NYC Dem warns Zohran Mamdani’s NYPD hiring freeze could make city less safe: ‘This is not good’
February 22, 2026
A top City Council politician warned that Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s decision not to add 5,000 cops to the ranks of the NYPD could make New Yorkers less safe.
Oswald Feliz (D-Bronx), who chairs the council’s Committee on Public Safety, said Mamdani’s hiring freeze comes as the department is “already facing unprecedented officer shortages.”
Moderate Dem picked to lead committee debating Mamdani’s changes to police mental health responses
January 15, 2026
Oswald Feliz, a Bronx councilman, was tapped by Council Speaker Julie Menin for the the crucial public safety committee leadership spot.
NYC Dem targets popular restaurants like Pura Vida — demanding ‘excessive’ sodium warning signs
December 20, 2025
Health-conscious City Councilman Oswald J. Feliz is taking a stand against absurd levels of sodium, targeting some of the Big Apple’s most popular restaurants. He’s demanding that chain restaurants include red-type warning signs for items containing “excessive” sodium, in a recently introduced bill.
New pilot program for street vendors in City Council
Bronx Councilmember Oswald Feliz, who introduced the street vendor pilot program in City Council, said that vendors work hard not only to support their families but also to enrich the neighborhoods they serve. The bill, if passed, will give approximately 100 street vendors the chance to obtain licenses to operate along the side streets of Fordham Road, between the Grand Concourse and Webster Avenue.
City Planning, Councilmember Oswald Feliz Announce “Cross Bronx/Living Legend” Exhibit, Bathgate Walking Tour and Community Engagement
September 18, 2025
Department of City Planning (DCP) Director Dan Garodnick and New York City Councilmember Oswald Feliz today announced a public walking tour of Bathgate on Saturday, September 27, as a part of the Cross Bronx / Living Legend exhibit at the Bronx River Art Center (BRAC), organized in partnership with Urban Omnibus/The Architectural League of New York.
Op-Ed | Elevating Latine studies in a time of erasure
May 7, 2025
At a time when efforts to erase identities from classrooms, library shelves, and our websites have become commonplace, we say no. Not in New York City.
NYC council member proposes two bills aimed at keeping used needles out of parks
February 18, 2025
The battle continues as New York City Councilmember Oswald Feliz, of the 15th district, pushes for more to be done within the city’s Syringe Exchange Program to keep the needles away from parks and schools.
Locals near NYC needle exchange site cheer plan to force city to collect used syringes: ‘You clean it up’
January 27, 2025
Locals near a needle exchange site in a Bronx park are cheering a councilman’s proposal to require city health workers to collect hundreds of discarded syringes littering the ground.
Oswald Feliz, a Democrat representing the 15th District, recently put forward a new bill demanding the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene create a plan to pick up the litany of needles strewn around the city-funded, mobile syringe distribution centers.
NYC workers may be forced to clean up drug needles next to syringe ‘exchange’ spots thanks to new bill
January 23, 2025
Council member Oswald Feliz’s new bill would require the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to come up with a plan to pick up the hundreds of needles that are often tossed aside on sidewalks or parks after they’re picked up at city-funded mobile syringe distribution centers.
NYC lawmaker wants city to clean up used drug needles near exchange sites
January 23, 2025
New York City Councilmember Oswald Feliz, D-District 15, introduced legislation Thursday to require the city to deal with discarded needles in areas near needle exchange sites.
NYC needle exchange outside children’s library has locals raging: ‘The whole street is infested’
December 16, 2025
A city-sponsored needle exchange program outside a children’s library in the Bronx is drawing heat from one Big Apple pol — and a slew of local residents taking a jab at the “unacceptable” location.
City Council proposal aims to help small businesses with fines
November 8, 2024
News 12 spoke with Bronx Council member Oswald Feliz who says fines this high can seriously impact businesses that are just trying to get by. This proposed legislation would require the Department of Small Business Services to help entrepreneurs learn through teaching, rather than being left to figure out how to handle fines themselves.
NYC Small businesses could get a break from burdensome fines with proposed transparency legislation
November 7, 2024
Small Businesses across New York City could see a reprieve from burdensome fines with upcoming legislation designed to enhance the transparency and fairness for enforcing city regulations.
Council Member Oswald Feliz, who represents the 15th district in the Bronx, said he plans to introduce a bill requiring the city to track and map fines frequently issued to small businesses and create support systems for small business owners who want to improve their compliance with city codes.
