Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz Digest: Riverdale Road Diet, City Gives Pass to Athletes, & More

 

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What's Happening in the 81st Assembly District?

NYC DOT Plans Riverdale Avenue Road Diet Mayor Adams Ends Vaccine Requirement for Athletes and Performers Local Update: Update on Greystone Avenue Construction Albany Update: Trio of Dinowitz Bills Pass Assembly on Mandatory Arbitration Rights for Consumers Poll of the Week: Budget Surplus REMINDER: MetroCard Van Services in Woodlawn and Central Riverdale on Tuesday, March 29 Updates from Government & Community Partners

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NYC DOT Plans Riverdale Avenue Road Diet

The New York City Department of Transportation is once again proposing to implement a road diet on Riverdale Avenue between West 254th Street and the county line (West 263rd Street). The proposal will be discussed at a virtual public meeting held by the Community Board 8 Traffic & Transportation Committee on Thursday, March 31 at 7pm. The meeting can be accessed using Zoom at the following link, or telephone number if you prefer: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/2114033690 or by dialing 1-646-558-8656 and entering the meeting ID number 2114033690#. I have not taken a position on the proposal itself at this time, and am very interested in hearing what people in our community think about the potential changes. Although everybody is entitled to their opinion regardless of where they live, I do continue to believe that people who live closest to a proposed change ought to carry a little more weight when they offer their opinions than someone who lives in Brooklyn or Manhattan, for example. However, I must address some serious process issues that I have with how Bronx DOT has conducted their community engagement process thus far. Historically, Bronx DOT has been very communicative with Community Boards, elected officials, and all relevant community stakeholders who may be affected by their decisions. I believe this has yielded positive results overall, such as with the bike lane on Broadway, the traffic signal at Kappock Street and Johnson Avenue, the left turn lane from Mosholu Parkway onto Sedgwick Avenue, and many other examples. With this particular road diet proposal, I am very concerned that Bronx DOT refused to share a copy of their plans with the Community Board, with elected officials, or with any community groups except for one specific group who has been pushing for the road diet for many years. I think it is perfectly fine for Bronx DOT to share their plans with community groups, but they need to be fair and equitable in how they are sharing information with stakeholders. It is unacceptable to give specific groups early access to information while refusing to provide that same information to other interested parties. I am pleased that Bronx DOT finally showed the plans to me via Zoom, although they continue to refuse to share a physical or digital copy of their plans that I (or Community Board members, or other stakeholders) can review on our own time, and I was able to provide my initial thoughts to them. However, I hope that going forward Bronx DOT is more communicative with everybody in the community — and not just the select groups that they want to attend a public meeting.

Mayor Adams Ends Vaccine Requirement for Athletes and Performers

As you may have heard, Mayor Adams has decided that athletes and performers should be exempt from the City's vaccination requirements for New York-based employers. I think this is a horrible decision, one that contradicts everything we have been working so hard to achieve over the past two years during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is absolutely ludicrous that millionaire athletes and performers are not being held to the same vaccination standard as the hard-working people who work in those very same venues — cleaners, ticket checkers, vendors, maintenance workers, window cleaners, and many other workers. The ostensible basis for Mayor Adams' decision is to boost morale for the City. I do not agree with this reasoning. The way we boost morale in the City is by supported the millions of people who have already done the right thing and gotten vaccinated and boosted, not by undermining all of our public health messaging about vaccination and giving anti-vaxxers a very powerful litigious weapon in their crusade against public health. There has been some justified confusion about the disparity with which New York City treated out-of-state performers and athletes as compared to those in-state. I agree that it doesn't make sense to prohibit athletes like Kyrie Irving and potentially Aaron Judge and Jacob DeGrom from playing home games in New York while simultaneously allowing their unvaccinated competitors to play games in New York. I carry legislation along with State Senator Brad Hoylman to do the opposite of what Mayor Adams did — my bill would have required out-of-state athletes and performers to meet the same requirements as in-state athletes and performers. I believe this is a much better solution that sufficiently emphasizes the importance of vaccination, and does not hold working-class people to a different standard than the rich and powerful.

