“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.

On Monday, Dec. 3, 11 students locked themselves in the Peter Cooper Suite at the top of the school’s Foundation Building. They originally intended to remain there (fueled by food, water, a bathroom and laptops) until three major demands were met: Free education must remain, a stronger democratic decision-making process must be implemented, and the current president, Jamshed Bharucha, must resign.

The administration remained tight-lipped throughout the ordeal, issuing a single statement: “The 11 art students who have locked themselves in the Peter Cooper Suite do not reflect the views of a student population of approximately 1,000 architects, artists and engineers.”

On Monday, Dec. 10, the students ended the stand-off, citing the media attention and large turnout at a rally held on Saturday in Cooper Square, and telling reporters that they felt their stunt had made enough of a differene to possibly affect the school’s tuition decision. Cooper Union administration issued no statement.

Menin Seeks Borough President’s Seat
Julie Menin, former chair of Community Board 1 in Lower Manhattan, has officially announced her candidacy for the Democratic nomination for Manhattan borough president, following months of buzz about her potential run. Menin said in a statement that she is “running for borough president because I believe my strong track record of leadership and solution-driven approach is what is needed in the challenging times our borough faces.”

She also cited a desire to guarantee the opportunity of great schools, parks and playgrounds to all families and give a stronger voice to the average New Yorker.

Her leadership and practical-solution approaches have lead her to many successes as a lawyer, owner of a small business and community leader. Her track record includes helping with downtown’s post-9/11 revival, attaining three new K-8 public schools in Lower Manhattan and working with the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation to allocate over $200 million to job-creating infrastructure projects.

Menin, a mother of three, has already finished her fundraising for the 2013 race and has picked up endorsements from over 200 grassroots community leaders all over Manhattan, including from judges, CEOs, activists and former elected officials.

Although Menin has been the first to formally announce her campaign, other candidates in the sure-to-be competitive race are expected to include Council Members Gale Brewer (Upper West Side), Robert Jackson (Washington Heights) and Jessica Lappin (Upper East Side). As in many Manhattan races, the likely contenders are all Democrats and no Republican challenger is imminent, so the winner of the party primary can expect an easy ascendency to the position in November, forcing the real battle to play out earlier in the year.

Menin has announced that she will be spending her campaign time meeting with potential constituents around the borough to garner support.

Compiled by Jessica Mastronardi

Julie Menin speaking at an event last year. Photo courtesy of PMC.

WINNERS

Charles Rangel - The octogenarian congressman can finally exhale after his primary challenger, state Sen. Adriano Espaillat, conceded for a second time amid ballot irregularities. It is unclear whether Rangel will consider running again in 2014, and Adam Clayton Powell IV is already calling dibs on the seat, but the veteran lawmaker will certainly relish his commute to the Beltway for another two years.

Michael Bloomberg – Word on the street is the mayor hopes his post-mayor role is one of activist philanthropy, and we got another glimpse of what that would be like this week when he made a $50 million gift to support family planning in poorer countries. And we wonder if the mayor, as chairman of the 9/11 Memorial and Museum, had any hand in the decision this week to ban political speeches at the site on the attack anniversary. Both decisions, calmly and deftly managed, show good judgment.

Eliot Spitzer – Okay, so the former governor may never have a political career again, and he hasn’t been a raving success as a national pundit, but we are interested to see where his stint as a NY1 Wiseguy takes him. For his opening show, Spitzer took an opportunity to offer some advice to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, which is just about the brazen-est thing we can think of. With so few people who have a chance at political office willing to go out on a limb to talk about Cuomo, Spitzer could serve an important function as a person willing to criticize the state’s executive, on the record and in the open. This could be a good look for the ex-gov.

Julie Menin – Fourteen months before the Democratic primary for Manhattan borough president, Julie Menin has already maxed out on fundraising, raising as much as she’s possibly allowed to spend under New York City’s matching funds program. That will allow Menin to simply focus on campaigning, while rivals like Gale Brewer, Robert Jackson and Jessica Lappin are still dialing for dollars. Of course, Menin’s early success makes us think that she might be wise just to opt out of the matching funds program and raise more, unlimited amounts of cash.

