THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK
OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS

CITY HALL
NEW YORK, NY 10007
(212) 788-7116
**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE**
February 12, 2008

Contact: 212.788.7116
Release #: 012-2008

SPEAKER QUINN INTRODUCES PLANS TO HELP NEW YORK THROUGH CHALLENGING ECONOMIC TIMES
Proposals Promote Fiscal Responsibility, Protect the Middle Class and Working New Yorkers

CITY HALL – In her annual State of the City Address held today at City Hall, Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn introduced a series of proposals to support New Yorkers during difficult economic times.  The speech balanced a call for continued fiscal responsibility with initiatives to stimulate the local economy, protect affordability and support New Yorkers in need. 

Speaker Quinn declared, “I want every New Yorker to hear me when I say: We are ready – ready to make the hard choices, ready to take on the affordability crisis, ready to meet our obligations to New Yorkers in need. More than anything, we are ready to produce results.” While recognizing the reality of the economic challenges ahead, the Speaker also stressed, “Tough times are no excuse for telling New Yorkers tough luck.”

Included in the speech were proposals to expand affordable health care for small businesses, create a citywide sales tax free week and offer bonus pay to educators who commit to teaching in low performing schools. Several of the proposals in today’s speech represented creative uses of existing or non-city resources. One, an innovative public private collaboration between the City and the medical technology company OraSure Technologies, Inc., will expand rapid HIV testing; a second, a collaborative effort with the Central Labor Council, will preserve and build new middle income housing.

In continued commitment to fiscal responsibility, Speaker Quinn also pledged, for the first time in the history of the modern Council, to reduce the Council’s budget. “If we are going to look our teachers and nurses in the eye and explain why programs they care about are getting less this year, then we must do the same,” Speaker Quinn said.  

STIMULATE THE LOCAL ECONOMY AND SUPPORT SMALL BUSINESSES

Establish a Sales Tax Free Week, Tied to Distribution of Federal Rebate Checks
To encourage New Yorkers and visitors to spend in the City, the Speaker proposed a weeklong sales tax free week, timed to coincide with the receipt of federal rebate checks. During that week, the City and State would suspend the sales tax on retail goods and entertainment.  Families could purchase school clothing and supplies, stock up on groceries, or purchase needed home goods – all at an 8 percent discount.
  
Expand the “HealthWorks” Program, Helping Small Businesses Afford Health Care
One of the most significant challenges small businesses face is providing their employees with affordable healthcare.  Rather than waste City resources by creating a new program from scratch, Speaker Quinn proposed an expansion of the already successful “HealthWorks” program, which offers affordable insurance to nearly 200 businesses in Brooklyn, for small public subsidy.  Under the proposed expansion, an additional 4,500 New Yorkers in Queens and Manhattan will receive health coverage this year for themselves and their families, with a goal of expanding the program citywide the following year.

ADDRESS AFFORDABILITY CRISIS

Partner with Labor Unions to Fund Affordable Housing Preservation and Development
In an effort to address the desperate need for housing available to the middle class, the City Council will partner with the Central Labor Council, using union pension funds, private equity and City leverage to purchase existing or develop new middle income, permanently affordable housing.

Develop and Implement a Vision for Housing of the Future
Recognizing that housing is one of the pressing problems of this time, Quinn announced the creation of a high level task force charged with developing a comprehensive plan to create housing that is permanently affordable to middle-income New Yorkers. The task force will be co-chaired by former HPD Commissioner Felice Michetti and former HUD Assistant Deputy Secretary Maxine Griffith, with plans to begin implementing the plan next year. As Speaker Quinn stated, “If we are going to hold onto our middle class and those striving to join it, we have to expand our focus – and even the definition – of affordable housing.”

PROVIDE SUPPORTS FOR NEW YORKERS IN NEED

Securing Food Stamps for Those Who Qualify
Quinn proposed using common sense computing to help ensure that all families and seniors have enough to eat – at little cost to the City. While eligibility requirements for Medicaid and food stamp enrollment are nearly identical, the 1.1 million New Yorkers currently accessing food stamps falls well short of the 2.5 million who are enrolled in Medicaid. Under the Speaker’s proposal, the City will deploy a data match system that will compare the lists, and conduct targeted outreach to those who need it.

Expand Rapid Testing for HIV
The Speaker announced a public private collaboration with OraSure Technologies, Inc., the only maker of rapid HIV tests, and the Health and Hospitals Corporation, to expand rapid HIV testing to tens of thousands of New Yorkers, without the need for additional government funding to pay for the kits.

STRENGTHEN OUR MIDDLE SCHOOLS
 
Provide Bonuses for Outstanding Teachers in High Need Middle Schools
Following the Middle School Task Force, Quinn proposed a pilot program to recruit and retain highly qualified, experienced teachers in high-need middle schools. Teachers who commit to teaching and staying in the participating schools will be rewarded with bonus pay after meeting qualifying criteria.

VISIONARY TRANSPORTATION PLANNING

The Speaker also announced visionary planning for New York’s waterways, and an agreement with the Mayor to create a five-borough, year round, comprehensive New York City ferry system. The Speaker said, “Imagine getting on a ferry in Hunts Point for a daytrip to Coney Island, or traveling from Brooklyn to Queens without waiting for the G train.” The plan will be one of the most significant transit initiatives in recent New York City history.

The full text of Speaker Christine C. Quinn's State of the City Address can be viewed at http://council.nyc.gov/html/releases/SOC_2008.pdf

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