Monthly Archives: July 2016

Amy Peterson, Eric Ulrich, Photos, Rockaway

Ulrich Condemns Build It Back (Updated)



Council Member Eric Ulrich harshly condemned the City’s Build It Back program Monday, calling for the resignation of Amy Peterson, the Director of the Mayor’s Office of Housing Recovery Operations who oversees Build It Back.  Speaking at a press conference on Beach 117th Street in Rockaway, Ulrich described Build It Back as hopelessly failing with little visible prospect of success.

The owner of the home Ulrich spoke in front of has been displaced since February, having moved out in anticipation of substantial work through Build It Back. Shortly after the owner relocated Build It Back erected a fence, effectively locking out the homeowner and preparing the property for that work.  According to Ulrich and the daughter of the homeowner that work has not yet begun, however.  Ulrich further described this homeowner’s experience as common, saying that many of his constituents are in similar circumstances.

Ulrich Rockaway 7-18-16

Continue reading Ulrich Condemns Build It Back (Updated) →

2016 Presidential Race, Donald Trump, Eric Ulrich

Ulrich On Trump: Part 2 (Updated)



Eric Ulrich remains opposed to Donald Trump.  The Republican mayoral candidate and New York City Council Member is one of the few Republican elected officials in New York City, but he’s not supporting the about-to-be Republican presidential nominee.  Ulrich supported John Kasich in the New York Republican primary.  Like Kasich, he has not moved toward Trump in the months since Kasich ended his campaign.

Speaking after a press conference in which Ulrich harshly criticized Mayor de Blasio’s management of the City’s Sandy recovery Build It Back program, Ulrich continued his prior criticism of Trump, adding that “I don’t know who I’m voting for in November.”  An aversion to Trump is one area of agreement between potential 2017 rivals de Blasio and Ulrich.

Bill de Blasio, Julissa Ferreras-Copeland, Melissa Mark-Viverito, Michael Blake, Photos, Vanessa Gibson

de Blasio Press Q&A: The Tampon & Pad Edition



de Blasio Press Conference 7-13-16Mayor Bill de Blasio celebrated the passage of three City Council bills increasing access to tampons and pads in schools, jails and shelters with a Tuesday signing ceremony and press conference.  City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, Council Members Julissa Ferreras-Copeland and Vanessa Gibson and Assembly Member Michael Blake joined de Blasio at the High School of Violin and Dance in the Bronx.

de Blasio Press Conference 7-13-16

After remarks by the elected officials, following an introduction by 11th grader Mayelin Sanchez, de Blasio sat for the actual bill signing.    He then returned to the lectern for a lengthy press Q&A.

Here is his full press Q&A, split into on and off topic portions:

 

Photo Gallery:

Our full bill signing and press conference photo gallery is here.

de Blasio Press Conference 7-13-16

Andrew Cuomo, Zephyr Teachout

Support, But No Mention



Governor Andrew Cuomo supports former opponent Zephyr Teachout in her current congressional campaign, but he couldn’t quite mention her name today.  Asked at an unrelated press conference today whether he’ll endorse Teachout and whether he “hope[s] that she wins” Cuomo replied flatly that “I will support the Democratic nominee for Congress in that District … short answer, yes.”  Teachout won the 19th Congressional District Democratic primary in June and faces 2006 Republican gubernatorial candidate John Faso in November’s general election.

Teachout, of course, was Cuomo’s 2014 Democratic primary opponent, garnering an impressive 33% of the vote with a shoestring campaign.  Cuomo did his best to ignore her candidacy, not actively campaigning until the weekend before the 2014 primary.  In a fitting dramatic twist, Cuomo then literally ignored her when she approached him at a parade as he began overtly campaigning.

Here’s Cuomo’s response today:

Andrew Cuomo, Carmen Arroyo

Cuomo Press Q&A: Hostos, Again



Governor Andrew Cuomo returned today to Hostos Community College, a favored Bronx press conference site for Cuomo, to announce $30 million in additional funding for the “Urban Youth Jobs Program.”  That program provides tax credits of up to $5,000 to employers for each qualified newly-hired employee ages 16-24.  Governor Cuomo was joined by numerous Bronx elected officials, including Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., State Senators Jose Serrano and Gustavo Rivera, Assembly Members Jose Rivera, Carmen Arroyo, Marcos Crespo, Michael Blake, Victor Pichardo, and Michael Bennedetto and Council Members Jimmy Vacca and Rafael Salamanca.

Topics in a post-announcement press Q&A included whether Cuomo will support Bronx Borough President, and Cuomo ally, Ruben Diaz Jr. in a 2017 mayoral run against Bill de Blasio, details on a state program to fund the green card application fees of 2,000 applicants, delays in the Cuomo administration response to the still unfolding Hoosick Falls drinking water catastrophe, whether Cuomo will work to turn control of the state senate to the Democrats, whether Cuomo will sign recently- passed AirBnB legislation, the State’s response to increasingly severe occurrences of K2/spice overdoses and whether he will support 2014 gubernatorial opponent Zephyr Teachout in her congressional campaign.  As Cuomo departed he also briefly responded to a question on whether Heastie and Diaz will join the governor’s “Adirondack Challenge” this weekend.

Here’s the full Q&A: