Manhattan

Scott M. Stringer

Borough President

annual report 2010

Dear Friends: I am proud to present this annual report, which details the work my office has done in 2010 to make New York City safer, healthier and more equitable for all of us who live here. It was a productive and prolific year for the office. In the pages that follow, our accomplishments are organized into seven categories, from food justice and sustainability to education and family. I hope you will take a few moments to read about our work, which includes efforts to protect neighborhoods, relieve overcrowding in our schools, safeguard affordable housing, increase access to healthy local food, advocate for the rights of underrepresented communities, and so much more. We have been able to make such progress because of the help and encouragement of people throughout the city, and I want to thank every one of you for your hard work. The results have been tremendous, but of course the work is not finished. I look forward to your continued collaboration, which will be critical in the year ahead. Sincerely,

Scott M. Stringer Manhattan Borough President

Office of the Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer Annual Report 2010

Food Justice and Sustainability

Go Green in Action - Opening the State-of-the-Art East Harlem Asthma Center

In 2010, the Borough Presidents Go Green Initiative continued to grow by leaps and bounds, culminating in August with an announcement by Borough President Stringer, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Senator Jose M. Serrano and Health Commissioner Thomas Farley on the opening of a new state-of-the-art asthma center in East Harlem. The center is free for all East Harlem residents and aims to reduce childhood asthma hospitalizations by 50 percent in five years. In 2010 we collaborated with the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to expand Youth Bucks, a program that helps children between the ages of six and 17 make healthy food choices by subsidizing visits to the farmers market. Thus far, over 2,000 youths have participated. Local Go Green chapters hosted Earth Day events throughout the borough, with Go Green Washington Heights/Inwood organizing a highly successful Earth Week Extravaganza event and Go Green East Harlem hosting the Nourishing Kitchens East Harlem Green Festival. New initiatives and events are currently being planned for 2011 by Go Green chapters in East Harlem, Washington Heights/ Inwood and the Lower East Side.

Photo by Amy Smith

Photo by Audrey Gelman

Kill the Drill to Protect New York Citys Drinking Water

The Borough President is committed to protecting New York Citys unfiltered drinking water supply from hydraulic fracturing. Borough President Stringer led the charge in 2009 by forming the Kill the Drill campaign to urge the State to ban drilling in the Catskill/Delaware watershed region. Borough President Stringer continued his advocacy in 2010 by urging the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) to schedule an official public hearing on its forthcoming study of hydraulic fracturing and submitted formal testimony urging the EPA to consider the exceptional nature of New York Citys unfiltered water supply and carefully study whether distinct measures to protect the Catskill/Delaware watershed are merited. During the summer, the Borough President along with a coalition of advocates and elected officials, called for passing legislation that would impose a moratorium on drilling in the watershed. The State has since passed legislation that was signed into law imposing a moratorium on the issuance of new drilling permits in New York State until May 2011. In December, Borough President Stringer co-sponsored a forum and panel discussion at John Jay College to discuss the health implications of hydraulic fracturing on local communities. Key decisions on hydraulic fracturing will be made by the State in 2011, and the Borough President will continue to fight tirelessly to protect the integrity of New York Citys unfiltered drinking water supply.

Food NYC - Linking Neighborhoods and Farms

In February, Borough President Stringer released FoodNYC: A Blueprint for a Sustainable Food System. The report came out of the NYC Food & Climate Summit held at New York University in December 2009 in partnership with the nonprofit Just Food. It is a blueprint for how to make New York City more sustainable from policies regarding production to distribution to consumption to disposal of food. We set forth a vision for connecting upstate farmers to exploding local demand, for growing our economy by investing in food distribution and production, for procuring locally grown food to feed our school children, as well as many other ideas for making our city more sustainable. In December, the Borough President partnered with the Manhattan Solid Waste Advisory Board and Citizens Committee for New York City to promote neighborhood composting. Through a new community-scale grant program, we will expand composting projects in Manhattan. The Borough President is also looking into ways to improve operating conditions for farmers markets in underserved communities and remains committed to ensuring that all people who call New York City home will have a healthy and environmentally sustainable future.

