Dear Neighbor:

I am writing to you to provide you with up-to-date information regarding our community. As a resident of Manhattan’s East Side, I have made it my responsibility to fight for community members’ health and well-being in the State Assembly.

My role as an Assemblymember is to act as your representative in the Assembly, “The People’s House,” and to enhance the public’s connection to state government. I currently serve on the Assembly’s Health; Housing; Insurance; Judiciary; Social Services; and Tourism, Arts, and Sports Development Committees. I am also Chair of the Assembly’s Legislative Task Force on People with Disabilities.

As you will see in the following pages, I have been working hard to improve the lives of New Yorkers. I would like to provide you further information regarding a number of policy areas that affect you, including housing, jobs and the economy, education, health care, arts and tourism.

I hope that you enjoy your neighborhood and all the East Side has to offer. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact my office at (212) 605-0937.

Affordable housing is being threatened and I will continue to work towards ensuring that New Yorkers are able to maintain and access affordable housing. By strengthening our housing laws, we can ensure that residents will not be forced out of their community by increased rents or loopholes in the law.

Rent regulation laws have come under serious attack over the past several years. “Reform” to rent regulation laws has led to the creation of decontrol provisions that have removed hundreds of East Side apartments.

I have fought hard for legislation that maintains rent regulation and protects tenants. I recently authored legislation to raise limits for high-income decontrol (A. 860). This bill updates decontrol thresholds from $2,000 rent and $175,000 income to $2,700 rent and $240,000 income, with annual updates using the consumer price index. This bill has passed the Assembly in 2009.

In 2009, I also introduced legislation to amend the current Mansion Tax (A.955). The purpose of this bill is to raise the threshold on the imposition of the “Mansion Tax” on a residential property from $1 million to $1.75 million. Currently, New York State imposes a 1% tax from buyers who purchase a residential property unit for $1 million or more. As the cost of residential property increases, I want to protect residents purchasing a home from being burdened with additional taxes.

New Yorkers are in need of economic growth and sustainable wages and only a thoughtful and innovative approach to job creation keeps businesses in the district and bring new ones to the City. I have worked on several pieces of legislation to help economic growth on the East Side. This is the first of many steps toward preserving and cultivating economic and workforce development in the community.

In conjunction with local business owners, the “Shop Second Avenue” campaign was created to encourage East Siders to patronize businesses which have been negatively affected by the construction of the Second Avenue Subway. My Second Avenue Small Business Grants Program (A.6137) legislation provides financial assistance to businesses being hurt by the construction of the Second Avenue Subway. This bill passed the Assembly and Senate in 2008.

I also authored legislation to provide financial incentives to boost development in the community. The Microenterprise Development Act (A.1639) would assist very small businesses and low-income business persons who lack access to capital, training, and technical assistance by providing them with the necessary funding and assistance to succeed.

On May 28th, the Department of Education announced a new school facility on the Upper East Side. This new school location will accommodate students in the former P.S. 151 school zone while the DOE searches for a permanent facility. Throughout the past year, I have worked with my colleagues on the East Side to advocate for new school space and I am proud to see our efforts come to fruition.

Last year, I joined officials at the Department of Education in unveiling a new, temporary location for P.S. 59 and the High School of Art and Design. As part of the relocation process, I worked with developers and the New York City Department of Education to ensure that the temporary location for P.S. 59 remained in the vicinity of East 57th Street and was opened before any students were moved from the current site. Upon completion of these two new facilities, our district will maintain the 500 seat school at the temporary location of 213 East 63rd Street as an additional school for the community. The new P.S. 59 will also have 330 additional seats, for a total of 830 new school seats on the East Side.

The recent State budget restores millions of dollars to facilities that provide much needed quality health care services. My colleagues and I worked diligently to reject $361.6 million cuts to hospitals and $195.6 million to nursing homes.

I have addressed the need for a balanced budget without compromising the health of working families. I will continue to work towards access to quality and affordable health care for all New Yorkers. Throughout my tenure in the Assembly, I have teamed up with local organizations to provide free health services to the community, including health fairs and wellness programs for seniors, mammograms for women, and dental screenings for children.

Protecting arts and tourism is essential to the cultural foundation and economic base of New York. For this reason, I have made it a priority to support cultural institutions and uphold arts funding. I recently co-authored a letter to President Obama advocating for $50 million for the National Endowment for the Arts. I am proud to announce that this funding was placed in the stimulus bill based on these efforts. In times of economic uncertainty, it is important to promote sectors like the arts that have a track record of stimulating growth and employment. New York is a global destination for the arts and cultural institutions; this funding will help bolster the economy by creating new jobs, retaining existing jobs, and generating new revenue.

As a member of the Assembly Tourism, Arts, and Sports Development Committee and the representative for “Museum Mile”, I am a strong proponent of funding for arts and cultural programs. During my tenure in the Assembly, I have secured over $2 million in capital funding for East Side cultural organizations. I have also introduced legislation that has passed the Assembly several times to dedicate funds to the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) through a voluntary check-off on New York State tax returns.