NYCLASS NAMES FIRST ENDORSEMENTS IN MANHATTAN

Manhattan City Council Hopefuls Receive NYCLASS Backing for Their Stances on Animal Issues

(New York, NY) – Today, New Yorkers for Clean Livable And Safe Streets (NYCLASS) announced its first list of endorsements in the Manhattan City Council races. This is the animal advocacy organization’s first public statement regarding their support of City Council candidates after interviewing candidates in May.

“NYCLASS proudly endorses this extraordinary group of horse hero candidates running for City Council in Manhattan,” Allie Feldman, Executive Director of NYCLASS said. “These candidates have pledged to stand with us as we continue to advocate for intro 86A, legislation that would replace the abused carriage horses with vintage electric cars. Protecting New York City’s animals is our number one priority, we look forward to working closely with all of these candidates during their campaigns and throughout their term as Council Members.”

Manhattan City Council Races

District 1: Council Member Margaret Chin

District 2: Council Member Rosie Mendez

District 3: Yetta Kurland

District 4: Council Member Daniel Garodnick

District 5: Micah Kellner

District 6: Helen Rosenthal

District 7: Mark Levine

District 8: Council Member Melissa Mark-Viverito

District 9: Council Member Inez Dickens

District 10: Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez

This article was published on the NY1 new site on June 13, 2013. For the original piece please CLICK HERE 

The Rent Guidelines Board held another public meeting Thursday as it prepares to vote on rent increases for the city's 1 million regulated apartments.

The board is considering a hike of between 3.25 percent and 6.25 percent on one-year leases for rent-stabilized apartments.

Two-year leases could go up between 5 percent and 9.5 percent.

Thursday's meeting brought out landlords who said they need the increase and tenants who maintained that New Yorkers cannot handle another hike.

"I'm here today to testify for a zero rent increase," said Helen Rosenthal of Community Board 7. "If we don't move forward in a way that stabilizes the middle-income families and working people, this city is truly going to become either for the rich or the very, very poorest."

"The increasing rate of property taxes and water on especially the small landlords, it's overwhelming us, it's crushing us. And I'm here to ask for a really fair increase this year and not the pittance in which they usually give us," said Constance Nugent-Miller, a landlord.

The board is expected to make its final vote next Thursday at Cooper Union.

June 11, 2013 ***For Immediate Release***

NOW-NYC Endorses Helen Rosenthal, Candidate For NY City Council

Today I’m honored to receive the endorsement of the New York City Chapter of the National Organization for Women (NOW-NYC).

As mothers and sisters and daughters, we know that women are the glue to any family and often the glue for their communities as well. When women’s lives are secure, their children are more likely to succeed in school and communities are more likely to thrive. When a child’s life is cut short by a bullet, it’s the mothers who organize to get guns off the streets. When a drunk driver kills someone, it’s the mothers who organize to get them off the road. When communities have been lost to drugs, it’s the mothers who organize to get dealers off the corners.

Government’s job is to ease the burden for these women whether it’s by ensuring equal pay or paid sick days. As the debate continues in Albany to ensure equal pay and access for all New Yorkers, Our City must continue to serve as an example of government focused on affording women every right and protecting them from domestic violence and sex trafficking. Our City must support women who need access to reproductive health care, including abortions—and protect them from unscrupulous “crises pregnancy centers.” I look forward to working side by side with NOW-NYC and my colleagues in the City Council as a fierce advocate for women and the issues they care about.

- Helen Rosenthal, Chair of ParentJobNet and City Council Candidate for the 6th District (Manhattan)

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"For over 25 years - from her days working in City Hall to her public service on Community Board 7, Helen Rosenthal has always spoken out on the issues important to women across New York," said Sonia Ossario, Executive Director of the the NYC branch of National Organization for Women. "Whether it's advocating for paid sick leave legislation in the City Council, increasing access to reproductive and family planning services for women, helping single mothers find jobs, or pushing to expand mentoring services that re-integrate recently incarcerated women into society, Helen has worked tirelessly to improve life for women and families throughout New York. That's why we're confident she will be a powerful ally for women in the City Council, and will do everything in our power to send her to City Hall on Election Day."

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NOW-NYC joins a number of other notable supporters including: New York State Senator Liz Krueger, NYS Assemblywoman Deborah Glick, Former Councilwoman Ronnie Eldridge (District Six), NOW NYS President Zenaida Mendez, Activist Sarah Kovner, Kate Michelman (President NARAL Pro Choice America, 1985-2004) and Feminist Activist Gloria Steinem.

