Asian-American New Yorkers at a vigil (photo: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)

The shootings in Atlanta that took eight lives, destroyed eight futures, devastated and forever changed eight families, were at once heartbreaking, enraging, and if we are honest, predictable.

The violent deaths of eight people, including six Asian immigrant workers, was the result of a yearlong escalation of hatred and attacks on the Asian-American community, one which has accelerated in recent weeks but has been a constant presence, including here in our own city with our fellow New Yorkers experiencing violence for simply being Asian. 

Atlanta is what happens when that festering bigotry builds in a nation with a demonic obsession with guns and an aversion to life-saving restrictions.

We need to disarm white supremacy.

Of course, we need common sense gun safety measures to combat weaponized white supremacy. At the same time, it’s not enough to limit access to guns themselves. The weapon is most dangerous when it’s fully loaded.

White supremacy gets ammunition when anti-Asian bigotry is encouraged by some, minimized by others, and largely ignored for years leading up to the pandemic, with incidents unreported but harm undeniable.

When the then-President of the United States spends a year using his position to not only fan the flames of this ignorance and hatred, but to ignite them from the most prominent podium in the nation.

And when the reaction to a shooting that targeted primarily Asian-American women is to center the shooter rather than the people whose lives he stole, to diminish the role of racism in this violence. 

It does not require overt, intentional white supremacy or racism in order to perpetuate systems or advance ideas rooted in that ideology. Direct opposition, concrete action, is needed to disarm it.

The solution is not just to send more police - we don’t want to negate or minimize the sentiments of communities that are fearful and asking for further protection, but at the same time, police are not the only solution to the hatred that motivates these attacks, and while they can potentially provide some acute sense of security, they are not the long-term solution our city needs. 

In 2019, the city began to fund the Hate Violence Prevention Initiative, a coalition of diverse community organizations designated by the City Council and charged with improving education and services in the city. In their first year, they began the invaluable work to serve the communities that are the most vulnerable to bias-motivated hate crimes. But last year, in the height of the pandemic, when Trump was seeding hatred of the Asian-American community, the city actually cut the budget for this initiative.

Now, it is a moral obligation and a governing imperative to not only restore the funding cut from this critical program, but to expand it. More resources and a broader scope will help to more fully recognize and include anti-Asian-American hate and violence prevention. It is only through a comprehensive initiative with a diverse array of voices in organizations that we will effectively combat hate.

One cannot hate neatly. That’s why it’s crucial for marginalized groups in all areas to stand with each other in the face of attacks, as Asian leaders stood up for Black lives last summer and as so many are standing with them today. In funding the Hate Violence Prevention Initiative and its associated groups, the city can get at the roots of bigotry, building stronger communities, and pushing back on prejudice.

As hard as it may be to admit and acknowledge, the violence we have seen was predictable. It should not take the deaths of our community members to listen to what we have been saying for years. But it is up to us to determine whether the next attack is preventable.

***
Jumaane Williams is Public Advocate for the City of New York. Jo-Ann Yoo is Executive Director of the Asian American Federation. On Twitter @JumaaneWilliams & @AAFederation.

Governors Island (photo: Carlo Buscemi)

Governors Island is a 172-acre oasis that’s just a stone’s throw from the Statue of Liberty. But despite its position at the very heart of the five boroughs, most New Yorkers can’t locate it on a map. Closed off from the public for centuries, the island boasts a rich and little-known history. Thanks to two decades of progress, it's found new life as a summer escape for city dwellers, but its future has remained a question mark – until now.

The City Council is considering a plan by the Trust for Governors Island to rezone the southern half of the island. The proposal recognizes the existing parkland and makes possible new, year-round uses for an island that is currently accessible to the public only six months of the year. Enlivening these plans is a bold vision to create a Center for Climate Solutions, an ambitious plan to help our city emerge as a leader in solving the biggest existential crisis of our time.

It’s a long time coming, and builds on years of collaborative, community-based planning. In the mid-1990s, our predecessor organization, the Governors Island Alliance (now the Friends of Governors Island) came together as a group of more than 45 organizations to build consensus around a vision for Governors Island’s future. From our first meetings, which brought together hundreds of conservationists, urban planners, park managers, and community members, the shared vision for the island focused on turning a once off-limits federal facility into a place dedicated to public use and public benefit.

All along, any conversation about Governors Island’s future elicited a series of challenging questions. How to preserve and maximize this incredible resource for the public good? How to ensure a sustainable revenue stream that can support more public access along with the island’s massive infrastructure and transportation needs? How to attract new non-residential ways of utilizing a collection of aging former houses and barracks without turning them into private housing? After years of working to answer these questions, the Trust’s proposal represents a promising culmination.

