Press Room

"On Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, it’s important to look beyond the sanitized quotes and characterizations to see Dr. King the activist, the agitator, the radical. Through that revolutionary lens, it is easier to see the ongoing struggle and the need to take it up. Because today the Black community can vote – sometimes – and we can go to public schools – sometimes – but the "freedom" of the King dream is far from achieved.

"Right now, as it has been since the days of Dr. King, our community is still trapped between the very real street violence in our neighborhoods and the too-often oppressive overpolicing ineffectively deployed to combat it. And also far too often in today’s political environment, we see leaders who would exploit that tension rather than work to resolve it. We should be wary not to follow those leaders who claim their own purposes should stand in for ours.

"We are not a singular speech, we are a conversation. And that conversation, which stretches back as far as the marches Dr. King led, is critical as we continue the work to upend the same unjust systems those marches opposed."

"New Yorkers deserve to be safe and feel safe. Unfortunately, in her State of State, the governor's emphasis on low-level crimes will likely make people feel less safe, and over-incarcerating low-income New Yorkers for low-level offenses will cause more damage than it prevents, as we've learned from decades of similar attempts. The strategy outlined today showed a focus solely on law-enforcement and carceral solutions, without even an attempt at holistic approaches that have been proven to improve public safety. Additionally, there was no real mention of addressing gun violence across the state.

"Health is a component of public safety that the governor did thankfully address, both in a commitment to combat maternal health injustice and inequity, and in a need to center mental health, especially for young people. As with other areas, though, it is essential that mental health is met with resources, not a criminal response.

"Given her acknowledgement that housing affordability is an urgent crisis and priority for New Yorkers, it is striking how little of the address was spent on addressing that crisis. More housing is absolutely essential, and building on state sites is welcome – but it is far short of the broad plan the governor proposed but failed to collaborate with communities on last year. The answer to make up the additional shortfall is not handouts to developers in exchange for minimal so-called affordable units. This includes any converted commercial spaces, which again, is a vital element. Social housing, controlled by residents, must be central to a plan that can actually meet this crisis. And to help people access the housing we do create, the governor must support the Housing Access Voucher Program.

"Yet again, there was no effort in this agenda to keep tenants in the homes they have, through passing Good Cause eviction protections, expanding rent stabilization, and holding predatory landlords accountable. The governor must recognize this and work with the legislature to get it done. Last year’s impasse and inaction is something New Yorkers cannot afford.

"Lastly, while housing was under-discussed, at least it was given any time at all, unlike the ongoing effort to support migrants arriving here. With the mayor evicting children and families from shelters today, these two crises are intertwined, and it is inexplicable that the governor has gone through another State of the State without addressing one of our most pressing issues.  

"The state of our state may be strong, but far too few of the proposals in this agenda were strong enough to meet the needs New Yorkers face."

“Expanding access to CityFHEPS housing vouchers has been a necessary step in addressing our city’s mounting homelessness crisis. It’s an issue the Council recognized and quickly acted on, and an issue that the administration has resisted then demonstrably disseminated false information about—as apparent through today’s IBO findings.

“As hundreds of new New Yorkers arrive daily to our city, I hope the administration reverses course and understands the fiscal prudence and moral necessity of CityFHEPS vouchers in light of our homelessness crisis. And as the Governor delivers her State of the State address tomorrow, I urge her to build on the progress the City Council has made by embracing the Housing Access Voucher Program, which would further help move people out of temporary shelters and into permanent homes, regardless of immigration status.”

"I am extremely saddened to hear of the passing of Dr. John Louis Flateau– a cerebral giant, acclaimed educator and dedicated public servant for the city and state of New York. His long tenure as a professor, administrator and dean at Medgar Evers helped shape the lives of countless students, and his work in both the city and state government helped advance justice and equity for communities across New York. As a former commissioner of the NYC Districting Commission, he helped ensure our districts accurately reflect the population and demographic changes of our city. Without his work, I’m not sure I would be where I am today.

"Dr. Flateau was a tremendous leader that uplifted and inspired his community, and his enormous contributions will have a lasting impact for many years to come."

