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New City Council Bills -- Commuting, Smoking, and Drinking


At each of the City Council's stated meetings, council members introduce bills, most of which will never become laws (for the process by which bills become laws, click here). As a regular feature, Gotham Gazette discusses some of the legislation proposed at each meeting.

17 bills were introduced by the City Council at its most recent stated meeting on September 13, many of which addressed issues related to commuting, tobacco or alcohol abuse.

 

TRANSPORTATION

 

Council Member John Liu introduced two transportation bills.

The first, Intro 429 would give city employees the opportunity to use pre-tax earnings to pay for transportation. The law would also apply to employers with 50 or more employees in the city. Federal law currently requires that these employees are offered the benefit on parking. The new city law would expand the benefits to include costs such as unlimited ride Metrocards.

Liu is also concerned about illegal commuter vans, which were likely responsible for several hit-and-runs in Brooklyn and Queens last year. Intro 430 calls for the city-run commuter vans to be painted orange so that they are identifiable to both commuters and authorities as legitimate city vehicles.

 

DRINKING AND SMOKING

 

Studies have shown that smokers who have their first cigarette before the age of 18 have a one in three chance of becoming regular smokers, and young smokers also have a more difficult time when trying to quit, according to the office of Joel Rivera, head of the council's health committee.

Continuing the city’s efforts in recent years to cut down on smoking, Rivera proposed Intro 433, which would outlaw the sale of flavored tobacco products. Activists called for a ban on candy-flavored cigarettes this summer, as part of a campaign to curb teen smoking.

The bill would levy fines up to $2,000 on vendors who made such sales and suspend their cigarette licenses. Rivera previously introduced legislation to raise the age to purchase cigarettes to 21. Both bills will be discussed at a health committee meeting in the first week of October.

At the September 13 meeting, the council also proposed resolutions aimed at increasing control over alcohol consumption.

Councilmember Melinda Katz proposed Resolution 500, which calls upon the State Legislature to create an alcoholic beverage control board run by the city. City communities have argued in a memo to the legislature that the State Liquor Authority “has too few inspectors to properly provide enforcement,” and “issues liquor licenses without community input.” Katz's resolution calls on the state to create a City Liquor Authority with the authority to license and regulate alcoholic beverage businesses and provide “local solutions to problems that most frequently arise in [the city].”

Katz also introduced Resolution 501, which urges the state to ban nightclubs from offering “bottle service”, which requires customers to buy expensive bottles of hard liquor in order to gain access to the club or to exclusive areas. The resolution argues that bottle service adds excessive drinking.

The resolution also called upon the state to tighten laws regarding alcohol consumption in general, but especially by minors.

 

9/11 Health: Help at Last?


The big news story on the fifth anniversary of 9/11 seems to be the discovery of the "abandoned heroes" and forgotten victims of the attacks. A New York Post reporter wrote about the "shocking truth": many people had gotten seriously ill from the poisonous dust that the collapse of the Twin Towers spread across lower Manhattan.

While the newly-published statistics may be shocking, the wider truth shouldn't be. None of this is really news. The first newspaper article citing a serious health risk appeared in October 2001. The thousands of people who have gotten sick – no one is sure exactly how many – have been talking about their problems since immediately after the Twin Towers collapse, while medical experts have published a wealth of material pointing to a connection between 9/11 and long-term health problems. But these voices were lost in previous anniversaries, obscured by the public ceremonies mourning those who died in the attacks themselves and the intense focus on the glass-and-steel rebuilding of Ground Zero.

This year, though, is proving to be much different.

In the first week of September, Mt. Sinai Medical Center released a major clinical study of 9/11 rescue workers, providing what Representative Carolyn Maloney described as a "concrete scientific link between the exposure to the toxins of Ground Zero and health problems." Hours later, Mayor Michel Bloomberg announced a wide-ranging plan addressing 9/11 health concerns, and within two days Representative Jerrold Nadler proposed federal legislation calling for free health care coverage for anyone whose health was affected by the attacks.

