Scott Stringer for Manhattan Borough President

Scott M. Stringer, a native New Yorker, is the 26th Manhattan Borough President.  Now heading into his second term, Borough President Stringer has made it the mission of his office to foster a safe, affordable, and sustainable future for Manhattan – preserving a sense of neighborhood for the 1.6 million people who have made their home in this world capital of culture and commerce.

Borough President Stringer’s community board reform effort has brought 400 new members to Manhattan’s community boards, with the number of African American and Asian American members growing by 40 percent, and the number of Latinos increasing by more than 25%. In 2009, the Borough President announced that his widely embraced Community Planning Fellowship program will be expanding city-wide with the help of the Mayor’s Office and the City University of New York.

A top priority for the Borough President’s first term was to insist that responsible development and smart planning become standard operating procedure for the borough and the city.  One result of this work has been a move toward more accurate assessments of the new student population resulting from residential growth.  The Borough President remains actively engaged in the implementation of his proposed rezoning of West Harlem, aimed at preserving the character of the neighborhood and maximizing opportunities for economic development and affordable housing.

Last year’s pro-tenant ruling by the New York State Court of Appeals in the lawsuit involving Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village was based, in part, on a series of amicus briefs submitted by the Borough President. Two years earlier, he spearheaded a campaign to encourage development of affordable housing by changing the tax status of vacant lots above 110th Street.

For the past two years, Borough President Stringer has hosted an annual food policy conference.  In December 2009, he joined with New York University and the not-for-profit Just Food to hold a day long conference attended by 1,000 New Yorkers that addressed the impact of food on the health of New York City’s people and our environment. Later this year, his “Go Green” campaigns will celebrate their largest victory yet when the Go Green East Harlem Asthma Center of Excellence opens its doors in a neighborhood with an asthma rate five times the national average.

Since 2006, Borough President Stringer has joined with the Manhattan District Attorney’s office to administer a federal grant for strengthening the borough’s fight against domestic violence; in the current year, the grant totals $1.2 million.

The Borough President’s comprehensive investigation of broken elevators in public housing, followed by months of advocacy, led to a commitment from the New York City Housing Authority to set aside $182 million for elevator safety and repair.

His reports exposing flaws in the student enrollment forecasting methods employed by the Department of Education are also having a positive effect.  Those policy reports, in combination with the Borough President’s community based “War Rooms,” are producing changes in the role played by parents in public school planning.  Commitments already have been secured for two new schools in the borough.

The Office of the Manhattan Borough President also supports working New Yorkers through free Immigration and Employment Assistance Clinics.

Prior to being elected Borough President, Scott M. Stringer served for thirteen years in the State Assembly, where he led the successful fight to end “empty-seat voting” in Albany. The New York Times credited him as having “a sterling reputation as a catalyst for reform.”