Van Bramer celebrates the restoration of after-school funds at PS 150

When Jimmy Van Bramer took office one year ago, he pledged that he would combat graffiti, create additional green space and address parking problems for local residents. Most of all, he said he would be accessible.

 Van Bramer has largely met his goals.

In 2010, Van Bramer launched a $30,000 anti-graffiti hotline that provides residents with a call-in number, allowing them to report graffiti and request a free cleanup. He secured funds for the revamp of Lou Lodati Park (located at Skillman Ave. and 43^rdStreet) and the so-called Woodside Triangle, a site that will be converted into a park at the junction of 34th Avenue and 59th and 60th streets.

Meanwhile, while parking problems still persist, he has introduced a bill in the city council to end 12-hour meter rules that have led to non-residents parking in the neighborhood and taking the subway to work.

“I believe council member Jimmy Van Bramer has followed through on his campaign promises,” said Brent O’Leary, who ran against Van Bramer in the 2009 Democratic primary.  Sunnyside Republican John K. Wilson said he would “give him a passing grade” and respected Van Bramer’s “work ethic.”

“I feel terrific about the work my staff and I have done,” Van Bramer said, in a recent interview. “We pledged to be accessible and accountable and transparent.”

“We helped over 1,500 people [in 2010],” he said, citing council statistics. “These are all the people who have called us, or written in — or even those I have bumped into in the supermarket and drycleaner.” A significant portion of those cases, he said, involved housing, transportation and sanitation issues.

Van Bramer held eight town hall meetings in 2010, he said, where residents were able to meet him and discuss their concerns with his office and city agencies.

“Jimmy’s very responsive and available when you need him,” said Ira Greenberg, president of the Sunnyside Chamber of Commerce. Several sources held the same view.

Van Bramer is also quick to use the media to get results. His face became a fixture on New York 1 and Fox 5 News last year, whether it was bringing attention to the service cuts on the No. 7 train, the lack of city services following the Christmas snow storm, or the fight to restore city funds for Queens libraries.

In many cases, this media attention helped bring results. For example, Van Bramer said that the MTA no longer has plans to implement weekend cuts on the No. 7 train in 2011, the first time in years.

Looking ahead

This year, Van Bramer is kicking off his first town hall meeting with a small-business focus, where a number of city agencies will be on hand discuss small-business concerns. “We need to bring the community together and discuss how our local businesses can thrive.”

Greenberg welcomed the idea saying it is an opportunity for local businesses to discuss legislation, such as sick pay, as well as access to loans. “This is very good to hear.”

Van Bramer said the graffiti hotline will continue to operate in 2011 and that his office took more than 200 calls and cleaned several hundred sites in 2010. He said his office is working with the police to combat graffiti by reporting each tag and its location.

The design plans for the rehabilitation of Lou Lodati Park should be ready by early spring and construction is expected to begin in 2012, Van Bramer said. The $1.4 million rehabilitation will include a dog run and will see the park resurfaced with well-marked sports fields. There will be trees and some green space.

Van Bramer’s plan to purchase the Woodside Triangle, which is owned by Vinny Oppedisano, is being slowed down as negotiations between Oppedisano and the city continue to reach an impasse. Van Bramer, who secured $350,000 to purchase the property in order to convert it into a park, claims that the owner is seeking significantly more than what it is appraised at.  He said that his office has had some preliminary discussions about getting the property via eminent domain and it is something he will continue to look into.

The proposed primary school, which is to be located at 45-46 42^nd Street, is on track to be built, he said. The Department of Education, in November, suggested that it might be ready by September 2014.

The one nagging issue that has been difficult to fix is parking.

Van Bramer said he wants to reduce the number of hours motorists can park under the No. 7 train from 12 hours to 4 hours. This way, it would free up parking for residents and shoppers. Currently, many commuters from Eastern Queens and Long Island park there for the day and ride the No. 7 train into Manhattan. He said he has introduced legislation to end 12 hour meters.

Van Bramer’s efforts helped restore $61m in funding that saved many Queens libraries from closing. It ensured that the hours at the Sunnyside branch remained the same (still open on Saturdays) and that 14 libraries in Queens did not close.  He also was the prime sponsor of a new law requiring schools to distribute library card applications to all students.

Van Bramer said one of his biggest accomplishments was restoring $296,000 of funds for the PS 150 (43^rd Ave. and 41^st) after-school program. That program’s very existence was in doubt when the city announced last year that it would cut its funding.