Mayor’s Office defends proposed transitional housing project in Fordham, countering Bronx community objections
November 5, 2024
The Mayor’s Office pushed back on protests from Bronx community members on a proposed transitional housing project in Fordham saying that the project meets the community board’s needs for more affordable housing and the Borough President’s commitment to reducing recidivism in the Bronx despite her stated opposition.
UPDATE ENOUGH! Residents Say “No” to Proposed Bainbridge Ave Transitional Housing Development
October 31, 2024
CITY COUNCIL MEMBER Oswald Feliz (C.D. 15) at podium joins Karla Cabrera Carrera, district manager for Bronx Community Board 7, and residents, merchants and others at a rally at 2586 Bainbridge Avenue in Fordham Manor on Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024 to oppose a new transitional housing development at the site.
NYPD: Citywide crime numbers are down, but Bronx is up
October 17, 2024
On September, Council member Oswald Feliz sent a letter to interim NYPD Commissioner Tom Donlon requesting more police officers in three precincts where crime is up exponentially.
Bronx Council Member Oswald Feliz calls for more cops in his district as shooting incidents spike
September 27, 2024
Council Member Oswald Feliz (D), who represents the 15th District in the Bronx, is calling on the NYPD to send more officers to his district, citing increased shootings in several Bronx precincts.
Feliz, who represents constituents in Fordham, Belmont, East Tremont, West Farms, Van Nest and Allerton, penned a letter to NYPD interim police Commissioner Thomas Donlon on Sept. 23, calling for extra cops and resources, saying that several Bronx communities are being “left behind” from the city’s progress in reducing violent crime.
NYC council member calls for more cops in his Bronx district to deal with rising violent crime: ‘Left behind’
September 24, 2024
The Bronx is being “left behind” as shootings soar across the borough – and one councilman is calling for more cops to clean up violent crime in the Boogie Down. City Council member Oswald Feliz (D) made a plea for help in a letter to interim police Commissioner Thomas Donlon after three police precincts in his district reported double-digit increases in shooting incidents.
Council Member Feliz plans to tackle rising vacant storefronts in the Bronx
April 25, 2024
More than 1,500 storefronts are currently empty across the Bronx, and one City Council member plans to do something about it. Empty storefronts are a growing issue citywide as vacancy rates skyrocket. City Council Member Oswald Feliz says the city has seen a drastic increase in storefront vacancies, specifically in 2007 when the rates were at about 4%. Today, the rate is about 11.2%.
NYC pol wants to ‘beautify’ concrete medians, claims greenery will help manage flooding
April 11, 2024
A New York City Council member wants to “beautify” the Big Apple’s concrete medians by adding greenery, claiming the new plants will help curb flooding during storms. Councilmember Oswald Feliz’s bill, dubbed “Operation Green NYC” and introduced Thursday, would require the city to build three miles per borough per year of vegetation on paved medians, until all of them are filled with flora.
Op-Ed: Shoplifting is turning NYC into a ghost town, we have to fight back
April 19, 2024
New York City is suffering a retail catastrophe, with 11.2% of storefronts empty — nearly twice the 6% of 2019. Oswald Feliz, a Democratic member of the City Council representing District 15 in The Bronx and chair of the Small Business Committee, says the city and state must take action to stanch the bleeding — particularly on the scourge of retail theft.
Small biz would get cash for security amid retail theft spike, under NYC Council bill
February 26, 2024
The bill proposes awarding small businesses cash grants for purchasing security equipment like cameras and plexiglass windows.
New York City Council expected to vote to regulate lithium-ion batteries
March 2, 2023
New York City Council members are voting Thursday on new legislation aimed at regulating lithium-ion batteries and reducing fires caused by the batteries. Lithium-ion battery fires have been increasing at an alarming rate across the city, going from 44 fires in 2020 to 216 fires in 2022 and resulting in exponential increases in injuries and deaths.
In The Wake Of Bronx Fire, Councilmember Wants To Raise The Heat In NYC
January 20, 2022
The Councilmember who represents the Bronx victims of this month’s deadly Twin Parks fire is vowing to overhaul New York’s fire safety laws, while requiring landlords to provide more heat to tenants in freezing weather. Councilmember Oswald Feliz, a former tenant attorney, was named leader of the Twin Parks Task Force on Fire Prevention, a newly-created special committee announced by the City Council on Thursday.