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Thursday, January 3, 2019
Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. - Please join us . . .
Bronx Chamber of Commerce - Let's start on the right track
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Wave Hill events January 17‒24
Thu, January 17
Tour artist Nandini Chirimar’s Winter Workspace studio to see her mixed-media work, inspired by Wave Hill’s plants and by elements of Indian and Japanese art. Then, in her workshop, explore Japanese woodblock-carving techniques and practice making prints from your own block using authentic Japanese styles. Materials included. $55. Wave Hill Members save 10%. All levels welcome. Registration required, online at wavehill.org or at the Perkins Visitor Center.
Wave Hill House, 10AM–1PM
Sat, January 19
In 1966, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. visited the Gee’s Bend Community in rural Alabama and the Freedom Quilting Bee was established. The bold patterns and bright colors of these now famous quilts, made from fabric scraps, would later go on to fund aspects of the communities’ freedom. Create your own brilliant compositions out of bountiful squares of donated fabric to honor Dr. King’s Birthday and the inspiring women quilters of Gee’s Bend. Free, and admission to the grounds is free until noon.
Wave Hill House, 10AM–1PM
Sat, January 19
Experience Wave Hill’s rich historical legacy, its extraordinary gardens and spectacular views on an intimate and elegant afternoon. Enjoy a buffet of light fare inspired by a traditional afternoon tea in the Mark Twain Room as you learn about Wave Hill’s illustrious residents and historically significant architecture. Then, a behind-the-scenes tour of the winter garden includes access to the working parts of Wave Hill—areas not open to the public. At your last stop—The Shop at Wave Hill―you’ll receive a complimentary gift and a 10% discount on all your purchases. Space is limited. $50, including admission to the grounds. Wave Hill Members save 10%. Registration required, online at wavehill.org or at the Perkins Visitor Center.
Wave Hill House, 1–3:30PM
Sun, January 20
In 1966, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. visited the Gee’s Bend Community in rural Alabama and the Freedom Quilting Bee was established. The bold patterns and bright colors of these now famous quilts, made from fabric scraps, would later go on to fund aspects of the communities’ freedom. Create your own brilliant compositions out of bountiful squares of donated fabric to honor Dr. King’s Birthday and the inspiring women quilters of Gee’s Bend. Free with admission to the grounds.
Wave Hill House, 10AM–1PM
Sun, January 20
Artists in the Winter Workspace program share their studio practice with visitors on this Drop-In Sunday. Free with admission to the grounds.
Glyndor Gallery, 1–3PM
Sun, January 20
Join a Wave Hill Garden Guide for an hour-long tour of seasonal garden highlights. Free with admission to the grounds.
Meet at Perkins Visitor Center, 2PM
Mon, January 21
Closed to the public.
Wed, January 23
This year’s three lectures illuminate how deeply an intimate garden like Wave Hill is embedded in the larger world of horticulture. Colin Cabot, co-founder of Sanborn Mills Farm, has also been a theatrical producer, musician, philanthropist, entrepreneur and—avocationally—blacksmith and farmer. Located near Concord, NH, Sanborn Mills draws on Cabot’s childhood experience of farming and gardening, focusing on preserving and renewing the skills of our northern New England forebears. Cabot’s talk considers how best to respond to parental achievements in knowing, growing and using gardens, reflecting on 60 years of living in the masterpieces created by his parents, Frank and Anne Cabot. Wave Hill’s annual horticultural lecture series is held at the New York School of Interior Design. Three-lecture series: $72. Wave Hill Members and students save 10%. Individual tickets: $30, with a 10% discount for Wave Hill Members and students. Seating is limited, and advance reservations are recommended, online at wavehill.org. Student tickets available lecture evening only, at the door, space permitting and with a valid student ID. The second lecture of the series takes place on February 20, when Chanticleer gardener Lisa Roper speaks about the design evolution of Chanticleer’s Gravel Garden.
New York School of Interior Design, 6–7:30PM
A 28-acre public garden and cultural center overlooking the Hudson River and Palisades, Wave Hill’s mission is to celebrate the artistry and legacy of its gardens and landscape, to preserve its magnificent views, and to explore human connections to the natural world through programs in horticulture, education and the arts.
HOURS – Open all year, Tuesday through Sunday and many major holidays: 9AM–4:30PM, November 1–March 14. Closes 5:30PM, starting March 15.
ADMISSION – $10 adults, $6 students and seniors 65+, $4 children 6–18. Free Saturday and Tuesday mornings until noon. Free to Wave Hill Members and children under 6.
PROGRAM FEES – Programs are free with admission to the grounds unless otherwise noted.
Visitors to Wave Hill can take advantage of Metro-North’s one-day getaway offer. Purchase a discount round-trip rail far and discount admission to the gardens. More at http://mta.info/mnr/html/
DIRECTIONS – Getting here is easy! Located only 30 minutes from midtown Manhattan, Wave Hill’s free shuttle van transports you to and from our front gate and Metro-North’s Riverdale station, as well as the W. 242nd Street stop on the #1 subway line. Limited onsite parking is available for $8 per vehicle. Free offsite parking is available nearby with continuous, complimentary shuttle service to and from the offsite lot and our front gate. Complete directions and shuttle bus schedule at www.wavehill.org/visit/.
