Forward – New York City Councilmember Shahana Hanif got blasted this spring for voting against a resolution to create an annual day to “end Jew-hatred.” Some called the progressive freshman from Brooklyn antisemitic. She at the time explained that she could not get on board with the initiative because it was spearheaded by “right-wing organizations” supported by an activist who has claimed that Palestinians don’t exist. 

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City + State – In 1979, the New York State Supreme Court ruled in Callahan v. Carey that New York City had a legal mandate to provide shelter under Article XVII of the state’s constitution. Brought as a class action lawsuit on behalf of thousands of unhoused individuals, this landmark ruling established that homeless New Yorkers have a fundamental right to a bed and basic standards within the shelter system. 

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Muslim Girl – Not long ago I joined hundreds of New Yorkers to celebrate O’Shae Sibley’s life. We surrounded the Brooklyn Mobil Gas Station at the intersection of Coney Island Avenue and Avenue P, where O’Shae Sibley’s murder occurred when he was stabbed to death. With trans leader and activist Queen Jean on the megaphone, we repeated O’Shae Sibley’s name over and over. 

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Gothamist – City councilmembers have complained they have been kept out of the loop on the initiative, the subject of a Council Committees on Immigration and General Welfare oversight hearing, at 1 p.m. in City Hall.

Councilmember Shahana Hanif, Immigration Committee chair, said the only details she’s heard have come from media coverage, and piecemeal conversations with city officials while touring the city’s temporary 

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Streetsblog – On Friday, a top official in the city’s war on traffic violence, NYPD Transportation Chief Kim Royster, was forced out of her role and into retirement — creating a key opening amid several road safety crises.

Brooklyn Council Member Shahana Hanif (D-Park Slope) accused Adams of taking the city “backwards” on traffic safety.

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City Limits – City Hall defended its practices at the time, saying a housing placement for a street homeless person can require time-intensive trust building and casework—trust advocates say is eroded by the sweeps themselves. 

Under Nurse and Hanif’s legislation, the city would also have to start tracking how many people were arrested per removal, or brought involuntarily to a hospital for a mental health assessment. 

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City Limits – A DOC spokesperson told City Limits the agency monitors water temperatures at its facilities. The agency did not respond to queries about how many AC outages its jails have experienced so far this season.

On July 14, members of the City Council’s Black, Latino and Asian Caucus (BLAC), including Councilmember Shahana Hanif who oversees District 39, toured parts of RNDC, which houses adolescent and adult men.

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City Limits – While the continuation will not be accompanied by the full $20 million that advocates and the four community-based organizations (CBOs) that implemented the program have pushed for, the $16 million allocated in the city’s newly announced $107 billion spending package is close enough for them to celebrate.

“While $16 million won’t be enough to satisfy the demand providers know exists, this investment will ensure that our immigrant families won’t be left high-and-dry,” said Immigration Committee Chair and Council Member Shahana Hanif.

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Gothamist – A City Council oversight hearing on Wednesday on facilities housing asylum seekers grew visibly tense when an official in Mayor Eric Adams’ administration revealed that some sites lack even showers, requiring migrants to travel offsite for their bathing needs.

Councilmember Shahana Hanif, who helped lead the hearing along with Councilmember Diana Ayala and is also pushing legislation that would preserve access to city shelters for asylum-seekers, said she was stunned by the revelation.

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