Opening Up the Waterfront

In 2009, with the help of Assemblymember Brian Kavanagh, Community Boards 3 and 6, and the Lower East Side Ecology Center, the Borough President secured a $650,000 State grant for a project called the East River Blueway to re-connect residents of Midtown and Lower Manhattan to a three-mile stretch of East River waterfront. Now that vision is becoming a reality. A working group comprised of elected officials, city agencies and community stakeholders was formed in June 2010 and a community visioning process will get underway in summer 2011 to discuss plans to address riverfront obstructions, and create parks, docks, pools, and education programs for the East River waterfront.
Food Justice and Sustainability

Office of the Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer Annual Report 2010

Education & Family

Strengthening Our Schools With Smart Planning and Meaningful Dialogue

Throughout 2010 Borough President Stringer built on his strong record of working to improve outcomes for New York City public school students, increase meaningful opportunities for families to engage in their childrens education, and encourage transparent and proactive planning at the New York City Department of Education (DOE). At the years start, the Borough President quickly responded to DOE proposals to shut down 19 schools citywide. He signed onto a lawsuit with the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) and NAACP that argued the DOE had failed to properly engage school communities as outlined in the reauthorized school governance law or sufficiently analyze the impact of closings on students and schools. The case resonated deeply with school communities and education advocates; in July the New York State Court of Appeals upheld a lower courts ruling that the DOE violated the law in closing those 19 schools. The courts ordered the DOE to re-conduct the school closing process, this time in compliance with school governance law. This spring Borough President Stringer released a catalogue of firsthand testimonials from Manhattan elementary and middle schools showing that more than four out of 10 were negatively impacted by haphazard DOE planning. Of 85 schools identified, 41 suffered from overcrowding, 28 from substandard facilities, and 16 from poorly conceived and
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executed DOE co-location and re-siting proposals. The Borough President sent this catalogue to Chancellor Klein and urged the DOE to engage communities earlier in its process when proposing changes to a schools space and conduct more substantive assessments of the impact of changes on students. By implementing these recommendations, the DOE would be able to reduce the prevalence of school space issues affecting our borough. Over the summer the Borough President advocated for atrisk students and their families after the New York State Education Department announced it had recalibrated Math and English Language Arts exams, which rendered more than one hundred thousand New York City public school students in grades 3 8 suddenly below the bar of proficiency and in need of Academic Intervention Services. He urged the Board of Regents to ensure that the DOE provide mandated tutoring services to students in greatest academic need, and called on the DOE to notify families directly of students exam results so they could obtain proper academic supports for their children in a timely manner. Recently, the DOE, UFT and City Council announced a program to further help students who did not meet the standards of last years English and math exams. The DOE will direct an additional $10 million to 532 schools where more than twothirds of students performed below grade level on New York States proficiency tests.

Photo by Audrey Gelman

Green Roofs - An Eco-Friendly Future

Through the Manhattan Borough Presidents capital program, the office has been able to work with schools across the borough to bring innovative and sustainable projects to public school rooftops. Since taking office, the Borough President has funded 10 green roof projects and two greenhouses, which are in various stages of development. These projects range from feasibility studies, to green roofs, to an aquaponic installation for breeding tilapia fish on top of Food & Finance High School. Green rooftops at PS 6 and PS 41 are underway and will open next year. Currently, Borough President Stringer is partnering with CUNY to install one of the largest solar panel arrays in New York on the roof of the Borough of Manhattan Community College. In December, the Borough President hosted a forum entitled Educational Green Roofs for Public Schools at PS 41. The symposium included two panel discussions focused on the planning, development, curricular tie-ins, costs and maintenance of establishing educational green roofs. The panels were comprised of parents, teachers, city agencies and students who offered insight on the process of launching green roof projects.
Photo by William Alatriste

This fall Borough President Stringer worked with the DOE to improve Chancellors Regulations A-190, which guide DOE actions around significant changes it proposes for schools. In particular, the Borough President called for the inclusion of language that would protect special needs children who are part of District 75, which serves the school systems most vulnerable students and their families. Finally, in December Borough President Stringer launched Your School, Your Voice, a virtual town hall aimed at laying a foundation for revitalizing and strengthening conversations between school communities and the DOE. Your School, Your Voice asks parents, guardians, students, teachers, principals, and other concerned New York City residents to share their thoughts on which issues that new DOE leadership should focus on over the next three years. Over the course of three weeks, 1,046 parents, teachers and principals participated and shared their opinions in the virtual Town Hall. The results were clear: participants ranked their top three priorities as class size, budget cuts/teacher layoffs, and overcrowding (classrooms, schools and buildings). By highlighting these important views at a time when new leadership is taking over the DOE, we can begin a new, constructive dialogue about our schools.

