Category: Legislation

NGLCC: New York City to Become Largest City in America   to Recognize LGBT-Owned Businesses

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New York City to Become Largest City in America
to Recognize LGBT-Owned Businesses

Historic agreement between NYC Dept. of Small Business Services
and National LGBT Chamber of Commerce, five years in the making


January 19, 2021
Washington, D.C. – The National LGBT Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC), the business voice of the LGBT community, is proud to announce that New York City Small Business Services (SBS) has approved a measure to include NGLCC Certified LGBT Business Enterprise® (Certified LGBTBE®) suppliers in contracting and procurement opportunities, as well as capacity building and educational programs from small businesses, throughout the city. For LGBT citizens of New York City, this inclusive policy provides fair and equal access to economic development programs that drive innovation, create jobs, and promote economic growth throughout the city.
“Thanks to the leadership of NGLCC, Mayor Bill de Blasio and the NYC Department of Small Business Services– especially Commissioner Jonnel Doris and Deputy Commissioner Dynishal Gross– LGBT entrepreneurs in New York City will now have the opportunity to create jobs and develop innovations that benefit all who live there. New York City has a legacy of leadership in promoting inclusivity at every level of public life. Now, history has been made here in New York City, and this victory for inclusivity has once again proved our core values that ‘diversity is good for business’ and that ‘if you can buy it, a certified LGBT-owned business can supply it.’ We are excited to see LGBTBEs in every field, from construction to catering and everything in between, help grow the economy of New York City and beyond as M/WBEs and EBEs,” said NGLCC Co-Founder & President Justin Nelson.
New and Current NGLCC Certified LGBTBE® suppliers can utilize their existing certification to meet a majority of criteria needed to be certified by NYC’s Department of Small Business Services (SBS). The additional information required will be submitted via electronic addendum provided when a supplier begins the online application with the City of New York. Learn more at nglcc.org/nyc. 
“Equity of access and inclusion are at the core of the work we do at SBS,” said Jonnel Doris, Commissioner of the NYC Department of Small Business Services. “A diverse vendor pool makes a stronger New York City, and we are excited to maximize the inclusion of LGBTQ certified firms into the City’s certification process. We look forward to our continued partnership with the NGLCC.”
This policy makes New York City the next city to intentionally include LGBT-owned businesses in municipal contracting and procurement opportunities, a best practice of the private sector and of an ever-growing number of states and municipalities. Thanks to the advocacy of NGLCC and its state and local affiliate chambers, New York City follows in the footsteps of large cities like Chicago, Orlando, Nashville, and more as inclusive leaders throughout the United States. 
NGLCC wishes to thank Congressman Ritchie Torres for introducing a New York City Council bill to push this issue forward, which was first raised by Councilmember Daniel Dromm and members of the LGBTQ Caucus.
“LGBTQ-owned businesses in NYC will finally have equal access to city economic development programs thanks to this historic agreement,” said NYC Council LGBT Caucus Chair Daniel Dromm. “When it comes to establishing and growing businesses, LGBTQ entrepreneurs face many significant and manifold challenges. I am pleased that these business owners who were once excluded from sorely-needed contracting and procurement opportunities will be able to participate. I have worked alongside Congressmember Ritchie Torres and the NGLCC to sounds the alarm and raise awareness of this effort which is ultimately about fairness and equity. Thank you to SBS for stepping up and agreeing to this partnership. It will impact the lives of thousands of New Yorkers in a meaningful and lasting way.”
In August 2019, at the 2019 NGLCC International Business & Leadership Conference in Tampa, FL, openly LGBT Mayor Jane Castor announced an executive order to include Certified LGBTBE® suppliers in her city. This order followed Mayor Eric Garcetti’s historic announcement to do the same in Los Angeles just days before, as well as Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s resolution to do the same in her city. In 2018 and early 2019, NGLCC won the inclusion of Certified LGBTBE® suppliers in Orlando, FL; Nashville, TN; Baltimore, MD; Jersey City, NJ; and Hoboken, NJ, while also advancing statewide bills in New York and New Jersey. Currently, California, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania also include Certified LGBTBE® suppliers in city procurement, along with major cities like Seattle, Newark, Columbus, and Philadelphia. Many of America’s largest cities and states are working closely with NGLCC to complete LGBTBE inclusion in 2021. 
“While we have a long way to go for LGBT equality in the nation, NYC has always had a strong and growing network of NGLCC Certified LGBTBE® suppliers and LGBT-owned companies. We hope this resolution in NYC will encourage more cities to proactively include the LGBT community for the optimum social and economic health of their cities. Collectively, LGBT-owned businesses contribute to the $1.7 trillion dollars that the LGBT business community puts into the national economy. Progressive and inclusive leadership, like that of New York City, will ensure greater access to the American Dream for every American,” said NGLCC Co-Founder & CEO Chance Mitchell.

