Press Releases

The three most important reforms for this Charter Revision Commission are:

1. Get Big Money Out of New York City Politics – of all the options presented there is only one way that will actually get big money out of New York City politics and that is by matching every small dollar contribution with public dollars. Anything less than matching every small dollar will leave an incentive to seek and accept large dollar contributions that at worst have a corrupting influence and at best create the appearance of impropriety.
2. Term Limits for Community Boards – as we seek to empower Community Boards, term limits are necessary to ensure that these bodies reflect their communities and create a culture of getting things done and foster mentoring and the passing on of institutional memory.
3. Binding Land Use Powers for Community Boards and Borough Presidents – the Community Boards along with their Borough Board and their Council Member or Borough President must be able to initiate Uniform Land Use Review Procedures (ULURP) completely funded by the City or with a triple no have a veto.

Please note that any reforms to the Community Boards are meaningless without full public matching, as those appointed will still answer to their Council Members and Borough President, whom without it may still have to answer to big moneyed donors and special interests.

Executive Summary of Campaign Finance Recommendations

Get Big Money Out of New York City Politics

^Support Match Every Dollar with a Full Public Match – increase the public match from 55% to match every small dollar (approximately 85% of the spending limit).

^Support Lower Dollars Matched and Increase Multiplier – reduce the matching of only the first $175 to $100 of a contribution from a city resident with the matching rate increased from 6 to 1 to 10 to 1 for a total of $1,100.

^Support Lower Contribution Limits – lower contribution limits to $2,000 for citywide and $1000 for borough and City Council because you should not be able to give more to the Mayor than the President.

^New Stop Matching Big Dollar Contributions – Stop matching big donations over $175–ideally lowered to $100–with public dollars and force big money candidates to actually solicit small dollars from residents if they want public matching funds.

^New Eliminate War Chests and Kill All the Zombie Committees – bring back prohibitions against non-participant war chests by repealing Local Law 189 of 2016 and requiring candidates in New York City to have only one authorized committee at a time with any remaining funds paid to the city after each election.

Expand Candidates and Voters Now

^Support Empower Residents to Run for Office - automatically allow candidates who qualify for public matching to be on the ballot as an alternative to archaic petition requirements.

^Support Automatic Voter Registration – government should use all opportunities of interaction to register voters or update voter registration information.

^New Separate Voter Assistance and Campaign Finance – the administration of the public matching funds must be done impartially and separated from legislative advocacy, voter registration, and voter engagement.

^New Lifetime Term Limits – eliminate the revolving door between the Albany legislature and New York City Council with lifetime term limits for city offices.

^Support Act Now – the unique environment of the 2021 election presents the only meaningful opportunity to enact reform.

Executive Summary of Recommendations for Community Boards

Better Representation and Reflection of Community

^Support Term Limits for Community Board Members and Leadership – community boards must no longer be a lifetime appointment and must have term limits for membership as well as for leadership positions.

^New End Automatic Reappointment with Standardized, Public Applications – applications must be publicly available online and in print with everyone required to submit an application with non-confidential information.

^New Ensure Representation with Automatic Removal for Non-Attendance – the Charter currently provides for removal for non-attendance by the community board or the Borough President, which is rarely used, and should be strengthened with automatic vacancies.

^New Prohibit the Appointment of Partisan Party Officials or Lobbyists - – de-politicize community boards so they serve the community, not the interests of elected officials, political parties, or the special interests of lobbyists.

Land Use Powers for Community Boards and Borough Presidents

^New Binding Land Use Power to Initiate or Veto ULURP – community boards must be able to initiate or veto ULURPs with support from Borough Board and Council Member or Borough President.

^Support Urban Planners for Every Community Board – each community board, especially those that do not see a need, would have the resources needed to achieve their Charter mandate for planning.

^Support Office of Community Planning – in order to assist and coordinate their Charter mandate for planning, community boards need an office that answers to them and not the Mayor.

^Support Member Training – provide community board members with the knowledge they need to be effective with mandatory training on conflicts of interest, budget and the contracting process, zoning and ULURP, Board of Standards and Appeals, as well as landmarks.

Boundaries

^Oppose District Boundaries – overlapping boundaries with multiple elected officials strengthens boards and provides better representation while tying boundaries to Constitutional mandates for one person one vote would needlessly gerrymander and split communities.

