2010 Strategic Policy Statement

8/3/2019 2010 Strategic Policy Statement

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2010

Strategic Policy

Statement

Borough President

Scott M. StringerManhattan Borough President

September 1, 201


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September 1, 2010

Dear Friend,

I am pleased to share with you the 2010 Strategic Policy Statement for the Office of theManhattan Borough President. This document outlines the boroughs most pressingpolicy issues and how my administration plans to address them over the next four years.This document is mandated by Section 82-14, Chapter Four of the New York CityCharter and will be presented to the Mayor, the New York City Council and Manhattanstwelve community boards.

Since taking office four and a half years ago, I have traveled to every neighborhood ofManhattan to discern the most critical issues facing our borough. I have spoken withresidents, business owners, community and religious leaders, advocates and many others.Every meeting confirmed that Manhattan has substantial challenges before it, including

access to affordable housing, healthy food and quality education, and the need to reformthe way City government works, to name a few. But these discussions also manifestedthe dynamic spirit of Manhattans residents and their will to support their families andtheir borough.

My office has already undertaken many borough-wide initiatives, including reformingand empowering community boards, spearheading Manhattans first ever neighborhood-focused sustainability initiative in Go Green East Harlem, exposing the Citys poorplanning for school construction and providing solutions for school overcrowding, andconvening food and sustainability experts from New York City and around the world fortwo expansive conferences on food policy and climate change. We have accomplishedmuch in the last four years, but there is still plenty to do. I will continue to bringattention to Manhattans vital issues through my investigative reports, policy andcommunity initiatives, town hall meetings, policy conferences, and task forces andalways with the goal of real results for our boroughs residents.

The attached analysis is not a rundown of each and every concern of the people ofManhattan; rather, this document is a blueprint of what I hope to achieve in the comingyears. Each policy statement identifies critical issues and outlines how my office caneffectively address them. As we work towards the goals detailed herein, we welcomeyour feedback.

Sincerely,

Scott M. StringerManhattan Borough President


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Manhattan Borough Presidents Office 2010 Strategic Policy Statement

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Executive Summary 3

Affordable Housing 7

Civic Engagement and Reform 10

Domestic Violence 13

Economic Development 14

Education 17Food 19

Health, Sustainability and the Environment 21

Land Use, Planning and Development 24

Transportation 29

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The Borough President would like to thank his staff for their hard work and dedication inpreparing this Strategic Policy Statement.


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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The following are policy goals to be accomplished by the Office of the ManhattanBorough President Scott M. Stringer.

AFFORDABLE HOUSING

Continue to work with public housing tenants and advocates to identify andremedy outstanding deficiencies with key public housing infrastructure;

Advocate for a repeal of the Urstadt Law and restore New York Citys homerule legislative jurisdiction on rent and eviction protections;

Work with the City Council to pass legislation that would require an annual countof all vacant property citywide;

Continue to promote sensible tax policies to create new affordable housing; Seek post-foreclosure solutions in the boroughs affordable developments and

complexes that place these buildings in responsible ownership and maintainaffordability for regulated tenants; and

Advocate for strengthened protections that will prevent the rapid turnover ofaffordable units in New York Citys housing stock.

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT AND REFORM

Continue to increase community board membership among under-representedsegments of the community and professional groups through targeted outreach;

Expand the workshops offered to community board members by creating aTraining Institute that would offer detailed courses on a variety of subjects;

Continue to advocate for necessary changes to the City Charter to ensuremeaningful community-based planning; and

Create a 1.0 version of the Speak Up New York website by the end of 2010 thatprovides: online tools to help community groups to self-organize, educationmaterials on community building and navigating government and a platform forcommunities to connect with and learn from each other.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Continue to provide grant funding for vital programs that offer resources forsurvivors of domestic violence (DV) in Manhattan;

Expand and tailor DV services to include groups shown to be statistically at-risksuch as people with disabilities, immigrants and LGBTQ; and

Continue to raise awareness about domestic violence, advocate for survivorsupport programs and initiatives and strategize ways to eliminate domesticviolence as well as other forms of gender-based violence.


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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Bank On Manhattan has set the twin goals of opening 10,000 accounts and issuing120 Financial Education Mini-Grants by the summer of 2011;

Continue to work with the small business community and advocates to advancethe goals outlined in our Saving the Mom and Pops report;

Continue to advocate for a paid sick leave policy for all workers in New YorkCity as well as a paid parental and family leave policy for all municipal workers,setting a standard for other employers; and

Continue to work with state legislators for comprehensive reform of the Industrialand Commercial Abatement Program upon its sunset in March 2011.

EDUCATION

Monitor, evaluate and address ongoing school co-location issues; Advocate for enrollment projections to be independently calculated outside theDepartment of Education (DOE) by having the Department of City Planning

(DCP) provide annual enrollment projections based on, but not limited to: birthrate data, residential development data, existing enrollment trends, surveys oflocal pre-Ks and day care centers, and census data showing changes in family in-migration and out-migration rates and have the DCP devise public input processesto ensure accurate enrollment projections;

Work with the City Comptroller to periodically conduct a needs analysis of schoolcapacity with goals to reduce class size and overcrowding;

Advocate for the DOE to revise the Blue Book formula to take into account theneed to provide sufficient cluster space and reduce class size. In determining

levels of overcrowding, the new formula should count students assigned to trailersand annexes as part of total student enrollment in the main school building;

Monitor, evaluate and address co-location and relocation issues impacting District75 schools; and

Work with the District 75 Superintendent, parents, elected officials, members ofthe District 75 Citywide Council, Citywide Council on Special Education,Community Education Council, and other relevant stakeholders to establish andimplement clear protocol for working with District 75 families around changesthat impact their childrens schools.

FOOD

Continue to work with food advocates to advance the goals outlined in theFoodNYC report to create a more sustainable, integrated local food policy andsystem.


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HEALTH, SUSTAINABILITY AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Expand the Go Green Youthbucks program to all three Go Green neighborhoodsand other parts of the borough where obesity and lack of access to affordable andfresh produce are obstacles to a healthy lifestyle;

Increase the number of participating businesses in the Go Green Cooking OilRecycling Program by 30%; Expand the Green Loan Fund for Small Businesses in East Harlem, after the

pilots successful completion, to other Go Green neighborhoods and borough-wide;

Reduce number of asthma related child hospitalizations in East Harlem by 50%over the next five years;

Increase asthma awareness and education for residents of East Harlem; Create a comprehensive waste management and recycling program for the

borough in partnership with the Solid Waste Advisory Board (SWAB),Department of Sanitation, and the Office of Recycling Outreach and Education

(OROE) at GrowNYC; Initiate a survey to better assess which neighborhoods in the borough create the

most waste or have the highest recycling rates;

Analyze trash collection data to determine if a triage system for sanitation pickupsis necessary and which neighborhoods require increased recycling educationprograms;

Conduct a study to determine the feasibility and impacts of waste reductionmeasures for commercial waste below 59

thStreet;

Work with not-for-profit recycling entities such as Wearable Collections, theLower East Side Ecology Center, and OROE to create convenient locations forrecycling in more neighborhoods; and

Continue to develop partnerships and seek solutions to reduce Manhattans wasteand increase recycling to its fullest capacity.

