Assembly Member O’Donnell recently introduced legislation that would facilitate statewide development of sustainable transportation policy to more adequately address the problems of pollution caused by motor vehicles, traffic volume that affects both pollution levels and wear on roadways, and the need for revenue for the maintenance and upkeep of roads and bridges. The bill, A.10638, would establish the Sustainable Transportation Policy Task Force, to examine ways in which environmental sustainability policies can be applied to or combined with transportation policy.

If passed, the legislation will provide a mechanism for long-term planning by adding sustainability to various state statutes and board and agency missions, as well as create a task force to develop tangible solutions that encourage environmentally responsible decision-making about vehicle purchases and driving habits. The task force would take a closer look at models that require vehicle owners to contribute their fair share, based on the type of vehicle they own, towards the maintenance of roads, bridges and tunnels. The immediate, and most specific, goal is to have the task force develop recommendations for toll and fee changes that will take into account vehicles’ weight, emissions ratings and fuel efficiency.

The bill is being circulated for comment among environmental advocacy and transportation sustainability groups. A.10638 will place the conversation about addressing problems of traffic volume, funding for this state’s vital transportation infrastructure, and improving air quality in a statewide context.

Assembly Member O’Donnell recently filed a Freedom of Information Law request with the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission for release of documents pertaining to a historic district and landmarking of individual buildings in the Morningside Heights neighborhood.

Assembly Member O’Donnell was a founding member of the Morningside Heights Historic District Committee in 1996. The group was formed to protect the historically and culturally significant architecture of Morningside Heights and secure the designation of a historic district. It is now 2008, and the need for protection is only growing more immediate.

As reported in the last community newsletter, Assembly Member O’Donnell has collected letters of support from city, state, and federal elected officials, responsible development groups, and preservation organizations that support a historic district in Morningside Heights. Community Board 9 so strongly supports the exploration of a comprehensive historic district in Morningside Heights that it included the recommendation in its 197-a plan that was subsequently adopted by the City Council.

“There is overwhelming public support for a historic district in Morningside Heights,” said Assembly Member O’Donnell. “I remain perplexed why some proposals for designation are fast-tracked, while other equally deserving proposals remain stalled for more than a decade. I hope the response to my FOIL request will shed some light on the Commission’s inaction. Frankly, Chair Tierney should be ashamed that elected representatives must resort to using the Freedom of Information Law to ascertain basic information about proposals for historic districts.”

Assembly Member O’Donnell will continue to advocate for a historic district in Morningside Heights and will continue to report to the community on progress towards that designation.

On March 4, 2008, Assembly Member O’Donnell was appointed to the Assembly’s Standing Committee on Education. “I am honored to have been selected to serve my community and the Assembly in this capacity,” said O’Donnell. “I look forward to developing education policy that serves all the children of New York State.”

According to Speaker Sheldon Silver, “Assembly Member O’Donnell was appointed to the Education Committee on the merits of his work in the State Assembly and his commitment to addressing the needs of New York’s working families. He is deeply respected for his work in the community, as well as by his colleagues with whom he serves. I am certain he will continue his careful scrutiny of legislation and commitment to excellence as a Member of the Committee on Education.”

O’Donnell will now have the ability to be even more involved in issues of great significance to his constituents, including mayoral control, a state statute up for renewal in 2009. “As a member of the Education Committee, I will be able to more effectively advocate on issues that are of tremendous import to my constituents—and to all residents of New York State,” said O’Donnell. “I believe this advocacy to be the most important aspect of this appointment.”

Nearly 600 pieces of prospective legislation are reviewed by the Assembly Committee on Education during each two-year legislative term. The Committee deals with issues of great importance to the families of the 69th Assembly District, including mayoral control, class size, school funding, pre-K and early childhood education, testing, special education, transportation, breakfast and nutrition, health care services, construction and maintenance of school buildings, and charter schools.

Nearly nine months after the retaining wall collapse at 808 Columbus Avenue that resulted in the evacuation of hundreds of Park West Village residents, the Department of Buildings released a report which concluded that the collapse was the result of a segment of the wall’s sheeting system being erected on top of highly weathered rock that was weakened by the removal of adjacent competent rock through blasting.

Following the collapse, the department has not had a good track record of communicating with affected residents, so the Assembly Member undertook the task of distributing copies of the report’s executive summary to the nearly 1,000 residents of Park West Village.

While the report does place some fault with site engineers, it ultimately raises more serious questions than it answers. The department refused to take responsibility for its role in this accident and has yet to justify its decision to lift the Stop Work Order before completing the investigation.

Since the release of the report, the department’s leadership has changed. Assembly Member O’Donnell is hopeful that the department, currently headed by acting Commissioner Robert LiMandri, will be more responsive and accountable to the community at large.

