The next Croton Filtration Monitoring Committee meeting will be held on January 28th at 6:30pm. Please note the location is same as our last meeting -- Mosholu Montefiore Community Center at 3450 DeKalb Avenue, basement. An Agenda will follow as soon as it is ready.
Friday, January 4, 2019
#1 TRAIN WILL BYPASS 168TH ST. STATION BEGINNING TOMORROW, SATURDAY, JANUARY 5, 2019
"I want to let constituents and riders of the #1 Train to know that beginning at midnight on Saturday, January 5, the #1 train will bypass 168th St. Station in Washington Heights for approximately one year while four new elevators are constructed. I will be onsite at the 168th St. Station tomorrow, January 5, 2019, at 12:00PM (Noon) to monitor the additional bus service that will be provided to accommodate riders needing to access 157th St. Station to catch the 1 train. I have the commitment of the MTA that they will be actively observing the bus service so that it meets the needs of riders and also will have additional staff available to answer questions from the public.
MTA has stated that they will finish the construction around early 2020. I've requested that this reconstruction project finish on-time, and if possible, reduce the total duration of the project. Additionally, while the new automatic elevators will be able to accommodate a higher volume of subway riders, the elevators will not extend to the subway platform. I've asked the MTA to conduct a feasibility assessment on options to bring the 1-train platform to ADA compliance."
COORDINATION NEEDED AT CITY AND STATE LEVELS TO IMPLEMENT NEW PROPOSAL OF L-TRAIN TUNNEL
"Brooklyn and Manhattan residents, small businesses, and commuters have been planning and anticipating the L-train shutdown for months. I am glad that the Governor was able to find a group of top engineers to facilitate a less disruptive plan for over 250,000 riders of the L-train. However, further review of the new scope of work is necessary to ensure efficiency, that the project is completed without going over the original budget, that bus routes and ferry service previously included in the project are evaluated, and to figure out what additional resources or public outreach is required to guarantee a well-organized timeline of construction," said Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez, Chair of the Committee on Transportation.
Rep. Adriano Espaillat to Host District Event Honoring Life and Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Representative Adriano Espaillat (NY-13) will host his annual open house event honoring the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Friday, January 18th from 3:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m. EST. The event will take place at Rep. Espaillat’s Harlem district office located at 163 West 125th Street, Suite 508, New York, NY 10027. Light refreshments will be served.
This event is open to the public and press.
WHO: Rep. Adriano Espaillat (NY-13)
WHAT: Harlem District Office Open House and Commemoration Event Honoring the Life and Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
WHEN: Friday, January 18th at 3:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m. EST
WHERE: Adam Clayton Powell State Office Building
163 West 125th Street, Suite 508
New York, NY 10027
RSVP: RSVP.Espaillat@mail.house.gov or by phone at 212-663-3900
MAYOR DE BLASIO ANNOUNCES RICK CHANDLER STEPPING DOWN AS BUILDINGS COMMISSIONER
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced today that Rick D. Chandler, PE, Commissioner of the New York City Department of Buildings, will be retiring from city service after 31 years with the city, including nearly 20 with the Department, four of which were as Commissioner. Commissioner Chandler led a sweeping modernization effort touching every part of the Buildings Department, including the launch of DOB NOW, which will allow New Yorkers to do all business with DOB online; hiring more than 230 new inspectors and 150 technical staff, resulting in significantly faster permit reviews and inspections of construction sites and 311 complaints; and regulating the city’s real estate and construction industries during the largest building boom in at least 50 years.
Thomas Fariello, RA, the agency’s First Deputy Commissioner, will serve as Acting Buildings Commissioner, effective February 1, 2019.
“When I took office, I called for a fundamental reform of the Buildings Department – and I am grateful to Commissioner Chandler for helping deliver on that promise. As Buildings Commissioner, Rick presided over an unprecedented building boom while at the same time launching an aggressive modernization plan to give the public faster service and greater transparency about DOB’s operations. While I’m sad to see Rick go, I thank him for his decades of service to the city and wish him well in his future endeavors,” said Mayor de Blasio.
“I thank Mayor de Blasio for his confidence in me, and for the major investments he made at DOB. Our modernization plan is delivering quicker plan reviews and improved response times, bringing new clarity and consistency to agency operations, strengthening enforcement, and promoting the highest standards of integrity, both in the construction industry and within DOB. The centerpiece of these reforms is DOB NOW – a platform to bring nearly all the agency’s business online and into the 21st century, with far greater transparency for the public. I wish Tom well as Acting Commissioner,” said DOB Commissioner Chandler.
