USANewsOnline.Com Desk, New York, NY: Today, members of the New York City Council Progressive Caucus, alongside environmental and criminal justice advocates, rallied on the steps of City Hall to announce the launch of the caucus's 2023 legislative platform. The “Progressive Agenda” is a wide-reaching legislative platform comprising 20 bills addressing issues from affordable housing and police accountability to zero waste commitments. This agenda aims to address the various intersecting crises affecting working-class New Yorkers, from the lack of affordable housing, the continued criminalization of Black and brown New Yorkers by the NYPD, and the deeply unequal and uneven recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. This comprehensive agenda proposes common-sense and popular solutions to these intersecting crises to build a city where working-class, immigrant, and New Yorkers of color cannot just survive but thrive.
“Working-class New Yorkers, immigrant New Yorkers, and Black and brown New Yorkers are buckling under the weight of multiple intersecting crises in our City. They are demanding a real comprehensive response for their City government, and where the Mayor is failing to act, the Council will step in,” said Co-Chair of the Progressive Caucus, Council Member Shahana Hanif. “The Progressive Agenda is a bold strategy to build a City that is fair, just, and accountable to the millions of people who live here. I’m so proud to be launching this platform with my progressive colleagues, and with their support, this time next year, we’ll be celebrating its full passage.”
“Our Progressive Agenda is a vision for what New York City can be — a more just and equitable City,” said Co-Chair of the Progressive Caucus, Council Member Lincoln Restler. “The Progressive Caucus is home to 35 committed Council Members, the largest ever, and together we can realize transformative change and the City we all deserve.”
“Decades of disinvestment and broken policies have resulted in a multi-layered crisis that makes daily life for many New Yorkers unjust and unsustainable, especially for communities of color and the working poor. Our work in advancing the Progressive Agenda is to ensure that all New Yorkers have just and equitable access to affordable housing, financial security, clean air and streets, basic sick leave for all employees, and an inhumane criminal justice system,” said Vice Co-Chair of the Progressive Caucus, Council Member Jennifer Gutiérrez. “These issues are complex and too often ignored - which is why I’m so proud to stand with my colleagues in the Progressive Caucus to shine a light on what justice looks like and how we’re providing solutions to meet this City’s needs.”
“We were elected with a mandate to bring bold leadership to City Hall," said Vice Co-Chair of the Progressive Caucus, Council Member Carmen De La Rosa. "Expanding gig workers' protections with Earned Safe and Sick Time and requiring reports for NYPD accountability are just steps toward keeping all New Yorkers safe. We are navigating a city with complex, multi-layered issues, and they require equally multi-layered solutions. I am proud to stand with the largest Progressive Caucus we have ever had at the Council, and I know we can move this agenda upward together."
With 35 members, the Council’s Progressive Caucus is the largest and strongest in the legislative body’s history. This policy platform, addressing a wide range of issues affecting New Yorkers, is a bold legislative agenda reflecting the diverse makeup of the caucus. With coordinated efforts and the support of the caucus, this platform has the numbers to pass in full by the end of next year with the support of legislative leadership.
“Progressive leaders in our city have a comprehensive vision for a better and more equitable city, as well as a plan for how to get it done,” said Public Advocate Jumaane Williams. “I’m proud that my bill to finally, truly end solitary confinement in New York City is a key priority for this caucus, and look forward to passing this bill and creating a better future for everyone in our city. From making our streets cleaner, to building a greener city, to housing everyone, these legislative priorities will make New York a better place to live, work, and raise a family.”
“I’m very proud to sponsor the CORE Act, the Fair Chance for Housing Act, and the Public Banking Package as a part of this year’s agenda from the Progressive Caucus,” said Majority Leader Keith Powers. “As we envision our city’s future, this legislation will undoubtedly make our city safer, cleaner, and more equitable for all New Yorkers. I am glad the Progressive Caucus is supporting these important bills, and look forward to a stronger, fairer New York City.”
