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A Fall Agenda for the City Council's Veterans Committee


ulrich

Council Member Eric Ulrich, right, at a veterans committee hearing (photo: William Alatriste)


When Council Member Eric Ulrich was appointed chair of the veterans committee by Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito in January, no one within the veterans community was sure what to expect. One of a few Republicans in a largely Democratic council, there were some vets who opposed his selection. However, during his first six months as chair, Ulrich, along with the rest of the committee, has given the committee's hearings new depth, with a seriousness and straight-forward approach that had been missing.

The result has been a renewed intensity of conversation in the veterans community and optimism for actually getting some legislation passed that will help veterans and their families. Therefore, as we rapidly approach September, this is a good moment to look ahead and discuss several possible topics the committee should consider holding hearings on over the next several months - especially given Mayor Bill de Blasio's appointment on Monday of a new commissioner of the Mayor's Office of Veterans' Affairs, former Brigadier General Loree Sutton.

In no particular order, recommendations for city council veterans committee priorities:

Veterans Advisory Board: As was stated in the veterans' briefing paper written during last year's mayoral campaign, the Veterans Advisory Board (VAB) has had some major issues over the past several years regarding its lack of an organized or public schedule, lack of transparent communication with the veterans community, ways by which issues make it to the board's attention and up the administration's chain of command.

It's only been recently that the city finally published the board's annual reports as well as the names of those serving on the board, when the majority of members' terms were either finished or coming to an end. Therefore, as the council committee has never held an oversight hearing on the VAB, this should be considered a top priority. The council committee should explore what the board has been doing and what can be done to make it more responsive, especially including a change to the terms of appointment.

Intro. 314 – MOVA: Back in April, Council Member Ulrich proposed and submitted Intro. 314, a bill that would change the Mayor's Office of Veterans' Affairs (MOVA) into a more autonomous department. Part of the reasoning is that the change would show the public that veterans issues are taken seriously in New York City while expanding the office's current capabilities. It would also make it easier for council members to obtain funding for local veterans groups. While this legislation could possibly make it through the Council, there must be discussions between the de Blasio administration and the Council regarding this change as it would require many shifts regarding budgeting, mission and even its place in the city charter. Nevertheless, a hearing on this bill should be held to obtain input from the public, the veterans community, and MOVA leaders.

Veteran Homelessness: Last month, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in New York City held its annual CHALENG (Community Homelessness Assessment, Local Education and Networking Groups) meeting, which brought together service providers, advocates, and others to identify the needs of homeless veterans and how to best meet those needs. At this meeting, Commissioner Gilbert Taylor of the city's Department of Homeless Services (DHS) talked about ending veteran homelessness in the city and it was shared that homelessness among veterans in the city has gone down from 3,500 in 2013 to 1,600 veterans as of their latest estimates. However, there has not been a hearing on homeless veterans from the council committee since November of 2011 and this would be an opportune time to hold one (perhaps jointly with the General Welfare Committee) to get an update on what the administration is doing; how it's working with the VA; and where they are in regard to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Mayor's Challenge to End Veteran Homelessness.

Intro. 426 – Benefits Counseling Services: Also last month, Council Member Ulrich introduced legislation that would place benefit counselors in each borough to assist veterans and their family members with VA disability claims and other related issues. With the recent loss of MOVA's three benefit counselors and the continued high number of claims pending at the VA, this bill deserves a hearing. This would also coincide with Governor Cuomo's announcement at the New York Veterans and Military Families Summit last March of the establishment of a statewide "Strike Force" to expedite federal disability claims for New York veterans and their family members.

Veterans and STEM: At the beginning of August, the 2nd Annual Executive U.S. Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Summit took place here in New York City. Leaders gathered from around the nation to discuss how to improve STEM education and the rising concern about future challenges and potential shortages in the workforce. Veterans have been identified as a source of motivated, skilled talent that can help address the decline of the technical workforce and an article in Forbes last year stated that New York City topped the list for STEM jobs. Also, Task and Purpose recently published an article about the new White House STEM initiatives including job training for veterans. Therefore, the council committee should consider holding a hearing on how the city can work with CUNY, as well as other colleges and interested parties, to encourage veterans to utilize the GI Bill to pursue post-secondary degrees in STEM fields and build upon the technical skills gained from military training and experience.

The City Council Committee on Veteran Affairs should also consider a hearing regarding veteran unemployment and others related to veteran-owned businesses.

Yes, this is a fairly hefty agenda and by no means do I or other members of the veterans community expect it all to happen in the fall. However, if the committee continues to approach veterans issues seriously, can hold hearings on a regular basis to look at these issues, and even move a few pieces of legislation, the next several months will be a success and continue to build on the positive work it started in the first part of the year. I believe this committee is up to the challenge.

***
Joe Bello served 11 years in the U.S. Navy/Naval Reserve and has been a veterans advocate in New York City for almost two decades. He is the founder of NY MetroVets.