Upper East Side, NY – On Wednesday July 18, local community groups including the East 86th Street Association, the East 60s Neighborhood Association, the East 72nd Street Neighborhood Association and Upper Greenside came together with Council Member Ben Kallos and the New York City Parks Department to celebrate the installation of a significant number of the tree guards requested by Council Member Kallos and the community for the Upper East Side.

Council Member Kallos allocated a total of $175,000 from his discretionary funding in FY 2018 to get the 98 tree guards installed. With the help of the community groups, the work is now very much under way.

Just months ago Council Member Kallos and the New York City Parks Department announced 19 new trees valued at $38,000 provided by the MTA and 17 new tree guards to protect them, and plantings along  Second Avenue at the cost of $30,600 provided by Council Member Ben Kallos. This was an expansion of his Adopt-A-Planter program launched in 2014 along the First Avenue protected bike lane.

As covered by PIX 11 News in 2014 Council Member Kallos secured approvals from NYC Parks and the Department of Transportation for residents to adopt planters with and without trees to beautify them with training and materials from Upper Green Side. Over the past four years, the Adopt-A-Planter participants have requested tree guards to protect trees and plantings.

I applaud the staff recommendations released today by the New York City Charter Revision Commission. The Commissioners must adopt the strongest among them to reset the foundation of this great city and create a democracy that empowers every voice in elections and governance.

A full public match campaign finance system that will finally incentivize and allow candidates to run on small dollars alone, such as in legislation I authored in 2016 and testified to the Commission earlier this year, will reduce the corrupting influence of big dollars and special interests in our elections process and empower New Yorkers who cannot write checks of $4,950 but still want their voices heard.

We must also enrich and empower our City’s 59 Community Boards. Since 2014, I have advocated for term limits because they create a culture of getting things done, one where current and outgoing members mentor new members and pass on knowledge, and which allows new voices and new ideas to enter the public discussion. Term limits better ensure that Community Boards, our most local form of government, reflect the neighborhoods they represent. This, coupled with providing dedicated planning staff and binding power to veto or initiate Uniform Land Use Review Procedures, will give Community Boards the voice they deserve.

While government seldom reflects the voices of those who speak out, it is great to see so many voices from all over the city reflected in the New York City Charter Revision Commission Preliminary Staff Report. I encourage New Yorkers to join me in comment over the next week to support the most important recommendations and strengthen others as together we remake New York.

We look to the Commissioners to put the strongest recommendations on the ballot - ones that could not be accomplished through the legislative process- for an ambitious set of charter reforms that New Yorkers can vote for and restore a democracy of, by, and for the People!

New York, NY- On Monday, July 16 elected officials from Manhattan came together to urge the Board of Standards and Appeals (BSA) to consider the citywide implications that its upcoming hearings and rulings will carry if they rule in favor of the developers. On July 17 the BSA is set to consider community appeals against development projects in Council Member Kallos’ district at 180 East 88th Street and at 200 Amsterdam Avenue on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.
 
As New York City gets set to regulate the use of excessive mechanical voids this year, elected officials and community groups are calling on the BSA and the de Blasio administration to stick to the Mayor’s word from a June 27th, 2018 town hall where he acknowledged that the City should study all the loopholes used by developers, not only voids and added that the City should come back with a decision on the matter.

Download the Letter and Exhibits.

For many years, community members have fought for access to the land underneath the Queensboro Bridge, known as the Queensboro Oval, which I understand is owned by the Department of Transportation, but which the city made an official Playground in 1909. Since the 1970s, the park has been leased to an exclusive private tennis club, for a gradually expanding season and the concessionaire has left the field in poor condition during the summer months it is open to the public, leaving this space unattractive and unusable.

Over the past four and a half years, I have worked with community leaders, Community Board 8, and my fellow elected officials to advocate for the return of this land to the public, as a yearround public park.

After sharing with the community an initial proposal to build a new public recreation facility at the site, the Parks Department issued on February 16 of this year a Request for Proposals (RFP) that appears skewed towards keeping site’s current use in place. Please consider working together to resurface the Queensboro Oval as a public amenity without fees.

