am heartened by the governor’s renewed call for an assault weapons ban and other measures to fix New York’s porous gun laws, especially in light of the tragedy at Sandy Hook and the spate of gun violence across New York City last summer. The governor’s Women’s Equality Act, which includes support for pay equity, is a bold effort to end discrimination and inequality based on gender, and I appreciate his strong call for passage of the Reproductive Health Act to protect women’s right to choose. I was also pleased to hear his plan to lessen the harm caused by the NYPD’s stop-and-frisk policy by decriminalizing small amounts of marijuana and advance campaign finance reform through the public financing of elections.

“The creation of a $1 billion affordable housing fund appears promising, although we also need measures to strengthen rent regulation laws, which have been bottled up by special interests for many years. And while I’m pleased to hear of the governor’s support for increasing the minimum wage to help address the growing gap between the rich and poor in our state, working families will not see a lasting benefit if we fail to index any increase to inflation.”

Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal, Upper West Side

“I was pleased to hear Gov. Cuomo outline an aggressively progressive platform for New York state. While it should not have taken the tragedy of Sandy Hook to begin the long-overdue conversation on guns that we are currently having, I am glad that New York state, which already has some of the toughest gun laws in the country, will act to make them tougher. I am eager to cast my vote in the affirmative on a comprehensive package of common-sense gun laws.

“During these tough economic times, it is critical that we raise the minimum wage and index it to inflation to help build ladders to the middle class by guaranteeing that hard-working families are paid a fair wage for a day’s work. Recognizing the role that gender-based discrimination plays in economic security for women and their families, I was pleased to hear the governor focus on achieving real pay equity in New York state. I am the prime sponsor of legislation that would equalize the pay gap that still exists for women employed in stereotypically female-dominated fields, and look forward to working with the governor to pass this and a number of other reforms to end gender-based discrimination and also violence against women and girls. In addition to pay equity, I am excited that the governor will be seeking passage of the Reproductive Health Act as part of a broader Women’s Equality Act, which would focus on protections for victims of domestic violence, sexual harassment and human trafficking.”

Assembly Member Deborah Glick, Greenwich Village and Tribeca

“I’m very excited about the governor’s strong position on women’s equality. I will be working with a broad coalition to ensure that his agenda on women is passed in the Assembly. In addition, measures to increase the minimum wage and close gun loopholes are crucial.”

Sen. Daniel Squadron, Lower Manhattan

“New Yorkers are crying out for the common sense protections that will help keep our streets and our families safe from gun violence. I’ve long supported legislation that would close major gaps in our assault weapons ban—including the weapon used in Newtown and Webster. There is simply no reason for civilians to carry these military-style weapons. I applaud the governor for making a tougher assault weapons ban part of his proposal.

“In addition, I stand with Senate Democrats, the Assembly and the governor in support of microstamping. Blocking the bill means depriving police of a vital, cost-effective tool to connect shell casings with their guns. It’s simply mind-boggling that Senate Republicans would continue to block microstamping and let hundreds of murder and gun violence cases go unsolved each year.
“I also applaud the governor for highlighting the in-plain-view marijuana possession statute and the inconsistent way it’s enforced. In large parts of our city, entire communities feel like suspects targeted by law enforcement rather than citizens protected by it. The governor’s proposal to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana in public view would be a critical step toward ending these inequities.”

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, Lower East Side

“As our Lower Manhattan community continues to recover from Hurricane Sandy, I commend the governor’s call for strengthening our infrastructure, such as subways, and I will continue to join my fellow elected officials to demand that Congress end its delays and release the aid that our residents so desperately need. I was also very pleased that the governor said he would join the Assembly in enacting serious and meaningful gun safety legislation. We in the Assembly have passed comprehensive gun reforms year after year, including bills to strengthen our state’s assault weapons ban, require the micro-stamping of shell casings to help police track guns used in crimes, keep guns out of the hands of the mentally ill and many other common sense measures. As one of our state’s leading advocates for universal pre-K, I commend the governor for joining our effort to make greater investments in our children, especially here in New York City.”

And until fairly recently, the group has managed to maintain a relatively low national profile.

But, a series of highly controversial bills, including Arizona’s stringent immigration law and Florida’s “Stand your ground” legislation, has led to new scrutiny from watchdog organizations and politicians alike.

