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** Dear Neighbors,
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Thank you to all who helped make our 2019 Holiday Toy Drive such a success! Because of your tremendous generosity, we were able to distribute almost 500 toys to children throughout the Upper West Side. Their smiles were bright!!
Pictured above: dedicated and kind officers from the 20th Precinct, Santa, Starbucks staff, and shelter staff.
Whether you donated a toy(s) or helped wrap gifts, your kindness and efforts brought many smiles to our neighborhood kids. Special thanks as well to the 20th Precinct, local shelters, and local public housing developments for their tremendous assistance!
Please note that my district and legislative offices will be closed for the holidays from Monday, December 23rd through Wednesday, January 1st.
* As always, please call 911 in the event of an emergency.
* For NYCHA residents with heat, hot water, or other maintenance issues, please call (718) 707-7771.
* For non-emergencies, call 311 -- please keep your 311 complaint number if you would like our office to follow up after January 2nd.
200 Amsterdam
Last week Borough President Brewer, other local electeds, and I wrote to the Commissioner of the Dept of Buildings, requesting that the DOB refrain from issuing any Certificates of Occupancy for 200 Amsterdam (temporary or permanent) until a decision is issued regarding a pending lawsuit. The lawsuit, which is currently in front of the NY County Supreme Court, pertains to the legality of the tower. Indeed, the judge who will be issuing a decision on the lawsuit has already ruled that the gerrymandered zoning lot on which 200 Amsterdam is constructed is not in compliance with the New York City Zoning Resolution.
As we note in our letter, "the size and height (55 stories) of this particular building, the potential irreparable harm to the neighborhood, the financial harm to prospective buyers, and the loss of predictability of the Zoning Resolution are all at issue in the development at 200 Amsterdam." My office will keep you posted regarding the response of the DOB and the lawsuit itself. Read the letter here ([link removed]) .
Beautifying Our Community
I am very pleased to report that with additional funding from my office, several public housing (NYCHA) developments in our district will be receiving supplemental sanitation services two days per week.
We've received a number of complaints about garbage left behind on the street after DSNY pick-ups, which makes it difficult to address rat problems for NYCHA residents and neighbors. Sanitation workers will now be handling excess litter and any other pick-up issues at all NYCHA buildings between 86th and 96th streets.
Public Safety on the Upper West Side
As you are no doubt aware, our district and other neighborhoods in Manhattan have seen a significant uptick in youth crime this Fall. The majority of these crimes are robberies, and almost half of the crimes are youth stealing from other youth.
This uptick is of huge concern to all of the Manhattan Council Members. In our capacity as co-chairs of the Manhattan delegation, Council Member Mark Levine and I have brought our colleagues together to learn from each other about crime prevention initiatives that have been successful at the neighborhood-level. We have also met with NYPD Manhattan leadership who are approaching the situation from a variety of levels.
Through home visits and other means, the NYPD has information about a number of the young people involved in these crimes and they do not believe that gangs are a major factor. What they are seeing, however, is that many repeat offenders come from households with severe levels of stress -- domestic violence, homelessness, and other issues. It is clear that we need both an increase in the number of NYPD youth officers working on the ground, as well as significantly more resources for youth at risk -- intensive case management, after school programs of all types, and jobs programs.
As a member of the Budget Negotiating Team, I will continue to push hard for all of these resources, in order to keep our community safe and provide a way forward for our young people. I welcome your feedback on this issue.
A Long Term Strategy to End Homelessness
New York City continues to experience historic levels of homelessness-- over 62,000 New Yorkers are currently sleeping in shelters, including almost 15,000 families. Last week the City Council passed legislation ([link removed]) that will require developers of large housing projects receiving financial assistance from the City to allocate 15 percent of the units for homeless families and single people. Effective July 2020, this legislation will apply to new rental buildings with more than 40 units, and is the first of its kind for a large American city.
At the same time, an additional 3,000-4,000 homeless New Yorkers are currently "unsheltered," sleeping on city streets and in the subway system. Studies show that the large majority of them are people living with mental illness or other severe health problems. Last week, the de Blasio administration announced a 6-point plan to end long-term street homelessness over the next five years. The Mayor's plan will increase housing, mental health and medical services for unsheltered people, and enhance outreach efforts to deliver more urgent and rapid responses to these New Yorkers in need. Read more here ([link removed]) .
NEWS FROM CITY HALL
I am delighted to report that the City Council passed my legislation last week requiring the NYC Dept of Education to report annually on the time it takes to resolve parents' special education legal claims. My objective is to prompt the DOE to make much-needed changes to a burdensome and inefficient process. Read the bill here ([link removed]) . It is part of a package ([link removed]) regarding special ed services in New York City generally.
Too many children with disabilities are still unable to receive the educational services they need and to which they are entitled. Parents are forced to exhaust all options and then front payments for special education that the City is supposed to provide. To make matters far worse, the process to reimburse parents is scuttled by bureaucratic and legal nightmares.
In 2014, the DOE committed to expediting decisions on whether to settle special ed reimbursement claims within 15 days. In 2015, the DOE announced it would finalize settlements within 90 days. These commitments were meant to ease the settlement process, reduce litigation, and expedite reimbursement payments to families. But based on reports from parents and advocates, it is clear that the DOE is not meeting them.
Developed in close collaboration with families of students with disabilities and education advocates, my legislation seeks to hold the DOE accountable to their own commitments for special ed reimbursements; stop wasting taxpayer money and resources; deliver much-needed transparency for parents and advocates; ease the bureaucratic and financial burden for parents; and, most importantly, improve education for special-ed students.
As always, don't hesitate to contact my City Hall (212-788-6975) or District (212-873-0282) offices with any questions.
Wishing all of you a joyous and peaceful holiday season,
(Photo credit: Central Park Conservancy Facebook page ([link removed]) .)
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