Benjamin J Kallos was born on February 5,1981 and is an American politician, attorney, and software developer, who represented the 5th district of the New York City Council from 2014 to 2022, and served in the Executive Office of the President in the United States Digital Service.
38 Facts About Ben Kallos
1.
2.
Ben Kallos attended Rabbi Arthur Schneier Park East Day School.
3.
Ben Kallos then attended Bronx High School of Science, SUNY Albany as an undergraduate, and SUNY Buffalo School of Law.
4.
Ben Kallos was chief of staff for New York State Assemblymember Jonathan Bing from 2007 to 2009, director of policy for then New York City Public Advocate Mark Green in 2009, and executive director of New Roosevelt from 2010 to 2013.
5.
Ben Kallos won the general election on November 5,2013, and assumed office on January 1,2014.
6.
Ben Kallos was named one of the most powerful politicians in New York City in 2018,2019, and 2021.
7.
Ben Kallos is well known as an advocate for student loans, affordable housing and government transparency, as well as for keeping "big money" out of government.
8.
Ben Kallos chaired the Committee on Contracts and was a member of the committees on Education, Governmental Operations, Oversight and Investigations, and Women and Gender Equity.
9.
In 2015, Kallos proposed legislation to allow low-income residents on the Upper East Side to automatically receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and other government social safety benefits.
10.
In 2016, Kallos worked with Intuit to release their Benefits Assist software as free and open-source software.
11.
Later that year, Ben Kallos proposed legislation to get scaffolding down in a timely manner.
12.
Ben Kallos introduced a law in 2017 to lower the noise allowed from construction during the evenings and weekend.
13.
In 2016, Ben Kallos, who is an ERISA attorney, authored legislation with Public Advocate Letitia James and Mayor Bill de Blasio for the city to automatically enroll employees in individual retirement accounts at no cost to employers who did not offer a retirement plan themselves.
14.
In 2014, Ben Kallos refused $64,000 in additional income, and authored legislature to ban outside income and make the job of Council Member full-time.
15.
In 2016, Ben Kallos wrote a law to make New York City's budget available online, which he worked with Mayor de Blasio to implement.
16.
On March 22,2018, Ben Kallos authored the law that raised the cap on public funds received by participating candidates to establish a full public matching system that matches every small dollar donated by New York City residents at a rate of 8 to 1.
17.
In 2015, Ben Kallos worked with ProPublica and a whistle blower on an investigation that found 50,000 affordable apartments that were not registered by landlords who were receiving tax breaks, and might have been charging tenants too much rent.
18.
Ben Kallos has advocated against the construction of new luxury housing towers in New York City.
19.
In 2016, Ben Kallos advocated for rezoning to block the construction of a new luxury residential tower that would have negatively impacted the views of residents of a neighboring luxury building.
20.
Ben Kallos led a rezoning that banned the use of mechanical voids as a loophole for luxury housing developments to exceed height limitations by "give billionaires better views".
21.
Ben Kallos opposed legislation that would require the city's landmarks board to act on proposed additions to the list of landmarks within a one or two year period.
22.
In 2017, Ben Kallos authored laws to reform a zoning relief board and force developers to honor commitments for promised public spaces.
23.
In 2019, Ben Kallos opened supportive housing for homeless women and children on the Upper East Side.
24.
Ben Kallos advocated for opening a new safe haven shelter in his district in 2021.
25.
Ben Kallos wrote legislature to force transparency around how the city determines need for school seats.
26.
Ben Kallos began advocating for tax increases to fund free pre-kindergarten for all four-year-olds in 2014.
27.
Ben Kallos advocated for extending free pre-kindergarten to all three-year-olds, which had a citywide rollout in 2021.
28.
Ben Kallos authored a law to mandate reporting on the number of meals served to students to help extend breakfast after the bell and free lunch to every public school student in 2015.
29.
In 2021, Ben Kallos proposed offering free supper at every public school to end youth hunger.
30.
In 2015, Ben Kallos joined Letitia James in advocating for cable companies to offer low-cost high-speed Internet to low-income New Yorkers, as a way of bridging the digital divide.
31.
Ben Kallos then proposed legislation to force landlords to offer basic internet as a utility.
32.
Ben Kallos authored a law to create the Offices of Food Policy and Urban Agriculture.
33.
Ben Kallos passed a law in 2019 to require that only healthy drinks are offered with children's meals in New York City.
34.
In 2019, Ben Kallos authored a declaration of climate emergency and passed it making New York City the largest city in the United States to do so.
35.
In 2018, Ben Kallos introduced legislation to ban the sale of plastic water bottles in city parks and purchase by city agencies that Mayor de Blasio implemented by executive order in 2020.
36.
Ben Kallos authored the law to ban toxic pesticides from being used in New York City parks in 2021.
37.
Ben Kallos ran in the primary for the Democratic nomination in the 2021 Manhattan borough president election, finishing fourth.
38.
Ben Kallos was eliminated in the sixth round of the ranked-choice voting process.