Newsroom

On March 8, I participated in a rally organized by New York City Councilmember Stephen Levin to express our gratitude and support for public school teachers and to fight back against the “blame the teachers” message of the so-called education reform movement.  Earlier that morning, the New York Times ran a story entitled “Teacher Survey Shows Morale Is at a Low Point,” citing a survey that found teacher morale to be at its lowest in more than twenty years.  While nobody would argue that New York City’s current education system is adequately serving all students—for example, barely half of black and Latino students graduate on time and far fewer are

On February 28, I joined United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew, public school parents, education advocates, and many other City and State elected officials in announcing support for proposed State legislation that would give local Community Education Councils—elected bodies of parent volunteers—veto power over proposed school co-locations in their districts.  Currently New York City Department of Education (DOE) proposals to install schools inside other schools’ buildings must only be approved by the City’s Panel for Educational Policy, which has never rejected a DOE proposal.  All too often such co-locations create rifts between school populations that negatively impact educational environments and result in an inequity of resources for students within the s

Last year, I and members of my staff joined the inspired initiative spearheaded by Carol Rinzler and Louis Dankberg to donate magazine subscriptions to the 30th Street Men’s Shelter.  Simple, relatively inexpensive gestures such as donating magazine subscriptions can dramatically improve the shelter residents’ quality of life.  As I renew my magazine subscriptions, I ask that you also consider renewing yours or donating a new one if you have not done so already.  Subscriptions should be addressed to Frank Rivera, Director, 30th Street Men’s Shelter, 400-430 East 30 Street, New York, NY 10016. 

Since St. Vincent's Hospital closed in April 2010, my office has been compiling and updating a guide to primary care providers that have increased capacity to serve the hospital’s former patients and oupatient providers that have absorbed services formerly provided by St.

File: 
Post St V Services Guide.pdf

In response to numerous inquiries and some complaints about the proliferation of nightlife establishments in Hell’s Kitchen, as well as constituent uncertainty about how the New York State Liquor Authority (SLA) and other agencies make decisions, I recently hosted a forum on bar and nightlife issues.  Approximately 100 local residents attended the event, at which representatives from the SLA, CB4, the New York City Police and Fire Departments and Departments of Consumer Affairs and Environmental Protection made presentations on their respective agencies’ roles and answered questions from the audience. 

File: 
SLA License public access resolution.pdf

As you may be aware, Stein Senior Center’s lease at 340 East 24th Street expired at the end of 2011.  It is very important to me and other local elected officials that the center has a smooth and successful transition to its new home in the community at the Uniformed Firefighters Association building at 204 East 23rd Street.  Until that space is renovated, Stein Senior Center plans to operate out of the East End Temple, located at 245 East 17th Street.  In this temporary home, the center is now serving lunch daily and continues to provide activities including belly dancing, Tai Chi, knitting, meditation, yoga, Spanish, and folk dancing.  It is important to note that the center’s hours of operation have been adjusted to accommodate the East End Temple’s afternoon prog

On Sunday, December 18, I participated in a Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village (ST-PCV) Tenants Association (TA) Telephone Town Hall.  The hour and fifteen minute event focused on residents’ questions about the TA’s recently announced proposal to partner with Brookfield Asset Management on a tenant-led, non-eviction conversion plan that would protect current residents and help preserve the middle-class character of this historic community.  Nearly 25 questions were answered by Meredith Kane from Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison; Alex Rubin from Moelis & Co.; Jonathan Moore from Brookfield Asset Management; TA President Al Doyle; New York City Councilmember Dan Garodnick; New York State Assembly Member Brian Kavanagh and myself.  The call was kicked off b

On December 14, I joined thousands of commercial building workers represented by SEIU 32BJ and their supporters at a rally to demand a fair contract from the Realty Advisory Board (RAB).  The contract for the more than 22,000 workers expires on December 31 and the RAB has proposed a two-tier wage and benefit structure for new hires that would effectively create a second class of workers.  As the commercial real estate industry has seen record profits, especially in the past quarter, I cannot support a contract that would put the interests of the 1% before that of the 99%.  On December 1, the union members voted to call a strike if the contract negotiations did not progress and I will continue to stand with the 32BJ members who keep our office buildings clean and running w

Every December 1 since 1988, World AIDS Day has been observed around the globe.  As New York State’s only openly-HIV-positive State legislator, and as the representative of a district that has one of the highest rates of known HIV infections in the country, HIV/AIDS is, for me, a daily concern.  However, I recognize the importance of World AIDS Day in helping to bring the HIV/AIDS pandemic – and what each individual can do to bring an end to it – into focus for the wider public.