AFFORDABLE HOUSING

It is essential that New York remains a place that is affordable for people from all walks of life. However, a severe housing shortage has caused millions of New Yorkers to see their rents skyrocket. A recent study showed that low-income tenants are paying an average of 49 percent of their wages on rent, up from 45 percent in 2005. Many New Yorkers are only able to stay in their neighborhoods if their apartments remain rent-regulated – and even then, annual increases approved by the New York City Rent Guidelines Board are making those units unaffordable for many tenants. As a former board member of the tenant advocacy organization Tenants and Neighbors, Brad has helped tenants organize to preserve affordable housing and strengthen tenants’ rights.  He also created a $1 million legal defense fund for rent-stabilized tenants in the area. Because of this work, Brad has been endorsed by Tenants PAC. In Albany, he’ll continue this fight and will:

1. • • Restore home-rule over rent and eviction protections to the NYC Council and Mayor. Brad will fight to repeal the Urstadt Law, which bars New York City from adopting rent limitations and protections that are more stringent or restrictive than those in State law.  As a result, New York City has little ability to adopt rational policies regarding rents, evictions and other housing-related issues. Instead, upstate Republican Senators who have no rent-regulated tenants get to decide what happens to New York City’s tenants.
   • • Fight to repeal “vacancy decontrol,” which creates a perverse incentive for unscrupulous landlords to evict tenants without cause in order to remove units from the rent regulation system.
   • • Close the loophole that allows landlords to use “one or more” apartments for their own personal use. This provision has been used to empty entire buildings of their long-term tenants. Once a tenant has been removed, there is no oversight to ensure landlords or their immediate family members actually occupy the units.
   • • Advocate for (S523/A2459) to reform the Major Capital Improvement (MCI) rent increase system so that MCIs are listed as a separate surcharge not compounded with the base rent that is only paid until the cost of the improvement is covered. 
   • • Reform the Rent Guidelines Board. Brad will co-sponsor legislation (S741A/A6394B) to require the Mayor’s nominations to the Rent Guidelines Board to be approved by the City Council. He will also fight for the Rent Board Reform bill (S5057A/A5567A), which would fundamentally reform New York State’s Rent Guidelines Board system to level the playing field for tenants.
   • • Promote the preservation and expansion or our affordable housing stock in order to keep complexes like Manhattan Plaza, Stuyvesant Town/Peter Cooper Village, East Midtown Plaza, Penn South and Westbeth as bastions of affordability and to create new units of low and moderate-income housing so that individuals and families from a wide range of backgrounds and professions can continue to call Manhattan home.
   • • Strengthen the State’s Tenant Protection Unit, which was created by Governor Cuomo to proactively enforce landlord obligations to tenants and impose strict penalties for failure to comply with HCR orders and New York’s rent laws. More resources are needed to modernize the State’s housing database in order to make it easier to determine the rent history of apartments, detect fraud among landlords and shorten the time it takes to deal with tenant complaints (which is currently more than a year).
   • • Expand housing support for seniors and disabled New Yorkers through expansion of the Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption Program (SCRIE), which offers rent freezes to low-income seniors, and the Disabled Rent Increase Exemption Program (DRIE), which offers rent freezes to low-income disabled people.

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EDUCATION

As Chair of Manhattan Community Board 2, Brad worked closely with the Public School Parent Advocacy Committee and local elected officials to secure two new public schools (an elementary school in the former Foundling Hospital building on 17th Street and a new middle school at 75 Morton Street).  He also helped secure $1 million for arts programs in local public elementary schools.  In 2003, Brad worked with Dan Garodnick on representing the Partnership for New York City in the landmark Campaign for Fiscal Equity lawsuit, which proved that New York State was failing in its constitutional obligations to provide a sound basic education to thousands of its schoolchildren. In continuing this fight for better schools, Brad will:

• • • Stand up for our public school teachers, whom he believes we should be commending for their dedication to educating our children and who deserve our support in their professional development.
  • • Fight for smaller class sizes and comprehensive education programs by supporting increased state aid to our schools, improving the teacher-to-student ratio, building more schools and opposing cuts to art, music, health and physical education.
  • • Support a balanced approach towards mayoral control of our public schools by giving our parents a greater role and more resources through the Community Education Councils.
  • • Oppose the Bloomberg Administration’s plans to cut funding for childcare and after school programs as well as its flawed Early Learn NYC model for early childhood education.
  • • Support expanding funding to SUNY and CUNY schools and the New York State Tuition Assistance Program.