This year the Assembly worked with Governor Paterson to negotiate and enact a budget that responsibly addresses a weakening economy, while recognizing that more resources needed to be allocated to assist working people who struggle to find and keep affordable housing and to make ends meet. The enacted budget, while not perfect, is smaller than the budget originally proposed by then Governor Spitzer and manages to add funds to support affordable housing and to keep the promise of quality public education for the State’s children.

The enacted budget includes a $200 million increase over the executive budget proposal for a variety of affordable housing initiatives. These programs, funded through the NYS Division of Housing and Community Renewal and the NYS Office for Temporary and Disability Assistance, will help people find affordable housing, create housing opportunities for homeless New Yorkers, and assist communities in their efforts to restore and revitalize existing structures. Providing this additional funding was an Assembly priority during the budget negotiations.

Specific programs supported by the Assembly’s action include the Low Income Housing Trust, the state’s Mitchell-Lama Rehabilitation and Preservation (RAP) program, the Mitchell-Lama All Affordable program, the Affordable Housing Program, the Homeless Housing Assistance program, the Assembly’s Sub-Prime Foreclosure Prevention Services program, the Homes for Working Families program, and other similar programs. The two Mitchell-Lama programs—RAP and All Affordable—are supported by $54 million in the State Fiscal Year 2008-2009 enacted budget.

This year’s enacted budget also includes a historic level of funding to continue the Assembly’s strong commitment to educational excellence for the nearly 3 million school children throughout New York State. Critically for NYC school children, the budget provides for a $533 million increase in Foundation Aid for NYC.

This year’s budget expands pre-K programs, increasing the number of 4-year-olds attending pre-K from 93,000 to 121,000. The Assembly also championed, and the final budget includes, funding restorations for adult literacy programs and libraries.

Finally, recognizing the importance of a high quality public higher education system, the enacted budget supports continued innovation and tuition support for the CUNY and SUNY systems.

On April 14th, Assembly Member O’Donnell testified before the New York City Art Commission in strongest support of the Morningside Area Distinctive Street Lighting Project. This extensive project includes the replacement of over 150 “cobra” style street light lampposts with historic endpole lampposts throughout the Morningside area.

The new lampposts will be installed on Amsterdam Avenue between 125th and 110th Streets, on Cathedral Parkway from Amsterdam Avenue to Manhattan Avenue, and around the perimeter of Morningside Park. The lampposts lining the park will be equipped with pedestrian sidearms, which will significantly improve lighting around the park, providing an increased measure of safety for the surrounding community and park users alike.

His testimony urged the Art Commission, whose approval was needed for the project to move to the contract stage, to consider the project on “its unassailable merits: an invaluable measure of safety for park users and neighbors alike, enhanced quality of life for the surrounding community, and the beauty of historic lighting fixtures ringing a Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux-designed landscape and lining Amsterdam Avenue.”

O’Donnell secured over $900,000 in state funding for the project, as well as a commitment from Columbia University to pay in perpetuity for electricity for the pedestrian sidearms. Columbia is also contributing capital funding for lampposts along Morningside Drive.

After the Art Commission hearing, O’Donnell petitioned Department of Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan to issue a contract this summer for the project so that the lamppost installation can begin as soon as this coming fall.

Assembly Member O’Donnell is pleased to announce the distribution of legislative initiative funding to the following 501(c)(3) charitable organizations:

119th Street Tennis Association • American Red Cross • Bailey House • Ballet Tech • Bloomingdale Family Program • Broadway Mall Association • Citizens Committee for New York City • Community Healthcare Network • CONNECT • Douglass Senior Center • Friends of Morningside Park • Gay Men’s Health Crisis • Goddard Riverside Community Center • Harlem School of the Arts • Hetrick Martin Institute • Institute for Reproductive Health Access • Landmark West! • Legal Information for Families Today • Legal Services for New York (Manhattan Legal Services) • LGBT Community Center • M.S. 54, Booker T. Washington • Medicare Rights Center • Metropolitan New York Coordinating Council on Jewish Poverty • MFY Legal Services • Momentum Project Morningside Retirement and Health Services • New Victory Theater • New York Cares • New York Classical Theatre • New York Foundation For Senior Citizens • New York Junior Tennis League • New York Public Library • North River Community Environmental Review Board • Oasis Community Corporation • One Stop Senior Services • P.S. 145 • Friends of P.S. 163 • Friends of P.S. 166 • Fund for P.S. 84 • Parent JobNet • Public Theatre of New York • Roundabout Theatre Company SAGE • Service Programs for Older People • SHARE Self-Help for Women with Breast or Ovarian Cancer • Symphonyspace The After-School Corporation • The AIDS Service Center • The Creative Learning Center • Upper Manhattan Specialized Science High School Initiative • Urban Yoga Foundation • Wendy Hilliard Foundation • West Side Community Garden • West Side Crime Prevention

Assembly Member O’Donnell will host opportunities for constituents with housing issues to consult with a volunteer attorney. To make an appointment, please call (212) 866-3970 and ask to speak with Joyce Goodman.
Thursday, May 29th, June 26th, July 31st