Even in the early days, our planning and financial projections showed that new development was not only desirable but necessary to support year-round public visitation and generate a dedicated revenue stream to enhance public uses. To realize this goal, our first public workshop proposed that Governors Island become “a new kind of park containing a wide variety of attractions including hotels, educational facilities, museums, and arts and cultural centers.”

A few years later, the Trust’s predecessor organization was founded in 2004 with a mandate to create “an educational, recreational and cultural center that will offer a broad range of public uses.” Now, much of that initial vision has come to life: artists, thinkers, and urban farmers use the island as a creative workspace, 500 students attend a public high school there, and nearly a million New Yorkers enjoy the landmarked historic district and spectacular new 43-acre park each year.

Despite this progress, Governors Island remains a seasonal destination, inaccessible to the public from November through April. The two parcels contemplated by the proposed rezoning are fenced off from public use and filled with crumbling warehouses – a visible eyesore that detracts from the visitor experience of the park. Critics of the Trust’s plan have cynically argued that the zoning proposal paves the way for privatization. On the contrary, to deliver on the promise of creating a year-round public resource, investment and expanded partnerships are needed. The proposed educational, cultural and commercial uses – uses clearly defined by the federal deed restrictions as being in the public spirit – reflect two decades of planning studies and will be critical to animating the island year-round, as well as ensuring its long-term financial stability.  

Of course, there should be guardrails in place, and the zoning should pay special attention to design guidelines, view and pedestrian corridors, and park-to-esplanade connection points. Public investments in the island’s parkland and historic district must be protected.

Those of us who love Governors Island know the magic of its hammocks, its scenic bike rides, its waterside cafés and its quirky cultural programming. The things that make this place so beloved are not going anywhere. Not a single acre of existing parkland will be touched under this plan – which will, in fact, add at least seven acres of public open space.

Anyone who visited Governors Island last summer felt the immediate benefit of this urban escape — like all of our parks, the island served as an extra lung for our city, giving us space to breathe and recharge. Now is the time to realize the full promise of this unique place and ensure that New Yorkers can enjoy the island’s magic 365 days a year. The proposed rezoning makes this possible. After two decades of planning, the future so many of us long envisioned for Governors Island has arrived.

*** 
Merritt Birnbaum is Executive Director of the Friends of Governors Island (former ly the Governors Island Alliance). Robert Pirani is a Board member of the Friends of Governors Island and was the Founding Executive Director of its predecessor organization, the Governors Island Alliance.

Gov. Cuomo (photo: governor's office)

Predatory behavior by powerful men towards women takes many forms. Flirting, demeaning, suppressing, touching, and more, are all manifestations of toxic male behavior that is too often normalized, even in some cases expected, by men in powerful positions. Clinton, Trump, Spitzer, Weiner, Schneiderman, and now, Cuomo — all male political titans who have faced allegations of sexual misconduct while holding high elected office.

Sadly, only a small fraction of sexual misconduct that takes place in and around the workplace, whether in politics or any other industry, makes it into the news. The media covers a story when it involves a high-profile man, but the vast majority of those incidents that are reported never end up with more than a slap on the offending man’s wrist and workplace seminars on office culture. Women, on the other hand, often lose their jobs, or decide they must leave, because of the trauma inflicted. When they come forward, they are shamed and harassed even more. Many are silenced via settlements, often having to make very difficult decisions under enormous pressure after suffering abuse.  

As horrifying as predatory sexual behavior is in the workplace, it only scratches the surface of harm inflicted on women at work. Passive acceptance of male domination over companies and government is part of why we are where we are. Before the pandemic, women’s wages were still just 79 cents on the male dollar and just 62 cents on the male dollar for Black women. The wealth gap for women is even worse. Our stocks and bonds, equity stakes, and real estate interests represent just 32 cents on the male dollar and pennies for women of color.

Women leaders marry or start a family, as I did, and lose their jobs. When they keep them, they often lose power within their jobs because of how men respond to the change in women’s personal lives. They are denied equity in companies that they build, as I was, simply because male stakeholders value them less. Another Women’s History Month came and went, and women are no better off than we were before COVID-19. In fact we are falling even farther behind. It’s long past time to pull back the curtain and curb all patterns of abuse and privilege, because non-sexual workplace bias affects more women and is a main driver of gender inequity.

When Andrew Yang fired me from Manhattan GMAT days after I got married, I lost more than my financial livelihood. I had requested an equity stake in both of my salary negotiations and was denied. Yang got what I didn’t, and though I’d taken the founder’s concept and turned it into a multi-million-dollar company, Yang reaped the financial rewards of my sweat equity. Then he used my marriage as the reason he said I’d no longer be a good fit for the company, saying that I would want to focus on my new life and wouldn’t want to work as hard as I had. Andrew Yang also undercut my self-worth and dignity, my long-term potential for financial security, not to mention the toll that it took on a marriage that was only a few days old. I spoke publicly about what happened at a September 2019 public hearing of the New York City Commission on Gender Equity. When asked about my experience as he ran for president, Yang said I didn't have my facts straight, but offered no explanation for how he treated me.

