Use these anchor links to go straight to the section you’re most interested in: News & Information // Useful items // Events 
---
Gmail will “clip” the bottom off the following text; to avoid that, just click the “View this email in your browser” link above—or scroll down and click Gmail's “message clipped” link at the bottom—and a new tab will open with the complete newsletter.
 

Friends,

It’s Thursday, May 4, 2023. 

The great Helen Branswell covers “Lessons From the Covid War: An Investigative Report,” by interviewing two members of the group of scientific and public health experts who gathered to prepare for a national commission investigating COVID. When Congress couldn’t agree on such a commission, the Covid Crisis Group was born. It’s worth a read: Q&A: Chronicling the failures of the U.S. response to Covid (StatNews)

Katelyn Jetelina this week addresses the future in “Hype or hope? Nasal COVID-19 vaccines” (Your Local Epidemiologist): “...it’s very difficult to make a mucosal vaccine that achieves the necessary balance between safety and efficacy. There is a barrier at each step of the process…” Go down the rabbit hole (nose?) at the link. 

Next week, on 5/11, the federal public health emergency will expire. Use this pre-built search (at vaccines.gov) and make an appointment for a bivalent booster if A) you haven’t had one ever or B) it’s been at least four months since your last shot, and you’re 65+ or have other health morbidities. And don’t forget that non-chain pharmacies also offer vaccinations!

In my district office, we still have plenty of free test kits and masks available for pickup during business hours at my district office: 563 Columbus Ave. at 87th St., from 10 am – 6 pm. To have four test kits mailed to you free, visit COVIDTests.gov.

CHOICE

Gov. Kathy Hochul on Tuesday (5/2) signed legislation that makes contraception available over the counter and expands medical abortion access at New York’s SUNY and CUNY campuses. 

Idaho has passed a so-called “abortion trafficking” bill which criminalizes helping any pregnant minor travel out of state to get an abortion, or obtain abortion pills, without parental consent and creates a right to sue doctors who perform abortions for those minors out of state. The state’s abortion bans are inducing Idaho hospitals to close their maternity wards and their OB-GYNS to pack up and leave. Huffington Post interviews one of those doctors. PBS NewsHour did a segment (video). The Atlantic correctly notes that laws affecting minors are easy to expand to adults. 

A new study found that most Oklahoma hospital staff provided opaque, contradictory, or incorrect information about their policies on when abortion care is available. It’s no surprise: Oklahoma currently has three overlapping and inconsistent state abortion bans in effect. The study was jointly published by the Center for Reproductive Rights, Physicians for Human Rights, and Oklahoma Call for Reproductive Justice. Read the full report: No One Could Say: Accessing Emergency Obstetrics Information as a Prospective Prenatal Patient in Post-Roe Oklahoma. (PDF)

CLIMATE

Average sea surface temperatures have soared to record highs and stayed there—another signal of an ocean in crisis: An Ominous Heating Event Is Unfolding in the Oceans (Wired)

News & information.

A budget for the next fiscal year passed in Albany this week. Here’s a roundup of specifics from the State Senate; here’s the Times’ roundup (and here’s Chalkbeat’s report on school funding increases). Major points include:

• New funding for the MTA, including funding for a pilot of one free bus route in each borough. (Which route do you think should be the free route in Manhattan?)
• Bail reform that removes the “least restrictive” language from bail laws, giving judges more discretion to hold those accused of crimes in jail before trial. 
• A minimum wage increase, in steps through 2026. 
• Incentives for more renewable energy plants—and a ban on fossil fuels for cooking and heating in new construction.
• Expansion of free school meals.
• A $391 million in rental assistance for residents of subsidized housing including NYCHA.
• $25 million in public matching funds for state Assembly and Senate candidates in the 2024 primary and general elections. 

An important component that was passed as part of the budget was creation of new tools for stronger enforcement against unlicensed cannabis retailers. Selling cannabis without a license will now be classified as a class “A” misdemeanor, and makes failure to collect or remit required cannabis taxes a form of tax fraud. The legislation also allows the NYS Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) and the NYS Dept. of Finance to conduct regulatory inspections of all businesses selling cannabis, and empowers them to take enforcement actions including… 

• Seizing unlicensed cannabis from unlicensed cannabis businesses.
• Assessing civil penalties (taxes and OCM fines and penalties).
• Allowing OCM to seek court-ordered injunctions, closing orders, and the removal of unlicensed retailers from retail spaces (and to incentivize commercial landlords from renting to unlicensed retailers). 