“It was a privilege to work with Commissioner Chandler to modernize and staff-up the Buildings Department to streamline our services for New Yorkers. As Acting Commissioner, I look forward to continuing to implement the Mayor’s vision for the department and to furthering our essential mission of regulating one of the city’s largest industries and keeping construction sites safe for workers and the public,” said incoming Acting Buildings Commissioner Fariello.
Thomas Fariello is a New York State Registered Architect with more than 30 years of experience in the fields of architecture and construction. Appointed First Deputy Commissioner in 2011, Tom has been an essential part of the Department’s leadership since 2003, when he became Deputy Borough Commissioner in Brooklyn. He later served as Borough Commissioner in Brooklyn and in the Bronx. His experience before joining the Department — as a private-sector architect and plan examiner with the New York City School Construction Authority — cultivated his deep understanding of the laws governing construction, as well as the importance of leading the department to provide professional, efficient public service.
The New York City Department of Buildings regulates and promotes the safe and lawful use of nearly 1.1 million buildings and more than 45,000 active construction sites in New York City.
Thursday, January 3, 2019
Michael Blake Announces New Endorsements in Campaign for Public Advocate
Bronx Leaders Rally Around Blake as Campaign Gains Momentum
There are four different Members of Congress, five State Senators, eleven Assembly members, and eight and a half City Council members, not counting the Bronx Borough President representing the Bronx.
Is One Bronx State Senator, One Bronx Assembly member, and One Bronx City Council member a rally by Bronx elected officials around someone running for office?
State Senator Luis Sepulveda, Assemblywoman Nathalia Fernandez, and City Councilman Rafael Salamanca braved the cold standing on the steps of the Bronx County building to throw their support behind candidate for Public Advocate Michael Blake.
State Senator Luis Sepulveda among other things said that as Public Advocate Michael Blake would help increase funding to New York City Schools.
City Councilman Rafael Salamanca in his endorsement said that as Public Advocate Michael Blake would hold the mayor accountable for the problems at NYCHA.
Assemblywoman Nathalia Fernandez was not as unrealistic in what she said about what Michael Blake could do as the next Public Advocate.
Assemblyman Michael Blake had to answer my question of how a Public Advocate was going to get more money for schools when that is the job of the State Legislature and not the Public Advocate. Candidate Blake said that he would use the power of the office to influence his friends in Albany.
To my question of how the Public Advocate would fix NYCHA which is the job of the City Council, again candidate Blake said that he would use the influence of the office.
BP DIAZ LAUNCHES ‘#CleanUpNYCHA’ SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN
Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. today announced the launch of the#CleanUpNYCHA social media campaign.
This initiative aims to use social media to encourage New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) tenants, as well local residents, businesses and elected officials to call attention to any subpar living conditions encountered in public housing facilities, on the grounds of developments and within individual apartments.
Borough President Diaz and his office will be monitoring this hashtag and reposting from these entries, in addition to following up with the proper authorities, in order to highlight the ongoing issues facing public housing residents and to help NYCHA residents across the five boroughs receive necessary and required city services.
“New York City’s public housing tenants are entitled to the same services and respect that all tenants expect a responsible landlord to provide,” saidBronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. “We need to #CleanUpNYCHA because these living conditions would never be tolerated from private buildings. I encourage all New Yorkers to use this hashtag to highlight NYCHA’s failures to deliver for its residents and to push for a safer, cleaner and more livable public housing system.”
In December, there were two major incidents in which social media was used to shine a light on the unacceptable living situations facing residents in NYCHA complexes located in The Bronx.
Borough President Diaz used his own social media accounts to call attention to a neglected mountain of garbage at the Justice Sonia Sotomayor Houses and Community Center in Soundview on December 30. The pile was a health hazard, leaking filthy liquid garbage onto the sidewalk, causing a stench which attracted vermin to the area. NYCHA and Department of Sanitation employees were on-site cleaning up within hours of the media coverage of Borough President Diaz’s social media posts.
Previously, on December 2, the borough president was alerted to a situation in the Patterson Houses in the South Bronx, following social media posts in which residents reported having no running water at their apartments. A video posted on Facebook showed members of the community forced to line up, outside at nearby fire hydrants, to collect water for their homes. The situation was remediated following widespread media coverage and social media attention, with temporary water pumps installed so that residents had water service the following morning.
“I recently used my own social media accounts to call out the shameful situations in Soundview’s Justice Sonia Sotomayor Houses and the Patterson Houses in Mott Haven,” said Borough President Diaz. “These messes were cleaned up in a matter of hours because of how effective these social media platforms can be in spreading information to the news outlets and city officials. I want to build on this momentum by calling on NYCHA residents and anyone else who witnesses such inefficiencies to use this social media hashtag, so that we can catalog problems, act on them quickly and improve the living conditions of our NYCHA residents.”
Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. - Please join us . . .
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