Most notably is the recent call from NY state Sen. Dan Squadron, the ranking member of the Senate Investigations and Government Operations Committee (IGO), for legislators in the state and across the country to disclose their ties to ALEC and more specifically, notify the public when the organization has helped them to shape and/or introduce new bills.
“ALEC has clearly far-reaching and deep influence in American legislation, so much so that it’s shocking,” Squadron said in an interview. “The more you peel the onion—by any name, lobbying still stinks, and we’ve got to push back against it.”

At the heart of Squadron’s and other groups’ complaints about ALEC are the facts that the think tank claims it does not engage in lobbying while continuing to be registered as a charitable organization. Lobbying is legal and regulated, but ALEC is registered as a 501c3 group. And, critics say, it does in fact engage in lobbying.

“A 501c3 can do a small amount of lobbying so long as they report it,” said Brendan Fischer, staff counsel with the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD), an investigative reporting and watchdog group. “But, ALEC has repeatedly claimed to the IRS that it engages in no lobbying.”

“[T]he organization’s mission to support free-market, limited-government policies stands as strong as ever,” noted ALEC spokesperson and editor-in-chief of ALEC internal publications Kaitlyn Buss in an emailed statement. “In response to the lobbying complaint, ALEC does not lobby,” she added.

Bruce Berg, a political science professor at Fordham University, said that the benefit for a legislator to work with ALEC is fairly simple to see.

“If I am a conservative legislator, I will be able to take credit for introducing conservative legislation,” Berg said. “It’s win-win. The legislator gets to claim credit for having done something positive, and ALEC gets its legislation introduced.”

Further, Fischer said that there are other tangible advantages for legislators to work with ALEC. “State legislators often lack resources—in many states, legislators have just one staff assistant, and in some cases share staffers with other legislators—and may lack background knowledge on certain issues, so ALEC provides a simple way to help,” Fischer said.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, several political insiders admitted that the larger issue with ALEC is the fact that the group has created a way for special interests to skirt state lobbying laws.

“ALEC is a conduit for corporate influence that disguises itself as a nonpartisan charity,” Fischer said. “Corporations pay thousands or tens of thousands of dollars in ALEC membership dues to buy access to state legislators, and then push corporate-drafted ‘model legislation’ that tends to benefit the corporate bottom line.”

Fischer also added that ALEC’s corporate members also pay for legislators’ flights and hotel rooms at ALEC meetings, which further entices legislators to join ALEC, thereby allowing special interests to influence lawmakers to introduce ALEC model bills.

But, the group maintains that with its free-market and limited-government focus, it merely brings together state legislators and private sector, or corporate leaders, in order to pass business-friendly laws. It has repeatedly denied all charges of lobbying and has reaffirmed its nonpartisan nature.

ALEC’s state legislator members pay a modest yearly fee of about $50 for membership, while the group’s corporate members such as ExxonMobil, GlaxoSmithKline, State Farm Insurance and Pfizer Inc. pay upward of $10,000 for membership, according to CMD. The group also estimates that corporate members make up nearly 98 percent of ALEC’s $7 million annual budget.

The organization says that each year “close to 1,000 bills, based at least in part on ALEC model legislation, are introduced in the states,” with an average of 20 percent becoming law.
Concerned over the seemingly stealthy nature of ALEC’s activism in New York, Squadron convened a public forum on the group’s efforts back in June that was attended by several prominent New York lawmakers and included testimony from a variety of activists and watchdog groups.

“When an organization is funded by corporate groups which are themselves lobbyists, it leads to real questions about their influence on government and their influence on legislators,” Squadron said.

Among the 39 ALEC-inspired model bills introduced in New York in 2010, Squadron said that three in particular were especially troubling.

The bills include the controversial “Stand your ground” legislation at the center of the Trayvon Martin shooting in Florida in February, which grants legal immunity to shooters claiming self-defense; legislation prohibiting regulation of Voice Over Internet Protocol services, which would make it difficult for municipalities to provide low-cost Internet access to residents; and a Voter ID bill which, Squadron said, has been “thrown out by courts across the nation” as amounting to voter suppression.

Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause NY, a nonprofit good government group, said at the forum, “Lawmakers who introduce legislation, proposed or inspired by an organization, should be required to disclose that fact to the public. … New Yorkers should know who their legislators work with.”

Squadron added that the point of lobby laws is to keep the public informed about who is pushing for laws that may affect them. “Issues of transparency and process matter, as that’s the way we can ensure that government is passing policies that improve the state instead of just passing policies that line the pockets of corporations,” he said.

In response to comments from both Common Cause and CMD, ALEC’s Buss added: “It is unfortunate that these same extremist groups are still attacking ALEC.”

Moreover, Alexis Grenell, a spokesperson for Common Cause, said the group filed a complaint in April with the IRS against ALEC on the grounds that they are in violation of their 501c3 status. The complaint was centered on the IRS’ “Whistleblower” protocol and included thousands of documents that Common Cause says illustrate lobbying by ALEC.
Grenell added that shortly after that complaint, they notified Attorney General Eric Schneiderman to investigate ALEC locally, “since all registered charities must submit tax information to the AG’s office.”

Responding to challenges to ALEC’s charitable organization status, Alan P. Dye, legal counsel to ALEC, issued a written statement on the group’s website.

“The attacks on the American Legislative Exchange Council are based on patently false claims being made by liberal front groups that differ with ALEC on philosophical terms,” Dye wrote.

In his statement, Dye also characterized Common Cause as “a partisan front group masquerading as an ethics watchdog.”

“We are here today with a very clear message. There’s too much gun violence in New York, there’s too much gun violence in this country, and we have to go back to Albany to do something about it,” state Sen. Daniel Squadron told a cluster of people in Alphabet City on Friday, Oct. 5.

Squadron gathered with community leaders and elected officials to call for an urgent legislative meeting to address gun control statewide. General statewide legislation is held in Albany from January through June, so Squadron’s call for a special meeting would mean the bills be looked at before January. Although the session itself would take place in Albany, Squadron made his announcement at Campos Plaza, a public housing project on East 13th Street and Avenue C, and the site of a shooting earlier this month.

According to New York City Police Department reports, there have already been 1,329 shootings in the city this year, and this summer shootings reportedly increased by 5.2 percent compared to 2011.

“Before one more innocent life is lost, it’s time for the legislature to pass these critical bills,” Squadron said.

The gun control bills that Squadron is proposing include a limit on how many guns one can buy per month, more thorough background checks, and a broadening of the definition of assault weapons to encompass various military-style guns.

“I can think of no legitimate reason that an individual would need a military-style assault weapon with the capacity to fire hundreds of rounds in seconds,” Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal said at the conference.

The package of laws would also require the microstamping of shell casings. Microstamping is a new technology, in which a laser stamps a specific number onto the shell casing, so that when a bullet is fired it can—theoretically—be traced back to the person who purchased the weapon. Gun rights activists have come out strongly against microstamping, saying it is ineffective, costly to gun companies, and affects legal gun owners more than criminals, since most shootings involve illegal guns.

“It will make firearms much more expensive to purchase,” said Tom King, president of the New York State Rifle Association, in a telephone interview. He cited California, where a microstamping law has already been upheld but is not yet enacted, saying a few gun companies had stopped shipping to the state in reaction to the bill.

But, he added, the real problem with microstamping is “it just doesn’t work.” He pointed to a study conducted at UC Davis, a branch of the University of California, to defend the technology’s ineffectuality. King added that anyone could dismantle the stamping mechanism in a matter of minutes.

King maintains that there are better ways to stop violent crimes than gun control. Asked what he would propose, he replied, “putting people who commit the crimes in jail, and keeping them there for a while.”

Dereese Huff, the Campos Plaza Tenant Association President who also spoke at Squadron’s conference, is of a different mind.

“We are a community that has been fired upon,” she told the crowd, as neighbors nodded emphatically. “I support efforts to control the rampant spread of guns in our neighborhoods. We all deserve the right to live a long and secure life, and not to be killed by a stray bullet.”

Next to Huff stood Aida Salgado, 42, a mother whose 17-year-old son was fatally shot in October 2011, just three blocks from Campos Plaza. Donovan Salgado was a senior at Washington Irving High School when another youth fired at him while attempting to rob him. Donovan was taken to Bellevue Hospital, where he was declared dead.

