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Environment and Health have been a critical focus of mine for very long time. Examples:
When an emergency responder from 9-11 could not get help for his condition from our local council
member's office, he called me. I found him the services he needed to address his medical condition.
QUOTE: From a World Trade Center First Responder:
I have a daily reminder, in the form of a thyroid tumor, from the time I spent at Ground Zero. To add insult to injury the present City Councilman
never returned my phone call asking for assistance. On the other hand when I contacted Pete Gleason at his Law Office he took the time to listen
to my concerns and the follow up to get me the health care I deserved.
PB, World Trade Center First Responder.
As a former U.S. Coast Guard Reservist. I assisted in the clean up of the Exxon-Valdez oil spill. I oversaw an educational program to clean up NY Harbor, removing tons of debris from the waterways.
PARTICIPATION IN OUR SCHOOLS
As a parent myself, I welcome increased parental participation in our schools. I support channels for parents and teachers alike to express needs and concerns.
SAFETY IN OUR SCHOOLS
As an attorney, I continue to represent pro bono a steamfitter working for the Department of Education who reported loose friable asbestos in the City schools. I continue to advocate for awareness of this issue in City schools and to protect our children.
http://www.asbestoswhistleblower.com/
QUOTE: "As a steamfitter for the NYC Department of Education I have personally witnessed hazardous toxins in the schools your children attend. For years my asbestos notifications have gone ignored, that is until Pete Gleason represented me.
Pete's knowledge of the bureaucracy and his ability to effectively deal with a system that seems to have be intentionally set up to create confusion, is why more than ever, we need Pete in the City Council.
John Kielbasa
PASS A "SCHOOL TRIGGER LAW"
City Hall has allowed our communities to grow far faster than they planned for. I will support a school trigger law which would prohibit new residential construction without the addition of adequate school facilities.
CREATIVE SCHOOL SITING
Lower Manhattan has millions of square feet of vacant commercial space.
While much of this space is not suitable for school use, the Dept. of
Education should be scouring our neighborhood for viable spaces.
Conversions can be completed much faster than school specific new
construction, and is a valuable tool for creating the mixed-use buildings
we need for a dynamic community. The recent offer by New York
University to transform space into a pre-K facility is an example of
working with our institutions to address this issue.
New development in our district should be allowed hand-in-hand with
building and expanding schools. Developers building new commercial
space for an already glutted downtown market should be provided with
appropriate incentives to include school space.
The right of the voters to have a referendum was circumvented. I spoke out and testified against the extension of Term Limits without a referendum. I am a party to the lawsuit that was filed over the Term Limits vote.
Maintaining the present levels of subways and bus service at an affordable rate are vital to the economic stability of our city. We need affordable transportation to support our workers and our businesses, large and small.
With not as much as a temporary memorial for those who perished that tragic day, the delay in transforming ground zero not only insults the legacy of those departed but sends the wrong signal to the rest of the world.
"Years have passed and we still have a hole in the ground," Gleason complains "Adding insult to injury, there is no memorial, no new PATH station, no health aid for 9/11 survivors."
http://www.nypost.com/seven/10092008/gossip/pagesix/tired_of_waiting_132731.htm
(Pete Gleason was a 9-11 responder.)
William Kunstler, the civil rights attorney, believed in me and my advocacy for civil rights. He wrote my recommendation for law school.
• Against the death penalty
• Pro-Choice
• Supporter same-sex marriage
I am a long-term advocate for affordable housing. There is need to address the RIGHT balance of tax breaks that encourage affordable housing . New residential development and conversions must be required to include affordable housing components or pay into a fund to create the housing, schools and other infrastructure needed to sustain growth.
Speaking out since 2003 on housing on the Seward Park Development site.
"If you're an elected official, you need to take a stance on issues, and to defer on
issues is what bad government is about, and that's passing the buck. That site was earmarked for that housing and that's what should be put there"
Peter Gleason The Villager/Downtown Express Aug. 26 - Sept. 1, 2003
Asked about the development of the remainder of the Seward Park urban renewal area, Gleason said he supports "what was promised -- low-to-moderate-income housing. What was promised for years and years and years. There's not even a proposal drafted at this point," he noted. "They should be up and running; people should be living there.
Councilmember Gerson has said that he defers to Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and State Senator Martin Connor on the development of the Seward Park sites, since he is a relative newcomer. Gerson said low-income housing slated for the sites could be built elsewhere in the district. But Gleason said he would never condone that.
"Absolutely not," he said. "If you're an elected official, you need to take a stance on issues, and to defer on issues is what bad government is about, and that's passing the buck. That site was earmarked for that housing and that's what should be put there."
I am on record that when I am elected, I will not take a salary more than the highest salary of a New York City Firefighter.
As a candidate for City Council, it is my strong belief that elected officials should welcome scrutiny and invite debate. Please see my Downtown
Express OP-ED piece "City Council - Show Us The Money" - from March 6, 2009, outlining my position on this matter.
http://www.downtownexpress.com/de_306/talkingpoint.html
I was outraged at not only the manner in which a dog was electrocuted in a public park but how the victim's owner was treated. I took up the cause and represent the owner pro bono.
According to his client, Denise B, "Pete exudes the compassion that is missing in government. After my dog, Mushy, was electrocuted in a city park
and I shared with him how I was treated, Pete assured me he would be there with me every step of the way.
http://www.markiac.addr.com/PET_LIFE_RADIO/electrocution.html
http://www.mushyandmama.com/
We need leadership in addressing the dire straits of small businesses. The increased cost of services, whether it be water rates or electric rates, the cost and number of permits and fees, transportation costs - all these and more bear down on the ability to do business in tough times and to keep workers employed. I am prepared to address these vital issues.
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Peter Berardi and Peter Gleason, WTC 2001
Anchorage Times May 15, 1991 - Jean Lamb, left, of
VECO International Inc., Lt. Peter Gleason of the U.S.
Coast Guard and Jon Czarnecki of Exxon Corp. work
on an oiled beach in Prince William Sound this week.
Lt. Peter Gleason, left, with Joe Brennan, co-owner of Always Bloomin' in Castleton Corners - Help Us Protect Marine Environment, Sea Partners Campaign
Peter Gleason, Patrick Gleason and Richard Gleason
WTC 2001
Peter Gleason and William Kunstler
William Kunstler recommendation letter.
Click to view larger image.
Pete addresses a City Planning Commission meeting opposing the city's plan for Hudson Sq. Sanitation Facility
Pete Gleason and George McGovern at Martin Luther King celebration. - www.downtownexpress.com
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