LAND USE, PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT

Advocate for a new Independent Planning Office, which would allow New Yorkto retain its competitive edge by coordinating agency agendas and settingcitywide development goals;

Continue to research and enact proactive planning initiatives that will assist theCity in understanding the impacts of development, areas in need of critical focus,and ways to connect progressive ideals to practical planning;

Advocate for the strengthening of 197-a plans and for the City Charter to mandatea professional Urban Planner in each of New York Citys community boards;

Continue empowering community boards and communities to play a proactiverole in the Citys Land Use approval process through the Manhattan BoroughPresidents education initiatives;


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Advance the role of borough presidents in bridging community needs and largescale developments by advocating for the reform of the ULURP;

Ensure that proposed developments move forward in a way that meets citywideand community planning goals by continuing to bring together stakeholders in acollaborative dialogue; and

Continue to balance the needs of preservation and the needs of growth inManhattan.

TRANSPORTATION

Continue to advance a culture of cooperation between local transportationofficials and community members;

Assist the New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) in mobilizingcommunity members for a new Community Advisory Council on proposedchanges to the 34th Street streetscape;

Assist the City in its ambitious efforts to bring our streets and transportationinfrastructure into the 21st century;

Help the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) fund its operations bypushing the State legislature to restore the Commuter Tax;

Oppose service cuts and fare increases that will have a regressive effect onManhattans most vulnerable populations;

Ensure that Access-A-Ride continues to effectively serve New York Citys para-transit riders;

Create a new set of best practices for the 21st century that will ensure that MTAcapital construction projects are delivered on time and on budget;

Promote accountability measures that will prevent waste and mismanagement onfuture transportation mega-projects;

Continue to lobby the State legislature to pass bills requiring bus mountedenforcement cameras; and

Continue to work with the DOT to develop physical street barriers to improve theflow of bus traffic.


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AFFORDABLE HOUSING

Accessing affordable housing is one of the biggest challenges facing our borough and ourcity. Across incomes and populations, residents are struggling to find and maintainaffordable housing. Mitchell-Lama housing units, created by New Yorks most

successful affordable housing initiative, are by and large no longer affordable for low-and middle-income tenants. New York Citys public housing developments continue tobear the long-term consequences of chronic under-funding during the former presidentialadministration.

New York is a magnet city. People from around the world come to Manhattan inparticular to pursue opportunities as teachers, actors, entrepreneurs, financiers, andartists. It is imperative that Manhattan be a place where people of all backgrounds canlive and work, rather than an island exclusively for the affluent.

Keeping Public Housing Safe

On August 19, 2008, five-year-old Jacob Neuman was killed when the elevator in hisfamilys New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) building stalled between doors.His tragic death, along with the steady stream of elevator-related injuries and strandings,highlighted what Borough President Stringer called a culture of neglect during HousingAuthority safety inspections. In a comprehensive report Dangerous Neglect released inSeptember 2008, the Borough President brought to light for the first time that over a threeyear span, 75 percent of the elevators in Housing Authority buildings were classified asunsatisfactory by the Authoritys own inspectors. He called for an immediate reviewof all 3,300 Housing Authority elevators and the installation of door zone restrictorssystem-wide. In a report later released by the Department of Buildings (DOB)investigating the death of Jacob Neuman, the elevators technical problems were tied to

faulty maintenance by NYCHA. Safety experts indicated that the accident could havebeen avoided had the elevator been equipped with door zone restrictors.

In April 2009, the New York Legal Assistance Group and the law firm Paul, Weiss,Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, working with the Borough President, announced thefiling of a class-action suit under the Americans with Disabilities Act to force NYCHA torepair and maintain its elevators. As a result of advocacy by the Borough President,Senator Schumer, and community allies, NYCHA will dedicate over $182 million torepair and replace elevators in the coming years.

Goal:

Continue to work with public housing tenants and advocates to identify andremedy outstanding deficiencies with key public housing infrastructure.

Maintaining a Robust Stock of Rent-Regulated Housing

Our citywide vacancy rate stands at a paltry 2.91 percent. In 2009 alone, New York Cityexperienced a net loss of 10,052 rent stabilized apartments. A total of 73,459 rentstabilized apartments have been removed from the system since 1994. Borough President


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Stringer called on the Rent Guidelines Board (RGB) to freeze rents and fought the RGBsegregious poor tax policy. The Borough President has also lent his support to a suite ofhousing reform legislation in Albany that would keep housing affordable for low- andmoderate-income tenants and protect our precious rent-regulated housing stock.

In order to preserve the remaining stock of rent-regulated housing, it is essential that theCity have control over its rent laws. It makes no sense for non-City legislators to decideNew York City rents while our borough faces a growing housing crisis. Our office willbe a presence at Rent Guidelines Board hearings and will testify in support of Home Rulewhen possible. Additionally, the Borough President will lend his voice and use his bullypulpit to fight for City control over rent regulation.

Goal:

Continue to advocate for a repeal of the Urstadt Law and restore New York Cityshome rule legislative jurisdiction on rent and eviction protections.

Maximizing Available Land

In 2007, the Borough Presidents Office, in collaboration with Picture the Homeless,initiated and conducted the first-ever survey of Manhattans vacant property documentedin No Vacancy? The Role of Underutilized Properties in Meeting ManhattansAffordable Housing Needs. The survey found enough vacant space to create almost24,000 housing units. Based on findings from the report, Borough President Stringer,working with other elected officials, created a city and state legislative agenda aimed atencouraging the development of Manhattans vacant property. In July 2008, legislationpassed the Assembly and Senate and was signed into law by Governor Paterson. Thischange will encourage the development of new affordable housing in Northern

Manhattan by eliminating the tax advantage for allowing usable land to lie vacant.

Goals:

Work to pass City Council legislation that would require an annual count of allvacant property citywide; and

Continue to promote sensible tax policies to create new affordable housing.The Borough President aims to foster dialogue between the New York City Departmentof Finance and tax policy advocates to ensure that New York City is at the cutting edgeof smart new policies that will spur growth and create new opportunities for

neighborhoods that desperately need safe, affordable housing.

Mitigating the effects of predatory equityNew York City has experienced a wave of predatory investment in its affordable housingstock. Deep pocketed investors have acquired large affordable housing developmentsand portfolios and used various strategies to deregulate units or prevent the rightfulregulation of affordable housing units.