Short of this, please consider reissuing the RFP for a concession at this site with changes reflecting the requests of the community. Below I have detailed my legal and public policy-based concerns with the current RFP as drafted, including that there is no requirement for evaluation criteria weighted towards public use, the capital improvements requested as well as various inaccuracies and misrepresentations appear to benefit the incumbent concessionaire, the requirements preclude responses from non-profits, and the user fees for this concession are the highest in the city, creating a disparate impact. I believe these concerns reflect those of the community members who have been fighting for this park.

Download the Letter and Exhibits.

The fight to preserve our residential communities against super-tall buildings will likely have to continue in court before a judiciary less likely to be tainted by the political process after today's irresponsible decision by the Board of Standards and Appeals. The Board ruled in favor of a bad acting developer against a lawful rezoning that was the result of a grassroots effort by the local community and elected officials.

Once again the city is allowing a developer to ignore the laws, having hurtled forward with its illegal foundation, in full knowledge of the zoning change, then asking the city for special treatment after the fact.

In a mad rush to complete its foundation so it could then claim a hardship, the developer completed the bulk of its foundation using illegal After Hours Work Variances, while failing repeatedly to comply with Department of Transportation safety requirements.

The city has been complicit in ignoring the law in order to help a developer beat the community, from delaying the rezoning for years to adding a bogus grandfather clause to granting illegal After Hours Variances, endangering public safety by closing streets in violation of the law, and now finally ignoring the hard-fought zoning law the community had won.

If Kalikow’s behavior is any indication of what the city is prepared to let developers get away with, then no law on the books will prevent developers from abusing the system and winning, until the courts step in.

Urban Pathways Opens Independent Housing Named After Former Board Member Howard Amron

Howard Amron's widow, Joan Amron cuts the ribbon for the Howard Amron House with Council Ben Kallos, Urban Pathways CEO Fred Shack, family and board members looking on.  

On Tuesday, May 22, 2018, Urban Pathways hosted an open house in celebration of their newly constructed residence, the Howard Amron House on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.

The 11-unit building, and the 11th supportive housing facility operated by Urban Pathways, will be home to formerly homeless individuals living at the highest level of independence. The Howard Amron House will offer tenants supportive services including case management, as well as individualized services to maximize independence, and wellness self-management.

New York City Rent Guidelines Board (RGB)

Public Hearing and Comment on Proposed Rules

June 19, 2018

I am Council Member Ben Kallos, representing the Upper East Side, Midtown East, Roosevelt Island and El Barrio.

Good afternoon to the Rent Guidelines Board Chair Hon. Kathleen A. Roberts, Public Members Camarena, Joza, Reiss and Pinsky, Owner Members Pinsky and Walsh, and Tenant Members Garcia and Goodridge.

To New Yorkers here today, and especially tenants, thank you for attending this hearing. I am proud to stand with you today.

This year, I am calling on the Rent Guidelines Board to vote for a rent freeze.

After two straight years of historic rent freezes, last year, the Board voted for a rent increase of 1.25% for one-year leases and 2% for two-year leases. While this was a lower increase than the disproportionately high increases of previous years under prior administrations, more still needs to be done to balance tenants’ rent burdens with landlord’s revenues.

Testimony to the New York City Charter Revision Commission

Community Boards and Land Use

Tuesday, June 19, 2018

Council Member Ben Kallos

New York City's Community Boards originated in the 1950s, when Manhattan Borough President Robert F. Wagner established twelve “Community Planning Councils,” each comprised of 15-20 members. The councils served an advisory role to the Borough President, primarily for planning and budgetary issues. As mayor, Wagner institutionalized the councils as “Community Planning Boards” in the 1963 Charter Revision, extending them to all five boroughs.

Expanded again in 1968 by Mayor John Lindsay through the passage of Local Law 39, Community Boards acquired their present structure in the Charter Revision of 1975, which established the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) and expanded the number of boards to the present 59. Additionally, the Charter Revision Commission recommendations gave the Community Boards a formal role in three specific areas: (1) Improving the delivery of city services; (2) Planning and reviewing land use in the community; and (3) Making recommendations on the city's budget.

Currently, each Community Board consists of up to 50 volunteer members appointed by the borough president, with half nominated by the City Council members representing that district. Board members are Charter mandated to reside, work in, or have some other significant interest in the community. As the most local form of government, Community Boards serve an essential role in our city’s democracy by shaping neighborhood development and advising government on community needs and interests.

Opportunity for Reform

On March 3, 2014 I chaired a hearing of the Committee on Governmental Operations on “Best Practices for Recruitment and Appointments to Community Boards.” The hearing received 19 testimonies from individuals, organizations, and borough presidents past and present. There was a strong desire for reform to strengthen Community Boards with greater resources and

"Child care should not be a luxury just for the rich," said Council Member Ben Kallos. "Parents shouldn't have to choose between going to work or staying home to care for a child. Employer-sponsored child care guarantees working parents a safe place for their child, and I'm proud to stand with Public Advocate James in asking the City to lead by example and provide child care options for its workers."

The $89 billion 2018-19 budget passed by the New York City Council is a budget that highlights our needs and aims to strengthen the City’s financial position in case of economic downturn. I am particularly proud to have fought alongside my colleagues for and won:

• Fair Fares - saves $700 a year in transit costs for 800,000 New Yorkers living in poverty and 12,000 veterans attending colleges in New York City for a $106 million investment.

• Property Tax Reform Commission - to study disparities in property taxes resulting in our district paying higher property taxes than others do for larger homes.

• Fair Student Funding - school in our neighborhood were chronically underfunded and nearly everyone will see a boost in funding with an investment of $125 million.

• Accessible Schools - almost every local public school in the neighborhood is not accessible which is why we are investing $150 million in making our schools accessible to every student.

• Supporting Our Youth - after school, summer programs, summer and year-round youth employment saw restorations and increases of $58.5 million.

• Expanding Our Libraries - with an investment of $60 million for new libraries and $16.7 million to keep them open.

• Cleaning Up Our Parks and Streets - we’ve invest $15.8 million in Parks Maintenance workers, tree stump removal and extra sanitation services.

• More Affordable Housing - we need need more affordable housing for all New Yorkers including $40 million for public housing infrastructure, $3 million for homeless youth shelters, and $500 million for senior affordable housing.

Upper East Side, NY- Today, construction began on the $2.1 million renovation and upgrade of Stanley M. Isaacs Neighborhood Center’s senior center kitchen and youth center facilities.  Located in the Holmes Towers at 415 E 93rd Street, the Isaacs Center is a non-for profit organization with a more than 50-year history of serving the needs of over 6,000 children and low-income families, out-of-school and out-of-work youth, and older adults annually. The senior center, which provides meals and critical safety nets to approximately 150 seniors daily, is being upgraded, after being in need of repair for over five years. The Youth Center, which provides after-school programming and workforce development services to hundreds of children and young adults, is also receiving a much-needed upgrade to its restroom facilities.

The senior center kitchen and youth center facilities that will be remodeled, primarily serve seniors and residents of the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) Isaacs/Holmes developments. While the funding for this project was designated in previous years, renewed attention to citywide capital improvements to NYCHA facilities has allowed this project to move forward now. Construction is expected to be completed in February 2019, with full completion and use of the facility scheduled to be available by July 31, 2019.

Council Member Kallos’ funding allocation to this project was $680,000 in FY 2015 and $350,000 in FY 2017 for a comprehensive upgrade to the senior center and youth center. The remaining funding came from NYCHA and the City Council, including former Council Members who represented the neighborhood.

The scope of the work includes, but is not limited to:

Isaacs Houses – replacement of existing kitchen equipment, new kitchen floor and ceiling, and mechanical upgrades.

Holmes Towers – complete bathroom renovation, replacement of plumbing fixtures, new LED lighting fixtures, and new doors and frames.
 

Upper East Side, NY- The New York City School Construction Authority broke ground today on construction of a new Pre-Kindergarten facility located at 355 East 76^th Street. The new site will help the Department of Education meet the demand for seats needed in the 2019 school year with 180 initial seats for fall of 2019. This new push from the City to build and open more Pre-Kindergarten seats on the Upper East Side comes after years of public advocacy from Council Member Ben Kallos and local parents to the Department of Education to fulfill the area’s need and live up to the promise of Pre-Kindergarten for all children in New York City.
 

