Paterson Now Focuses on Layoffs to Cut Budget

by Nicholas Confessore

Days after a state judge blocked his efforts to furlough half the state work force, Gov. David A. Paterson is crafting a plan that would lay off thousands of government workers at the beginning of next year, a move officials say is necessary to help balance the state budget.

A senior administration official involved in drafting the plan said Monday that Mr. Paterson would direct state agencies to begin picking which positions could be eliminated starting Jan. 1, 2011.

That is the expiration date of the no-layoffs pledge that Mr. Paterson made to public employee unions last year in exchange for an agreement to reduce the state’s long-term pension costs. It also coincides with the end of his term as governor, meaning that the decision to move forward with the layoffs would ultimately rest with his successor.

The leading candidates of both major parties — Andrew M. Cuomo, a Democrat who is the attorney general, and Rick A. Lazio, a Republican who was a Long Island congressman — have signaled that they would seek to shrink the state’s work force if elected.

The administration official, who spoke only on the condition of anonymity because the administration’s proposal had not been finalized, said Mr. Paterson would coordinate his efforts with the new governor to ensure continuity.

“It’s going to take a few months to put together the plan,” the official said. “We’re going to use that as an opportunity to further restructure the government and look at programs and departments we may need to eliminate.

“State government has gotten too expensive. It can’t be everything to everybody. The timing also gives the next administration a chance to look at the plan.”

The official also said Mr. Paterson had not yet ruled out breaking the no-layoffs pledge, which he made last June as part of a deal with the Civil Service Employees Association and the Public Employees Federation, the two largest unions of state workers.

“There are people who are encouraging the governor” to break the no-layoffs pledge before Jan. 1, the official said. “That’s an option he has. And it’s something he will decide on after we’ve laid out the layoff plan.”

Representatives for the two unions did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Both Mr. Paterson and the Legislature are seeking about $250 million in savings from the state work force to help close a budget deficit now estimated at more than $9 billion for the fiscal year that began April 1. But they have been unable to agree on either a specific plan to achieve those savings or a broader budget deal, leaving the state operating on emergency spending bills week to week.

A state judge last week quashed Mr. Paterson’s efforts to begin one-day-a-week furloughs of about half the state work force, ruling that such furloughs were unconstitutional because they unilaterally altered the workers’ collective bargaining agreements.

With government finances stretched to the breaking point at every level of government, some public employees unions, like local teachers’ unions, have agreed to wage freezes or furloughs — usually to avert layoffs — that they would have never considered before. But the unions representing state workers have steadfastly refused to do so, saying that they are entitled to every cent promised to them in their contracts and that Mr. Paterson should instead cut the number of independent contractors working for the government.

Those unions have also declined alternative cost-saving proposals from the administration, like giving up a pay raise that went into effect in April or accepting a five-day lag for part of their salaries.

Administration officials have estimated that the state would have to lay off about 10,000 workers to achieve the same savings as the furloughs, which would have cut spending by about $30 million a week. They also believe that layoffs would have a better chance of surviving a court challenge, since the administration’s no-layoff pledge was not written into the unions’ contract.

The new proposal follows the passage in the Legislature last week of a package of temporary early retirement incentives for public employees. The administration official said Mr. Paterson’s agency executives would wait to see how many workers took advantage of the new rules before making a final decision on how many jobs to go after for elimination.

Labor’s tough customers: The city’s new breed of old-school union leaders are ready to rumble

By Philip Dine

Listen to some new labor leaders on the New York City scene, and you might think we’re back in the union movement’s take-no-prisoners days of the 1930s. We’re not, of course, but something intriguing is going on – and it has national implications.

Five months into his presidency of Transit Workers Local 100, John Samuelsen is ratcheting up the heat to prevent the MTA from trimming several thousand jobs and altering work rules. He contrasts the plight of transit workers sent into “filthy, disgusting conditions” with MTA head Jay Walder’s “raking in the dough.”

No surprise, perhaps, for a burly, selfdescribed son of “two working stiffs from Brooklyn” whose insurgent TWU campaign alleged that his predecessor – who led the 2005 transit strike that brought New York to a near standstill – was insufficiently militant.

At the United Federation of Teachers, strapping former construction worker Michael Mulgrew has an outsized personality and booming voice to match. As New York officials are learning – including “numb nuts” Joel Klein (a.k.a. the schools chancellor) – Mulgrew doesn’t mince words.