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In 2007, tenants of Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village filed suit alleging that thelandlord had improperly removed apartments from rent-stabilization and raised apartmentrents despite accepting government subsidies that required keeping the apartments rent-stabilized and affordable. Borough President Stringer was the first elected official to filean amicus brief in support of the tenants, eventually filing three briefs throughout the trial

court and appeals process. The Appellate Division in their decision in favor of thetenants recognized the amicus briefs, which presented unique legal research, as pivotal.During the Court of Appeals process, the Borough Presidents legal argumentscontributed to upholding the tenants victory and expanding protection for rentstabilization throughout the city. In late 2009, the deregulated Stuyvesant Town andPeter Cooper Village apartments were returned to rent stabilized rates. The BoroughPresident continues to work with impacted tenants, informing them of the legalramifications of the case and the next steps as the complex defaults on its loans and isturned over to its creditors.

Working together with Buyers and Renters United to Save Harlem (BRUSH), Borough

President Stringer launched an effort to identify tenants who could qualify as plaintiffs ina class action lawsuit against the Pinnacle Group LLC. The lawsuit alleges that Pinnaclefraudulently inflated rents, failed to make needed repairs and groundlessly harassedtenants out of rent-regulated apartments throughout New York City. The lawsuit alsocharges that the Pinnacle Groups conduct violates the Racketeer Influenced and CorruptOrganizations Act (RICO) as well as the New York State Consumer Protection Act andseeks payments for overcharged rents, immediate injunctive relief to restrain unlawfulbehavior and the creation of an independent body to ensure lawful management of thebuildings.

Goals:

Continue to fight for tenants who are being harassed out of affordable housingunits by unscrupulous landlords;

Fight for post-foreclosure solutions in the boroughs affordable developments andcomplexes that place these buildings in responsible ownership and maintainaffordability for regulated tenants; and

Advocate for strengthened protections that will prevent the rapid turnover ofaffordable units in New York Citys housing stock.


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CIVIC ENGAGEMENT AND REFORM

Reforming Manhattans Community Boards

Shortly upon taking office, Borough President Stringer conducted an examination ofManhattans community boards that found:

The community board appointment process was overly politicized andunsystematic; Community boards operated with ongoing vacancies; Minority communities and professional skill sets were under-represented; Conflicts of interest law was not enforced; and Community boards operated without any external requirement of assessment and

evaluation.

The 2006 Manhattan Borough Presidents Strategic Policy Statement outlined anambitious model for reforming and empowering Manhattans community boards that hasproven successful. Over the past five years the Borough Presidents Office achieved the

following reforms: Created the Community Board Reform Committee to act as a screening panel for

all new applications and to advise the Borough Presidents Office on developing atransparent and comprehensive appointment process;

Established a timeline for applicant outreach and a merit-based process forselecting members;

Conducted targeted outreach based on each community boards demographic andprofessional needs, including holding a series of information sessions, massmailings and meeting with local community groups;

Required that all applicants, including re-applying members, submit formalapplications and participate in an interview process;

Made annual appointments in advance of the City Charter mandated deadline ofApril 1 and ended the practice of ad-hoc removals; and

Required that community boards submit annual reports by April 1, as required bythe City Charter.

This process has yielded remarkable results. Since 2006 the Manhattan BoroughPresidents Office has:

Received over 1,700 new applications and interviewed over 1,400 new applicants; Appointed nearly 500 new members; and Significantly increased African American, Latino, Asian American and LGBT

representation on community boards across the borough.

To assist community boards in fulfilling their charter-mandated planning responsibilities,the Borough Presidents office launched the Community Planning Fellowship Program in2006. The fellowship supports community-based planning activities by placing a secondyear graduate student from the regions urban planning schools in each Manhattancommunity board office. The planning students help the boards to better understand localplanning issues and navigate public discussions about development more effectively.


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Fellows have conducted integral work including assessing affordable housing conditionsto inform policy decisions, formulating workforce hiring strategies to secure jobs forlocal residents, creating evaluation tools for reviewing and encouraging more sustainabledevelopment projects, and preparing zoning applications to encourage development that

meets community goals. Specific accomplishments by fellows include: An analysis of residential conversion of Class B office space in Community

Board 5;

The updating and refining of Community Board 10s 197-a proposal for CentralHarlem; and

An assessment of the development potential of underused properties inCommunity Board 12.

The program has been widely regarded as enhancing the performance of communityboards in their core responsibilities. Mayor Bloomberg has recognized the benefits andpotential of the Community Planning Fellowship Program by agreeing to work with all of

the programs partners to expand the program citywide.

Additionally, the Borough Presidents office provides support for community boardmembers through workshops on topics including Land Use, Budget, Conflicts of Interest,Parliamentary Procedure, Resolution Writing and Equal Employment Opportunity.

In 2010, the Borough Presidents office issued a series of recommendations to the CitysCharter Revision Commission to enhance the roles of community boards, including:

Set citywide standards for community board outreach and appointments includinga written application, interviews, public outreach, and a timeline;

Provide community boards with a full-time urban planner as part of their paidstaff; and

Define operational, administrative, and legal support to be provided by boroughpresidents and other entities to community boards, along with necessary fundingto ensure the support.

Goals:

Continue to increase community board membership among under-representedsegments of the community and professional groups through targeted outreach;

Expand the workshops offered to community board members by creating aTraining Institute that would offer detailed courses on a variety of subjects; and

Continue to advocate for necessary changes to the City Charter to ensuremeaningful community-based planning.Encouraging Greater Civic Participation

In June 2010, Borough President Stringer and Open Plans launched Speak Up New York,an initiative to create the first government supported web-based platform in the city touse online technology to provide communities with tools for self-organizing andencourage greater civic participation.


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A working group consisting of digital experts and community stakeholders was convenedto advise on the creation of the platform and identify short-term projects to create betteronline tools for civic engagement.

Goal:

Create a 1.0 version of the website by the end of 2010 that provides: Online tools to help community groups self-organize. Speak Up New

York will integrate the best online communication and participation tools(blogs, discussion forums, issue reporting tools) to offer a solid startingpoint for citizens looking to get engaged online.

Education materials on community building and navigating government.Thenew web platform will make local government more accessible andpromote civic awareness through online workshops and trainings on topics

such as: "What community groups are around me?" or "How to start atenant association" or "Understanding the land use process." A platform for communities to connect with and learn from each other.

Speak Up will leverage the expertise and commitment of communityboards and civic associations while also opening up local government tonew voices by aggregating the most relevant news, commentary, events,groups, and other civic information related to neighborhoods (e.g.,community board votes, neighborhood blog posts, topical discussiongroups).


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DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Gender-based violence, including domestic violence (DV), is pervasive throughout theUnited States and the borough of Manhattan. Despite a reduction in the Citys overallcrime levels in recent years, domestic violence remains a serious public safety threat and

criminal justice concern. Drawing from statistics released by the NYPD and SafeHorizon, the New York City Mayors Office to Combat Domestic Violence estimates thatNYPD responded to 250,349 instances of domestic violence in 2009, averaging about650 incidences per day citywide. Sixty-seven percent of these cases had no prior contactwith the NYPD and 87 percent did not have a protective order in place. Additionally,NYPDs Domestic Violence Unit conducted 69,188 home visits, a 79 percent increasesince 2002.

