transparency – Felder Tracker

1.16.18 – Transparency requests submitted for 2nd time to Sen. Felder’s office

On 1.16.18, JVS submitted the below transparency requests for a second time to State Sen. Simcha Felder’s office, co-signed by 32 NYSD 17 for Progress members.

The requests were submitted for the first time on Dec. 27, 2017, and were co-signed by 24 members of NYSD 17. However, as of 1.16.18, a response from Mr. Felder’s office had not been received.

The text of JVS’s email – sent to Felder staffers Bryan Best and Rodney Powis, as well as Mr. Felder’s general email inbox – is below, along with a list of signatories. (Note: some last names have been redacted for privacy.)

Dear Mr. Powis and Mr. Best,

My name is John V. Santore, and I’m a constituent living at 602 39th Street.

On Dec. 27, I submitted the below transparency-related requests and questions on behalf of a group of SD 17 constituents. I have followed up several times since then, but have yet to hear back from a member of your staff. As such, please find below a re-submission of our questions and requests, co-signed by 32 individuals. Can you please let us know when someone will be able to speak with us about these important matters?

Sincerely,
John
—

Dear Senator Felder,

We, the members of NYSD 17 for Progress (link: https://www.facebook.com/nysd17forprogress/), are looking forward to engaging with you throughout 2018, with the goal of making our district, our city and our state a better place to live for all residents.

As we approach next year’s Senate session, we have a few requests we think represent a good place to begin our dialogue:

1) Please provide us with an updated staff list: It is critical for your constituents to know who is working for your office, and what their responsibilities are.

Members of our organization have requested a current list of your staffers, with staffers’ positions, contact information, and issue areas of responsibility, multiple times over the past year – including requests made in May (link: http://bit.ly/2CAgqqw) and in September (link: http://bit.ly/2oM0vUf). However, the only response we received came from your communications director, Avi Fertig, who on Sep. 8 told us without explanation that your office is “not in a position to address requests concerning specific personnel.” (link: http://bit.ly/2gXHfvv)

We therefore again request a staff list, with your staffers’ titles, issue areas of responsibility, and contact information. We would also respectfully remind you that your staffers are public employees, and that their role in your office is public information.

2) Please list your legislative priorities for 2018: We are very eager to learn what you hope to focus on during the upcoming Senate session. We therefore request a list of your top legislative priorities for 2018, with any associated commentary you’d like to provide.

3) Please explain why you’re caucusing with the GOP: The New York Post recently reported that you plan to caucus with the Republican Party in Albany until a state budget has been negotiated. (link: http://nyp.st/2kKisNl)

In November, 2016, you downplayed the significance of party membership, writing in Hamodia that, “Our political arena largely relies on a two-party system where you are either a Democrat or a Republican. But at the same time, political club memberships have been declining for years. It’s a sign that more and more people are recognizing that it’s not about the parties—it’s about the issues.” (link: http://bit.ly/2gg4SlE)

We, however, believe that party membership is extremely important, and links directly to the issues that matter to voters. As one of our members and an SD 17 constituent, Naomi Rabeeya, wrote in BKLYNER this year, “Parties matter as they connect people to government through shared values. Knowing a candidate’s political affiliation helps constituents trust that they can predict the stances the person will take if elected to office.” (link: http://bit.ly/2kRxlha) And, of course, the majority party in the Senate and Assembly controls the legislative agenda that moves through those bodies.

As such, we would like you to share a list of the legislative priorities you believe the Republican Party plans to pursue in 2018 that you also support – priorities which explain why you believe it is in the best interest of your constituents to caucus with the GOP.

4) Hold regular town hall meetings: Last year, we circulated a petition asking you to hold regular public town hall meetings with your constituents (link: http://bit.ly/2DgZWF1).

