James Vacca
Encyclopedia
James Vacca is a member of the New York City Council
and Chair of the Transportation Committee. He represents the Bronx's 13th Council District, which includes the neighborhoods of Throgs Neck
, Pelham Bay
, Country Club
, City Island
, Westchester Square, Zerega, Morris Park
, Pelham Parkway
, and Allerton
.
. He attended New York City public schools, graduating from P.S. 71, J.H.S. 101, and Christopher Columbus High School
. He holds a bachelor's degree
from the State University of New York
and a master's degree
in Urban Studies from CUNY Queens College
. He lives in Throgs Neck with his wife and daughter. Councilman Vacca is also an adjunct professor at CUNY Queens College
, where he teaches courses in urban studies.
As District Manager, Vacca quickly developed a reputation as a relentless advocate for community residents. For numerous consecutive years under his leadership, Board 10 was ranked the cleanest and safest community board in the Bronx. Vacca also waged fights to preserve transit service, battle graffiti and other quality-of-life crimes, prevent the opening of social service programs that could have a detrimental impact on residential communities, and reduce school overcrowding through the opening of P.S./I.S. 194 in Zerega.
In the early 2000s, as housing development hit a fever pitch in Throgs Neck and surrounding communities, Vacca began personally reviewing building plans to enforce zoning and building rules. Finding numerous errors, Vacca began advocating for reform at the Department of Buildings and also led the fight for a series of successful re-zonings that ultimately reduced the size and density of permitted residential construction in every neighborhood of Board 10 outside of Co-op City, with individual re-zonings approved for City Island, Throgs Neck, Pelham Bay, Ferry Point, and Zerega/Westchester Square.
During his tenure at Board 10, Vacca was elected to Community School Board 8, serving for eight years, including two as President. He also served as President of the Northeast Bronx Senior Citizens Center, based at St. Benedict's Church in Throgs Neck, for 30 years, starting in 1975 when he was only 20 years old.
term-limited out of office, Vacca announced his candidacy for the 13th Council District seat. Already an established public figure in the East Bronx due to his years as District Manager, he was endorsed by Congressman Joseph Crowley
, State Senator Jeffrey Klein
, and Assemblyman Michael Benedetto
, as well as dozens of community and civic groups, and The New York Times.
In the September 13, 2005, Democratic Party primary, he faced four opponents: former Assemblyman Stephen B. Kaufman
, Joseph A. McManus, Ismael Betancourt, and Egidio Joseph Sementelli. He won with nearly 40% of the vote; Kaufman captured roughly 25%. In the general election, he defeated Philip F. Foglia, candidate of the Republican, Conservative and Independence Party lines, with 64% of the vote.
In 2007, Vacca was also named co-chair of the Council's Working Group on School Governance and Mayoral Control, established to guide the Council recommendations upon the expiration of mayoral control in 2009. After months of informal meetings with educators, union leaders, Administration officials, advocates, and parents, the Working Group issued its report in June 2009. Recommendations included granting the Council greater oversight of the Department of Education, expanding the power of the Independent Budget Office to analyze DOE data, and strengthening the role of community superintendents and parental governance structures. Some of the recommendations were incorporated into the State Legislature's ultimate re-authorization of mayoral control in August 2009.
joined Vacca in his fight, DFTA announced in December 2008 that it would abandon its plan.
As Senior Centers Chair, Vacca also passed the Healthy Aging Initiative in June 2007, which provided $1.35 million to establish wellness programs at 51 centers across the city. Also in 2007, he authored a report titled “Emergency Preparedness at Senior Centers” that offers recommendations for improving the capacity of centers to serve the elderly in the event of a catastrophe. Vacca also used his position as Senior Centers Chair to enact his third piece of legislation: Local Law 43 of 2008, which required DFTA to train senior center staff and other employees in how to detect and report signs of elder abuse, and required the posting of signs in all senior centers informing seniors on how to report elder abuse.
announced in December 2008 that budget cuts would necessitate the nighttime closure of four fire companies, include Ladder Company 53 on City Island in Vacca's district. Vacca immediately began organizing a grassroots campaign to oppose the cuts, citing safety issues on City Island, a remote community where the next-nearest ladder company would take nearly 10 minutes to reach the Island. In February 2009, Speaker Quinn elevated Vacca to Chair of the Fire and Criminal Justice Services Committee, from which he led the fight to keep open not only the four companies originally slated for nighttime closure (which had since been slated for permanent closure), but also an additional 12 companies yet to be identified, which were also scheduled to close permanently as of July 1, 2009. In a last-minute budget deal negotiated by Speaker Quinn and Vacca, the Council restored $17 million to the city budget for the express purpose of keeping all 16 fire companies open. The fight further cemented Vacca's reputation in the Council as a fierce advocate both for his district and for vital citywide services threatened by cuts.