But I am not the only woman to speak out about the way Andrew Yang and entities he has run have mistreated women. A woman who worked for the Manhattan test prep company after I left filed a lawsuit against Yang for pay inequity. Twice The New York Times published articles with credible information about other incidents of pay inequity and discomfort over workplace culture involving Yang. The first article appeared days before he exited the presidential race in February 2020. His record with women was also covered by the Times last month after hiring a political operative who acknowledged the likelihood of truth behind the allegations. In addition, multiple women have reported that Yang perpetuated a toxic atmosphere on the campaign trail. The “bro culture” reportedly traumatized a number of women, at least one of whom turned to mental health therapy to cope with its effect on her.

Most of the women affected by Yang and the workplace cultures he has created and overseen have been silenced via non-disclosure agreements, and the few of us who have spoken out about him publicly have been shamed, called liars, and threatened by Yang supporters. In one example of many, I was told in an email to “get off Andrew Yang’s ass, you entitled bitch,” and this person went on to suggest that I had been useless in the company. Surrogates of Yang on Twitter and Reddit call ed me and others desperate for attention, gold-diggers, stupid, and selfish. As any woman who has spoken out about a powerful man’s bad behavior knows, the abuse takes its toll and is long lasting.

As traumatic as it is, women must keep fighting, not only because of Andrew Cuomo or Andrew Yang, but because institutional biases continue to harm women, especially women of color. We have heard about the toll Cuomo’s abuse took on several young women whose careers were stunted by his behavior. At least one woman working on Yang’s presidential campaign explained how its toxic culture made her question her career path despite past success. Much of it speaks to the larger ‘old boys club’ mentality of politics that we must leave behind.

There is a wide continuum that must be addressed. More structurally, take as an example the decades-long New York City school nurse problem, which I have worked on as a parent and local education leader. Only one-third of school nurses, who are almost all women, are full-time salaried employees with the Department of Education; other nurses are on a waitlist for years to snatch up one of these coveted spots. School nurses employed by the Department of Health are paid hourly with a smaller benefits package and pension. And others are hired out via third-party vendors. Few are paid a true living wage considering the cost of living in the neighborhoods where they serve. The decision-makers who created this unjust structure and those who are in a position to fix it, but haven’t, are almost always men. School nurses are an essential component to the Department of Education, and the women who serve in this role have been disrespected and underpaid for long enough.

Gaps in maternity leave, child care, and elder care, massive and persistent pay and wealth gaps, lack of retirement security, and insufficient work/life balance expectations continue to undermine women in the workplace. Women -- and our male allies -- need to fight for our future because if men keep monopolizing decisions in New York and around the country, current inequities will worsen, leaving another generation of women behind.

As New York reckons with Andrew Cuomo’s abuse and those who have enabled it, as well as many other men in New York politics who have mistreated women, we should also look closely at Andrew Yang’s track record given the position of immense power he is now seeking.

Cuomo should have already heeded the many calls for him to resign over his bad behavior, and we must also say goodbye to the many other men in politics and other industries who abuse women and perpetuate vast gender imbalances. If we are serious about preventing discriminatory workplaces that foster bias against women, we should closely examine workplace patterns among all candidates for elected office. Based on the track record reported by multiple women, calls for Yang to pull out of the mayor's race should follow. We can’t afford any more toxic male leadership.

***
Kim Watkins is a Harlem parent, president of Community Education Council, District 3, a founding member of Parents Supporting Parents, and a Democratic candidate for Manhattan Borough President. On Twitter at @kimwatkinsnyc.

City Hall (photo: Benjamin Kanter/Mayoral Photo)

The courageous women who stepped forward to share their stories of alleged sexual misconduct by Governor Andrew Cuomo pointed to one of the worst-kept secrets of New York government: a toxic work environment is more of a status-quo than an exception to the rule. 

Their telling of their experiences has also revealed systemic flaws in the reporting and investigation process against elected and appointed officials. Initially, the governor twice tried to appoint his own investigators instead of allowing the Attorney General to conduct her own investigation — which she needed to obtain a referral letter from the governor’s office itself to begin in the first place. Even though Attorney General Letitia James finally received the referral, and the investigation is underway, the governor’s office is now conducting its own separate investigation, and trying to send its own lawyers into interviews with staff. 

New York State needs a new, independent, victim-centered process for addressing harassment claims against elected officials, as the Sexual Harassment Working Group has long demanded. 