In a July meeting with our group, you told us that you won’t be holding such meetings going forward (link: http://bit.ly/2z6GsQ3). As you said at the time:

“I don’t do town hall meetings. I understand your interest. I’m willing to meet with as many constituents as they want, as often as they want. I don’t find [town hall meetings] productive. I find that when people have serious issues, if the purpose is really to discuss the issues, usually having a smaller group [works better]…If you watch the recent town hall meetings that different officials have had, including the mayor, these are pre-determined, pre-scheduled, pre-ordained…Who asks the questions, they decide beforehand, they decide who gets invited. So I’m not in the business of putting on a show. Now, I’m not telling you that it is impossible to have a town hall meeting that’s productive. All I’m suggesting to you is, this is my philosophy. I’ve been doing things this way since I was in office.”

We appreciated your feedback and perspective, but believe we could work out a town hall format that would allow for a respectful exchange of ideas, would encourage more direct constituent engagement, and would illuminate your positions and principles before a larger number of your constituents.

We therefore again request that you host regular town hall meetings in SD 17 throughout 2018. Would you be open to discussing this with us?

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and we look forward to your responses.

Sincerely,
NYSD 17 for Progress

Signed:
E —
Meg —
Madelyn —
Gerald Cook
Daniel —
Nina —
Ellen Bilofsky
Deborah Herdan
Julie —
John V. Santore
Rebeca Ames
Sumaira —
Ben Theodore
Julio Pena
Noreen —
David —
Samuel —
Sondra —
Joy —
Helen —
Holly —
Jessica Byrne
Dorothy —
David —
Colleen —
Eleanor Whitney
Lucy —
Naomi Rabeeya
Vinit —
Aaron —
David Goldberg
Ann —

— Posted on 1.16.18 by JVS

12.30.17 – At least 24 members of NYSD 17 for Progress requested Mr. Felder’s staff list on 11 separate dates in 2017

In 2017, at least 24 individual members of NYSD 17 for Progress requested a current list of Mr. Felder’s staffers, with the requests taking place on 11 separate dates. While Mr. Felder’s office provided several staff names at different times during the year (such as on 5.26.17 and 12.29.17), as of 12.30.17, a complete staff list had yet to be released.

As of 12.30.17, the only direct response to the request had come from Avi Fertig, Mr. Felder’s former communications director (Mr. Felder’s website listed a new communications director, Sheri Toiv, as of 12.30.17).

On 9.8.17, Mr. Fertig declined to provide a list of Mr. Felder’s staffers, writing in an email that the office was “not in a position to address requests concerning specific personnel.” Mr. Fertig also suggested that JVS “reach out to the office of Secretary of the Senate Frank Patience. Mr. Patience’s office is in charge of Personnel and best placed to discuss your request.” Mr. Fertig did not respond to further requests for clarification.

As this blog documented at the time:

A staffer with the Secretary of the Senate’s office pointed Santore to a public expenditure report on the Senate’s website which lists expenses by Senate office from Oct. 1 2016 through March 31, 2017. The relevant pages for Mr. Felder (pp. 44-46) list 14 staffers who worked for Mr. Felder during that period. However, the document does not list contact information for the staffers, and does not specify which issue areas, if any, were assigned to which staffers. Additionally, it is only current through March, 2017. (Mr. Felder’s staff has changed in at least one respect since then. For example, on the document, the communications director is listed as Clifford Meth, not Fertig.)

A review of the staff list requests documented by this blog follows:

1) John V. Santore requested the list on 5.26.17
2) John V. Santore requested the list on 9.6.17, 9.7.17 and 9.8.17
3) John V. Santore requested the list on 9.11.17, 9.13.17 and 9.14.17
4) Naomi Rabeeya requested the list on 9.12.17
5) Naomi Rabeeya requested the list on 9.18.17
6) Naomi Rabeeya requested the list on 10.23.17
7) 24 members of NYSD 17 for Progress jointly requested the list on 12.27.17

— Posted by JVS on 12.30.17

12.29.17 – Felder staff info: chief of staff and legislative director

On 12.29.17, JVS called Sen. Felder’s Albany office to follow up on two sets of questions emailed this week to Mr. Felder – four transparency requests, and questions concerning a public safety op-ed Mr. Felder recently authored. (This blog will be updated with any responses received.)

