My Community Office is open year-round, helping thousands of our neighbors.

I have found that many people are not aware of how their State Assembly Member can work for them and the community.

Much of the work done by my staff and me is helping people with problems with their landlord, Con Ed, phone or cable services, health coverage, or a government agency such as Medicare, Social Security, Medicaid, NYCHA, or the City or State tax agencies.

We help people fill out forms and apply for EPIC, Medicaid, the earned-income tax credit, food stamps, Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemptions (SCRIE) or Disability Rent Increase Exemption (DRIE), and other important benefits.

We also work with block associations and other community groups that need help with Federal, State or City government, including issues such as zoning, development, traffic, police protection, rowdy bars, sanitation, schools, and landmark preservation.

Typical housing problems include rent overcharges, lack of services or repairs, and co-op or condo conversions. We organize tenant associations. If you need a free or low-cost tenant lawyer, we can help you find one.

My Community Office is at 214 West 29th Street, Suite 1002, between Seventh and Eighth Avenues. It is open for appointments Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. Appointments are requested and we have staff who speak Spanish fluently. Contact info: 212-807-7900, GottfriedR@nyassembly.gov

Fighting For Traffic Safety – In June, I spoke at a City Hall press conference supporting State legislation allowing New York City to install more speed cameras in school zones. Data shows that pedestrian, motorist, and passenger injuries and fatalities decline in neighborhoods after speed cameras are installed.

Here are a few examples of how my office has won results for people in our area.

• A senior rent-stabilized tenant was told by his landlord that future rent payments would only be accepted through a complicated online system. We informed the landlord that forcing this on tenants is illegal. The tenant was able to continue to pay his rent with a personal check.
• A woman’s refrigerator was not working. We called her management company and had her refrigerator replaced with a working one on the same day.
• A disabled senior had been trying to coordinate the delivery of her prescription medication and home care equipment for nearly a month. We called her provider and had it delivered the following day.
• The veterans’ group Veterans for Peace needed a permit for a Memorial Day event, and a group of environmental organizations needed a permit for an anti-fracking rally. We spoke with city agencies and helped both groups get the permits.
• A woman’s tax refund was lost somewhere between the State tax department and her bank. We got her the money.
• When a building’s cable provider tried to increase its monthly fee only for rent-stabilized tenants, we negotiated a lower rate for the tenants.
• A tenant feared that his landlord was kicking him out of his SRO unit to reconstruct the building. We told him he didn’t have to leave permanently. The tenant is still living in his SRO unit and now knows his rights.
• A resident of a cooperative had questions about her coop’s board of directors elections. We advised her where to find the information and how to get a copy of her building’s by-laws and offering plan.
• The son of a disabled senior called because Medicaid was drastically reducing the hours of home health aide service for his father. We investigated, spoke with social workers and the agency and maintained the hours needed.
• We help seniors figure out if they are eligible for the Medicare Savings Plan, which means their Part B premium gets refunded.
• A tenant was being overcharged on his fuel bill in his rent-controlled apartment. My office speeded up the process by working with a state agency and helped him get a $6,000 refund from his landlord.
• We helped stop street construction in front of a synagogue on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
• Parents of a disabled child had trouble getting special education aid. We got them in touch with people in the right offices to get help for their child.
• A tenant’s apartment needed major repairs. We went to Housing Court with him and the landlord had to do the work – plumbing, fixing broken windows, etc.
• A man wasn’t receiving his unemployment benefits. We called the NYS Dept. of Labor and sorted it out so he could receive his checks.

I represent you in the State Assembly, one of the two houses of the State Legislature in Albany. I work for more affordable housing and strong tenant protection and rent laws; protecting reproductive choice; human rights (including LGBT, people with disabilities, and women’s rights) and civil liberties; government reform; fair taxes based on ability to pay; environmental protection; and aid for schools and mass transit.

I chair the Assembly Health Committee. I work on Medicaid reform, long-term care, protecting access to health care and affordable health coverage, services for people with HIV/AIDS, and a host of other health issues. I sponsor a bill to create a state universal single-payer plan called “NY Health.” I sponsored the law that allows medical use of marijuana.

I was the original Assembly sponsor of the bill to recognize same-sex marriage, and I sponsor the bill to outlaw discrimination against transgender people.

Hearing On Home Care – In February, I co-chaired an Assembly hearing in Manhattan on the obstacles to adequate home care for the elderly and people with disabilities, and the needs of New York’s home care workforce.

My staff and I work with a variety of community and civic groups on neighborhood issues.

We don’t always win. But when neighborhood groups work closely with their local elected representatives, the community is much more likely to get the results it wants.

Some late-night bars or clubs make life a nightmare for area residents. We can work with the police and the State Liquor Authority to help make the place clean up its act.

We work for sensible planning to stop developers and city or state agencies who want to develop excessively large buildings.

We advocate for landmark preservation and fight to stop building owners who seek to destroy landmark buildings or undermine “historic district” protections.

We’ve led the long fight to create and protect the Hudson River Park. I wrote the State law that created the Park, protects the River, and preserves public access.

We work with the city to crack down on illegal hotels. I wrote the State law that makes it easier to prosecute landlords who run illegal hotels.

Tax Relief For Small Businesses – Earlier this year, I joined Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, Councilmember Dan Garodnick, and business and community leaders at a press conference in the Flatiron District to call for the elimination of the Commercial Rent Tax on thousands of small businesses in Manhattan, a struggle we finally won in November.