Training Tomorrows Leaders Today

For the third year in a row, Borough President Stringer announced the students selected for the Civic Leaders of Tomorrow Public Policy Fellowship Program. The program is designed to promote future leaders in public policy and advocacy by placing students at not-for-profit and communitybased organizations in underserved areas of Manhattan. The goal of Civic Leaders of Tomorrow is to bring together a pool of civic-minded young people and help them become the next generation of leaders. The students are provided with programs, services and activities that promote professional growth and strong leadership skills, including both field work and seminars that will help them synthesize their experience in the field with policy and advocacy theory and strategy.

More Playgrounds, Healthier Kids

More than one in four New Yorkers under 18 are now obese, and that number continues to grow. With this in mind, the Borough President contributed funding for the renovation of seven playgrounds in schools and parks in East Harlem, the Upper West Side, Chelsea, Inwood, the Lower East Side and Central Harlem. These new playgrounds will help build a happier, healthier community around the borough. The Borough President is proud to contribute to efforts that strengthens our kids and enhances our neighborhoods.

Education & Family

Office of the Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer Annual Report 2010

Infrastructure & Public Safety

Respect the Lane Clear the Path

After receiving numerous constituent complaints from motorists, pedestrians and bicyclists, Borough President Stringer initiated an unprecedented study on bike lane usage in our borough. Data was collected at 11 Manhattan bike lane locations during morning and evening rush hours and showed more than 1,700 violations in three days alone. The most common infractions included motor vehicle obstruction, pedestrians blocking the lanes and cyclists going in the wrong direction. The Borough President is a strong supporter of bike lanes, however the verdict was clear: while bike lanes bring a tremendous benefit to New York City, misuse by all parties - motorists, pedestrians and cyclists - undermines their success. With the support of Assemblymember Brian Kavanagh, Transportation Alternatives, and community residents, the Borough President released Respect the Lane/Clear the Path. The report recommended that the citys Department of Transportation (DOT) increase enforcement against motorists who obstruct these important pathways, enhance street signage, create a taxi cab public awareness campaign on dooring a dangerous practice where passengers open car doors without looking for approaching cyclists and regularly survey bike lane safety. Additionally, significant concerns about New Yorks new bike lanes have been raised by people with disabilities and their advocates. The Borough President has urged that the City begin a dialogue immediately with this community. The DOT has taken steps to educate the public on new bike lanes and is reviewing additional enforcement measures, however there is much more to be done. The Borough President remains committed to increasing the efficiency of New York Citys bike lane network.

Photo by Audrey Gelman

Photo Courtesy of John Jay College

Saving Student MetroCards

In June, an agreement was reached by the MTA and the State Legislature to fund Student MetroCards, a program that provides free or reduced school transportation for over half a million City children each day. The Borough Presidents advocacy for restoring this program started in December 2009 when the MTA considered cutting the vital initiative. In response, Borough President Stringer organized a rally of concerned parents and collected more than 16,000 signatures through an online petition protesting this cut. While this hard fought victory was a relief to parents and students across the City, the daunting financial challenges facing the MTA are not over, and we must not allow the State and the MTA to hold our students hostage in their negotiations.

Crime Summit Safe Neighborhoods

Borough President Stringer, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., and Jeremy Travis, President of John Jay College, hosted Communities & Justice: Partnerships & Challenges for the 21st Century, a two-day criminal justice symposium in July at John Jay College. This conference marked the first time that a broad coalition of elected and law enforcement officials have come together with community and academic experts in New York City to address national trends in prosecution, crime prevention, and criminal justice strategies. Featured keynote remarks came from Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, and Newark Police Director Garry McCarthy. The Borough President is actively working to launch new and innovative programs aimed at keeping our neighborhoods safe for all residents. Another summit is being planned for this summer.

