Photo Courtesy of the Speaker’s Office
Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito said, “We must make sure all New Yorkers are on equal footing.”
By Michael V. Cusenza
City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito last Thursday delivered her third and final State of the City address: a 10-point treatise, titled “Who We Are,” on what she called NYC’s “core values” of diversity, inclusion, fairness, and equality.
“We must make sure all New Yorkers are on equal footing–and that we are providing a pathway for all New Yorkers to be heard and to succeed,” the speaker said inside the King Theater in Brooklyn. “This is who we are.”
Mark-Viverito’s 10 points were based in proposals to:
- Protect Our Immigrants
- Double Down on Criminal Justice Reform
- Support Women’s Reproductive Rights
- Improve Educational Outcomes for All Students
- Strive for Racial and Gender Equity in New York City
- Address Food Insecurities for All New Yorkers
- Strengthen Small Businesses through Innovative Reforms
- Protect and Support Tenant Rights
- Invest in Our Public Housing Residents
- Collaborate with Municipal Legislative Leaders across the Country
“Instead of succumbing to the current forces attempting to silence the most vulnerable and diminish America’s core values, we are laying out an ambitious agenda that empowers all of our communities,” she said. “New York City finds strength in diversity, innovation in inclusion and justice in fairness–that’s how we overcome the odds and keep moving forward. Because that’s who we are.”
For 2017, Mark-Viverito said, the Council is proposing a comprehensive package of legislation that “will further strengthen our commitment to keeping the City’s immigrants and all New Yorkers safe, secure and prosperous,” including limiting cooperation with immigration enforcement efforts by: prohibiting law enforcement from acting as immigration officers; blocking access to certain areas of City property; blocking access to Department of Education schools, students, and records.
Additionally this year, Mark-Viverito said the Council is proposing “a wide-ranging slate of reforms to continue to promote fairer outcomes in our criminal justice system, reduce pre-trial incarceration rates, and support community-based justice” by: clearing low level, nonviolent summons warrants; sealing certain older criminal records; decreasing admissions to Rikers Island by reducing bail processing time; supporting true diversion programs; and raising the age of criminal responsibility to 18.
“We are a city that embraces our differences and celebrates diversity, and we will teach our children the same,” Mark-Viverito said as she delved into her vision for improving educational outcomes for all students, including “providing educators with the resources they need to discuss diversity and equality in a culturally competent manner; engaging students in dialogue about the ill effects of cyber-bullying; addressing school planning, siting, and overcrowding, so that students can receive the individualized attention they need to learn and grow; and advocating for comprehensive sexual health education, so that our children have the knowledge they need to lead healthy lives.”
The speaker also addressed what many elected officials and civic leaders call the backbone of the City’s economy: the small business.
“We must continue to support our small businesses and eliminate barriers that hinder their success,” Mark-Viverito said.
According to the speaker, supporting the City’s small businesses promotes economic growth and employment opportunities for New Yorkers. Through the 2014 Small Business Relief Package, the Council implemented reforms to reduce the number and cost of violations for small businesses and expand outreach and education. Within a year, fines assessed against small businesses declined from $32.5 million to just over $15.7 million, and the number of violations issued declined from 19,409 to 11,923.
Going forward, Mark-Viverito noted, the Council will introduce a package of legislation to support innovative ways to reform the way businesses satisfy civil penalties, while ensuring greater compliance with the City’s laws and generating benefits for the City as a whole.
