Senator Hoylman's August 2015 Community Report

August 2015

Dear Neighbor:

I hope you and your family had a wonderful Labor Day weekend and are enjoying the last days of summer.

Below you’ll find updates on my efforts across the 27th Senate District, including news of the successful negotiations to keep the Caring Community Senior Center open, the proposed settlement between the Committee to Save Cooper Union and Cooper Union, and my efforts to help the recently terminated custodial staff of WeWork regain their lost jobs.

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,

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Hailing Proposed Settlement Between CSCU And Cooper Union

I am proud to have been a supporter of Cooper Union's students and faculty in questioning their school’s financial management and objection to the imposition of tuition. I commend Attorney General Eric Schneiderman for taking our concerns seriously. The proposed settlement that was announced on September 2 will give Cooper Union the opportunity to repair its reputation amongst students, faculty, and alumni and help restore Peter Cooper's original promise of an education "open and free to all." Going forward, I will urge the oversight committee to prioritize returning Cooper Union to the tuition-free model, which is critical in attracting top students to the creative industries that drive our local economy, and I stand ready to assist them in achieving this goal. See my statement on the proposed settlement here.

Standing with WeWork Cleaners Re-Applying for Lost Jobs

On August 12, I joined the WeWork custodial staff as they attempted to turn in new applications for their jobs at the company’s Chelsea headquarters. For years, the cleaners had been employed by a contractor that paid as little as $10 an hour. Once the staff began organizing for higher wages and benefits, WeWork terminated its relationship with the contractor and said it would hire custodial staff directly with a new English language requirement. In the end, more than 100 of the formerly contracted workers -- many of them Latino immigrants -- were laid off. See this Daily News article about my visit to WeWork headquarters and read the letter my colleagues and I sent to WeWork urging them to re-hire the workers here.

Success! Senior Center Saved!

Following months of negotiations that I helped facilitate, Our Lady of Pompeii Church and Greenwich House signed a lease on August 10 that will allow the Caring Community Senior Center to continue operating in the church’s basement. The mutually beneficial solution allows seniors to remain in their current location while helping ensure the church is financially solvent. I'm pleased to have worked closely with the Archdiocese to ensure that negotiations stayed on track and thank them for their support of the community, as well as the seniors who campaigned to keep the center open and the New York City Council which provided funding, including Council Members Margaret Chin and Corey Johnson. You can read my release about the successful negotiations here.

Discussion with Margaret Hsieh of NRSC on the “Monarch Massacre”

On September 30 at NYU Law School, along with members of New York’s elected delegations, I will be sponsoring a discussion with Margaret Hsieh, President of the Natural Resources Defense Council, on the rapid disappearance of the monarch butterfly. Earlier this year, the Natural Resources Defense Council filed suit against the Environmental Protection Agency in U.S. District Court in New York claiming the agency has failed to heed warnings about the dangers to monarchs posed by glyphosate. The monarch population, tallied at 1 billion in 1997, was down to a mere 56.5 million in 2015, the second-lowest number ever measured. The event is being held at NYU Law School’s Vanderbilt Hall Room 220 on Wednesday, September 30, from 6:30 to 8:00 PM. Email hoylman@nysenate.gov or call 212-633-8052 to RSVP.

Shred Day at Stuyvesant Town!

I will be hosting a shredding event with LionCage Shredding on Wednesday, October 7th, from 5:30-7:30pm. LionCage’s van will be parked outside Stuyvesant Town at 20th Street and 1st Avenue. Please stop by any time between 5:30-7:30pm and shred your documents containing personal or sensitive information.

Stopping the Illegal Ivory Trade on Craigslist

On World Elephant Day, August 12, I wrote to Craigslist Founder Craig Newmark and CEO Jim Buckmaster demanding they bring a swift end to the illegal sale of endangered animal parts, including elephant ivory. While Craigslist already has a policy against the sale of illegal wildlife parts, ivory is still widely available for sale on the site. I asked that Craigslist make its list of prohibited items more accessible to site users by placing the information in a visible location on the site’s homepage, and also called on them to invest in search filtering software already adopted by competitors such as eBay and Etsy that would place the burden of monitoring illegal activity on site operators rather than volunteer users. Craigslist owes the public an explanation as to why it won’t stop the black market sale of endangered animal parts on its platform. Sign my change.org petition athttp://chn.ge/1JHEk3s, and read the letter here.

Supporting Verizon Workers and Copper Network Consumers

At the start of August, negotiations broke down between Verizon and Communication Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers over a new contract for 39,000 workers at a time when many consumers are facing service disruption. On August 13, I sent a letter to Verizon Chairman and CEO Lowell McAdam urging Verizon to return to the bargaining table. On a different but related note, my office has heard many complaints about service outages from constituents that rely on Verizon's copper network, which has been underserved while Verizon works on expanding its FiOS network.

On August 26, I sent a letter along with many Assembly and Senate colleagues to NYS Public Service Commission Chair Audrey Zibelman calling attention to Verizon's inadequate $200 million investment in copper network maintenance during the incomplete transition to FiOS. Please see both the letter to Chairman McAdam and the letter to Chair Zibelman here.

Stopping Taxpayer Bailout of Dirty Cayuga Power Plant

On August 21, I joined eight of my Senate colleagues in writing to the New York State Public Service Commission to express our opposition to the continued bailouts of the dirty, uneconomical and unnecessary Cayuga coal plant in Lansing, NY. The owners of Cayuga are currently receiving a bailout costing New York electric customers nearly $4 million a month until 2017. Now, Cayuga’s owners, Upstate New York Power Producers, are seeking another bailout on the backs of New York families and businesses, which would cost over $145 million over the next 10 years without guaranteeing a long-term solution. Instead, we strongly recommend that the Public Service Commission move forward with transmission reinforcements that would provide safe and reliable power at one-third of the cost to New York electric customers. Thank you to Senator Liz Krueger for coordinating the effort. Please read our letter here.