Getting the 2nd Avenue Subway on Track

Last September, the Borough President formally requested an investigation by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Inspector General into cost overruns and time delays resulting from the construction of the Second Avenue Subway. In response to this request, a preliminary report was released by the MTAs Inspector General in August revealing more than $250 million in cost overruns caused by contract repackaging, real estate acquisitions and the relocation of public utilities. Upon learning about this staggering figure, the Borough President called for the establishment of a centralized construction control hub for the project, modeled after the Lower Manhattan Construction Command Center, to streamline construction management and enhance communication with the public. In December, the Borough President along with Congress Member Carolyn Maloney and local elected officials, convened a meeting of Second Avenue business owners to discuss their concerns with key MTA Capital Construction personnel. Over 30 business owners and community stakeholders attended to hear the MTAs latest plans for improving street conditions and to suggest ways to improve accessibility and visibility for businesses. The Borough President has pledged to work with officials from Con Edison and the MTA to further support affected business owners.

Crackdown on Illegal Sidwalk ATMs

In 2009, Borough President Stringer released the report, Sidewalks Under Siege, which demanded a halt to an epidemic of ATMs on city sidewalks. A survey of Manhattans 12 Community Districts found over 258 rogue sidewalk ATMs. The report concluded that, unlike cash machines found in banks, these street machines are unregulated and lack safety features such as surveillance cameras, mirrors and proper lighting. Many were found to have been vandalized with graffiti and stickers, and the average charge for withdrawing funds is nearly 8 percent higher than at indoor ATMs surveyed. In November, the City Council passed legislation sponsored by Council Member Diana Reyna that would require sidewalk ATM operators to obtain City consent before installing the machines and mandate machines be clearly labeled with operator identity and contact information. The bill will also force operators to install adequate lighting, video surveillance and mirrors to protect customers.

Infrastructure & Public Safety

Office of the Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer Annual Report 2010

Economy & Small Business

Bank on Manhattan - A Financial Lifeline for New York Families

In July, the Borough President officially launched Bank On Manhattan, a program the office had been developing for almost a year aimed at helping New Yorkers hold onto more of the money they earn. The Bank On Manhattan initiative connects people without a bank account, known as the unbanked, to affordable mainstream financial services. By partnering with a broad and diverse coalition including the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the New York State Banking Department, Amalgamated Bank, Banco Popular, Chase, Citibank, CheckSpring Bank, East West Bank, Emigrant Savings Bank, TD Bank, Union Settlement Federal Credit Union, and numerous community groups, Bank On Manhattan aims to provide an alternative to costly check cashing services and to help people get started on a path to economic stability and success. In addition to the low-cost, safe checking account, Bank On Manhattan runs a financial education program that organizations can offer to clients or members. The Bank On Manhattan curriculum, developed by program partners specifically for unbanked audiences, covers basic skills such as saving, budgeting, and avoiding financial pitfalls. Bank On Manhattan has also launched an English website: www.bankonmanhattan. com, a Spanish website: www.cuentaconmanhattan.com, and a toll-free telephone number 1-877-646-2BANK, where New Yorkers can obtain more information on opening an account. In its first quarter of operation, Bank On Manhattan helped approximately 4,700 New Yorkers in lowincome neighborhoods open checking accounts and hosted over 25 financial education workshops that served more than 600 individuals.

Photo by Amy Smith

Jobs and Growth on the East River

Since the first plans for East River Plaza on the FDR Drive in East Harlem were introduced, the Borough President has fought for community-friendly policies, such as local hiring preferences and food stamp recognition. In July, he was proud to attend the grand opening of the plaza, confident that it would be an economic engine not just for the whole city but for the residents of East Harlem. To date, the project has created over 1,100 construction jobs and over 1,000 permanent retail jobs. Approximately 70 percent of the jobs created have gone to residents of Upper Manhattan. The development of this shopping center is an exciting achievement; it promotes economic revitalization and development, reroutes commercial traffic, creates jobs and expands access to household essentials.