Another step in the long process of the Rent Guidelines Board happened Tuesday (5/2) when the RGB voted—on a preliminary basis—for increases on one-year leases of between 2 and 5 percent and increases on two-year leases of between 4 and 7 percent are possible. (This is quite far from the Income and Expense Study the RGB published in March, which estimated rent hikes as high as 8.25% on one-year leases and 15.75% on two-year leases; see How Media Reports Got it Wrong on Rent Guidelines Board ‘Increases’ from City Limits.)

I’ll be testifying for low or no hikes, ahead of the RGB final vote in June on hikes to take effect 7/1 (And I’ve cosponsored Res. 546, which calls for RGB rent rollbacks in regulated units). 

There are RGB public meetings for in-person public testimony will be held in June in the Bronx (6/5), Queens (6/8), and Brooklyn (6/15); details on the RGB meetings page. I’m troubled that the RGB is not holding an in-person meeting for public testimony in Manhattan, and am submitting a formal request that one be added to the calendar. A virtual hearing for public testimony will be held Tuesday, 6/13, from 5 – 8 pm; here’s the link to view it then on Zoom (passcode: 629520) or listen by telephone by dialing 646-558-8656 (Meeting ID: 876 4595 4472; when prompted for Participant ID, press # to be connected to the meeting). Registration for testimony closes Monday, 5/15. 
—

On Tuesday (5/2) Community Board 7 passed a much anticipated resolution (PDF) regarding the Safe Haven at 106-108 W. 83rd Street, and another about the 79th St. Boat Basin (PDF).

—

Saturday, 5/20 (rain date Sun. 5/21), 10 am – Noon (meeting time 9:30 am), Verdi Square (south side of W. 72nd St.): The W. 72nd St. Block Association “Spring Community Volunteer Day” cosponsored by Partnership for Parks. They will distribute gardening supplies and assign gardening and cleaning activities. (If you have your own gloves/tools, please bring!) Sign up in advance using this form. 

—

The New York City Campaign Finance Board has published the 2022-2023 Voter Analysis Report which includes a breakdown of voter turnout; an in-depth look at the public testimony submitted to the NYC Districting Commission; and recommends shifting local elections to even-numbered years to increase voter turnout. 

—

The Dept. of Sanitation issued The Future of Trash, outlining a proposed containerization model for residential garbage in the city. There will be a pilot program on 125th Street to try it out. Read more at The City Can Fix Its Rat Problem If It Loses 150,000 Parking Spots (Curbed) and Why New York’s Giant Trash Bag Piles May Be an Endangered Species (NY Times). 

—

The American Museum of Natural History’s Gilder Center is now open! I stopped by this morning, and it’s spectacular. Go see it!
 

MEDIA ROUNDUP

Anatomy of a Lithium Ion Battery Fire (NBCNewYork)

Lithium-ion batteries a growing fire hazard in NYC garbage trucks, DSNY says (Gothamist)  “...18 fires on city collection trucks over the last year were “likely related” to the batteries, a threefold increase from the year before…” 

NYC plans 50 new electric car charging ports, a boon for non-Tesla EV owners (Gothamist)

Hate double-parking in NYC? You can now snitch on offenders. (Gothamist) A new city Transportation Department website, nyc.gov/LoadingFeedback, lets New Yorkers drop a virtual pin on a map of the city to identify a place where trucks and other vehicles block traffic in order to load or unload goods.

10-year-olds among hundreds of children found working at McDonald’s restaurants (NBCnews.com)

NYC seeks to cap fees for yet-to-be announced outdoor dining program (Gothamist)

How New Yorkers Can Claim Over $17 Billion of Their Lost Money (TheCity.nyc) Hint: start here at the state comptroller’s unclaimed fund database. 

Useful items.

We’re scheduling appointments NOW at 877-628-9090 for next Wednesday’s (5/10) visit by the American-Italian Cancer Foundation’s Mammogram Bus outside my district office (563 Columbus Ave). After last fall’s successful visit, we booked it again! There’s no cost—no co-pays, deductibles are waived, and uninsured patients are welcome—for NYC women between ages 40–79 who haven’t had a mammogram in the last 12 months. Early detection saves lives, and it couldn’t be more convenient! 