After her loss, Aida founded “Mothers in Arms”, a parental organization dedicated to protecting children’s safety. Salgado believes the New York Police Department does not have gun violence under control, and is either in denial or simply does not care. She says she does her best to keep her other teenage son close nowadays, and inside her apartment as much as possible, for fear he will get hurt in the street.

“I hope that lawmakers hear our voices, our chorus of pain, and act quickly,” Huff urged, as councilmen and fellow tenants murmured in agreement.

Whether or not the governor will agree to review these bills before January remains to be seen.

‘Robokid’ Takes On East Village
East Village resident Jakob Kraus, 7, who has earned the moniker “Robokid,” is a self-taught hip-hop dancer who practices the style known as “animation,” according to his father. Now his videos, which can be viewed online, are on the brink of going viral.

Jakob’s father said his son was inspired by an Atlanta-based dance crew, Dragon House, according to the Daily News. He also avidly watches So You Think You Can Dance. Jakob has never taken professional dance classes and learns his moves from YouTube, reports the News.

Margaret Chin and Elected Officials Condemn Romney/Ryan on Women’s Rights
New York City Councilmember Margaret Chin joined several New York elected officials in urging support for Barack Obama and decrying Romney and Ryan’s policies on women. Chin called the GOP’s policies on women’s reproductive rights “antiquated” and “dangerous.”

Chin said Ryan’s stances on women’s rights “show a complete disregard for women and the fact that we, too, are full, independent human beings.” Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney compiled a report on the “Top Ten Ways Romney and Ryan are Bad for American Women,” for which Chin and other officials expressed their support.

Public Theater at Astor Place to Celebrate Revitalization

The Public Theater at Astor Place will unveil and celebrate a $40 million revitalization this fall, and welcomes the public’s enjoyment of the renovations. The celebration will include eight weeks of events, some of which will be free of charge. The revitalization aims to open the building up to the community, including welcoming artists and students more readily into its midst.

The company hopes the rededication will spark renewed dialogue on the “important issues of the day.” The official opening ceremony will be on Oct. 4 at 10 a.m.

ACLU and NYCLU  Support Twitter’s Appeal to Protect User Privacy
The ACLU and NYCLU have filed a brief in support of an appeal by Twitter following a court order that it turn over an OWS demonstrator’s Twitter account information to the Manhattan District Attorney’s office.

Malcolm Harris, the demonstrator targeted by the district attorney’s office subpoena, and Twitter filed motions in court to avoid turning over several months of user information. Both motions were rejected, and both parties respectively appealed the decision. The NYCLU and ACLU argue Harris’ First Amendment rights to free speech are being threatened by the case.

Squadron Urges Politicians to Reveal if Bills Are Drafted by ALEC
State Sen. Daniel Squadron is calling on politicians to disclose whether the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) helps draft the bills they introduce into legislation. ALEC is not currently registered as a lobby in New York, though it receives funding from corporate members. ALEC is instead currently registered as a charitable organization.
According to a statement from Squadron’s office: “[ALEC] hosts legislators at fully paid-for ‘retreats’ and issues ‘legislative resolutions’ to be submitted by legislator-members in statehouses around the country.” Squadron insists it’s only fair to disclose ALEC’s role in drafting bills.

By Paul Bisceglio

“When you see banners that say ‘luxury housing,’ you know something has gone wrong.”

City Council member Dan Garodnick delivered this message in a news conference last week to a crowd of tenants in front of Independence Plaza North (IPN), a three-tower apartment complex along Greenwich Street in Tribeca. Garodnick was one of several city officials gathered to confirm their support of the tenants’ struggle to keep rents stabilized at the plaza, which was built as affordable housing in 1973 but now is leasing one- and two-bedroom apartments for up to $4,500 and $6,500 per month.

“We want the people who have made this neighborhood great to be able to stay in this neighborhood,” Council Speaker Christine Quinn told the crowd.

The long-term tenants cheered in agreement. After decades of petitioning for paved streets, traffic lights and schools in a neighborhood once full of empty factories, these residents say they ended up with a community so vibrant and popular that they can no longer afford to live in it.

