Felder Tracker

7.27.18 – Constituents and Activists Rally Outside Sen. Simcha Felder’s Office, Demand Action on New York Health Act, NY Liberty Act, DREAM Act and Other Critical New York Priorities

BROOKLYN, NY – On Thursday, July 26, over 50 people representing a diverse array of constituents and activists from New York State Senate District 17 rallied outside Sen. Simcha Felder’s office to demand action on critical legislative priorities, including:

The New York Health Act
The Child Victims Act
The Liberty Act and DREAM Act
School Safety: Authorization for new school speed cameras and a rejection of armed police officers in schools

Sen. Felder has not taken a public stance on either of the first three issues. In the case of school safety, Sen. Felder refused to support the extension of the school speed camera program unless armed police were placed at each New York City school. Because Sen. Felder would not let the bill to extend school speed cameras out of the Cities committee, which he chairs, the program ended on July 25.

The rally was organized by NYSD 17 for Progress, an organization of Senate District 17 constituents promoting transparent communication with elected officials and progressive legislation that will improve the lives of all Senate District 17 residents.

A video recording of the rally can be viewed here: https://youtu.be/bvJNOgGpMBc

Photos from the event can be viewed here: https://www.facebook.com/nysd17forprogress/posts/654764704901231

“No matter who is in power, we the people, have a right to be listened to,” said Naomi Rabeeya, a founding member of NYSD 17 for Progress, in her concluding remarks at the rally. “We have a right to have leaders who engage with all their constituents. Keep calling, emailing, writing letters, approaching Senator Felder on the street to demand representation. I am asking you on behalf of all of us to not give up and not let any politician take away our right to be represented.”

“This district is extremely diverse,” said Julio Peña III, another founding member of NYSD 17 for Progress. “Over 20 languages are spoken here. Nearly half the population was born in another country. Our senator needs to listen to all his constituents. He needs to represent all of us. Otherwise, he’s not doing his job.”

“Sen. Felder is using his position in the Senate to block these critical bills, legislation that would directly improve the lives of his constituents,” said David Goldberg, another founding member of NYSD 17 for Progress. “What’s more, he refuses to discuss these bills publicly with his constituents, one of the most basic responsibilities of any elected official. We, his constituents, are demanding a change immediately.”

“We need the New York Health Act to provide healthcare coverage to every New Yorker,” said Sarah Herbst, a member of NYSD 17 for Progress. “Our immigrant neighbors need the protection of the Liberty Act and DREAM Act. We want speed cameras outside our schools, not guns inside them. Sen. Felder needs to pay attention to what his constituents are calling for.”

In an interview after the rally, Naomi Rabeeya gave the following quote in Hebrew:

“יש הרבה חוקים שיצילו את החיים שלנו והוא [פלדר] לא יפגוש איתנו ואני לא מבינה את זה מפני שזה התפקיד של המנהיג שלנו להקשיב לנו ולעזור לנו. זה פיקוח נפש.”

English translation: “There are a lot of laws that would save our lives and he [Felder] won’t meet with us. And I don’t understand this. Because it is the job of our leaders to listen to us and to help us. It’s Pikuach Nefesh [the principle in Jewish law that the preservation of human life overrides virtually any other religious consideration].”

Recent Actions by NYSD 17 for Progress:

Background on NYSD 17 for Progress:

New York Senate District 17 for Progress is a grassroots group of individuals who live, work and attend school within State Senate District 17. We recognize that there are needs within our district that are not being met and diverse and underrepresented voices that deserve amplification. We advocate for transparent communication by elected officials, who must be held accountable to all of their constituents, regardless of voter eligibility. We promote progressive policies and legislation that will improve the lives of all NY Senate District 17 residents.

6.10.18 – Release: SD 17 Parent Associations and Citizens Citywide Express Opposition to Senator Felder Putting Armed Police in Schools

BROOKLYN, NY – On Friday, June 8, 2018, New York Senate District 17 for Progress (NYSD 17 for Progress) delivered a letter to Sen. Simcha Felder expressing opposition to S8827, Sen. Felder’s second attempt this legislative session to require the presence of armed police officers at all New York City schools.

