Council also votes on legislation to support M/WBEs and small businesses, expand access to public pools and free swimming lessons, and require reporting on water safety issues and measures
City Hall, NY – Today, the New York City Council voted to establish a first-of-its-kind trade-in program that provides new lithium-ion batteries and powered mobility devices, such as electric scooters or electric bicycles.
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“Our city and nation were forever changed on September 11, 2001, and today’s anniversary offers us a moment to once again reflect on the lives lost and changed by the events that day. As a native New Yorker, I recall the experience of shock and pain, and know that many of us are still working to heal from it. While we continue to support the families of those we lost, we must also uplift the first responders and rescue workers who rushed towards danger to look for survivors at Ground Zero and are suffering from life-threatening illnesses because of the toxic exposure.
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“We are reviewing OMB’s PEG letter and seeking further details on the additional proposed spending reduction efforts. There remains an urgent need for increased state and federal support to aid the City’s response to increased international migration. Tens of thousands of people seeking asylum are arriving in our city at a time when we are already confronting a housing crisis, record homelessness, and the sunset of federal COVID stimulus funds.
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“For 13 years, Staten Island Ferry workers went without a contract, leading to staffing shortages and decreased service hours. Today, they have finally secured a fair contract that reflects the value they bring to the hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers they serve each week. This new agreement between the City and the Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association is a win for organized labor and New Yorkers, helping to protect and grow this essential public transit workforce for years to come.
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The New York City Council leadership team – Speaker Adrienne Adams, Deputy Speaker Diana Ayala, Majority Leader Keith Powers, Majority Whip Selvena Brooks-Powers, Finance Chair Justin Brannan, Council Member Gale Brewer, and Council Member Rafael Salamanca – released the following joint statement urging immediate action by the federal government to provide expedited work authorization for asylum seekers. The statement follows months of advocacy by the Council urging federal action, including its September 2022 letter, June 2023 letter, and Washington, D.C.
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“For decades, Rikers Island has cultivated a culture of brutal violence and dysfunction, compelling the City Council to pass legislation to end the humanitarian crisis in our city’s jails and transition to a more effective and safer borough-based system. Today marks four years to the day that New York City must close Rikers to comply with the law. Public safety demands that we remain on-track to closing Rikers without delay.
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“Sixty years ago today, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and leaders of the Civil Rights Movement led the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, marking one of the most significant demonstrations for justice and equality in our nation’s history. Six decades later, Black people and other marginalized communities in this country are still fighting for equal rights, economic opportunities, and freedoms that have been denied for far too long.
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New York, NY – Council Member Lynn Schulman, lead sponsor of legislation to hold commercial landlords responsible for renting storefronts to unlicensed smoke shops, was joined by several officials to announced the new law had taken effect. Introduction 1001-B, now known as Local Law 107 of 2023, prohibits owners of commercial spaces from knowingly leasing to unlicensed sellers of marijuana or tobacco products, imposing fines of up to $10,000 on landlords for violations.
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“All levels of government must come together to share responsibility for the nation’s response to the dire humanitarian conditions that have led increasing numbers of people to seek asylum here. As this international crisis continues, New York City needs more support from our federal and state governments to provide and set up shelter locations and devote additional funding. Expedited federal work authorization is immediately needed to help our newest arrivals enter the workforce, achieve the self-sufficiency they desire, and contribute the benefits to our economy that we know are possible.
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Council also votes on legislation to protect New Yorkers against lead exposure, create Office of the Homeowner Advocate, support striking actors and writers’ fight for fair contracts, reduce barriers to building environmentally friendly homes, develop a map of bicycle infrastructure, and call for state law to eliminate legacy admissions preferences at colleges in New York
City Hall, NY – Today, the New York City Council voted to establish a newly revised permanent outdoor dining program under local law that incorporates lessons from the emergency pandemic outdoor restaurants program.
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