There are still more questions than answers. The scientific picture is far from complete. There is, for instance, no firm information about the health of people who live or work near Ground Zero. And while there has been the promise of action on all levels of government, it has yet to be seen whether the words will be followed with action.

Skeptics are also withholding their judgment about some of the high- profile pronouncements from government officials that help is on the way.

"You probably won't hear so much on September 12," said Catherine McVay Hughes, a member of lower Manhattan's Community Board One who has long pushed for a better response from all levels of government.

WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT 9/11 HEALTH PROBLEMS

The past several years have been filled with ominous signs for people who worked at Ground Zero, and for those who live and work nearby. The lung capacity of firefighters who worked at Ground Zero decreased an amount equivalent to over a decade's worth of aging in the year following 9/11. People who live downtown have been showing increased respiratory problems, and those with asthma have suffered from more severe symptoms. In the months after 9/11, the babies born at hospitals in lower Manhattan were smaller than average.

Those who worked at Ground Zero or in nearby offices developed a new condition: "World Trade Center cough." Many were forced to cut back on work, or retire. This January, police detective James Zadroga died of respiratory disease, becoming the first person whose death was officially attributed to a problem caused by work at Ground Zero.

Days before the fifth anniversary of 9/11, Mt. Sinai Medical Center published the findings of its monitoring program. Mt. Sinai's study looked at about 10,000 of the 40,000 first responders who worked at Ground Zero. Seventy percent of the Ground Zero workers the center tested between 2002 and 2004 reported respiratory problems while working at the site. Of those, 60 percent have had persistent respiratory problems.

These results are proof, many say, that the dust from 9/11 can be directly linked to serious health problems. Mt. Sinai's study, however, does not tell the whole story. It did not screen for cancer, or psychological problems. And its focus was entirely on rescue workers at Ground Zero – not people who returned to work in offices in lower Manhattan, or those who moved back into apartments nearby.

"The lower Manhattan residents are the forgotten of the forgotten," said Yuichi Tamano of Beyond Ground Zero, a group pushing for recognition of the wider health problems related to 9/11.

The city has established a registry to track the health of 71,000 people who may have been affected by the collapse of the towers. Nearly half of the adults, a group that includes first responders, office workers, and residents of lower Manhattan, have reported sinus or nasal problems. Over half of those who survived the collapse say their respiratory problems are worsening.

This registry is the best attempt to realize the full scope of 9/11-related health problems, but critics say it is not very good. It is based on of people's own assessments of their health, they say, and registry researchers often don't ask relevant questions. Environmental activists, members of the city's congressional delegation, and downtown residents all say that there is a health crisis that extends beyond those who worked at Ground Zero. But the dimensions of that crisis remain cloudy.

GOVERNMENT ACTION AT LAST?

Julian Felipe stood across the street from Ground Zero in early September, pointing out the buildings from which he cleaned dust in the fall of 2001. Like many of the people called upon to clean these offices, Felipe moved here from another country (in his case Mexico). He speaks no English, and does not have health insurance. And, like many of those who worked alongside him, Felipe doesn't do physical work any more. He is too sick.

Felipe speaks quietly, his voice nearly drowned out by the chanting of hundreds of people surrounding him, his fellow participants in a rally for federal action to address their health problems.

"What we want is for the government to listen to us, to see the sicknesses that we have. Those who came to work here didn't know the problems we would have now," he said in Spanish. "If we would have known, we wouldn't have come to work."

Felipe's request – that the government simply acknowledge that there is a 9/11 health problem – is a testament to how little has been done. Now officials say they are planning to make up for lost time.

For his part, Felipe is skeptical. "They have told us before they would help us," he said. "But they have not."

City Hall

New York City officials have been slow to acknowledge that the collapse of the Twin Towers posed a lasting danger to city residents. Then-mayor Rudolph Giuliani encouraged people to return downtown. Mayor Michael Bloomberg has been questioning the idea that sicknesses can be directly linked to 9/11. Bloomberg's arguments seem tied to his reluctance to open the city up to widespread 9/11-related workers compensation claims. The city has been contesting many such claims, and has opposed efforts to extend workers compensation benefits for people who worked at Ground Zero.