Read more here.

QNS.com: Dromm/NYC Council extend gas pipeline inspection & certification deadline

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Typical construction industry installation of utilities in a house

By Bill Parry

Originally published in QNS.com on December 24, 2020.

Queens homeowners will save thousands of dollars under legislation recently passed by the City Council and first introduced by Councilman Daniel Dromm.

The bill will extend the gas line inspection and certification deadline set by Local Law 152 of 2016 to June 30, 2021, and give a much-needed reprieve to thousands of Queens property owners in Community Districts 1, 3 and 10 which are still reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Intro 2151-B will also require the city’s Department of Buildings to conduct thorough outreach to the public, and solicit public comments related to Local Law 152.

“Intro 2151-B spares thousands of Queens homeowners from having to scramble to comply with Local Law 152, with its looming Dec. 31, 2020, deadline,” Dromm said. “It would be difficult to expect our constituents to bring inspectors into their homes in the middle of a pandemic or face thousands of dollars in fines.”

The goals of Local Law 152 are laudable: to ensure that gas lines in buildings throughout the city are sound. However, the initial deadline, set well before anyone could foresee the pandemic, is not practicable at this point.

“As a responsible policymaker, I am simply interested in ensuring compliance with any legislation that is passed and enacted. When circumstances change and call for reassessment, we have to respond,” Dromm said. “I want to thank NYC Council Housing and Buildings Chair Robert Cornegy for working alongside me on this important effort. I also want to thank my constituents for bringing this issue to my attention. You initiated the legislative process that culminated in [this] vote. Even during this challenging time, democracy is alive and well at the NYC Council.”

Read more here.

Queens Daily Eagle: Council formally calls on state to repeal ‘walking while trans’ ban

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THE CITY COUNCIL PASSED A RESOLUTION TO REPEAL A LAW KNOWN AS THE WALKING WHILE TRANS BAN ON THURSDAY.
EAGLE FILE PHOTO BY ANDY KATZ

By Rachel Vick

Originally published in the Queens Daily Eagle on December 11, 2020

The New York City Council passed two resolutions Thursday formally calling on state lawmakers to repeal a prostitution-related loitering misdemeanor dubbed the “walking while trans” ban and to seal the records of people convicted of the offense.

The section of state penal law related to “loitering for the purposes of engaging in prostitution” gives police officers the power to arrest a person for allegedly stopping, talking to or beckoning at others in a public place. In practice, officers have used observations like a defendant’s clothing, gender identity or gender expression as grounds to make an arrest — in essence, profiling trans women as sex workers.

The movement to repeal the law has gained momentum in recent years, fueling the Council’s vote Thursday.

Queens Councilmember Daniel Dromm recalled his own experience with profiling related to the law.

“I was arrested when I was 16 years old and charged with prostitution, something that has gone on as a tool to use against the LGBT community for many, many years, and it’s about time that we ended it,” Dromm said.

Manhattan Councilmember Carlina Rivera, the repeal bill’s sponsor, celebrated the vote in a tweet Thursday.

“Whether you’re a survivor who has shared your story, an organization working to bring justice, or an ally in this fight, thank you,” she said. “It passed and we are grateful to so many! It’s time to repeal the #WalkingWhileTrans ban in NYS.

Six conservative councilmembers voted against the repeal resolution. They were Councilmembers Robert Holden, Chaim Deutsch, Kalman Yeger, Joe Borelli, Steven Matteo and Ruben Diaz, Sr.