The letter (and the petition to sign it) were originally circulated in response to 6798A, Sen. Felder’s first armed guard bill. The letter quickly collected the endorsements of four parent associations (three in Sen. Felder’s District 17), while 300 individuals also signed on, most of whom were parents or teachers, and 40% of whom live in Sen. Felder’s district.

The newly issued S8827 proposes allowing schools to opt out of the armed guard requirement under certain excessively onerous conditions, while also tying that measure to unrelated legislation, such as speed cameras around schools and high-occupancy vehicle lanes on the Williamsburg Bridge.

NYSD 17 for Progress responded:

These amendments do not change our opposition to the original bill (6798A). Here’s why:

Schools should not need to go to great lengths to avoid having weapons brought onto the premises. The bill states that in order to opt out, the school would need the recommendation of the principal and the parents’ association, and the request would have to be confirmed by a two-thirds vote of the appropriate Community District Education Council.

The mandate for armed police officers in schools has not been properly vetted by study of the efficacy of these measures.

There has been no call for input from affected populations, including parents, teachers, students, administrators, and community members.

In addition, we oppose the bundling of this controversial call for armed police officers at New York City schools with the overwhelmingly popular school speed camera initiative. The primary speed camera legislation, S6046-C, has bipartisan support from a majority of Senators, currently at 33 co-sponsors including Senators Golden, Ritchie, and Stewart-Cousins. It also passed the Assembly last year by an overwhelming margin and has more than 40 co-sponsors (A7798-C) and has the support of more than 300 coalition partners, including more than 90 schools and PTAs, 23 yeshivas in Felder’s district, four NYC district attorneys, the NYPD, major hospitals in the city, and more. By comparison, Senator Felder’s bill S8827-A does not have a single cosponsor and no same-as bill in the Assembly.

“Felder’s proposals would affect every student and every school in New York City,” said parent Natasha Wimmer of Kensington, in the Senator’s district. “Whether it passes or not, we object to him diverting attention from the real safety needs of our children.”

Julio Peña III, an education advocate and non-profit worker from Sunset Park who lives and works in Senator Felder’s district, stated, “As someone who works in a high school, this deeply concerns me. Walking past armed guards as I enter a school building will not make me or students feel safe, but only fuel the rhetoric that schools are furthering the school-to-prison pipeline, especially in disadvantaged communities.”

The bottom line: parents, educators, and concerned citizens oppose a mandate for armed police officers in New York City schools. (See the NYSD 17 for Progress letter, attached).

NYSD 17 for Progress is a grassroots group of individuals who live, work, and attend school within New York State Senate District 17. The group was founded in 2016, and is focused on promoting transparent communication by elected officials and progressive policies and legislation that will improve the lives of all NYSD 17 residents.

Dear Senator Felder,

As parents, students, teachers, administrators, and concerned citizens in NY Senate District 17 and around New York City, we would like to express our opposition to your Senate Bill 6798A, which requires an armed police officer to be present at schools within the City of New York during instructional hours. While there may be some schools that could benefit from such a measure, the evidence shows that the majority will not, and it is misguided to impose this policy on all schools.

In the wake of the Parkland shooting in Florida, and at a moment when the nation is grappling with the question of how best to protect our children, we believe that it is important to resist the impulse to bring guns into our schools. We stand with the children of Parkland in their call for better solutions: more gun regulation, stronger background checks, more school counselors, and more mental health support.

New York City schools are already provided with safety officers, who are not armed. We appreciate their vigilance, dedication, and professionalism. The great majority of their time is spent greeting students and parents and acting as the public face of the school. They don’t need a gun to fulfill these functions. If they were armed, their presence would be threatening rather than welcoming. It is important to remember, too, that armed guards do not guarantee our children’s safety. In the Parkland shooting, an armed guard was present but never encountered the shooter.

Ample evidence shows that the presence of armed officers at schools takes a toll on students. As New York City students reported to Mayor de Blasio at a March 8 town hall, they already feel criminalized by strict security. If police officers replace safety officers, students who commit minor, nonviolent infractions may end up being arrested rather than appropriately disciplined. This criminalization of school discipline disproportionately affects black and Latino students, who are more likely to be caught up in what has been called the school-to-prison pipeline.

Immediately after the Parkland mass shooting, New York State Senators introduced four important gun safety bills. The bills would have implemented effective background checks, established extreme risk protection orders, banned bump stocks, and created a Firearm Violence Research Institute. You did not vote to support these bills, and they failed to pass. If you truly share our concern for our children’s safety, we hope that in the future you will support and advance crucial gun safety laws instead of calling for armed guards in our schools.