New York City Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams passed eleven pieces of legislation through the City Council in 2023 as prime sponsor. These bills range from public safety measures, to environmental protections and housing safety, to helping veterans and homeless New Yorkers access services. To date, Public Advocate Williams has passed 26 pieces of legislation since taking office, more than all previous officeholders combined.

Among the legislation passed this year were several reforms to the criminal legal system and city jails, amid an ongoing crisis on Rikers Island. They include:

Intro 549-A, which would end the use of solitary confinement in city jails by putting in place enforceable standards that uphold both the due process rights and well-being of incarcerated people, closing loopholes and focusing on rehabilitation.

Int. 349-A, which mandates that the Department of Correction (DOC) provides dyslexia screenings for  incarcerated individuals and evidence-based intervention programs to individuals who are diagnosed with dyslexia during the screening.

Intro 887-B, which requires the DOC to regularly report on information on status of and services related to individuals in custody whose gender identity is different from the sex assigned to the individual at birth, including, transgender, gender nonconforming, non-binary, or intersex individuals.

The Public Advocate passed three bills to increase transparency and accountability in policing, including:

Intro 586-A would require the NYPD to log and report basic information on level one, two, and three investigative encounters between the police and civilians, in order to collect data and help prevent bias and over-policing. This reporting can be accomplished through a brief smartphone survey, and does not apply to casual conversations with the community.

Intro 585-A would require the NYPD to turn over body-worn camera footage to the Department of Investigation's Inspector General for the NYPD within ten days of receiving a request. If footage is withheld, the Department must provide a written explanation to DOI, within ten business days which includes a citation to the specific law or laws that prohibit disclosure.

Intro 781-A would require the NYPD to document information surrounding vehicle stops, including the justification for the stop, whether an observed offense was cited as justification, and whether the offense constituted an infraction, a violation, a misdemeanor or felony.

In line with the Public Advocate’s annual release of the Worst Landlord Watchlist, this year he passed Intro 583-A, the “Worst Landlord Law,” to help prevent fraudulent repairs by bad landlords by denying self-certification for repeat offenders, and increase accountability for failure to correct hazardous violations, including by increasing financial penalties.

Additionally, to support the creation of sustainable housing, Intro 689-A would broaden the parameters for certain green infrastructure project incentives to include in one to four family homes and eliminate fees for those projects.

To further address the housing and homelessness crisis, he passed Intro 190-A to produce a statement of rights of homeless New Yorkers both outside of and within the city’s shelter system, as well as standards required to be met within shelters. The law mandates that the city distribute information about these rights to individuals in need.

Another bill passed by the public advocate is also centered on informing New Yorkers of their rights and resources – Intro 1244 provides veterans with information about city services available to them, both online and through distribution of pamphlets in community spaces.

Finally, Intro 805-A will require the Department of Transportation (DOT) to expedite studies of traffic crashes involving pedestrian fatalities or serious injuries every four years, and to make reports available on any location with four or more such incidents. These studies would analyze the factors behind crashes and develop strategies to improve pedestrian safety.

In addition to legislative achievements, the office released key reports this year to inform the public, review agency actions, and shape policy discussions through recommendations. These included Out of Service: Creating an Equitable Transit System for New York City, a report to outline the inequities disabled New Yorkers experience while using public transit in New York City, and Orange Sky, Red Alert: A Review of Air Quality Emergencies in NYC, which finds shortcomings in the city’s response to the air quality emergency.

The Public Advocate’s office also addressed New Yorkers’ needs through the Constituent Services team. In 2023, they provided direct assistance to the public on issues including housing and utilities, health access, education, and much more. Whether virtually or face to face, they come up against challenging issues for New Yorkers who need an advocate in their city and in their government. From June 2022 to June 2023, our unit received and addressed nearly 2600 constituent cases related to  federal, state, and local government.

After an extremely productive 2023 in the areas of legislation, policy, community affairs and engagement, and constituent services, the office is resolved to continue to hold the government accountable, lift up the needs of New Yorkers, and deliver real change in our city.

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NEW YORK: The New York City Council will vote on a bill to ban solitary confinement today, legislation from Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams to prohibit the isolating practice in city jails. This bill marks the most comprehensive and concrete legislative effort to end the practice of solitary, which the United Nations defines as torture, on a citywide level.