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GOVERNMENT REFORM

Brad has a long history of challenging the status quo. As a community board leader, he led reforms that rooted out conflicts of interest and made the member selection process more transparent. In Albany, Brad will fight for reforms to level the playing field for all New Yorkers end Albany’s “pay to play” culture, which favors well-financed special interests. He’ll support measures to restore the public’s confidence in their state legislature
and will:

• • • Fight for comprehensive campaign finance reform that consists of public financing, matched contributions and lower contribution limits for candidates for state office, along the lines of what New York City adopted in 1988. Such a system would encourage smaller donations and wider participation in the political process and lessen the corrupting influence of big money donations in New York, which has one of the highest contribution limits for state offices in the nation.
  • • Advocate for the creation of an independent redistricting commission (S.6698) by amending the State Constitution in the 2013 Legislative Session. Like many New Yorkers, Brad was extremely disappointed by the failure of the Legislature and Governor to implement redistricting reform effective in 2012. He believes the Legislature must not permit a partisan, self-dealing redistricting process to transpire again.
  • • Support major reforms to the state budgeting process. Despite reforms enacted in 2009, the process of creating and passing a budget in New York State remains seriously flawed. Brad will work to ensure that all budget documents are released in consistent, user-friendly formats well in advance of voting, allowing the public the time and information needed to provide independent review. Brad opposes use of “messages of necessity,” which force lawmakers to vote immediately on budget bills without having time to review their contents. He also supports a later start date for the State fiscal year (June 1) as well as preparation of the budget in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), which would allow lawmakers access to more accurate tax revenue data and more accurate information on the State’s actual liabilities and revenues.
  • • Advocate for the creation of an independent budget office, similar to the federal government’s Congressional Budget Office, to provide objective, non-partisan analysis of state revenues, expenditures and management practices. Currently, there is no entity that provides the State Legislature with revenue projections and economic analysis of legislation.
  • • Push for reforms that reinvigorate legislative committees by providing more reasonable means of discharging bills, increasing the ability of members to call for public hearings and promoting the use of conference committees. He’ll also support measures to provide the public with a greater opportunity to provide testimony at committee meetings and require fuller reporting of committee activities.
  • • Fight for voter reforms such as same-day voter registration, vote-by-mail, early voting, and instant-runoff voting, which will make it easier for New Yorkers to participate in the democratic process and increase participation.

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LGBT RIGHTS

Brad has been an LGBT activist most of his adult life. He is the former president of the Gay & Lesbian Independent Democrats and a former board member of Empire State Pride Agenda. Last year, he successfully helped organize the business community in support of marriage equality. If elected, Brad will replace Tom Duane as the only LGBT member of the New York State Senate and will become the first LGBT parent in the New York State Legislature. He’ll continue the fight for full LGBT equality at the state level and will:

• • • Fight for passage of the Gender Expression Non-discrimination Act (GENDA), a bill that that would outlaw discrimination in New York State based on gender identity or expression. Currently, it is legal in most parts of New York to be terminated from a job, kicked out of your home or denied credit or public accommodations (such as service in a restaurant) simply for being transgender. GENDA would also expand the State’s hate crimes law to explicitly include crimes against transgender people.
  • • Ensure that the New York State LGBT Health and Human Services Network receives its fair share of taxpayer funding by working with the Empire State Pride Agenda and other advocates. He recognizes the importance of nonprofit groups and organizations that provide health and social services to LGBT New Yorkers and their families, especially those who are also part of other marginalized communities, including people of color, youth and senior citizens. Brad cares deeply about expanding protection and support for New York’s LGBT youth, who suffer from vastly increased rates of bullying, dropping out of school, substance abuse, homelessness and suicide.
  • • Support increased resources for evidence-based HIV prevention programs targeted towards gay and bisexual men of color, who have disproportionately high infection rates.
  • • Expand parenthood options for the LGBT community and other New Yorkers by legalizing surrogacy. New York is one of only four states in the nation where surrogacy is completely banned.