On the last day of this August, city officials changed their tune when they announced that they would send clinical guidelines to doctors citywide about how to diagnose and treat adults exposed to the collapse of the Twin Towers. There have been calls for such guidelines since late 2001, and there has been no small amount of frustration about the years of delay. Critics say that people's health has suffered as a result. But city officials have argued they had to wait until there was scientific evidence linking the dust to specific diseases.

The release of the guidelines, presumably, was acknowledgement that of such evidence. Within days, though, the city backtracked. "I don't believe that you can say specifically a particular problem came from this particular event," he said.

Early this month, Bloomberg presented a broad plan for tracking and treating 9/11-related health cases – despite his doubts that such cases had to do with 9/11. The city will set aside $16 million to the Health and Hospitals Corporation – the agency that runs the city's public hospitals – to develop a specialty World Trade Center clinic providing free care to Manhattan and Brooklyn residents exposed to 9/11 dust. The clinic is scheduled to open in January 2007.

The city's health department will increase World Trade Center health monitoring, putting aside $12.6 million to do so, and is increasing the staff of its WTC Unit from 7 to 20 employees.

The mayor's office is also creating an internal panel to coordinate city responses to 9/11.

Bloomberg says the city can't be asked to shoulder the burden itself, however. He called for state and federal governments to help fund long-term monitoring and treatment programs.

Bloomberg's inconsistency has confused some who are involved in the issue, but they are hoping that his actions speak louder than his words.

"[The mayor] opened the medical clinic that is going to be open not only to the rescue workers but to residents and small business people," said Suzanne Mattei of Sierra Club. "That's a very significant new development because no government entity has done that."

Others describe the plan as a good first step. But because it lasts for only five years, the program will not be sufficient to deal with long-term health problems. No one believes that the city can confront this issue alone.

Albany

New York State's workers compensation program has been one of the only sources of help for people suffering from 9/11-related health problems. But the state's program has been criticized for denying people from benefits. Mattei's says the state has held people filing claims to an "unreasonably difficult burden of proving that their illness was caused by 9/11 pollution – even though they were healthy before the attack and only became ill after their Ground Zero work."

In any case, the time to apply for such benefits had passed. Those with newly emerging problems were ineligible for state aid.

In August, Governor George Pataki addressed these cases, signing a law that allowing Ground Zero workers more leverage in applying for existing workers compensation benefits. Some praised the law for increasing the benefits available. But it was also criticized for putting the financial burden largely on the city. Others saw it as a minor gesture at a time when an increasing amount of evidence showed that the problems are far worse than initially reported. Others complained that it fails to address the health problems of downtown residents.

The recent revelations about the extent of the health problems are likely to push the issue higher on Albany's list of priorities, said State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.

In early September, Silver said that "it's premature" to decide how the health of residents should be approached, but that a response from some combination of city, state, and federal governments should be forthcoming. He suggested basing such an effort on the Mt. Sinai program for rescue workers.

"It's clearly a major priority for the [next] governor," said Silver. When pressed about who would fund such an effort, Silver said that "it should be funded by everybody."

Washington

The federal government has shouldered much of the blame for the failure to confront post 9/11 health problems. The Environmental Protection Agency's assurances that lower Manhattan was safe to breathe despite having evidence to the contrary has been deemed "the big lie", a shocking example of a government unconcerned with the health risks associated with the toxic dust that coated lower Manhattan.

Since then, the federal government's response has been practically nonexistent.

But many say that only the federal government has the resources to respond. The city's congressional delegation has been pushing for a more active approach. To date, its efforts have not been overwhelmingly successful.

Late last year, Washington set aside its first funding for 9/11 treatment programs -- $75 million – but that money has not been released. Representatives Maloney and Vito Fosella pushed for a "Health Czar" to coordinate a federal response. In February, John Howard was appointed to the position, but has since referred to himself as a "czar without a budget." In early September, the Health and Human Services Secretary said he was appointing a task force to further examine Washington's response.

