DANIEL DROMM, Democrat for City Council

From Queens Chronicle:
by Willow Belden

Jackson Heights could become home to a new charter high school, if an application submitted to the Department of Education is approved — and if the school can find a suitable location.

The Renaissance Charter High School for Innovation would house approximately 500 students in grades nine through 12 and would be located either in District 30 or District 24.

Daniel Dromm, a longtime Jackson Heights teacher and candidate for City Council, said teachers and parents are very involved in decision-making at Renaissance, which is a plus.

“What works with students is what we have going on with students at Renaissance,” he said, calling the institution “a model for charter schools.”

Labels: CommunityOrganizing, Education, Press

Support of 1199 SEIU boosts Democrat's primary challenge to Helen Sears

QUEENS - In a major development in the race for the 25th City Council District, 1199 SEIU announced today that it is backing Democratic challenger Daniel Dromm over incumbent Councilwoman Helen Sears. The influential healthcare workers' union endorsed Dromm for his commitment to improving quality healthcare in the district, a contrast with the current Councilmember's disappointing record.

"Daniel Dromm is a true community leader who understands what's at stake when it comes to the current healthcare crisis in Queens," said Kevin Finnegan, 1199 Political Director. "Since last Fall, 3 Queens hospitals have closed their doors. We need a City Councilmember who's going to fight to keep local hospitals open and expand healthcare services that will improve access to medical care and create jobs. Danny's decades of advocacy prove that he knows how to do that."

With roughly 250,000 members in New York City, 1199 SEIU's endorsement can be heavily influential in contested races like the one between Dromm and Sears. The union can mobilize thousands of members to help elect its endorsed candidates.

"It's a huge honor to receive 1199's support," Dromm said in response to the endorsement announcement. "The nurses and healthcare workers who are members of this union go to heroic lengths every day to make sure we have high quality care, and it's time our community had a City Council member who is on their side. I know how much needs to be done to improve healthcare in our area, and I look forward to working with 1199 SEIU to make that happen."

The state of healthcare in the 25th Council District was dealt a major blow recently with the recent closing of St. John's Hospital, and wait times at Elmhurst Hospital are increasing dangerously. Daniel Dromm is calling for the opening of community clinics to reduce overcrowding and expand care, and has pledged to fight to reopen St. John's as a public or private facility.

Councilwoman Sears, meanwhile, took little action to prevent the St. John's shutdown. More egregiously, she sided with real estate industry lobbyists over the community's health by voting "no" on the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Act (Intro 101A, 2004).

Labels: Endorsements, HealthCare, Unions

Tenants PAC has endorsed Daniel Dromm for the City Council, District 25. Tenants PAC works to make tenants an electoral force. Tenants PAC is the only organization in New York devoted to advancing the tenant cause through election activity. While tenants will never be able to match the landlords' money, our financial contributions to pro-tenant candidates can make a big difference. Tenants PAC can also play a big role in electing pro-tenant candidates by volunteering to knock on doors and to staff phone banks.

Labels: CommunityOrganizing, Endorsements, Housing

From Crains:
Educational Justice PAC, which bills itself as the city’s first parent-initiated grassroots political action committee, will unveil its City Council endorsements today. The big winner is Daniel Dromm, a public school teacher challenging Queens Councilwoman Helen Sears in the Democratic primary. Dromm got $2,750, the maximum donation allowed. S.J. Jung, running for an open seat in Flushing, got $750, and Mark Winston Griffith, challenging Councilman Al Vann in central Brooklyn, got $500. Eight incumbents received $250 each from the PAC, which says it’s trying to increase accountability at the Department of Education.

Labels: CommunityOrganizing, Education, Grassroots, Press

Democrat Daniel Dromm Files Three Times the Signatures Needed to Qualify for Ballot

Petition Signers Say: It's Time for a City Council Member Who Gets Results

QUEENS – Daniel Dromm filed over 2,700 petitions to place him on the Democratic ballot for City Council in District 25, where he is challenging incumbent Helen Sears’ brazen bid to give herself a third term over the objections of New York City voters.

The 2,714 signatures Dromm filed are three times the 900 needed to qualify for the ballot, demonstrating the strength of his grassroots campaign operation. More than 100 volunteers spent five weeks knocking on roughly 15,000 doors throughout the 25th District to gather these petitions.

In another sign that Dromm’s challenge is resonating with voters, a large portion of his signatures came from neighborhoods like Elmhurst and LeFrak City that incumbent Sears has largely ignored during her time on the City Council. LeFrak alone contributed one out of every five signatures Dromm gathered.

“So many of the voters I met during this process were just thankful to have a City Council candidate actually show up at their door and ask what matters to them,” Dromm said of his petitioning efforts. “People have been waiting eight years for our current Council Member to address major issues like hospital closings, traffic congestion, school overcrowding and quality of life in our neighborhoods. She hasn’t done that – but I have the experience and energy to get it done.”

Daniel Dromm has been a public school teacher in Queens for over 25 years, and a community organizer working to advance civil rights and opportunities for diverse communities in the 25th Council District. He has been endorsed by Assemblyman José Peralta, Councilwoman Julissa Ferreras, Councilman Eric Gioia, the United Federation of Teachers, the Working Families Party, the Hotel and Motel Trades Council, the Stonewall Democrats, and many other New York City organizations and community leaders.

Labels: CommunityOrganizing, Volunteers

From Jackson Heights Times: by Jeremy Walsh
"Dromm Touts Activist Past"
When Daniel Dromm launched his bid for the City Council last year, he did not expect to be the underdog. But when Mayor Michael Bloomberg succeeded in extending term limits, the public school teacher and Democratic district leader found himself pitted against incumbent Councilwoman Helen Sears (D-Jackson Heights).

“It does change my strategy,” he said. “But that’s going to be a problem for her, because I disagree with her a lot.”

Dromm said as a councilman, he would focus on overcrowding in schools, traffic congestion and health care.

He criticized Sears for not bringing additional school seats to her Council district, noting that Districts 24 and 30 are two of the most overcrowded in the city.

“We’ve got to build up [on existing sites] or we find other places to do it,” he said. “Just saying that we can’t do something is not acceptable.”

To alleviate traffic congestion, Dromm proposed redirecting and extending some one-way streets in the Jackson Heights Historic District, as well as commissioning a traffic impact study for the LeFrak City area, which he fears will be overwhelmed by vehicles traveling to and from the new shopping center along Junction Boulevard in Rego Park.

Labels: CommunityOrganizing, Education, HealthCare, Press, Transportation

Daniel Dromm, Democrat for City Council District 25, will attend the NYC Dept of Transportation Jackson Heights Neighborhood Transportation Community Workshop on July 16th.

NYCDOT is working with the Jackson Heights community to develop
short-term transportation solutions to improve conditions within Jackson Heights.

NYCDOT is going to conduct an interactive community workshop to develop an understanding of the transportation issues in Jackson Heights from the real experts: The Community!

THURSDAY, JULY 16, 2009 6:30 p.m.
WHITE CASTLE HEADQUARTERS
69-01 34th Avenue
Jackson Heights, New York

Directions: 7 Train to 69th St. or R/V Train to 65th Street; Q53 Bus

Daniel Dromm encourages everyone to attend this important meeting. We want YOU to play an active and involved role in this study!

To learn more about Dromm's plan to reduce traffic congestion and improve pedestrian safety, visit: Dromm Plan

Labels: CommunityOrganizing, MassTransit, Transportation