For the 2017-18 school year, 736 families applied for a total of 550 Pre-Kindergarten spots in the Upper East Side and Roosevelt Island, though not every application was from a family living in this area or materialized into a student enrolling in a Pre-Kindergarten seat. The unmet demand forced parents to consider enrolling their children in Pre-Kindergarten sites as far away as downtown Manhattan. This push by the City to increase the number of Pre-Kindergarten seats in Council District 5 includes another 234 seats will come from other new centers on East 57th and East 95th Streets for a total of over 400 seats.
 
The groundbreaking ceremony was attended by Congress Member Carolyn Maloney, and neighboring Council Member Keith Powers. Representatives from the offices of State Senator Liz Krueger, State Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright, and Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer were present as these were the elected officials that have been supportive in Council Member Kallos’ four-year effort to increase the number of Pre-K seats on the Upper East Side. These new seats were originally announced by Mayor Bill de Blasio in January as part of Fiscal Year 2018 Executive Budget.

Child Care at Government Meetings Proposed by Council Member Kallos
 

Parents Could Request Child Care, Reducing Barriers to Participation in Government Meetings;

Child Care Aims to Increase Women’s Participation in Government and Running for Office

New York, NY – Parents interested in having a say in local government could have free childcare provided by the city under proposed legislation by Council Member Ben Kallos. The legislation is being announced ahead of Mother's Day and will be introduced within a few days. The bill was inspired by a move to provide childcare at conferences in academia, civic technology, and by NYC Community Education Council 2. Countless parents have found childcare to be a challenge to their professional careers, not to mention civic engagement.
 
“It actually costs parents money to be civically engaged,” said Council Member Ben Kallos, who grew up with a single mother and now offers free childcare at his annual events. “How can democracy work when we exclude parents from representing the interests of themselves and their children because they may not have access to childcare? If we want to build an inclusive democracy here in New York City it means offering free childcare when we want to hear from any New Yorker who has children.”

The American Heart Association Supports City Council Effort Aimed At Making Healthy Choices The Norm

Council Member Kallos introduces bill that takes sugary drinks off restaurant kids’ menus

New York, NY, May 23, 2018 —  The world’s leading voluntary health organization devoted to fighting cardiovascular disease and stroke, the American Heart Association backs Council Member Ben Kallos’ bill designed to take sugary drinks off the kids’ menu in New York City restaurants.

The bill aims to make healthier drinks like water, low-fat milk and 100% juice the default option on kids’ menus. By passing this policy, New York City will join a growing number of cities setting healthy standards on kids’ restaurant menus to promote children’s health. Today, the majority of children’s meals at most restaurants are unhealthy. Although parents could still choose from any drink, this policy will help make the healthy choice the easy choice.

"The new normal should be healthy meal and drink options for our children no matter where they are eating, "said Council Member Ben Kallos."If we get this part down, at every food establishment serving kids it will make it much easier and simpler to raise happy healthy children."

New York, NY—Over 1,900 Upper East Side and Roosevelt Island residents 11 years old and over voted  in person or online on how to spend $1 million in tax dollars to improve the community as part of “Participatory Budgeting 2018 cycle.” This year residents were able to vote in the district office seven days a week as well as at multiple mobile “pop-up” voting locations and online by digital ballot.

This is the fifth year Council Member Ben Kallos participates in Participatory Budgeting, and the results were:

1.      P.S. 290 MNS Re-Construction of Kindergarten Bathroom $200,000 – 792 Votes

2.      Laptops for Public Schools $350,000 – 736 Votes

3.      NYPL District Libraries Technology Upgrade $200,000 – 712 Votes

4.      P.S. 183 HVAC for Cafeteria and Community Space $600,000 – 666 Votes

The three highest voter winners will be funded for a total of   $750,000. Due to a strong showing and a close final tally in votes the fourth project on the list of winners with a total cost of $600,000 will be given the remaining $250,000 from the $1,000,000 in Participatory Budgeting money plus an additional $350,000 from Council Member Ben Kallos’ discretionary funding to complete the project.

STATEMENT: Council Member Ben Kallos on Scaffolding Incident in Upper East Side that Left an Injured Pedestrian

Upper East Side - NY. I am grateful that the injury resulting from this incident was not life-threatening and that the resident was able to walk away from it however potentially deadly debris should not be falling out of the sky and onto New Yorkers ever.

