News
from STATE SENATOR
Liz Krueger
New York State Senate, 26th
District
COMMUNITY BULLETIN – November 2003
Message from Liz . . .
Late last month, a tenement apartment building was torn down in my district after being declared unsafe by the New York City Department of Buildings. The handling of this situation, as well as the treatment received by tenants in an adjoining building owned by the same landlord, highlight a number of problems with coordination between the various city and state agencies responsible for protecting New York City’s housing stock. Currently, the New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) and Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), as well as the New York State Division Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR), all have substantial roles in preserving rent regulated housing units, and protecting the rights of the tenants in those units. In the case of these buildings, the system did not work. The division of authority between these agencies creates opportunities for landlords interested in using demolition as a way of getting rid of rent regulated tenants.
In this case, the landlord also resorted to illegal demolition work until I reached out to the police and was able to get the demolition work stopped. Whether this illegal work led to the eventual destabilization of the building is unclear. The end result, however, was that because the building was destabilized everyone living in the building lost all their possessions in the demolition. All during this period, tenants in the building next door reported numerous instances where landlord representatives told them their building would be torn down too, despite the fact that their building had been declared safe.
My office has been
attempting to work with DOB, HPD, and DHCR throughout this process in order to
ensure they did everything in their power to protect the tenants. The level of responsiveness of the different
agencies varied greatly, but one common theme was that whatever their level of
commitment to protecting the tenants, there were serious communication problems
between the agencies. Early in the
process, DOB and HPD expressed a very different understanding about who would
be authorized to do “stabilization” work on the building – by the time this was
resolved, the building was declared unsafe and the work was demolition, not
stabilization. DOB was extremely
reluctant to acknowledge the role that DHCR had in assuring that the tenants in
the buildings were protected, and overly willing to allow the landlord to
self-certify that they were acting in accordance with the law. And DOB workers at the site would often be
telling tenants very different things from what their supervisors were telling
me at exactly the same time.
I continue to work
with the tenants involved in this terrible situation to make sure they are
compensated for their losses, and that the tenants in the remaining building
are not forced out of their homes. But
the longer-term problem of making sure the agencies charged with protecting
tenants are working together remains. Better coordination and clearer lines of
authority are essential if these agencies are to fulfill their responsibilities
to tenants in New York City. I will be
exploring whether legislative changes are required to resolve these problems,
as well as working to encourage the agencies involved to tighten their
enforcement of existing regulations in a more effective manner.
Community
Spotlight
Opposing
Service Reductions or Closure of the Manhattan VA Hospital:
I have been actively opposing efforts by the
Veterans Administration to transfer significant services out of the VA Hospital
of Manhattan, located on East 23rd Street. In September I joined other elected officials in writing to the
Department of Veterans Affairs in opposition to this proposal, and earlier this
month I submitted testimony to an Assembly hearing regarding the Veterans
Administration. The Veterans
Administration CARES Commission has recommended the study of transferring all
acute care from Manhattan to the Brooklyn VA Hospital in Bay Ridge, and moving
a substantial part of outpatient services to other facilities in the Bronx and
East Orange. These changes would severely
compromise service for veterans and their families living in Manhattan and
Queens. I am also concerned that if
these changes are implemented, the ultimate result will be the closure of the
Manhattan VA Hospital, which will no longer be providing enough services to
adequately utilize its facility. The VA Hospital in
Manhattan is recognized as one of the best VA Hospitals in the country, and I
will continue to work with my colleagues to ensure that this essential resource
for our veterans is preserved.
November is CUNY Month:
All
this month, the City University of New York (CUNY) will be hosting events to
give community members, parents and prospective students a taste of the
resources available at CUNY campuses.
Among the activities scheduled for November at Hunter and Baruch
Colleges include campus tours, workshops on resumes and interviewing technique,
photography exhibits and other events showcasing the many cultures of New York
City, an evening of one-act plays by Thornton Wilder, performances by the
Hunter College Jazz Ensemble and the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra at Baruch College,
as well as seminars in business, chemistry, internet security and film. Interested individuals will also find
information about the acclaimed Honors College, affordable tuition options,
alumni scholarships, weekend college and more than 1,200 degree programs. In addition, meetings and programs will be
tailored to adults and returning students.
Some of these programs will also be offered in languages other than
English. For more information about events taking place during CUNY Month,
interested individuals may visit the CUNY Month website at www.cunymonth.edu/cunymonth. For information on admissions, prospective
students can call 1-800-CUNY-YES.
Restaurants Against Hunger:
On
November 25, a number of New York City restaurants will donate 50% of each bill
to Action Against Hunger programs that battle hunger and malnutrition across
the globe. For a list of participating
restaurants, visit the Action against Hunger website at http://www.aah-usa.org.
Volunteer to Help Visually-Impaired
Seniors:
The New York City
Department for the Aging is seeking volunteers to help
visually impaired elderly remain as independent as possible. Trained volunteers
provide companionship and supportive services to severely visually impaired,
legally blind, and totally blind seniors. Most of the individuals served live
alone, many are home-bound, and all clients need companionship, some assistance
to perform daily tasks and help getting around their neighborhoods. For information, visit the Department for
the Aging website at http://www.nyc.gov/html/dfta/html/vsp.html,
or call 311 and ask about the Volunteer Support Project.
I
was extremely disappointed that last month, Governor Pataki vetoed a bill,
S.5249/A.7119, that would have expedited the process by which reports of any
change in child protective or voluntary foster care placement are made. This legislation would have stepped up the
speed by which reports are filed regarding moves in a child’s placement. The bill is a very basic attempt at keeping
child welfare agencies accountable and had even been recommended by the Family
Court Advisory and Rules Committee.
The
vetoed bill would have amended the family court act and social services law, to
require an agency with whom a child has been placed to report to the court, the
legal guardian and other concerned parties within 30 days of any change in the
child’s placement status. This
reporting requirement is vital. We need
to be able to track children in the foster care system to make sure that they
are receiving the basic services that they need and are living in safe and
healthy conditions. The bill mandated
that the report state the reasons for the change in placement, as well as the
grounds for the agencies conclusion that the change was in the best interest of
the child. This year both houses passed
the bill unanimously.
Governor
Pataki’s veto message basically stated that child welfare agencies don’t want
to do any more work. Unfortunately the
task that is requested in the bill is the most fundamental task that could be
asked of these agencies. A report
within 30 days of a changed placement of a foster child or an abused and
neglected child is simply not too much to ask for. Most people are shocked to learn that these reports are not already
mandated. The consequences of a failure
to track children in the foster care system can be devastating, and New York
must have laws that protect these children.
I am extremely disappointed that the Governor has chosen to reject this
legislation, which is only a very minimal step in the direction our state
should be moving toward reforming our foster care system.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
District Office: 211
East 43rd Street, Suite 1300, New York NY 10017 (212) 490-9535 Fax:
(212) 490-2151
Albany Office: Room 302, Legislative Office Bldg., Albany
NY 12247 (518) 455-2297 Fax: (518) 426-6874
On the Web at
http://www.lizkrueger.com