Sometime in the next few weeks, City Council members will probably have a big press conference to pat themselves on the back for all the work they've done this year. They'll talk about lobbying reform, their work on the budget, and several other things.But they will also break for the holiday having left several important things undone. There are many bills that should be passed, some of which clearly would pass if they were allowed to come to the floor for a vote. Following are just a few of the many good bills that were not passed:
Intro 119
This bill would require co-op boards to list, in writing, the reason or reasons for turning down an applicant. It's a basic idea. If someone says, "We don't want you here," they should at least tell you why. When it comes to housing, especially considering the long history of discrimination in housing decisions all across the country, the reasons should be clear.
This bill has 36 sponsors. Since 34 votes are enough even to override a mayoral veto, it would become law if it came to a vote. But for political reasons (very political) the bill is stuck in the committee on Housing and Buildings without even getting a hearing. Eight of the eleven committee members are sponsors, so they would clearly vote the bill out, given the chance.
Intro 196
Do you ever get sick of all the advertising flyers, tabloids, etc., known collectively as “circulars”, that get dropped in your lobby or stuffed into your mailbox? This bill would establish a “do not flyer” list, similar to the “do not call” lists. If you put your name and address on this list, nobody will be allowed to drop any circulars off for you.
The bill went nowhere. It has only 13 sponsors, and is stuck in the committee on Consumer Affairs without even a hearing.
So gear up for yet another year of throwing out all those annoying circulars.
Intro 17
The problems that the Administration for Children's Services (ACS) has had trying to protect children from abuse and neglect have made for a lot of headlines. This bill would require adequate staffing to respond to reports of child abuse and neglect and limit the caseloads for ACS staffers so that they can handle the work load.
The committee on General Welfare did hold a hearing on the subject of child abuse in October. The hearing focused on making sure that people who are supposed to report suspicions of child abuse do so, but it didn't address the problem of staffing at ACS.
The bill has 26 sponsors, a bare majority of the City Council. Four of the five committee members are sponsors. This bill would pass, if it only got a vote.
Section 421-a
There are several bills in the City Council dealing with this section of the real property tax law. Basically, this section was originally created to give tax breaks to developers to create new multi-family buildings provided that they create new affordable housing as well. At the time this section was created, in 1971, there was very little development in New York City, and we were facing serious financial problems that eventually brought the city to the brink of bankruptcy.
In the ensuing 35 years, however, the city has seen a resurgence of development, but the law didn’t change with the times. As a result, many people are getting large tax breaks just for building new luxury housing, without any new affordable housing being created as well.
We know the problem. The question is, what’s the best solution? On this issue, the Mayor and various members of the City Council are at odds. The Mayor wants to make what amounts to minor adjustments to the current law, while City Council members want a more sweeping change. Chances are something will be done early next year, and it will probably be some sort of middle ground.
Bills introduced on this subject are Intros 472, 486, 487 and 490.
Intro 53
In 1991, the New York State Court of Appeals (the state's highest court) ruled that anyone arrested in the state must be arraigned or released within 24 hours. In 2004, hundreds of demonstrators were arrested and held for 48-72 hours, often without formally being charged with a crime. This incident brought the problem into focus.
A recent study by the New York Civil Liberties Union reports that this court ruling is violated in New York City every six minutes. Every day, 250 people in NYC have their rights violated.
A bill to correct this (Intro 0649-2005) was introduced last year, but died without even getting a hearing. This year, the bill was again introduced, and has met the same fate. It is stuck in the committee on Public Safety - not Civil Rights, but Public Safety.
Once the bill was introduced, a cry went up that without additional funding for District Attorneys' offices, they wouldn't be able to enforce the law, and potentially violent criminals would have to be released. The funding was secured ($17 million), but the bill still hasn't gotten a hearing.
Meanwhile, New Yorkers are sitting in jails for two to three days, often for having done nothing worse than jumping a subway turnstile.
There are literally hundreds of other bills. You can search for a particular bill, or get the complete list of all legislation, online at http://www.nyccouncil.info/issues/search.cfm.
Copyright 2006, Dan Jacoby
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