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May 21^st, 2013

***For Immediate Release***

***Press Release***

Helen Rosenthal, Candidate For NY City Council, Calls on Trinity to End Demand for Massive Rent Hike; Move Forward on Tenant–Led Sale of Trinity House

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I strongly urge the Trinity School and DHCR to move forward with the Trinity House Tenants Association proposal for a tenant-led buy-out.  I’ve worked with the Trinity House tenants since 2007 on a variety of efforts to preserve quality, affordable housing, and it is clear that the best solution for all parties is continuing and finalizing the sale of Trinity House to the tenants. Unfortunately, Trinity School suddenly ended this negotiation as it neared completion.

We have no choice but to focus on the sale, because the proposed Trinity rent increase - which is the purpose of today’s hearing - is so riddled with mistakes, misinformation padding and errors that it is impossible to fairly evaluate.

One example is the many vacant apartments that artificially skew the amount needed for the rent increase, unnecessarily high.  The current “vacancy loss” creates a fictional burden on the building’s costs in order to satisfy a “supposed” lending requirement. Either the School should get Amalgamated Bank to agree to a lower vacancy loss percentage, or the School should find another lender (possibly, HDC) that would finance needed work to get these apartments back into usage.

For years, Trinity School has argued that it does not want to be in the housing business.  Sale of Trinity House to the tenants would achieve that goal.  In addition, this sale makes good sense from a public policy perspective. Trinity House is the last remaining Mitchell-Lama rental on the West Side. New York City has a lofty goal for number of affordable housing units to maintain or build and the 139 or 160 units available in Trinity House go a long way towards meeting that goal. 

With all of these factors, including the misleading “justification” for the rent hike and the fact that a tenant buyout is in the best interest of the community, residents and our city, I call on Trinity School to stop this proposed rent hike immediately.

- Helen Rosenthal, Chair of ParentJobNet and City Council Candidate for the 6th District (Manhattan)

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This article was published in the April 15, 2013 edition of the Columbia Spectator. CLICK HERE to see the original article.

In the competitive races to represent the Upper West Side and West Harlem in the City Council, candidates from districts 6 and 7 vied for a potential endorsement by the Broadway Democrats at a forum Thursday.

The forum, held around the corner from Columbia at the Bank Street College of Education, attracted a large turnout of club members, who will vote to endorse a candidate on May 9. Mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio attended as well, contributing a broader citywide perspective.

District 6 candidate Helen Rosenthal said that she was happy to have so many people present.

“I was so excited to see a big crowd because I am interested in instituting participatory budgeting, and I think political clubs are helpful for getting the word out about participatory democracy,” Rosenthal said.

February 5^th, 2013

***For Immediate Release***

***Press Release***

Helen Rosenthal, Candidate For NY City Council, Stands With Parents, Bus Drivers and Elected Officials To Demand An End To The Bus Strike Now

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“I'm proud to stand with the workers of Amalgamated Transit Union1181 in support of safer transportation for all kids in our public schools.  The Mayor’s refusal to negotiate in good faith with the union and his ongoing efforts to strip quality, experienced bus drivers of their job protections does not serve our city, our schools or our children fairly.  Every parent knows the silent fear we feel the first time we let our kids leave our sides to go to school.  Having experienced, skilled drivers that we can trust with our children’s safety is not something that should ever be taken out of our reach, especially by a Mayor who seems more interested in scoring political points in his ongoing battles against public sector unions than he is with providing safe, quality transportation for our kids.  While resources may be tight, the answer to making sure we have a yellow bus system that we can afford will only be found when they Mayor is willing to sit down with the union and negotiate in good faith for a system that is efficient, affordable and fair. That is what ATU workers have been asking for since the beginning. That is what parents across the city are demanding now. The Mayor should be committing the full force of his office to seeing that it happens

-   Helen Rosenthal, Chair of ParentJobNet and city council candidate for the 6th District (Manhattan)

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This article was published in the January 18, 2012 edition of the West Side Spirit. Click here to see the original article.

By Megan Finnegan Bungeroth

If Helen Rosenthal wins the City Council seat she’s vying for next fall, we may be seeing a lot more graphs in city government.

“My family teases me because I do think in charts,” Rosenthal said in a recent interview at one of her regular Upper West Side spots, Café 82. “I definitely am a data-driven person, but if you can lay out the data without preconceptions, it will bring you to where you need to go. It is what it is. You can’t muck with it.”

