DANIEL DROMM, Democrat for City Council

From NY Daily News: By Clare Trapasso

Labels: Greenspace, Parks-Playgrounds, Press, QualityofLife

From NYPost: by Jeremy Walsh

The same day last week that the MTA approved a doomsday budget that eliminated two subway lines in Queens, elected officials in Jackson Heights called the agency’s attention to a potential lost funding source: the 74th Street-Roosevelt Avenue transit hub.

“It is absolutely shameful that the MTA is considering throwing students under the bus before pursuing revenue from these valuable properties,” City Councilman-elect Daniel Dromm said of the new budget, which includes charging students for trips to and from school. “The MTA must focus on all revenue opportunities before they talk about any service cuts or massive fare increases for students.”

State Assemblyman Jose Peralta (D-Jackson Heights) said the Metropolitan Transportation Authority “needs to look deep into their reserve fund and find appropriate sources of funding.”

Assemblyman Michael DenDekker (D-Jackson Heights) also urged alternate methods of increasing revenue.

“Before the MTA starts to implement any service cuts at all, it should check all available financial resources, such as the leasing of MTA property and all other revenue sources they have,” he said.

The $132 million 74th Street station project took five years to finish, Dromm’s office said. It boasts 14 commercial spaces that could be rented out to tenants.

At the time, elected officials said the MTA Real Estate Committee had received a stunning number of applications for the storefronts. But when the new facility opened in November 2006, merchants complained that the MTA charged much higher rents than other landlords in the neighborhood.

MTA spokesman Kevin Ortiz said 11 of the commercial spaces at the station are either currently occupied or licensed and awaiting the tenant to move in.

The largest of the spaces, a 4,000-square-foot storefront on the street level, is empty right now because the vendor is having problems with his architect, Ortiz said.

“What we said was, ‘As a sign of good faith ... would you increase the amount that you give the MTA up front as a security deposit?’ And he did that,” Ortiz said. “He’s assured us he’s coming.”

Dromm’s office pointed out another transit hub, the Fulton Street station in Manhattan, was recently renovated with 20,000 square feet of commercial space that goes for $150 a square foot annually.

The 74th Street station was the 14th-busiest of all the MTA’s subway stations in 2008, serving 16.4 million passengers that year.

Labels: CommunityOrganizing, EconomicDevelopment, MassTransit, Press, QualityofLife

From NY1:
JACKSON HEIGHTS, NY, December 16, 2009 -- Despite the city's economic crisis, the MTA has failed to lease valuable commercial space at the 74th Street/Roosevelt Avenue station in Jackson Heights, Queens. After the station was renovated with millions of dollars of taxpayer money, the MTA has missed out on significant income by not leasing these properties.

Yet the MTA is currently trying to close a nearly $400 million budget gap by planning dramatic cuts to bus and subway service. Also on the chopping block are the free MetroCards that half a million of New York City’s students use to get to school. City Council Member-elect Daniel Dromm along with Assemblyman Jose Peralta, Assemblyman Michael DenDekker and many community leaders, demanded that the MTA pursue leasing these commercial properties to generate revenue to prevent drastic service cuts at a press conference held in front of the Roosevelt Avenue station.

“It is absolutely shameful that the MTA is considering throwing students under the bus before pursuing revenue from these valuable properties” said City Council Member-elect Daniel Dromm. "The MTA has neglected the Jackson Heights community by failing to lease these properties. The MTA must focus on all revenue opportunities before they talk about any service cuts or massive fare increases for students."

“The MTA needs to review their operational policy every time they feel they need to make cuts, because it is not working. If it’s not the hard working men and women of this State that is usually affected, then it is our senior population. Now, they turn their darts on our students, making it much more difficult for them to get to and from school,” stated Assemblyman Jose R. Peralta. “The MTA needs to look deep into their reserve fund and find appropriate sources of funding. The funding situation turns even more confusing when suitable funding sources -like the ones at the 74 Street Station- are available yet they are not included in the financial equation.”

Assemblyman Michael DenDekker said, "Before the MTA starts to implement any service cuts at all, it should check all available financial resources such as the leasing of MTA property and all other revenue sources they have."

The impact of these abandoned-looking storefronts on the community is also a main concern. These vacant storefronts have been a blight to the neighborhood with a boarded-up streetscape that promotes vandalism, graffiti, crime, and sanitation problems. The MTA's failure to maintain this property has negatively impacted the surrounding small businesses and residential community.

Meanwhile, transit hubs like the Fulton Street station are anything but neglected. According to the New York Times, the Fulton Street station enjoys 20,000 square feet of retail space after its recent renovation, and is reported to command about $150 a square foot annually. Why the MTA hasn’t been able to take advantage of its own commercial space at Roosevelt Ave station isn’t exactly clear.

Located at 74th Street, Broadway, and Roosevelt Ave in Jackson Heights, Queens, the transit hub benefited from a $132 million renovation in 2005. The main objective of the overhaul was to ease movement within the facility, one of the few in the system that allows transfers between an underground stop and an elevated line. As one of the only dual bus and subway stations in the city, it is the second busiest in Queens, with over 42,000 people using the station daily.

Labels: CommunityOrganizing, Mass Transit, QualityofLife

From City Hall News:
Queens County and Others Inch Toward Dromm in Race Against Sears
Immigrant issues, LGBT resonance define Jackson Heights primary
by Betwa Sharma

Incumbents do not tend to get voted out of the Council. But that is exactly what several challengers are hoping to do in the Jackson Heights district of Helen Sears (D), who is defending herself against charges that she is ineffective and out of step with the constituents.

“She has achieved little in eight years, and now her time is over,” said Daniel Dromm, who teaches the fourth grade and is considered by many to be the most likely to knock off the 80-year old Sears. “The community is desperate for change.”

