I am hoping that Councilmember Brad Lander (39th district, which includes parts of Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Kensington, Gowanus and Carroll Gardens) will continue to send out a monthly memo/reflections  to the district.  I for one thinks it’s a great way to stay in touch with the district.

I have been all across our district and back over the last few weeks, stopping by at the first meeting of the year for all three community boards; getting to see the students at New Horizons Middle School on Hoyt Street launch a project to make their school more environmentally friendly; meeting the Bengali community for a celebratory dinner in Kensington; taking part in the Martin Luther King Day of Service at Old First Church in Park Slope; standing with my colleagues Assemblywoman Joan Millman, State Senator Daniel Squadron, and Councilman Steve Levin to protest the cuts to the B75 and B71 buses in Carroll Gardens; attending the opening of the Park Slope Armory; helping get a new beat cop on Church Avenue in Kensington … and of course helping constituents from all across the district as they visit or call our new office, seeking help navigating the often-challenging bureaucracies of our City government.

On the legislative side, I am proud to announce that I have been appointed to serve on the Land Use, Housing, General Welfare, Environmental Protection, Economic Development and Waterfront committees of the City Council. I will also be chairing the Land Use subcommittee on Landmarks, Public Siting & Maritime Uses. This subcommittee oversees the designation of historical landmarks around the city and is an excellent place from which to protect some of our city and our district’s historic character.

Finally, I wanted to report to you on a special event that I took part in last Saturday. Councilmember Jumaane Williams and I teamed up to bring together some of our volunteers from around Brooklyn to join Habitat for Humanity – NYC for one of their on-site construction days. Habitat-NYC is currently building 16 units of affordable 2- and 3-bedroom condos in Bedford-Stuyvesant.  Councilmember Williams and I, along with several dedicated volunteers, were able to assist with a day’s worth of construction on site. We also took some time out at lunch to discuss the work that Habitat for Humanity International is doing to assist with rebuilding efforts in Haiti , and Councilmember Williams, whose district contains a large number of Haitian immigrants, told the group about the work that his office is doing to assist Haitian-Americans in Brooklyn . The energy that I saw put forward by all of the participants is one of the things that makes Brooklyn a great place, and I was proud to be a part of the experience.

It has been a busy and rewarding few weeks, and I look forward to continuing to report in to you on the work our office is doing. As always, don’t hesitate to reach out to me either by calling 718-499-1090 or emailing me at lander@council.nyc.gov.