Even before assuming office 10 months ago, this Staten Island son of a waitress became the huge local’s public face by leading protests against budget cuts at City Council meetings, in Albany and in the streets.

Meanwhile, former Queens and Brooklyn hospital cop Greg Floyd, once the youngest hospital police captain in New York history, recently took the reins of Teamsters Local 237. He’s running a far more energized ship than the leader he replaced, unsurprising since Floyd is three decades younger.

Each in his 40s, these men reflect a generational shift in New York’s labor movement, arguably the country’s most powerful. Moreover, they head major locals interwoven with city life. The UFT’s 145,000 members make it a pivotal player in education and politics. Local 100, key to New Yorkers getting to work every day, is TWU’s biggest affiliate with 38,000 members. Local 237′s dispersed membership gives it clout in housing, health and public safety agencies, and its 24,000 members constitute the largest local in the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.

We are seeing the new face of the American labor movement emerge. It is tough, it can be uncompromising, and – this is critical – it is weighted toward the public sector. As U.S. manufacturing jobs continue to vanish and the service sector (think Wal-Mart) remains difficult to organize, government has emerged as labor’s growth industry.

This was unimaginable a half-century ago, when private industry was heavily organized and few government workers were in unions. But last year for the first time, the expanding public sector, though still five times smaller than the private sector, leaped past it to become – by 500,000 members – the majority within the labor movement.

In a time of economic hardship, this is setting the stage for classic conflicts. With governments at all levels facing budgetary shortfalls, the salaries, pensions, job security and other benefits of public employment are coming under intense scrutiny. Critics on the right sense an opportunity to go after two of their prime targets – government and unions – in one fell swoop.

It’s no surprise that their attacks are finding sympathetic audiences among some private-sector taxpayers, since so many working and middle-class people face desperate conditions, with high unemployment and foreclosure rates and economic anxiety all around. Moreover, they’re the ones paying the freight for the public-sector employees.

Government workers perform critical – often dangerous – duties, and whatever benefits they enjoy result from open negotiations between labor and management. But that doesn’t change the fact that they’re now under siege – or that the tensions are likely to rise before they recede.

From California to Illinois to New York, teachers are excoriated for compensation said to take resources from students, transit workers are targeted for allegedly abusing sick day policies, while county employees hear that their benefits risk bankrupting local governments. The host of a national TV business show told me on air a few days ago that unless government workers sacrificed their “lavish” pensions, children would have “worse health” because of program cuts.

The likes of Samuelsen, Mulgrew and Floyd could react to the turning tide by going with the flow. Instead, they’re growing more assertive, unafraid to use their bully pulpit or their political muscle to make their point.

In reality, they have little choice, because their tough stances stem from more than personality. They fit the times.

With their newfound status, they are the last best hope, for the foreseeable future, of a struggling labor movement. If a new Walter Reuther or Jimmy Hoffa is to arise, he may well spring from the fertile environment of public-sector unionism, where workers are less susceptible to being fired or intimidated by employers, and where their jobs can’t readily be exported. By contrast, some private-sector unions once known for militancy have found themselves forced into concessions as companies and even entire industries – consider auto and the UAW – face collapse.

To truly understand what’s fueling the no-nonsense leadership that’s emerging, we must go back a few years.

Even before the financial crisis and unemployment surge, the country was undergoing a shift in wealth with wages lagging rising productivity. Corporate profits assumed the highest share of the Gross Domestic Product in many decades, and wages/salaries the lowest. The virtual deindustrialization of America, with good-paying factory jobs – disproportionately union – going overseas has exacerbated all these trends.

So labor leaders increasingly feel pressure to stand firm and defend their members. Indeed, what we are witnessing in the emerging New York leadership is also reflected on the national level, where Rich Trumka, a combative former coal miner, has replaced the professorial John Sweeney as AFL-CIO president.

But just when working people sorely need a forceful advocate, many unions have found themselves hard-pressed to effectively fill that traditional role. Not only has labor’s strength declined because of the reality of ebbing membership, employer aggressiveness and job flight, the widespread perception of unions as irrelevant relics of a bygone era has further reduced their influence.

