News & Notes from NYC Public Advocate Bill de Blasio...

FDNY CUTS PUT RESPONSE TIMES OVER NATIONAL "RED LINE"

May 21, 2011

Public Advocate De Blasio: 18 of 20 Cut Companies Won’t Meet Basic Standard

A report released today by Public Advocate Bill de Blasio shows the cuts to 20 fire companies in Mayor Bloomberg's Executive Budget will seriously imperil emergency response times. According to the report, 18 of these companies will exceed a national 4-minute standard after cuts are implemented—-some by over a full minute. The National Fire Protection Association urges a 4-minute response to prevent fires from spreading beyond a single room, after which the risk of civilian death triples and property damage increases more than eight-fold.

"The neighborhoods targeted by these cuts will see their safety go up in smoke," said Public Advocate Bill de Blasio. "If the Mayor succeeds in cutting these companies, some communities won't meet the response times needed in places like Fargo, North Dakota, let alone a city where we need to fight fires on the upper floors of big apartment buildings."

Council Member Elizabeth Crowley (D-30, Queens), Chair of the Fire & Criminal Justice Committee stated, "In addition to the findings in this study, the FDNY is not counting the time the 911-caller is spending with the 911 operator which could be up to two minutes. Response times are significantly higher than what the Administration is reporting--and these false response times are being used to justify closing fire companies.  The Administration's policy for reporting response times is misleading, inaccurate and dangerous."

The Public Advocate's report is based on response time increases estimated by the FDNY. The National Fire Protection Association standard is modeled on responding to a fire at a two-story, single-family home where firefighting can commence soon after crews arrive. In a dense city like New York, firefighters require additional minutes to ascend multi-story buildings, making any response times above the national standard even more alarming.

Read the report at:http://advocate.nyc.gov/files/DeBlasio_Fire_Company_Closures_Brief.pdf

Read it on Scribd at:http://www.scribd.com/doc/55945084/Public-Advocate-de-Blasio-Report-on-FDNY-Budget

STATEMENT BY PUBLIC ADVOCATE DE BLASIO ON FIREHOUSE CLOSURES

May 19, 2011

“The list of fire company cutbacks shows what the Mayor’s budget really means for the safety of New Yorkers and their families. In my own neighborhood, Engine Company 220, which is a block from my house, now faces an estimated 30-second jump in response time. As Fire Commissioner Cassano has acknowledged, higher response times mean greater risks for New Yorkers. I will fight to keep every one of these firehouses open so that no family is put in harm’s way.”

STATEMENT BY PUBLIC ADVOCATE DE BLASIO ON EXTENSION OF “TEMPORARY PROTECTED STATUS” FOR HAITIANS IN U.S
May 17, 2011

“I applaud President Obama and Secretary of Homeland Security Napolitano for extending Temporary Protected Status to Haitian nationals living in the United States through 2013. Thousands of Haitians living in our city will be better able to support their friends and families as Haiti continues to recover. Haiti still remains in desperate need of assistance, and I encourage all New Yorkers to continue showing their tremendous generosity by donating to relief efforts.”

New Yorkers can make donations to Haiti relief efforts through the following organizations:

International Rescue Committee

https://www.rescue.org/donate/donate-now-haiti

Clinton Foundation Relief Fund for Haiti

www.clintonfoundation.org/haitirelief

International Red Cross

Mail a check with “Haiti” in the memo line to:

American Red Cross

P.O. Box 37243

Washington, DC 20013

STATEMENT BY PUBLIC ADVOCATE DE BLASIO ON DOE PLEDGE TO REDO COMMUNITY EDUCATION COUNCIL ELECTIONS
MAY 13, 2011

“The Department’s revamped plan for CEC elections is only a partial victory for parents. I remain deeply concerned that a few days are insufficient to fully investigate what went wrong with this year’s elections, and that there may still be parents who were blocked from the ballot without just cause. While it was the right decision to postpone elections and restart voting, we need a lot more consideration from Tweed including a plan that ensures parents their rightful place in school decisions.”

STATEMENT FROM PUBLIC ADVOCATE DE BLASIO ON TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER IN BRANDEIS HIGH SCHOOL COURT CASE

MAY 13, 2011

“As a public school parent, I do not see any sense in spending taxpayer dollars to renovate Brandeis until the outcome of this lawsuit is settled. The Department of Education should take this decision as an opportunity to find a more appropriate home for Success Academy, and to enable the students at Brandeis to continue to thrive.”