A Shot in the Arm for Affected Nonprofits

Over the last year, Borough President Stringer initiated a series of workshops to address the needs of Manhattan nonprofit organizations affected by the recession. In the spring, the Borough President partnered with Baruch Colleges Center for Nonprofit Strategy and Management to host a training series aimed at helping nonprofits think strategically about their challenges and needs. At the final workshop, pro-bono consultants worked with each nonprofit to provide assistance in strategic planning and fundraising. In the summer, the Borough President hosted a capacity building workshop which taught nonprofits to use social media to expand their fundraising and marketing capabilities and a seminar for organizations interested in applying for city grants called Navigating the City Grant Process. At this seminar, the Charities Bureau, the Mayors Office of Contract Services, and the Conflicts of Interest Board presented on various topics to help nonprofits learn about city and state compliance requirements for requesting city funding. In addition, Borough President Stringer issues an ongoing series of grants newsletters that include funding opportunities for Manhattan nonprofits.

Whats Your Address?

The lack of visible street addresses poses both a potential public safety hazard and a possible loss of revenue to many types of businesses. With this in mind, Borough President Stringer decided to investigate whether or not Manhattan was complying with a City law that requires address be displayed. The office released a study in March 2010 which found that roughly four in 10 locations along 13 of the busiest corridors in Manhattan do not display their addresses. Some of the worst violators were found along East 42nd Street and Columbus Avenue, with over 50 percent of buildings lacking visible addresses. In all, the survey looked at 1,837 locations, finding 729 or 39.7 percent of surveyed locations unmarked. The 13 street corridors included in the study cover all parts of the borough, from 181st Street in Northern Manhattan to Cedar Street in the Financial District. Borough President Stringer proposed that the Department of Sanitation be given enforcement powers for buildings that do not have their numbers labeled externally. The office will continue its work towards ensuring that all buildings comply with this requirement.

A Boost for Arts and Culture

As a representative of the borough with arguably the most vibrant and diverse arts and cultural offerings in the world, the Borough President has always taken seriously his responsibility to support cultural organizations that not only feed the soul of Manhattan but also significantly contribute to the citys economy. This year, Borough President Stringer is proud to have allocated over $11 million to support 30 capital projects for small and large cultural organizations in every corner of the borough.

Economy & Small Business

Office of the Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer Annual Report 2010

Affordable Housing & Neighborhood Preservation

Borough President Stringer, Congressmember Carolyn Maloney, Councilmember Daniel Garodnick, and Assemblymember Brian Kavanagh rally with the Stuyvesant Town/Peter Cooper Village Tenants Association.

Justice for Tenants

In one of the most far-reaching court decisions in New York Citys history - one that could potentially benefit thousands of tenants in rent-regulated apartments - a Federal District Court Judge ruled in May to allow tenants from over 420 apartment buildings owned by the Pinnacle Group LLC to seek damages in a class-action suit. The case alleges that the Pinnacle group imposed fraudulently inflated rents, failed to make needed repairs and groundlessly harassed tenants out of rent-regulated apartments throughout New York City. The lawsuit additionally charges that the Pinnacle Groups conduct violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). The Borough President has been a staunch supporter of the plaintiffs since they initially filed in 2007 and has partnered with the plaintiffs and Buyers and Renters United to Save Harlem (BRUSH) to organize potential litigants. Shortly after the decision, Borough President Stringer held a Class Action Classroom with BRUSH that informed over 400 tenants of their rights and discussed issues pertinent to the lawsuit. The Borough President continues to refer plaintiffs to the class action lawsuit and is committed to seeing justice enacted for these tenants.

NYU Development - A Community Gets Involved

In March, the Community Task Force on NYU Development, chaired by Borough President Stringer, released a report that outlined a set of priorities for the proposed expansion of New York University (NYU). The Task Force sought to engage the community and NYU around its campus planning process and to work with the University on developing a strategy that addresses NYUs needs while also taking into account community concerns. The reports recommendations are the result of more than 50 meetings in 40 months in which stakeholders met with NYU to outline their concerns and priorities. The report offers specific proposals urging NYU to explore alternatives to development on the open spaces along Mercer and LaGuardia Streets, improve amenities for the local community, promote initiatives to advance sustainability, and identify remote locations for certain facilities. Top concerns identified by the Task Force are the concentration of the proposed expansion campus core area and the need for preservation of the neighborhoods historic character. In response to the Task Forces recommendations, the University committed to donate space for a 600-seat K-5 elementary school within the campus core to alleviate the longstanding problem of overcrowded neighborhood schools. NYU has been working with Community Board 2 and local elected officials to further discuss this commitment.