Shining a Light on Domestic Violence

These statistics are staggering, yet due to its delicate and private nature DV is widelyunderreported, especially among people with disabilities as well as immigrant and

LGBTQ communities where cultural and stereotypical perceptions about DV victimspose hindrances for survivors to obtain available services. Some research indicates thatthe underreporting problem is greater in New York City. The New York WomensFoundation estimates that all calls for help to the police and DV hotlines account for aslittle as 10 percent of all actual violence in the home citywide.

Borough President Stringer has a strong record on alleviating misperceptions of gender-based/domestic violence since the beginning of his administration and remains dedicatedto domestic violence prevention. During his tenure, the Borough President created aDomestic Violence Task Force, which convenes monthly with advocates, attorneys, anddomestic violence survivors to address the burgeoning problem of domestic violence,

stalking, and gender-based violence in New York City. In addition to the DV TaskForce, the Borough President has established several partnerships to promote DVawareness and provide assistance to DV victims. On October 14, 2009, with theGovernors Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence, the Borough President lit theEmpire State Building purple as part of a campaign to bring more awareness to domesticviolence. Through a partnership with the New York County District Attorneys Office,New York Police Department, and two domestic violence advocacy groups, the BoroughPresidents Office administers a $2 million U.S. Department of Justice Office of ViolenceAgainst Women grant to encourage intimate partner domestic violence arrests.

Goals:

Continue to provide grant funding for vital programs that offer resources forsurvivors of domestic violence in Manhattan;

Expand and tailor DV services to include groups shown to be statistically at-risksuch as people with disabilities, immigrants and LGBTQ; and

Continue to raise awareness about domestic violence, advocate for survivorsupport programs and initiatives and strategize ways to eliminate domesticviolence as well as other forms of gender-based violence.


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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Promoting Financial Empowerment

In the borough of Manhattan, thousands of households lack bank accounts. In theneighborhoods of Inwood and Washington Heights high percentages of households are

unbanked. In Harlem, similarly high numbers of families have neither a checking, nor asavings account.

These Manhattan families spend hundreds of dollars every year on check cashing fees,bill payments, and money orders, putting an even greater strain on their ability to makeends meet during these tough economic times. A secondary, but equally significant costof being unbanked, is that families miss the opportunity to accumulate assets and buildthe banking history essential to prosperity and financial success. Finally, without a bankaccount, it is harder to keep ones money safe and easier to become a victim of robbery ortheft.

Bank On Manhattan, led by Borough President Stringer, is a public/private partnershipbased on a successful national model. The initiative is dedicated to increasing access tosafe, low-cost checking accounts for unbanked New Yorkers and to creatingopportunities for financial education in the community.

In the summer of 2009, the Borough President invited commercial banks, credit unions,not-for-profits, labor, and religious groups to join him at the Federal Deposit InsuranceCorporation (FDIC) for an initial discussion about how to address this problem and howto adapt a national program model to the needs of New York City. Over the next sixmonths, the Borough Presidents Office created several subcommittees, comprised ofrepresentatives from the financial, public and not-for profit sectors. These committees

created the baseline criteria for the Bank On Manhattan checking account, the content ofa financial education mini-grant program, the model for evaluating our impact, and thestrategy for reaching the unbanked in our borough. With the support and technicalassistance of The Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the FDIC, and the New York StateBanking Department, the coalition created a multifaceted program to help unbanked NewYorkers achieve safe, simple means for managing their income and developing financialliteracy.

In partnership with many of New York Citys leading retail banks, Bank On Manhattanoffers unbanked families safe and low-cost checking accounts. For organizations wishingto offer financial education to their clients, Bank On Manhattan will provide a mini-grant

of up to $100 to cover the associated operational costs and a free financial trainer to leadthe workshop on-site at the grant recipients facilities. The workshop will cover topicssuch as basic account management skills, saving, budgeting, and avoiding financialpitfalls.


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children is simply not an option. For a worker without paid sick leave, staying homemeans loss of pay and sometimes even loss of a job. Millions of workers in New YorkCity receive no paid sick leave. Not surprisingly, the burden of balancing home andwork without paid leave does not fall equally across the workforce.

The Manhattan Borough Presidents Office, in collaboration with A Better Balance,organized two focus group sessions in October 2007 to examine employees andemployers experiences of the benefits and challenges of paid leave policies and tounderstand how these policies impact working adults ability to make decisions regardingthe necessary trade-offs between work and family. Out of this came a report entitled AWorking Balance that outlined the benefits of flexible family leave policies and concreterecommendations for implementation. In addition to authoring this report, BoroughPresident Stringer has been an outspoken advocate for paid sick leave legislation at thelocal level.

Goal:

Continue to advocate for a paid sick leave policy for all workers in New YorkCity as well as a paid parental and family leave policy for all municipal workers,setting a standard for other employers.

Promoting Efficiency in Public Subsidies

In May, 2008, the Manhattan Borough Presidents Office released a report, SenselessSubsidies which found that in Fiscal Year 2007 the City provided fast food restaurants,gas stations and chain retailers with nearly $9.5 million in tax breaks through theIndustrial and Commercial Incentive Program (ICIP).

Citing these problems, the Borough President called on the State legislature to enactsweeping reforms of the program. In June 2008, the legislature passed the Industrial andCommercial Abatement Program (ICAP) bill that eliminated subsidies for utilitycompanies and other businesses that do not need them. However, fast food chains and gasstations continue to receive benefits.

It is counter-intuitive for New York City government to promote public health initiativesthat would help reduce obesity, diabetes, air pollution and asthma while concurrentlysubsidizing the businesses that contribute to these problems.

Goal:

Continue to work with state legislators for comprehensive reform of the ICAPprogram upon its sunset in March 2011.


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EDUCATION

A Growing Student Population and a Failure to Plan

From 2000 to 2008, new buildings alone have added at least 40,000 new apartments toManhattan.The fastest growing population segment in Manhattan is children under the

age of five, which has increased by 32 percent since 2000 according to the U.S. Census. With widespread agreement that nearly a million residents will come to New York in thenext two decades, there is every reason to expect this upward trend in school-agepopulation to continue.For the past two years, the Manhattan Borough Presidents Officehas been actively calling attention to how the Citys planning process for new schoolconstruction fails to address this growing population and as a result, our public schoolstudents are faced with overcrowded classrooms, growing waitlists, and at times no seatsin their neighborhood schools.

In April 2008, the Manhattan Borough Presidents Office released the firstcomprehensive borough-wide analysis of residential development and its relationship to

local school capacity in a report entitled Crowded Out. The reports findings show thatin four Manhattan neighborhoods at critical risk for serious overcrowding, the City issuedpermits for enough new buildings between 2000 and 2007 to add more than 2,300 newelementary and middle school students to neighborhood schools, while increasing schoolcapacity in these neighborhoods by only 143 seats.