A staffer at the office confirmed that Rodney Powis (rpowis@nysenate.gov) is Mr. Felder’s Chief of Staff, and Bryan Best (best@nysenate.gov) is Mr. Felder’s legislative director.

— Posted by JVS on 12.29.17

12.27.17 – Four transparency requests for Mr. Felder

On 12.27.17, NYSD 17 for Progress sent the below four transparency requests to State Sen. Felder via email. This blog will be updated with any response received.

Dear Senator Felder,

As we approach next year’s Senate session, we have a few requests we think represent a good place to begin our dialogue:

1) Please provide us with an updated staff list: It is critical for your constituents to know who is working for your office, and what their responsibilities are.

4) Hold regular town hall meetings: Last year, we circulated a petition asking you to hold regular public town hall meetings with your constituents. Our request was co-signed by more than 110 individuals (link: http://bit.ly/2DgZWF1).

In a July meeting with our group, you told us that you won’t be holding such meetings going forward (link: http://bit.ly/2z6GsQ3). As you said at the time:

We therefore again request that you host regular town hall meetings in SD 17 throughout 2018. Would you be open to discussing this with us?

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and we look forward to your responses.

Sincerely,
NYSD 17 for Progress

Co-signed by the following NYSD 17 members and SD 17 constituents:

Eleanor Whitney
David Cummings
Nora Nussbaum
Francine Snyder
Debbie Herdan
Wayne Reiss
Susan Robertson
Dorothy Gambrell
Samuel Moch
Kathleen Rubenstein
Ben Theodore
Stephen Kaldon
Mildred Lee
Tim Munier
Sheldon Baker
David Goldberg
Naomi Rabeeya
Gerald Cook
Jess Byrne
Julio Pena
Ellen Bilofsky
L. Blake Morris
Aaron Wexler
John V. Santore

Note: since being submitted to Mr. Felder’s office, this letter was also co-signed by Maria Catalina Bertani, Yung-En Chen, Mary Varn, and Daniel Millstone, bringing the total number of signatories to 28.

— Posted by JVS on 12.27.17, updated on 1.1.18

10.23.17 – Open constituent questions re: local anti-Semitic hate mail, Felder’s approach to immigrant protections, staff list

On 10.23.17, SD 17 constituent Naomi Rabeeya sent an email to State Sen. Felder’s office requesting comment on anti-Semitic hate mail received by Weiss Bakery in Borough Park. Rabeeya also requested information on Sen. Felder’s approach to immigrant safety, and an updated staff list for Sen. Felder.

DNAinfo reported on the anti-Semitic letter in October:

BROOKLYN — NYPD hate crime investigators are looking into who sent letters filled with swastikas and anti-Semitic, anti-black and anti-gay language to the Israeli consulate and least seven businesses in Borough Park, Sheepshead Bay and Harlem.

The letters — which begin with President Donald Trump’s campaign slogan “Make America Great Again” written underneath a large red, white and black swastika — were sent to the Israeli consulate in Manhattan, as well as the Harlem Business Alliance, a Harlem Starbucks and several Jewish-owned businesses in Brooklyn, according to police.

The letter targets Jews as well as black and gay people in four lines of text: Trump’s slogan following by “Juden Raus” (a Nazi-era German phrase meaning “Jews out”), “Negroes and f—-ts must burn in hell” and “Christian identity is back.”

Rabeeya did not receive a response to her email, which is below:

Subject: Protecting Constiutents
————————

From: Naomi Rabeeya <——-@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, Oct 23, 2017 at 4:14 PM
To: felder@nysenate.gov

Hello,

I am writing as I am concerned about the hate mail sent to the bakery in our district that was anti-Semitic, homophobic and racist. People are feeling afraid…this letter on-top of the anti-immigrant and minority sentiment in our country.

What is the senator’s plan to protect his constituents, many of which are immigrants and minorities?

As you know, state and local politics are strongly tied to national ones and your constituents are looking for your leadership.

Along those lines, may I have a staff list for Brooklyn and Albany, to facilitate better communication in these times? This would help provide reassurance to constituents.