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Photo by Audrey Gelman

Borough President Stringer joined City Council Members Robert Jackson and Ydanis Rodriguez, community members and students at a groundbreaking for the Lucille Bulger Center for Community Life in Washington Heights.

Safe and Sensible Planning in Our Neighborhoods

Borough President Stringer used his role in the formal Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) this past year to weigh in on over 30 development projects that would have tremendous lasting impacts for the communities in which they were being considered. The Borough President worked with all stakeholders involved to address issues such as increasing access to open space, managing traffic, reducing pedestrian impacts, mitigating construction and improving sidewalk conditions. At the end of August, the Borough President, as part of the ULURP process, released a formal recommendation for Riverside Center, a proposed mixed-used development planned for the area from West 59th to 61st Streets between West End Avenue and Riverside Drive. Borough President Stringer and Community Board 7 hosted numerous meetings about the project to solicit community feedback. Despite efforts to work towards positive development on the Upper West Side, the Borough President conditionally disapproved the project because it failed to fully mitigate its impacts on the neighborhood. The City Planning Commission, Councilmember Gale A. Brewer and the City Council then worked to revise the application, ultimately modifying it in line with the Borough Presidents recommendations. The project now includes an expanded public school, onsite affordable housing, more open space and mitigation for its potential impact on neighborhood parks.

housed in the Borough Presidents Topographical Bureau. These maps represent the blueprints of our boroughs history. In addition to being a Charter-mandated responsibility, the Topographical Bureau houses irreplaceable pieces of Manhattans past. This grant will fund an effort that is true preservation with a purpose - once the collection has been restored, preserved and digitized, the office can welcome the public and the city planning community to study and enjoy these remarkable historical maps. The Manhattan Borough Presidents Topographical Bureau is home to more than 3,500 maps. With the oldest piece in the collection dating back to 1749, these maps are tangible pieces of history.

Photo by Jaritza Taveras

A Heritage Rose Garden & Harlems History

The Heritage Rose District, located generally between West 130th and West 162nd streets, is a volunteer effort coordinated by the Borough President and the Heritage Rose Foundation. The Heritage Rose District grew out of Borough President Stringers Take Me to the River initiative, where community members expressed a desire for a project that promoted and strengthened existing cultural resources and assets. The intent of the District is to increase public awareness about heritage roses and to celebrate the rich horticultural history of Northern Manhattan. In April, volunteers from throughout the country planted over 300 heritage rose bushes at the Harriet Tubman Memorial in Harlem and at other locations, including Covent Garden and Maggies Garden, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. Since its founding in 2009, over 400 rose bushes have been planted in the District, making it one of the largest collections of heritage roses on the East Coast. To celebrate the first anniversary in October, over two dozen additional rose bushes were planted throughout the District. The celebration included a rose planting workshop at Audubon Terrace to teach local residents how to care for heritage roses and a guided tour of the Hispanic Society of America. This April, in observance of Earth Day, additional heritage roses will be planted at new sites in Northern Manhattan. In addition, a Heritage Rose District walking tour is currently being developed that will be available for smart phones this year.

Priceless History Preserved

The Borough Presidents office was awarded a $10,000 grant from the New York State Archives to support an assessment of how best to preserve rare historical records

Affordable Housing & Neighborhood Preservation

Office of the Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer Annual Report 2010

Democracy in Action

Borough President Stringer honors Jean Corbett-Parker & Jackie Rowe-Adams, Founders of Harlem Mothers Stop Another Violent End (S.A.V.E.); John Starks, Former NBA Player & Education Advocate; and Iesha Sekou, Founder & Executive Director of Street Corner Resources, Inc. at the Borough Presidents Fifth Annual Trailblazers Award Ceremony in honor of Black History Month.

