Dan Halloran For New York City Council District 19

“Council undoes many of Bloomberg’s proposed cuts in budget vote”

By Connor Adams Sheets
Wednesday, July 7, 2010 10:08 PM EDT

Queens residents can breathe a sigh of relief along with the rest of the city, as the City Council passed by a vote of 48-1 a $63 billion budget Tuesday night that reversed many of the most feared cuts Mayor Michael Bloomberg included in his proposed budget.

The budget, which arose from a deal struck between Bloomberg and the City Council late last Thursday night, included $37.4 million in funding to keep 20 FDNY companies slated for closure under Bloomberg’s proposal and $38 million to avoid closing libraries.

“We’ve managed to get restorations for the firehouses, we’ve managed to get restorations for the libraries so there will be five-day-a-week operation in Queens,” Councilman Dan Halloran (R-Whitestone) said. “All the city pools will stay open all summer. All the district attorneys, their funding will pretty much be restored and we’re working on addressing the disparities between the offices.”

Funding for district attorneys’ offices has long been distributed unevenly among the boroughs, with the Queens office traditionally getting less than its fair share, Halloran said. The Council plans to close that gap during negotiations.

Read more at: http://www.yournabe.com/articles/2010/06/30/queens/qns_city_budget_20100630.txt

Opinion

More than 80 “champions for cures” gathered at the Clearview Golf Course in Bayside recently, to kick off the 2010 “Light the Night” campaign for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS).

Since LLS conceived the idea in 1999, the all-night volunteer team walkathons have spread nationwide and to Canada, raising millions of dollars to help find a cure for blood cancers, including Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma.

On Wednesday, July 21, team organizers and supporters such as State Senator Frank Padavan and City Councilmember Dan Halloran networked and participated in a presentation dinner, learning new ways to make a difference in the fight against cancer.

This year, Queens participants hope to raise $223,000 through the Queens Light The Night Walk, in an effort to find cures and improve the lives of patients and their families, according to spokesperson Margaret Barng.

Last year, more than 11,500 people in the New York City area – 1,500 in Queens – participated in walks, raising more than $2.4 million. The hope is to far exceed the $215,976 raised in the borough in 2009.

“The Light The Night Kickoff events are our way to inspire participants in their fundraising efforts and to celebrate the beginning of a new Light The Night season,” said Michele Zellers, Senior Campaign Director for Light The Night. “The energy and emotion is palpable and we are so thankful for the tremendous support from our Queens walkers,” she added.

“We are the ones who should be thankful,” Halloran suggested. “The LLS does a spectacular job raising awareness and funds.” Padavan agreed, saying, “I’ve attended many such events over the years and it’s amazing how creative and dedicated they are.”

In Queens, the actual event will be on Saturday, October 16 at Forest Park.

Between then and now, expect to hear from friends and neighbors about Bowling Nights, Bar Party fundraisers, Ice Cream Socials and other creative fundraising ideas.

To learn more, visit www.lls.org or call 800-955-4572, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Opinion

“I am thrilled to see that the Taxi and Limousine Commission has intervened where the MTA came up short,” said Council Member Dan Halloran (R-Whitestone).  “This commuter van service will pick up many of the riders who were stranded when the Q79 was cut.  Many former Q79 riders were students and seniors who had no other ways to get from work to school.   I am confident this pilot program’s success will show how badly these underserved areas need transit options.”

Opinion

July 6, 2010

Council Member Dan Halloran celebrated his first City Council budgeting session by bringing home a record sum in discretionary funding for his Northeast Queens district. 

 Halloran delivered over $415,000 for the district – a whopping $57,000 more than the district received last year and the most it has received since records on the subject were first kept in 2007. 

 ”These monies make a huge difference,” Halloran said.  “In a recession, it’s harder than ever for nonprofits and community groups to keep making ends meet and keep serving our neighborhoods.”

 Halloran provided well-deserved discretionary funds, also known as member items, to active community groups serving all corners and many needs in his diverse district.  Many of the groups were receiving city funds for the first time, including the Chabad of Northeast Queens for its “Smile on Seniors” nursing home program and its youth program. 

 The Greater Whitestone Taxpayers Community Center, Inc. received $10,000 in city funds through Halloran’s office to operate a community center and provide recreational programs to Whitestone seniors, and another $12,500 for youth programming. 

 Halloran, an active Eagle Scout, also secured $7,500 for the Boy Scouts of America – Great New York Council, and another $5,000 for the Girl Scout Council of Great New York. 

 An alumnus of St. Andrew Avellino School, Halloran delivered funds for many local churches, including St. Kevin’s Senior Club, St. Luke’s Roman Catholic Church, and St. Mel’s Leisure Club a total of over $10,000 for various senior programs and youth recreational programs. 