Cab Riders Deserve Better


taxi photo

(nyc.gov)


 

Calling for Taxi Trips that are Safer, More Accessible, and with Fewer Impacts on the Environment

The New York City taxicab is woven into the fabric of our city's personality as much as skyscrapers, unbeatable pizza and high-pressure jobs. The iconic yellow cab has been a familiar part of our streetscape for decades, ushering "suits" to meetings, sure, but also students and frazzled parents to school on late mornings; tourists to the Empire State Building; and plenty of us back to Brooklyn many a late night.

Yet despite their established presence, each time I hop into one of the yellow, green, black, or other for-hire vehicles now roaming our neighborhoods, whether flagged, called or "app'd," I'm increasingly unsure what I'm getting myself into. While the evolution, innovation, and expansion of options are welcome, there are essential protective upgrades that must also be made – especially in the Vision Zero Era when NYC has committed to prevent death and injury on our city's streets.

With more than 240 million trips taken each year, the NYC taxicab industry could classify as the seventh largest transit system in the world in and of itself. This colossal scale comes with an equally immense amount of interaction with passengers, pedestrians, bicyclists, and other drivers – and, sadly, all too many preventable fatalities and injuries along the way. The distressing number of high profile taxi-related injuries and deaths making headlines lately show a grave need for updates to the regulations responsible for keeping New Yorkers and visitors safe on our streets and in our cabs.

Cab riders have a right to expect that when they enter a city-regulated cab or for-hire vehicle, their ride will be as safe as possible, which is one way we hope the launch of Cab Riders United can make a difference. Cab Riders United intends to serve as a voice for the 1.2 million passengers who ride in the city's cabs and for-hire vehicles each day. Our hope is that the voice of passengers and the public will be heard by Mayor de Blasio's office and the TLC and can help them move forward on key initiatives and regulations to improve the safety, quality and environmental impact of the city's taxicab industry.

New York is a world leader in culture, business, and food – constantly pursuing or pioneering "the next big thing" in nearly every category. The city's innovative policies on reducing tobacco-related death and disease and improving sustainability have been imitated the world over. And, our newer initiatives like paid sick leave and universal pre-K may be similarly replicated in years to come. Today, we should also embrace the opportunity to lead the charge in innovative transportation services, regulations, and technology to ensure safer, better quality cabs and car services with fewer negative impacts on the environment. New York can once again create a model for other cities to follow.

Cab Riders United strongly supports Mayor de Blasio's Vision Zero goal and its guiding principle that death or injury on our city's streets is simply unacceptable. Taxicabs and for-hire vehicles play an important role in New York City and they should be designed and operated with safety in mind. These vehicles should meet or surpass all federal crash and safety standards rather than be exempted from them. How many New Yorkers realize that only one taxi model on the city's streets has been crash-tested with the partition installed to prove its safety? Did you ever realize that the taxi partition we've seen for decades not only changes the vehicle's structural integrity but can prevent the passengers' airbags from deploying? Did you ever notice how often the credit card reader is installed exactly where your face will land in the event of a crash? In the city's emergency rooms, the doctors and nurses are tragically all-too familiar with an injury they call "partition face."

We can do better. Designing taxis inside and out with safety as the top priority; improving seatbelt and child seat regulations; requiring exterior warning lights and sliding doors to reduce the risk to pedestrians and cyclists should all be on the agenda. Not to mention, research shows that higher pay means safer cabbies; and it's simply unconscionable that many drivers working an 11 or 12 hour shift cannot even adjust their seat position to maintain comfort and alertness because of how the partition is installed. With this in mind, we also need to work on improving the training, pay, and working conditions for drivers

In a city where most residents do not own a car, but rely on a driving service when public transportation just won't work - such as returning from a medical appointment, the airport, or in times of emergency - passengers have a right to expect services that are convenient, comfortable and high quality. This includes continuing to expand service in previously underserved communities through the green Boro taxis and other innovative new options like Uber and Lyft, accelerating progress to make taxis accessible for passengers in wheelchairs, and simply a clean and comfortable ride.

Finally, New York is a leader among cities in an ever more urbanized world, and with that comes a responsibility to reduce carbon emissions and show others how a great city can become a greener, cleaner place to live. New York's taxis and for-hire vehicles are vital to the city's transportation system, but we need smart regulations that minimize the vehicles' negative impacts on climate, ambient air quality, and public space while creating a level playing field for fair competition.

As a proud New Yorker, I honestly believe that there is no other city like ours. The yellow taxi is more than a symbol of our city; it's an integral part of the hustle and bustle that makes NYC great. Yellow cabs and for-hire vehicles connect a diverse and dynamic population across neighborhoods, businesses, and cultures to bring people together. And, for generations the industry has created economic opportunity for New Yorkers, especially new immigrants. The taxi and for-hire vehicle industry should continue to do all of these things – but even better, with improved safety, expanded access, greater comfort and convenience, and a reduced impact on the environment.