Holden, Deutsch, Borelli, Matteo, Diaz and Queens Councilmember Eric Ulrich opposed he sealing resolution, Gay City News reported.
The walking while trans ban has had a disproportionate impact on trans women of color in Queens.

More than half of the 121 arrests for the offense in New York City in 2018 took place in Queens, concentrated in Jackson Heights and Corona, according to an analysis by the website Documented.

That year, 49 percent of people charged with Loitering for the Purpose of Prostitution were Black and 42 percent were Latino.

“As a trans, Latinx woman in Jackson Heights, for over 14 years I have lived the violence that exists, between the police intimidation and patriarchy that impacts our community,” Make the Road organizer Bianey Garcia said at a virtual rally in September. “[Trans community members] tell us they are afraid to express their gender, to wear anything sexy or put heels on for fear of being arrested.”

Though the repeal was not included in the State’s 2020 legislative agenda, Gov. Andrew Cuomo would likely be open to the amendment, a spokesperson told the Eagle in January.

“We would have to review the final bill, but the Governor has been a champion for the transgender community … and strongly opposes the unequal enforcement of any law as a means to target a specific community,” said spokesperson Caitlin Girouard.

Read more here.

WSJ: New York City Council Eyes Bill to End Solitary Confinement 

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A solitary confinement cell at New York City’s Rikers Island jail. The city council is set to begin fast-tracking legislation this week to end the practice. PHOTO: BEBETO MATTHEWS/ASSOCIATED PRESS

By Rich Calder

Originally published on December 8, 2020 in the Wall Street Journal.

Nearly six months after Mayor Bill de Blasio pledged to end solitary confinement as a means of punishment in New York City’s jail system, the city council this week is set to begin fast-tracking the process by reviewing new legislation to halt the controversial practice.

Councilman Daniel Dromm, a Queens Democrat, is introducing a bill at Thursday’s council meeting that would prohibit inmates from being locked in an isolated cell for violent offenses—except for up to four hours whenever it is necessary to “de-escalate immediate conflict,” according to a review of the legislation.

Under current city law, solitary confinement, also known as punitive segregation, allows inmates to be locked in cells up to 20 hours a day for serious offenses.

“Solitary confinement is torture in the truer sense of the word,” Mr. Dromm said in an interview Tuesday. “Depriving people of human contact for long periods of time is un-American, and we shouldn’t be engaging in it.”

The city’s Department of Correction referred requests for comment to the mayor’s office.

Mr. De Blasio in June pledged to have New York become the first major city in the country to halt solitary confinement, and he set up a panel to come up with a plan, but it has yet to announce any recommendations.

Since he took office in 2014, the city’s jail system has significantly reduced its use of solitary confinement and the overall inmate population. As of Monday, there were 65 people in punitive segregation, compared with a daily average of 567 in 2014, according to the Department of Correction.

Mayoral spokeswoman Avery Cohen said in a statement that the mayor’s office is committed to ending punitive segregation and would “continue working with stakeholders in government and those with lived experience to create a system that ensures the safety and well-being of staff and people in custody.”

Punitive segregation has come under fire from criminal-justice advocates who say it’s inhumane. But law-enforcement advocates, including the Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association, the union representing city correction staff, say it is a necessary deterrent to keep violent inmates in line and jails safe.

On Friday, the council’s committee on criminal justice will hold a hearing on the bill, which Mr. Dromm believes has enough support to become law.

The prompt scheduling of the hearing by Council Speaker Corey Johnson, a Democrat, only a day after the bill’s scheduled introduction has raised concerns among some council members and the correction officers union. They say the legislation is being rushed into law for political reasons at the risk of endangering jail staff.

Historically, bills usually sit for weeks or months—and sometimes more than a year—before the council speaker’s office schedules a hearing to field testimony from city agencies and other affected parties.

Both Mr. Johnson and Councilman Keith Powers, a Manhattan Democrat who chairs the criminal justice committee, said they support ending solitary confinement.

“This bill is being heard because it’s ready and will continue to go through the legislative process,” a spokeswoman for Mr. Johnson said. “There’s nothing unusual about that.”

The legislation would still allow the city to keep detainees in other types of restrictive housing separated from a prison’s general population. Under the proposal, inmates in restrictive housing could leave their cells at least 10 hours a day, compared with 14 hours for a jail’s general population.

