Category: Legislation

There oughta be a law: we need a database to track vacant storefronts

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Gale speaks into mic at NYC council committee I testified today at the NYC Council Committee on Small Business in support of Intro No 1472-A, a bill that would require owners to report the vacancy status of their storefront properties and establish an open database for vacancies. The crisis facing small businesses has only grown worse. National chains steadily spread throughout the city, storefronts sit vacant for years, and online shopping is reducing foot traffic to our local… Read more

Collecting data on nutrition education in NYC schools

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rally full of people for food education in nyc schools Healthy habits start young, and eating better helps students do better in the classroom now, and succeed in the future. But according to research from the Tisch Center at Columbia University, 44% of New York City public schools lack programming lessons on nutrition education. That’s why Council Member Mark Treyger and I introduced legislation that would require the Department of Education to collect data and report on what students are… Read more

Taking on a new role with the National League of Cities

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Gale smiling with National League of Cities sign There’s strength in numbers and partnering with other urban leaders means we can amplify our voice when it comes to pressing issues facing New Yorkers and people around the country. That’s why I’m happy to join the Human Development federal advocacy committee of the National League of Cities. The committee focuses on a wide range of issues, such as social services, children and learning, poverty and income support, employment and… Read more

Brewer, Chin officially file zoning text amendment to clarify Two Bridges rules, end abuse of “minor modification” loophole allowing out-of-scale luxury development

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NEW YORK – Wednesday afternoon, Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer and Council Member Margaret S. Chin officially filed paperwork at the Department of City Planning’s 120 Broadway intake office to amend the zoning text governing the Two Bridges neighborhood and protect the area from out-of-scale luxury developments made possible by the abuse of a zoning loophole. The application is the first submitted solely by elected officials in roughly 15… Read more

WATCH: Emergency “Tax-Reform” Teach-In

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textbox of "Watch!" On Wednesday, December 20, at 6:00 pm, I hosted an emergency teach-in on the impacts of the federal tax “reform” bill under consideration in Congress. NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer, NYC Public Advocate Letitia James and I delivered introductory remarks. Speakers included Preston Niblack, NYC Deputy Comptroller for Budget, Kathy Wylde, President and CEO of the Partnership for New York City, Martha Stark, Professor at NYU-Wagner School of Public Affairs and… Read more

B.P. Brewer, Council Member Corey Johnson, and National Supermarket Association rally to end supermarket rent tax, save Manhattan supermarkets

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NEW YORK – Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer, Council Member Corey Johnson, and members of the National Supermarket Association rallied today to end the unfair, regressive Commercial Rent Tax (CRT) burdening supermarkets in much of Manhattan. Brewer and Johnson sponsor Intro 1472, City Council legislation that would offer supermarkets a full exemption from the CRT.

Brewer, Chin file rare zoning text amendment to protect Two Bridges from out-of-scale luxury development

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NEW YORK – Late last week, Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer and Council Member Margaret S. Chin filed with the Department of City Planning to formally request a zoning text amendment to protect the Two Bridges neighborhood from new, out-of-scale luxury development. The application is the first submitted solely by elected officials in nearly 15 years. “Council Member Chin and I have been down this road before: when we… Read more

Brewer, Vacca bringing “Open Data Law 2.0” to Council hearing tomorrow

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NEW YORK – Tomorrow, Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer and New York City Council Member James Vacca will bring Intro 1707, a bill upgrading the City’s first-in-the-nation Open Data Law, to the City Council for a public hearing. Council Member Vacca, who chairs the Technology Committee, will lead the hearing and sponsors the legislation in partnership with Borough President Brewer, who authored the city’s original Open Data Law.… Read more

Brewer issues Manhattan supermarket survey and Age-Friendly Supermarket Guide, calls for policies to boost neighborhood supermarkets

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Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer released “Manhattan Supermarkets: How to Keep them Alive,” a survey of Manhattan’s supermarkets and grocers with policy recommendations to stem the tide of supermarket closures. The report also includes the Age-Friendly Supermarket Guide, a census of senior-friendly features at 229 Manhattan supermarkets (including wheelchair accessibility, restroom availability, delivery costs, and any available senior discounts). “The first step in solving a lot… Read more

Brewer-Chin deed restriction reforms signed into law, will prevent repeat of Rivington House disaster

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Borough President Brewer and Council Member Margaret Chin today celebrated the enactment of their tough new legislation introducing transparency and Mayoral accountability to the murky process that resulted in Rivington House’s sale to a luxury condominium developer. Chin and Brewer introduced the legislation in response to widespread outrage over the City’s removal of a deed restriction that had protected the Lower East Side property, reserving it for use as a… Read more