With gratitude,

Naomi Rabeeya
Midwood

— Posted on 12.24.17, backdated to 10.23.17

9.18.17 – Open constituent questions re: Sen. Felder staff list and immigrant protections

On 9.12.17 and 9.18.17, SD 17 constituent Naomi Rabeeya sent emails to State Sen. Felder’s office requesting an updated staff list, and asking whether Mr. Felder would “openly and proudly defend his constituents and all immigrants.”

A response was not received. The emails are below:

————————
Subject: Immigrants Rights / Staff Questions
From: Naomi Rabeeya <——–@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, Sep 12, 2017 at 10:06 PM
To: felder@nysenate.gov

Hello,

Please send a current staff list for Senator Felder’s Albany and Brooklyn that includes names, titles, areas of responsibility and email addresses.

Also, last week, I was told Senator Felder was a state senator and DACA is a nationwide issue in response to my question about what the Senator will do to protect/advocate the immigrants in his district.

This upset me very much. I explained that state and national politics are interrelated. Also, our district has about 132,000 residents not born in the United States and out of those 59,400 are not citizens of the United States. We cannot know how many of them are DACA registered, but DACA are not, it has become normalized behavior in society to attack immigrants. I asked what the Senator was doing to address this. I was then told to email the office.

I would hope as a leader, the Senator would openly and proudly defend his constituents and all immigrants. I did not think it would be a question I would have to ask leadership-to stand-up for what is right. Please advise.

Thank you
-Naomi Rabeeya
Midwood, Brooklyn

———-
From: Naomi Rabeeya <———@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, Sep 18, 2017 at 7:44 PM
To: felder@nysenate.gov

Hello Senator Felder,

I am following-up on the below email regarding obtaining a staff list and DACA. I understand you are busy, but it was my understanding from Cirel, if I sent an email I would hear back. I also send a few emails in June and did not hear back once.

Thank you
-Naomi

— Posted on 12.24.17, backdated to 9.18.17

9.15.17 – For 2nd Week, No Staff List from Felder, and No Comment on DACA

For a second week, Sen. Simcha Felder’s office has declined to provide constituents with an updated list of his staffers, without explanation.

The office has also yet to comment on Donald Trump’s DACA decision, or to offer any comment on whether Mr. Felder believes the 42,000 New Yorkers who applied for the laws’ protections should be permitted to continue living, working or studying in the state.

The staff list request:

In an email written on 9.8.17, Avi Fertig, Sen. Felder’s communications director, told John V. Santore, an SD 17 constituent, that the office was “not in a position to address requests concerning specific personnel.” The comment came in response to Santore’s repeated requests for an updated list of Mr. Felder’s staffers, along with their titles, issue areas of responsibility, and email addresses. Mr. Fertig did not respond to a subsequent request for an explanation as to why the information was unavailable.

Santore sent three more emails requesting the information on 9.11, 9.13 and 9.14, and left a phone message requesting the information with a district office staffer on 9.12. None of his messages were returned.

In an email sent on 9.12, SD 17 constituent Naomi Rabeeya also requested a staff list, but did not receive a response.

DACA commentary:

In his emails on 9.11, 9. 13 and 9.14, and in his voicemail on 9.12, Santore also requested to learn if Mr. Felder believes the state’s DACA recipients should be allowed to stay in the state. No response was received.

Rabeeya requested in the information in her email on 9.12. Her message was not returned.

And on 9.14, SD 17 constituent Ellen Bilofsky called Mr. Felder’s office and requested the same information, after which she relayed the following conversation with a staffer:

A woman answered. I said “I’m one of the senator’s constituents and I’m calling about the DACA situation.” She asked me for my name, address, and telephone number; said “Someone will be in touch”; and hung up. I never got a chance to say anything about why I was calling or find out her name.

Related emails sent to Mr. Felder’s office:

Email #1, from Naomi Rabeeya:

From: Naomi Rabeeya
Date: September 12, 2017
To: felder@nysenate.gov
Subject: Immigrants Rights / Staff Questions

Hello,

Please send a current staff list for Senator Felder’s Albany and Brooklyn that includes names, titles, areas of responsibility and email addresses.