The officials—who also included Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, state Sen. Daniel Squadron, Councilwoman Jessica Lappin, former Community Board 1 Chair Julie Menin and others—announced their filing of three amicus briefs (unsolicited court documents) to convince the state’s Court of Appeals to consider the request by the Independence Plaza North Tenants’ Association (IPNTA) to return the complex’s 1,349 units to rent stabilization.

The Tenants’ Association has battled the complex’s landlord, Laurence Gluck of Stellar Management, for years. Gluck removed the buildings from the state-subsidizing housing initiative Mitchell-Lama in 2004 to pursue market rates for some apartments, but received tax breaks from the Department of Finance’s J-51 affordable housing program for two more years. He eventually repaid the amount he received in tax cuts plus interest, but the tenants argued that he could not forsake their rents’ stability after he had received benefits to secure them.

A lower-court judge ruled in the tenants’ favor in 2010, but the State Supreme Court’s Appellate Division reversed the decision last May on the grounds that Gluck actually should not have received J-51 tax breaks in the first place. The benefits were “merely the erroneous result of the [Department of Finance’s] failure to adjust IPN’s tax liability,” the judges said. “That error did not create rent stabilized status for a development that was not otherwise subject to the rent stabilization law.”

IPN’s tenants and the politicians supporting them see a dangerous precedent in this reversal. “By essentially making rent regulation optional for J-51 landlords,” said a conference press release, “[the court’s decision] may jeopardize the tens of thousands of New York City residents living in post-1973 buildings that receive J-51 benefits and are currently in any temporary, income-based program.”

Stephen B. Meister, a lawyer for the plaza, though, argues that this worry is unfounded. “The Appellate Division correctly held that IPN became ineligible for J-51 benefits upon exiting the Mitchell-Lama program, and therefore never became rent stabilized,” he told DNAinfo in a recent article.

If the Court of Appeals agrees to consider the tenants’ case, it would be their last chance to change the ruling. While some tenants will be affected differently than others if they fail, because some pay market rates while others’ rents remain protected, all would benefit from stabilized rents, argued the tenants’ lawyer Seth Miller at the conference.

IPNTA President Diane Lapson, a longtime resident of the complex, encouraged her fellow residents to be strong. “We built Tribeca. And we’re still building Tribeca,” she said. “Every great story has a great struggle.”

She said in an interview, “We made the neighborhood so great that other people wanted to move in, but now IPN is the diversity of Tribeca. Without it, this would be white-bread land. Without it, young people no longer have a choice of where to live [in the city] like I did.”

In August 2007, a fire in the Financial District’s vacant Deutsche Bank building claimed the lives of two New York firefighters. The tragedy prompted State Senator Daniel Squadron and Assemblyman Richard Gottfried to create a joint New York City-New York State Task Force on Building and Fire Safety. The Task Force just released its full report this week, and the results have Squadron calling for immediate action.

The report warns that firefighters may be at risk when fighting fires in the city’s hundreds of state-owned buildings. Discrepancies in fire codes between state- and privately-owned buildings exempt the former from fire safety standards, such as  proper building equipment (such as standpipes and hosethread connections) and hazardous material reporting.

Brooklyn College, City College, Hunter College, the Jacob Javits Convention Center and Downstate Medical Center are among the many schools, state office buildings and state building-leasing restaurants and salons included in this loophole.

Squadron urged state and city agencies to close these safety code holes immediately by creating consistent standards.

“Simply put, these major gaps in fire code put our first responders and the public at greater risk,” he said in a statement. ” The task force’s recommendations will go a long way toward closing these holes and improving safety — but they must be implemented now.”

Squadron Opens Mobile District Offices
When covering a district that includes two boroughs, it can be helpful to load up the staff, hop in a bus (we’re imagining) and meet with constituents. Instead of the bus route, State Sen. Daniel Squadron will open four mobile district offices this month in Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn in an attempt to get closer to residents and speak directly with community members. The offices will be located around the 25th District, which he serves. Locations will be located in Tribeca, at Brooklyn Borough Hall, the Lower East Side and Chinatown. For more info on these mobile locations, visit the senator’s website at www.nysenate.gov/senator/daniel-l-squadron.