A dedicated gay rights activist since the early 1990s, Dromm has already secured endorsements from the United Federation of Teachers and from many district leaders—almost unheard of for a challenger.

Dromm is confident that he will get support from the two political clubs he founded—the New Visions Democratic Club and the Lesbian and Gay Democratic Club. He also hopes to get the backing of the John F. Kennedy Democratic Club of Queens, which is Sears’ home club.

A big boost for Dromm is that Maureen Allen, president of the JFK club, has already endorsed him. Political heavyweights in the community, including Assembly Member José Peralta (D) and Council Member Julissa Ferreras (D), who represents the neighboring district, are also on his side.

By making education, quality of life and civil rights his top issues, Dromm has won support in different groups of the diverse neighborhood.

“Danny is the fresh air this neighborhood needs,” said Will Sweeney, a resident and community activist. “The generation that would vote for Sears has passed.”

The buzz is that Dromm will also win the nomination of the Queens County Democratic Party over Sears. A political insider described the incumbent as “not very innovative,” who did not go out of the way for her electorate. “The party is in a tight spot right now,” he said. “They’re thinking of easing her out.”

There is some fatigue in the community as well, according to a district leader who spoke on the condition of anonymity and slammed the Council member for skipping meetings and events.

“People do not get help from her office in accessing city services, and they are simply tired of Helen Sears,” the district leader said.

Dromm, who was the party’s choice before the term limits extension, has managed to retain his support inside the party. The district leader expressed confidence that the majority of district leaders were leaning towards nominating Dromm as the party candidate.


But district leader and Assembly Member Michael Den Dekker said he believes Sears remains strong.

“She has worked in the community since I was a little kid,” he said. “Her political record is hard to beat.”

That is the argument Sears herself is making on the trail.

“No one has more insights into this community and no one can represent it better,” she said.

The district has undergone rapid change since Sears was first elected in 2001, becoming a center for immigrants from Latin America, South Asia and East Asia.

Two immigrants, Bryan Pu-Folkes and Rodolfo Flores, gave Sears a spirited challenge in the 2005 primary. In that extremely low-turnout, 6,800-vote race, Sears eked out a victory with 4,225 votes.

Despite the flood of immigrants, the voting pattern does not reflect the changing demographics of the community. Many newcomers do not register to vote, do not apply for citizenship or eventually move out to a richer neighborhood.

Out of 58,664 total registered voters, there are some 7,000 South Asians registered to vote, according to SEVA, an immigrant advocacy group based in Queens.

Stanley Kalathara, a lawyer who has raised $67,952, and Mujib Rahman, a Bangladeshi resident of Elmhurst who has not reported campaign funds, are also in the race but have not emerged as serious competitors. Then there is Alfonso Quiroz, another LGBT activist, who has $67,686 in the bank.

Sears, meanwhile, reported $119,623 on her May filing for a committee that remains technically undeclared. Dromm reported $81,087.

While Dromm is seen as the inimitable pioneer of activism, Quiroz is making his mark as a new-age activist. He is addressing issues like clean energy, economic development, education, affordable housing and transportation.

Many residents, however, are put off by his position as spokesperson for Con Ed.

Quiroz called that background an advantage.

“My experience in the energy sector will be very useful for the community,” he said.

There remains some question, however, over whether or not two gay candidates will split the vote of the burgeoning LGBT community of Jackson Heights. But Quiroz is not worried about splitting the vote with Dromm.

“We’re two completely different people. Different generations, political paths and outlooks,” he said.

Plus, there are old-fashioned factions among the South Asians who may not vote for a gay candidate, like local Muslim merchant Mohammad Pier.

“We are very conservative and it is against our religion,” Pier said.

But many South Asians seem not to care about the sexual orientations of the candidates, and, like Sikh voter Jaspreet Singh, are more concerned about civil rights for people often targeted because of their turbans and long beards.

For all that is being discussed, though, Den Dekker said he believes September will be about one question.

“This is what an election is all about,” he said. “Vote for experience, or vote for change.”

Labels: CivilRights, CommunityOrganizing, Education, Immigrant Rights, Press, QualityofLife

Curbing Noise Pollution and Increasing Noise Enforcement

As the area’s population grows and produces ever more vehicles, electronic gadgets, and other sound sources--noise is becoming a more pressing problem. Certain sound exposures are not only annoying but can also produce a range of adverse physiological effects and affect learning ability.

Our area is somewhat unique in the level of noise pollution residents experience. We have jet engines, car horns, booming sound systems from cars, truck engines idling, elevated train tracks and large air conditioning units which create decibels that are unacceptable in any environment.

As you city council representative, Daniel Dromm will enact legislation to double the number of noise enforcement officers in the city. He will direct the Department of Environmental Protection to conduct a study on the causes of noise pollution in our areas and to identity solutions to address it. Residents deserve to live in peace and quiet. With your help, Dromm will make this a reality.

Labels: LawEnforcement, Noise, QualityofLife

Cleaning Up Our Streets
Dirty streets are a serious public health problem. As well as being unpleasant for residents and visitors, a run-down appearance encourages vandalism and abuse. The Jackson Heights Beautification Group has been a leading voice in illustrating this problem. As your city council representative, Daniel Dromm will fight to secure funding that would allow the Department of Sanitation to double the number of trash cans and trash pick-ups in the commercial districts including 37th Avenue, Roosevelt Avenue, Northern Blvd, Broadway, Queens Blvd and 57th Avenue. He will also be instrumental in getting a Business Improvement District for 73rd and 74th Streets. We live in a beautiful neighborhood; we deserve adequate city services to keep it that way.

Labels: CommunityOrganizing, QualityofLife, Sanitation