It’s impossible to overstate how much the notion that labor is a dinosaur grates on union leaders or rank-and-file members. For everything they are experiencing tells them just the opposite: that rarely has a strong labor movement been more necessary than right now.

It’s no accident that average people find their living standards, pensions and job security threatened at the very time labor’s been weakened, any more than it was a coincidence that the greatest expansion of the middle class – from the late 1940s to the mid-1970s – marked the apex of labor’s strength.

Why, at the very time corporate influence has grown more powerful, more concentrated and more distant, would working people best cope for themselves as individuals without a collective voice?

One other factor also has helped wipe the smiles from labor leaders.

After doing more to elect this President and this Congress than ever before, folks in the labor movement have quietly stewed for months about the results or, more precisely, lack thereof. Where, they wonder, are the promised labor law reforms, renegotiated trade deals or jobs? Why has their top legislative priority, the Employee Free Choice Act – which would help reverse falling union numbers – languished on the back burner?

And so a new generation of labor leaders – tough, energetic and frustrated with the status quo – has come to the fore, and isn’t going away anytime soon. Particularly in a place like New York City, where a powerful labor movement goes hand-in-glove with a prominent public sector, residents can expect to get used to the countenance and tone of a Samuelsen, a Mulgrew and a Floyd.

Like them or not, you’ll know they’re around, because you’ll hear and see them fighting.

Dine, author of “State of the Unions: How Labor Can Strengthen the Middle Class, Improve Our Economy, and Regain Political Influence,” is a Washington-based journalist and a frequent speaker on labor issues. He is from New York City.

BALCONY Offers Solutions, Finds Common Ground in NYS Budget Battle

BALCONY, in an effort to continue to influence the New York State Budget Debate, has placed ads in the Capital Newspaper and the Legislative Gazette, featuring articles by its co-chairs Bruce Ventimiglia and Alan Lubin. Mr. Ventimiglia, Chairman of Saratoga Capital Management, called for the restoration of the NYS Stock Transfer Tax estimating that it would result in $3 billion for New York. At the same time, Mr. Lubin, formerly Executive Vice President of NYSUT, hailed the victorious lawsuit blocking Governor Paterson’s furlough of state workers, stating “a contract is a contract is a contract” .

Link to the ad: AD2010

BALCONY Hails Judge’s Ruling On Furloughs; PEF, CSEA, UUP Respond

Today, May 28, in a major victory for state employees and tax payers, Judge Lawrence Kahn issued a preliminary injunction against Governor Paterson’s planned one-day-a-week furlough of state workers, saying it would cause irreparable harm to state employees and interrupt the delivery of vital state services.

BALCONY co-chair Alan Lubin commented, “BALCONY hails Judge Kahn’s decision and offers support and solidarity to our members who brought this case against the governor. The governor must not be allowed to unilaterally abrogate contract law. We must find common ground.”

PEF wins preliminary injunction stopping furloughs
Judge directs governor to abide by contracts

ALBANY, NY (05/28/2010)– The New York State Public Employees Federation (PEF) was granted a preliminary injunction today preventing the governor from implementing his plan to furlough state employees.

In issuing his decision in U.S. District Court, Northern District, Judge Lawrence Kahn recognized the furlough legislation substantially impaired PEF’s collective-bargaining agreement with the state. The ruling found payless furloughs would have caused irreparable harm, as employees would suffer a permanent 20 percent reduction in salary, and the employees reasonably relied upon the salaries negotiated years earlier by PEF.

Judge Kahn agreed with PEF that the state failed to demonstrate it was reasonable and necessary to impair its obligation of contract; thus, violating the Contracts Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

“This is a victory for state employees and for state taxpayers,” said PEF President Kenneth Brynien. “This decision will allow state services to continue uninterrupted and prevent hardships to the taxpayers who depend on them.

“We are equally pleased the court found the state has other means to address its budget deficit, as PEF has maintained all along.

“We remain ready and willing to work with the governor and legislative leaders to achieve the savings the governor seeks, by implementing PEF’s budget solutions,” Brynien said.

Judge Kahn also directed the state not to submit any further extender appropriations bills which include the furloughs or exclude the payment of contractually obligated salary increases. Those salary increases were part of the two most recent extender bills passed into law, as required by the temporary restraining order Judge Kahn granted May 12.

“It is in the best interest of state taxpayers the governor accepts the court’s ruling and avoids wasting more time and money needlessly appealing this decision,” Brynien said.