Dean Skelos - An early leak by the Senate Republicans indicated that the GOP will have something like five times as much cash on hand as the Senate Democrats — who aren’t even trying to pay off their remaining debt anymore. Add to that the fact that Gov. Andrew Cuomo isn’t ruling out backing Republicans for Senate seats, and it’s almost tempting to declare the 2012 battle for Senate supremacy over. Unless a lot more members of the Senate Republican conference decide to follow Marty Golden’s lead and throw events on feminine “deportment,” it’s going to be quite the uphill battle for the Senate Democrats.

LOSERS

Mark Levine – His time may be coming, but it’s not here quite yet. The upper Manhattan Democratic district leader latched onto the congressional campaign of a former foe, state Sen. Adriano Espaillat, while looking to run for Espaillat’s seat if it came open. But now that Espaillat’s narrow loss to longtime Congressman Charlie Rangel is official, and Espaillat has officially decided to run for re-election to the Senate, Levine has little choice but to again take up his candidacy in a crowded field for a seat in the New York City Council.

Ed Cox – The last person you want to get into a public dispute with when you’re a state party chair is your party’s nominee for President, but that’s exactly what Ed Cox did this week by insisting that the Republican convention delegates he selected be seated, instead of assenting to the list of delegates the Romney campaign had expected him to rubber stamp. In the era of drama-free national conventions, the Romney campaign has made it loud and clear (off the record, of course) that they don’t appreciate the former First Son-in-Law’s dissent, threatening to strip Cox of the authority to introduce the New York delegation at the big show. While Cox’s staff hastened to emphasize that everyone was working in lock step to elect Romney, one wonders if for Cox an Obama victory might actually be better for his personal political prospects.

Rob Astorino – The Westchester County executive may simply be doing what’s best for his constituents in pushing for more details – and more transit – on the Tappan Zee Bridge, but now that Gov. Andrew Cuomo has aggressively amped up his public relations campaign behind his plans for a new bridge, Astorino is feeling the governor’s wrath. Larry Schwartz, the secretary to the governor, got another critic of the governor’s plans, Rockland County Executive Scott Vanderhoef, to side with Cuomo, and that isolates Astorino, the “Republican rising star” who’s lately been painted simply as a unrealistic flip-flopper driven by political ambitions.

Kevin Burke – No summer vacation for ConEdison chairman Kevin Burke, who’s entering another week of lockout with his utility workers over a union contract dispute, despite the fact the workers are the same people who’d help the city in the event of a heat-induced power outage. As if that weren’t bad enough, Crain’s reported yesterday ConEd is among the elusive secret donors to the Committee to Save New York, the group plugging for Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s budget. Granted every company has its own interests to look out for, but to the public, at least for the time being, it looks like Burke’s interests are directly opposed to his workers and most of the rest of New Yorkers.

Dennis Walcott – The schools chancellor heard it from all sides this week. Newspaper editorial boards criticized his lenient penalties toward Stuvesant High School cheaters and the Bloomberg administration retreated from his plan to close 24 troubled schools. At least he’s getting outdoors on Friday to promote the city’s Free Lunch program at Orchard Beach. Soak up those rays!

To vote for this week’s top political winner and loser visit City & State by clicking here.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Photo courtesy of Wiki Commons.

State Senate

Gov. Andrew Cuomo says he’ll back both Democrats and Republicans on a case-by-case basis.

Manhattan

Rep. Charlie Rangel re-affirmed his support for Guillermo Linares’ Senate bid.

Julie Menin has already maxed out on fundraising for the Manhattan BP race.

Brooklyn

Simcha Felder is in talks with a top GOP operative about managing Felder’s campaign – perhaps indicating the Senate GOP is behind his candidacy.

Opponent David Storobin continued to hit golf balls during a Jewish prayer at a recent charity outing.

Andrew Gounardes’ Senate campaign keeps hammering away on the Marty Golden/Feminine Presence story.

Elsewhere

Sean Patrick Maloney announced his campaign team against Nan Hayworth.

Cuomo’s next big push will be for campaign finance reform.

The New York City Board of Elections is chafing at criticism, but nonetheless is seeking improvements.

Mayor Bloomberg mocked the Board of Elections (again.)

To read more from City & State click here.