Other events from my office worth knowing about:

• On four Thursdays, from 3:30–5:30 pm, starting TODAY Thursday 5/4, then 5/18, 6/1 & 6/15, at W. 84th St. @ Amsterdam, the Urban Assembly School for Green Careers Youth Market will be selling area farm-fresh produce (and also accepting composting!) with proceeds benefiting the school.  I’m cosponsoring along with Green City Force, Jacob’s Pickles, and The Hort. 
• Tomorrow, Friday, 5/5, 12 – 1 pm, in-person and virtual, at Goddard Riverside’s Lincoln Square Older Adult Center (250 W. 65th St.): I’m cosponsoring, with State Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal, an Information session on Reduced-Fare OMNY for seniors. The MTA is phasing out MetroCards by the end of 2023; find out how to use a smartphone with OMNY now. Please bring a smartphone, a debit card, and your current reduced-fare MetroCard. RSVP at the link or by calling 212-633-8052. (Take a look at the new OMNY machines at Gothamist.)
• Next Tuesday 5/9, we’ll have a representative from the City Dept. of Finance in my District Office to assist SCRIE/DRIE applicants and renewers. Also, appointments are available for our dedicated volunteer assisting with SCRIE/DRIE applications every Monday from 2–6 pm. Make an appointment for these one-on-one sessions at (212) 873-0282. (On the topic of housing, our monthly virtual Housing Clinic in June, Wednesday 6/7, covers “Harassment, construction-as-harassment, and buyouts.” Sign up for the Zoom at the link. As always, my thanks to our partners at the Goddard Riverside Law Project and Takeroot Justice.)

I’m also sponsoring programming at the Gertrude Ederle Playground (232 W. 60 St.):

• Saturday 5/13, at 7:30 (approximate) free film screening of “Lightyear.” 
• Saturdays, 5/6, 5/13, 5/20 & 5/27, 6/3, 6/10, 11 am – 1 pm: Free tango lessons. Experience “the authentic Buenos Aires Tango feeling” with instructors from Strictly Tango NYC Dance School. Come with your partner, your friends or by yourself and find a new dance partner. RSVP at the link. 

Finally, please save the date… Tuesday, 6/6, 10 am – 4 pm, outside my District Office (563 Columbus Ave): We’re having another “Pop Up” with the NYC Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings. Meet with OATH staff and get answers and more info about summonses and the City’s administrative hearing process. 

—

Voting for CEC members (at this link) closes Tuesday, 5/9! And the next CEC3 Calendar Meeting is Wednesday, 5/17, 6:30 pm. Register here.

—

For students and their families considering options for the fall or summer, useful events to know about:

• Thursday, 5/11, 5:30 – 7 pm, West Prep Academy (150 W. 105th St.): West Prep Garden Party. Fifth grade families in the district who are interested in attending in the fall can meet and learn more from the West Prep teachers, principal, assistant principal, current students, and parents. There will also be refreshments and West Prep swag!
• The Spring Transfer High School Fair will be held on Friday, 5/19 from 10 am–3:30 pm at Murray Hill Academy (111 E. 33rd St). Reps from over 40 high schools citywide with a wide range of specialties will be available to answer questions and help with enrollment. 
• Manhattan Comprehensive Night and Day High School, NYC's largest public transfer school, will be holding open houses at the school (240 2nd Ave) for students new to the country or looking for a new school for the summer semester. MCNDHS offers extensive programs for English language learners, ICT classes for students with IEPs, and night classes. Open houses for the summer session: May 23, 25, or 30 at 5:30 pm; June 1, 6, 8, 13, 15, 20, or 22 at 5:30 pm.

—

New York City Dept. of Environmental Protection, the South Street Seaport Museum, and the Catskill Watershed Corporation invites educators to set sail for a free professional learning opportunity on the Schooner Pioneer on Wednesday 5/17, Friday 5/19, and Wednesday 6/14 from 4:30 – 6 pm. Educators will learn about the history of New York Harbor, local ecology, watershed protection, water quality, and connections to the NYC water supply system during this hands-on, 90-minute sail. NYS teachers are eligible to earn CTLE hours for participating. Register here: Harbor Water Sail.

