Today Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer and State Senator Daniel Squadron joined tenant leaders to celebrate and discuss the details of yesterday’s State Supreme Court ruling upholding the rent stabilization of tenants at Independence Plaza North in Downtown Manhattan because of J-51 tax breaks that the landlord received from the City.

Photo Courtesy of Hyun Kyung Lee

Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer visited the Korean American Association of Greater New York (KAAGNY) to underscore the growing partnership between the Manhattan Borough President’s Office and KAAGNY to meet the needs of the Korean American community. KAAGNY President Yong Hwa Ha escorted Borough President Stringer on a tour of KAAGNY’s first floor and explained their plans to renovate the space into a cultural center and museum. 

Yesterday a public hearing on the impacts of hydrofracking that had been scheduled by the EPA to take place at Binghamton University was cancelled due to an expected crowd of over 8,000 people and related logistical conflicts with the college. Busloads of these expected attendees were New York City residents.

Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer and Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg today announced the opening of a new, state-of-the-art asthma walk-in center in East Harlem to address the needs of East Harlem and El Barrio families.  Deputy Mayor Linda I. Gibbs, Health Commissioner Thomas A. Farley, State Senator Jose M. Serrano, Dr. Ben Ortiz from the Harlem Asthma Network, Center Director Dr. Betty Perez-Rivera, Janet Arroyo from the Manhattan Smoke-free Partnership and Acting Citywide Administrative Services Commissioner Donald P. Brosen joined the Borough President and Mayor at the facility’s ribbon cutting ceremony. 

Photo Courtesy of Pavan N Trivedi

Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer, joined by Senator Daniel Squadron, Assemblymember Brian Kavanagh, Councilmember Rosie Mendez, parents of children with Autism and special needs, and several concerned educational advocates, held a press conference today urging the Department of Education (DOE) to address Chancellor Joel Klein’s unexplained use of “emergency powers” to continue with the expansion plans for Girls Prep, in spite of a ruling made by New York State Education Commissioner David Steiner to halt the expansion.

Photo Courtesy of Pavan N Trivedi

Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, joined by Assemblywoman Linda B. Rosenthal, and several concerned seniors, local residents, and activists, held a press conference today demanding that the Department of Transportation (DOT) take necessary steps to remedy the dangerous situation created by the “bow-tie intersection” at 71st Street between Amsterdam and Broadway; one that has already resulted in 25 accidents in 2009 and 8 (so far) in 2010. 

This week Borough President Scott Stringer joined Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr. and Jeremy Travis, President of John Jay College of Criminal Justice to host a two-day criminal justice symposium, “Communities & Justice: Partnerships & Challenges for the 21^st Century.” At the conference, district attorneys from across the country joined academics, government representatives, and community groups to discuss innovative approaches to crime reduction. The symposium addressed broader national trends in prosecution, crime prevention, and criminal justice strategies as well as specialized topics including prisoner re-entry, conviction integrity, law enforcement and community relations, hate crimes, and youth and gang activity.

Photo Courtesy of Linda Felstein

Today, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, together with the Center for Nonprofit Strategy and Management, hosted a social media workshop for nonprofits, Using Twitter and Technology to Create Long Lasting Relationships, at Baruch College. More than 100 individuals, most of who work in the nonprofit field, attended the event to learn how to use social media to develop and sustain relationships with donors and constituents.