It's time for New Yorkers and city officials, including Mayor de Blasio and members of the Taxi and Limousine Commission, to take the next steps to make our taxi and for-hire vehicle system one that we all can both rely on and take pride in. The Cab Riders United agenda is fueled by the energy and insights of regular New Yorkers who pay for car transportation and by the expertise of health professionals, academics, transportation policy advocates, and allied leaders from NYC's labor, business and design communities. We invite you to add your voice and join us as we advocate for these three principles: safety, quality service, and reduced environmental impact. Please visit our website, sign our petition and let us know your ideas!

***
Michael O'Loughlin, is a proud New Yorker and campaign organizer for Cab Riders United. He has worked on a number of NYC transportation initiatives to make the city's systems safer and more accessible for residents and visitors.

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@GothamGazette

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Breaking New York's Bad Plastic Bag Habit


Kostmayer-Lander-Chin City Hall

The author at a City Hall rally in support of the plastic bag bill (photo: Saleen Shah)


New York City has a bad habit that is expensive and dirty and one that we can break easily and soon.

It's the habit of using plastic bags.

And like most bad habits, we didn't always have it. For the first time in a generation or two, we are seeing reusable bags everywhere. They're even trendy. Consider this: the first plastic bags were introduced in 1977. Now they account for four out of every five bags handed out at grocery stores.

The good news is that American cities are fighting back either with legislation that reduces the use or bans them outright. Bravo to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington D.C. In an editorial, The Seattle Times challenged lawmakers saying it's high time to revisit a statewide ban.

Now the fight comes to the nation's largest city, uniting small business owners, environmentalists, and fiscal conservatives concerned about the cost of shipping trash out of the city, which amounts to an estimated $10 million to move 100,000 tons of plastic bags to landfills.

In September, right after the UN conference on climate change, our city council's sanitation and solid waste committee will hold a hearing on the proposed Lander-Chin bill that seeks to reduce the amount of single-use carryout bags that enter our waste stream.

It's encouraging news that the de Blasio administration is "very supportive" of the bill. For its part, Citizens Committee, in partnership with council members, will be holding cotton canvas bag giveaway events across the city.

How the Bill Works
The proposed bill here in the city calls for a simple 10-cent charge per bag. Who gets to keep the 10 cents per bag? Small retailers, the very folks this bill's opponents (read: the billion dollar plastics industry and its lobbyists) say will be hurt by the bill.

This commonsense approach is bringing people together in every borough and neighborhood. Council Member Brad Lander, one of the co-lead sponsors of the bill, says he believes the legislation is based on "a tried-and-tested...approach to reducing bag waste in New York City by at least 60 percent in a way that works for the environment and works for the city," according to a past Gotham Gazette piece. And Citizens Committee for New York City is just one member of a broad coalition seeking a new plastic bag law in the City Council. Co-sponsors of the bill have worked extremely hard to secure the backing of a few retail and grocery associations, a remarkable feat.

Under the proposed law, restaurants that rely on take-out and food delivery, as well as food stamp recipients, would be exempt. Some street vendors would also be exempt, unless they sell what a grocery store or retailer sells. In New York City alone, just one less grocery bag per person per year would reduce waste by five million pounds and save $250,000 in disposal costs. Also, increased proliferation of reusable bags will have a big impact. A sturdy, reusable bag needs only be used 11 times to have a lower environmental impact than using 11 disposable plastic bags.

Learn and Share
We urge you to learn these simple facts and educate your neighbors so that they can in turn educate their neighbors. After all, we live in a city full of hundreds of neighborhoods and with your support the time will soon come when plastic bag consumption finally trends down.

Plastic Bag Cheat Sheet

  • Plastic bags are made from oil: it takes about 430,000 gallons of oil to produce 100 million plastic bags, and the U.S. goes through 380 billion of them a year.
  • Plastic bags are not biodegradable.
  • If buried, plastic bags block the natural flow of oxygen and water through the soil.
  • If burned, plastic bags release dangerous toxins and carcinogens into the air.
  • If simply thrown away, plastic bags clog the waste stream and other waterways.
  • The EPA reports only 5.2 percent of all plastic bags are recycled, meaning the rest find their way to landfills, streets, the ocean, and almost anywhere else they don't belong.
  • Plastic bags pose a serious danger to birds and marine mammals that often mistake them for food. Thousands die each year after swallowing or choking on discarded plastic bags. The United Nations Environment Program estimates that there are 46,000 pieces of plastic litter floating in every square mile of ocean.
  • Department of Sanitation: New Yorkers use 5.2 billion single-use carryout bags per year.
  • Department of Sanitation: As of 2008, plastic bags accounted for over 1,700 tons of residential garbage per week in NYC
  • New York Times: City pays an estimated $10M to transport 100,000 tons of plastic bags to landfills
  • Thin plastic shopping bags jam expensive machinery at recycling plants.

So, let's break the habit and pop the plastic bag bubble once and for all. That'll be great news for all New Yorkers.

***
Peter H. Kostmayer is the CEO of Citizens Committee for New York City and a seven-term U.S. Congressman from Bucks County, Pennsylvania.

***
@GothamGazette

Do you have an op-ed idea or submission for Gotham Gazette? Send it to Executive Editor Ben Max: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 



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