Local Update: Update on Greystone Avenue Construction

A few weeks ago, I shared an update on the ongoing construction on Greystone Avenue near West 242nd Street to resolve a chronic cave-in issue. At the time, we were trying to help resolve an impasse between Con Edison and the NYC Department of Environmental Protection about so-called "utility interference." I am pleased to share that the issue appears to be resolved, and DEP will be resuming their work on Greystone Ave starting next week. The work is expected to last for approximately three days (barring inclement weather). My understanding of the delay is that DEP had asked Con Edison to allow them to work under a transformer to install sewage equipment, which according to Con Edison was not feasible. DEP apparently decided not to extend the sewer further in this area. I am somewhat concerned that this is going to create future problems down the road with the sewer infrastructure, but it appears that the short-term issue will be resolved soon.

Albany Update: Trio of Dinowitz Bills Pass Assembly on Mandatory Arbitration Rights for Consumers

I am proud to share that another three of my bills have passed the Assembly. These three bills are all on the topic of consumer protections against arbitration agreements. Arbitration is a process that basically replaces (or supplements, depending on the context) the court system as a venue to resolve disputes between two parties. There has been an increasingly prevalent issue with mandatory arbitration clauses being included in consumer contracts, which leads to many consumers unknowingly signing away the right to their day in court. Historically, the arbitration process disproportionately favors businesses over consumers. The first bill (A1450) requires mandatory arbitration clauses in certain consumer contracts to be disclosed to the consumer. Specifically, it would require companies to proactively inform the consumer and clearly explain (in writing and in plain language) what an arbitration clause is. The second bill (A1464A) requires employment and consumer dispute arbitrations to be submitted to neutral third party arbitrators. Specifically, the bill would establish a clear definition for "neutral third party" and void any agreement or contract that does not require any dispute be submitted to a neutral third-party arbitrator. It would also require a series of disclosures by an arbitrator that may impact their impartiality. This bill would help both consumer and employment disputes, which should be especially helpful for non-union workers whose contracts are more likely to include arbitration clauses that do not require the arbitrator to be neutral. The third bill (A1865) requires mandatory arbitration clauses in certain consumer contracts to be printed in large font type.

Poll of the Week: Budget Surplus

The poll last week asked "Do you think the gas tax should be suspended or rebated?" We had over 150 responses, and the results are below: Yes - Suspend: 36% Yes - Rebate: 8% No - Maintain: 36% No - Increase: 14% Undecided or It Depends: 6%

This week's poll involves the state budget, which is due by March 31, 2022. New York State has a surplus of revenue, largely due to federal support during the COVID-19 pandemic. There seem to be two prevailing schools of thought on what to do with this money: spend it or save it. Those who want to spend it believe it should be utilized immediately to help address urgent issues such as relief for undocumented workers who were ineligible for traditional assistance, investments in climate change mitigation, relief for renters and homeowners, utility relief, and other types of programs. Those who want to save it believe it should be put into a rainy day account for future deficits, so that we do not have to make budget cuts following an economic downturn.

Do you think that New York State should spend or save the surplus revenue we have this year? Spend Select Save Select Undecided or It Depends Select

REMINDER: MetroCard Van Services in Woodlawn and Central Riverdale on Tuesday, March 29