PEF is the state’s second-largest state-employee union, representing 58,000 professional, scientific and technical employees.

Statement of CSEA President Danny Donohue on the federal court ruling on furloughs

ALBANY – “Today’s decision is a victory for the rule of law in New York and should make it clear that no governor can run roughshod over people’s rights.

Governor David Paterson cannot disregard his responsibility to all the people of New York to ensure services and responsible government. CSEA can only hope that the governor will recognize that his incompetent and arrogant approach to New York’s budget crisis has been entirely counterproductive.

CSEA members are working harder every day under increasingly difficult working conditions. We have offered numerous ideas to help address the crisis, which have been contemptuously dismissed by the Paterson administration.

It is time for Governor Paterson to stop using public employees as scapegoats, work to bring people together and develop a comprehensive approach to the overall budget problem that will be in the best interest of all New Yorkers.”

Unions successful in blocking furloughs

Two of NYSUT’s higher education locals won a decisive victory in Federal District Court Friday morning when Judge Lawrence Kahn granted them a preliminary injunction that blocks indefinitely Gov. David Paterson’s plan to furlough state employees.

Lawyers for United University Professions, which represents 35,000 academic and professional faculty at the State University of New York, and the Professional Staff Congress, which represents more than 20,000 faculty and staff at the City University of New York, argued in court Wednesday that the one-day-a-week furloughs violated the union’s contracts and would cause irreparable harm to tens of thousands of New Yorkers.

The lawyers further argued that the contract clause of the constitution is a basic, substantive right that cannot be violated except in extreme emergencies. The state, they said, failed to demonstrate an extreme emergency and to negotiate another solution with the unions. The PSC also argued that the state didn’t even have the right to consider violating its contract, as the PSC negotiates its agreements with the City of New York.

The judge agreed with the union’s positions on every point..

The unions’ lawyers also noted inconsistencies in the state’s arguments. The state presented the furloughs as critical to resolving a short-term cash flow problem, and presented furloughs as a long-term solution to the budget deficit. Neither reason was valid for violating a contract, the unions argued, but the fact that the state demonstrated such a back-and-forth position further undermined the state’s contention that furloughs were the only solution.

The preliminary injunction upholds the emergency order granted by the judge two weeks ago, and will remain in effect until a lawsuit by the two locals against the governor is resolved. The state may appeal the decision, but no information was available Friday on whether the state plans to do so.

To see the Judge’s ruling click the following link:
Ruling

BALCONY NEWS RELEASE: Charter Schools a Bad Investment for New York

The Chief, For the Record

May 28th, 2010

A financier who co-chairs a business/labor partnership last week called for reviving the stock-transfer tax, saying it could bring a sorely needed $3 billion in revenue to the state.

Bruce Ventimiglia, the head of Saratoga Capital Management and co-chair of the Business and Labor Coalition of New York (BALCONY), called the reinstitution of the tax a “common sense temporary revenue-enhancer” that would help spare vital government services that face severe cuts as part of the state and local budget-balancing efforts.

The stock-transfer tax was first imposed in 1905, but since 1981 those doing business in New York have received a full rebate of the surcharge on stock transactions. Mayor Bloomberg is among those who argue that if an surcharge is revived it will cost New York business, with investors moving their transactions to other jurisdictions where such a tax is not in effect.

Mr. Ventimiglia, however, said in a statement that foreign stock exchanges including those in London, Hong Kong, France, Germany and Switzerland have such a tax, in some cases at higher rates than he proposed: a rebate of just 80 percent of the surcharge. During the city fiscal year which ends June 30, he continued, $14.5 billion in stock transfer taxes has so far been collected before the rebates. If the state retained just 20 percent of that ammount, he noted, it would reap nearly $3 billion in added revenue.

WINnyc and 1010WINS Radio Interview BALCONY Business Co-Chair Bruce Ventimiglia on Reducing the Stock Tax Rebate

By Doug Cunningham

Bruce Ventimiglia is co-chair of BALCONY- the Business and Labor Coalition of New York. He says with New York facing a budget crisis the likes of which it has never seen, BALCONY is endorsing a 20 percent reduction in the stock transfer tax rebate. That would erase nearly a third of the state budge deficit.