 Other notable member items Halloran delivered include:
*$9,000 for Little League Baseball of College Point
*$3,400 for the Bay Community Volunteer Ambulance Corps to provide services to Bay Terrace
*$10,000 for the Bayside Historical Society
*$3,500 for the Bayside Village Business Improvement District
*$3,500 for Friends of Fort Totten Parks for youth programs
*$3,500 for Little Neck-Douglaston Community Ambulance Corps for supplies

“These deserving organizations work hard for Northeast Queens every day in our neighborhoods, churches, synagogues, classrooms and ball fields,” Halloran said.  “I’m working hard for them in City Hall every day to get them the support and resources they need.  I thank Speaker Quinn for helping me secure these much-needed funds and I look forward to seeing this money make a real difference for Northeast Queens.”

Opinion

July 12, 2010

Council Member Dan Halloran secured city grants for two leading Korean-American organizations in his Northeast Queens district. 

 The grants, also called member items, were delivered through the City’s budgeting process, which was finalized on June 30.

 The Korean-American Senior Citizens Society of Greater New York received $4,000 to assist in educating recent immigrants.  The Korean-American Community Center of New York was allotted $5,000 to operate its own education program.

 “I hope these funds will make a difference for these two outstanding organizations,” Halloran said.  “The Korean-American Senior Citizens Society and the Korean-American Community Center work hard to serve the Korean-American community in this neighborhood.  They help Korean-American immigrants learn to adjust to American society and develop work and language skills, all while fostering a sense of community for the hardworking Korean-Americans that have contributed so much to Northeast Queens.  I look forward to working with these groups in the next year to better serve the Korean-American community, and I thank them for their fine service.” 

Opinion

“I thank the NYPD for quickly making an arrest in this case.  The supervisor of the construction site at Belshire Manor allegedly permitted one of his workers to use a blowtorch on the building’s rooftop, causing the fire.  I hope this arrest will help prevent future corner cutting and rule breaking at our city’s construction sites.

 “I am working with the Red Cross to help the evacuated families find new homes.  Although this fire shocked an entire neighborhood, it is my hope that their lives will soon return to normalcy.”

Opinion

July 14, 2010

Rogue Ticket Agent Disciplined by NYPD

Council Member Dan Halloran had his June 14 parking ticket dismissed in Queens traffic court today by an administrative judge.

After reviewing photos and video from the scene, the judge ruled that Halloran’s car was idling, not parked, when he was given his ticket in Whitestone.  Additionally, Halloran’s City Council license plates prohibit him from getting certain parking tickets while on City Council duty, as Halloran was at the time of the incident. 

 The ticket was given by infamous rogue agent Daniel Chu, who has since been disciplined by the Department.

 Chu is undergoing sensitivity training, although he is still writing tickets in Queens – just not in Halloran’s Northeast Queens district.  Chu admitted in an internal NYPD review that he was speeding while talking on his cell phone on June 14, and that he parked illegally in front of the Dunkin Donuts.  As punishment, Chu has lost vacation time and had his NYPD vehicle taken away. 

 “The streets of Whitestone are a better place today, now that this agent has been removed from them,” Council Member Halloran said.  “Agent Chu has written countless questionable tickets, as my own ticket’s dismissal shows.  I am calling on every outstanding ticket he has written to be dismissed, just as mine was.”

 On June 14, Halloran and his chief of staff observed Agent Chu driving recklessly down residential streets in Whitestone, running stop signs while blaring his emergency lights.  They followed the agent a few blocks to a nearby Dunkin Donuts, where Halloran witnessed Chu illegally block a crosswalk in front of the store, then go inside to buy himself an iced coffee.  Uncoincidentally, Chu frequently tickets drivers for parking in this exact spot. 

 Since then, dozens of neighborhood residents have come forward with horror stories about the rogue agent – ranging from boxing in cars until the meter expired to ticketing mourners outside a funeral home. 

 “Overticketing has been a scourge of New York City neighborhoods for years now,” said Halloran.  “It is an obnoxious and irresponsible way to raise money for the City.  Ticket agents are here to make our streets safer, not to raise money or to abuse the taxpayers who pay their salaries.  I am introducing City Council legislation that will require a five-minute grace period for double parking.  And I am looking for other ways to protect the rights of New York City drivers and end the reign of ticketing terror.”

Opinion

June 29, 2010
***MEDIA ADVISORY***
Halloran Celebrates Saving Fort Totten Pool

Council Member Dan Halloran will join local residents to celebrate the saving of the Fort Totten Pool at a press conference.