STATEMENT FROM PUBLIC ADVOCATE DE BLASIO ON ARRESTS OF SUPSECTS PLANNING TO ATTACK MANHATTAN SYNAGOGUE
MAY 12, 2011

“As President Obama has said, we need the vigilance and dedication of City and State government to successfully fight terrorism. Today local law enforcement has once again protected our city by dismantling a hateful and anti-Semitic plot to attack a synagogue. I commend all officers involved as well as Mayor Bloomberg, Commissioner Ray Kelly and District Attorney Cyrus Vance for their leadership in keeping New Yorkers safe.”

AN OPEN LETTER CHALLENGING BRADLEY A. SMITH OF THE CENTER FOR COMPETITIVE POLITICS TO A CITIZENS UNITED DEBATE
MAY 11, 2011

The following open letter has been sent to Bradley A. Smith of the Center for Competitive Politics in response to an op-ed in today’s New York Post. Public Advocate Bill de Blasio has invited Mr. Smith to debate the impact of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling, and its relevance to New Yorkers.

May 11, 2011

Dear Mr. Smith,

The protection of our democratic process is the responsibility of all citizens. As New York City’s Public Advocate, I take that charge especially seriously.

Your assertion in today’s New York Post that the excessive corporate political spending let loose by the Citizens United ruling doesn’t matter to New Yorkers proves just how little you know about our city. For us, this is both a matter of economic interest and a moral imperative.

As a trustee of a $40 billion pension fund, I know firsthand that the rash political ventures of corporate America can have major consequences for the retirement and security of thousands of working people in New York. Citizens United has opened the way for companies to make political contributions right out of the corporate treasury, and by extension, out of our pension investments. The financial future of hard-working retirees shouldn’t rest on the political whims of corporate executives.

To contend that New Yorkers and Americans don’t care about the corrosive influence of money in our elections is blatantly untrue. Our city has blazed the trail of campaign finance reform by instituting a system of public matching funds that helps serious candidates of any income level to run for office. Just last fall, NYC voters overwhelmingly enacted a ballot measure to require disclosure of independent expenditures in City elections. There can be no question where New Yorkers’ hearts and minds are on this issue.

In short, the avalanche of corporate money into our political system does matter to New Yorkers, and all the more so because it happens in our own back yard. Just yesterday, American Crossroads—Karl Rove’s latest assault on democracy—announced its intention to drop $350,000 on a single special election for an upstate New York House seat.

I would welcome the chance to challenge you on these points so New Yorkers can see and judge for themselves. I invite you to debate in person the impact of Citizens United on our political system in New York and nationally.

I believe you will find New Yorkers both interested, and opinionated, on this critical issue.

Sincerely,

Bill de Blasio

Public Advocate for the City of New York

STATEMENT BY PUBLIC ADVOCATE DE BLASIO ON TEACHER LAYOFFS

MAY 6, 2011

“Despite the fiscal challenges we face, the Mayor is making the wrong choices for our children’s future. Even a cursory look at the millions we spend on teacher recruitment and technology consultants shows that the Administration has not made a real effort to strip down other expenses before firing teachers. The Administration also cannot afford to continue making the political fight around Last In/First Out a higher priority than keeping teachers in the classroom. As a public school parent I am outraged by how these choices jeopardize the stability of our schools. I will be organizing parents across New York City to demand that this budget makes our children the number one priority.”

STATEMENT BY PUBLIC ADVOCATE DE BLASIO ON MAYOR BLOOMBERG PICKING NISSAN TO BE TAXI OF TOMORROW
MAY 3, 2011

“The Taxi of Tomorrow should be creating the jobs of today for New York City, New York State and America. Instead, the Administration is giving away a $1 billion contract to a company based overseas without seeking any commitments for investment in our local and national economies. This failure, along with potential conflicts of interest between the TLC’s hired consultant Ricardo Inc. and Nissan, cast serious doubts on the legitimacy of the Administration’s final decision and its focus on bringing New York City out of the recession.”

STATEMENT BY PUBLIC ADVOCATE DE BLASIO ON INSPECTIONS OF ILLEGALLY SUBDIVIDED APARTMENTS
May 2, 2011

“Illegally converted apartments are a clear hazard to the safety of New Yorkers. It should not take the Department of Buildings weeks to dispatch inspectors, only to have many of them stymied by locked doors. The Department must accelerate its inspection process and increase its attempts to gain access to illegally subdivided units. We need to hold irresponsible landlords accountable and shut."