Sincerely,

New York Senate District 17 for Progress
PS 217 Parents Association
PS 134 Parents Association
PS 139 Parents Association
Neighborhood School (PS 363) PTA
335 Individual Citizens that include
- 128 constituents
- 244 Parents
- 61 Teachers
- 8 School Administrators

4.24.18 – Release: NYSD 17 for Progress Responds to Senator Felder’s Statement that he Will Remain with the GOP for the Remainder of the 2018 Legislative Session

BROOKLYN, NY – On April 24, 2018, Senator Simcha Felder released a statement (included below) saying that, no matter the results on the special elections on that day, he would continue to caucus with the Republican party despite having the power to give control of the New York Senate to the Democrats if he were to switch to caucusing with them.

New York Senate District 17 for Progress (NYSD 17 for Progress) had the following response:

Senator Felder said he wants to “move the people’s work forward.” To that end, we, his constituents, would like him to move the following work forward to benefit our shared community:

Support passage of the New York Health Act so that all his constituents can have guaranteed health care – or explain his specific concerns with the legislation

Discuss passage of new gun control measures to make our schools and streets safe

Engage in discussions about placing speed cameras in every school zone

Involve the community in planning new, local affordable housing

Back reformed rent laws on behalf of tenants everywhere

Work to make sure our immigrants have the resources and support they need to succeed in this country

On these and many other issues, Sen. Felder’s constituents deserve to know where he stands. And we are eager to learn how Sen. Felder believes his decision today will impact these critical priorities.

Statement from Sen. Felder:

felderfullstatement

4.20.18 – KCP: “NYSD 17 For Progress: Progressive Policies, Transparent Politics”

On 4.20.18, New York Senate District 17 for Progress had an opinion piece published by Kings County Politics:

With so many consequential actions taking place in Albany and Washington, now is the time for engaged citizens to speak out about the issues that matter to them and to their communities.

New York Senate District 17 for Progress (NYSD 17 for Progress) was launched in 2016 by residents of State Senate District 17 (Flatbush, Kensington, Midwood, Borough Park, Sunset Park, Sheepshead Bay, Bensonhurst) to address key issues in our neighborhoods and state, and to directly engage our Senate representative, Simcha Felder. We felt that too many matters, such as affordable health care, criminal justice reform, voting reforms, and street safety, were not getting enough attention from the Senator or his staffers.

…

Senator, we are not playing games. We are your constituents, and sincerely care about the issues we advocate for — issues we think will benefit everyone in Senate District 17. We are vocal and direct, and expect our State Senator to hear us out and to take clear, public positions on important matters, as well as listening to his constituents’ opinions, different as they may be. We will not stop fighting for our communities and our district.

In the coming months, constituents will be eager to hear from Sen. Felder and Mr. Morris on issues like housing, health care, and immigrant resources. These are the issues that keep us up at night and motivate us to action. These are the reasons why our organization exists.

Read the full opinion piece on Kings County Politics.

4.16.18: City & State: “Felder: Cuomo hasn’t talked to me about reuniting the Senate since 2017”

As reported by City & State on 4.16.18:

State Sen. Simcha Felder says he’s still waiting for a call from Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

New York politicos buzzed about a personal appeal by Cuomo to Felder, a conservative Democrat who has flummoxed party loyalists by caucusing with the Republican state Senate majority since 2012.

But Felder says a story in the New York Post is inaccurate. That conversation is old news, Felder said.

The governor has not spoken to Felder on the topic of rejoining the Democrats since well before the IDC announced it was dissolving and folding back into the Democratic party, Felder said. Furthermore, he said, no one gave him any advance notice about the IDC’s plans to reunite, either.

“The governor has not. We have not had a conversation recently,” Felder told City & State on Monday in response to questions about whether the governor had approached him on the topic of reuniting with the Democrats. While he could not provide an exact date, Felder said the last conversation he had with Cuomo on the topic of reunification was as long ago as last summer but certainly before November 2017. He recalls having that brief talk with Cuomo on his cell phone in a hot parking lot in the Bronx.

