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.”

Photos Courtesy of Alissa Fleck

A number of groups and individuals met today in Foley Square to rally in support of SCOTUS upholding the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Health Care for All New York organized a “Rally to Respond” to the ruling, which was quickly retitled a “Rally to Celebrate,” announced Director Mark Hannay to the crowd. Hannay was among several speakers—doctors, advocates and elected officials—addressing the jubilant crowd of community supporters at the evening rally.

(by Alissa Fleck)

Hannay called the ruling a “milestone step forward in the history of justice,” pointing to the Declaration of Independence’s insistence on the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Hannay said these rights cannot be met without affordable, accessible healthcare for all.

Hannay added SCOTUS making healthcare a right for all means America is finally moving toward other industrialized nations, though he said we are only “9/10ths of the way down the field” and must continue to politically support those who uphold affordable healthcare.

Other speakers laid out the main points of what the ruling would mean for Americans, and New Yorkers in particular, including a breakdown of what could be expected by 2014. State Assemblyman Richard Gottfried explained the ACA would help make health funding available for working families, encourage providers to communicate with one another and ensure senior citizens can afford necessary drugs among numerous other modifications. Preventive care will become more widely accessible, particularly pertinent to many women’s health issues.

Georgetown law student and women’s rights advocate Sandra Fluke took the stand to applaud the efforts of Americans who worked to support the SCOTUS decision as well as to remind crowd members the fight is not over.

“I don’t want to see ideologically-driven legislators work to repeal this decision so they can say they fought Obamacare,” said Fluke. “We want the implementation of the whole Affordable Health Care Act and we want it now.”

All the speakers agreed this decision, while important, is foundational and there are still hurdles from here, including building on decisions made in Washington to make laws in New York “even better” and make health care “a right, not a privilege.”

Speaker Quinn called what happened in Washington an “incredibly American act” and said the days of no options for many sick people and “whether you could get treatment [meaning] how big your paycheck was” are coming to an end.

“All have the right to get well, be well and stay well,” said Quinn. “Let’s make it even better.”

A new law will protect New York City tenants and tourists from the dangers of illegal hotels. The bill, sponsored by State Senator Liz Krueger and Assembly Member Richard Gottfried, was signed into law July 23 by Governor David Paterson.

For decades, landlords have exploited ambiguous wording in state and city laws to set up hostels for tourists, renting out small Single Room Occupancy units in apartment buildings to tourists looking for a good deal. Tourists, often drawn in by online ads, don’t always realize until they arrive that their housing is not in a bona fide hotel.

The new bill will make it easier for government agencies to prosecute landlords who rent out rooms to temporary visitors, and to collect the appropriate real estate taxes.

“By removing a legal gray area and replacing it with a clear definition of permanent occupancy, the law will allow enforcement efforts that help New Yorkers who live in SRO units and other types of affordable housing preserve their homes,” Paterson said, in a statement.

Permanent residents will no longer have to worry about the risks posed by illegal hotels.

“This is a real win-win for New York City residents and visitors,” said Kruger in a statement. “Residents will no longer see their apartment buildings overrun by transient tourists and visitors will no longer have to worry about arriving to find that their hotel is actually an apartment building.”

Residents of SRO units have been chased out of their homes by landlords seeking to make more money by renting their rooms out to tourists.

“This legislation is a crucial step in the preservation of affordable housing and SROs,” said Yarrow Willman-Cole, of Goddard-Riverside West Side SRO Law Project.

The real estate industry has been critical of the law. Real estate attorney David Satnick, partner with Loeb and Loeb, said that the rent from the transients allows landlords to improve their buildings. Without that funding, he believes that the apartment buildings will fall in to disrepair.

“It will turn away budget minded tourists who can’t afford pricey hotels and 1,000’s of workers will lose their job because of this bill,” he said.

The new legislation includes exceptions for roommates and boarders who rent rooms along with permanent occupants.

Putting a stop to illegal hotels will also put thousands of apartments back on the housing market.

The law is set to go into effect on May 1 of next year.

The New York state budget crisis, public school closings and potential cuts to senior centers were just some of the subjects discussed during a July 13 Upper West Side Town Hall Meeting at Goddard Riverside Community Center.

More than 300 West Siders packed the center to hear Upper West Side elected officials, including Borough President Scott Stringer, Assembly members Linda Rosenthal and Richard Gottfried, Council members Gale Brewer and Inez Dickens, as well as representatives from the departments of Education, Transportation and Environmental Protection.

After a short introduction, Stringer turned the floor over to the audience.

Many of the people in attendance wanted to know how the New York State budget crisis would affect the Upper West Side, from the closings of senior centers and public schools to inadequate unemployment benefits. The city’s $63 billion budget, which passed two weeks ago, includes a 20 percent decrease from last year in discretionary funding for community organizations.

Stringer promised the audience that he is trying to avert the public school closings Mayor Michael Bloomberg has proposed.

“When there are not enough seats in public schools, parents leave New York City, taking their tax dollars and their children,” Stringer said.

He also apologized on behalf of the government for proposed budget cuts to senior programs. Council Member Inez Dickens said her office has succeeded in saving three of the seven senior centers that were scheduled to close in her district, which includes parts of the Upper West Side and Central Harlem.

Residents also expressed their concerns about overdevelopment in Park West Village, with community advocates addressing the prospect of Jewish Home Lifecare, a nonprofit health care provider, building a 22-story nursing home on West 100th Street.

“It’s a disgrace,” Stringer said of the overcrowding of Park West Village.

But the topics were not all doom and gloom.

One woman proposed a law against putting spikes on ledges, saying that they injure people when they sit down. Stringer joked that he would introduce a “tuchus law.”

At one point, a former high school classmate of Stringer’s mentioned his recent engagement from the audience.

“I can’t believe you’re engaged,” she said. n

Lawmakers and tenants groups urged Gov. David Paterson to sign the illegal hotel bill the Legislature passed.

With a Saturday deadline looming for him to veto or sign the bill into law, Paterson’s spokesperson said he is reviewing the legislation.

The bill’s authors, State Sen. Liz Krueger of the East Side and Assembly Member Richard Gottfried held a rally with tenants at City Hall July 21. Nearly every West Side elected official expressed support of the legislation.

Krueger said the bill was one of the rare instances where the city, the unions, trade associations and lawmakers support the same law.

“I believe if [Paterson] reviews the research done by his own counsel and policy staff, reviews the report that was produced and memos of support by pretty much everyone who’s been involved in this issue at all, he will understand how critical it is that he signs this bill,” Krueger said.

Borough President Scott Stringer said the loophole in the law hurts New Yorkers and tourists that stay in these hostels.

“I call on Governor Paterson to quickly sign this bill to ensure that our City’s residential buildings are kept safe from these illegal uses,” Stringer said.

There has been push back from hostel operators that feel they are being targeted for making money off their buildings fairly and providing low-cost accommodations for tourists.

Gottfried, however, noted the law would give the city power to shut down the most egregious illegal hotels that rack up complaints.

“The Buildings Department concentrates on people who are really bad actors,” Gottfried said. “No one ever heard of the city going after someone for occasionally renting out their apartment to an out-of-town visitor. It’s never happened.”