"I wholeheartedly support this legislative agenda full of vital ideas that will make this a safer, healthier city for all New Yorkers, including my bill requiring the NYPD to report on complaints of misconduct,” said Council Member Tiffany Cabán. “From public banking to police accountability to permanently affordable housing, this agenda advances true public safety and enhances the pillars of dignified lives for all our loved ones, neighborhoods, and communities. The Progressive Caucus is taking the lead on building the New York we deserve, and I'm proud to play my part in it."
“I commend the leadership of the Council’s Progressive Caucus for their focus on building a policy agenda that will create a fairer and more just New York City. The caucus is united in the fight to produce and preserve affordable housing, expand healthcare access, achieve social and economic equity, protect and advance civil rights, and much more,” said Council Member Carlina Rivera. “I am proud to carry two bills that are included on the Progressive Caucus’ priority list. The Community Opportunity to Purchase Act, known as COPA, would give non-profit affordable housing and community developers, Community Land Trusts, and other qualified organizations a right of first refusal on apartment buildings or other properties listed for sale in New York City. Introduction 549 would end the brutal and intolerable practice of solitary confinement in City jails, which will make jails safer for everyone. I look forward to working with colleagues to push forward the caucus’ platform for progressive change.”
“The Zero Waste Legislative Package moves New York City toward a more sustainable future by massively increasing organic composting accessibility and capacity across all communities, while requiring the City to meet our 2030 waste diversion goals,” said Council Member Sandy Nurse. “We have the support of the Progressive Caucus and a supermajority of the City Council – we all recognize Zero Waste policies as a cornerstone of our efforts to tackle the climate crisis. These new policies will help reduce the city’s waste exports costs, create new green job opportunities, and achieve environmental justice. And combined with the rest of the Progressive Caucus platform, we will work toward a more fair, just, and equitable City. We have Zero Time to Waste!”
"I did not run for office to let the bygone era of stop-and-frisk return," said Council Member Alexa Avilés. "By passing Intro 586 and Intro 538, we will know just how many stops and searches that NYPD conducts in our communities. If we don't know how the NYPD spends its time and resources, how can we do our job as a Council of providing oversight or budget transparency?"
“This Council’s Progressive Caucus is the largest, most diverse that City Hall’s Chambers has ever seen. Our existence is truly emblematic of this governing body’s commitment to advancing innovative solutions that push our City forward, untethering us from decades of community disinvestment, and ensuring New York remains a beacon of hope,” said Council Member Crystal Hudson. “Following the NYPD’s use of cars to attack protesters in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, the City was unable to gather how frequently such means are used, leaving a large gap in accountability — with Int. 0256, the City mandates the NYPD include the use of a motor vehicle in its ‘use of force’ reporting. "Additionally, Int. 0538 empowers the City with a better understanding of the NYPD's practice of asking to search community members and their possessions by mandating the NYPD report on how often those searches are refused and including the use of consent searches for DNA collection in the reporting. This is increasingly important against the backdrop of an Administration and police commissioner that have voiced their support of ‘broken windows policing’ and reinstated the notoriously harmful plain-clothes unit. Both these bills are important steps towards ensuring our City is a safer, more equitable place for all of us.”
“The challenges facing our city demand bold progressive action. The Council’s Progressive Caucus exists to generate necessary new ideas and fight in unison to implement them,” said Council Member Chi Ossé. “I am thrilled to see this agenda rise to the moment, and I am especially emboldened to see my bill Intro 277, which will make New Yorkers more safe and protect our First Amendment rights by barring the NYPD’s Strategic Response Group from responding to nonviolent protests.”
“As a member of the Progressive Caucus I am proud to work to advance our shared agenda to prohibit discrimination, establish greater government transparency, expand access to Safe and Sick time (a bill that took me years to pass) and create more affordable housing,” said Council Member Gale Brewer. “My Int 714, which would create the first ever Land Bank in New York City. The Land Bank would buy available properties and work with experienced community land trusts or nonprofit developers to build more affordable housing. We need every tool at our disposal to confront our housing crisis. A Land Bank is a vital part of that tool kit.”