Charter Revision - New York Citys Chance to Rethink Government

Calling the New York City Charter Revision an important opportunity to rethink the way government is run and how it serves the 8.5 million people who call it home, Borough President Stringer released a 76-page report entitled, Borough Presidents and the Government of New York City: Fulfilling the Vision of the Charter and the Needs of City Governance, with over 30 proposals on how to improve the citys local governance. The Borough President also urged the Mayor and Charter Reform Commission to emulate the Koch model and resist rushing our Citys charter reform process in time for the 2010 ballot. While a number of hearings were held, unfortunately the ultimate recommendations by the Charter Revision Commission were limited. By not putting forward proposals on the ballot that would have made government more responsive and efficient - from overhauling the Citys approach to long-term planning to rethinking the structure of the Department of Buildings, to bolstering independence for elected and oversight agencies with independent budgets - the Charter Revision Commission missed a historic opportunity to restore confidence and interest in government among generations of New Yorkers. The Borough President will continue to advocate for the implementation of these recommendations in the months and years ahead.

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Photo by Hilary Nemchik

Kicking Off a New Era of Online Community Activism

In June, the Borough President joined with Open Plans to announce Speak Up New York, an initiative to create the Citys first government supported web platform that encourages communities to self-organize and get results from government through online technology. At Speak Up New Yorks first organizing meeting on June 11, 2010, participants included: Beth Noveck, United States Deputy Chief Technology Officer for Open Government; Steven Clift, founder of E-Democracy.org; Scott Heiferman, CEO of Meetup.com; Joseph Porcelli of neighborsforneighbors.com; representatives from numerous community boards and block and neighborhood associations; and many others representing the fields of web technology, news, media, and community organizing. A working group of over 180 citizens and digital technologists met regularly to plan and build the beta site, which will launch in early 2011. The Speak Up New York beta version will include the first ever online registry of Manhattan community groups, forums for communities to connect with and learn from each other, educational how to guides, videos on organizing and navigating government, and tools to help communities self-organize. Following the launch of the site, development will begin for a 2.0 version to be launched by the end of the year.

at key subway stations across the borough. The group focused on neighborhoods in Manhattan that traditionally have severely low Census response rates, such as Central, West and East Harlem. Through these efforts, Manhattans response rate was one of the best in New York City.

Listening to the Community

Borough President Stringer held a number of community events in 2010, including town hall meetings on the Upper West Side, East Harlem, Washington Heights, and West Harlem. The Borough President partnered with the New York Legal Assistance Group to hold a public hearing in East Harlem to address elevator malfunction and its impact on housing authority residents, along with a separate forum co-hosted with the Department of Youth and Community Development to help keep LGBTQ youth safe and avoid homelessness. In addition, the Borough President, along with the Manhattan Borough Presidents Disability Task Force, the New York City Business Leadership Network and VISIONS, hosted Bridging the Divide: A Free Symposium on Living with Disabilities in New York City to discuss and seek solutions to issues that affect everyday people with disabilities in New York City. For the launch of the Bank On Manhattan initiative, Borough President Stringer hosted an information session for community organizations in Harlem to learn how they can partner with the office. This summer, Borough President Stringer launched BP on the Block, an initiative that brings a traveling constituent services desk and listening post to all corners of the borough. Residents stopped by to share their concerns ranging from crime in public housing and bus changes in the neighborhood to pedestrian safety. The Borough President started the initiative in the Lower East Side and plans on expanding it to various neighborhoods throughout the borough in the spring, summer and fall of 2011.

Census 2010 - Dont Be Fooled, Be Counted!

To combat historically low federal Census response rates in some Manhattan neighborhoods, Borough President Stringer, together with the Manhattan Complete Count Committee (CCC), launched the Dont Be Fooled, Be Counted campaign. The Manhattan CCC was comprised of over 300 community, civic, religious, cultural and governmental leaders, as well as residents and community-based organizations throughout the borough. The committee was charged with devising and implementing a culturally diverse strategic plan of events and programs that would raise awareness and encourage maximum participation in the 2010 Census. On April 1, Manhattan CCC members hit the streets to launch the campaign, handing out multilingual palm cards available in Korean, French, Chinese, Spanish and English

Democracy in Action

Office of the Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer Annual Report 2010

Civil Rights & Social Services

Borough President Scott Stringer and Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal speak to a constituent at the Assemblymembers Annual Senior Day at the American Museum of Natural History.