“Solitary confinement is inhumane, and its presence in our city is indefensible,” said New York City Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams on the bill. “Committing an infraction in jail can cause you to lose privileges, not basic human rights. People in solitary are isolated, denied human contact and connection, denied support, and come out of these deplorable conditions worse than when they went in – and some don’t come out at all. Banning solitary – not just in name, but in practice – is good for public safety. This bill will make our jails and our city safer, and correct an immoral injustice that has no place in New York. I thank the Speaker and City Council for their support of this bill, and thank the advocates and impacted people and families who have turned pain into purpose and brought us to this historic moment.”

While city officials have claimed that solitary confinement is not being utilized, the practice has continued on Rikers Island in all but name. Extended, unchecked periods of isolation have been found to cause immense damage to the physical, mental, and emotional well-being of people subjected to it, and have not been found to be either a deterrent against violent infractions or a solution to prevent future harm. To the contrary, time spent in solitary is linked to increased violence in jails and increased rates of recidivism.

Intro 549-A, co-prime sponsored by Council Members Rivera, Cabán, Hudson, Riley, Won, and Restler, will end this de facto solitary confinement by putting in place enforceable standards that uphold both the due process rights and well-being of incarcerated people, closing loopholes and focusing on rehabilitation. It allows for temporary separation and de-escalation of conflict for safety purposes in specific instances, while preventing the torture of extended isolation. Crucially, it sets minimum standards for what constitutes a cell and out-of-cell time, and enshrines other guidelines from the Board of Correction into law to ensure that the Department of Correction cannot circumvent these standards.

Under Intro 549-A, a person can be placed in “de-escalation confinement” to address an immediate issue, then if necessary, to an alternative unit that still permits a level of separation without the harm of isolation. It applies the decades-old standard of 14 hours out-of-cell time to all people in jail, including in alternative units. It provides legal assurance that even in alternative units, incarcerated people will have a level of interaction with others, and ensures that due process is employed throughout any period of separation. The bill further mandates that people in alternative units will receive programming designed to prevent future harmful behaviors

“There has been a long campaign of misinformation about solitary in New York City, and about the components and impact of this bill, but the reality is that no matter what terminology you use, people are facing the cruel and unusual punishment of isolation, and carrying the damage of that torture for the rest of their lives. This is happening in our city, and we cannot look away,” continued Public Advocate Williams. “Corrections officers face real difficulties and challenges. Those challenges, though, are not and will not be caused by a bill being voted on today. This bill simply provides an enforceable and effective way to do what we should already have been doing to uphold minimum standards of safety and decency on Rikers. Opponents of banning solitary are trying to uphold a status quo of crisis and inhumanity, and we cannot allow that in our city.”

“For decades, solitary confinement has been used as a disciplinary tool in our jail system, and the reality is this: no matter what you call it, solitary confinement is horrific, and inhumane. Human rights experts have declared that solitary confinement is torture," said Council Member Carlina Rivera, Chair of the Committee on Criminal Justice. “As Chair of the Committee on Criminal Justice, passing Int. 549 has been one of my top priorities, and I’m proud to support this legislation. We must strive for a criminal legal system that leads the nation in reforms rather than accepting a status quo where our neighbors are locked away in abusive and dangerous conditions.”

In addition to the harm that has gone unseen, the isolated voices unheard, there have been several high profile tragedies on Rikers in recent years. In 2015, after spending years in solitary, 22 year-old Kalief Browder took his own life. In 2021, Brandon Rodriguez died by suicide in solitary, and in 2019, Layleen Polanco lost her life when she did not receive adequate medical treatment while in solitary. Critically, this bill will go beyond the walls of Rikers to all jails in the city, and beyond the complex’s impending closure.

As New York City votes on the Public Advocate’s bill today, there is growing momentum for federal action on the practice. Last week, the entire Democratic House delegation from New York City urged passage of Intro 549-A, and a bill to enact a national ban was introduced in the House this summer. Polling shows that a majority of Americans support the measures to ban solitary which are included in the Public Advocate’s legislation.

The bill from the Public Advocate is one of five being voted on today, which also include legislation to report on law enforcement stops, to streamline oversight access to police body camera footage, and to provide veterans with information about city services available to them.

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