The city’s Rikers Island jail complex currently allows inmates in restrictive housing to leave cells for seven hours.

Six council members sent a letter to Johnson on Monday expressing “great concern regarding how quickly” the bill is getting a public hearing. The letter cited a series of recent attacks by inmates on correction officers.

“We firmly believe that rushing to pass a bill of this magnitude would have serious implications for the safety of our jails and could actually result in increased violence,” said the letter written by Robert Holden, a Queens Democrat, and cosigned by three Republicans and two other Democrats.

COBA President Benny Boscio Jr. accused Mr. Johnson of fast-tracking the bill into law in order to eclipse Mr. de Blasio politically on the issue.

“Speaker Corey Johnson is once again trying to beat the mayor in a race to ban punitive segregation entirely, which will only increase violent assaults on correction officers and non-violent inmates,” he said.

Read more here.

The City: De Blasio Promised Nearly Six Months Ago to End Solitary Confinement. So Where’s the Plan?

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Surveillance video shows Layleen Polanco being escorted to her solitary cell on Rikers Island before her death in 2019. Source: The City

By Rosa Goldensohn and Reuven Blau

Originally published in The City on December 6, 2020.

In June, when Mayor Bill de Blasio announced he would end solitary confinement in city-run jails, he said he expected a working group to give him recommendations on how to do it “in the fall.”

The chair of the Board of Correction, which makes the rules for city lockups, said on Oct. 21 that the plan would be presented “literally in the next several days” and then voted on by board members.

Now, with the new year approaching, details of the proposal have yet to be unveiled. The Board of Correction promises a plan will be released before the end of the month.

“The City of New York and the Board of Correction, after hearing from persons with lived experience, understand that it is time to end solitary confinement in the New York City jail system,” Board Chair Jennifer Jones Austin said in a statement late last week.

“Such a complex undertaking requires meaningful planning and collaboration with the Department of Correction, the union and those with lived experience to ensure the result is a system that ensures the safety and well being of staff and people in custody,” she added.

A so-called punitive segregation unit inside the George R. Vierno Center on Rikers Island.

Meanwhile, the City Council could pass its own bill to end the practice of punishing people in jails for rule-breaking by imposing isolation for most of the day and night. Some 95 people were in so-called punitive segregation in city jails as of Thursday.

Bill sponsor Danny Dromm (D-Jackson Heights) told THE CITY he believes there is enough support in the Council to approve the measure.

“I think that there are enough people have been educated on this at this point to understand that solitary is torture,” he said.

The City Council is scheduled to hold a hearing on the subject Dec. 11.

Spurred by Polanco Death

Despite a growing consensus on the psychological harms of such confinement, New York would appear to be the first major city in the country to officially ban punitive segregation outright.

De Blasio announced the change in June, citing the case of 27-year-old Layleen Polanco, who died in a solitary cell on Rikers Island just over a year earlier.

Hundreds of people packed into Foley Square to hold a vigil for Layleen Polanco, a 27-year-old transgender woman who died in solitary confinement on Rikers Island, June 10, 2019. Ben Fractenberg/THE CITY

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed a bill last year limiting solitary stays to 20 days at a time, and no more than 30 days in a 60-day period.

In Chicago, Cook County Jail eliminated solitary and created a “special management unit” in its place. De Blasio previously ended solitary in the city for those under the age of 22.

In the five boroughs, solitary confinement is only allowed as a punitive measure in response to an infraction of jail rules.

A DOC captain in charge of adjudicating jailhouse infractions can dole out a sentence of up to 30 days “in the box.”

Administrative segregation, the isolation of inmates to smooth the running of the jail, is not allowed under a 2010 court ruling. But functionally, the punishments remove people who have done something violent from the general population for a period of time.

The correction officers’ union has long opposed limits on solitary, saying the tactic is needed to help keep the peace.

The city proposal will include an end to punitive segregation and an alternative way to deal with acts of violence in the jail, according to the Board of Correction.

The Council bill would also put time limits on other forms of what jailers call “restrictive housing.”

The challenge, Dromm said, is to eliminate solitary without allowing for loopholes.