An updated report, Still Crowded Out, issued by the Manhattan Borough PresidentsOffice in September 2008 addressed new buildings approved by the City betweenJanuary and August 2008. The report found that new development had continued to addhundreds of new public school students to neighborhood schools over the course of 2008,but the City had still not planned to meet this expected demand.

In September 2009, the office released School Daze, a report focusing on the accuracyof the ten-year enrollment projections between 2007 to 2016, which provided the basisfor the Capital Plan developed by the New York City School Construction Authority(SCA) and adopted by the City Council and the Mayor in 2009. The report sharplydisagreed with the ten-year enrollment projections used by the Department of Education(DOE), finding a substantial increase in the boroughs school-aged population over thecoming decade, while SCA forecasts small declines.

Finally, in April of 2010, a catalogue of firsthand experiences reported to the ManhattanBorough Presidents Office found that more than four out of ten (43 percent) ofManhattan elementary and middle schools suffer the negative consequences of DOEs

inadequate planning for public school space needs. Borough President Stringer submittedthis catalogue to NYC schools Chancellor Joel Klein, calling for a moratorium on co-locations until the Department had implemented a set of best practices for co-locatingschools.


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Goals:

Monitor, evaluate and address ongoing school co-location issues; Advocate for enrollment projections to be independently calculated outside the

DOE by having the Department of City Planning (DCP) provide annual

enrollment projections based on, but not limited to: birth rate data, residentialdevelopment data, existing enrollment trends, surveys of local pre-Ks and daycare centers, and census data showing changes in family in-migration and out-migration rates and have the DCP devise public input processes to ensure accurateenrollment projections;

Work with the City Comptroller to periodically conduct a needs analysis of schoolcapacity with goals to reduce class size and overcrowding; and

Advocate for the DOE to revise the Blue Book formula to take into account theneed to provide sufficient cluster space and reduce class size. In determininglevels of overcrowding, the new formula should count students assigned to trailersand annexes as part of total student enrollment in the main school building.

Advocating for the Citys Highest Needs StudentsDistrict 75 serves 23,000 of the Citys public school systems highest needs students.According to the DOE website, District 75 provides citywide educational, vocationaland, behavior support programs for students who are on the autism spectrum, havesignificant cognitive delays, are severely emotionally challenged, sensory impairedand/or multiply disabled. Yet DOE has failed to give District 75 students and theirfamilies adequate consideration under reauthorized school governance law whenproposing changes to schools. Given the setbacks that change can produce for thesestudents, and the steep climb their families face in helping navigate their children safelythrough the system, it is crucial that DOE find better means of planning for space and

changes that impact District 75 communities.

Borough President Stringer has been closely involved in tracking relocation and co-location issues impacting District 75 students since the reauthorization of the schoolgovernance law. Between December 2009 and August 2010, the Borough President hasintervened in three separate DOE proposals affecting District 75 schools. BoroughPresident Stringer has also brought DOE and District 75 officials to the table in the pastsix months, to discuss improving protocol and procedures for proposed changes toDistrict 75 schools, students and families.

Goals:

Monitor, evaluate and address co-location and relocation issues impacting District75 schools; and

Work with the District 75 Superintendent, parents, elected officials, members ofthe District 75 Citywide Council, Citywide Council on Special Education,Community Education Council, and other relevant stakeholders to establish andimplement clear protocol for working with District 75 families around changesthat impact their childrens schools.


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FOOD

Problems associated with obesity have reached epidemic proportions in the United States.New York City is outpacing the nation in obesity and its related health issues. A rise inthe risk of heart disease, hypertension, depression, type II diabetes, among other health

problems, often accompanies a rise in obesity and being overweight. Residents of low-income neighborhoods and communities of color are disproportionately affected, and arethus overburdened by the related health, social, and economic problems.

However, the prevalence of unhealthy food is related to larger systemic problems thataffect more than just health outcomes. Industrialized food systems are forever damagingour planet, and the worlds poorest countries are the ones paying the highest price. Theproduction, distribution, and consumption of food are responsible for a tremendousamount of the man-made greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions which cause global warming.We see these impacts in the developing world, but we also see the differential impact onour own poorest communities.

There is currently a dearth of stores selling fresh fruits and vegetables in many of theCitys poor neighborhoods. The Department of City Planning recently found that three-quarters of a million New Yorkers live in areas with limited access to fresh produce.Many of these same neighborhoods have an overabundance of fast food options. Theseunhealthy options often cost less on a calorie-to-calorie basis. Public health advocatesbelieve that this trend may be reversed through increased availability of healthy food,nutrition education, physical exercise, and healthcare.

It is clear from the impact on our health to the impact on our environment that our currentfood policies and system are failing us.

The Politics of Food

Traditionally, food policy has largely been determined by decision-makers in the federalgovernment and private sector. To create a paradigm shift that results in empowering thecity and state to expand their role in food policy, every relevant government agencyspolicies must be informed by and strategically focused on a shared goal: to create asustainable food system which provides economic, social, environmental, and healthbenefits. Towards this goal, Borough President Stringer hosted two pivotal conferencesbringing together experts, advocates, and concerned citizens to create a local progressivefood policy agenda.

In November 2008, Borough President Stringer organized The Politics of Food, aconference co-sponsored by the Urban Design Lab at Columbia Universitys School ofInternational and Public Affairs. President of the United Nations General AssemblyFather Miguel DEscoto Brockmann, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and advocate MayaWiley were among those who addressed a gathering of more than 600 people. InFebruary of 2009 the Borough President released Food in the Public Interest, a reportwith 48 recommendations aimed at making food more healthy, sustainable, and equitablefor all New Yorkers.


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NYC Food and Climate Summit

In partnership with Just Food and New York University, the Borough President hostedhis second annual urban food conference, The New York City Food and ClimateSummit, on December 12, 2009.

The event, which had over 1,000 participants, was designed to inform individuals of ourcurrent food and climate crisis, and to provide them with ways by which they could goabout making changes that would lead to a more sustainable future. From healthy eatinghabits, to purchasing local foods, to Urban Agriculture, a myriad of topics were discussedin 29 carefully constructed sessions. Attendees were encouraged to sign the BoroughPresidents Sustainable Food Charter, an agreement to eat in a manner that honors theenvironmental, economic and health impacts of our everyday food choices. Followingthe conference, The Borough President released FoodNYC, a report with ten goalsintended to set forth a bold and comprehensive agenda that will spark systemic change inNew Yorks regional food system and build on efforts initiated by Food in the PublicInterest.

