While hydrofracking was not listed on the packed agenda for Upper West Side Community Board 7’s first meeting of the new year last week, the contentious issue did receive a fair amount of attention during the public session of the meeting. The general consensus in the room was opposition to any fracking in upstate New York, which Gov. Cuomo appears on the verge of approving.

New York State Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal, who represents District 67, stated that there should be “no rush” to approve fracking, citing the inadequacy of the Department of Environmental Conservation health and safety reports and the potential costs to the climate. Her firm stance on the issue was met with applause from concerned community members who attended the forum and board members alike. Several politicians and their spokesmen echoed this call for caution. The board has taken

New York State Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal

the position that fracking should not be done unless the safety of the water supply for 8 million New Yorkers can be assured, CB7 Chair Mark Diller said in a phone interview after the meeting.

Angela Fox, a concerned community member and head of an anti-fracking coalition called The Mothers Project, which emphasizes the danger to women and children who might be exposed to toxins, namely radon, in gas extracted by fracking. This danger exists whether or not New York State performs fracking itself, since the city pipes in fracked gas from other locales. “She painted the picture of a mother standing at the stove with a baby on her hip, cooking dinner on a gas stove using fracked gas and absorbing the toxins,” Diller said.

“Radon, a byproduct of fracking, is the second leading cause of lung cancer next to cigarettes,” Fox pointed out. “If we get Marcellus Shale gas from nearby, it doesn’t dissipate.” She is also, notably, the mother of Josh Fox, a prominent environmental activist who directed Gasland, a documentary that exposed the dangers of fracking.

It is questionable what CB7 can do to mitigate the damages imposed by fracking if Gov. Cuomo does decide to approve it in select areas upstate, but local legislators such as Rosenthal and newly sworn-in Sen. Brad Hoylman (who replaced Tom Duane) offered a few words on the issue. Both say they remain committed to continuing the legislative fight for their respective districts.

Having reached a consensus on fracking, the board got down to business on issues that proved thornier to reach agreement on, including some lengthy discussion on the Manhattan Core Parking Amendment, which affects off-street parking regulations in Manhattan Community Districts 1-8, such as how many spaces parking garages must set aside for monthly versus transient parkers. “Our concern,” said Diller, “is that we do not want to do anything that will encourage more driving to the Upper West Side.”

Additional reporting by Amy Zimmerman.

City & State: Were you surprised when Governor Cuomo announced that he was going to push for the decriminalization of marijuana possession up to 25 grams?

Richard Stratton: Not really, because I think that any smart politician really sees that the writing on the wall is that decriminalization and legalization is inevitable. They say there were three reasons why Prohibition ended: the Depression, the Depression and the Depression. I think the three reasons why ultimately marijuana will be legalized are the Recession, the Recession, the Recession, particularly in states like California and New York, where you have a major underground market that is huge. People don’t even begin to realize how much money is being made in the illegal market of growing and distributing marijuana. For the government not to be getting a piece of that is stupid.

CS: You have dealt with a lot of marijuana. Is 25 grams a substantial amount of marijuana?

RS: No, it’s like an ounce. It’s not a lot of marijuana.

CS: Were you surprised at all when the Senate Republicans rejected Cuomo’s decriminalization effort?

RS: You know, I was surprised, because I’ve always believed that it’s a Republican issue. You’re talking about those values that Republicans supposedly hold dear, like personal liberty and less involvement of the state in our personal lives. That’s really what it’s about. The laws against marijuana do not make any sense at all. It’s so irrational and so costly to the American culture as a whole that you’d think that smart Republicans would say, “You know what? This is anti-American, and we should open it up and we should legalize it” —but they don’t.

CS: Don’t you feel the Republicans in the Senate would point to you as a case study as to why there shouldn’t be decriminalization of marijuana? That they would argue that’s it’s a slippery slope, and that if the government let you have a couple of grams, then soon enough a person could be on his way to becoming a multimillion-dollar drug smuggler like yourself?

