Tag Archives: NYC Council

Spectrum News reports: Following the city’s bumpy rollout of monkeypox vaccines this summer, the New York City Council LGBTQIA+ Caucus unveiled legislation Thursday morning aimed at combating the outbreak across the five boroughs. If passed, the package, which consists of three bills, would require the city to establish a multi-pronged monkeypox response plan, create an education and outreach strategy, ensure …

The New York Daily News reports: A Staten Island judge struck down a city law Monday that would give some noncitizen New Yorkers the right to vote in local elections, ruling that the expansion of electoral participation would violate the state constitution. The so-called Local Law 11, which was adopted in January, would let green card holders and some immigrants …

Gothamist reports: When you gotta go, you gotta go. But in New York City, the question is often: Where? The five boroughs have among the fewest public bathrooms per capita of any big city in the United States. Now some City Council members have introduced legislation that would require the Adams administration to identify at least one new restroom location …

NY1 reports: The outdoor dining sheds that changed the landscape of New York City’s streets during the pandemic may soon get packed up for good. During a City Council hearing on Tuesday, Department of Transportation officials said that a revised outdoor dining program likely won’t feature sheds at all. “We don’t envision sheds in the permanent program, we’re not planning …

The New York Daily News reports: In God — but not vaccine mandates — she trusts. Controversial Queens Councilwoman Vickie Paladino has been granted a waiver on “religious” grounds to attend City Council meetings in-person despite refusing to disclose whether she’s vaccinated against COVID-19, her son said Thursday. She could not be reached for comment, but was spotted walking into …

NY1 reports: City Council member Vickie Paladino told NY1 she’ll never disclose if she’s vaccinated against COVID-19. “It’s just nobody’s business whether I am or not. See, it’s called medical freedom,” she said, stressing that she’s anti-mandate, not anti-vaccine. “I don’t need to show you my papers. This is not Nazi Germany,” the newly elected Queens Republican said. That staunch …

Gothamist reports: The new law took effect at the stroke of midnight Sunday, 30-days after it was passed by the City Council. It will enable anyone who has legally been living in the city for 30-days to register and vote in local elections. Mayor Eric Adams has spoken out in support of the legislation in past, but his most recent …

Courthouse News reports: With a 40-7 vote by the city council, New York City became the largest U.S. city to bar the use of natural gas for building heat, setting a significant precedent for other cities and states to follow as part of a nationwide effort to reduce dependence on fossil fuels. The legislation, which will ban natural gas hookups …

The New York Times reports: The city council here on Thursday approved a measure that will allow immigrants who are not U.S. citizens to vote for mayor and other key municipal positions, a historic move that is igniting threats of legal challenges from Republicans and hopes from Democrats that other cities will follow suit. The council voted 33 to 14 …

Gothamist reports: Restaurants will now be allowed to add the “COVID-19 Recovery Charge,” up to 10% of a customer’s total bill. It passed in a 46-to-2 vote on Wednesday, and as of now, it will be permitted until 90 days after full indoor dining is once again permitted. “This bill will give restaurants the freedom they need to increase revenue …

Gothamist reports: A failed attempt to secede is still well-regarded in some quarters of the South, a century-and-a-half after the Civil War. And the failed attempt to secede is apparently still well-regarded in some quarters of New York’s southern-most corner, a generation-and-a-half after the last breakaway attempt failed. So says Staten Island City Councilman Joe Borelli. “Secession is wildly popular …

Courthouse News reports: The New York City Council voted overwhelmingly today to ban the sale of flavored vape products, responding to a public health crisis where sweet-smelling mango and mint products are thought to target teen users. “New York cannot and will not wait,” said Council Speaker Corey Johnson, himself a former smoker who quit with the help of e-cigarettes. …

Gothamist reports: Earlier this year, we reported that the city council was considering a bill banning the sale of foie gras in New York City on the grounds that it’s cruel to physically pump fowl full of feed before leading them to slaughter. Today, with over one hundred animal rights activists waiting outside, the New York City Council passed the …

Courthouse News reports: As the clock ticks on a deadline for the New York City Council to vote on a controversial new borough jails plan, legislators voted Thursday to pass a proposal they say would force lawmakers to shutter the notorious Rikers Island jail complex by 2026. The council faces an Oct. 17 vote over whether to build four new …

Crain’s Business New York reports: Preacher-turned-politician Ruben Diaz Sr. might be an authority on the Book of Numbers, but the accounts of his nonprofit don’t add up. The Bronx councilman, an ex-state senator and leading candidate to replace retiring U.S. Rep. Jose Serrano, advertises himself on his government website as the former head of a sprawling network of elder care …

The New York Daily News reports: He may be a misogynist, but he’s no snitch. Bronx Councilman Ruben Diaz Sr. interrupted a mandatory City Council sensitivity session on Wednesday by loudly vowing never to report sexual harassment, lest he be a “rat,” several lawmakers in attendance told the Daily News. “He just started screaming and shouting out: ‘So we’re supposed …

The New York Times reports: Most employers in New York City would no longer be able to force job applicants to take drug tests for marijuana use, under a bill overwhelmingly approved this week by the City Council. If the drug-screening law is enacted, it would put New York in relatively uncharted territory. Several drug policy and employment experts said …

Patch reports: The city councilman who recently drew fire for his inflammatory remarks about gay people says he will run for Congress to give conservatives and moderates a voice in Washington. Councilman Ruben Diaz Sr. said he will run to replace U.S. Rep. Jose Serrano, who is not seeking re-election in 2020. The Bronx Democrat — who drew widespread criticism …

The New York Post reports: Council Speaker Corey Johnson said Monday that Bronx Councilman Ruben Diaz Sr. should step down for making an inflammatory remark about the gay community. “I think he should resign. It’s not up to me, but I think what he said is totally unacceptable,” Johnson said during a press briefing in Albany, where he testified on …

NY 1 reports: Rubén Díaz Sr. says he faced rejection from his colleagues the moment he got to the City Council last year because “over there, everybody is controlled by the homosexual community.” “When I get to the City Council, I find that the City Council is controlled — most council members out of 51 council members — over there, …