Every day, New Yorkers wait in near-agony for subway trains running far behind schedule, late for work, for school, for doctor’s appointments. Every single subway line has worsened dramatically (except one, more on that below). On-time performance has fallen far below every other major city (only Mexico City is even close).
What’s the number one cause of subway delays? READ MORE
Brooklynites were hit hard in 2010 when the MTA eliminated the B71, which ran along Union Street, and was a lifeline for seniors, students, and families. To this day, every time I visit the Eileen Dugan Senior Center, they have a very clear message: “Bring back our bus!”
Despite economic recovery and significant population growth along the route, the line has never been restored, leaving thousands of riders stranded. READ MORE
Unfortunately, for some unscrupulous landlords in NYC harassing tenants out of their apartments is part of the business plan: once a tenant is driven out, a landlord can make significant renovations, or demolish and rebuild, and then dramatically raise rents.
This is why I was proud to lead the effort for an important new policy to protect tenants from the cycle of landlord harassment. READ MORE
Children’s Reading and Storytelling Garden at the Park Slope Library
One of our communities greatest new public spaces is the “Reading Circle and Storytelling Garden” at the Park Slope branch of the Brooklyn Public Library. The garden features a storytelling amphitheater, paths, and planters. It remarkably converts an unused bit of grass into a joyful new public space to read, dream, play, learn, create, perform, plant, tend, and share stories. READ MORE
This summer, the Gowanus Canal Conservancy launched the “Gowanus Green Team”, a new green jobs training program for young adults in the Gowanus community.
Funded with $50,000 that I allocated through the City Council’s “Greener NYC” initiative, the Gowanus Green Team focuses on recruiting young people from NYCHA’s Gowanus Houses, Wyckoff Gardens, and Warren Street Houses. READ MORE
Like many of you, I was horrified when I learned that Kensington Stables was at risk of being sold in bankruptcy court. This could mean losing Brooklyn’s last stables, and the end of horseback riding in Prospect Park. I made clear we would not support any redevelopment proposal that would eliminate the stables, which postponed the auction. We then worked with the Parks Department, Prospect Park, the City’s Economic Development Corporation, Kensington Stables owner Walker Blankenship, and many other stakeholders with the goal of preserving the stables for the long term. READ MORE
Over the past eighteen months, our community has been working closely with the NYC Department of City Planning to craft a thoughtful, community-driven, inclusive and sustainable plan for the future of Gowanus. In the coming months, City Planning will release a “planning framework” to bring that work into reality.
From January through July, stakeholders took part in five Working Groups, to drill down on the complex issues that will shape the future of Gowanus: Sustainability & READ MORE
There’s no doubt that Community School District 15 is diverse. Made up of Park Slope, Red Hook, Sunset Park, Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill, Windsor Terrace, and Kensington, District 15 students bring an incredible array of backgrounds, stories, and perspectives to our public schools.
Unfortunately, there’s also no doubt that they still bring those diverse perspectives to highly segregated schools. READ MORE
New York City Council