Support Your Soldiers

My office is collecting items for soldiers who are serving in isolated locations and who have limited access to American facilities. I need your help to give them a piece of home as they serve our country and protect our safety.

The following items can be dropped off in my office, at 8703 3rd Avenue:

Toiletries
- Shaving cream
- Razors
- Baby wipes
- Baby powder
- Soap and sanitizer
- Deodorant
- Lip balm or Vaseline
- Sunscreen
- Toothbrushes and toothpaste
- Eye wash and mouthwash
- Q-Tips
- Toilet paper
- Insect repellent

Food and Snacks
- Slim Jims or Jerky
- Instant tea, coffee or hot chocolate
- Candy or granola
- Pop Tarts
- Breakfast bars or power bars
- Applesauce or fruit cups
- Ramen noodles
- Baked beans
- Cans of soup
- Peanut butter or jelly
- Crackers
- Tuna or chicken packs
- Mac & Cheese

General Comfort Items
- Phone cards
- Envelopes and stamps
- Pens, pencils and paper
- Batteries (AA, AAA and D)
- Paperback books
- DVDs and CDs
- Tube socks (green or black)
- Boxers and briefs
- Long underwear
- Tan and green t-shirts
- Playing cards
- Crossword and sudoku puzzles
- Dominoes, checkers and chess games

Don't hesitate to call my office at (718) 748-5200 with questions or for more information. Dec. 1, 2009 is the final drop-off day for our soldiers - please donate to show our soldiers they are not forgotten!

Taking a Stand Against Unfair Parking Tickets

As all motorists in New York City know, parking tickets have gone from a way to enforce public safety laws, to a way for the city to increase revenue. The City Council unanimously passed Intro 1076-A yesterday, a bill that I introduced, as well as three other parking reform bills introduced by other council members.

I am incredibly proud to have introduced this bill which will help bring fairness back into the way that our parking system runs. This law will require the Department of Transportation to notify community boards and council members before they change parking meter rates or install a new kind of parking meter.

Earlier this year, parking meter rates were changed, with a quarter purchasing just 20 minutes, rather than 30 minutes. Drivers only found out about the rate change when they returned to their car to find an orange ticket under their windshield wiper. Notification by ticketing is unfair and this bill makes it a thing of the past. Community boards will be kept in the loop when it comes to changes on local streets and residents will be better able to protect themselves from unfair ticketing.

Photo credit: New York City Council Photographer William Alatriste

Grant for Block Improvements Available

The Citizens Committee for New York City has block improvement grants available for community groups - the grant will allow them to request a wide range of services from City agencies like the Department of Sanitation, Parks and Transportation. Along with expedited access to City services, the winning groups will also be given a $500 grant!

The deadline application is coming up - it's November 30, 2009. You can download the application at the Citizens Committee for New York City Web site, or request a hard copy from the group directly. Call Alicia Rouault at (212) 822-9558 or E-mail her at arouault@citizensnyc.org for more information, and good luck!

Protecting All of Our Children

It took years of hard work, but it finally paid off. Yesterday, I was incredibly proud to join Mayor Bloomberg as he signed local law 2009/068, Billy’s Law, which I introduced to protect disabled students that are placed in out-of-state facilities.

Billy’s Law is named for Billy Albanese, a local student who was abused while attending an out-of-state facility in the 1990s. Under the newly-passed Billy’s Law, the Department of Education has to report to the New York City Council two times per year, providing important information about each out-of-state facility that New York City students attend, the cost of sending students to each facility and information about any completed or ongoing investigation of abuse or neglect of students at each location. This information will help to keep students safe.

New York City’s Billy’s Law expands on a state version of Billy’s Law that I introduced in 2001, as a State Senator. The local version of this law is very important because it makes sure that New York City parents and Council Members know about all safety issues that face our children placed in out-of-state facilities. Although these venerable students may be out of sight, they are no longer out of mind.

Photo credit: New York City Council Photographer William Alatriste

The Bay Ridge Eco Dock!

Today, on the 69th Street Pier, I shared some truly exciting news with friends and colleagues. Bay Ridge is getting an eco dock! After the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance and Sunset-Ridge Waterfront Alliance brought the unique, environmentally-friendly barge to my attention, I knew it was just what our community needed: a way for kayakers to get onto the East River from our 69th Street Pier, and a way for boaters and daytrippers to visit Bay Ridge (and give our local economy a boost!).

I secured the funding, and the project is going to be bid out by the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation. Next summer, we all might be able to meet up at the pier for some boating, kayaking and sightseeing!

Bill to Protect Special Needs Students Passed City Council

I introduced Int. 396-A - otherwise known as Billy's Law - to give the City and parents oversight and insight into out-of-state educational facilities where 300 New York City special needs students are currently placed.

Yesterday, the New York City Council voted unanimously to pass the bill into law, making sure that when New York City special needs students are out of sight - placed at schools sometimes hundreds of miles outside our City and State borders - they're not out of mind. The Department of Education will be required to provide reports, twice a year, that detail the demographics of the facilities, how much the City pays to place students there, the outcome of any completed investigations or the status of any in-process violations at the school itself.

The law is named after a Bay Ridge resident, Billy Albanese, who was abused at a New Hampshire rehabilitative facility in the early 1990s, and who is one of many who would have benefitted from the oversight Billy's Law will provide today.

This is a local version of the State Billy's Law that I introduced in 2001 as a State Senator, and which passed in 2005. The local version will bring crucial information closer to home for New York City parents to help keep special needs students safe when they're away from home.

Photo credit: New York City Council Photographer William Alatriste

Bay Ridge is Tops in Recycling!

Bay Ridge beat out brownstone Brooklyn as the #1 neighborhood when it comes to recycling, according to a recent Daily News article. We recycle 59 percent of our eligible plastic, paper, metal and glass products - higher than any other Brooklyn neighborhoods!

What can we do better, and what would make it easier for you to recycle? Discuss below!