Establish urban food production as a priority in New York City for personal,community, or commercial use by the year 2030;

Promote and support regional agriculture by connecting upstate and Long Islandfarms with downstate consumers, and by mapping the food grown and sourcedfrom the region within approximately 200 miles of New York City;

Increase the sale and consumption of regionally grown foods by expandingregional distribution and local processing capacity;

Increase the number and type of retail food outlets that deviate from thetraditional grocery store model by identifying spaces for use as alternative foodmarkets;

Incorporate preferences for locally-sourced food in New York Citys procurementrules;

Educate New York Citys children to become a new generation of healthy andenvironmentally aware eaters;

Launch twin composting initiatives: (a) support for large-scale compostingthrough creation of a municipal facility; and (b) support for small-scalecomposting through education, decentralized composting bins, and more pick-uplocations;

Increase access to drinking water fountains while reducing the consumption ofdisposable plastic water bottles in New York City;

Cultivate the food economy by creating a focused economic developmentstrategy; and

Create a Department of Food and Markets to coordinate and lead systemic reformof the Citys food and agricultural policies and programs.

Goal:

Continue to work with food advocates to advance the goals outlined in theFoodNYC report to create a more sustainable integrated local food policy andsystem.


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HEALTH, SUSTAINABILITY, AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Public health, sustainability, and the environment are interrelated issues critical to thesuccess of creating a happy and healthy New York. The City must develop acomprehensive strategy to integrate action around public health and environmental needs.

Manhattan residents are some of the healthiest and most environmentally friendly citizensin the country. They tend not to drive cars; instead choosing to walk, ride bikes, or utilizepublic transportation to get around. However, there are many disparities withinManhattan and New York City as a whole with regard to public health and environmentaljustice that still need to be addressed.

Increase Impact of Go Green Initiative

The Go Green Initiative was started in 2007 to provide community formulated solutionsto environmental and health problems in Manhattans most under-served communities. Itis a partnership of community leaders, government agencies, and private institutions that

operate in three of Manhattans high need neighborhoods to develop a communityfocused agenda around health and the environment. It currently operates in East Harlem,Washington Heights & Inwood, and the Lower East Side.

Go Green started with plans for a state-of-the-art standalone asthma center in EastHarlem, which through a partnership with Mayor Bloomberg was opened in August2010, and the planting of hundreds of street trees. Through three years of work with localgreenmarket purveyors, members of the Go Green Steering Committees have been ableto coordinate more than 20 new greenmarkets, many in neighborhoods that have neverhad access to one. The 106

thStreet Harvest Home Farmers Market now accepts food

stamps, and is the first-ever weekend market for the community.

In 2008, advocates and community members celebrated the publication of the bilingualGo Green East Harlem Cookbook, filled with healthy recipes contributed by localresidents and chefs. By that time, Go Green chapters had taken root in WashingtonHeights, Inwood, and the Lower East Side. Each chapter spearheaded its own programsto encourage sustainability, including a textile swap event in Washington Heights thatcollected nearly two tons of clothing and materials, a cooking oil recycling program in allthree Go Green neighborhoods that coordinates with local restaurants to donate usedcooking oil for recycling into cleaner burning bio-diesel fuel and a highly successfulYouthbucks program, modeled after the Citys Department of Health Healthbucksprogram which provides students with two Youthbucks coupons each, totaling $4, to

spend at a local Farmers Market in East Harlem.

A major obstacle to sustainability for small businesses is a lack of startup funding toinitiate the necessary changes. To mitigate this hurdle, Go Green has partnered withACCION to create the Green Loan Fund for Small Business, a low interest loan programfor small businesses to make green improvements. The initial pilot will be working withfive to ten bodegas in East Harlem and will provide one-on-one financial evaluation,review of their financial system, evaluation of credit needs, and information about low


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interest loan investments. Businesses will also receive an energy audit to determine whatchanges can be made to their equipment and operating system to maximize the benefitsfrom any green upgrades.

Goals:

Expand the Go Green Youthbucks program to all three Go Green neighborhoodsand other parts of the borough where obesity and lack of access to affordable andfresh produce are obstacles to a healthy lifestyle;

Increase the number of participating businesses in the Go Green Cooking OilRecycling Program by 30%; and

Expand the Green Loan Fund for Small Businesses in East Harlem, after thepilots successful completion, to other Go Green neighborhoods and borough-wide.

Tackling Asthma in East Harlem

East Harlem has one of the highest asthma rates of any neighborhood in the country.This particular health disparity is critically linked to environmental disparities, such aspoor air quality, that plague the neighborhood. Asthma is a main cause of childhospitalization. Children who are hospitalized miss school, often cause a parent orguardian to miss work, and require special medical care an increasingly expensive andscarce resource.

To address the health disparity in East Harlem, Borough President Stringer, incollaboration with Mayor Bloomberg and the CityDepartment of Health & MentalHygiene, opened a $3.5 million stand-alone, 10,000 square foot, state of the art EastHarlem Asthma Center of Excellence on August 12th, 2010. The Center of Excellence

provides asthma and health education for all East Harlem community residents as well asbilingual coordinated referrals and counseling for children and families with thiscondition.

In addition, to improve the air quality and help lower asthma risk in the Go Greenneighborhoods, the Manhattan Borough Presidents Office partnered with the New YorkRestoration Project to plant thousands of trees on streets and public housing projects inEast Harlem, Washington Heights, Inwood, and the Lower East Side creating a treecanopy and helping to reduce Manhattans heat island effect and reforest East Harlem infour to five years.

Goals:

Reduce number of asthma related child hospitalizations in East Harlem by 50%over the next five years; and

Increase asthma awareness and education for residents of East Harlem.


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Addressing Solid Waste Management Issues & Recycling

With the closing of Fresh Kills landfill on Staten Island in 2001, New York City has beenexporting its garbage via truck outside of the city at a cost of $1 billion per year. Asbudget cuts continue to come down the pipeline and talk of privatizing trash pickups gaintraction in City Hall; a strategy to reduce, reuse, and recycle in the borough of Manhattan

is desperately needed. Recent legislation passed by the City Council to improverecycling opportunities in the City provides ample room to create a comprehensive andstrategic waste management and recycling plan for the borough.

Goals:

Create a comprehensive waste management and recycling program for theborough in partnership with the Solid Waste Advisory Board (SWAB),Department of Sanitation, and the Office of Recycling Outreach and Education(OROE) at GrowNYC;

Initiate a survey to better assess which neighborhoods in the borough create themost waste or have the highest recycling rates;

Analyze trash collection data to determine if a triage system for sanitation pick-ups is necessary and which neighborhoods require increased recycling educationprograms;

Conduct a study to determine the feasibility and impacts of waste reductionmeasures for commercial waste below 59

thStreet;

Work with not-for-profit recycling entities such as Wearable Collections, theLower East Side Ecology Center, and OROE to create convenient locations forrecycling in more neighborhoods; and

Continue to develop partnerships and seek solutions to reduce Manhattans wasteand increase recycling to its fullest capacity.


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LAND USE, PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT

As a center of the regions economy and magnet for the world, Manhattan hasexperienced tremendous development for more than a century. Over the last decade, thecity gained over a million new residents, and construction represented one of the largest

sectors of New York Citys economy. As in other times of rapid expansion,communities, governmental bodies and elected officials have struggled to anticipatechanges in neighborhoods and appreciate the larger context in which these changes areoccurring.