"I welcome this commitment from the secretary, but quite frankly the sick responders of 9/11 don't need another task force or another point person," said Maloney. "They need medical monitoring and treatment."

On September 7, Representative Jerrold Nadler introduced a bill that would extend Medicare benefits to anyone whose health has suffered because of the attacks. Further, he would exempt them from the premiums, deductibles, and co-payments that regular Medicare recipients are responsible for. The bill would also establish a consortium of experts to continue to research 9/11 health conditions for the federal government.

Nadler said that the bill is not likely to be considered before this fall's elections, but he hopes to pick it up when Congress returns to session in January. When it does, its cost will probably prove to be a major issue.

"We don't have a precise cost estimate because we don't know how many people will get sick over the next 40 years," said Nadler. "But off the top of my head I'd say this will cost several billion dollars."

Nadler says the federal government has a moral obligation to right the problems it has created through a response marked by "lies an deceit, and a deliberate decision to not enforce environmental laws." But he says that much of the damage is irrevocable.

"We may see more deaths as a result of the government's inaction than as a result of the attacks themselves," he said.

 

Abortion in New York City


If in 1969, you were a 21-year-old college student in Illinois, and you wanted an abortion, it was an expensive operation -- and an illegal one. Four states had passed laws allowing for some exceptions to the ban, but even in those states, abortions were not readily available. It was not unusual for a young woman to spend her life savings -- and perhaps those of her friends -- to end an unwanted pregnancy.

A year later, New York State passed the nation's first law legalizing abortion without restriction up to the 24th week of pregnancy. It was pioneering legislation, but only a few states would follow. A young woman in Illinois would still need to raise a large amount of money either to travel to New York or to find an illegal abortion.

When the United States Supreme Court overturned state restrictions on abortions with Roe v. Wade in 1973, abortion became legal everywhere for everyone. Over the years, more and more states have passed more and more restrictions, and fewer and fewer clinics operate in the heartland, making abortion difficult to obtain in most places. But New York laws are still among the most liberal.

This fall, with two newly appointed conservative justices in place, the Supreme Court is poised to reconsider Roe v. Wade. Illinois is among the 17 states that will reinstate an abortion ban if Roe is overturned. The U.S. Senate and House recently passed different versions of a bill called the Child Custody Protection Act, which, if reconciled between the two legislative branches, would criminalize the transport of minors across state lines for an abortion by anyone except a parent.

The issue of abortion remains so contentious that when the Food and Drug Administration announced last week its approval of the over-the-counter sale of Plan B - a morning-after contraceptive bill - for women 18 and older, both abortion opponents and supporters took issue. The president of Pharmacists for Life International, Karen Brauer, objected to the availability of the drug. She told WDC Media (a Christian news agency) that Plan B "operates significantly to stop the life of an early human." The National Organization for Women applauded the approval by the FDA but said the pills should be available for minors as well.

Whatever happens nationwide, New York's pioneering laws are likely to remain in effect, no matter how little company they have. Meanwhile, in Illinois and much of the rest of the country, young women will still have to raise the money to go elsewhere to end pregnancies. Often that elsewhere may well be New York.

Views Of The Public, And Public Officials

New York City is likely to remain one of the easiest places in the country to have an abortion. Much of this may be a reflection of the prevailing attitudes here, as demonstrated in the positions of public officials (and candidates).

Laws concerning abortion are state-wide. The state-wide candidates for office who are widely given the best chance for winning in this year's election make a point of displaying their pro-choice credentials. On Democratic gubernatorial candidate Eliot Spitzer's Web site, he lists his endorsement by NARAL, the pro-choice group and reprints his speech to them.

Besides supporting New York's liberal abortion laws, he promises that if Roe v. Wade is overturned by the Supreme Court, he will review state laws and strengthen any that the court decision will throw into jeopardy. He also supports easy access to emergency contraception and the right to late-term abortion.

Despite Hillary Clinton's statements in a January speech about teen celibacy, prayer, and the "tragic choice" that abortion represents, her campaign Web site proclaims a solidly pro-choice position, though she does repeat that abortion should be "safe, legal and rare."