Wary of Name Game

Incarceration reform efforts elsewhere have spawned replacements for solitary confinement units that critics say are merely solitary by another name.

In Canada, courts deemed prolonged solitary confinement unconstitutional. But in the “structured intervention” units meant to replace solitary, according to outside observers, prisoners often did not receive the time outside of their cell or “meaningful social contact” as promised.

Under New York State rules, local jails must allow those held in segregation four hours out of their cells daily.

But that time is not necessarily spent interacting with others. The State Commission allows showering time to count, for instance.

The city Department of Correction has also counted showering in its tally, as well as trips to the doctor and visiting time, though those do not necessarily reflect the actual daily schedule of people in segregation.

State prisons, which regularly hold people in solitary for months at a time, are not subject to the four-hour rule. Some prisoners are held alone 24 hours a day, with an hour out in a solo cage attached to their cell.

As of Dec. 1, some 1,173 inmates were serving a “Special Housing Unit” (SHU) disciplinary sanction in solitary cells across New York State prisons, officials said.

‘Meaningful Human Engagement’

A bill to restrict solitary in state prisons failed last year even though it had enough co-sponsors to pass on their votes alone. Gov. Andrew Cuomo and legislative leaders Carl Heastie and Andrea Stewart-Cousins quashed the measure in favor of a set of looser requirements that were then delayed.

The Dec. 11 hearing will include discussions of the de Blasio administration’s proposal and the City Council’s legislation to end solitary, according to Councilmember Keith Powers (D-Manhattan), who chairs the Criminal Justice committee.

“There’s a groundswell of support to end harmful solitary confinement policies in New York City jails,” he said in a statement. “This is a long-overdue conversation.”

Advocates against solitary, who put out their own plan to end the practice in city jails last year, said the Council action was “positive,” but that it should make sure to avoid “carve-outs.”

“The basic minimum standards in the city jails of 14 hours out-of-cell per day with access to meaningful human engagement and programming should apply to everyone,” Anisah Sabur of the #HALTsolitary Campaign said in a statement.

The union representing frontline city correction officers opposes scrapping solitary.

“With jail violence soaring in our jails year after year, it’s time for our elected officials to put safety and security first and empower us to separate violent offenders from non-violent offenders,” said Benny Boscio Jr., president of the Correction Officers Benevolent Association.

Read more here.

NY1 – City Council Moves to End Solitary Confinement

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By Courtney Gross

Originally published by NY1 News on November 30, 2020.

“Let’s end solitary confinement all together,” Mayor de Blasio declared at the end of June from City Hall.

It’s been five months, and last week there were about 102 inmates locked in their cells for much of the day.

Now, the City Council is taking up the proposal.

“Solitary confinement as we know it will come to an end as we see it on Rikers island,” Queens Councilman Daniel Dromm told NY1 in an interview on Monday.

He introduced legislation to end the use of solitary confinement in city jails. The bill would allow correction officers to isolate inmates, but only for four hours to de-escalate immediate conflicts.

Currently, solitary confinement, sometimes called punitive segregation, keeps inmates locked in their cells for the vast majority of the day.

The new City Council proposal still allows the city to keep inmates in other types of restrictive housing. Under the City Council proposal, inmates in restrictive housing could leave their cells for 10 hours a day. Currently in similar housing units on Rikers, those inmates leave their cells for seven hours.

Supporters of the push, like Dromm, say there are other ways to punish detainees on Rikers.

“They need to come up with those alternatives: taking away commissary, restricting phone calls, whatever it may be,” Dromm said. “They have other things they can use to deal with that.”

Not surprisingly, the correction officers union disagrees.

“We have to have a mechanism in place to be able to segregate those inmates who are violent towards correction officers and towards nonviolent inmates,” said Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association President Benny Boscio.

Boscio says officers need to use solitary confinement to punish unruly detainees on Rikers Island. Otherwise, his team gets hurt.

The union started a new social media campaign last week to try to convince City Council to reverse course, detailing horrible violence against its members and targeting the council speaker.

“Our legislature has sacrificed us,” Boscio said. “Name a bill that Corey Johnson has put forth that benefits correction officers?”