The City lacks a comprehensive strategy to anticipate, mitigate and channel growth tomeet larger policies during expansion periods. Even during periods of slower growth, theCity lacks a comprehensive strategy for shaping development patterns and ensuringadequate provision of necessary services. Smart urban planning and development holdsthe key to balancing the needs to develop with the need to ensure that neighborhoodinfrastructure is not overburdened or overwhelmed.

The future success of New York City will come from its governments ability toanticipate needs, coordinate services, plan comprehensively, and provide opportunitiesfor meaningful community involvement.

Comprehensive PlanningComprehensive planning is a basic tool of local governments for assessing its needs,providing a framework for growth and development, and informing public policy. Citieslike London, Seattle and every municipality in California perform comprehensive plansto determine how to most appropriately allocate resources and channel growth.

If New York is to remain competitive on a national and global scale, it must performcomprehensive planning work. Unfortunately, the City chooses not to undertake thisexercise even when aspects of comprehensive planning are required under the New YorkCity Charter, such as the City Planning Commissions Zoning and Planning Report andthe Mayors Strategic Policy Statement. Rather, the City opts for a disjointed planningprocess, where individual agencies make decisions without sufficient interagencycoordination and meaningful consultation from other stakeholders.

In recent years, the effect of the disjointed planning process has become increasinglyevident, particularly as it relates to the New York City public school system. In 2007, theManhattan Borough President released the first of a series of reports called Crowded

Out, which examined the overcrowding conditions in our neighborhood schools ascompared to the new developments being constructed. The reports identifiedneighborhoods in need of immediate attention as well as neighborhoods at risk forovercrowding. Between 2000 and 2007, the City permitted enough dwelling units to addmore than 2,400 elementary and intermediate students to Manhattans public schools,while adding only 143 new school seats. Failure to adequately and proactively plan hasleft many neighborhoods in a public school crisis with overcrowded schools and parentsunsure about their childs educational future.


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Further, many agencies are undertaking planning efforts without disclosing to the publicthe extent or the details of their plan. The Borough Presidents Land Rich, Pocket Poorreport examined New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) plans to use revenuefrom new developments to plug their funding gaps and maintain existing buildings. The

report revealed that NYCHA owns enough development rights to build 11 Empire StateBuildings. Despite this vast resource, the Authority does not have a systematic plan forthe use of these rights and no formal process for community input and review ofdevelopment proposals when it does use them. To date NYCHA has been unwilling todisclose the extent or the details of the development it anticipates. This makes it nearlyimpossible to integrate NYCHAs developments with any larger City goals or to preventthe proposed developments from overwhelming local resources.

Continuing down this path will result in deteriorating environmental conditions in NewYorks neighborhoods. For this reason the Manhattan Borough Presidents Office hasundertaken several initiatives aimed at encouraging comprehensive planning including

calling for the creation of a new Independent Planning Office to undertake citywidecomprehensive planning.

Goals:

Advocate for a new Independent Planning Office, which would allow New Yorkto retain its competitive edge by coordinating agency agendas and settingcitywide development goals; and

Continue to research and enact proactive planning initiatives that will assist theCity in understanding the impacts of development, areas in need of critical focus,and ways to connect progressive ideals to practical planning.

Empowering Community Boards and Local Communities

The New York City Charter currently envisions a role for community planning.Primarily the community is provided the opportunity to proactively plan through 197-aplans. These plans enable community boards to evaluate and set policies for theirdistricts. Unfortunately, community boards seldom have the resources and time requiredto produce the detailed analysis necessary to complete these plans. Further, merelycompleting a 197-a plan does not ensure that the communitys priorities are takenconsideration, as there is no regulatory mechanism to ensure that the City uses it in itsplanning process.

The Charter also provides community boards with a role in the Uniform Land UseReview Procedure (ULURP). However, many boards lack the expertise to evaluate thetechnical merits of proposals. While the 1989 Charter Revision authorized communityboards to hire staff to help conduct this work, it provided no dedicated staff funding, noaccess to agency data to assess service delivery or perform proactive planning analyses,and no additional resources to ensure high quality, substantive planning.


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The Manhattan Borough President has taken steps to rectify this situation. In 2006,Borough President Stringer established an Urban Planning Fellowship program with NewYork City universities that placed graduate level urban planning students in all ofManhattans community boards. With training and supervision from the BoroughPresidents Office as well as their respective universities, the fellows worked on

community planning projects identified as priorities by their community boards. Theprogram has been a successful model for community engagement in proactive planningand is currently being expanded citywide under the leadership of the Fund for the City ofNew York.

Further, the Borough President has implemented a series of land use training seminars forcommunity board members and community leaders. These seminars provide a basicguide to the history and mechanism of zoning, environmental review and the Citys landuse process, and are a first step towards equipping communities with the tools they needto speak the language of planning and zoning. Since 2006, trainings have beenprovided for every new community board member. In addition, the Borough President

has implemented a series of land use trainings for communities facing large developmentproposals such as Riverside Center, NYU, and Fordham University.

These steps are only the beginning to fully empower communities in the planningprocess. The City Charter needs to mandate an Urban Planner on staff at everycommunity board to undertake planning exercises and enhance existing boardresponsibilities. Further, community based plans, such as 197-a plans need bestrengthened in the City Charter to ensure their enforcement.

Goals:

Advocate for the strengthening of 197-a plans and for the City Charter to mandatea professional Urban Planner in each of New York Citys community boards; and

Continue empowering community boards and communities to play a proactiverole in the Citys Land Use approval process through the Manhattan BoroughPresidents education initiatives.

Balance Citywide and Community Goals for Major DevelopmentsMany major developments are designed to advance borough or citywide needs. Whilethe larger importance of these developments is often recognized by local communities,residents remain concerned about the potential negative impacts associated withsignificant development on community infrastructure such as schools, traffic and mass

transit. Citywide needs must be integrated with community concerns to ensure balanceddevelopments.

The Manhattan Borough Presidents Office has used its unique position in the land useprocess to bring together stakeholders for both small and large-scale developments inManhattan, in an effort to balance the larger and the local perspectives. For example theBorough Presidents office has played a significant role in shaping:


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The Columbia University Manhattanville Expansion by connecting thecommunitys concerns about the social impact of the projects with the potentialbenefits from the project through securing an affordable housing fund, amaintenance fund for a new public park, improvements to neighborhood publicopen spaces, dedicated space for local retail businesses, local hiring commitments

and leveraging a protective rezoning of West Harlem from West 125

th

to 155

th

streets;

The 97-100th Street rezoning by bringing community leaders, City officials, andthe community board together to negotiate a community-based rezoning plan thatprotects the low-scale housing stock while directing development of largerbuildings with affordable housing to major arteries; and

Fordham University by identifying community concerns regarding design andenvironmental impacts and working with the applicant and the community to findmitigations and new design proposals.