Information at 718.549.3200. On the web at www.wavehill.org.
Wednesday, January 2, 2019
MAYOR DE BLASIO ANNOUNCES JULIE MENIN AS DIRECTOR OF THE CENSUS FOR NYC AND EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT CORPORATION COUNSEL FOR STRATEGIC ADVOCACY
Mayor Bill de Blasio today appointed Julie Menin as Director of the Census for New York City. She also will serve as Executive Assistant Corporation Counsel for Strategic Advocacy. In her new roles, Menin will organize extensive outreach efforts to encourage every New York City resident to participate in the upcoming 2020 Census. An accurate census count will ensure that New York receives its fair share of education, healthcare, housing and infrastructure funding and its proper electoral representation in Congress.
As Executive Assistant Corporation Counsel for Strategic Advocacy, Menin has been tasked to aggressively pursue innovative strategies to protect New Yorkers who may be hurt by federal actions, including exploring avenues for litigation, legislation and rule-making. In this role, she will collaborate with partners including other cities and advocacy groups to change the legal landscape on a wide range of issues from immigrant rights and citizenship, to voter protections, gerrymandering and critical federal funding grants directed toward the City and our most vulnerable New Yorkers. In addition, she will use her many years of legal experience in consumer protection to advise on affirmative litigation against companies that are preying on New Yorkers.
“Julie Menin has been able to get the job done very effectively in every single role she’s held,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “From her time chairing Community Board 1 to her outstanding work leading two city agencies, Julie has been able to leverage government, legal and the not for profit and private sectors to put low-income New Yorkers, small businesses and marginalized communities first. I’m confident Julie will help protect New York from the Trump Administration’s attacks on a fair census effort and help build confidence among all New York City communities so that every New Yorker participates in the upcoming 2020 Census.”
“Having an accurate count of the population is vital for a fair share and distribution of resources and equitable political representation, especially under a federal administration consistently attacking immigrants. We must all work together and ensure that every New Yorker is counted in the Census 2020,” said Council Speaker Corey Johnson.
“Nothing is more important for a fair distribution of resources and access to economic opportunities in our democratic society than making sure everyone is counted by the census,” said Deputy Mayor for Strategic Policy Initiatives J. Phillip Thompson. “The de Blasio Administration is working hard to fight any attempts to undercount New Yorkers, and I look forward to working with a leader with extraordinary managerial experience and community savvy like Julie Menin to ensure that historically disenfranchised and marginalized communities in our city won’t be scared into silence.”
“Because of Julie’s experience as a consumer advocate, litigator, regulatory attorney and civic leader, she is uniquely qualified to provide focused executive level oversight of the Law Department’s strategic advocacy initiative and aggressively pursue opportunities to advance the City’s policy objectives through litigation, legislation and rulemaking,” said Corporation Counsel Zachary W. Carter.
“I am thrilled to take on this new dual role as Census Director and Executive Assistant Corporation Counsel for Strategic Advocacy at this critical juncture for our city when it has never been more important to fight the threats to democracy and immigration that our city faces. We will leave no stone unturned to ensure that every New Yorker is counted so our city receives the billions in funding it deserves for public schools, health care, child care, senior centers and infrastructure and that we will use every legal avenue to protect our democratic ideals and make sure justice is served,” said Julie Menin, Director of the Census for New York City and Executive Assistant Corporation Counsel for Strategic Advocacy.
Many federal programs rely on the population figures collected by the census to distribute federal funds among states and local governments. A total of approximately $700 billion is distributed annually to States across the country through approximately 300 different census-guided federal grant and funding programs. These programs support essential services including healthcare, public education, social services and infrastructure development. Inaccurate population counts resulting from the Trump Administration’s decision to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census could harm cities by depriving them of their fair share of federal funding and removing crucial resources for important government services. New York State alone also stands to lose one congressional seat if the 2020 Census count is inaccurate.
As a result, the de Blasio Administration joined the Attorney General’s Office and other cities in a lawsuit to stop the Trump administration from including the question in the Census. The de Blasio Administration also allocated approximately $4.3 million dollars for its census efforts to build out a citywide public awareness campaign for communities across New York City. In September, the Department of City Planning submitted addresses for more than 122,000 housing units that the Census Bureau did not have on its address list for the 2020 Census. Approximately 300,000 additional New Yorkers could now be counted as a result of this update.
The Mayor also charged Deputy Mayor J. Phillip Thompson to oversee and lead the Administration’s census efforts. Deputy Mayor Thompson also appointed Nisha Agarwal as his Senior Advisor and Jorge Fanjul as his Senior Advisor for DemocracyNYC and Deputy Director of Census Outreach and Organizing. Julie Menin will bring her government and legal expertise and community organizing skills to this team to further expand these outreach efforts and will work closely with the Department of City Planning and the Mayor’s Public Engagement Unit. The City will also work closely with the Census Bureau’s Regional Office on preparations for the 2020 Census to ensure that the special challenges in enumerating New York City’s population are addressed.