Boscio had been a part of a working group created by the de Blasio administration this summer to come up with recommendations on how solitary confinement could be eliminated. Boscio left the group, unhappy with where it was going.

The city’s jail oversight and regulatory board, the Board of Correction, has received recommendations from that group and is working on new rules to end solitary confinement. Those rules could be approved while the council moves forward its legislation as well.

No matter what, it appears to be something Mayor de Blasio now wants to happen. A spokesperson for de Blasio said his office looked forward to working with City Council on how to put an end to solitary confinement.

See more here.

Gay City News: City Council Legislation Would Require Intersex Education, Outreach

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Out gay City Councilmember Daniel Dromm has proposed legislation aimed at informing doctors and parents or guardians of intersex children about medically-unnecessary interventions.
NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL/ WILLIAM ALATRISTE

By Matt Tracy

Originally published in Gay City News on October 27, 2020.

The New York City Council will hold a hearing at 10 a.m. on October 28 on legislation that would require the city’s health department to create an intersex-inclusive outreach campaign intended to educate doctors, parents, and guardians about best medical practices regarding a child born with intersex traits.

The educational information would address medically-unnecessary treatments and interventions that are often performed on children who are intersex, or born with reproductive systems or anatomy not fitting the standard definition of male or female. There is a long history of intersex individuals being forced to undergo surgeries intended to align their bodies with male or female anatomy, but most of those surgeries are deemed unnecessary — and many intersex folks, when they are older, have said the surgeries did not align their bodies with their gender identity.

A summary of the bill, which was first proposed last October by out gay Councilmember Daniel Dromm of Queens and has 10 co-sponsors, states that the material would explain whether medical interventions could be “delayed until the infant is older and can voice thoughts about the procedure.”

In addition to educating parents and doctors, the bill also calls on the health department to “identify outreach partners and opportunities,” though the bill’s language did not elaborate further on that point.

In June of last year, then-City Health Commissioner Dr. Oxiris Barbot and Human Rights Commissioner Carmelyn P . Malalis penned an op-ed for ozy.com calling on doctors to respect the rights of intersex folks “and only perform surgery when the health of a child is at imminent risk or it is consensual.”

At the state level, out gay State Senator Brad Hoylman of Manhattan announced legislation last November requiring informed consent from an intersex minor before doctors can proceed with any non-medically necessary treatment or intervention.

Dromm posted a tweet about the hearing on October 26, Intersex Awareness Day, which he said is “a time to center Intersex people across the globe.”

“It is also a time to commit ourselves to advocating for this community wherever and however we can,” Dromm said in his tweet. “I introduced Intro 1478, legislation that will equip parents of infants born with intersex traits with the knowledge they need to protect their babies from unnecessary and harmful surgeries. Parents of infants with intersex traits are often forced to rely on quackery masquerading as medical science, leading them to make decisions that inflict life-long physical and psychological trauma on their children. When enacted, my bill will provide these parents with the sound medical info they need to make healthy choices for their babies.”

On Twitter, activist Cecilia Gentili brought up Dromm’s legislation and posted a series of tweets featuring testimonials collected by interACT, a policy and media organization that encouraged Hoylman to propose his legislation last year.

One of those testimonials came from an individual named Hanne Gaby, who said, “I was born as a perfectly healthy intersex child, and yet the medical establishment used fear tactics to convince my parents that I needed to be altered… this led to unimaginably traumatic surgeries and experiences as well as irreversible complications that have broken my trust in the medical establishment.”

The bill’s co-sponsors are out gay Councilmembers Jimmy Van Bramer of Queens and Carlos Menchaca of Brooklyn as well as their colleagues Carlina Rivera, Helen Rosenthal, Ben Kallos, and Margaret Chin of Manhattan; Diana Ayala of the Bronx and Manhattan; Farah Louis of Brooklyn; and Costa Constantinides and Donovan Richards of Queens.

The bill is one of several pieces of legislation on the agenda during a joint hearing between the Committee on Health and the Committee on Women and Gender Equity. The committees will also hear proposals to establish a committee on female genital mutilation and cutting, to create an advisory board for gender equity in hospitals, and to require multiple city agencies to conduct culturally competent training on recognizing the signs of female genital mutilation and cutting.

