Press Room

After Mayor Eric Adams made comments today blaming the recently-enacted Local Law 62 for his assertion that migrant New Yorkers will be forced onto the streets, New York City Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams – prime sponsor of the law – issued the following statement:

"It’s frustrating to hear the mayor scapegoat a law that aggregates, affirms, and publicizes the existing rights of homeless New Yorkers as an excuse for the failure of the government to address the homelessness crisis, a law he did not veto. None of the Mayor's policies would have significantly helped this crisis for the 50,000 homeless individuals in city shelters the day before the first migrant bus arrived at Port Authority.

“The law that the mayor is spreading misinformation about was introduced amid the administration’s dehumanizing sweeps of encampments, to prevent the criminalization of homelessness and ensure protections are upheld in shelters. The mayor has a pattern of saying things with a disregard for the reality behind them or the harm that results, and I hope he will retract his false statements and instead focus on actually implementing the law and addressing the issue.  

“With temperatures dropping, families sleeping on the streets is not an inevitability, no matter what the mayor claims. It is a failure of government on all levels, and must be addressed with resolve, not redirection. Rather than continuing to try and strip away the rights of homeless New Yorkers in policy and in court, the mayor should be redirecting funding used to criminalize homelessness and put it toward the only solution that will address this crisis – permanent, deeply affordable, accessible housing.” 

“Daniel Ohebshalom is the property owner behind the landlord at the top of my office’s 2022 Worst Landlord Watchlist, Johnathan Santana, who holds the most violations in the history of that list. This and other settlements are important measures of accountability to show him and other bad actors the consequences of putting profit over people. Penalties need to be severe enough to be more than the cost of doing business, they have to change behavior – otherwise, despite the settlement, his tenants will continue to suffer.

“I urge the city to invest the funds from this settlement in expanding enforcement to hold the most negligent landlords to account for the dilapidated and dangerous conditions which they subject tenants to, allowing buildings to become unlivable as rents grow ever more unaffordable. I have a list of where to start.”

As the use of e-bikes and other micromobility devices rises rapidly citywide, so too does the need for safety regulations and infrastructure surrounding them. An alarming number of fires have been caused by the lithium ion batteries powering these devices, elevating the urgency of such safety standards. At a City Council hearing of the Committee on Consumer and Worker protection today, New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams highlighted concerns surrounding the risks associated with the use and storage of these devices, and stressed the need for safety measures on and off the road.

"Micromobility device users currently operate in an untenable situation,” said Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams. “Owners have to navigate unclear regulations about their potentially hazardous vehicles. Furthermore, there is little public infrastructure that can accommodate micromobility devices… Through clear standards, the Council can make ownership of micromobility devices as simple as owning a car.”

The increase in the popularity of e-bikes and electric scooters has led to a corresponding increase in fires and hazards due to faulty technology and unsafe storage and charging practices. The Public Advocate encouraged both public information campaigns and specific support to businesses about safety measures and mandates. He pointed to Intro 819,  which would require all businesses that sell e-bikes, e-scooters and other personal mobility devices powered by batteries to post lithium-ion battery safety informational materials and guides, as a means for the city to encourage safety and protect New Yorkers who rely on these devices.

“We must prioritize legal and safe infrastructure around the usage of micromobility devices… E-bike repair shops should be as safe as any auto repair shop,” the Public Advocate argued, including that “I would like to work with the Council to include in this bill language that would explicitly exclude residential areas from becoming e-bike repair shops and have limits on how many devices can be charged in one home.”

Read the Public Advocate’s full comments at today’s hearing below.

STATEMENT OF PUBLIC ADVOCATE JUMAANE D. WILLIAMS TO THE NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL COMMITTEE ON CONSUMER AND WORKER PROTECTION OCTOBER 23RD, 2023

Good morning,

My name is Jumaane D. Williams, and I am the Public Advocate for the City of New York. I would like to thank Chair Velázquez and the Committee members for holding this hearing.

 Because of the proliferation of micromobility devices across the city, lithium ion battery related safety concerns affect all New Yorkers. Micromobility devices, which are human or electric powered small and low speed transportation devices, have the potential to significantly reduce New Yorkers’ reliance on fossil fuels. However, citywide planning has gone so poorly that many are choosing instead to utilize gas powered mopeds for transportation. These mopeds are noisier and pollute as compared to electric powered micromobility devices. It should be the goal of the Council to make micromobility devices powered by lithium ion batteries as attractive as possible to adapt. 