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

Brad has been endorsed by the New York League of Conservation Voters for his strong and progressive record on the environment. He organized the NYC business community’s support of mass transit, green industries and measures to reduce traffic congestion and carbon emissions. As Chair of Community Board 2, Brad helped create new parks, renovated playgrounds and raised awareness about the dangers of hydrofracking. In Albany, he’ll:

• • • Work to create green jobs based on clean, renewable energy by supporting Governor Cuomo’s goal to quadruple solar energy production in New York State. Investing in renewable energy will make New York State a leader in green energy, improve New York’s air quality and create high-paying jobs for the future.
  • • Support a ban on hydraulic fracturing (hydrofracking) in New York State. This dangerous process of extracting natural gas by pumping millions of gallons of water and toxic chemicals into horizontal wells at high pressure is associated with explosions and spills and the introduction of carcinogens and flammable gases into the drinking water of states where it is permitted. In Brad’s view, hydrofracking should be prohibited throughout New York State until and unless the technology improves to a point that it no longer poses any risk.
  • • Advocate for New York State’s Environmental Protection Fund (EPF), a dedicated source of funding established in 1993 for critical environmental programs that protect our clean drinking water, our parklands, historic sites and other open space and our family farms. Brad is pleased that the State Legislature passed a bill to enhance the EPF over the next several years at the end of the 2012 Legislative Session, and if elected, he will work with colleagues and advocates to ensure that it has a sustainable level of funding.

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SENIORS

New York State’s senior citizens have made significant contributions to our society, and we have an obligation to help them maintain their health, safety, dignity and quality of life.  As Chair of Manhattan Community Board 2, Brad worked to ensure that the social service needs of his community’s seniors were met.

If elected to the State Senate, Brad will:

• • Work to ensure that State programs for senior citizens remain strong, well funded and easily accessible.

• • Seek to expand New York’s Elderly Pharmaceutical Insurance Coverage (EPIC) program, which provides low-income seniors with financial assistance to help with the costs
  of medications.

• • Aggressively fight any cuts to the State’s Title XX funding allocation for New York City’s senior centers and senior services.

• • Support and promote Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities (NORCs) and Neighborhood NORCs, in which significant numbers of seniors who have chosen to grow older in their age-integrated communities are provided supportive services that allow them to age
  in peace.

• • Seek to raise the household income cap for the Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption Program (SCRIE), so that limited-income seniors who are spending a growing proportion of their income on medicine and other necessities can afford to remain in
  their homes.

• • Help to educate seniors about financial fraud and other scams that target them and push for robust enforcement of State laws that protect our seniors from fraud and elder abuse.

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REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS

Brad is a staunch defender of choice. He’s extremely concerned that nearly 40 years after Roe v. Wade, women’s reproductive rights remain under attack not only from the far right but also from the Republican establishment. Brad will fight to defend women’s rights to make their own health care decisions by ensuring full access to safe abortions, contraception and reproductive health care. Specifically, as State Senator, Brad will:

• • • Fight for and co-sponsor legislation that establishes a fundamental, statutory right to privacy in making personal reproductive decisions. Brad believes fervently that health care decisions should be made privately between individuals and their doctors, not by
    the government.
  • • Support continued state Medicaid funding for abortion and fight to ensure that private insurance plans cover abortion as a basic component of women’s health care.  Insurance coverage is crucial to ensure that every woman can get safe, legal care.
  • • Advocate and co-sponsor legislation that would award funding for school districts and community-based organizations to provide comprehensive, medically-accurate and age-appropriate sex education programs for young people. Brad strongly opposes abstinence-only sex education, which has been proven to be counter-productive in terms of preventing pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections in teens.

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HEALTH CARE

Brad helped organize the community’s response to the closure of St. Vincent’s Hospital. Working with elected officials, advocates and local health care providers, Brad led the West Side Community Health Needs Assessment that identified service needs and gaps in local health care delivery.