But Wilson, the Republican, wasn’t so impressed by Van Bramer’s legislative and spending efforts. “I wish Van Bramer would resist the temptation to throw more money, and more legislation, at problems,” he said.

O’Leary, meanwhile, said Van Bramer has brought “much needed funds to the neighborhood for after school programs, senior services and cultural institutions,” adding “I feel we have been well represented at city hall through his efforts.”

Van Bramer participates in an anti-graffiti effort with a Sunnyside group

Press Release:

On Saturday, February 12th, Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer joined Council Member Peter Koo, Assemblywoman Grace Meng, New York City Comptroller John Liu and local electeds to celebrate the year of the rabbit at the 2011 Lunar Parade in Queens.

From Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer’s office

In the aftermath of last week’s blizzard, hundreds of people posted messages to facebook, tweeted, called and e-mailed Council Member Van Bramer’s office desperate for help and thanks to their concerns his office delivered a comprehensive list of unplowed roadways to the Mayor’s Office and the Department of Sanitation, bringing plows to unplowed streets.

For three days, Council Member Van Bramer trekked through the impassable roadways in his district, witnessing first-hand the growing desperation in Queens. When not on the streets of our neighborhoods, Council Member Van Bramer was on the phone with residents, demanding answers from City agencies, and drawing attention to this debacle in interviews with media.

After surveying the district on Monday, Van Bramer was answering phones along with staff members early Tuesday morning, where he helped Woodside Resident Barbara Legoff, a chemotherapy patient who couldn’t access the treatment she needed, by bringing FOX 5 News to her unplowed street with abandoned MTA buses. After the 5PM newscast, Legoff and her neighbors saw immediate action with the removal of buses followed by plowed streets.

Over a week has passed since the storm hit and now Queens Residents are being faced with yet another issue – garbage collection. While the piles of trash bags continue to grow throughout the city as the Department of Sanitation struggles to get back on track, Council Member Van Bramer’s office has been working around the clock strongly advocating on behalf of his constituents to the Mayor’s Office, NYCHA and the Department of Sanitation demanding answers for their cleanup plan for the district.

Next Monday, the first round of City Council Hearings about the blizzard response will begin, but Council Member Van Bramer is also working with his Queens colleagues in the City Council to arrange local public hearings in the coming weeks, to ensure that all Queens voices are heard.

Community members are encouraged to reach out to Council Member Van Bramer’s office directly should they have any issues via email: JimmyVanBramer@gmail.com, or phone: 718-383-9566.

The following letter was written by Jimmy Van Bramer:

It is hard to believe that nearly three days after snow started to fall, and two days after it stopped, hundreds if not thousands of streets and roadways have been left untouched and unplowed, endangering the safety and wellbeing of New Yorkers.

Never in the history of our great city has such a gross mismanagement of a snow cleanup turned into the disastrous lack of response we see before us today. For the past two days I have trekked through the impassable sidewalks and roadways in my district, witnessing first hand the systemic failure that our Mayor seems to believe is the best job our city can do in a time of emergency.

The disconnect between “Hizzoner” and the everyday people that are struggling to get out of their houses, walk down their streets and attempt to get to work to make a living is unbelievable. The people of my district, and indeed all New Yorkers need help and answers and they need them now.
 
In the past two days my office has received over 150 complaints, emails and phone calls from distraught constituents and senior citizens who cannot walk down their streets, access their vehicles or get to the places and services they need. I am baffled as to how major roadways were left untouched and unplowed nearly 48 hours after a storm hit our city and the photographs that I have personally taken and collected from my constituents capture the chaos Queens has and is currently experiencing in the aftermath of the snowstorm.
 
Every complaint taken by my office has been documented and filed with the the Mayor’s Office, the Speaker’s office, and the Department of Sanitation to ensure that all levels are notified of the urgency and severity of the issue at hand and to expedite the snow removal.

When not on the streets of our neighborhoods, I’ve been on the phone with residents, demanding answers from City agencies, and drawing attention to this debacle in interviews with media. Something has clearly gone wrong and answers will be sought out at a City Council hearing on January 10th, which will address and examine the City’s snow emergency policy and response.
 
My staff and I are dedicated to getting our community the services it needs and the answers it deserves and will be working around the clock to ensure that every complaint is adequately addressed. As always, please do not hesitate to call my district office, at 718-383-9566 or send us an email at JimmyVanBramer@gmail.com.
 
I work for you. I’ll never forget that, and I’ll always be grateful for the honor and privilege.