But harassment, toxic workplace culture, opaque reporting systems, and compromised investigations aren’t unique to New York state government. New York City’s system is also set up to protect abusers. 

The City’s Human Rights Law provides strong protections against discrimination based on gender, including sexual harassment. But City Council members, like former Council member and repeat abuser Andy King, are supposed to be held accountable by their colleagues. 

Complaints from City Council staff or constituents are referred to the Council’s own Standard and Ethics Committee, made up of five Council members appointed by the Speaker. They decide if there will be an investigation, who will conduct the investigation, and on what timeline,  and what sanctions to recommend to the full Council. That’s no one’s definition of independent. It’s even less clear what would happen with allegations against the Mayor or any mayoral appointees, the Comptroller, the Public Advocate, or the Borough Presidents.

We need a complete overhaul of our current investigation and accountability process; it shouldn’t have taken us this long, but with a major transition about to take place in our city’s elected representation, now is a critical time to do so.

First, City Council Speaker Corey Johnson must release the $200,000 internal report he commissioned through Redwood Enterprise. Redwood conducted interviews with members and staff funded by taxpayer dollars, but Speaker Johnson has refused to release the Redwood report despite repeated requests, including a letter this week organized by Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer.

Second, as called for by the Sexual Harassment Working Group in the wake of the repeated abuses by Andy King, the City Council should hold public hearings on workplace protections and collaborative solutions to safeguard Council workers from retaliation and harassment from elected officials.

Back in 2017, the Council held hearings on sexual harassment, but did not focus solely on harassment within city government itself. We know how impactful these hearings can be; the Working Group’s testimony at the state’s public hearing in February 2019 led to some of the most significant reforms in a generation.

A public hearing will help inform the creation of a new, transparent, independent process for investigating and recommending sanctions for harassment by elected and appointed New York City government officials. 

One idea would be to amend the authority of the Commissioner of the Department of Investigations to appoint a Special Inspector General, who would have full subpoena power outside the line-of-authority to the mayor, to conduct these investigations of harassment, discrimination, and retaliation. In the case of an elected official, the Special Inspector General would make a public recommendation -- up to and including expulsion -- to the City Council, which would be required to vote up or down on the recommendation. In the case of an appointed official, such as a commissioner, the Special Inspector General would make a public recommendation to the mayor. Alternatively, the City’s Commission on Human Rights has a division that investigates sexual harassment complaints, but would need expanded authority to handle complaints against elected officials and their staff members and appointees.

What’s critical is that new systems be developed in close consultation with those who were directly harmed, as well as the unions who represent them -- including the new staff union organizing in the City Council. 

Every office that represents some or all of New York City has a role to play in protection staff. That’s why, if elected as the next New York City Comptroller, Brad commits to working with advocates and experts to create and disseminate an anonymous climate survey within the comptroller’s office within his first 100 days in office, the results of which would be made public and used to inform any changes that are implemented. The comptroller’s office would then make gender equity audits a regular practice across all other city agencies as well.  

Sexual harassment is an abuse of power; any accountability system must be designed to provide trust, confidence, and integrity for staff who have felt the power of government officials weaponized against them. 

Unfortunately, the protection and safety of staff members has taken a backseat for far too long. We cannot wait until the next time the system fails one of them to bring about meaningful reform.

***
Brad Lander is a Brooklyn City Council member and candidate for New York City Comptroller. Erica Vladimer is a gender justice and workplace protections advocate, and former government staffer. On Twitter @BradLander & @EricaForNY.

Covid care training (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)

Just over 110 years ago, on March 25,1911, workers at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in Manhattan’s Garment District began their day just like any other.

For 146 of them, it ended in tragedy when a fire engulfed the factory, leading to their deaths. When the fire started many of them were unable to leave the factory because there were no fire escapes and the building exits were locked. Some died jumping from the building in an attempt to escape. The youngest victims were only 14 years old.

Out of the wreckage of this horrific tragedy a new wave of labor organizations emerged and, thanks to their advocacy, safety rules and regulations were created, paving the way for the modern system of worker protection.

Though we have obviously made tremendous progress over the past century, there is more work to be done — something that was made abundantly clear by the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the past year we saw that many corporations simply did not care about the health and safety of their workers. Powerful corporations kept their doors open without the proper health and safety protocols, despite a clear danger to employees. Many did ever ything possible to avoid accountability. In New York City, Amazon allegedly put its workers in harm's way and attempted to squash complaints about safety procedures.

One key lesson from the pandemic and four years of the Trump administration is that states like New York must have their own robust system of worker protections.

As complaints flooded in from workers, OSHA completely fell down on the job. The fines that the world’s largest companies received were a pittance, and the agency had the fewest number of inspectors in decades. When that happens, the fallback is state and local agencies.