Save Energy Costs by Painting a White Roof

On Sunday, August 9th, my staff and I joined White Roof Project in painting an apartment roof in the East Village to reflect the sun and help save energy costs. The East Village/Lower East Side is one of the highest per-capita energy-using neighborhoods in New York State, a problem exacerbated by black tar roofs that trap heat in buildings. White solar-reflective coating helps lower building temperatures, reduce CO2 emissions, improve air quality, and save up to 40% of energy costs by reflecting 90% of sunlight. White roof painting is a simple strategy to help curb climate change. See this Town & Village article about our efforts and learn more about the White Roof Project http://www.whiteroofproject.org/.

Free Mammogram Service

I am proud to announce the return of Project Renewal’s mammogram scan van, which will be located by Lincoln Towers on Amsterdam Avenue and 69th Street on Thursday, September 24. There will be free mammograms for women ages 40 and up between 8 AM and 4 PM. The mammograms are by appointment only; if you would like to set up an appointment please call (800) 564-6868.

My Testimony on City Council Landmarks Reform Bill Intro. 775

Today, I submitted testimony to the New York City Council Committee on Land Use in opposition to Intro. 775. In its current form, this bill would give the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) a restricted timeline in which to consider individual sites and districts for landmark designation. If the LPC failed to reach a decision in the allotted time, this bill would impose a five-year moratorium, during which the LPC could no longer consider the proposal. While I support streamlining the LPC process, landmarking is a practice that often requires extensive time and research. Under the guise of reform, this legislation could prevent the preservation of buildings worthy of landmark protection. Numerous sites that deserve serious consideration for landmark designation could be demolished as developers attempt to run out the clock on the LPC timetable for consideration and make use of the five year period during which a building or area would then be off limits for designation. See my full testimony here.

Promoting Tour Bus Safety

In July, a pedestrian had his leg amputated after being struck by a double-decker sightseeing bus in Greenwich Village. Last summer, two separate incidents involving tour buses in my district left over a dozen people injured. Tour bus safety is an issue of longstanding concern to my constituents and to me. On August 19, I wrote to New York State Department of Transportation (DOT) Commissioner Matthew Driscoll demanding that something be done to address this problem. I asked that DOT make public all information the agency has collected about the crash history of bus operators, and that DOT promulgate new regulations that would expand collision-reporting requirements to include incidents resulting in property damage. I feel strongly that these reforms will provide the public – and lawmakers – with important information about the safety records of buses operating in their neighborhoods. To learn more about my stance on bus safety, read my letter to the DOT Commissioner here.

Safeguarding the Future of Public Housing

Last month, I submitted testimony to the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) on its Draft Annual Plan for Fiscal Year 2016, calling for transparency and critical safeguards in public housing as the city moves forward with the NextGeneration NYCHA plan. NextGen NYCHA is an ambitious plan to address NYCHA’s financial crisis, but I am disappointed that NYCHA has yet to commit to important steps to ensure the long-term sustainability of public housing or to release a list of developments that will be affected. While we may be forced to make hard choices about the future of public housing, those choices must be guided by transparent and robust engagement with the NYCHA residents and tenant leaders who will be affected by the plan. For that reason, I also joined many of my colleagues in signing the NYC Alliance to Preserve Public Housing's comments on the plan calling for increased resident engagement, deep affordability in any development, and clarity about changing ownership structures. See my testimony to NYCHA here.

Visiting NYPD National Night Out Events Across My District

On August 4, I attended the annual National Night Out Against Crime events at four NYPD precincts across the 27th State Senate district. It was a pleasure speaking with local residents and businesses and thanking the officers in the Midtown North, 6th, 10th, and 13th Precincts for the difficult work they do to keep our communities safe.

East Side Coastal Resiliency Project

The City continues to update and hone its design plans for the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project (ESCR), which will mitigate future climate change and flood risks on Manhattan’s East Side. The Mayor’s Office of Recovery and Resiliency hosted two Community Workshops in July to inform community members about the ongoing process and gather community feedback on the project. I am grateful that the ESCR Project remains focused on integrating flood protection with improved access and open spaces along the East River. I look forward to continuing to work with the City to promote community engagement as we take action to protect our precious coastlines.

Applauding President Obama’s Plan to Curb Climate Change

I’m grateful to President Obama for unveiling the strongest federal climate action plan ever proposed. The administration's new standards will aggressively cut carbon pollution, and represent the biggest step forward we have taken as a nation to combat global climate change. Here in New York, the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) has provided demonstrable proof that environmental leadership can translate into economic growth as well as critical ecological and public health benefits. In the spirit of President Obama's call to action, I urge the leadership of the New York State Senate to recognize and join the fight against man made climate change.

Protecting Views Across the Hudson

On September 1, I joined my colleagues along the Hudson River--Senators Espaillat, Stewart-Cousins, Klein, and Carlucci--in writing to New Jersey State Senator Bob Smith to express our support for his legislation to prohibit any development over 35 feet in the “viewshed” of the Palisades in New Jersey. The legislation will preserve views of this natural beauty across the river for upper Manhattanites, and is critical in a time when there are controversial development plans for tall buildings. You can see our letter to Senator Smith here.

Free Flu Shots in My Office

On Friday, October 9, from 3:00-6:00pm in my office in Chelsea, nurses from Mount Sinai Beth Israel will be providing free flu shots. Space is limited and appointments are recommended to guarantee your shot. For more information or to make an appointment, call my office at (212) 633-8052 or email hoylman@nysenate.govwith your complete contact information and the time you would like to schedule your shot.