News from Senator Brad Hoylman - October 2015

October 2015

Dear Neighbor,

I hope you had an enjoyable start to fall as we look ahead to the holiday season.

Below you'll find an update on my efforts across the 27th Senate District, including my letter with Comptroller Scott Stringer, Representative Carolyn Maloney, and Assembly Member Brian Kavanagh to the Blackstone Group asking for greater detail on its purchase of Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village; a meeting I convened to bring together community leaders and the State Liquor Authority leadership; and my op-ed on the need to establish equal access to baby changing stations. 

As always, please contact me at 212-633-8052 or hoylman@nysenate.gov if you have any questions, comments, or ideas about how I might be helpful.

All best,

Brad Hoylman
State Senator
27th District

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Preserving Affordability at Stuy Town - Peter Cooper Village

On October 19, Mayor de Blasio announced the sale of Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village (STPCV) to the Blackstone Group for $5.4 billion in a deal that will preserve 5,000 affordable STPCV units for twenty years and prohibit development on the remainder of the complex. This is a positive step towards preserving middle income housing and open space in Manhattan, and I commend the STPCV Tenants Association, Council Member Dan Garodnick, Assembly Member Brian Kavanagh and the de Blasio Administration for their efforts.

I will vigorously monitor the terms of the agreement between the City and Blackstone, including the potential transfer of development rights from STPCV to surrounding communities in our Senate district, which according to calculations by the Department of City Planning could amount to millions of square feet. To that end, on October 28 I sent a letter to Blackstone along with Comptroller Stringer, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney and Assembly Member Kavanagh, enumerating our questions and concerns and requesting a meeting to discuss the development rights in detail. I look forward to learning more soon and will continue to share updates on the issue as it progresses. Please see our letter to Blackstone here. 

Encouraging Dialogue Between Community Leaders and the State Liquor Authority

On October 26, I worked with Senator Liz Krueger and representatives from various elected offices in New York City to convene a meeting on nightlife issues between community leaders and State Liquor Authority (SLA) Chairman Vincent Bradley and CEO Kerri O’Brien. The meeting – which included representatives of the offices of Borough President Gale Brewer, Public Advocate Letitia James, Comptroller Scott Stringer, District Attorney Cy Vance, Senator Adriano Espaillat, Assembly Member Dick Gottfried, Councilmembers Rosie Mendez and Corey Johnson, and leaders from Community Boards 4 through 7 – focused on a range of issues including the issuance of new liquor licenses, noise violations, operation hours and the enforcement of SLA regulations.  Community Board leadership and Chairman Bradley discussed best practices for Community Board resolutions supporting or denying liquor licenses. All participants agreed on the importance of SLA-licensed businesses being good neighbors within their communities, and the Chair committed to maintaining and enforcing the stipulation system that formalizes the conditions requested by a Community Board before approving a liquor license. Please see the full release from the meeting here.

Applauding Governor Cuomo’s Executive Action on Transgender Rights

On October 23, I stood with Governor Andrew Cuomo as he announced bold regulatory changes to ban discrimination against transgender New Yorkers in employment, housing, and public accommodations. Transgender rights are part of the unfinished business of the LGBT civil rights movement in New York. Now, because of the Governor’s actions, thousands of New Yorkers will no longer be considered second-class citizens in the eyes of the law simply because they are transgender. The Gender Expression Nondiscrimination Act (GENDA), sponsored by Senator Squadron and Assembly Member Gottfried, has been blocked for years by the Republican majority in the State Senate. As the only openly-LGBT member of the Senate, I’m extremely grateful to Governor Cuomo for this historic step and look forward to working with him, advocates, and my Democratic Senate colleagues to codify his actions in a future legislative session. For my full statement on Governor Cuomo’s executive action please see here.

Thank You for Attending My Shred Day at Stuyvesant Town

On October 7, I hosted a shredding event with LionCage Shredding outside Stuyvesant Town at 20th Street and 1st Avenue. Thank you for attending and using the opportunity to shred your personal and private documents. Over 200 community members were able to participate! Thanks to my colleagues Comptroller Scott Stringer, Public Advocate Letitia James, Borough President Gale Brewer, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, Assemblymember Brian Kavanagh, and Council Member Dan Garodnick for co-sponsoring this successful event.

My Bill to Establish “Potty Parity” in Publicly Accessible Restrooms

On October 14, I wrote an op-ed in Town & Village about my bill to help establish equal access to baby changing stations in men’s and women’s restrooms. Under my legislation, if a business open to the public or a government agency installs a diaper-changing table in a women’s restroom, it would be required to do the same in a men’s restroom. Only newly constructed buildings or publicly accessible buildings undergoing substantial renovations would be included. Existing restrooms would not be impacted. “Potty parity” is about gender equality and evolving parental expectations. If we expect fathers to bear more of the burden of child-care, we must ensure that public accommodations reflect this new normal. To view my Op-Ed please see here.

Better Bus Service Coming to 23rd Street

The MTA has announced that it is considering a Select Bus Service (SBS) route along the 23rd Street corridor, encompassing the current M23 cross-town route. SBS is New York City's brand name for a collection of cost-effective improvements that result in faster and more reliable service on high-ridership bus routes. It includes off-board fare collection, the ability to board the bus through any door, dedicated bus lanes to improve bus speed and reliability, and less wait time at traffic lights with Transit Signal Priority. SBS routes currently exist along 34th Street, 86th Street, and 1st and 2nd Avenues. The MTA will be conducting extensive community outreach as they develop the design in the coming months, and will work closely with the NYC Department of Transportation, local elected officials, and Community Boards 4, 5, and 6. To provide feedback on how bus service can be improved to better serve the needs of transit riders along 23rd Street, please visit nyc.gov/brt.