It was a relief to see President Joe Biden’s executive order on worker safety earlier this year, which requires OSHA to review its standards and update safety recommendations for businesses, among other steps. Just last week, OSHA announced further steps to protect workers at a high risk of infection.

But there is an important role for New York State to play. It doesn’t matter to workers whether it’s state or federal inspectors who are protecting them. Furthermore, strong state laws go hand in hand with federal enforcement, as evidenced by Biden’s executive order, which includes provisions that focus on partnering and consulting with state and local governments.

New York took an important step forward after the State Senate recently passed legislation allowing the Department of Labor to mandate safety protocols in workplaces, such as requiring PPE and social distancing measures. This bill should be enacted into law, and we must ensure the labor commissioner issues timely, stringent, clear, and enforceable rules that will protect all workers across the state.

We need to empower our regulatory agencies to do what they’re designed to do and keep workers here in New York and across the country safe. We have a legal and moral responsibility to protect American families both at home and on the job. 

New York has suffered once unimaginable tragedies over the past year, like it did 110 years ago. We must do everything we can to turn this moment of pain and loss into progress for working men and women, just like workers and others did when the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory burned. We cannot wait for the next deadly moment to act.

***
Jessica Ramos represents New York’s 13th District in the New York State Senate and is Chair of the Committee on Labor. Edward Steinberg is President of the New York State Trial Lawyers Association. On Twitter @JessicaRamos & @EdwardSteinber1 of @NYSTLA.

Seeking treatment (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)

Gloria thought she was in good health and was managing her diabetes well. Then the unthinkable happened – she was hospitalized for 10 months due to COVID-19. Gloria suffered severe effects from the virus and had to be intubated, after which she was left paralyzed. Now Gloria needs ongoing nursing care and physical therapy to regain mobility and work on her speech.

Gloria is originally from Colombia and now lives in New York City – due to her immigration status, she is not able to receive Medicaid or other state-funded health care to cover her medical needs. For nearly 400,000 immigrants who are uninsured in New York, this is their reality.

We’ve been battling COVID-19 for more than a year now. Immigrants remain at the forefront of this battle, and yet continue to be excluded from necessary and comprehensive health-care coverage. Accessible health care has always been a necessity, but as we continue to learn about the long-term effects of COVID-19 infections and the required follow-up care, New York State leaders must immediately provide health-care coverage to those impacted by the virus and ensure health care is accessible to all.

This means taking one key step in the state budget that is being negotiated right now by the State Legislature and Governor Cuomo and due by the April 1 start of the new fiscal year.

Immigrants have always kept our city running, and this became especially true when only essential businesses were open during the height of the coronavirus crisis. Immigrants make up one-third of essential workers in New York State, with 70% of people who are undocumented in the labor force working in essential businesses and putting their own health at risk. The resulting ongoing exposure has no doubt contributed to the disproportionate impact of the virus on immigrant communities in New York.

However, exposure is not the only issue. Access to health care has been proven to improve one’s overall health, which may reduce the risk of serious COVID-19 complications. Yet many New Yorkers like Gloria continue to be blocked from necessary coverage or are deterred from accessing care by confusing and draconian immigration and enforcement policies. A recent study showed that “nationally roughly 1 out of every 3 COVID-19 deaths are linked to health insurance gaps” and that “more than 40% of all COVID-19 infections are associated with health insurance gaps.”

COVID-19 testing and immediate treatment is available to everyone in New York through Emergency Medicaid, but that doesn’t help Gloria and the thousands like her to receive the ongoing care they need after devastating covid infections. Emergency Medicaid is only meant to provide coverage for immediate medical treatment of acute symptoms in often life-threatening circumstances. It does not cover all medically-necessary services or ongoing care, even if that lack of coverage has fatal consequences for the patient. New York explicitly excludes nursing facilities from coverage, like the ones needed by Gloria to recover from this devastating virus.

After 10 months in the hospital, Gloria’s husband, Marco, found a way to pay out of pocket to transfer her to a nursing home for necessary ongoing treatment and care. He does not know how long he can maintain these payments, or if the facility he can afford is really providing competent care for his wife. Gloria has been at the nursing home since January and has been readmitted to the hospital at least twice because of bacterial infections. Marco wants her moved to another nursing home, but has no way of doing that.

Insurance coverage and health-care access are huge problems for COVID-19 patients, as the long-term effects of the virus are far-reaching and not yet fully understood. The virus may affect a person’s heart, kidneys, lungs, brain and other organs. Other people survive the virus without any specific injury to an organ, but are called “long-haulers” because of chronic fatigue, shortness of breath, inability to concentrate, and other symptoms. Some studies find more than 50% of people “recovered” from COVID-19 affected by these symptoms three months later.