RS: Since when are Republicans opposed to entrepreneurship? It’s American to make money. Again, I go back to Prohibition. Some of the greatest fortunes in this country and in North America came about as a result of Prohibition. The Kennedys, the Bronfmans and those other huge dynasties that were created on money that was made from illegal alcohol. So I don’t think it’s anti-American to make money, especially when it’s not something that’s particularly harmful. I was never involved in hard drugs, and I always felt that hard drugs were dangerous. I think there’s a lot to be said for the idea that it’s not “Just Say No,” N-O, it’s “Just Say Know,” K-N-O-W. People need to know about the harms of using drugs, using alcohol, using any of these things. They need to be educated about it, but to try to make it criminal to make people stop doing it, that doesn’t make sense…. There are millions and millions of people who use marijuana in this country and don’t create a problem for other people, who don’t go out and rape and murder and start shooting heroin after using it for awhile. I grew up during that whole Reefer Madness era and we would go to school and watch these movies about what marijuana was supposed to do to you, and we’d be high and laughing, thinking, “Oh, we’re going to grow huge breasts. Then, great! We won’t have to feel our girlfriends up. We can feel ourselves up.” So it’s nuts; it’s completely insane. It’s been interesting for me. Obviously a huge part of my life has revolved around this—and still does to some degree—but as an American I really feel that we always have to be vigilant about protecting our liberties as much as possible. That’s what makes us a great country and a great society, and wherever the government tries to encroach upon our personal freedoms, we have to be pushing back—always pushing back—and marijuana is a perfect issue for that. For me it’s always been a great symbol of what we need to do as Americans, how we need to engage with the government. Say: “No; no, you can’t tell me what I can and cannot do in the privacy of my own home as long as I’m not hurting other people.”

To read the full interview visit City & State by clicking here.

Photo courtesy of City & State.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo, back from a fishing tripon Long Island, went on Fred Dicker’s radio program today and aggressively  promoted his plan to replace the Tappan Zee Bridge.

The plan for the bridge’s replacement has been criticized by several different opposition groups, the New York Times wrote late last month, with environmental advocates worried about the dredging process intrinsic to the project, and local lawmakers insisting that a plan for mass transit be included in the $5.2 billion bridge construction.

Today, Cuomo said that mass transit would double the cost of the bridge replacement and the controversy was an impediment to progress.

“I think the Tappan Zee is a good example of a larger problem that we have that is pervasive,” he said.
“We talk about gridlock…There’s another form of gridlock, which is just the lack of capacity for government, for society through government to implement big projects. When you have a big project,you will always have opposition,” he said.

“Do you allow the opposition and the controversy to defeat the project or not? If controversy  always wins, we build nothing,” he said.

UPDATED: The Tri-State Transportation Campaign mailed out a release this afternoon questioning the Cuomo administration’s cost estimates for a bus rapid transit system on the Tappan Zee. The release says the Campaign FOIL-ed for information on the projected costs.

“New York State never analyzed the price of a simple bus rapid transit (BRT) system for the new Tappan Zee Bridge and I-287 corridor, according to a preliminary Tri-State Transportation Campaign analysis of state documents. Documents obtained on June 18, 2012 in response to the Campaign’s Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request, indicate the state’s cost assumptions for BRT instead rely on projections for a more elaborate, fully built-out configuration.”

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

Cy Vance. Photo courtesy of Wiki Commons.

Senate Republicans may have killed Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s proposal to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana, but Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, Jr., still is calling for the legislative change. At an event held by the New York City Bar Association last night, Vance criticized the current law, which allows police officers to have people they stop empty their pockets – and once any marijuana is outside their pockets, the possession of it becomes a crime. “It’s 6,200 cases in Manhattan in 2011 fell into that category, where the arrest was based upon of a small amount of marijuana outside, where if it had been inside the pocket … it would have been a violation,” Vance said. “I don’t think that it’s a fair distinction that a piece of clothing should frame the basis between what is legal and what is not.” Vance added that his staff would better serve the public by devoting the time spent on those cases on violent, serious crime instead. “And we are taking violent serious crime aggressively in our office, and prosecuted over the last 18 months successfully six or seven large gangs throughout Manhattan,” he said. “So I want to take those resources and apply them to more violent crime.”

To read more from City & State click here.

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn has endorsed Rangel for the 7th Congressional District.

At a press conference this afternoon to accept an endorsement from City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Rep. Charlie Rangel thanked all of the public officials who had endorsed him, including one who has not. At least, not publicly.

“I want to thank Mayor Bloomberg, the Governor and the other public officials who put their names on the line in saying that, as far as they’re concerned, I deserve a renewal, a re-up for another two years,” he said.

