Newsletters

Dear Friend,

During an eventful and at times difficult year, it can be hard to find time to pause, reflect and give thanks. Thanksgiving provides an opportunity to be thankful for our blessings and the community surrounding us. If you are interested in volunteering this month, please contact my office, so I can help connect you with volunteer opportunities in the district.

I am thankful for the opportunity to serve. You may have heard me at community events mention the amount of time I have left in office (as of today, 3 years, 1 month and 23 days!). The reason I place so much emphasis on the time left is that every moment is a valuable one that I hope to use to improve our neighborhoods and city.  What are you most thankful for?

I wish you a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Sincerely,

Ben Kallos

Dear Neighbors,

It has been my pleasure to represent you in the City Council since January. Over the past nine months, my favorite moments have been the ones spent together in the community, such as inauguration, First Fridays, policy nights, cooking demonstrations at the Green Market and community events. If you have an event you would like me to attend, please send over an invitation. I will try my best to be there. 

Since the New Year, we have taken great strides towards greater opportunities for all New Yorkers with:

• 50,000 universal pre-k seats, and more to come;
• Paid sick leave;
• More affordable apartments;
• $35 million in funds for the East River Esplanade;
• Steps to make streets safer through Vision Zero; and
• A stronger fight against the Marine Transfer Station.

There is more to do, but the progress is encouraging. Please contact me with any thoughts, questions, requests for assistance or ideas for a better city. Here are just a few ways you can reach me:

Phone: (212) 860-1950 
Email: BKallos@council.nyc.gov
Website: www.BenKallos.com
Twitter: @BenKallos 
Facebook: Facebook.com/BenKallos
In person: 244 East 93rd Street 

I look forward to working together.
As always, I am at your service.

Sincerely,Council Member Ben Kallos

Dear Friend,

This is a busy month for all of us, with no sign of slowing down. I hope you will join me at a community event this month:
 

• First Friday
• Policy Night
• Senior Health Fair
• Bike Safety forum with NYPD
• Town Hall
• Three Participatory Budgeting Neighborhood Assemblies
• Free Legal Housing Clinic
• Mobile hours
• and more!

Details for all are in this newsletter or at BenKallos.com/Events.

To those observing, I hope you had a happy Rosh Hashanah and wish you a meaningful Yom Kippur.

I look forward to seeing you at one of this month's events, or saying hello if we run into one another in the neighborhood.

Sincerely,

Ben Kallos

 Dear Friend,

As we head back to school, I wish you and your families a seamless transition back into the swing of the school year. This is a busy and exciting time. I am happy to help you find the right city resources, from after-school programs to universal pre-k to academic support. As ever, please contact my office by email or phone at 212-860-1950 for assistance.

Over summer vacation, we were hard at work. The fight against the marine transfer station continued, key transparency reforms became law, benefits to seniors and disabled residents expanded and my push for safer streets continued. As we move into the school year, I will be working on keeping our schools strong and continuing the fights we've already begun.

Here's to a great start.

Sincerely,

Ben Kallos

Happy summer.
 
In August, our neighborhoods tend to empty out with many of us on vacation. But there’s plenty to do for those of us staying behind. In fact, I strongly encourage you to have a look at the “Community Events” section at the bottom. From outdoor concerts to summer movies in the park, there is much to do in our neighborhood in August. 
 
Enjoy the warm weather, and, as always, please reach out for assistance or just to express your thoughts and ideas.

Sincerely,

Ben Kallos

Table of Contents
1. Passing Laws
2. Fighting the Marine Transfer Station
3. Conflict in the Middle East
5. Free Law Founders
6. Labeled a Hero by the Daily News
7. Free Housing Clinic
8. Fighting Waste 
9. Advocating for Net Neutrality
10. Park Avenue Historic District
11. Summer of Science
12. Partnering with Manhattan Borough President Brewer for Transparency
14. Mental Health Resources
15. Fighting Unsafe Factory Farms
16. Supporting Women's History 
17. Delivery Bike Forum
18. GrowNYC Fresh FoodBox
19. Safer Sex Resources
20. Vision Zero Map
21.Taste of Jewish Culture Festival
22. Cooking with Kallos
23. Around the Community
24. Legislation Corner
25. Mobile District Hours
26. Events from Our Office
27. Community Events

On July 1st, I marked six months in office. To mark the occasion, I asked you to reach out to me to share your ideas and feedback. Your responses have been illuminating. Many of you shared the issues that matter to you and your families. Many were kind enough to share positive experiences you have had with my office. Many offered ideas for neighborhood issues to address.

Now, we will move forward together:

• To fight the marine transfer station;
• To protect safe, clean and livable streets;
• To use technology to improve New Yorkers' daily lives;
• To promote a transparent, accountable government; 
• To protect tenants' rights and promote affordable housing, especially for seniors; 
• To improve our neighborhood infrastructure and open space; and
• To improve education and invest in our children.

I hope you will join me at First Friday on August 1st from 8AM-10AM at my District Office or Policy Night on Tuesday, August 12th, at 6:30PM at my District Office so we can work together to improve our neighborhood.

Sincerely,

Ben Kallos

This month, our community experienced tragedy in the form of a fatal traffic collision. In moments like these, we come together to mourn and demand action. 

On the East Side, I have piloted a "Livable Streets" program to solicit street information from nearly 60,000 households.  I also held a safety walk along Second Avenue Subway construction in April in order to empower residents to investigate and improve safety along the construction site. 

Last week, the Council passed an 11-bill street safety package, and I will keep working with colleagues and city agencies to make Vision Zero a reality.

Please join us at a Vision Zero forum on June 24 at 6:30PM at Hunter College's Lang Recital Hall co-sponsored with State Senator Liz Krueger and Council Member Dan Garodnick.

You can share dangerous intersections or other safe streets information you have by visiting BenKallos.com/Livable-Streets. If you are experiencing trauma as a result of the tragedies, please reach out to me at 212-860-1950 or bkallos@benkallos.com so our social work staff can assist you in finding the services you need.

New in this issue, you will find the "Legislative Corner," where you can chart the progress of laws to better our city. And I hope you can join me on this Friday for our monthly First Friday event.

Only through teamwork can we improve our neighborhood, our streets and our city as a whole.

Sincerely,

Ben Kallos

Marking 100 days of representing you in the City Council was a chance to take stock of the progress made and where we still have to go together. I'm proud of advances on key issues such as the fight against the Marine Transfer Station, bringing public pre-k funding to New York City, reforming community boards so they better represent neighborhoods, reforming the New York City Board of Elections to make them a more effective institution and allowing you to vote on how public money gets spent.

Many of these fights are long-entrenched and difficult to tackle, but we have seen movement in all of them in just the past few months. Only with your help and involvement can we continue making meaningful strides forward.

We are now in the budgeting season, where we decide how to allocate funding for a fairer, better city. I have been working with the Council to determine our budget priorities as a body, and distributing our own discretionary funds based on the community's voice.

I look forward to redoubling my efforts on your behalf in the next 100 days, and all the days after that.

Sincerely,

Ben Kallos

Recently, I was pleased to sponsor and vote for an expansion of Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption (SCRIE), and you or your neighbors may now be eligible for these important rent benefits. Int. 243, which was recently signed into law, raises the income eligibility for seniors receiving SCRIE benefits to $50,000 from $29,000.

New York City's budget was passed this week, and it is a budget that you can have confidence in. The progressive, compassionate budget puts residents first and brings more opportunity to our neighborhood and city. It was reached through a transparent negotiating process that took the voice of every Council Member and community into account in order to serve all New Yorkers.