For many years, activists and public health experts have advocated for universal health care. A year into a global pandemic that has killed more than 500,000 Americans, some states are at least proposing ways to mitigate the effects of the public health and health-care crises. Bills now pending in the New York State Legislature propose broad change as well as temporary solutions to expand the state’s Essential Plan during this health crisis and provide health-care coverage to anyone who has survived COVID-19 but is excluded from coverage because of their immigration status.

While this proposed Essential Plan expansion would be temporary, and not nearly enough, it is urgently necessary to meet the immediate and urgent needs of thousands of New Yorkers who, like Gloria, have been shattered by this virus. New York leaders should pass it immediately; in the new state budget if needed.

The ongoing public health crisis has further illuminated the need for universal health coverage in New York. Accessible and comprehensive healthcare should be guaranteed to every state resident regardless of immigration status, age, disability or employment status. While we work towards a thorough solution to our broken healthcare system, right now the New York Legislature must support expanding the Essential Plan. We are living through an emergency, and we must at least provide a lifeboat.

***
Amber Khan is Director of the Health Justice Program at New York Lawyers for the Public Interest. On Twitter @NYLPI.

Housing on the agenda (photo: governor's office)

I was born in The Bronx and lived there for most of my life until I lost my housing and became homeless over five years ago. I've missed my home -- The Bronx is where I grew up and where I graduated from high school. My roots and my community are there but like most shelter residents, I was sent to facilities in parts of the city that I was totally unfamiliar with.

Across New York State, 92,000 people are homeless. For a decade, Governor Cuomo has ignored people living in shelters. He’s disparaged people living on the streets. Now the New York State Legislature has the opportunity to undo some of the governor’s harms against us by funding the Housing Access Voucher Program (HAVP) and the Housing Our Neighbors with Dignity Act (HONDA) in the new state budget that is due by Thursday, April 1.

HAVP is a statewide Section-8 style housing subsidy to help us pay for housing. HONDA is a program to convert financially distressed hotels and commercial spaces to permanent housing for homeless and low-income New Yorkers.

I have come to learn that homelessness is a multibillion-dollar business. It’s the only business I know of where the customer is always wrong. When I first entered the shelter system, I never thought that I would be stuck here for so long. I never imagined I would live through a global pandemic at first in a congregate shelter with 19 other men and then in a shared hotel room where I still could not shelter in place safely.

We are demonized, dehumanized, and demoralized. Every day our bags are rifled through as we re-enter the shelter. We’re controlled by everchanging draconian and arbitrary rules. At times we aren’t allowed to bring our own cleaning supplies in. Despite having a microwave inside our rooms, we aren't allowed to prepare certain meals. Sometimes we can’t bring condiments as basic as salt and onion powder inside the shelter. And even though the shelter only supplies a small bar of soap and toilet paper every other day, some toiletries have been taken from residents.

I’m exhausted and so are the other men that live in the shelter with me. My life feels like it's at a standstill until I can find my own permanent home and regain my autonomy. 

Right now too few resources exist to help homeless New Yorkers escape homelessness.The City’s housing voucher doesn't work because the amount it pays is too low to meet average rents in New York City. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve stood inside the train station to connect to wifi because our shelter doesn’t have it, and to apply for any apartment that was available through the city’s affordable housing lottery. 

That’s why I’m fighting for HAVP and HONDA. It finally feels like there’s some hope this year and that our leaders are listening to us. After years of inaction by our state, the State Senate took a meaningful step to help homeless New Yorkers by including funding for HAVP and HONDA in their one-house budget proposal. And Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie assured us last week that he’ll fight for HAVP and funding to convert distressed hotels to housing. Now Speaker Heastie and Senate Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins must stand up to Governor Cuomo, who has long stood in the way of housing for homeless people. 

I want our government to invest in New York and in solving our homelessness crisis. Even though I miss The Bronx, I’m willing to move anywhere as long as I can get my own affordable apartment and autonomy back. I look forward to doing regular things like cooking and cleaning for myself, learning to cook my favorite Puerto Rican meals, and of course finally getting some restful sleep. I want to take care of my health and get the hip and knee surgery that I’ve long put off because I know I wouldn’t be able to recuperate fully if I was in a shelter. 

Our gover nor has shown himself to be abusive and a bully. And his record on homelessness shows how little he cares about vulnerable people. Homeless New Yorkers are depending on Speaker Heastie and Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins to put our state on track to end homelessness this year.

***
Milton Perez is a leader of VOCAL-NY and a member of the Housing Justice for All campaign. On Twitter @VOCALNewYork.

Public health in action (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)

One undeniable lesson of the COVID-19 pandemic is that those who shortchange public health put us all at risk. And if there were ever a time to appreciate the value of public health, it is now. Our local health infrastructure in New York City — which has experienced years of federal and state disinvestment — has been tested as never before. Every ounce of its capacity has been activated and we’ve felt every dime it’s been shortchanged.   