This upset me very much. I explained that state and national politics are interrelated. Also, our district has about 132,000 residents not born in the United States and out of those 59,400 are not citizens of the United States. We cannot know how many of them are DACA registered, but DACA [or] not, it has become normalized behavior in society to attack immigrants. I asked what the Senator was doing to address this. I was then told to email the office.

Thank you
Naomi Rabeeya
Midwood, Brooklyn

Email #2, from John V. Santore:

Dear Felder staffers,

I hope you had a good weekend!…I wanted to follow up on two matters from last week:

(1) I’d again like to request a current list of Mr. Felder’s staffers, along with their job titles, issue areas (the issues they focus on), and email addresses. As someone who wishes to continue engaging your office on issues that I believe matter to SD 17 and New York, it would be very helpful to know who is working for and advising Mr. Felder, and how to contact them. Additionally, since Mr. Felder’s staffers are public employees, I am under the assumption that their names, titles and email addresses are public information, and have not been told otherwise by your office.

As you can see below, last week, Avi told me that I should contact Secretary of the Senate Frank Patience for this information. That office directed me to an expense report listing salaries paid to people who worked for Mr. Felder, but the list has not been updated since the end of March. It is therefore not a current list of staffers. For this reason, I’m requesting the list from your office.

(2) Second, I’d like to know if Mr. Felder believes the approximately 42,000 New York State residents who applied for DACA’s protections should be permitted to continue living, working and studying in New York. I understand DACA is a federal policy, but obviously states can make the lives of immigrants easier or harder, and so understanding how state officials feel about immigrants, especially those who are undocumented, is very important to me as a constituent and voter.

As you know, I often post your office’s responses to my questions on feldertracker.wordpress.com. This blog exists to promote a public dialogue between Mr. Felder and his constituents. I will gladly post any responses your office provides to these and other questions, and would always prefer to hear Mr. Felder’s opinions and analysis of complex issues than to not hear it.

Thank you for your time and consideration,
John

– Posted by John V. Santore

9.8.17 – Felder’s office declines to provide updated staff list

Sen. Simcha Felder’s office has declined to provide an updated list of staffers working for Mr. Felder. No explanation for the denial, which was received on 9.8, was provided.

The staff list was requested by John V. Santore, an SD 17 constituent. Santore also requested the job titles, issue areas of responsibility, and email addresses of the staffers. In response, Avi Fertig, Mr. Felder’s communications director, wrote the following:

As we are not in a position to address requests concerning specific personnel, I recommend you reach out to the office of Secretary of the Senate Frank Patience. Mr. Patience’s office is in charge of Personnel and best placed to discuss your request.

The direct number of the Secretary of the Senate’s office is (518) 455-2051.

Sincerely,
Avi

Fertig did not respond to a request for further clarification.

Background:

Santore first requested a staff list on 5.26. The information is not available on Mr. Felder’s website, which as of 9.8.17 only lists Fertig’s name and contact information.

A staffer told Santore on 5.26 that staffing information would be shared via email, but it was never provided.

During a subsequent conversation on 5.30, Santore was given the names of several of Felder’s staffers, including Judah A. Wohlgelernter (wohlgele@nysenate.gov), Ellyn Walansky (walansky@nysenate.gov), Bryan Best (best@nysenate.gov), Cirel Neumann and Darlene Leder. It was not made clear, however, if this was a complete list of Mr. Felder’s staffers.

On 9.6, 9.7 and 9.8, Santore again requested this information, along with the staffers’ titles, areas of responsibility, and email addresses. He also followed up with several phone calls, during which Cirel Neumann and another staffer said they were looking into his request. He subsequently received Fertig’s email on 9.8.

Santore’s response to Fertig (fertig@nysenate.gov), which was not returned by the close of business on 9.8, is below:

Mr. Fertig,

Thank you very much for getting in touch, and for this information.

I’m hoping you can further explain your response. Is there a reason why your office is “not in a position to address requests concerning specific personnel”? Am I wrong to assume this is public information, since Mr. Felder’s staffers are publicly funded employees?