Senior and Disability Rent Freeze Workshop

On Friday, October 23, I hosted a senior and disability rent freeze workshop on the Lower East Side, connecting volunteer attorneys from Legal Aid with dozens of tenants who are eligible for the Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption (SCRIE) and Disability Rent Increase Exemption (DRIE) programs. Legal Aid attorneys also helped constituents access Medicaid and Medicare benefits and appoint a healthcare proxy. I want to thank Legal Aid and GOLES (Good Old Lower East Side), as well as my colleagues Borough President Gale Brewer, Senator Daniel Squadron, Assemblymember Brian Kavanagh, and Councilmember Mendez for their partnership on this event. If you were unable able to attend the event but want to know more about SCRIE or DRIE, please call my office at 212-633-8052.

My Flu Shot Event: 100 Shots Received!

On October 9, 100 individuals came into my Chelsea office to receive their flu shots. Thank you to the nurses from Mount Sinai Beth Israel for administering the shots, and many thanks to my colleagues who co-sponsored the event, Congressman Jerrold Nadler, Comptroller Scott Stringer, Public Advocate Letitia James, Borough President Gale Brewer, Assembly Member Richard Gottfried, Assembly Member Brian Kavanagh, Council Member Corey Johnson, Council Member Helen Rosenthal, Council Member Rosie Mendez, Council Member Dan Garodnick, and Council Member Margaret Chin.

Applauding WeWork and 32BJ SEIU for Deal Supporting Office Cleaners

Earlier this month, WeWork and 32BJ SEIU announced a signed deal that will bring an end to this summer's labor dispute over pay and benefits for WeWork's office cleaners. In August, I joined recently fired cleaners at WeWork headquarters as they attempted to submit new applications for their jobs. The new deal will ensure that former contracted cleaners in New York will be hired whenever possible for new positions as WeWork expands across the city and will arrange for severance payments to cover the interruption in workers' time and earnings. The agreement reached by WeWork and 32BJ SEIU sets an example for how the sharing economy can support working New Yorkers. WeWork has quickly become a center of entrepreneurship in New York City and across the globe, and I applaud them for recognizing that innovation can and should go hand in hand with good-paying jobs and benefits. For my statement on the agreement, please see here.

Spreading Awareness of Domestic Violence

On October 15, I joined my colleague Assembly Member Deborah Glick at the West 4th Street Subway Station to conduct outreach for domestic violence services for “NYC Go Purple Day,” a citywide day of action for Domestic Violence Awareness Month. We joined a number of elected officials, service providers, and survivors across the city to raise awareness about domestic violence and the services available for survivors. I am thankful to the Mayor's Office to Combat Domestic Violence for their hard work ensuring safety, stability, and support for thousands of New Yorkers in crisis. If you or someone you know needs help, please call the NYC Domestic Violence hotline at 1-800-621-4673 for immediate assistance.

Calling for Common-Sense Gun Control in Albany and D.C.

On October 13, I joined mothers who have lost children to gun violence and my colleagues Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, State Senator Liz Krueger, Councilmember Dan Garodnick, Councilmember Margaret Chin, and Councilmember Ben Kallos to demand Congress and New York State pass and implement effective gun regulation. As legislators, I believe we have a moral responsibility to fight for laws that prevent gun violence and save lives. I am proud to support common-sense gun laws in New York, but I also know that without strong federal laws, assault weapons and stolen guns will keep coming into our state and endangering our communities. I applaud Congresswoman Maloney for her leadership on this issue and will continue working to make New York a national leader in ending gun violence.

Supporting NYCHA Residents During Dramatic Transition

I was pleased to join Borough President Gale Brewer and advocates from Housing Conservation Coordinators, the Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development, and Community Voices Heard last weekend at the West Side Tenants Conference to discuss the opportunities, challenges, and areas of concern presented by the NextGeneraton NYCHA plan. I share many concerns raised by Borough President Brewer and advocates about the long-term preservation of public housing, affordability of new units, and unanswered questions in the plan. I am committed to a robust community engagement process in any development affected by the NextGen plan. I introduced a bill which would require development on NYCHA land to undergo a ULURP process, guaranteeing public review and strong community engagement, and continue to work to ensure the voices of NYCHA residents are heard in this process. For more information on the new 80/20 affordable housing guidelines please see a helpful guideline here.

My Testimony to the Public Service Commission on Reforming the Energy Vision

On October 27, I submitted testimony to the New York State Public Service Commission regarding the Reforming the Energy Vision (REV) process, which would establish a set of goals to move New York State away from nonrenewable energy sources and towards cleaner and more affordable energy alternatives. In my testimony, I discussed the importance of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), the nation’s first successful carbon trading market that New York helped build, which has helped decrease harmful fossil fuel emissions. I also discussed the important role that shared renewables can play, which is critical in urban areas with multi-unit housing and businesses. REV underscores the need for a codified Climate Action Plan in New York, which would give us a clear and achievable road map towards our environmental and energy goals of reducing our state’s fossil fuel use 80% by the year 2050. Please see my testimony here.