That is why we looked at the first draft of Governor Cuomo’s executive budget in disbelief. The budget presented in January included a $50 million annual cut to public health funding in New York City.

Thankfully, the State Senate and Assembly rejected these devastating cuts in their budget proposals. And the governor recently announced $5 billion in additional revenue that could prevent these cuts — and others — from happening when the new state budget is enacted by the April 1 start to the new state fiscal year.

However, the proposal reflects how some leaders continue to take public health for granted. 

Public health is not an ‘event’ that begins and ends with an emergency. It is a daily practice of identifying and addressing the issues that cause preventable suffering. The pandemic’s disproportionate impacts reflected society’s biases and how the health needs of Black and brown communities had too often been overlooked by government.

Further cuts are not just myopic, but also immoral. 

Cuts to public health take sorely needed dollars from Early Intervention programs that serve children with developmental delays. They hit Nurse Family Partnerships that support healthy pregnancies and babies through one-on-one support. Sexual health clinics, tuberculosis detection and treatment, and much more rely on vital funding to survive. Beyond these services, mental health, substance use, and developmental disability providers have all suffered cuts in the past and could again. 

All of these services are public health in action.  

In the best of times they have a lifesaving impact. During COVID-19, many have been put in the service of the emergency response. Sexual health clinics repurposed testing machines to run covid tests. Mental health hotlines admirably handled a surge in calls as stressed, grieving, and anxious New Yorkers turned to them for comfort. Nurses volunteered their services at vaccine hubs and children’s services rapidly moved to virtual programming.  

Now is the time for massive investment in public health. We cannot let history repeat itself; New York City’s economic recovery and the health of our communities depend on this budget. If we don’t commit to investing in public health now, the cost down the road will be far greater.

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Dr. Dave Chokshi is New York City’s Health Commissioner. On Twitter @NYCHealthCommr.

Vulnerable New Yorkers need help (photo: governor's office)

As we reached the first year anniversary of the pandemic earlier this month, there’s no disputing that overcrowded nursing homes were not the safest way to care for New York’s most vulnerable. Over 15,000 New Yorkers who died of COVID-19 contracted the virus in nursing homes and while we know that home care workers were a safer alternative for our seniors and people with disabilities, this option of care was not available to most given New York State’s current underinvestment in the home care industry.

The Legislature has been working to address the shortfalls in our long-term care system that were brought to the forefront by this pandemic. While warranted, much of that attention has been focused on nursing home reforms. But we can’t stop there. There are serious gaps in our home care industry that are just as critical. Home care workers are drastically underpaid, which has led to a shortage in care.

The Fair Pay for Home Care Act, which I co-sponsor in the New York State Senate, would enable more New Yorkers to get the care they need at home by lifting workers, who are predominantly women of color, out of poverty and creating more jobs during a time of widespread unemployment.

Two-thirds of New York’s nursing homes are for-profit, which inevitably prioritizes profit over caregiving. The Cuomo administration’s March 25 2020 covid re-admittance order only supercharged the shortcomings at many of these nursing homes, spreading the virus, in the governor’s own words, like “fire through dry grass.” Twelve months later, between 40% and 50% of COVID-19 deaths in New York state can be traced back to nursing homes.

This agonizing scale of loss was preventable by properly investing in safe alternatives to congregate settings. Home care allows people to stay in the comfort of their own home, connected to existing networks of friends and family, without sacrificing the care they need. 

Seniors who remained in their communities with the help of home care were ten times less likely to contract the virus than those in nursing homes. COVID-19 patients who struggled with long-lasting symptoms frequently recovered quicker when they received home health care after discharge.

Unfortunately, our state currently pays tireless home care workers just $22,000 a year, well below the cost of living across the state. These workers do the backbreaking, 24/7 job of providing individualized care for New Yorkers who can no longer care for themselves. They keep our loved ones safe. This is essential work, yet the entire workforce is characteristically underpaid and overworked.

Home care is also an industry long dominated by women of color. In New York, 91% of home care workers are women, 77% are people of color, and 60% are immigrants. New York’s economic development strategy largely relies on Regional Economic Development Councils that bypass job-starved communities of color. Investing in home care is an opportunity to create jobs in a sector that cares for the communities that need them most.

The solution is simple: By passing the Fair Pay for Home Care Act, we will mandate a $35,000 salary for home care workers, lifting thousands of home care workers out of poverty and bringing thousands more into the home care sector to end the workforce shortage. This raise will save the state money — generating $5.3 billion for the New York State economy by saving public benefits spending while generating increased tax revenues and boosting individual spending power.