—

D.A. Bragg’s office is accepting applications for its Gun Violence Prevention Initiative this summer, including for possible programs in the Upper West Side’s 24th Precinct. The office will award $20,000 microgrants for up to ten local organizations who specifically focus on gun violence prevention and who can demonstrate the ability to identify and successfully engage young people at risk of gun violence in these focus areas: the 23rd, 25th, 28th and 32nd precincts in Harlem; the 34th precinct in Washington Heights/Inwood; PSA 6 in the 24th (Upper West Side) and 26th (West Harlem) precincts; and PSA 4 which includes the 5th, 7th and 9th precincts on the Lower East Side. More at the link. 

—

Applications are open until 6/30 for the Ryan Hudak LGBTQ+ Playwright Award, a $10,000 cash grant awarded to a New York State-based playwright. Ryan Hudak, a gay playwright, theater maker, filmmaker, and a valued member of the NY Foundation for the Arts (NYFA); he passed away in May 2022 after a long battle with leukemia. View the application guidelines page here or download a PDF version here. Here’s the FAQ page. 

–

NYFA also administers the Rauschenberg Medical Emergency Grants (funded by the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation) a national program which provides one-time grants of up to $5,000 for recent unexpected medical, dental, and mental health emergencies to U.S. artists in financial need who are practicing in the visual arts, film/video, electronic/digital arts, and choreography. Grants may be requested for expenses already paid, pending, or for treatment the artist is putting off due to lack of funds for emergencies occurring since 9/1/22. Applications for grants in the current cycle close at 5 pm on 5/19.

—

The DSNY Special Waste Drop-Off Sites are where NYC residents can drop off harmful products. Open 10 am–5 pm every Saturday and the last Friday of the month. In Manhattan: 74 Pike Slip between Cherry Street and South Street, under the Manhattan Bridge. DSNY also brings Solvents, Automotive, Flammables, and Electronics (SAFE) Disposal events to neighborhoods every spring and fall where NYC residents—no commercial vehicles—can drop off chemical products, medical waste, and electronics. The next SAFE event in Manhattan is Sunday, 6/11, 10 am–4 pm Columbia University/Teachers College W. 120th St (between Broadway & Amsterdam); vehicle entrance accessible from Seminary Row to Amsterdam. Pedestrian walk-in area also available. 

JOBS & INTERNSHIPS 

Earth Matter NY is now accepting applications for their Zero Waste Internship (ages 16–18 or 18+ years) on Governors Island. Get hands-on, practical skills related to composting, processing organics, waste audits, vendor relations, outreach, and education. Deadline to apply is 5/15 for their Spring cohort. Learn more and apply at the links. 

—

The Partnership for Public Service sponsors the Future Leaders in Public Service Internship Program which helps bring diverse young talent to government and offers students the opportunity to apply their educational training to work at a federal agency. The program is actively recruiting its fall 2023 cohort to join the National Science Foundation and the Small Business Administration as paid interns—which this year includes a public interest technology track. Undergraduate, graduate and professional students from across all academic disciplines are welcome to apply. Fully remote and in-person opportunities are available. Applications are due by 6/2.

Events. (New since Monday!)

Don’t forget that Jane’s Walks are this weekend—honoring Jane Jacobs—and the weather forecast looks decent. There are 165+ individual walks citywide and there’s got to be one that will appeal to you. Here’s a few for the Upper West Side: 

• Creatives (Including You) on the UWS (Friday 5/4, 11 am)
• Heroic Monuments of Riverside Drive: Joan of Arc to Grant’s Tomb (Saturday 5/6, 1 pm)
• Are Playgrounds Good For Play?: Notes from Central Park (Sunday 5/7, 11 am)
• And the virtual, on-demand A Civil Rights Tour of the Upper West Side.

— 

Upcoming shows at the Battery Park Conservancy’s Sundays at Showbox: 

• May 7: Wonderspark Puppets, 10:30 am & 1:30 pm
• May 14: Laura Angel Family Dance Party, 10:30 am NYC Kids Project, 1:30pm
• May 21: Third Street Music School, 10:30am & 1:30pm
• May 28: Puppetsberg, 10:30 am & 1:30 pm 

Battery Playscape is in The Battery (State St. & Peter Minuit Plaza); Enter the park across from 17 State St. Directions to this location.

—

Tuesday, 5/9, 6 pm, Roosevelt House (47-49 E 65th Street): Free screening of Ghost Mountain: The Second Killing Fields of Cambodia, the story of Bunseng Taing, a Cambodian refugee who made his way to Connecticut in 1980 after surviving both the Killing Fields and the second horror never before documented. He was among 45,000 refugees who managed to escape to what they believed was safety in Thailand, only to be forced back over the Cambodian border in an area heavily infested with landmines. Screening followed by a panel discussion and reception; RSVP at the link. 

