Brian Ellner: Manhattan Borough President Candidate
Posted by hazletok
The Yankee Rag; The Official Blog of The Nor'Easter

Part 1
Part 2

Yes, I know this way in advance as city-wide elections aren't until 2005, but I Brian's Campaign put up an unrequested link to the blog, so I thought I would request an interview. The interview was conducted via email over the past couple weeks and I'll split the interview up over today and tomorrow.

In recent years, it seems other officials in the city have taken much of the power away from the Borough Presidents. Are their steps that you would take to elevate the office to a standing more comparable to year past?

When I tell people I’m running for Borough President, people often say “That’s great…” before trailing off a bit and then asking “What does it do exactly?”

The answer is: a lot. The office still has significant power. It’s simply a question of how that power is used.

The Borough President is the voice of Manhattan, and I will be a vocal advocate, speaking out on issues that Manhattan residents care about.

One can be silent about the vital issues facing the City - the threat of terrorism, failing schools, and overdevelopment, to name a few. But an effective BP can advocate forcefully for the City's interests with the Mayor, the Governor and even the Federal Government.

I will promote more, smaller schools, ensure that they are fairly funded and see that every student has a safe learning environment. I will speak out about the spike in new HIV infections, and work to lower the rates of asthma in our youth. And I will speak out loud and clear on issues of civil and human rights, working insure that all New Yorkers have equal access to insurance and healthcare, as well as the right to marry. We will promote the expansion of green spaces, and work to make public space, including the subway, more accessible for disabled residents.

All decisions about development pass through the BP's office; the BP has a huge say about what gets built, and where. New York will always build, but we must do so sensibly, and in a sustainable manner, balancing development with preservation, and fighting against excessive development. And we must be tireless in promoting low and moderate income housing, space for non-profits and open public space in development.

We will also be creative. We will turn the office into a revenue generating entity through public-private partnerships and through innovative ideas to market the valuable 'brand' of Manhattan.

In addition to development issues, advocacy, and control over a portion of the City budget, the Borough President is also responsible for appointing the Borough's Community Boards, and two seats on each of the new Community Education Councils, in addition to other boards and trusts.

Through direct power, oversight and appointments it is an office that can shape what this island will become. I've lived here nearly my whole life, and I love it. I'm exhilarated at the prospects for what we can do to strengthen this City, and sustain its title as the Greatest City in the World.

At City Hall there is a lot of finger pointing when it comes to gay marriage with most people expressing tenuous support but no one willing to take action. First, are their powers bestowed upon the Borough President to force the county clerk to recognize these unions? If not, what sort of pressure would you apply to push the city towards that end?

There are a number of civil rights issues that we need to resolve immediately, from ending racial disparities in health care to creating a City that is more accessible to residents with disabilities to ensuring that gender identity is included in all anti-discrimination legislation. But given the current attempts at the Federal level to marginalize the equal rights of gay and lesbians across the country, this will be a focus for my administration. We are staring straight into the face of intolerance, and we must not back down. Just this month, 48 United States Senators voted to enshrine discrimination into our Constitution, and 233 Representatives voted to limit the power of the courts and the ability of citizens to challenge the so-called Defense of marriage Act (DOMA).

In New York, Mayor Bloomberg refuses to instruct the City Clerk to issue marriage licenses to same sex couples despite widespread public support. The Mayor has frequently said that marriage is a state issue and that we (those who support marriage equality) should simply head to Albany and lobby the State Legislature. That is insulting.
The Mayor of a City with largest gay population in the world should be chartering a bus and joining us in the struggle, not ducking a leadership role. Courageous Mayors across the country like Gavin Newsom in San Francisco and Jason West of New Paltz, New York (just up the Hudson), have taken a stand for full equality.

Mayor Bloomberg has taken strong and sometimes controversial stands on issues of public health and the City's economy - he should do the same on issues of fundamental equality.

The Borough President, like the Council, Comptroller and Public Advocate, sadly does not have the power to force the City Clerk to issue marriage licenses to same sex couples. If it did, I would exercise that power. The alternative is a sustained campaign of public and legislative action and activism, here in the City, and in Albany.

The City Council has introduced a resolution calling upon the Mayor to instruct the clerk to issue the licenses, but resolutions have no actual power to force the Mayor’s hand. I will continue to introduce increasingly strong and direct resolutions, joining with other cities across the country to demonstrate that we will not wait any longer for full equality for the LGBT community.

We should be holding more public, and sustained, protests, press conferences, academic conferences, art interventions and the like. I will speak out loud and clear that this is a fundamental issue of civil rights, and not something that can be dismissed by saying “It’s the State’s problem.” Additionally, I would use the BP’s office, to help non-profits working to advance this cause coordinate their lobbying efforts with the City.

This island was founded on a unique precept of diversity and acceptance, and I do not believe that Manhattan residents support discrimination of any sort. We will win this struggle soon.

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Here's the rest of the email interview I conducted with Brian. Overall, I like most of his answers, especially his stance on the West Side Stadium/Javits Center Project. Of course, after having read Jane Jacobs book on city planning I have my ideas about how we should all proceed with the West Side, but that's for another days. So here you all are:

Probably one of the biggest development projects in years in Manhattan is the Convention Corridor being pushed in the West Side. Do you support the building of the stadium and/or the expansion of the Javits Center? If you support them, what benefits do you see them providing and if you don't support them, do you have an alternate plan?