At our request, the MTA has agreed to provide their MetroCard van in central Riverdale and in Woodlawn once again during the months of March, April, and May. This is an easy way for you to apply for a reduced-fare MetroCard, to refill a MetroCard (including reduced-fare MetroCards), or to deal with any other MetroCard-related issue you may be having. The MetroCard van will be available at West 235th Street and Johnson Avenue between 9:30am and 11:30am, and will be available at the Woodlawn Library (Katonah Avenue and East 239th Street) between 12:30pm and 2:30pm on the following dates: • Tuesday, March 29 • Friday, April 29 • Tuesday, May 31 As a reminder, the MetroCard van is also available on a recurring basis at the following locations: • Riverdale at Skyview Shopping Center (Riverdale Avenue between West 256th Street and West 259th Street) on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of each month between 10:30am and 12:30pm • Kingsbridge at West 231st Street and Broadway on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of each month between 1:30pm and 3:30pm • Knolls Crescent Mall (11-21 Knolls Crescent) on the 2nd and 4th Friday between 10am and 12pm My office will continue to advocate for the restoration of MetroCard van service to the Van Cortlandt Senior Center as well as the permanent addition of the locations in central Riverdale and Woodlawn to their regular schedule. The MTA has also indicated that riders can refill their MetroCards at participating retailers throughout the city. For a list of these retailers, please visit: tripplanner.mta.info/metrocardmerchants/BoroughMetroCardMap.aspx?zone=BX. Additionally, for those who are comfortable with online payments, the MTA will continue rolling out OMNY (which is their new fare payment system to replace the MetroCard). Using OMNY, you can pay for your transit fare using you contactless card (check your credit or debit card for what looks like a series of increasingly large closed parentheses), your smart device (such as a smart phone or smart watch that has been set up as a digital wallet). You may also now get a physical OMNY card (available currently at several retailers in our community, shown here: omny.info/retail-locations). These physical OMNY cards are able to be connected to a debit or credit card as well as refilled using cash at participating retailers. Beginning on February 28, 2022, the MTA is launching their pilot program to offer customers a weekly fare cap option. Basically, if you participate in this program through OMNY, after 12 subway or local bus trips tapping with the same card or device, you will automatically ride free for the rest of the week (defined as Monday through Sunday). For more information, please see the MTA's website here: https://omny.info/ Additionally, you can also apply for EasyPay Express using traditional MetroCard technology. This option allows you to connect a credit or debit card to your MetroCard so that it automatically refills either a 30-day unlimited plan or to maintain a $20 minimum balance on your MetroCard. For more information, please see the MTA's website here: https://www.easypaymetrocard.com/vector/static/faq/XpressFaq.shtml

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Updates from Government & Community Partners

MTA – Track Work on Woodlawn-Bound 4 Trains (Started February 15) Upcoming track work will require Woodlawn-bound 4 trains to skip the Mosholu Parkway station Will affect midday travel during the week: Mar 29 - Apr 1, 2022 (Tuesday 10:45 AM - Friday 3:00 PM)   Note: This service change is expected to recur through April. For service to this station, take the 4 train to Woodlawn and transfer to a Crown Heights-bound 4 train. For service from this station, take a downtown 4 to Bedford Park Boulevard-Lehman College and transfer to a Woodlawn-bound 4 train.

MTA – Weekend Service Change on 1 Train 3/26/22-3/27/22 Track work will require upcoming planned service changes on March 26-27 Van Cortlandt Park-242 St. bound 1 trains will be replaced by shuttle bus from 238th Street to Van Cortlandt Park 242 St station. Impacted times will be 5:00am on March 12 until 8:00pm on March 13 and from 6:00am on March 26 to 8:00pm on March 27

NYC Department of Environmental Protection – Seeking Rain Garden Maintainers Would be Seasonal City Park Worker Would assist in general maintenance work, including edging, seeding, snow removal, cultivating, fertilizing, trimming, sweeping, removal of sediments and raking of litter Would clean and maintain facilities including drainage structures Would drive vehicles and operate certain other motorized equipment (valid NYS Driver license is required and must be maintained for the duration of employment) Salary: $16.63 per hour with a 40 hour work week Interviews are scheduled to take place in March Apply at nyc.gov/careers with the Job ID# 518491

Altice USA / Optimum – Free Calls, MMS, SMS to Ukraine Optimum Mobile, Optimum, and Suddenlink phone customers are able to place calls from the US to Ukraine at no additional cost Optimum Mobile customers are able to send free SMS and MMS messages to Ukraine Includes both residential and small business customers Lasts through the end of March More information: https://www.alticeusa.com/news/articles/feature/corporate/altice-usa-provide-optimum-and-suddenlink-customers-free-long-distance-calling-and-messaging-ukraine