By Council Members Alexa Avilés and Shahana Hanif
As we enter into the thick of election season, Republicans are running back their tried-and-true playbook of demonizing immigrant communities to rile up their base. This time, they are zeroing in on a supposed “migrant crime wave” that is provably false and blatantly misinforming the public about how New York City’s sanctuary policies function.
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Public library systems are calling on the City Council to reverse the mayor’s proposed cuts to next year’s budget.
Leaders of the library systems insist the cuts will mean further reductions to service and delaying indefinitely the reopening of more than a half dozen branches undergoing renovations.
The city’s public libraries are facing a $58.3 million budget cut for 2025.
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The number of newly arrived immigrants in the city’s care is now around 64,000, officials testified before the City Council Friday, down from more than 69,000 in mid-January—what City Hall attributed, in part, to its controversial 30- and 60-day shelter deadlines.
But while Mayor Eric Adams says the limited shelter stays are intended to help new arrivals take “the next step in their journey,” the administration also admits that it isn’t tracking where people go after they leave the system.
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NY1 – Democratic Councilmember Shahana Hanif said the city needs to take action when it comes to providing housing for all.
“The administration just does not want New Yorkers to be happy — plain and simple,” she told NY1 political anchor Errol Louis on “Inside City Hall.”
On Thursday, the City Council granted Speaker Adrienne Adams the power to take legal action against the Adams administration for refusing to implement changes to the city’s voucher assistance program, known as CityFHEPS.
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Streets Blog – A pod of Brooklyn elected officials joined citizen demands that the Department of Transportation to replace parking spots near intersections with actual physical materials that create additional space and safe visibility at curbs for pedestrians.
“There have been far too many tragic crash fatalities and serious injuries from turning vehicles at intersections,” City Council Member Shahana Hanif, Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, Assembly members Marcela Mitaynes, Jo Anne Simon and Robert Carroll, and state senators Zellnor Myrie and Andrew Gounardes demanded of DOT in a letter sent on Tuesday [Read More].
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City Limits – “No numbers have been presented to us about how many single adults and families with children have moved into permanent homes, or how many that have been on the line at the reticketing centers were offered a shelter again, and exactly what costs were eliminated,” said Councilmember Shahana Hanif, chair of the Immigration Committee.
Hanif added that she is eager to see the results of a
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New York Times – The mayor has continued to blame the city’s budget woes on the cost of caring for the almost 171,000 migrants the city has processed since the spring of 2022. As of this week, just over 68,000 asylum seekers are still under its care.
Shahana Hanif, a city councilwoman who is chairwoman of the Council’s Immigration Committee, questioned whether the money was being allocated responsibly.
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NY 1 – The city says it has given out about 4,400 60-day notices to families with the first batch of notices expiring this week.
“Let me be very clear. Evicting families with school-aged children on any day of the year is inhumane and unjustified,” Councilwoman Shahana Hanif said.
Adams and his top officials on Monday defended their plan by saying the city is out of room, money and staff to open any more emergency shelters [Read More].
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City Limits – New Yorkers will soon be able to review data on how frequently Mayor Eric Adams is clearing unhoused people from sight—and at what cost.
The New York City Council on Wednesday passed legislation, sponsored by Brooklyn Councilmembers Sandy Nurse and Shahana Hanif, requiring the Adams administration to report regularly on the cost and characteristics of “removals”—when city agencies force a person out of a public spot, often clearing their possessions as well [Read More].
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The Brian Lehrer Show – Thousands of new students have joined the New York City school system since asylum seekers started arriving. New York City Council member Shahana Hanif (District 39, Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, Columbia Waterfront, Gowanus, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Borough Park, Kensington), also chair of the Committee on Immigration, breaks down how the city is meeting their needs and what more needs to be done [Listen].
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