February 10, 2021 Full Board Reports

Assembly Member Dan Quart

The Assembly Member submitted the following points and a video message as his report to CB6 this month:

Our office is actively participating in the Manhattan Borough President’s weekly vaccine task force meetings, where we are listening and brainstorming ways to make distribution equitable and safe for our constituents. The Assembly Member is also putting pressure on the state Department of Heath to make sure doses are going to match the demand for supply in our city.

The Assembly Member is very happy & proud to be voting on the Walking While Trans bill this week, after many years of advocating for repealing this very discriminatory loitering law. He thanks Senator Hoylman for his tireless advocacy in the Senate to get this bill pushed through.

Budget season in Albany has officially begun, and the Assembly Member is going to work very hard to find new ways to raise revenue in our state to prevent any large and damaging budget cuts to our city.

Council Member Kallos

The Council Member submitted the following points and a link to their February newsletter as their report to CB6 this month:

• $38 Million invested in Biotech
• Secured $284 million from the Mayor to fund repairs on the esplanade from 94th Street into East Harlem
• Welcomed a safe haven in our district
• Rallied, protested, and even marched across the Queensboro Bridge and won a dedicated bike lane connecting our two boroughs at a time that more and more people are biking. Read more about it here.
• Our annual State of the District is on February 21st at 12:30pm over zoom. Please RSVP here.

Council Member Rivera

The Council Member submitted the linked PDF and a link to their February newsletter as their report to CB6 this month.

Assembly Member Epstein

The Assembly Member submitted the linked PDF as their report to CB6 this month.

Comptroller Stringer

The Comptroller submitted the following links as their report to CB6 this month:

• Strengthening Public Safety in NYC Report
• Comptroller Stringer and Mayor de Blasio Announce $4 Billion Divestment From Fossil Fuels
• Comptroller Stringer Calls on the State and City to Expand Holocaust Education and Hate Crime Awareness and Prevention in NY Schools

Senator Krueger

The Senator submitted the following points and a link to their February newsletter as their report to CB6 this month:

• Senator Krueger’s Albany legislative happenings include the Repeal of “Walking While Trans” Law; Addressing Healthcare Disparities; Election Reform; Relief for Small Businesses and Workers; and more. Read details in our newsletter.
• Senator Krueger is currently co-chairing hearings on the Governor’s Executive Budget Proposal. You can access those hearings here. 
• Sign up for Senator Krueger’s email updates on COVID-19 at www.lizkrueger.com. View our COVID-19 Resource Guide online – look up unemployment, housing, food insecurity, health care, legal, and other resources that are available to help address these challenges during the pandemic.
• Senator Krueger’s February Roundtable for Boomers and Seniors will cover the topics of healthcare proxies and living wills. This event will take place virtually on Thursday, February 18th at 10am. Stay tuned for more information on how to RSVP.
• Senator Krueger is hosting a event on telehealth on Friday, March 5th from 2pm to 3:30pm. Join us to learn when to use telehealth and how to use it most effectively. We’ll explore the technical logistics of using telehealth to obtain the care you need from home. Stay tuned for more information on how to RSVP.

Borough President Brewer

The Borough President submitted the following points and a link to their most recent weekly newsletter as their report to CB6 this month:

• Preserving Small Businesses and Reducing Retail Vacancies: To help preserve our small businesses and reduce a growing problem of long-term retail-level vacancy in our neighborhoods, I co-sponsored Local Law 157 of 2019 with Speaker Corey Johnson and Council Member Helen Rosenthal, establishing a city database of empty storefront properties. Under this law, property owners are required to report vacancy information for commercial spaces on the second floor and below to the Department of Finance (DOF). The dataset will include address level data on vacant storefronts. Additional information such as median and average total duration of leases, size of rentable floor area per premise, and rent will be published at the census tract level. The dataset is scheduled to be published no later than February 2021.
• Helicopter Task Force Update: I’ve been in touch with NYC & Co., the city’s tourist agency (which has three helicopter partners and sometimes promotes discounted tickets), to determine if any of their helicopter partners are violating the City’s ban on nonessential flights over Manhattan. I’ve also contacted the NYPD and the NYC news and traffic channels to determine exactly how many of their aircrafts are flying over Manhattan. The Helicopter Task Force will meet again this month. 
• Open Culture Program Applications to Open on March 1^st: The City’s Open Culture Program will allow cultural organizations and artists to perform, rehearse, and teach outdoors (and charge admission), 3/1 – 10/1. Permit applications should open next month. Open Culture permits are only allowed on Open Streets, but if you want to use a street that’s not currently a designated Open Street, I’ll work with the community to petition for it to be included on your behalf. Please email my Cultural Affairs Specialist Natalie Espino at nespino@manhattanbp.nyc.gov about the block you want included.
• A Manhattan COVID-19 Vaccine Task Force has been Established and Assistance is Available for Booking Vaccine Appointments: I’ve formed a Manhattan Vaccine Task Force to improve local implementation of, and increase health equity within, the City and State’s vaccination efforts– composed of community-based organizations, volunteer groups, elected officials, Community Board chairs, and other stakeholders from across the borough with on-the-ground knowledge of all of Manhattan’s communities. Our first meeting was last week, and we’ll meet weekly. Contact info@manhattanbp.nyc.gov to learn more. In case you missed it, you can watch last week’s (1/27) informative testing and vaccines town hall I participated in with the National Black Leadership Commission on Health and community partners to dispel misinformation on MNN’s Facebook page. I wrote a letter to Mayor de Blasio on January 14th, about my concern over the lack of planning, deficiency of technology, absence of a thorough NYCHA plan, transportation issues, and the lack of a plan for special populations such as seniors. Also, I’ve created a Testing & Vaccine webpage on my site in an attempt to create a one-stop portal. I’ll update it as we receive new information. Lastly, if you need assistance booking your vaccine appointment, the fabulous staff at my Northern Manhattan Office is available to assist you. I’ve mentioned their incredible work in my weekly newsletters. 
• Police Reform Toolkit and the Mayor’s Office Preliminary Plan Presentation at the January Borough Board Meeting: In response to the Governor’s order for police reform proposals by April, the Mayor’s Office presented its preliminary plan at January’s Borough Board meeting. To watch our January Borough Board meeting, please visit my website. I recently published a “Police Reform Toolkit” to aid in these efforts. The toolkit compiles reform research regarding the role of police in the community, including accountability, transparency, and diversity efforts, and demilitarizing and re-training officers. Sources include New York State Attorney General Letitia James, Communities United for Police Reform, and data from the NYC Office of Management and Budget. You can download the 32-page police reform toolkit (PDF) by visiting my website. My office will work closely with every community board to make sure your recommendations are seen by the Mayor’s Office.

Senator Hoylman

The Senator submitted the attached report and the video below to CB6 this month.

Congresswoman Maloney

The Congresswoman submitted the attached report to CB6 this month.

District Attorney Vance

The District Attorney submitted the following points and their monthly newsletter as a report to CB6 this month:

• Annual High School Resume Workshop on Wednesday, 2/17 and Thursday, 2/18  – tailored to help students develop their resume and increase their chances in obtaining an internship over the summer
• Teen Dating Violence Prevention Presentations – free workshops/presentation available to community members in honor of February being Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month. The presentation trains individuals on how to identify signs of a violent teen relationship and provides tools and resources to help victims

Council Member Powers

The Council Member submitted the linked PDF as their report to CB6 this month.

Additionally, you can refer to their February 2021 newsletter to read the council member’s latest updates.