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By Ethan Stark-Miller

Oh rats!

The City Council passed a package of bills Thursday aimed at combating the swarms of rodents running a muck on the city’s streets and in its subways.

The package, dubbed the Rat Action Plan, includes legislation that would designate more so-called “rat mitigation zones” – areas prone to rat infestations, direct the city health department to report annually on its efforts to curtail the rat problem in those zones, require buildings with several rodent-specific health violations place their trash in lidded containers and compel developers prove they retained a rodent exterminator in order to get a construction permit. 

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NEW YORK CITY (WABC) — A first-of-its-kind bill will be introduced to New York City Council this week that would prohibit discriminating against people based on their tattoos.

Many employers in the city have rules banning tattoos from the workplace, and proponents say tattoo stigma has prevented some New Yorkers from getting access to services and housing.

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On September 1, City Council Members Shaun Abreu and Gale Brewer celebrated the reopening of uptown Manhattan’s celebrated Smoke Jazz Club at a ribbon-cutting with co-owners Paul Stache and Molly Johnson. Musicians who performed live on stage were the Al Foster Quintet with Nicholas Payton, Chris Potter, Kevin Hays and Vicente Archer.

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By Gretchen Berger

There are now close to 7,600 asylum seekers who have been bussed from the U.S. southern border to New York City, a “sanctuary city,” by Texas and Arizona, according to Mayor Eric Adams. Among them are some who will find refuge on the Upper West Side.

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See full article here: https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2022/06/23/council-urges-state-to–blanket–new-york-city-as-a-gun-free-zone

By Anna Lucente Sterling

On the heels of the Supreme Court decision Thursday striking down New York’s concealed carry gun law, City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams urged Albany to essentially make New York City a gun-free zone.

Adams introduced a resolution that calls on the state to expand current definitions around “sensitive places” where the public is prohibited from carrying concealed guns, including using population density as a factor.

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See full article here: https://www.6sqft.com/nyc-pols-introduce-legislation-that-would-temporarily-suspend-commercial-rent-tax/

By Michelle Cohen

The Covid-19 pandemic, among its many impacts, has drastically underscored the need for ways to mitigate steep commercial rents, such as rent regulation and temporary rent relief. Several local politicians have suggested solutions, including the temporary suspension of commercial rent tax. This week, New York City Council Majority Leader Keith Powers, Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, and Council Member Gale Brewer introduced legislation that would accomplish the latter.

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See full article here: https://www.amny.com/politics/clean-slate-coalition-new-york-city-pols-clean-slate-act/

By Isabel Song Beer

The Clean Slate NY Coalition held a press conference with elected New York City officials today to pass the Clean Slate Act before the end of the legislative session on June 2.

The Coalition was joined by City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, City Comptroller Brad Lander, resolute sponsor Nantasha Williams, bill sponsor State Assembly Member Catalina Cruz, and Council Members Shaun Abreu, Althea Stevens, and Sandy Nurse, alongside formerly incarcerated people, union representatives, and faith leaders. 

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Read the full article here: https://politicsny.com/2022/06/09/immigrant-advocates-council-members-demand-25m-in-budget-for-non-citizens/

By Ethan Stark-Miller

As city-budget negotiations are rumored to be wrapping up in the coming days, a coalition of City Council members and immigrant advocates rallied on the steps of City Hall calling on Mayor Eric Adams to put $25 million in funding into implementing a law that grants non-citizens the right to vote.

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On April 1, local elected and community leaders joined representatives from Columbia to tour and learn more about the Columbia-Harlem SBDC.

By Kelly Moffitt

April 05, 2022

See the full article here: https://neighbors.columbia.edu/news/local-leaders-visit-new-columbia-harlem-small-business-development-center-manhattanville

It’s no secret that some of the most exciting aspects of the Columbia Business School’s new home on the Manhattanville campus are the working and learning spaces in David Geffen Hall and Henry Kravis Hall.

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Citing THE CITY’s MISSING THEM reporting on the pandemic’s effect on children who’ve lost parents or other guardians, Council members want the child welfare agency to deliver quarterly reports on minors placed in foster care due to the coronavirus.

By Katie Honan, THE CITY

Read the full article here: https://brooklyneagle.com/articles/2022/06/16/council-bill-would-make-acs-track-covid-toll-on-kids-who-lost-family/