Photo Courtesy of Emil Cohen/NY City Council
Councilwoman Adrienne Adams, chairwoman of the Public Safety Committee
By Forum Staff
The City Council will vote on Thursday in favor of five bills and three resolutions designed to increase police accountability and reimagine public safety in the five boroughs.
To increase accountability, the Council will vote on a bill that will effectively end qualified immunity as a defense for certain civil rights violations. New York courts have created their own version of the federal doctrine of qualified immunity, which shields police officers who are performing discretionary functions from civil liability. Together, the State and federal versions of qualified immunity have effectively prevented countless victims of police brutality and their families from obtaining financial damages and holding officers and the cities that employ them accountable.
The Council’s legislation would end qualified immunity for police officers in New York City by creating a new local civil right protecting New Yorkers against unreasonable search and seizures and against excessive force and ban the use of qualified immunity, or substantially equivalent immunities, as a defense.
The Council will vote on a bill that will create a crash investigation and an analysis unit in the Department of Transportation (DOT), which will be responsible for investigating all crashes involving serious injury. This bill will center responsibility for traffic safety within the DOT instead of the NYPD.
To increase transparency, the Council will also vote on legislation that requires NYPD to issue a quarterly report on all traffic and vehicle stops, disaggregating information by precinct, race/ethnicity and age of the driver. The report will include information regarding summonses issued, number of arrests made, vehicles searched and if consent was provided.
The Council will vote on a bill that allows the Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB) to investigate police with a history of bias and racial profiling complaints.
In addition, the Council will vote on a proposal that transfers the authority of issuing, suspending and revoking press passes from the NYPD to the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME).
The three resolutions being voted on include one that supports a state bill which gives final authority on discipline of officers facing civilian complaints to the CCRB rather than the Police Commissioner. Currently, the Police Commissioner has the right to disregard CCRB recommendations and offer a less severe discipline, or no punishment at all.
A second resolution supports a State bill that requires police officers to live in New York City. Under the legislation, new NYPD officers will have to establish residency in the City.
A third resolution will adopt a policing reform plan. This plan, which a State Executive Order requires the Council no later than April 1. If the Council does not adopt a plan, the State is authorized to withhold State and federal pass-through funding.
Prior to its finalization, the Council amended the Plan to focus on prospective goals and policies, to add deadlines and responsible parties for fulfilling requirements in the plan, to enhance public transparency, public notice and stakeholder engagement requirements in its implementation, and included integral funding commitments totaling over $70 million dollars put towards existing and new initiatives to support and expand public safety alternatives to policing and incarceration and ensure that the City lives up to its commitments.
Finally, the Council will also vote on a bill to extend protections for commercial tenants who have been impacted by COVID-19 until June 30, 2021. The legislation will extend Local Law55, which suspended personal liability provisions in leases of businesses that were required to shut down as part of the State’s efforts to control the spread of COVID-19.
The Council will also vote on a resolution calling on the State Legislature to impose a new tax on billionaires. The proposed “mark to market tax” would tax the increase in value of billionaires’ assets at the same rate as other income. The revenue would be used to fund a $3.5 billion Excluded Workers Fund to ensure that undocumented, essential workers can also access vital financial assistance like unemployment benefits. These actions would be important steps to address the wealth inequity that we have unfortunately seen grow exponentially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
he New York City Council will vote today on five bills and three resolutions designed to increase police accountability and reimagine public safety in our city.
To increase accountability, the Council will vote on a bill that will effectively end qualified immunity as a defense for certain civil rights violations. New York courts have created their own version of the federal doctrine of qualified immunity, which shields police officers who are performing discretionary functions from civil liability. Together, the State and federal versions of qualified immunity have effectively prevented countless victims of police brutality and their families from obtaining financial damages and holding officers and the cities that employ them accountable.
The Council’s legislation would end qualified immunity for police officers in New York City by creating a new local civil right protecting New Yorkers against unreasonable search and seizures and against excessive force and ban the use of qualified immunity, or substantially equivalent immunities, as a defense.
The Council will vote on a bill that will create a crash investigation and an analysis unit in the Department of Transportation (DOT), which will be responsible for investigating all crashes involving serious injury. This bill will center responsibility for traffic safety within the DOT instead of the NYPD.
To increase transparency, the Council will also vote on legislation that requires NYPD to issue a quarterly report on all traffic and vehicle stops, disaggregating information by precinct, race/ethnicity and age of the driver. The report will include information regarding summonses issued, number of arrests made, vehicles searched and if consent was provided.
The Council will vote on a bill that allows the Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB) to investigate police with a history of bias and racial profiling complaints.
In addition, the Council will vote on a proposal that transfers the authority of issuing, suspending and revoking press passes from the NYPD to the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME).
The three resolutions being voted on include one that supports a state bill which gives final authority on discipline of officers facing civilian complaints to the CCRB rather than the Police Commissioner. Currently, the Police Commissioner has the right to disregard CCRB recommendations and offer a less severe discipline, or no punishment at all.
A second resolution supports a State bill that requires police officers to live in New York City. Under the legislation, new NYPD officers will have to establish residency in the City.
A third resolution will adopt a policing reform plan. This plan, which a State Executive Order requires the Council no later than April 1. If the Council does not adopt a plan, the State is authorized to withhold State and federal pass-through funding.
Prior to its finalization, the Council amended the Plan to focus on prospective goals and policies, to add deadlines and responsible parties for fulfilling requirements in the plan, to enhance public transparency, public notice and stakeholder engagement requirements in its implementation, and included integral funding commitments totaling over $70 million dollars put towards existing and new initiatives to support and expand public safety alternatives to policing and incarceration and ensure that the City lives up to its commitments.
Finally, the Council will also vote on a bill to extend protections for commercial tenants who have been impacted by COVID-19 until June 30, 2021. The legislation will extend Local Law55, which suspended personal liability provisions in leases of businesses that were required to shut down as part of the State’s efforts to control the spread of COVID-19.
The Council will also vote on a resolution calling on the State Legislature to impose a new tax on billionaires. The proposed “mark to market tax” would tax the increase in value of billionaires’ assets at the same rate as other income. The revenue would be used to fund a $3.5 billion Excluded Workers Fund to ensure that undocumented, essential workers can also access vital financial assistance like unemployment benefits. These actions would be important steps to address the wealth inequity that we have unfortunately seen grow exponentially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Accountability for bias-based policing
Int. 2212-A, sponsored by Council Member Vanessa Gibson, will clarify that the Civilian Complaint Review Board has the power to investigate bias-based policing and racial profiling complaints made by the public. It would also provide that based on a final determination by the NYPD, the Board, the Commission on Human Rights, the Department of Investigation or a court that a member of the NYPD engaged in an act of bias, the Board would be empowered to investigate past professional conduct by the member.
If the act of bias was “severe” (defined by the Board), the investigation would be required. After the member has had an opportunity to respond to the Board’s findings and recommendations, the Board would be required to provide final versions to the member, the Police Commissioner and others. The Police Commissioner would have to respond in writing. The NYPD would be required to engage an independent consultant to review cases handled by the NYPD’s Equal Employment Opportunity Division between October 1, 2017 and October 31, 2020.