Again, I’m requesting this information so that I can learn which of Mr. Felder’s staffers hold which responsibilities, and which staffers are responsible for advising him on specific issue areas. This information would help me to engage Mr. Felder and his office on issues I believe to be important to SD 17 and to New York State more broadly.

Thank you again for your time and consideration,
John

– Posted by John V. Santore

7.21.17 – Audio: NYSD 17 for Progress Meets with Sen. Felder

On July 20, four members of NYSD 17 for Progress met with Sen. Simcha Felder at his district office in Brooklyn. An audio recording of the meeting is available here and embedded below:

The four NYSD 17 members at the meeting were David Goldberg, Lisa Melilli, Jessica Byrne and Blake Morris, all of whom live in the Senate’s 17th District.

Sen. Felder was joined at the meeting by legislative aid Bryan Best, communications director Avi Fertig, and Chief of Staff Rodney Powis.

Among the topics discussed at the meeting were the following:

(1) Felder said he is dropping Senate Bill 5170A, which would raise the speed limit on Ocean Parkway to 35 miles per hour (conversation starts approximately 39:20 into the recording):

“I thought a lot about that bill as a result of different feedback,” he said. “I’ve spoken to people personally and I’ve decided to drop the bill.”

(2) Felder spoke of his opposition to a proposal to expand the city’s speed camera program (approximately 41:15 into the recording):

“The camera issue goes back to the Bloomberg administration…When the Bloomberg administration proposed cameras, I didn’t like the idea…I felt that on one side, you have the privacy issues, on the other side, I felt that the most compelling issue is that around the schools, most of the schools don’t have the security they need when you talk about cameras, about people being able to come into the schools. I believe even the public schools – I’m not talking about having police officers roaming the halls, but we live in a different time…The resource officers in front of the schools, I just feel philosophically is just not enough…So originally, when the proposal came up, they said that they were going to be near schools. If you see where the cameras are actually placed, yes, there is a school somewhere about a third of a mile, I forgot the exact number of blocks, near the school, but they’re not at the schools, they’re somewhere in the vicinity of the schools…The original proposal was the same thing. It was supposed to be cameras for the safety of children…The original proposal to get these cameras, the selling point was the safety, and then when you looked at the details, it said it would be within a certain amount of blocks away. To me, that’s a money grab. That was a money grab…Now that doesn’t mean that there aren’t any streets that are four or five blocks away where children cross that it’s not safe. All I’m suggesting to you is that, if they want to put cameras, first of all, put cameras on the schools themselves. I’m talking about terrorism that I’m concerned about, to protect the children that are in the school…But now the city proposal, the recent proposal, was within a half a mile away from the school. So all I’m suggesting to you is, now we’re talking about a philosophical debate as to whether you should have mobile cameras moving around to encourage safety. Now the issue is not about children, it’s about a philosophical debate whether you think you should have cameras roaming, moving, moving, moving to encourage people not to speed. Philosophically, I believe that if you really wanted to make sure people change their behavior, you ticket them with points. A police officer pulls you over…I’m not telling you a 50 dollar ticket doesn’t hurt, but a 50 dollar, 90 dollar ticket, somebody who’se comfortable, I’ll just say, who’se wealthy, if they’re in a rush for an appointment, a 90 dollar ticket is nothing. So what?…When a police officer pulls you over, and you get points on your license, that sticks, period. There’s nothing like it. So that’s what that’s all about.”

(3) Felder said he won’t host town hall meetings, as requested by NYSD 17, and explained why (approximately 1:30 into the recording):

“I think that almost without exception, I’ll have as many town hall meetings in your neighborhood where you live as I do throughout the rest of the district, which is none. I don’t do town hall meetings. I understand your interest. I’m willing to meet with as many constituents as they want, as often as they want. I don’t find [town hall meetings] productive. I find that when people have serious issues, if the purpose is really to discuss the issues, usually having a smaller group [works better]…If you watch the recent town hall meetings that different officials have had, including the mayor, these are pre-determined, pre-scheduled, pre-ordained…Who asks the questions, they decide beforehand, they decide who gets invited. So i’m not in the business of putting on a show. Now, i’m not telling you that it is impossible to have a town hall meeting that’s productive. All I’m suggesting to you is, this is my philosophy. I’ve been doing things this way since I was in office.”