As New Yorkers seek reliable choices for long-term care and as our population ages, we need to retain current home care workers and address the state’s widening home care workforce shortage. Investing in home care during this year’s state budget is critical to ensure we keep vulnerable New Yorkers safe while responsibly uplifting our workforce and stimulating our economy. 

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State Senator Gustavo Rivera represents parts of the Bronx and chairs the Senate’s health committee. On Twitter @NYSenatorRivera.

(l-r) Alvin Bragg, Diana Florence & Tali Farhadian Weinstein

President Biden is right that Governor Cuomo could face criminal charges for his alleged sexual harassment of current and former aides. Forcibly kissing Lindsey Boylan in the Governor’s Manhattan office alone could trigger a probe from the Manhattan District Attorney’s office. Still, sexual assault survivors like me have no faith in that office’s ability to undertake such a delicate investigation. Manhattan DA Cy Vance continually backs away from cases involving powerful offenders, including Donald Trump eight years ago.

In just three months, voters have an opportunity to bring new leadership to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office when Democrats choose from a field of candidates, and Vance will not be on the ballot. The current DA has repeatedly been accused of failing survivors of sexual violence despite claiming to be pro-gender justice. Survivors frequently share their experiences of being dissuaded, disbelieved, or discarded by the District Attorney’s office for not having enough evidence, for not being the “perfect victim,” or for not wanting to put themselves at greater risk. It is time for this to end.

The stakes are high in this election with so many criminal justice issues in need of reform. Most of the Democratic candidates have issued sex crimes policy platforms and agree that sexual violence is an issue affecting a significant proportion of voting residents in their lifetime. Yet, the candidates’ approaches to adjudicating sex crimes has been largely missing from the public dialogue surrounding the race.

Reform the Sex Crimes Unit, an advocacy group and campaign I started to bring change to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, issued a questionnaire specifically focused on each candidate's respective approach to fighting gender-based violence. An anonymous panel of nearly 20 survivors, advocates, scholars, victim and defense attorneys, and former prosecutors evaluated the responses. The goal was to identify candidates whose vision for combatting sexual violence is: comprehensive and representative of an understanding of trauma; committed to hearing from and serving the community in need; specific, transparent, and measurable; inspirational and forward thinking.

The panel concluded that three of the eight Democratic candidates — Tali Farhadian Weinstein, Alvin Bragg, and Diana Florence — centered survivors in these ways and would be serious, creative, and kind leaders. Some key ideas stood out as must-dos for whoever wins the position and becomes Manhattan District Attorney in January.

Have the sex crimes team report directly to the District Attorney and ensure they are well staffed. Farhadian Weinstein wrote, “Given the time-sensitive nature of these cases, this Bureau is likely to be the most heavily staffed in the office. The structure will include five central roles: prosecutors, in-house investigators, experts, victim advocates, and toxicologists.” Staff need a nuanced understanding of the different crimes falling under the umbrella of gender-based violence. Leadership must be unequivocal about this.

Train Assistant District Attorneys and staff to look beyond just the accusation in front of them. Bragg said that he “always look[s] at the account of one survivor as part of a bigger picture with the possibility of serial misconduct, complicity by other individuals or an entity, cover-up activity like lying or obstruction, and laundering of funds to facilitate sex offenses.” If gender-based crimes are often “the canary in the corruption coal mine,” as Florence noted, staff cannot work in silos.

Establish a new approach to staff performance evaluation and accountability. Bragg rightly pointed out that “reliance on conviction rates to measure success in any prosecutor’s office is problematic and invariably results in the over-prosecution of easily proven crimes and the under-prosecution of more challenging crimes. This inevitably leads to under-prosecuting sexual crimes.” Other measures of success must be set and shared publicly along with data on sex crimes prosecutions.

Disclose campaign contributions and possible conflicts of interest. Florence promised to follow “a system of accountability to track and publicly disclose outcomes of all cases referred and prosecuted by the office and whether or not the lawyers or persons accused have given campaign donations.” Bragg rejects contributions from attorneys with cases before the DA.

Be intentional and public about the District Attorney’s commitment to survivors. The three recommended candidates each offered detailed, empathetic plans on fighting and staying the course on sexual violence. Bragg promised to be guided by “cultural humility,” something we all need more of.

Prosecutors often fail to consider or address the root causes of sexual violence. Instead they focus on the over-prosecution of non-violent crimes to bolster their own winning record. Victims, offenders, and communities lose. Whoever wins the election to become the next Manhattan District Attorney must center their work around those closest to the violence and those with the most to lose by coming forward to report it. Survivors deserve a champion who centers victims, delivers justice, and reduces harm.

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Marissa Hoechstetter is the founder of Reform the Sex Crimes Unit, a campaign for transparency and accountability in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. On Twitter @mhoechstetter.