Fighting for Senior Centers

Manhattan seniors from all neighborhoods and walks of life have come to rely on the Citys robust network of senior centers for a warm meal, daily socialization, and access to public benefits and essential social services. Senior centers have come under attack due to funding shortages in the past, but this years budget shortfall drove the City to propose unprecedented plans to shutter more than 50. In addition to City budget reductions, much of this funding shortfall was caused by a proposal to cut $25 million in State aid to New York City senior centers. In March, Borough President Stringer launched a letter writing campaign to oppose the reduction in State aid. The Borough President visited senior centers around the borough to speak about what was at stake and encourage center-goers to contact Albany. Thousands of letters were collected and sent to Albany because of this effort. As a result of additional funds provided by the NYC Department for the Aging and the City Council, a total of 23 centers that were in jeopardy will continue to receive funding. Borough President Stringer is committed to working with all seniors whose access to services has been disrupted.

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Photo by Roderick Mickens

Protecting Immigrant Rights

Borough President Stringer is committed to implementing better policies and marshalling more resources to address the needs of immigrants in our city. In July, Borough President Stringer announced the release of the first Manhattan Borough Presidents Office Immigrant Rights and Services Manual, a unique and comprehensive resource to assist immigrants in understanding their legal rights and navigating public benefits, programs and services. The Borough Presidents Office partnered with various immigrant rights organizations, such as the Indo Sino-American Community Center, La Fuente and the Emerald Isle Immigration Center, to conduct a series of workshops and trainings around the city to disseminate the manual and educate communities on important topics such as workers rights and immigration consultant fraud. In November, Borough President Stringer urged the City to increase funding and create new, stronger requirements to enable public criminal defense organizations to provide effective immigration counseling. He advocated that the City do this to comply with the watershed Supreme Court decision Padilla v. Kentucky issued in 2010 which recognizes the constitutional right of immigrants to be advised of the immigration consequences of criminal proceedings. Borough President Stringer specifically addressed the contract extension of Neighborhood Defense Service in Harlem, which has provided excellent immigration counseling, but needs more support to sustain their work and meet the growing needs of their community. Borough President Stringer also submitted testimony before the New York City Council supporting a proposed resolution calling on the City to end the unnecessary and harmful collaboration between the New York City Department of Correction and federal immigration enforcement on Rikers Island. The excessive involvement of immigration enforcement at Rikers has devastated families and the lives of hard working New Yorkers who have long contributed to our society. In addition, it has negative consequences for public safety and the wellbeing of everyone in our city. Given these repercussions, in December Borough President Stringer, Senator Jose M. Serrano, Senator Adriano Espaillat, Council Member Ydanis

Rodriguez and many other elected officials signed a letter calling on Governor Paterson to rescind New York States participation in Secure Communities, a federal program that would inappropriately entangle New York Citys local law enforcement in the business of deportation.

Helping the Homeless

After reading about a controversial experiment administered by the Department of Homeless Services (DHS) in which individuals and families applying to participate in the Homebase program were randomly denied crucial services, the Borough President reacted swiftly by demanding its immediate termination. Borough President Stringers advocacy included writing a letter to the City detailing this injustice, meetings with DHS to lay out his argument and urging its immediate termination in front of the City Council. The study attempts to examine the effectiveness of the Homebase program, which offers rent assistance, job training and other crucial services to families on the brink of homelessness. Under the experiment, the City would offer these services to 200 families but deny them to 200 others. It is outrageous that such an inhumane program could be enacted in New York City. The Borough President remains committed to ending this study.

Restoring Housing to Families in Need

In December 2009, after first exposing a crisis at the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) involving Section 8 housing vouchers that cost over 2,600 families their homes, Borough President Stringer held an emergency organizing meeting with a coalition of elected officials and housing advocates. At this meeting, the Borough President discussed possible strategies and urged everyone to hold the City and NYCHAs feet to the fire until all vouchers were restored. In July, NYCHA, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development and the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development answered our call and announced an agreement to restore Section 8 housing assistance to the families whose housing vouchers were invalidated last December. All agencies involved deserve credit for choosing cooperation over bureaucratic gridlock.

Civil Rights & Social Services

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