New York City Council
The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of the City of New York. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five boroughs. The Council serves as a check against the mayor in a "strong" mayor-council government model. The council monitors performance of city agencies and...
and Chair of the Transportation Committee. He represents the Bronx's 13th Council District, which includes the neighborhoods of Throgs Neck
Throgs Neck
Throggs Neck is a narrow spit of land in the southeastern portion of the borough of the Bronx in New York City. It demarcates the passage between the East River , and Long Island Sound...
, Pelham Bay
Pelham Bay, Bronx
Pelham Bay is a neighborhood in the borough of the Bronx, in New York City. It is named for Pelham Bay Park, New York City's largest park which lies on the neighborhood's northeastern border.-History:...
, Country Club
Country Club, Bronx
Country Club is a neighborhood located in the East Bronx in New York City. It shares the 10465 ZIP code with Throggs Neck, although it is part of Pelham Bay. The neighborhood's boundaries are Pelham Bay Park to the north, Eastchester Bay to the east, Layton Avenue to the south, and the New England...
, City Island
City Island, Bronx
City Island is a small island approximately 1.5 mi long by .5 mi wide. At one time attached to the town of Pelham, Westchester County, it is now part of the New York City borough of the Bronx. As of the 2000 census the island had a population of 4,520. Its land area is 1.023 km²...
, Westchester Square, Zerega, Morris Park
Morris Park, Bronx
Morris Park is a neighborhood in the Bronx borough of New York City . The neighborhood is part of Community Board 11 in the East Bronx. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise are: Pelham Parkway to the north, the Amtrak Northeast Corridor tracks to the east and south, and...
, Pelham Parkway
Pelham Parkway, Bronx
Pelham Parkway is primarily a residential neighborhood geographically located in the center of the Bronx borough of New York City in the United States. The neighborhood is part of Bronx Community Board 11. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise are: Pelham Parkway to the...
, and Allerton
Allerton, Bronx
Allerton is a working class neighborhood geographically located in the east Bronx borough of New York City in the United States. It is named in honor of Isaac Allerton, a passenger on the Mayflower, who is listed at the memorial at Plymouth Rock. It consists of both the Bronxdale and Laconia...
.
Biography
Vacca was born in the Bronx in 1955 and raised in Pelham BayPelham Bay
Pelham Bay is a small bay, between City Island and Orchard Beach in the Bronx, New York.Technically, it is a sound, not a bay, since it is open to larger bodies of water at both ends. It connects to Eastchester Bay at the south, and opens onto Long Island Sound and City Island Harbor at the...
. He attended New York City public schools, graduating from P.S. 71, J.H.S. 101, and Christopher Columbus High School
Christopher Columbus High School (Bronx, New York)
Christopher Columbus High School is a public secondary school located in the Pelham Parkway, northeast section of the Bronx, New York. It is within walking distance from the Bronx Zoo and the New York Botanical Garden....
. He holds a bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
from the State University of New York
State University of New York
The State University of New York, abbreviated SUNY , is a system of public institutions of higher education in New York, United States. It is the largest comprehensive system of universities, colleges, and community colleges in the United States, with a total enrollment of 465,000 students, plus...
and a master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in Urban Studies from CUNY Queens College
Queens College, City University of New York
Queens College, located in Flushing, Queens, New York City, is one of the senior colleges of the City University of New York. It is also the fifth oldest of the City University's twenty-three institutions of higher learning. The college's seventy seven acre campus is located in the heart of the...