I support an expansion of the Javits Convention Center because we cannot continue to lose out on revenue from big conventions which bypass the City in favor of larger facilities. I do not however, support the present plan for the Jets Stadium, nor do I support making the expansion of Javits, contingent upon approval of the Stadium. That is sneaky backroom politicking. We need to think creatively about ways to reduce the amount of traffic in Manhattan, not increase it, which is just what this stadium will do. It would be a nightmare for the surrounding residential neighborhoods, and I’m skeptical of the claims that suggest a correlation between a spike in economic development and the construction of a stadium. It simply hasn’t happened in the other places those promises were made.

The Regional Plan Association’s recent study of the project is a compelling summary of the possibilities, and I invite everyone to read it. The RPA ultimately determined that the space could be put to better use then the current plan suggests.

I believe that we absolutely do need to build over the rail yard; we just don’t need to put a stadium on top. However, I do not want to see the West Side become another complex of high rise million dollar condominiums, which I fear the RPA plan allows. I do not want to see Manhattan become an exclusive, millionaires’ island. If we’re going to build housing as the RPA suggests, let’s build primarily low and moderate income housing, and work with developers to include small schools and spaces for non-profits and arts groups in the plan.

Before moving to the Bronx I spent a fair amount of time volunteering at an after school tutoring program in East Harlem. Since my background is strong in the sciences I was recruited to teach a lot of science material to the students. I have come to realize that science education in the schools most of the kids in Harlem is seriously lacking. I know that you have expressed a desire to help schools, but do you have any ideas on how to address the need for stronger science education?

I believe that strengthening our City’s public schools is perhaps the single most important task facing every elected official at the City and State level. We need to work hard to ensure that the "sound, basic education" mandated in the recent Campaign for Fiscal Equity decision is realized in each and every one of our schools. As the former President of the School Board in one of the City’s consistently best performing districts, I have an intimate knowledge of what it takes for students to succeed. We must be certain that all students enjoy the safety and dignity they deserve in their learning environments. We need to create more, smaller schools, which are more likely to present a safe and intimate learning environment, and allow more contact between teachers and students. During my tenure as school board president, we created two new schools in our district, Eleanor Roosevelt and Millennium.

We’ll be rolling out specific policies on issues such as this over the course of the campaign, but the sciences are fundamental, and I’m concerned that New York is mirroring the national trend suggesting that the United States is losing its position at the forefront of scientific research. I am a graduate of Bronx High School of Science, and, although I didn’t pursue the sciences professionally, I value that component of my education immensely.

For those of us not directly engaged the sciences, we’re still aware of how they form the way we view and understand the world. And those that are engaged in the sciences are the ones who continue to shape what we know about the world around us. From developing buildings that produce their own energy to curing AIDS, the sciences are the harbingers of social advancement.

We must act now to fully teach and train the next generation of America’s scientists. Science is rooted in the experimental, and the experiential, and there are certain material needs that need to be met for its instruction. We should ensure that there is adequate funding for these needs. At the same time, we should explore public/private partnerships, similar to programs started in the arts, with hospitals, universities, and technology companies to further expand the scientific educations of our children.

Since you have the power to introduce legislation to City Council, what would be the top three pieces you would introduce in your first year as Borough President?

The City Charter grants the Borough President the power to have legislation introduced into the Council, at the BP's request, by a member of the City Council. It's hard to say what I would introduce at this early date, because it's impossible to know what legislation will be enacted over the course of the next year by the Council (and what new pressing issues will arise) but there are some fundamental areas in which further legislation is warranted.

We should explore building rules that mandate environmental sustainability in the design of new development projects, from homes to office towers. The Greatest City in the World should build looking forward; some of the world's first skyscrapers were built here, let us be a pioneer in architecture that builds structures that don't damage the environment. We have the technology to make such building more affordable, and practical, and increasingly, the compromise between affordability and sustainability falls more closely on the side of sustainability. One of the core concerns of sustainability is energy. New York has unique energy needs, needs that are constantly expanding, and we need to explore new technologies beyond fossil fuel fired power plants to meet these needs. However, if we're going to allow new power plants to be built, or old ones to expand, that company should also contribute, not only to community programs and the other current practices, but also to developing and funding innovative new smaller-scale green energy projects. New York can be a testing ground for smart new ways to harness energy from our environment. The East River turbine project off Roosevelt Island is a good start, but there a many more opportunities.

On the issue of affordable housing, we should explore legislative remedies to compel the City to spend Battery Park City Authority profits to build more affordable housing, in Battery Park and across the City. This was always the purpose of the monies, but very little has been done in the past decades. Now the Mayor wants to use this money to contribute to his West Side stadium development plans. This is a large, untapped pool that has hardly been used for its stated purpose. We should be refurbishing run-down homes, making them safe for re-habitation, and building new homes in various neighborhoods around the City, and stop trying to find ways to siphon this money to the Jets. There is a good article about this issue in this week's Village Voice.

And lastly, we need to move more rapidly on the issue of marriage equality. The Council should pass its Resolution compelling the Mayor to force the City Clerk to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, and if this is not passed by 2005 I will promote it as a first step. I would urge the council to consider firing the clerk if he doesn't abide by State constitution in performing his duties with regard to equal protection, and if necessary, would pursue legislation centered on structural changes, giving the City Council more power over the Clerk. The legal issues at stake are admittedly not entirely clear cut - but the issue of equality is crystal clear.