But the governor has not endorsed Rangel, at least not publicly. Asked “has the governor endorsed you?” Rangel responded,

“Well thats a good question. I assumed that he had,” he said, his eyes widening, as he thought for a second.

“Well that’s good! He always does and I just personally haven’t asked,” he said.

Rangel went on to say he has a party tonight for his supporters, at the Sheraton Hotel from 6-8 p.m. Asked whether the governor would attend, Rangel seemed a bit confused.

“I don’t know! But it was my impression that all of the ex-mayors – Dinkins, Koch and Bloomberg and the Governor were all going to be on the same page. But I’m glad that you mentioned that because sometimes you can get ahead of yourself in the heat of the campaign.”

UPDATE: A Cuomo administration spokesman emails us the governor “has a family obligation so he is unable to attend” Rangel’s party tonight.

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

Despite being out-registered 2 to 1, Republicans retain a stronghold in New York’s state Senate and a hold onto a surprising number of congressional seats.

U.S. Senate

Honoring the memory of U.S. Sen. James Buckley has become a feud in the Republican primary.

Manhattan

More on Gov. Cuomo’s failure to attend a Charlie Rangel fundraiser.

Rangel did an interview with Sean Hannity.

Rangel said (falsely) that no Latino elected officials support Adriano Espaillat.

Brooklyn

Simcha Felder denounced (his one-time friend) Charles Barron’s congressional bid.

The Village Voice profiled OWS congressional candidate George Martinez, at length.

The head of the Brooklyn GOP is eying an Assembly run.

Queens

Sheldon Silver says he has a “special bond” with Grace Meng, but is not endorsing her.

Liz Crowley got a newspaper endorsement.

Elsewhere

The Buffalo News called on Chris Collins to take part in a GOP primary debate.

During her first year in Congress, Rep. Kathy Hochul has often taken stances and votes independent of her Democratic colleagues.

To read more about City & State click here.

More Rent Reg

Rent regulation is crucial in this city (“Rent Spike Denied,” April 26), and was instituted to prevent profiteering by landlords in a market short on available apartments. That it protects the majority whose median income is $37,000/year is important—but it would be better if more tenants, not fewer, had those protections.

James Harmon knew three apartments in the building he inherited were subject to rent regulation even then. He nonetheless bought out his brother’s share. Rent regulation—like the fire, health and zoning regulations from which he benefits—were part of the scene from the get-go.

—Sue Susman

Use Your Horse Sense

My country horses (“Horses Can’t Cope,” April 26) have never been in an air-conditioned or heated building; they don’t have sprinklers in the field, nor do they have fan-waving slave boys to feed them bonbons while they lounge in their hay beds and fret over the next week’s weather forecast. They are coping just fine living pretty much as horses have for a long, long time—only without the fear of being dinner to a saber-toothed tiger.

Horses grow a thicker coat in winter and shed it in spring; come summer, they sweat. They accept weather without questions or self-pity. So stop projecting. When horses are not visible near Central Park, it does not mean that they are now riding around in air-conditioned taxicabs.

—Sarah Bellepeppa

Don’t Cut Tobacco Program

The proposed $5 million cut to the New York Tobacco Control Program by Gov. Cuomo and the state Senate yields troubling news for those who have hoped to prevent tobacco addiction in our nation. Smoking tobacco continues to kill 1,200 people—daily. For every smoker killed by his or her addiction, the tobacco industry is creating two new smokers under the age of 26, a trend that should alarm everyone.

Big Tobacco knows how to peddle its products to unsuspecting youth. More than a million dollars an hour is spent to market tobacco products in this country. Nearly 1.5 million kids will try their first cigarette this year, with 75 percent of these children continuing to smoke into adulthood even if they intend to quit within the next few years.

Unfortunately, despite public support for funding to the New York Tobacco Control Program, our legislators in Albany have routinely reduced funding. In the past four years, New York has cut funding for tobacco prevention programs by 52 percent, from $85.5 million to $41.4 million, and now Gov. Cuomo and the state Senate want to cut more. New York currently spends less than 2 cents of every dollar in tobacco tax and settlement revenue to fight tobacco use.

I encourage all New Yorkers to visit www.yourethecure.org to learn more about ways to stop the continued cuts to the NY Tobacco Control Program.

—Dr. Susanna Horvath

Chair, American Heart Association’s New York City Advocacy Committee