Sen. Felder was also asked about specific issues:

Early voting and other voting reforms:
“I’m in favor,” Felder said, but added a caveat. “I’m in favor of a change if and only if you require identification to vote. If part of the early voting or the other changes would come along with making sure that people have to show proper ID to vote. I don’t consider proper ID disenfranchising to voters.”

Criminal justice reform:
“I would be interested in criminal justice reform if they got family court open 24 hours a day,” Felder said.

Closing the “LLC loophole”:
“I’m opposed to doing anything about that. At the end of the day you can’t keep making changes thinking that you’re somehow going to prevent someone from doing the wrong thing. Somebody once told me that installing an alarm in your house is to prevent somebody who’s honest who might be desperate to steal, but it doesn’t really stop someone who is determined to get in.”

10-day waiting period for firearms:
“I don’t want to answer that.”

Toughening rent regulations and ending vacancy decontrol:
“I don’t want to answer that.”

DREAM Act:
“I have mixed feelings about it,” Felder said. “On one hand, I feel that it’s a good thing that people who are here should be able to get a free education because at the end of the day if they’re going to be here then they might as well get the free education and be trained. On the other hand, I understand that people such as myself say that we take out loans, we go into hock to get our kids an education when people who are not here legally are getting a free education. I sometimes feel one way, I sometimes feel the other way.”

Read the full story here.

— Posted on 4.19, backdated to 4.16

4.12.18 – KCP: “Simcha Felder: Independent Thinker, Political Pragmatist”

As reported by Kings County Politics on 4.12.18:

In a city, state and country that is increasingly polarized along party lines, State Sen. Simcha Felder (D-Midwood, Flatbush, Borough Park, Kensington, Sunset Park, Madison, Bensonhurst) is a political anomaly.

Much to the chagrin of Democrats, and particularly “progressive” Democrats, Felder is a registered Democrat who caucuses with the Senate Republicans. Additionally, two years ago, when he was re-elected to the state senate for a third term, he nabbed the Democratic, Republican and Conservative Party lines at the ballot box.

But while political idealogues may disagree with Felder’s party affiliation views, they would be hard-pressed to devalue his solid education credentials and political experience. This includes being a Certified Public Accountant, who holds a Masters of Business Administration degree in Management from the renowned Zicklin School of Business at CUNY’s Baruch College.

On political parties:

“Party loyalists, no matter if they are Democrats or Republicans, have tunnel vision, and it’s almost as if the party is some some religious obligation. I don’t believe that and I think more and more New Yorkers are tired of being loyal to a party. What most New Yorkers want is improvement in quality of life issues and making sure the services needed are provided, whether its mass transit issues, housing issues and education issues.

On education standards:

“Contrary to public belief the legislation really creates a pathway for non public schools to provide a rigorous religious education as well as a sound secular education by mandating that the basic foundations, writing, reading, arithmetic, history and science are core elements of everyone having a sound education, and that in addition to a lot of the skills that a child gets, social or emotional skills, critical thinking and analytical skills is a winning formula for getting a good education as well,” said Felder.

On NYSD 17:

Felder also dismissed the organization NY Senate District 17 for Progress, which alleges they are apolitical, despite having a number of members associated with the Working Families Party.

“There is nothing for me to say [about the organization]. We don’t spend our time dealing with political games,” said Felder.

“Anyone who calls or comes into this office that has an issue in the neighborhood or in Albany we try to address. We have a great staff spending all day long with such a variety of problems. I’m very proud of the number of people we service daily. We just completed a heat assistance program where more that $30,000 in grants was awarded to people who can’t afford to pay their heating bills,” he added.

Read the full story here.

— Posted on 4.19, backdated to 4.12

NYSD 17 for Progress responds to Kings County Politics’ article “Blake Morris Challenges Simcha Felder”

On April 4, 2018, the news site King County Politics published an article written by Michael Rock entitled Blake Morris Challenges Simcha Felder.

There are some factual errors in this article that we wanted to correct:

Our organization name is New York Senate District 17 for Progress, abbreviated NYSD 17 for Progress, not “NYSD17”.
Our organization is not “dedicated to electing a true progressive to Felder’s seat.”
Our mission, which can be found on our website: http://nysd17forprogress.org is to advocate for transparent communication by elected officials, who must be held accountable to all of their constituents, regardless of voter eligibility and to promote progressive policies and legislation that will improve the lives of all NYSD17 residents. We achieve those goals through education and issue advocacy.