Despite the offices success at resolving developments and community concerns, some

applicants are reluctant to address outstanding issues early in the process. Thesedevelopments, often some of the most controversial, prefer to wait to correct issues untilthe projects reach the City Council. As a result, these developments are often negotiatedat the last minute. These negotiations can result in oversights and often do not provideelected representatives sufficient time for community consultation. As such, communitymembers often feel removed from the process.

This condition is a result of the Charter not providing adequate incentives forconsideration of borough president and community board recommendations in ULURP.Although borough presidents have appointees on the City Planning Commission (CPC),the Commission can approve an action without the vote of any non-Mayoral member. To

correct this regulatory condition, the Borough President has proposed reforming theULURP to require a supermajority of the CPC to approve an application that has beendisapproved by both the community board and borough president.

Goals: Advance the role of borough presidents in bridging community needs and large

scale developments by advocating for the reform of the ULURP; and

Ensure that proposed developments move forward in a way that meets citywideand community planning goals by continuing to bring together stakeholders in acollaborative dialogue.

Balance Growth and PreservationAs the City prepares to accommodate the addition of one million residents as predictedby PlaNYC, we must identify the areas that are appropriate for growth as well as thosethat require preservation.

The Borough Presidents Office has worked to identify areas where growth should beaccommodated. These include areas near regional transportation hubs such as 15 Penn


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Plaza in midtown and major arteries such as the avenues in the Lower East SideRezoning. In these developments, the Borough Presidents Office worked to balance thegrowth needs of the city with local and environmental concerns and priorities.

However, the need to grow must be balanced with the lack of sufficient infrastructure in

many neighborhoods. In fact, many neighborhoods remain viable and successful due totheir lower scale or historic stock. The Borough Presidents Office has, therefore,supported efforts to landmark historic neighborhoods by supporting landmarkapplications for many areas such as the proposed West End Avenue Historic District andthe South Village Historic District. When landmarking is not the best tool forpreservation of a neighborhood, the Borough Presidents Office has worked to identifyareas worthy of contextual zoning protections. One such example is the offices proposalto protect West Harlem with a contextual zoning from 125

thStreet to 155

thStreet, which

is currently being studied by the Department of City Planning.

Goal: Continue to balance the needs of preservation and the needs of growth in

Manhattan.


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TRANSPORTATION

New York City has exceptionally high demands on its public transportation system. Forthose who live and work in Manhattan, an effective and accessible transportation systemis fundamental to keeping the economic engine of the region humming and to maintain

the Citys economic influence worldwide.

Promote Community Involvement in Transportation Decisions

As the transportation system in New York City continues to evolve, it remains vitallyimportant that community members have a seat at the table when important decisions aremade. The Manhattan Borough Presidents Office has worked closely with localcommunity boards to urge the Citys Department of Transportation (DOT) to conducttraffic studies on dangerous intersections, modify sidewalk proposals to meet communityneeds, and explore the addition of new bike lanes. The Borough Presidents Office hasalso played an integral role in hosting Community Advisory Councils for new bus rapidtransit (BRT) initiatives on First and Second Avenues.

Goals:

Continue to advance a culture of cooperation between local transportationofficials and community members;

Assist the New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) in mobilizingcommunity members for a new Community Advisory Council on proposedchanges to the 34

thStreet streetscape; and

Assist the City in its ambitious efforts to bring out streets and transportationinfrastructure into the 21st century.

Keep Our Buses and Subways AffordableBorough President Stringer has been a tireless advocate for Metropolitan TransportationAuthority (MTA) affordability and access. In 2008, the Borough President campaignedagainst the MTAs plan to double the fare for Access-A-Ride, the paratransit servicethat offers transportation for people with disabilities. When the MTA threatened toeliminate student metrocards in 2010, the Borough President led a grassroots petitiondrive and personally delivered 16,500 petitions opposing the cuts to members of theMTA Board. Through his advocacy, the MTA has reconsidered bus cuts that would havedamaged critical access to the Turtle Bay community on Manhattans East Side.Borough President Stringer has also spoken out on behalf of over 2,000 WashingtonHeights residents demanding restorations to the M98 bus line.

Goals:

Help the MTA fund its operations by pushing the State legislature to restore theCommuter Tax;

Oppose service cuts and fare increases that will have a regressive effect onManhattans most vulnerable populations; and


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Ensure that Access-A-Ride continues to effectively serve New York Citys para-transit riders.

Root Out Waste in the Second Avenue Subway Project

After decades of planning and two years of delays and cost overruns, Borough President

Stringer called for an immediate investigation by the MTA Inspector General into themismanagement of the Second Avenue subway construction project. Construction beganin April 2007 with a completion date of 2012 and an estimated cost of $3.8 billion. TheMTA has since announced three rounds of delays and cost adjustments bringing the mostrecent projected completion date between 2016 and 2017, with a cost between $4.4 and$4.8 billion. The Federal Transit Administration deemed the latest projections overlyoptimistic and released its own estimates for a 2018 completion date and a final cost ofmore than $5.7 billion.

The impact of the delays has been felt up and down the Second Avenue corridor as thecommunity struggles to maintain order and the chaos of construction takes hold. Since

April 2007, 18 businesses between East 91st

and East 96th

Streets have been forced toclose; only three have been able to reopen. Those that remain open struggle to attractcustomers as foot traffic and tourism drop.

MTA Inspector General Barry Kluger indicated that he has begun a thoroughinvestigation and will release a report in late 2010. The Borough President has urged thatsuch a report go beyond analysis to concrete reform of the MTA and an honest timetablefor the beleaguered subway line.

Goals:

Create a new set of best practices for the 21st

century that will ensure that MTAcapital construction projects are delivered on time and on budget; and

Promote accountability measures that will prevent waste and mismanagement onfuture transportation mega-projects.

Ensure Bus Lanes Are Properly Utilized

Borough President Stringer conducted a study in the summer of 2009 that foundpervasive bus lane blockages on Manhattans Midtown East corridors. In several hoursof observation, researchers from the Borough Presidents Office recorded 350 rush-hourblockages of midtown bus lanes without a single ticket being issued. In the worstintersection, 40 buses were blocked every hour. Bus lane blockages cause congestion,

create delays for commuters, and present a hazardous situation where buses must weavein and out of traffic to avoid unnecessary obstructions.

Goals:

Continue to lobby the State legislature to pass bills requiring bus mountedenforcement cameras; and


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Continue to work with the DOT to develop physical street barriers to improve theflow of bus traffic.


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Municipal Building:

One Centre Street, 19th Floor

New York, NY 10007

Tel: 212.669.8300 Fax: 212.669.4306

Northern Manhattan Office:

163 West 125th Street, 5th Floor

New York, NY 10027

Tel: 212.531.1609 Fax: 212.531.4615

SCOTT M. STRINGER

MANHATTAN BOROUGH PRESIDENT

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2010 Strategic Policy Statement

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