—
Tuesday, 5/9, 5:30 pm, in Bryant Park (42nd St midway between 5th and 6th Avenues): May is Jewish American Heritage Month and I’m proud to partner with the Manhattan Jewish Historical Initiative and Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine to co-host the MJHI Hall of Fame 2023 Induction Ceremony. This year’s honorees are Rabbi Marc D. Angel; Cheryl Fishbein; Hon. Richard Gottfried; Dr. Richard Haass; Harold Holzer; Patti Askwith Kenner; Debra Messing; Dr. Irwin Redlener; Bill Ritter; and Kent M. Swig.

—
Beginning Wednesday 5/10 (through 5/13) is PEN America’s World Voices Festival (founded in 2004 by Salman Rushdie, Michael Roberts, and Esther Allen, PEN America’s celebration of international literature and writers). See the full schedule of talks and panels. Not free. 
—

Wednesday, 5/10,  6:30 – 7:30 pm, New-York Historical Society (170 Central Park West): A World of Survivance: How Native American History Reanimates the American Past. Harvard historian Philip J. Deloria will consider some of those Native moments in American history, suggesting that they have much to teach us not only about the American past, but about the value of an Indigenous stance on a troubled present and future. Free tickets for 6th Council District residents at the link using discount code D623. 

—
Thursday, 5/11, 10-2 pm, Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan (334 Amsterdam @76th St): Wellness Fair with free health screenings—glucose, cholesterol, blood pressure, and auditory tests—from our partners at Mount Sinai. Their Geriatrician team will be on hand to ‘Ask the Doctor’ and their Mobile Mammogram Van will be on site. Get a balance analysis and learn about the Living Well Together initiative. Receive technical assistance on your devices from Adaptive Technology (AT) Help and discover offerings from an array of agencies including the NYC Dept for the Aging, Dept of Social Services, Search and Care, DOROT, and The Apsley by Sunrise. To pre-register, call 844-396-2666 or email wechslercenter@mmjccm.org.

—

Saturday, 5/13, 10 am – 12 noon, PS 145 (150 W. 105th St.): The District 3 Community is invited to the CEC3 D3 Pancake Breakfast. All are welcome. 

—

Wednesday, 5/17, 3 pm, virtual: Consumer Debt webinar sponsored by Housing Court Answers. Sidney Cherubin from Access Justice Brooklyn will explain the debt collection process and related state and federal consumer protections—and the income that’s exempt from collection, should a creditor obtain a judgment.

—

Saturday, 5/20, 11 am– 2pm, The Seaport (Pier 16-17), 89 South St: Mental Health Street Fest and 17th Annual NAMIWalks NYC at the Seaport sponsored by the NYC branch of National Alliance on Mental Illness.

—

Sunday 5/21, 2 – 4 pm, Ellington monument (5th Ave and 110th St.): The Duke Ellington Center for the Arts and the American Tap Dance Foundation celebrate the 124th Birthday of Duke Ellington with the Duke Ellington Center Big Band under the direction of Eli Yamin, with jazz vocalists Antoinette Montague, Marion Cowings, & Ty Stephens, Tony Waag, Mark Mindek, Sharon K. Janda, and A. C. Lincoln. 

—

Thursday, 5/25, 6–8 pm, International Center of Photography (79 Essex St between Delancey Street and Broome): Screening of “Harry Benson:  Shoot First,” the film chronicling the photographer’s career, followed by a book signing and audience Q&A with Benson. On Thursday evenings, admission is pay-by-donation with $5 minimum; reserve your timed entry ticket online. 

—

Lincoln Center’s Young Artist Pipeline is a new, free arts training program starting this fall for middle school students interested in developing their craft in dance, instrumental, vocal, theatre and visual arts and learning more about the academic and professional arts worlds. Prior experience in the arts is not necessary. Learn more and register at the link for these open houses in person and virtually:

• Tuesday, May 23, 6:00–7:30 pm (Rose Building, 165 W 65th St, 7th floor)
• Thursday, May 25, 6:30–8:00 pm (Virtual)
• Thursday, June 8, 6:00–7:30 pm (Rose Building, 165 W 65th St, 7th floor) 

(Quirk of the Week will return this summer!)