About Julie Menin
Julie Menin is an attorney and civic leader who has over two decades of experience in the legal, regulatory and public sectors. Menin also brings years of experience organizing, advocating and securing funding in the non-profit, private and government sectors for a number of initiatives, including her work as a leading force in the redevelopment of Lower Manhattan in the wake of 9/11. In addition, Menin chaired Community Board 1 for seven years in the aftermath of 9/11 and was a strong and vocal advocate for the community. During her time as chair, she spearheaded the approval of the Islamic Cultural Center and Mosque. Menin also served as Commissioner of the Redistricting Commission in 2001 where she led a non-partisan effort to set new City Council district lines.
Menin most recently served as the Commissioner of the Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment and launched dozens of new initiatives that promote equality in the media and entertainment industry. Prior to her time at MOME, Menin served as Commissioner of the Department of Consumer Affairs, where she was instrumental in implementing many of the Mayor’s signature projects, including the Paid Sick Leave Law, the Small Business Relief Package to reduce fines on businesses, and the implementation of the Living Wage Executive Order. In addition, she launched the City's first expanded Earned Income Tax initiative, creating an outreach program that resulted in an extraordinary 50 percent increase in New Yorkers using the City's free tax centers and returning $260 million to low-income New Yorkers. As Commissioner of DCA, Menin tackled bureaucratic barriers that stymied economic growth and resulted in a one-third reduction in fines on small businesses and 70 percent increase in consumer restitution. She also launched investigations into not-for-profit colleges, fraudulent auto loans, debt collectors, and other industries preying on New Yorkers.
STATEMENT BY CANDIDATE FOR PUBLIC ADVOCATE, COUNCILMAN ERIC ULRICH ON THE CONVICTION OF DE BLASIO PAL JEREMY REICHBERG
“Today’s verdict and conviction of Jeremy Reichberg is proof that Bill de Blasio’s administration has been for sale since day one. As Public Advocate, I will hold Mayor de Blasio accountable, and ensure that we strengthen the City’s transparency and conflicts of interest laws to rid our government of this wanton bribery. The evidence presented at the trial highlighted how close Bill de Blasio was to this felon and the government’s key witness, and how much access the Mayor gave to both of them. No amount of word-play and legal maneuvering justifies how much Mayor de Blasio wanted to hide these relationships from the public. Bill de Blasio talks a big game about ridding the city of big money in politics, but since he took office he has been part of the problem, not the solution. He needs to come clean and tell New Yorkers the whole truth about his relationship with Rechnitz and Reichberg, today.”
MAYOR DE BLASIO SIGNS LEGISLATION EXPEDITING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM
Mayor Bill de Blasio today held a public hearing for and signed Intro. 1288, which makes all elections between now and the 2021 primary, including the upcoming special election, eligible for stronger campaign finance laws and helps the average New Yorker have more of a say in individual campaigns. New Yorkers voted for this reform overwhelmingly in the 2018 General Election, however it would not have gone into effect until 2021. The Mayor also signed a formal proclamation setting the date - February 26, 2019 - for the Special Election for Public Advocate.
“With the upcoming special election, we’re expediting an important piece of legislation that will strengthen the voices of average New Yorkers by reforming campaign finance laws,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “Originally, these reforms were set to go into effect in 2021, but New Yorkers deserve to have these reforms in place when choosing their new Public Advocate. I want to thank Council Speaker Corey Johnson, Council Member Ben Kallos and the rest of the City Council for passing this piece of legislation.”
Intro. 1288 allows candidates currently running in special elections to choose between two public financing options. Candidates can access the current system, which allows a maximum contribution of $2,550 from each New York City resident. The City will match the first $175 six to one.
Candidates may also have access to a second option that caps donations at $1,000 per New York City resident, but provides an eight-to-one match on the first $250.
Amy Loprest, the Executive Director of the Campaign Finance Board, said, “Increasing access to public matching funds and placing tighter limits on contributions will increase fairness and include more voices in city elections.”
Tuesday, January 1, 2019
Speaker and Acting Public Advocate of the City of New York
City Council Speaker Corey Johnson assumed the role and office of Acting Public Advocate when the prior Public Advocate, Letitia James, became State Attorney General, on January 1, 2019.
The Public Advocate acts as an ombudsperson for all New Yorkers – a government official who champions the public and ensures government is responsive to their needs.
Pursuant to the City Charter, the Public Advocate, in addition to other duties, shall: monitor the operation of the public information and service complaint programs of city agencies and make proposals to improve such programs; review complaints of systemic problems with city services and programs, and make proposals to improve the city’s response to such complaints; and to take, investigate and otherwise attempt to resolve complaints from individuals concerning city services and other administrative actions of city agencies.
As the Acting Public Advocate, Corey Johnson looks forward to helping New Yorkers with any issues they might be facing and encourages everyone to submit concerns or complaints via this online form or call the Public Advocate’s office at (212) 669-7250 or visit at 1 Centre Street, 15th Floor North, New York, NY 10007.
There will be a special election to determine who will become the next Public Advocate on February 26, 2019. For more information on that election and who is running, please continue to check the Board of Elections website.