[Ventimigilia]: “It would equate to nearly $2.9 billion dollars in additional tax revenue to help us offset nearly a third of the projected budget deficit.”

To hear the audio please click on the link below

WINnyc Interviews BALCONY Co-Chair

Governor Paterson Calls for Modified Sweetened Beverage Tax

Governor Paterson has released a open letter to New Yorkers addressing the obesity crisis in New York State and calling for the implementation of a modified sweetened beverage tax. The governor’s plan calls for a one cent an ounce tax on soda’s and sugary drinks as well as the elimination of the sales tax on water and other healthier beverage alternatives. The governor claims the tax will not only improve the safety and health of New Yorkers, but also save money for the state over time as costs related to obesity induced illnesses fall. The following is the governor’s full statement.

My Fellow New Yorkers:

Obesity is a public health crisis. When over half the adults in this State, and one out of every four New Yorkers under the age of 18, are overweight or obese, we must recognize that there is a tremendous problem. Obesity is associated with life threatening conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and cancer, and the consumption of sugar sweetened beverages is a major contributor to obesity. These health problems and costs will only increase in the future, unless we take steps to help all New Yorkers adopt healthier lifestyles.

By implementing my modified sugar-sweetened beverage tax, we will gain an effective tool to combat obesity. This plan will increase the price differential between the high sugar-high calorie and low sugar-low calorie beverages and encourage consumers to make healthier choices. A one cent per ounce excise tax would be added to sugary soft-drinks, bottled coffee and tea drinks with added sugar, powders and other sugary beverages, but my revised and improved plan will also eliminate the sales tax for bottled water and low-calorie drinks that have 10 or fewer calories per 8 oz.

New Yorkers spend an estimated $7.6 billion annually to treat obesity related health care costs. This initiative will help lower those costs over time, and improve the health and quality of life for all New Yorkers. Now is the time for us to take bold actions, and I again urge the Legislature to help me encourage healthy eating by approving this new tax on sugar sweetened beverages.

For more information about the modified sugar sweetened beverage tax package, please click here. Also, please share your views on this issue on Straight Talk from the Taxpayer.

Best,

David A. Paterson
Governor of New York State

Community Healthcare Network President/CEO Catherine M. Abate Named to NYC Commission on HIV/AIDS

Commission made up of individuals with diverse backgrounds who have more than a decade of experience in field

New York, NY- Community Healthcare Network (CHN) President/CEO Catherine M. Abate has been named to the New York City Commission on HIV/AIDS, a body of key policy advisors on HIV/AIDS issues.

“I’m honored to have been asked to be part of this important commission,” said Catherine M. Abate, CHN president/CEO. “Community Healthcare Network has been a leader in the fight to end the spread of HIV and I look forward to sharing what we’ve learned with the Commission.”

Formed in 2003, the Commission includes individuals from diverse backgrounds, including executive directors of AIDS service organizations, HIV prevention researchers, and persons who are living with HIV/AIDS. Each member has more than a decade of experience in the field of HIV/AIDS.

Abate has served as President/CEO of CHN since 1999, her latest endeavor in a career that spans several decades of public service. A former New York State Senator in Manhattan and Commissioner of the New York City Department of Correction, Abate began her professional life as an attorney at the Legal Aid Society in New York City. She is a frequent lecturer on health care and serves on a number of boards including New York-Presbyterian Community Health Plan, Inc and its HIV SNP, Medicaid Matters New York – Steering Committee, Community Health Care Association of New York State, and Alliance for Women’s Health.

CHN is one of New York City’s premier community providers for medical and social services for those who are HIV-positive, as well as those who are at risk of contracting HIV. CHN has been involved in planning, developing, and providing HIV/AIDS services since HIV first appeared in New York City and led the way as the first agency in the U.S. to incorporate HIV services, such as counseling and testing, into family planning services.

News Release: BALCONY BUSINESS CO-CHAIR SAYS BRING BACK STOCK TRANSFER TAX – NYS GETS $3 BILLION FOR BUDGET

New York City – Bruce Ventimiglia, co-chair of BALCONY (www.balconynewyork.com) and chairman and president of Saratoga Capital Management, LLC (www.saratogacap.com), an asset allocation company based in Garden City, New York, today (Wednesday) called for the return of the stock transfer tax as a way to bring an estimated $3 billion into the New York State coffers. The stock transfer tax is already in place in New York State however it is currently rebated in full. Mr. Ventimiglia asserts that were the rebate reduced by a mere 20%, or less than a penny a transaction, New York State would collect enough funds to cover nearly a third of New York State’s enormous budget deficit.