. He lives in Throgs Neck with his wife and daughter. Councilman Vacca is also an adjunct professor at CUNY Queens College
Queens College, City University of New York
Queens College, located in Flushing, Queens, New York City, is one of the senior colleges of the City University of New York. It is also the fifth oldest of the City University's twenty-three institutions of higher learning. The college's seventy seven acre campus is located in the heart of the...
, where he teaches courses in urban studies.
Prior Public Service
Prior to being elected to the City Council in 2005, Vacca served as District Manager of Bronx Community Board 10 for 26 years, serving the communities of Throgs Neck, Pelham Bay, Country Club, Waterbury-LaSalle, Westchester Square & Zerega, and Co-op City. Vacca was appointed to the position in 1980, when he was only 25 years old, becoming one of the youngest District Managers in the city's history. He had previously served as Chairman of the Board.As District Manager, Vacca quickly developed a reputation as a relentless advocate for community residents. For numerous consecutive years under his leadership, Board 10 was ranked the cleanest and safest community board in the Bronx. Vacca also waged fights to preserve transit service, battle graffiti and other quality-of-life crimes, prevent the opening of social service programs that could have a detrimental impact on residential communities, and reduce school overcrowding through the opening of P.S./I.S. 194 in Zerega.
In the early 2000s, as housing development hit a fever pitch in Throgs Neck and surrounding communities, Vacca began personally reviewing building plans to enforce zoning and building rules. Finding numerous errors, Vacca began advocating for reform at the Department of Buildings and also led the fight for a series of successful re-zonings that ultimately reduced the size and density of permitted residential construction in every neighborhood of Board 10 outside of Co-op City, with individual re-zonings approved for City Island, Throgs Neck, Pelham Bay, Ferry Point, and Zerega/Westchester Square.
During his tenure at Board 10, Vacca was elected to Community School Board 8, serving for eight years, including two as President. He also served as President of the Northeast Bronx Senior Citizens Center, based at St. Benedict's Church in Throgs Neck, for 30 years, starting in 1975 when he was only 20 years old.
2005 Election
In early 2005, with Councilwoman Madeline ProvenzanoMadeline Provenzano
Madeline Provenzano is a former member of the New York City Council from the Bronx. A Democrat and former chief-of-staff to her predecessor, Councilman Michael DeMarco, Provenzano was first elected in 1997, representing District 13. She was re-elected in 2001 and again in 2003...
term-limited out of office, Vacca announced his candidacy for the 13th Council District seat. Already an established public figure in the East Bronx due to his years as District Manager, he was endorsed by Congressman Joseph Crowley
Joseph Crowley
Joseph Crowley is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1999. He is the Chairman of the New Democrat Coalition and the Queens County Democratic Party. He is a member of the Democratic Party....
, State Senator Jeffrey Klein
Jeffrey Klein
Jeffrey David Klein is a New York State Senator representing parts of Bronx and Westchester Counties. He was elected to his first term in the Senate in 2004....
, and Assemblyman Michael Benedetto
Michael Benedetto
Michael Benedetto is a Member of the New York State Assembly representing the 82nd Assembly District, which covers the Co-op City, Throggs Neck, Westchester Square, City Island, Country Club, and Pelham Bay sections of the East Bronx. After a 35-year teaching career at the elementary and secondary...
, as well as dozens of community and civic groups, and The New York Times.
In the September 13, 2005, Democratic Party primary, he faced four opponents: former Assemblyman Stephen B. Kaufman
Stephen B. Kaufman
Stephen B. Kaufman is a lawyer and former Democratic City Councilman and New York State Assemblyman from the Bronx. In 2004, he ran unsuccessfully for the New York State Senate.-External links:*...
, Joseph A. McManus, Ismael Betancourt, and Egidio Joseph Sementelli. He won with nearly 40% of the vote; Kaufman captured roughly 25%. In the general election, he defeated Philip F. Foglia, candidate of the Republican, Conservative and Independence Party lines, with 64% of the vote.