Regarding a recent town hall put on by Councilman David Greenfield and Mayor Bill de Blasio, Felder said (approximately 11:50 into the recording):

“That to me is a joke. I compliment Councilman Greenfield. I think that the mayor and both of them are doing a lot of good things. But when I said before that town hall meetings are pre-determined, who’se going to speak, what they’re going to talk about, who’se invited, that’s [a] perfect example. I’m not interested in putting on a show.”

(4) Felder said he aims to be as responsive to constituents as possible, including those who disagree with him (approximately 20 minutes into the recording):

“I just want to be clear that I take pride in not only writing back, calling back…And people know that when people disagree with positions that I have, I call back…I spend a lot of time explaining what my position is. Most of the time, people will say thanks for calling back. We still are not happy that you disagree with us. But one thing I want to make sure that’s clear is that I try to the best of my ability to respond.”

(5) Felder said that he wants to help people register to vote, and would be willing to discuss legislation to automatically register voters in New York, but can’t support such a measure at this time (approximately 54:45 into the recording):

“I have mixed feelings about sort of, not necessarily this, but the impact of imposing something on somebody, even though it’s good. I can’t tell you that I have a clear, I have mixed feelings, I really do…I don’t know if I can really feel good on imposing something, even if you can opt-out…But in general about registering voters, my interest in public service, the first thing I did many moons ago was I was involved in just trying to register people to vote, period.”

(5) Felder said he prioritizes constituent services, including the bag fee bill (approximately 6:10 into the recording):

“The quality of life issues is a priority. Even when it comes to legislation. I try to pick a few things to get done in a session, because usually you can’t, unfortunately, get that much done. I try to pick a few things and try to work on those. And usually the things that I pick on have to do with quality of life or individual issues.”

This also applied to the bag fee bill, he said: “That’s another example to me, whether you agree or not, is something that affects people in their day to day lives. That to me is a passion.”

(6) Felder explained why his office doesn’t always comment on legislation (approximately 14:55 into the recording):

“If I don’t have a position, I don’t discuss it, and if I do, I do. I don’t understand this part of the interrogation. When I have positions on things, I’m very vociferous about them. When I don’t, I don’t.”

On a related note, he said he’s very careful taking positions on legislation, because he wants to make sure he’s thought things through and consulted with experts (approximately 22:35 into the recording):

“For many many years, going back to my City Council days…I had advocated for medicinal marijuana. I was very passionate about [it], for a variety of reasons. When it came to the committee vote, after listening to hours and hours of testimony from different people, I wound up voting no in committee on medicinal marijuana, and the most compelling argument, which I had never thought about, never heard about, came from one of the witnesses…It was heart-wrenching…I don’t like being wrong…And that’s why I don’t like taking positions unless I am really pushing a piece of legislation.”

– Posted by John V. Santore

6.20.17 – Felder declines to meet with NYSD17 for Progress before end of session, offers July meeting instead

On June 19, Bryan Best, one of Sen. Felder’s legislative staffers, told John V. Santore, a district 17 constituent, that Mr. Felder would be unable to speak to the members of NY State District 17 for Progress before the end of the legislative session. Best also said that none of Mr. Felder’s staffers were available for a meeting, either.

NY State District 17 for Progress requested a meeting, either in person or by phone, on June 9. The request was sent along with a petition listing 81 signatures from Brooklyn residents in support of the meeting, including numerous District 17 constituents.

Best said that the Senate schedule was very hectic at the end of the session, implying that was why the meeting couldn’t take place. He also said he would try to send an email to Santore providing more information on the legislation District 17 for Progress wanted to discuss. As of June 25, the email had yet to be received.

Additionally, Best offered to set up a meeting with NYSD 17 for Progress on July 19 or 20. An update regarding this offer will be provided once more information is available.

– Posted by John V. Santore