Mr. Ventimiglia stresses that this “non-punitive, common sense temporary revenue enhancer” is the right option for both New York State and Wall Street, emphasizing that it would help save vital services now on the chopping block while still providing a “sound operating environment for the world’s financial capital.”

BALCONY, the Business and Labor Coalition of New York, represents more than 1,000 New York businesses, labor unions, and trade associations. BALCONY seeks common ground in the public policy debate in New York to spur economic development through the adoption of business/union friendly, socially responsible common sense laws that maintain and improve the quality of life for working New Yorkers.

Mr. Ventimiglia has over 25 years of experience in the financial services industry. Prior to forming Saratoga Capital Management, LLC, Mr. Ventimiglia was a Senior Vice President of Prudential Securities Incorporated. He was also a member of the firm’s Operating Council (one of the firm’s three governing bodies) and the Service Advisory Council. The following is Mr. Ventimiglia’s official statement.

TEMPORARILY UTILIZE THE STOCK TRANSFER TAX A GOOD SOLUTION FOR ONE-THIRD OF NEW YORK’S BUDGET DEFICIT

By Bruce Ventimiglia, Co-Chair BALCONY, chairman and president of Saratoga Capital Management, LLC, an asset allocation company (www.saratogacap.com)

New York State is facing a financial crisis the likes of which it has never seen. In addition to facing a $9.2 billion budget deficit, this year will mark the first time ever that the state’s general fund will operate in the red in May and June. The provision of vital state services is in jeopardy. For example, repair and renovation of New York’s bridges and roads has largely come to a halt putting thousands of jobs and New Yorkers’ safety at risk. In addition, huge cuts to education, health care, and human services are being considered. Furthermore, at a time when our fellow New Yorkers are already choking on their taxes, new taxes on soda, mortgages and vehicles are being proposed.

BALCONY, the Business and Labor Coalition of New York, endorses temporarily reducing New York’s stock transfer tax rebate from a 100% rebate to an 80% rebate to help ensure that New York can continue to provide essential state services. In addition, we call on our elected officials in Albany and throughout the state to make responsible choices as they realign our state’s budget.

The stock transfer tax is essentially a sales tax on the transfer of shares of stock. The tax has been in effect since 1905, however the money collected from the tax is currently collected and then rebated in full. The tax was fully collected until 1979 when it became rebated at 30% – the rebate was raised to 60% in 1980 and to 100% in 1981. The stock transfer tax was a national tax between 1914 and 1966. In fact, many foreign stock exchanges have a transfer tax in place, often at considerably higher rates. London, Hong Kong, France, Germany, Switzerland and others have such a tax, all at higher rates than what is being proposed here.

The money collected by the tax before rebates in the 2010 fiscal year alone was $14.5 billion. If just 20% of that was not rebated, New York State would raise close to $2.9 billion in taxes which would remove approximately one-third of our projected budget deficit. This will help us to continue to provide essential services to our fellow New Yorkers, including education, health care, and human services. This is an immediate solution to our dire budget crisis. This tax is already in place, thus it would cost nothing to set up and could begin generating revenue for our state immediately. Further, this tax would be a temporary tax and not punitive nor retroactive. The collection of this tax should be structured in a manner such that it is collected from those who are in the strongest financial position to pay it, while not unfairly burdening small investors.

Finally, many of BALCONY’s members work on Wall Street and many of their family members and friends rely on the revenue from Wall Street to survive, which is why BALCONY is endorsing what we believe is a non-punitive, common sense, temporary revenue enhancer that will not unfairly nor disproportionately impact the bottom line of our Wall Street firms. We recognize and appreciate the many contributions Wall Street makes to the success of our great state. At a time when Wall Street is experiencing record profitability we ask all of our friends on Wall Street to further help New York fortify its foundation to help us to provide vital services to our fellow New Yorkers and to continue to provide a sound operating environment for the world’s financial capital – Wall Street.

For more information contact:
Lou Gordon, Director of BALCONY
Phone: 212-219-7777
Email: loug@balconynewyork.com