Mayor, Council Deliver ‘On-Time, Balanced Budget’
Last week, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the New York City Council passed a $68.5 billion budget for 2013 that will save some children’s programs and 20 fire companies.
“Working with our partners in the Council, we’ve again produced an on-time, balanced budget for our city that doesn’t raise taxes on New Yorkers and that preserves the essential services that keep our city strong,” Bloomberg said. “These actions…have allowed us avoid the severe service cuts that many other cities are facing.”
According to Bloomberg’s press release, the budget increase will allow the city to add about 1,000 teachers to the school system and about $150 million to after-school programs.
Funding for cultural institutions will be increased by roughly $50 million, slightly more than in 2012, with the city citing the institutions’ effect on tourism as a reason for the boost.
The city also expects to see $635 million in taxi medallion revenue in 2013.
“We face a significant challenge again next year, but given the effective and fiscally responsible partnership we’ve had with the Council, and the leadership we know we can rely on from Speaker Christine Quinn, I’m confident we’ll meet any challenges that arise,” Bloomberg added.

Bath Salts and Synthetic Marijuana Now Illegal
The U.S. Senate passed new legislation last Wednesday that will ban certain chemicals found in specific types of the drugs known as “bath salts” and synthetic marijuana. The ban will head to President Barack Obama for final consent.
The bill particularly targeted MDPV and mephedrone, two active ingredients found in bath salts. The salts aren’t your grandmother’s bath time treat, though—they are sold online, in smoke shops and convenience stores under brand names like Zoom, Red Dove, Legal Phunk and Vanilla Sky. When ingested, they cause hallucinations similar to the effects of cocaine or meth.
The bill will also ban 20 primary components that make up synthetic marijuana. The substance, also known as Spice, K2 or Blaze, is sold in smoke shops and delis under names like Killer Buzz and Aroma. Synthetic marijuana is essentially a mixture of plants and herbs like bay bean, blue lotus and red clover that are sprayed with chemicals. While the drug is reported to have similar effects to natural marijuana, it goes undetected on drug tests and has increased in popularity over the last two years.
Sen. Charles Schumer fought to ban these substances, citing a rash of recent crimes committed by people who were under their influence.
Earlier last month, a man in Texas under the influence of synthetic marijuana attacked his family members and the family dog. A teen in Iowa committed suicide after smoking K2, and a 17-year-old stabbed his schoolmate while high on the substance.
Recently, a 42-year-old man who had taken bath salts bit a chunk off another individual’s face in Louisiana.
“This bill closes loopholes that have allowed manufacturers to circumvent local and state bans and it ensures you can’t simply cross state lines to buy these deadly poisons,” said Schumer, who had previously expressed concern over differing state laws about the drugs. “We have seen bath salts involved in some of the most heinous crimes in recent months. With the president’s signature, we can eradicate these toxins once and for all.”

Julie Menin Leaves CB1
After a seven-year stint as chair of Community Board 1, Julie Menin left her post last Tuesday with plans to run for Manhattan borough president in 2013.
Catherine McVay Hughes, who is currently serving as vice chair, plans to fill Menin’s spot, running unopposed for the position. Hughes has lived a block away from the World Trade Center site for 24 years and has been a vocal supporter and advocate for WTC construction safety.
Highlights from Menin’s time as chair include helping raise $1 million to open Manhattan Youth’s Downtown Community Center. She also formed a housing committee to protect the existing stock of affordable housing in the downtown area.
According to the New York Times, Menin has already raised more than $450,000 to run for Manhattan borough president. Current Borough President Scott Stringer is focusing on a run for New York City mayor.

Former mayoral candidate Mark Green is planning to endorse Manhattan Borough president candidate Julie Menin, the Community Board 1 chairwoman who says she’ll run for BP if Scott Stringer leaves the seat vacant in 2013. Green, who met Menin when he was president of Air America, also plans to host a fundraiser for her with lawyers Richard Emery and Gerald Lefcourt. “It was an easy decision to help Julie,” Green said, citing her managerial experience and personal values as assets in her campaign. “She asked and I’m happy to help in any way, except by starting a Menin super PAC. She’ll have to get someone wealthier and more politically corrupt to do that. You could look through her record and all, but to me of all the things she’s done, I was most impressed by how welcoming she was to the Islamic center and occupy wall street, when both were really hot hot topics,” he said.  ”I’m proud to have the support of a great progressive leader like Mark Green, and proud of the momentum of our borough-wide campaign,” Menin said.

