Park Slope

Council Member Brad Lander, Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson and Street Safety Advocates Announce Driver Accountability Task Force

Posted on March 2, 2015

Council Member Brad Lander, Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson and Street Safety Advocates Announce Driver Accountability Task Force

Elected Officials Partner with Transportation Alternatives and Families for Safe Streets to Improve Prosecution of New Vision Zero Laws in Brooklyn

BROOKLYN, NY – New York City Council Member Brad Lander and Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson in partnership with Transportation Alternatives and Families for Safe Streets, announced the creation of a Driver Accountability Task Force for the Borough of Brooklyn. The task force is the first of its kind in New York City. Read more »

  • Facebook logo
  • Twitter logo

Prospect Park West Manhole Explosions

Posted on February 2, 2015

I have been in contact with the FDNY regarding the manhole explosions on Prospect Park West and 5th Street. Two individuals were injured. One hit by the manhole cover that was launched into the air by the pressure that had built from a fire under the street, and another from a broken window that shattered during the blast. Both are now in stable condition. Read more »

  • Facebook logo
  • Twitter logo

Update from the Car Wash Picket Line

Posted on January 23, 2015

The car wash workers at Vegas Auto Spa in Park Slope are still on strike – but today they have some good news to share. This afternoon (in an official election moderated by the National Labor Relations Board) the workers unanimously voted to unionize. This is an important step forward in their struggle for fair wages, better working conditions, and being treated with dignity. Read more »

  • Facebook logo
  • Twitter logo

Statement on New York Methodist Hospital and Preserve Park Slope Settlement

Posted on January 8, 2015

I am pleased that Methodist Hospital and Preserve Park Slope have reached a settlement that enables the expansion project to move forward and responds to community concerns by lowering the height, allowing for more community involvement, and working with my office to address the traffic issues that have been raised by the proposal. The expansion of Methodist Hospital is an important part of preserving quality health care in the neighborhood, especially in the midst of a shifting health care landscape, and I look forward to working with the hospital and the neighborhood to ensure the highest level of care for our residents.

You can read the full text of the settlement here or see press releases summarizing the details on both the New York Methodist Hospital and Preserve Park Slope websites. Read more »

  • Facebook logo
  • Twitter logo

Dark days, and brighter ones

Posted on December 30, 2014

The waning days of 2014 have been dark ones for New York City. The killing of Detectives Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu made real the worst imaginable fears for those who put their safety on the line to serve our communities. Reactions to their murders highlighted tensions among New Yorkers – around how we understand the challenges of public safety and policing – and have risked setting us against ourselves.

Just a few weeks earlier, here in the 39th Council District, we lost 14-year-old Mohammad Naiem Uddin in a traffic crash that reminded us that our efforts to improve traffic safety and reduce speeding have not yet done enough.

Still, as the year turns, I remain truly grateful for what we’ve done together. Democracy can be messy, even painful. We don’t all agree on how to understand the problems, and certainly not on the solutions. But I am genuinely glad about what we’ve achieved together in New York City in 2014. While much of the rest of the country is stuck in a place of political polarization, we have moved forward in tangible ways to make lives better for many New Yorkers. Read more »

Contribute to support the workers at Las Vegas Car Wash

Posted on December 18, 2014

The fight for dignity and fair pay for low-wage workers has made it to our doorstep – or at least to our neighborhood car-wash.

The car-wash workers (or “carwasheros”) at Las Vegas Auto Spa (on 19th Street & 7th Avenue) have been cheated out of $600,000 in overtime and wages by owner Marat Leshehinsky, threatened, and denied their right to organize and form a union. So they took the brave step to go out on strike, and have been on the picket line since Thanksgiving.

We have a very concrete role to play: I am asking every one of us who cares about workers' rights to make a contribution to the strike fund so these courageous workers can get through the holidays.

Read more »

  • Facebook logo
  • Twitter logo

Support needed for car-wash workers on strike in Park Slope

Posted on November 26, 2014

Update (12/10/14): This Sunday, December 14, the workers will be marching through the community to kick off a rally for their rights. 

March in Support of Striking Carwasheros

Sunday, December 14 at 11am

Start: F/G station at 7th Ave and 9th Street

End: Las Vegas Auto Spa (555 Seventh Ave) 

I will be taking part in Sunday’s march to show solidarity and support for these workers, and I hope that you will join me. Together, we will show this owner that our community will not stand for abusive and unjust labor practices. I look forward to seeing you there.

Read more »

  • Facebook logo
  • Twitter logo

Seniors, Electeds & Community Stand Up Against Deplorable Conditions at Prospect Park Residence

Posted on November 1, 2014

BROOKLYN, NY -- Senior citizens, their families, elected officials and outraged community members gathered in front of the Prospect Park Residence on Saturday morning to protest unlivable conditions designed to drive the elderly residents from their homes.

Protesters including NYC Council Member Brad Lander, NYC Public Advocate Letitia James, and NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer decried the owner’s cruelty, as well as the inaction of Governor Cuomo and the NYS Department of Health, accusing the State of failing to protect the health and safety of residents in the building, as required by law.

Read more »

  • Facebook logo
  • Twitter logo

Street Safety Changes PS/IS 282

Posted on October 20, 2014

I’m pleased to report an important street safety improvement at PS/IS 282 in Park Slope which will hopefully alleviate a dangerous situation at student drop-off and pick-up times.  With many buses and family vehicles converging on narrow streets at the school, Principal Hoke raised with me his concern about students crossing between parked cars and having to board buses from the street side rather than the curb. Read more »

  • Facebook logo
  • Twitter logo