NYC Council Member Ari Kagan

There is no better way to celebrate New Year than with Coney Island Sharks (President - Priscilla Santos) at Luna Park! Thank you, Alessandro & Tracee Zamperla from Luna Park, for partnering with my office & sponsoring free ice skating & rides for 100 Coney Island kids & their parents!
Happy New Year!

Special Thanks to Jeannine Cherichetti, Ayanna Williams and Erica Turner from my office for all the assistance today.

My dear friends!

Happy New Year and Best Wishes! It was a huge honor and privilege of my lifetime to represent beautiful communities of the 47th District in NYC Council. Thank you for this amazing opportunity and your trust.

Have a prosperous, lucky and safe 2024!

Rabbi David Okunov (Warbasse Jewish Heritage Congregation) is a great spiritual leader who cares deeply about community. During the pandemic, he hosted many food distributions and even personally delivered food packages to seniors and people with disabilities, including veterans and Holocaust survivors. Rabbi David Okunov helps people in Warbasse and Luna Park, Brighton Beach and Crown Heights. His advice, support and guidance are appreciated by many communities.
I was happy to join Rabbi at prayers and to present him NYC Council Citation for his contributions.

I have just sent to NYCHA emergency team all the information about serious water bursting problem in O'Dwyer Gardens, 2975 West 33rd Street. Will follow up again until the problem would be resolved.

Update from O’Dwyer Gardens.

NYCHA emergency workers did show up and started to fix broken pipes. They temporary stopped bursting water and continue working to resolve the issue.

Was proud to celebrate the 50 years of JCC of Greater Coney Island’s service to Southern Brooklyn and other communities. Under the leadership of Rabbi Moshe Wiener, JCCGCI have become a premiere umbrella group uniting many senior centers, important programs and valuable non-for-profit organizations - serving youth and seniors, families in need, job seekers and ESL students. The magnitude of the JCCGCI work is really impressive. I was privileged to secure funding from NYC Council to their critical programs and to provide moral and political support for its mission.

Happy Birthday, JCCGCI, and congratulations on your tremendous achievements!

Shawn Hodges is the owner of the Community Driving Program. He offers free driving lesson to teens ages 16-18 who sign up when he attends various Coney Island events and job fairs. Shawn also offers a discounted rate to all NYCHA residents, students, and many other community members.
He is a caring, hardworking and generous person who is always ready to help Coney Island residents. Well deserved recognition!

Was happy to present NYC Council Citation to Rabbi Pinny Marozov from the Chabad of Coney Island. He is a great spiritual leader who helps hundreds of people with his advice, guidance and support. Congratulations!

MTA will soon install cameras that will charge most drivers entering parts of Manhattan up to $15. The MTA is now receiving public comments on this plan, which was approved by many state elected officials and supported by most City Council members. I strongly opposed to it - together with members of the NYC Council Common Sense Caucus. I believe this is another unfair tax/fee on hardworking New Yorkers, small businesses and seniors traveling to Manhattan for medical appointments.

Public comment period:

The MTA public comment period on the congestion pricing toll plan is now open until March 11. Below are the ways you can contact the MTA. The MTA will also hold four hybrid virtual/in-person public hearings in February and March. Please, make your voices heard.

Viktoriia Viennikova is a great leader in the Ukrainian American Community. She supported young talents and wounded Ukrainian soldiers, performed Ukrainian and American songs during the charity baseball game at Maimonidas Stadium in Coney Island and at the Eastern European Heritage Day Celebration in Gracie Mansion, the Ukrainian Flag Raising Ceremony at Bowling Green.
I was glad to present Viktoriia the NYC Council
Citation and to praise her work in a community. Congratulations!

On this Christmas morning, I would like to give a huge credit to the Alliance for Coney Island (Daniel Murphy and Cindy Godla) as well as to the Coney Island YMCA (CEO - Sam Moore) for the fantastic Toys Giveaway they planned and hosted on December 16 for hundreds of parents and children. More than 600 toys of all sizes were distributed to community members.

Special Thanks to all generous sponsors and volunteers for making this event a huge success. My office was honored to co-sponsor this fabulous toy giveaway.

Santa Claus brought a lot of smiles and toys for Marlboro Houses kids and parents. Thank you, TA President Angie Herrera and all volunteers, for making this event a huge success!