It is more difficult to find the views towards abortion of the Republican candidates for these offices; abortion is not mentioned on their Web sites, no matter what their position. But in a debate on August 9th between the two Republican candidates for U.S. Senate, John Spencer said he would restrict abortion except to save the life of the mother, while his opponent, Kathleen Troia McFarland , a former Reagan official, said she supports abortion rights.

The Republican candidate for governor, John Faso, has worked to restrict abortion when he served in the state assembly. His positions are outlined not on his own Web site but by a Westchester County pro-choice group.

It is worth noting that Faso is reportedly the first anti-abortion candidate for governor in either party in more than 25 years.

No matter who becomes governor, though, measures to restrict abortion in the state are unlikely. The State Assembly remains solidly pro-choice. "The Assembly has been at the forefront of protecting and ensuring women's rights in New York State," says Eileen Larrabee, spokeswoman for Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. "Obviously it's something we need to continue to push to ensure those rights are not chipped away." The Assembly Speaker's staunch pro-choice stand frustrates Lori Hougens of the New York State Right to Life Committee. "New Yorkers support a ban on partial birth abortions and are in favor of parental involvement legislation, which would make sure parents know that their underage daughters are having an abortion," she wrote in Gotham Gazette. "But in the Assembly, Speaker Silver will not allow a vote on the floor for legislation banning partial birth abortions or requiring parental notification."

The State Senate is more conservative, but the abortion issue doesn't come up there, says Mary Alice Carr of NARAL Pro-Choice New York. Without Assembly support, a bill would not reach the governor's desk, so passing restrictions would be pointless. "A lot of legislators," says Carr, "don't want to deal with the issue."

One Out Of Every Ten Abortions

Despite restrictions and a dearth of clinics in most states, abortion remains a common experience across the country. One out of three American women has had an abortion by age 45, reports the Guttmacher Institute, which tracks abortion laws and statistics. The majority of women who get abortion already have children (61 percent) and are poor (57 percent). Women of color make up most of those who get abortions: While 41 percent are white, 32 percent are black, 20 percent are Hispanic and 7 percent are other minority races.

But New York Magazine has called New York City "The Abortion Capital of America." Women come here for the procedure. "New York City has the least amount of practical barriers," explains Carr of NARAL Pro-Choice New York. One out of every 10 abortions in the nation is performed in New York State - 120,000 abortions performed in New York State in 2003, according to the New York State Department of Health. Seventy percent of those are performed in the city, where there are 34 major clinics.

Medical training

Unlike other parts of the country, if you go through a residency in obstetrics/gynecology in New York City, you'll learn how to perform abortions. That's because Mayor Michael Bloomberg, shortly after taking office in 2002, ordered city hospitals to include such training. There's a similar requirement in the California university system, but nowhere else.

It might seem obvious that someone going into obstetrics and gynecology would learn how to perform an abortion, if only for emergencies (such as completing a miscarriage). In fact, the accrediting agency for graduate medical education has required such training since 1995, says Lois Backus, director of Medical Students for Choice, a national organization promoting reproductive and abortion education for physicians in training. Despite those regulations, only 12 percent of the OB/GYN residency programs train first first-trimester abortions. Only 7 percent train for second-trimester abortions.

Backus says that her organization is particularly interested in making sure medical students, not just specialists, receive education on family planning and abortion. "No more than two-thirds [of medical schools] provide any required medical education on abortion," she says. And those schools often focus "only on the ethical issues" not on clinical practice.

Most hospitals across the country do not provide abortion services, so medical students would have no opportunity to learn about the procedure firsthand. That effectively blocks training for medical students.

For medical students "New York City is actually fairly good and largely due to Mayor Bloomberg," says Backus. Unlike most other places, "there is hospital-based abortion and family planning, that students gain access to as they go through medical training. In most of the rest of the country, that clinical care is not provided in hospitals where students receive most of their training."