Read more here.

Queens County Politics – Showdown Over Tax Lien Sale Continues

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By Clarissa Sosin

Originally published in Queens County Politics on September 11, 2020

Mayor Bill de Blasio blew off a New York City Council Finance Committee hearing on Thursday discussing the city’s tax lien sale, a sign of the administration’s frustration over attempts to stall the sale.

The no-show by the mayor comes after local lawmakers spent weeks pressuring him to not go forward with the tax lien sale.

“This would have been an excellent opportunity for the administration to explain the rationale behind this policies and clear up any confusion that may have arisen as a result of the shifting plans,” said City Councilmember Daniel Dromm (D-Elmhurst, Jackson Heights), Chair of the Finance Committee, at the start of the hearing. “Unfortunately the administration has chosen not to send anyone to provide testimony or answer any of our questions.”

The hearing was about a resolution supporting legislation in the Assembly and Senate that, if passed, would postpone the city’s tax lien sale until after the coronavirus pandemic ends.

The mayor’s office did not respond to requests for comment for why they did not send a representative to the hearing.

The effort to delay was led by a contingent of elected officials from Southeast, Queens, which has three of the five city council districts with the most properties listed for the sale. The sale would disproportionately affect homeowners of color at the time when they are already struggling because of the pandemic, the lawmakers said. Their concern is primarily for small homeowners with one to three family homes, who make up around half of the list.

The mayor stood firmly by the sale date, which was supposed to take place last Friday, Sept 4. But, Governor Andrew Cuomo swooped in last minute with an executive orderpostponing it until after Oct. 4 with the option to postpone it longer. Minutes later, the mayor issued his own statement announcing that the sale was rescheduled for September 25, more than a week before the executive order allows.

The local resolution supporting the state level legislation was introduced by City Councilmember Adrienne Adams (D-Jamaica, Richmond Hill, Rochdale Village, South Ozone Park), one of the lawmakers who led the push to get the sale postponed past the Sept. 4 date.

“Are we left to believe that the administration intends to move forward in violation of the governor’s order?” Adams said in her testimony during the hearing.

In response to questions about when the tax lien sale would be taking place, and whether or not the administration thought there was ample time to do outreach to property owners and purge the list of properties that shouldn’t be on it, a representative from the Department of Finance said that the executive order was being carefully examined.

Messaging online about the date of the tax lien sale is unclear.

As of Friday afternoon, the 311 portal about the tax lien sale said that debts must be paid off by Sept. 24, indicating that the sale will take place on Sept. 25. The Department of Finance’s website also says that debts must be paid by Sept. 24 but it also acknowledges the governor’s executive order prohibiting tax lien sales before Oct. 4.

“I think the governor’s executive order takes precedent,” said Assemblymember David Weprin (D-Richmond Hill, Fresh Meadows), the sponsor of the Assembly bill, in an interview before the hearing. “It just seems unfair during the pandemic at all that we should be having any tax lien sale.”

The city needs funds but the amount the sale will raise is minimal compared to the damage it will cause the small property owners who’s liens are on the list, he said later in the hearing.

Attorney General Letitia James said that she saw the way tax lien sales destroy communities during her time in the city council. If the sale goes on before the Oct. 4 deadline, she’ll stop it.

“If any city moves to sell liens before that date, my office will take immediate legal action to enforce the executive order,” she said.

In the meantime, Senator Leroy Comrie’s (D-Briarwood, Cambria Heights, Hollis, Hollis Hills, Hillcrest, Jamaica, Jamaica Estates, Jamaica Hills, Kew Gardens, Laurelton, Queens Village, Rosedale, South Jamaica, Springfield Gardens, St. Albans) office planning for what they said is the worst case scenario –– that the sale happens on Sept. 25. They and the other electeds are doing as much outreach as they can so property owners can settle their debt with the city or enter payment plans before the sale date.

“We’re trying to do everything we can to inform as many people as we can,” Comrie said.

Read more here.

Queens Daily Eagle: Dromm, Council call on state to fund sickle cell care

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COUNCILMEMBER DANIEL DROMM SPONSORED A RESOLUTION CALLING ON STATE LAWMAKERS TO PASS LEGISLATION FUNDING SICKLE CELL CARE AND TRAINING. 