Our Black and Brown communities have been disproportionately affected by decades of ineffective policy ideas and continued divestment,” said Council Member Amanda Farías. “The challenges of the last few years have exacerbated these issues in communities across this City, from The East Bronx to South Brooklyn. As elected officials we need to support our hard working New Yorkers with holistic policy solutions. Progressive Caucus members like myself are committed to advocating for increased access to affordable housing, a public banking option, proactively addressing the climate crisis, and having more transparency in and from our Police Department. I am proud to work with my colleagues in the Progressive Caucus to continue creating inclusive policy that will improve the quality of life, health, and safety of all New Yorkers."
"In New York City, rents are rising, Black and Brown New Yorkers are facing increased criminalization, and our communities have continued to suffer from the devastating impacts of the pandemic,” said Sochie Nnaemeka, Director of the New York Working Families Party. “Last year, however, we elected the most progressive and diverse City Council in history, and we have the power to move our agenda for a safer, more liveable New Yorker forward. The Working Families Party is proud to fight alongside the Progressive Caucus in support of this package of bills that will ensure working people in this City can thrive."
“The continued discrimination against New Yorkers with arrest or criminal records denies them the benefits of secure housing and forces them into the instability of living on the street, living in shelter or returning to prison,” said Robert Desir, staff attorney with the Civil Law Reform Unit at The Legal Aid Society. “The City’s shelter system and local jails should not serve as a revolving door for people struggling because they simply lack a home to call their own. The cloud of a criminal conviction should not hang over one’s head for a lifetime. The Legal Aid Society lauds the City Council’s Progressive Caucus for championing this critical legislation and we urge both ends of City Hall to advance it post haste.”
"Community Voices Heard is proud to stand with the Progressive Caucus today, and we applaud this strong legislative agenda," said Juanita O, Lewis, Executive Director of Community Voices Heard. "We know firsthand how the criminal legal system has unjustly impacted Black and brown New Yorkers, and we know that excluding people from housing when they come home does not make our communities safer. We're so glad to see the Progressive Caucus championing the Fair Chance for Housing Act to end housing discrimination against our neighbors – frankly, it's past time for New York to implement this important legislation. It's also past time for New York to end solitary confinement, establish a just COVID-19 recovery plan, and create permanently affordable housing. We look forward to working with the Progressive Caucus to move this agenda from legislation to action."
“The City Council must pass, and the Mayor must sign, Intro. No. 549 immediately to end solitary confinement and ensure all people have full days of out-of-cell time, programming, and human engagement,” said Candie, survivor of solitary confinement on Rikers and member of the #HALTsolitary Campaign and Jails Action coalition, “Solitary confinement is absolute torture, whether its for five hours or five years. There is no other name to call it. I’m living proof. I was wrongfully arrested and spent over three years in solitary confinement before I was acquitted on all charges. I was raped, tortured, abused, and starved. I was denied programs and recreation, and even sanitary napkins. Imagine you are a woman bleeding and they don’t give you sanitary napkins or a shower. I suffer from several mental illnesses because of solitary confinement. I tried to cut myself in solitary confinement with a broken light. They didn’t care. I had an officer tell me, ‘don’t cut across, go up and down.’ I had another officer tell me, ‘go ahead and hang yourself, we have eight hours before the body gets cold.’ I have nightmares every night because of it. If you think solitary confinement is normal, then you have no heart. I will never be the same. So many others will never be the same. Kalief Browder, Layleen Polanco, Brandon Rodriguez, Elijah Muhammand, and so many others have been killed by solitary confinement. Lawmakers must end it now.”
“The Progressive Caucus is rightly answering the call for bold, community-driven solutions to address entrenched inequality in our city,” said Deyanira Del Rio, Co-Director of New Economy Project, which coordinates the Public Bank NYC and NYC Community Land Initiative coalitions. “This legislative package will advance racial equity and a just recovery, by paving the way for a municipal public bank dedicated to reinvesting in Black and brown neighborhoods, and by giving New York's growing community land trust movement new tools to bring land and housing into community ownership. We look forward to working with the Caucus to win passage of these vital bills this session."