Fort Totten Pool was one of four public pools threatened with closure in the city’s new budget. The Parks Department had claimed the pool was to be closed due to low attendance, despite the fact that it is regularly packed with swimmers and families in the summer months.

Closing the pool would have saved just $125,000, a small blip on the city’s enormous budget. Hundreds of thousands of dollars were spent renovating the pool just last year – money that would have been wasted had the pool closed.

But through the efforts of Halloran and concerned citizens, the City at the last minute allocated funding for the pool for the summer season, making sure Northeast Queens retains its only public swimming option.
WHERE: Fort Totten pool
Bayside, Queens, NY

WHEN: Thursday, July 1
12:00 p.m.

SPEAKERS: Council Member Dan Halloran
Warren Schreiber, president, Bay Terrace Community Alliance
Local residents who use the pool

VISUALS: Council Member Halloran speaking
Local residents speaking
Pool and swimmers in background

Opinion

June 2, 2010 – New York City Charter Commission Hearing

“I strongly believe that instituting nonpartisan elections in New York City is absolutely vital to ensuring that we have what the founding fathers envisioned – government by the people and for the people.

For too long now, New York City’s party driven elections have resulted in voter apathy and a lack of meaningful input in government for a large part of the population. This has oftentimes resulted in a non-representative government.

The numbers are frightening.

Only about 10% of eligible voters actually vote in party primaries. Even worse, approximately 800,000 voters, by virtue of not being members of a major party, are shut out of the primary system altogether. This, coupled with the fact that in the overwhelming majority of elections in this City, the Democratic Party nominee is virtually guaranteed victory, means that 800,000 citizens do not have a say on who their representatives are.

This cannot continue and I believe that nonpartisan elections are part of the answer. Nonpartisan elections will ensure that all our citizens have a say in government regardless of their party affiliation.

Additionally, nonpartisan elections will allow independent minded citizens to run for elected office without the need to be a member of a major political party. This will increase the number of citizens who can mount serious campaigns for elected office and will strengthen our democracy.

I strongly encourage the New York City Charter Commission to include nonpartisan elections as part of any ballot initiative.”

Opinion

July 1, 2010

Council Member Dan Halloran (R-Whitestone) joined community leaders today to tell Northeast Queens swimmers they can keep splashing this summer.

Thanks to the work of Halloran, the City Council funded Fort Totten Pool, which had faced potential closure in the City’s budget crunch. The pool will be open all summer to serve the community.

In a last-minute budget maneuver a few weeks ago, Halloran was informed by the Parks Department that the pool was one of four city pools that would be closed in the new fiscal year.

“The Fort Totten pool is the only open-air pool in Northeast Queens,” said Halloran. “It serves my Council district and the two neighboring districts. Its closure would have deprived thousands of New Yorkers of their only public swimming option. By keeping it open, we’ve won a victory for the thousands of New Yorkers who use this pool and our other public pools as a source of recreation and exercise.

“At an annual operating cost of about $125,000 a year, the Fort Totten pool is barely a blip on the City’s budget,” Halloran said. “And I’ve seen how important the pool is to the neighborhood. Every time I’ve passed the Fort Totten pool on a summer day, it’s packed with kids and families enjoying the sun and the water.

“Through public pressure and creative budgeting, we kept the pool open,” Halloran said. “This victory shows the results we can achieve when we work together as a community. I thank the people from my district who called my office to voice their concerns about the pool. By telling the City what this pool meant to them and their families, they played a part in its rescue. To the swimmers of northeast Queens, I say, ‘Keep splashing!’”

Halloran was joined in celebration by Warren Schreiber, president of the Bay Terrace Community Alliance, representatives from Community Board 7, and many local swimmers and neighbors.

Opinion

June 29, 2010

“I am disappointed to see that the working people have Queens have lost the Q79 bus. Alongside other elected leaders in the area, we rallied and organized to save the bus, but again the MTA didn’t listen to us.

“While its ridership was relatively low, the people who rode the Q79 depended on this bus route. It was the only north-south bus route for Northeast Queens and it linked many underserved neighborhoods to the Long Island Railroad and many major roads. Our community provides one of the largest tax bases in New York City, but we continue to be underserved and ignored by the MTA. It is sadly ironic that at the same time we are told to use public transit, the MTA continue to take our public transit options away.”

Opinion

June 22, 2010

“This is not only a great chance for families to enjoy a host of activities for free at Francis Lewis Park, but it’s a wonderful opportunity to help the Whitestone Veterans’ Memorial Association,” Padavan said. “I urge all local families take a few hours and join Councilman Halloran, local veterans, civic leaders and myself on what will certainly be a fun-filled afternoon for all.”

Opinion