First term in the City Council (2006-2009)
Vacca entered the City Council as one of 13 freshman members and was quickly named to a slate of committees that reflected many of his campaign priorities: Education, Housing & Buildings, Aging, Standards & Ethics, General Welfare, and Cultural Affairs. Due to his years of advocacy for senior citizens, Vacca was also named Chair of the Senior Centers Subcommittee, with oversight of the 327 senior centers funded through the Department for the Aging (DFTA).Tackling overdevelopment and education issues
In his first months in office, Vacca focused legislatively on what was still the dominant issue in his East Bronx district: overdevelopment. Working with the newly formed Council Task Force on the Operations and Improvement of the Department of Buildings (DOB), he helped produce a report that recommended numerous legislative proposals to reform the DOB and empower low-density communities in New York City to battle development they considered out of scale with existing character. His work with the Task Force led to Vacca's first two legislative accomplishments: the passage of Local Law 3 and Local Law 4 of 2007, which stripped self-certification privileges from any architect or engineer who is placed on probation by the State Board of Regents, or who through negligence or malice submits self-certified plans that contain false information or demonstrate a lack of knowledge of applicable zoning laws.In 2007, Vacca was also named co-chair of the Council's Working Group on School Governance and Mayoral Control, established to guide the Council recommendations upon the expiration of mayoral control in 2009. After months of informal meetings with educators, union leaders, Administration officials, advocates, and parents, the Working Group issued its report in June 2009. Recommendations included granting the Council greater oversight of the Department of Education, expanding the power of the Independent Budget Office to analyze DOE data, and strengthening the role of community superintendents and parental governance structures. Some of the recommendations were incorporated into the State Legislature's ultimate re-authorization of mayoral control in August 2009.
Leading the fight to save senior centers
Vacca's role as Chair of the Senior Centers Subcommittee rose in prominence in 2008, when DFTA announced a senior center reorganization plan that threatened to shutter up to 85 neighborhood centers to pave the way for larger regional centers. Responding to an outcry from advocates for the elderly, as well as seniors who frequented centers located in sparsely populated neighborhoods, Vacca announced his opposition to the reorganization and led the Council's fight to demand that no neighborhood centers would close as a result of the plan. Vacca instead advocated for DFTA to work individually with struggling centers to improve programming and transportation services to attract more seniors. After a months-long campaign that included letter-writing drives at senior centers throughout the city, and after Council Speaker Christine C. QuinnChristine C. Quinn
Christine Callaghan Quinn is a Democratic politician and the current Speaker of the New York City Council. The third person to hold this office, Quinn is the first female and first openly gay speaker....
joined Vacca in his fight, DFTA announced in December 2008 that it would abandon its plan.
As Senior Centers Chair, Vacca also passed the Healthy Aging Initiative in June 2007, which provided $1.35 million to establish wellness programs at 51 centers across the city. Also in 2007, he authored a report titled “Emergency Preparedness at Senior Centers” that offers recommendations for improving the capacity of centers to serve the elderly in the event of a catastrophe. Vacca also used his position as Senior Centers Chair to enact his third piece of legislation: Local Law 43 of 2008, which required DFTA to train senior center staff and other employees in how to detect and report signs of elder abuse, and required the posting of signs in all senior centers informing seniors on how to report elder abuse.
Leading the fight to save firehouses
The final chapter of Vacca's first term began when the New York City Fire DepartmentNew York City Fire Department
The New York City Fire Department or the Fire Department of the City of New York has the responsibility for protecting the citizens and property of New York City's five boroughs from fires and fire hazards, providing emergency medical services, technical rescue as well as providing first response...
announced in December 2008 that budget cuts would necessitate the nighttime closure of four fire companies, include Ladder Company 53 on City Island in Vacca's district. Vacca immediately began organizing a grassroots campaign to oppose the cuts, citing safety issues on City Island, a remote community where the next-nearest ladder company would take nearly 10 minutes to reach the Island. In February 2009, Speaker Quinn elevated Vacca to Chair of the Fire and Criminal Justice Services Committee, from which he led the fight to keep open not only the four companies originally slated for nighttime closure (which had since been slated for permanent closure), but also an additional 12 companies yet to be identified, which were also scheduled to close permanently as of July 1, 2009. In a last-minute budget deal negotiated by Speaker Quinn and Vacca, the Council restored $17 million to the city budget for the express purpose of keeping all 16 fire companies open. The fight further cemented Vacca's reputation in the Council as a fierce advocate both for his district and for vital citywide services threatened by cuts.