By David Brand

Originally published by the Queens Daily Eagle on March 2, 2020

Three Queens lawmakers have led the state and city to effort bolster treatment for sickle cell disease, prompting the city council on Thursday to press Albany to pass funding bills this legislative session.

Councilmember Daniel Dromm, of Jackson Heights, sponsored a resolution urging state lawmakers to pass legislation that would coordinate services, boost community outreach and establish mental health services. The legislation was introduced by State Sen James Sanders and Assemblymember Alicia Hyndman, both of Southeast Queens.

“Sickle cell disease is a public health crisis,” Dromm said. “Sickle-cell related conditions highlight health disparities in our system as communities of color are disproportionately affected.”

Sickle cell disease is a hereditary condition characterized by crescent-shaped red blood cells — resembling sickles — that block the flow of oxygen to vital organs through the bloodstream. The condition causes bouts of excruciating and eventually, death. Women with sickle cell have an average life expectancy of 42; men, 38.

The illness almost exclusively affects people of African descent, leading to treatment disparities informed by racism and poverty. People with sickle cell disease — mostly black or African American — are less likely to have health insurance or access to consistent and adequate medical care.

About 10,000 people in New York City are diagnosed with sickle cell disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

Read more here.

Queens County Politics: Dromm Calls for DOE to Recognize Diwali

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OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

By Michael Rock

Originally published in Queens County Politics on March 1, 2020

In an attempt to better recognize New York’s South Asian community, City Councilmember Daniel Dromm (D-Jackson Heights, Elmhurst, East Elmhurst) this week called on the Department of Education (DOE) to close public schools during Diwali.

Diwali, a new year festival that commemorates the victory of good over evil, is the most important Hindu holiday. Sikhs, Jains, and some Buddhists also observe it. Major celebrations occur not only in India, but also in Nepal and Caribbean countries with large South Asian diasporic communities, such as Trinidad.

“Currently, New York City public schools are closed on several religious holidays for Christians, Jews and Muslims. However, despite the large number of Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, and Buddhists living in NYC, Diwali is not currently recognized as a school holiday in the City’s public school system,” said Dromm.

“While Chancellor’s Regulations allow excused absences for religious observances, no one should have to choose between celebrating an important holiday or being absent from school, which can result in observant students falling behind their peers.  NYC must follow the other districts that have adopted Diwali into their school holiday calendars, including Passaic and South Brunswick in New Jersey, and Syosset in Long Island. In NYC, the most diverse city in the United States, inclusion and acceptance of all cultures are central values, and the incorporation of Diwali as a public school holiday would serve as an important embodiment of this inclusion,” he added.

City Councilmember Carlina Rivera (D-East Village, Gramercy Park, Kips Bay, Lower East Side, Murray Hill, Rose Hill) expressed similar sentiments and implied that the holiday’s themes are particularly relevant in the Trump era.

“Children should not be put in a position where they are forced to choose between celebrating a deeply meaningful holiday with their family and attending school. And with more than a billion celebrants, Diwali is one of the largest religious observances worldwide, as well as a cultural holiday for many South Asians regardless of religious background,” said Rivera.

“We are calling for Diwali to be recognized as a school holiday because now more than ever it is imperative that we honor holidays like this that commemorate and celebrate the triumph of good over evil and light over darkness.”

Sudha Acharya, Executive Director of the South Asian Council for Social Services, welcomed Dromm’s proposal. “There are so many Indian, Nepali, and Indo-Caribbean students here. I think it makes sense for it to be recognized,” she told this reporter.

This will be so good for the children who go to school to know that their culture, their religion, is also recognized.”

City Councilmember Justin Brannan (D-Bay Ridge) agreed, recalling his successful efforts to get the DOE to recognize Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. “I was proud to be a part of the coalition that fought to have New York become the nation’s first major city to close its public schools in observance of the two most sacred Muslim holy days. Now it’s time to add Diwali, the most important Hindu holiday,” he said. “

“The festival of lights is celebrated by more than 200,000 people of South Asian and Indo-Caribbean descent in New York City. If the DOE is truly committed to equality and respect for families and children of all faiths, they will get this done,” he added.

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