Federal Government Makes a Return to World Trade Center
The U.S. General Services Agency (GSA) signed a lease last week to rent space in One World Trade Center, the soon-to-be-tallest building in the Western Hemisphere.

The administration will occupy about 270,000 square feet of space on six floors starting in 2015; with the signing of this agreement, more than 55 percent of the building has been leased.

“This reaffirms the federal government’s commitment to the redevelopment of the World Trade Center site and to this project that demonstrates the undaunted resilience of the American people,” said GSA Acting Administrator Dan Tangherlini. “There will once again be a federal presence in the World Trade Center, as there was from its beginning. We worked closely with the Port Authority and the Durst Organization to negotiate a lease that will result in the best value for taxpayers, the federal government and the City of New York.”

Lower Manhattan M9 Bus Changes Route for the Better
Transportation headaches for those living in Battery Park City might soon be soothed as the MTA is set to restore M9 bus service in January 2013. A large section of this particular bus route was forgone two years ago in order to close a gap of nearly $900 million in the MTA’s budget, to the dismay of residents.

Once the full route is reinstated, it will include stops in the East Village, the Lower East Side, Chinatown and City Hall, saving residents from wasting time taking multiple buses. The route will also extend northward, providing stops at Bellevue Hospital Center and the NYU Medical Center.

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver applauded the news last Tuesday, saying the restored service will help rebuild the Lower Manhattan community.

“I recently approached MTA Chair Joseph Lhota to discuss the importance of restoring this service for the residents, workers and visitors to Battery Park City,” said Silver. “Enhancing important transportation links for residents, workers and students as well as visitors to my Lower Manhattan community is critical as we continue to grow and renew our neighborhoods.”

Senator Squadron Welcomes New Beer Production Tax Credit
It’s good news for breweries. Gov. Andrew Cuomo recently signed legislation to reinstate a beer production tax credit. New York breweries that produce less than 60 million gallons of beer will utilize the tax credit of 14 cents per gallon of beer sold in the state and 12 more cents per gallon of beer sold in the city for the first 200,000 barrels of beer.

This came after State Sens. Squadron and Lee Zeldin, U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer and Assemblyman Joe Lentol met with local brewers to announce a bipartisan plan to reinstate the credit and protect New York’s small brewers.

Such brewers include the local Brooklyn Brewery, which is in Squadron’s district, Kelso in Clinton Hill and about 90 others in parts of Long Island and New York.

“From the good jobs they create to the great beer they produce, New York’s brewers are key to New York’s economy,” said Squadron in a statement. “By reinstating the beer production credit, we’re serving New York’s brewers, consumers and economy alike, allowing our small businesses to keep growing while keeping their brews affordable,” he said.

Courtesy of Summer In The Square.

Attack of the Bubbles at Union Square
Kids and parents alike were bubbling over The Gazillion Bubble Show at Union Square last week. The performance, which has been popular at New World Stages since 2007, was part of the Union Square Partnership’s 2012 Summer in the Square series that holds events every Thursday from morning to evening. Bubbles of all shapes and sizes floated through the air at the bubble-making demonstration and performance, all to the delight of the young children in attendance.

Via Wiki Commons.

2013 Mayoral Race

Bill de Blasio outraised his potential rivals for mayor.

Anthony Weiner referred to speculation about a comeback as a “clown question.”

Public Advocate

Daniel Squadron is leading the fundraising race.

Queens

The Queens DA may look into an Assembly candidate’s running of prostitution ads in his newspaper.

The Queens BP race is heating up.

US Senate

Wendy Long’s campaign remains in deep debt.

Brooklyn

Abraham Tischler says he would vote for Ruben Diaz, Sr. for majority leader.

State Senate

The Senate GOP has a major cash advantage over the Senate Dems.

Neil Breslin slammed his primary challenger for taking IDC money.

The IDC PAC has more than 300K on hand.

Elsewhere

Lots of money has been raised in the race to replace Jack McEneny.

Erie Democratic chairman Len Lenihan retired.

Photo Courtesy of Wiki Commons

A popup pool opened Friday in Brooklyn Bridge Park with an exclusive capacity of sixty swimmers. The pool, with its view of the Manhattan skyline, opened preceding the weekend heatwave which was expected to surpass the 100 degree mark, though it only hit a recorded high of 95. Brooklyn Bridge Park pool will be open for at least five years and has a sandy beach, lounge chairs, picnic tables and a concession stand, reports WNYC. 