Jimmy Van Bramer

Councilman Van Bramer, who represents Woodside, Sunnyside, Long Island City, Astoria, and Maspeth in Queens, said in a statement: “I have lived my entire life in Queens, seen many storms, but have never seen so long a period go by where we just haven’t seen snow plows clearing the streets. More than 24 hours after the first snowflakes fell, there are still major roadways in my district that have yet to be plowed. Vernon Boulevard in Long Island City is just one example of a poor response to this storm by this administration. The hardworking people of my district and the entire City deserve better service.”

Councilman Greenfield, who represents the Bensonhurst, Boro Park and Midwood sections of Brooklyn, was shocked at the conditions as he walked the streets of his district this afternoon. “I’ve lived here my entire life,” said Greenfield, “and I’ve never seen the streets this way after a major snowstorm. Here in the outer-boroughs we are used to being the step-children of Manhattan and waiting for available plows, but there are major streets in my district that haven’t see a plow at all. Quite frankly, I’ve never seen such a wholesale failure of government to provide basic services.”

The Council Members attribute the extremely hazardous conditions to Mayor Bloomberg’s personnel reductions at the Department of Sanitation, which left the Department short 400 sanitation workers.

“I am outraged at the lack of response in the neighborhoods which I represent,” said Councilman Levin, who represents Brooklyn Heights, Park Slope, Greenpoint, and Williamsburg. “It is unacceptable that, a full day after the storm, major avenues throughout my district have yet to see a snow plow. I commend all the DSNY, FDNY, and NYPD workers giving their all out in the snow today, and we are all grateful for their work, but they have not been given enough resources. Clearly, City Hall and the leadership at the Sanitation Department were entirely unprepared for a storm of this magnitude, and we are all paying the price for that now.”

All three Council Members expressed their gratitude to the outstanding men and women of the Sanitation Department, NYPD, NYFD and OEM, noting how they selflessly left their own families to serve their communities in extremely hazardous conditions. Unfortunately, their superiors were clearly unprepared for this storm, and left all New Yorkers in a ditch.

The Senate voted Saturday to end the 17-year ban on openly gay troops, overturning the Clinton-era policy known as “don’t ask, don’t tell.”

“I was in tears about it,” says Dan Hendrick, a gay veteran who was discharged from the United States Navy over 19 years ago for being gay. At the time, he was struggling with his sexuality and expressed interest in another servicemember who he thought was gay.

“He actually went to the authorities,” he says. The “don’t ask, don’t tell” rule was not in effect yet, so Henrick was honorably discharged and still received military benefits. But it thrust him out of the closet to his family and friends. His military friends turned their backs on him out of fear they would be next.

“It was devastating to me personally,” he says. He was only 21 when it happened.

Henrick now lives with New York City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer, an outspoken advocate for gay rights. He said he sees the repeal of “dont ask, don’t tell” as a step towards further equality for the gay and lesbian community.

“I hope it’s an acknowledgement that the over 13,000 gay men and lesbians who were removed from the military for being gay,” he says. “It’s an acknowledgement that their service was indeed important and worthy.”

The change won’t take immediate effect, however. The legislation says the president and his top military advisers must certify that lifting the ban won’t hurt troops’ fighting ability. After that, there’s a 60-day waiting period for the military.

The repeal means that for the first time in U.S. history, gays will be openly accepted by the military and can acknowledge their sexual orientation without fear of being discharged. Thousands of gay service members have been dismissed under the 1993 law. Before that, they had been explicitly barred from military service since World War I.

For the rest, please click on NBC

The group targeted four supermarkets on Friday, three in Brooklyn and the Associated in Sunnyside.  Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer was among the participants.

The New York Communities for Change slapped one of the Brooklyn supermarkets with a lawsuit and the organizer of that group said the group plans to file a suit against Associated.

Ramon Duran, the manager of Associated (at Greenpoint and 44th), said he was surprised to see the group and Van Bramer protesting outside. “We pay overtime to our employees, we meet all New York requirements,” he said. “We have proof of that.”

Duran said, “What proof do they have? I’m going to have to talk to him [Van Bramer] because whatever they are saying is not true.”

The New York Communities for Change did not respond to phone calls on this issue.

Meanwhile, Van Bramer’s press office said in a statement:

“Council Member Van Bramer was invited to attend a rally by two organizations that have had a long history for advocating on behalf of the rights of workers and immigrants. The Council Member is always happy to support efforts that advance justice and at the rally spoke about those principles and did not touch upon the specific case highlighted at the rally.

“Any local issue is of great concern to the Council Member and he has already scheduled meetings with the Associated Supermarket and other parties to discuss the issue at hand.”