To read more from City & State click here.

“This is a very important matter,” said CB1 Chair Julie Menin, adding that the bill would lessen income inequality.

In their resolution, the board also pointed out that 15 cities have similar laws, including Los Angeles and Pittsburgh. According to a recent study on job growth in these cities from the Center for American Process, the higher wages translated to “efficiency gains for firms through reduced turnover. Increasing wages for the lowest-paid workers also stimulates local economies, as low income households typically spend more of their dollars locally.”

Construction will continue on the Peck Slip School, and we expect to locate another site for another new public school in Lower Manhattan to meet the needs of all the new families who have moved to Lower Manhattan. We hope that the WTC Performing Arts Center will make progress with a board being appointed and fundraising commencing for this project.

Progress will continue on the East River Waterfront so that residents on the East Side will have access to the water, parks and open space. We will push to build more affordable housing in Lower Manhattan and will continue to urge the city to do so.

Julie Menin, chair of CB1, and State Sen. Daniel Squadron, Rep. Jerrold Nadler and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer all called on Occupy Wall Street to address the quality of life concerns raised residents and business around the park. Among the resolutions passed by CB1 and supported by Squadron, Nadler and Stringer were calls for OWS to limit use of “drums, trumpets, tambourines, bugles, air horns, shouting and chanting, and all other sources of noise to two hours per day in midday,” as well as eliminating the use of retail shops and residential building doorways as bathroom facilities.

Tribeca
NEW TRAFFIC SIGNAL FOR TRIBECA INTERSECTION

Due in part to the efforts of Rep. Jerrold Nadler, Council Member Margaret Chin, Assembly Member Deborah Glick, State Sen. Daniel Squadron and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, the NYC Department of Transportation installed a traffic signal at the Tribeca intersection of Greenwich and Duane streets. The intersection is adjacent to two schools and was the site of an accident involving a young 3-year-old boy at the end of last month.

WHOLE FOODS TRIBECA INTRODUCES WELLNESS CLUB

Located inside Whole Foods Market’s Tribeca store at 270 Greenwich St., the Wellness Club is a new initiative to help New York City shoppers make educated, positive lifestyle choices that promote their long-term health and well-being. Membership in the program costs $49 a month and includes lifestyle evaluation, nutrition education, skill-building classes, coaching and practical tips, as well as a 10 percent discount on healthier food choices in the store. The Tribeca Wellness Club team includes lecturers, chefs, doctors and registered dieticians.

Citywide
CUOMO APPOINTS JOSEPH LHOTA MTA CHAIR

Facing a $9.9 billion budget gap, Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s newly appointed MTA chair, Joseph Lhota, has his work cut out for him. Lhota will also face the challenge of maintaining the public transit system while at the same time preventing further fare hikes and service cuts. Transportation Alternatives, an organization working toward better bicycling, walking and public transit, and the NYC Environmental Justice Alliance said in press releases that they have high hopes for Lhota and believe he will be able to secure better funding, create better service and end cuts to the MTA.

KEEPING MANHATTAN RESIDENTS SAFE FROM SEXUAL ASSAULT

Following a recent string of sexual assaults in Brooklyn and Queens, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio partnered with more than two dozen elected officials and community organizations to release a guide to keeping yourself safe from assault. The guide, “How You Can Help Prevent Sexual Assault & Harassment” contains important safety precautions as well as information on free resources that escort public transit users home at night.

The guide lists resources and groups available to Manhattan residents and offers practical points of advice on how to stay safe such as “plan your walking route along well-lit streets” and “have your house key in hand before you reach the door.” More than 5,000 copies have already been distributed.

The team members of Whole Foods Market Tribeca’s new Wellness Club celebrate the opening day Monday, Oct. 17 (see below). From left to right, Mark Wilkins, Whole Foods Market, Northeast regional healthy eating associate coordinator; Bill Renna, Whole Foods Market Tribeca store team leader; Nicole Wescoe, Whole Foods Market Northeast regional vice president; Giovanna Miller, Whole Foods Market Tribeca Wellness Club team leader; Dr. Matthew Leaderman, Global Medical Executives of Health and Wellness; and Christina Minardi, Whole Foods Market Northeast regional president.
Photo Courtesy of Whole Foods Market