Rosenthal, who has lived on the Upper West Side for over 20 years, is hoping to represent her home district in the City Council following the 2013 election to replace Gale Brewer, who is term-limited. With a background of using numbers and statistics to make crucial policy decisions, Rosenthal hopes to bring practicality and real analysis to the Council along with her infectious enthusiasm for addressing local issues.

Published by the office of Councilmember Robert Jackson on Wednesday, January 23rd, 2013. Below is a short excerpt, please click the "read more" link at the bottom of the page for the full press release.

January 23, 2013
***For Immediate Release***
***Press Release***

Councilmember Robert Jackson, Members of the City Council Education Committee, Advocates and Parents demand that the Mayor reach a deal with Unions to help save children’s education

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New York, NY- Councilmember Jackson was joined by his colleagues on the Education Committee Councilmembers Dromm, Chin, Gonzalez, Mark-Viverito, Williams, Crowley, Comrie, UFT and ATU representatives, Local 1181 members, parents and advocates at the steps of City Hall to denounce the City’s inability to negotiate agreements with unions UFT and ATU Local 1181. They demanded that talks begin and end with agreements that would place students’ needs ahead of individual differences. Many spoke and gave testimony on how the lack of negotiations is taking a negative toll on students, parents and workers.

Statement from Helen Rosenthal:

"I'm proud to stand with the workers of Amalgamated Transit Union1181 today because like so many others gathered here I recognize that the shortfalls in properly providing for the safety of our children's transportation is not due to the common sense worker protections ATU workers are asking to have extended but rather the mismanagement and archaic system that our yellow buses routes are based on. Developing a solution to this problem cannot be reached by stripping workers of their rights, or putting our children at risk with untrained drivers. The answer to making sure we have a yellow bus system that we can pay for has to come from both management and the union working together to take a critical look at the issues behind how the service is being delivered and creating ways to make it more efficient and affordable. That is what ATU workers have been asking for since last Wednesday and the Mayor should be committing the full force of his office to seeing that it happens,” said Helen Rosenthal, Chair of ParentJobNet.

Published by TRANSIT FORWARD on Monday, October 22, 2012. Below is a short excerpt, please click here for the full press release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

New York, NY.  October 22, 2012--- A number of grass roots community groups have formed a coalition called ‘Transit Forward.  The coalition represents both riders and workers of the New York City Transit Authority, many of who are disproportionately impacted by the upcoming proposed fare increases.

In response to the four proposed plans for fare increases put forward by the MTA, Transit Forward has called on the MTA to first renegotiate over $100 million of fees it is paying to banks before raising fares.

Statement from Helen Rosenthal 

"Fare hikes have a disproportionate impact on middle class and working families who depend on public transportation to get to work or school every day.  Fare hikes are a regressive tax that should be last on the list of options for the MTA.  First on it's list should be renegotiating interest rate swaps agreements with banks--where there is a potential $100 million sitting on the table" said Helen Rosenthal, Co-organizer Public Transit for All (with Goddard Riverside Community Center) and City Council Candidate in the 6th District.

Posted by NYS Senate on Wednesday, July 25th, 2012. Below is a short excerpt, please click here for the full press release 

New York, NY—Riders, elected officials, community groups, and TWU Local 100 gathered for a press conference at 12noon on Tuesday, July 24th, 2012, on the steps of City Hall. The coalition announced their formation of a new campaign—Bring Back Our Buses and Subways—to pressure the MTA to restore all transit services that were cut in 2010.

Since 2010, members of the coalition have been collecting thousands of signatures demanding the restoration of these transit cuts, which included the reduction or elimination of 36 bus routes, 570 bus stops, over 100 station booths, two subway lines, and two contracts with Access-A-Ride operators. These service cuts especially impacted our city’s most vulnerable — our students, our elderly, and our disabled.

On July 19th, the MTA released its plan to spend $29 million to restore some of its 2010 service cuts. The Bring Back Our Buses and Subways campaign insists that all, not just some, of the transit cuts must be restored.

STATEMENT FROM THE CAMPAIGN 

Helen Rosenthal, Upper West Side community activist: “The addition of a new bus route connecting several communities on Manhattan's West Side is a huge win for the thousands of New Yorkers who live and work in our City; however, it does not replace the loss of MTA customer representatives and booths from subway stations. The public support for the MTA's announced restorations speaks strongly to successful organizing by community leaders throughout the City, seeking to push for improvements in service, safety and accessibility. With this momentum at our backs, it's important that now more than ever, we continue to push for additional investments in our public transit.”