State Senator Daniel Squadron helped raise $400,000 from Albany to install the pool, which he hopes will become permanent, according to WNYC. For the time being, hopeful swimmers will have to arrive early or during off peak hours to get into the tiny pool, which is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The pool is intentionally shallow with three lifeguards, designed with families in mind.

Community advocates have allegedly been pushing hard for some time for the pool’s installment. Head to Brooklyn Heights to beat the heat this summer without the frenetic madness of McCarren Park pool, but remember to get there early.

—Alissa Fleck

Landmarking in downtown neighborhoods has surprising opposition from local churches

The city’s preservationists marched downtown last Tuesday to make their voices heard at a Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) hearing on the proposal to create an East Village and Lower East Side Historic District. Landowners, locals and political representatives flooded the ninth floor of City Hall almost to its limits to discuss and argue the LPC’s efforts to preserve the “rich cultural history” of these downtown Manhattan neighborhoods.

The initial plan includes 330 buildings, though 17 more might be added in a revised edition. If designated as an historic district, these buildings, mostly row houses and tenements, would become landmarked and would avoid destruction and alteration, purportedly preserving the area’s cultural significance. This designation, however, would also mean that renovation costs to these particular properties would increase as well.

Among the buildings are the historic Congregation Meseritz Synagogue on East 6th Street, the Max D. Raskin Center on East 6th Street, the Duo Multicultural Center on East 4th Street and the longest continuously running alehouse in New York City, McSorley’s, on East 7th Street.

The majority of those attending the hearing were in support of the plan.

The neighborhood “helps tell the story of immigrant life in 19th- and 20th-century Manhattan,” members of the LPC reported to slight applause from the large group of activists wearing bright “Preserve the East Village Landmark Now” stickers.

“These types of buildings, in the past, have sometimes been less appreciated than high-style architecture,” said one fervent supporter of the move. “However, they are equally as deserving of designation—especially in blocks like East 6th and East 7th Street, which remain meticulous and largely unaltered. We are also pleased to the see the wide variety of…cultural-related architecture.”

Among the supporters were the offices of State Sens. Tom Duane and Dan Squadron, Councilwoman Rosie Mendez and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer and local committees like the Cooper Square Committee, the Lower East Side Preservation Initiative, the Historic Districts Council, the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation and the East Village Community Coalition.

The plan is a “complement to the January designation of the East 10th Street historic district, the first East Village historic district established since the 1969 designation of the St. Mark’s historic district” said the first speaker, a representative for Rosie Mendez. “All three districts have fundamental preservation in common and will work in alliance to preserve the proud legacy of generations of immigrant families.”

Landmarking efforts began earlier this year when, on Jan. 12, the LPC approved a block-long designation on the south side of East 10th Street.

As expected, local clergy were the opposition’s loudest voices, saying their groups would be put under extreme financial strains if their buildings were landmarked.

“There are many examples of financial duress caused by landmark designation, including the Russian Orthodox Cathedral of the Transfiguration of Our Lord in Brooklyn,” a parish council member of the Cathedral of the Holy Virgin Protection on East 2nd Street claimed.

“This designated landmark suffered hundreds of thousands of dollars in financial loss during a protracted appeal process to replace their copper roof as a result of time wasted and a sudden increase in commodity costs…Landmark designation against the congregation’s will may represent the death knell of a historic congregation that has served the vulnerable.”

The religiously affiliated speakers cited the LPC as being unreasonable for treating nonprofit parishes the same as profitable establishments, and claimed that the designation transfers authority of cathedrals to civil authority, meaning civil government would dictate religious freedom, violating the First Amendment.

One member of the Russian Orthodox Cathedral went as far as calling the designation “a sin which you’ll be held accountable for.”
Many religious organizations requested that if the proposal is indeed passed, their respective cathedral be excluded from the designation.
The LPC declined to comment on the hearing and the effects it may have had on their deliberations, saying that they don’t usually comment during the process.

According to the LPC’s press office, an additional public hearing will be held on the designation, although the date of the hearing hasn’t been finalized.

By Nick Gallinelli