In addition to having a bill that limits the amount of time scaffolding is up unnecessarily, I am looking into introducing legislation that would make ensure scaffolding that is up is inspected effectively so that it is safe and actually protects pedestrians in the event of an accident. I will certainly be following up with the Department of Buildings as they investigate what exactly occurred here. These structures are meant to keep people safe and if they are not doing that job correctly we need to fix that.  

Council Member Ben Kallos represents District 5 which covers First Avenue and East 57th Street where the incident occurred.

Download the Presentation (PDF)

Download the Presentation (PDF)

Since its inception in 1988, New York City has had the model campaign finance system in the country. It is a system that has survived court challenges, been strengthened by legislative changes, and helped candidates like me compete and get elected. It is a system I am invested in protecting and improving upon during my time in the City Council. But no system in perfect, especially not one as complex and impactful as campaign finance. There is room for improvement, and I offer to this commission proposals large and small that will create a fairer campaign finance system by shifting the balance of power away from the wealthy and well-connected, back toward the people it was designed to serve.

I urge this Charter Revision Commission to consider modest changes to the existing Campaign Finance system that would not put the existing system at risk, while still having a large impact.

Executive Summary of Recommendations:

• Get Big Money Out of New York City Politics: Empower Small
  • Match Every Dollar with a Full Public Match – increase the public match from 55% to 85% of the spending limit to match every small dollar.
  • Increase the Match on Small Dollars over Big Money – match small dollars contributions of $100 or less at a higher rate than larger contributions.
  • Lower Contribution Limits – lower contribution limits to $2000 for citywide and $1000 for borough and City Council because you should not be able to give more to a mayoral campaign than a presidential.
  • Democracy Vouchers - provide residents with vouchers to be used toward campaigns.
• A Citizen Legislature: Empower Residents to Run for Office
  • Ballot Access Reform – automatically allow residents who qualify for public matching to be on the ballot as an alternative to archaic petition requirements.
  • End the Revolving Door between New York City and State: Life Time Term Limits – elected officials may only complete two terms total per office.
  • In-district Residency Requirement –candidates must reside in the city for at least 5 years and within their district for at least 1 year.
• Empower the Voice of Residents Over Big Money – Independent expenditures are on the rise and we must limit the influence of big money to amplify the voices of people over corporations.
• Clean Elections – prohibit private money in candidate campaigns.
• Act Now – 2021 presents a unique opportunity to enact reform.

Upper East Side, NY –The Brearley School, the Department of Citywide Administrative Services, and Council Member Ben Kallos have formed a public-private partnership to rebuild and maintain a platform known as “The Pier” that had fallen into severe disrepair with rain leaking through onto John Finley Walk on the East River Esplanade.

As part of a new lease agreement and in response to concerns raised by Council Member Ben Kallos, the Brearley School and the Department of Citywide Administrative Services have agreed to invest over $1 million to rehabilitate the Pier. CIVITAS, the Council Member and representatives from the Brearley School will host the public for a preview of the plan on Thursday, May 10, 2018 from 6PM to 8PM at the Brearley School. The plan will incorporate colorful new designs, contemporary lighting, green walls, and new planters with seasonal plantings maintained through a partnership with a local conservancy. The new Brearley lease will run for the next 20 years, with two 10-year renewals.

Previously, the City was responsible for the pier infrastructure. As part of the new lease, the School is taking on that responsibility along with the voluntary renovation and beautification that will be carried out as part of the public-private partnership. In addition, Brearley will post contact information for residents to report any issues. Routine maintenance issues reported will be fixed within days or weeks, and updates will be posted regularly in the event of any larger issues.

This new public-private partnership was a result of community meetings and surveys with CIVITAS, and Council Member Kallos and Brearley working with the Department of Citywide Administrative Services to address community concerns. A detailed history and the full terms of the agreement are listed below.

“Block by block, we are rebuilding the Esplanade, bringing in new institutional partners so we can for it together as a community moving forward. Renovations to the pier structure should result in fewer complaints about bird droppings and water dripping on passerby below on the East River Esplanade,” said Council Member Ben Kallos. “Thank you to the Brearley School and the Department of Citywide Administrative services for working with our office to address community concerns and giving back to our community.”