Work we have done includes:

Holding public forums on healthcare
Registering voters at community events
Documenting the actions and communications of our state senator
Advocating for legislation like voting reform and the New York Health Act
To date, we have performed no work for or against a specific political candidate and have sought to include Senator Felder in all our actions.

The “exploratory committee” that is mentioned in this article is not a part of nor affiliated with our group.

We would appreciate if Kings County Politics made these corrections.

New York Senate District 17 for Progress
http://nysd17forprogress.org

4.4.18 – The Forward: “Suddenly, Simcha Felder Is The Most Powerful Man In New York”

As reported by The Forward on 4.4.18:

Simcha Felder, the rogue state senator who held up the entire state budget last week in a bid to end government oversight of Orthodox yeshiva curricula, just got handed a royal flush.

A reordering of the Albany political calculus on Wednesday made him the most powerful man in New York politics. The surprise dissolution of a breakaway caucus of Senate Democrats leaves Felder as the last piece the Democratic Party needs to consolidate control of the entire state government.

If he wants to make a deal, Felder has a chance to try to extract major concessions from the Democratic leadership in return for rejoining them.

“They’re empowering Simcha more than he was before,” said one Jewish New York political operative. “He’s not going to flip unless they give him a tremendous, tremendous deal.”

Read the full story here: https://forward.com/news/398157/suddenly-simcha-felder-is-the-most-powerful-man-in-new-york/

— Posted on 4.19, backdated to 4.4

4.4.18 – The Forward: “Cuomo Called The Rebbe. The Rebbe Prayed To God. The Budget Deal Got Done.”

As reported by The Forward on 4.4.18:

Last week, Governor Andrew Cuomo picked up the phone and called the spiritual leader of the New York Hasidic village of Kiryas Joel, Satmar Grand Rabbi Aron Teitelbaum, to try to shake a compromise out of a recalcitrant state senator.

According to two people familiar with the negotiations, the call was part of an effort by Cuomo to convince the state senator, Simcha Felder, to compromise on his demand that the state budget end government oversight of the curriculum of Jewish day schools.

The call, part of a broader effort by the governor’s office to reach a compromise on the provision, appears to have worked.

“It came down to, at what point are we going to hold up the entire budget for the entire state of New York and have the entire state blame the Hasidic community,” said one person familiar with the negotiations. “It became too much pressure to bear.”

The version of the yeshiva oversight provision that made it into the budget, which passed over the weekend, has been greeted as a victory by the Hasidic community, but is studded with loopholes that seem to allow the state’s education department to continue to oversee yeshiva curricula.

Read the full story here: https://forward.com/news/national/398110/cuomo-called-the-rebbe-the-rebbe-prayed-to-god-the-budget-deal-got-done/

— Posted on 4.19, backdated to 4.4

4.3.18 – NY Times: “The Curious Case of the Yeshiva Carve-Out”

As reported by the New York Times on 4.3.18:

Amid the fevered last hours of New York State budget negotiations on Friday, with lawmakers scrambling to beat the April 1 deadline, a single, seemingly esoteric issue threatened to derail it all: state oversight of religious schools.

Top lawmakers accused one senator, Simcha Felder, of Brooklyn, of essentially holding the $168 billion budget hostage until the state agreed not to interfere with the curriculum at the private Jewish schools known as yeshivas. Some critics have accused the schools, which focus on the study of traditional Jewish texts, of leaving students without a basic command of English, math, history or science.

The drama highlighted Mr. Felder’s unique sway in Albany. As a Democrat who caucuses with the Republicans, thus giving them a slim majority in the chamber, he is courted by both parties; both are loath to alienate him or the overwhelmingly Orthodox Jewish population he represents…

“Parents should have the ability to decide what sort of education their children receive,” Mr. Felder said in an interview on Monday, calling the bill the “beginning of a process that not only pertains to yeshivas but to alternative schools of any sort.”

Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan, a veteran Democrat from Queens who chairs that chamber’s education committee, was blunt about the political calculus behind the yeshiva language. “Even if we had to do something for Simcha,” she said, “we could have minimized the damage to kids with narrowed language.”

Read the full story here.

— Posted on 4.19.18, backdated to 4.3.18