Brad is pleased that the U.S. Supreme Court has affirmed the federal Affordable Care Act, and he looks forward to working with the Cuomo administration to ensure its effective implementation in New York, including the establishment of a strong New York State Health Benefit Exchange through which individuals and small businesses can shop for quality, affordable coverage. Creating a financially self-sustaining health insurance exchange will create competition in New York’s health care market and drive down costs. While the federal Affordable Care Act is an historic step, it still leaves insurance companies with too much control over premiums. New York State can and must do better.

Brad supports a universal, single payer health care system in New York State, like the one proposed in State Assembly Member Gottfried’s New York State Health Plan legislation, which would ensure comprehensive health care coverage for all New Yorkers regardless of income. Under the plan (A.7860/S.5425), which Senator Duane has carried in the State Senate, publicly sponsored coverage would replace insurance company coverage, and premiums would be replaced by broad-based public financing. Health care is a right, and New Yorkers should not go without medically necessary services – including primary, preventive and specialist care, reproductive, mental health, dental and vision care, hospitalization, prescription drug and medical supply costs – for fear of how they will pay their medical bills.

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HIV / AIDS

New York State has been a leader in confronting the HIV/AIDS epidemic, but there is still much work to be done to improve our HIV prevention, treatment and care services.  We must focus particular attention on communities of color, and especially women of color and men of color who have sex with men, both of whom have disproportionately high rates of new infections. Working with activists and elected officials, Brad helped create a new public park with a permanent AIDS memorial at St. Vincent’s triangle.  In the tradition of State Senator Duane, who has been a fierce and effective advocate for people living with and affected by HIV/AIDS, Brad will:

• • Fight for passage and enactment of Senator Duane’s HASA 30% rent cap bill, which would bring New York City’s HIV/AIDS Services Administration (HASA) into line with every other rental assistance program in New York State and would end the current mandate that HASA clients who receive rental subsidies pay all but $344 of their income every month towards rent.  This jeopardizes their health and leads to high rates of arrears, evictions and homelessness.

• • Seek passage and enactment of syringe access legislation, which would further the public health objectives of New York’s Expanded Syringe Access Program (ESAP) by lifting the cap on the number of syringes that pharmacies can sell to an individual and permitting pharmacies to advertise that they participate in the program and have syringes available.

• • Work to safeguard the New York State AIDS Institute’s baseline budget.  Brad will preserve the AIDS Drug Assistance Program and advocate for new funding to strengthen evidence-based prevention programs.  He will also facilitate State Department of Health oversight of HIV/Hepatitis C care in correctional facilities as required by statue and ensure full implementation of New York’s HIV testing law.

• • Promote comprehensive sex education in our schools, including working towards passage of the Healthy Teens Act, which would create a competitive grant program to fund age-appropriate, medically accurate sex education in New York State.

• • Support New York’s federal representatives in their efforts to restore New York’s fair share of federal HIV/AIDS funding.

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IMMIGRATION REFORM

Brad believes immigration reform is crucial to the future of New York’s economy and its international competitiveness. Research has documented the extent to which immigrants foster innovation and serve as the backbone to numerous sectors in the workforce. While most immigration policy is under the jurisdiction of the federal government, when elected to the State Senate in Albany Brad will:

• • • Strongly support passage of the New York State Dream Act, which would grant undocumented students in New York access to state financial aid.  This legislation would provide assistance to the more than 3,500 undocumented students who graduate from New York high schools annually and who encounter tremendous obstacles on the road to obtaining a college degree. Currently, undocumented youth are barred from accessing federal financial aid and are not eligible for most scholarships and loans for college. New York has the opportunity to help level the playing field by implementing legislation that would allow its undocumented students to realize higher educational pursuits. New York should join other states such as Texas, New Mexico and California in passing its own state-level Dream Act to grant undocumented students to access state financial aid.
  • • Join other progressive elected officials nationwide in calling for broad federal immigration reform, including a real path to citizenship, fair labor rights and an emphasis on reuniting families – all while upholding America’s national security and the rule of law.

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