Pitt Station, a vital asset to the Lower East Side, has recently been slated for closure by the US Postal Service. The closure of Pitt Station would have a significant negative impact on the neighborhood's quality of life, especially hurting seniors and others who have trouble getting around and have accessibility needs.

Assemblyman Silver has been working hard to save Pitt Station. This summer, Silver set up a table outside the post office to collect signatures of local residents who are against the post office closure. Community members also stepped up and collected signatures that added to the totals. The campaign has been a success and to date has collected over 1,400 signatures of concerned residents.

Recently, Assemblyman Silver hosted a meeting with the Postmaster for New York City and Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, who also represents the community surrounding Pitt Station and is a former member of the House of Representative's Post Office and Civil Service Committee. Though no solution was drawn from the meeting, the Postmaster acknowledged the challenges a closure would bring to the community and promised to weigh them heavily in the decision making process.

Assemblyman Silver intends to continue to work closely with the community to resist this proposed closure. To help the cause or to be notified of future events on this issue or to sign Assemblyman Silver's petition to save Pitt Station, please contact our office at 212-312-1420 or email silver@assembly.state.ny.us.

September 9th was truly a day filled with excitement and happiness for all as PS 276 and the Spruce Street School opened their doors for the first time. Assemblyman Sheldon Silver was delighted to be on hand to welcome the incoming kindergarten students and their parents to the Tweed Courthouse which will house these schools until their new buildings are ready. It was also very rewarding to see that our hard work to relieve local school overcrowding here in Lower Manhattan and to open our two new schools this year had come to fruition.

Assemblyman Silver and his School Overcrowding Task Force have been leading local efforts to address the serious overcrowding problems facing PS 89 and PS 234 since the Task Force was formed in May 2008. The six new kindergarten classes at Tweed have reduced overall overcrowding at our local schools and have allowed for smaller kindergarten classes here in Lower Manhattan.

Assemblyman Silver and his School Overcrowding Task Force will continue to lead our efforts to build additional schools to serve Lower Manhattan and to insure that we give parents excellent educational options for our children.

Assemblyman Silver participated in the first National Day of Service and Remembrance on September 11th by serving lunches to seniors at Project Open Door.

In April, President Obama signed into law the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act (H.R. 1388). This law establishes Sept. 11 as the National Day of Service and Remembrance, allowing Americans to reflect and remember, and also connect with our neighbors, community and country by volunteering.

Silver said, "Volunteering to perform at least one good deed or service is a way to remember and honor our country's spirit. The way in which Americans came together on Sept. 11- and the way in which we continue to come together - reminds us what it means to be an American."

After speaking to the group of seniors, Assemblyman Silver put on an apron and hat and got to work alongside his fellow volunteers.

Project Open Door Senior Center was established in 1972 as part of the Chinese American Planning Council senior programs. Today, under the leadership of Director Po-Ling Ng, they service about 800 seniors per day."

Assemblyman Sheldon Silver announced legislation he co-sponsored (A.8518) intended to prevent the over-saturation of liquor serving establishments in residential communities has been signed into law. The bill removes loopholes in the state's Alcoholic Beverage Control Law's 500 foot rule which was designed to prevent more than three similar liquor serving establishments from operating within 500 feet of each other without a special hearing by the State Liquor Authority (SLA).

"The overabundance of bars and nightclubs has a drastic effect on the quality of life for the residents and businesses in our Lower Manhattan community," said Silver. "When determining whether or not to grant new liquor licenses, the SLA must consider detrimental consequences it may have on the surrounding community. This new law will help to prevent neighborhoods from being overrun by the rowdy and noisy behavior of patrons, traffic and crime. It will help to preserve the character and safety of Lower Manhattan neighborhoods."

The measure updates the Alcohol Beverage Control law to clarify that a hearing would be required if a fourth liquor serving establishment sought a license, regardless of its classification as a tavern, bottle club, restaurant-brewer or cabaret. Under current practice, an SLA special hearing to determine whether it is in the public interest to grant an application for an additional liquor serving business was only required when there was an application for a fourth alcohol serving establishment with the same classification.

In June, the Assembly also approved an additional bill (A.8519) that would require the SLA to consider various public interest factors when conducting a 500-foot law hearing for all categories of liquor serving establishments. The factors would include the number, classes and character of licensed bars and restaurants within proximity of the applicant, evidence that all licenses were properly obtained and the effect a new license would have on vehicular traffic and parking in the surrounding area. The legislation would also require that the SLA consider previous liquor violations and criminal activity at the proposed location as well as any increase in noise level that would be generated by the business. This bill has been sent to the Senate for consideration.