Another barrier for medical students involves an "opt-out" clause for hospitals. In 43 states, hospitals may refuse to participate in abortion services. In New York State, they cannot. "For example, with a religious hospital, if a woman comes in and is miscarrying and needs an induced abortion to complete the miscarriage, the hospital can't refuse to provide those services in New York," says Rebecca Wind of the Guttmacher Institute. "In most other states, they can." In those states, the woman would be transported to a facility that would do it.

That is not a rare scenario, says fourth-year Mount Sinai medical student Erika Levi. She's the regional coordinator of Medical Students for Choice. "I've seen many women coming in with a miscarriage who need a D and C [dilation and curettage-a surgical abortion]," she says. "It happens often enough to be an issue."

She thinks that she and most medical students in New York City receive a good education in reproductive issues including abortion. Because most of the hospitals do offer abortions services of some kind, students also learn about the procedure-and the women who undergo it-firsthand. In other parts of the country Levi says it is different. If the procedure is mentioned at all, it is in a pejorative manner.

Protesters

Vocal and sometimes violent protesters in many parts of the country make abortion more difficult for young women and sometimes dangerous for providers. From time to time, New York City has had its share of demonstrators, especially at the Margaret Sanger Center in Manhattan. That clinic sees some 11,000 abortions a year.

Carr of NARAL credits the tough enforcement by state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer and by Manhattan D.A. Robert Morgenthau. Strict enforcement of laws protecting clinics and their personnel has helped maintain safety. The possibility of violence is not just paranoia. Abortion clinics have been subject to bombings and staff have been shot. The Attorney General's Reproductive Rights Unit aims to keep clinic violence and intimidation at bay. "Peoples' safety is at risk," says Carr. "Laws are only as good as the people that enforce them."

Crossing State Lines

At present, most of the states near New York City also have liberal abortion laws, and facilities are available. However, nearby Pennsylvania and Rhode Island require parental consent for minors. Thirty-four states have parental consent laws, and 24 mandate a waiting period between initial consultation and the procedure. Second-trimester abortions are also more available and less expensive in New York City than elsewhere.

For some minors, the barriers to abortion may soon be insurmountable. If federal legislation called the Child Custody Protection Act becomes law, girls who don't want to consult their parents who come from Rhode Island, Pennsylvania and other parental consent states will not be able to do so accompanied or aided by an adult (unless the adult wants to chance prosecution).

If Roe v. Wade is overturned, 17 states plan to put into place highly restrictive measures that will affect all women, not just minors. Of those, only Delaware is near New York, so the impact might not be the same as it was when New York stood alone with abortion on demand as it did in 1970. Before Roe v. Wade, women from out of state accounted for 61 percent of abortions, according to New York Magazine.

"We would anticipate a situation that we saw pre-Roe v. Wade," says Carr of NARAL: "a haven for women across the country. New York would be taking on the burden of a lot of other states that outlaw abortion."

But that already happens to some extent. Abortion is now legal across the country "in theory, not in practice," says Carr. Some 87 percent of counties across the nation have no abortion provider, according to the Guttmacher Institute. It's particularly hard for low-income women and those who do not speak English. "Roe does not exist in practice for a lot of women in this country," says Carr.

The restrictions elsewhere already bring young women to New York for abortions. The Sanger clinic has reportedly seen an uptick of 21 percent more out-of-state women seeking abortions.

Paying for Abortion

For low-income women in New York, state Medicaid covers abortion services, because the Hyde Amendment, passed in 1976, restricts Federal Medicaid funding for abortion except in the cases of life endangerment, rape or incest.

Minors in New York can be covered by Medicaid. Some clinics offer sliding scales, so teens who can't afford the full fee (about $350 in the first trimester), can still obtain an abortion.

Whether the easy access to abortion in New York is a good thing is a matter of individual opinion. For the time being,, the procedure will remain easily accessible and affordable to the women in the city.

LINKS:

A Pro Choice Agenda for New York City by Andrew Stern
January 27, 2003
Andrew Stern is political director of National Abortion & Reproductive Rights Action League of New York State.

The Pro-Life Agenda by Lori Hougens
January 27, 2003
Lori Hougens is spokesperson for the New York State Right to Life Committee.

Planned Parenthood of NYC
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



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