Yet, we cannot allow unsafe practices to spring up to support the micromobility movement. AS has been heard today, there have been many deaths, unfortunately, not to mention the loss of treasured items – I heard from one person yesterday who lost items in the storage unit that burned as well. I recently heard from a landlord who stated his tenant operates a micromobility charging business and repair shop within his apartment. He reported the issue to FDNY. He claimed FDNY told him there are no laws preventing the tenant unless a fire starts. Thus, the tenant is still able to continue charging multiple micromobility devices in a residential building. This is a huge fire risk to the whole building. 

We must prioritize legal and safe infrastructure around the usage of micromobility devices, which is why Intro 1220 is so critical. E-bike repair shops should be as safe as any auto repair shop. Additionally, I would like to work with the Council to include in this bill language that would explicitly exclude residential areas from becoming ebike repair shops and have limits on how many devices can be charged in one home. 

Micromobility device users currently operate in an untenable situation. Owners have to navigate unclear regulations about their potentially hazardous vehicles. Furthermore, there is little public infrastructure that can accommodate micromobility devices. Ultimately, the state and federal government must develop standards and monitoring practices for lithium ion batteries, which both resolutions today recognize. Through clear standards the Council can make ownership of micromobility devices as simple as owning a car. Third-party delivery companies have a unique role to play in facilitating safe practices, and the legislation before us today does a great job at addressing third-party companies’ responsibility to ensure delivery workers’ safety.

Additionally, there must be more public information about best practices for lithium ion battery safety, which is why Intro 0819  is also important. The legislation highlights a larger problem that New York City Council must grapple with. Bills in Council are passed adding new regulations for business owners, but little is done to let business owners know about these new requirements. Bills such as 0819 must also be coupled with new funding for outreach campaigns so that business owners can be informed about what they are required to post.

Lastly, online retailers do not have the same burden placed on them when we just require physical posters to be displayed. This is a mistake, as many e-bike customers in particular buy their e-bikes online. We must protect New Yorkers from future lithium ion battery fires, and we must make sure everyone is aware of potential dangers. Through promoting micromobility device use, we will get more cars off of the streets and reduce both noise and air pollution. We also have to make sure that New Yorkers are safe with speed, which is another question, so I’m happy the Council seems to be trying to find a balance to make these available, particularly for workers who need them, to fit the demand. As New Yorkers want things quicker and quicker, we’ll try to find the service that will provide it - but we have to make sure everyone is safe.

Thank you.

“More than a decade of effort has gone into the Shirley Chisholm Center. After years of planning and community engagement, it is gratifying to see ground broken today on what will be a vital community space. While in the Council, in the wake of Kimani Gray’s death, I was proud to initiate this project to promote youth development, not destruction, and combat the plague of gun violence driven by a lack of resources, opportunity, and investment in communities.

“I thank Council Member Louis for her leadership in continuing to fight for this project, even expanding it, and seeing it through to today’s milestone. The purpose of this project was to create an impact that will last not just beyond a term in office, but through generations of young people to follow. I’m excited for the day, hopefully not too far off, when everyone who worked together on this project can celebrate this center opening its doors and, in the spirit of its namesake, serving as a catalyst for change that brings increased fellowship and opportunity to a neighborhood that I was and am proud to represent.”

After Council Member Inna Vernikov displayed a firearm at a protest yesterday, and as demonstrations continue citywide amid the violence in the Middle East, New York City Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams released the following statement:

"In this moment of tragedy and grief overseas and in our city, we must make room for one another’s grief and humanity, and provide space and support for people to cry out in their personal and cultural pain.

"Council Member Vernikov carrying and showing off a weapon as a tool of intimidation and seeming threat of violence against protesters shows a dangerous dereliction of our duty as elected officials to help New Yorkers be and feel safe. We are relieved that she has now been charged for this action and surrendered her permit.

"It also shows the volatile conditions in our city. So many people are afraid in our city today: Jewish and Israeli New Yorkers, Palestinian and Muslim New Yorkers, and New Yorkers who want to express their support for the people closest to this pain. That fear compounds with grief, and with every story about incidents or threats of violence.

"We have an obligation to protect the rights and safety of protesters and worshippers, without over-policing either. Most of us in New York do not have the direct ability to end violence overseas, but we must do what we can, with what we have, to comfort our  neighbors and prevent escalation in our city."

"No words I can say will shape or stop the endless cycles of violence in Israel and Palestine, and few come amid this unspeakable massacre. I vehemently condemn the attacks on innocent civilians by Hamas that have stolen the lives of so many, and I mourn with the New Yorkers and people worldwide who see this senseless death and feel this loss as their own.

"I see the inhumanity of slaughter, and can be guided only by the humanity of grief. Borders and backgrounds do not determine or define humanity, and grief looks the same across them all. Pain looks the same. Death looks the same. And as it has for decades, pain and death will only continue in the region, escalated exponentially in the wake of this attack.

"Political alignment cannot be a filter against compassion, outrage, or horror in the face of carnage. Rallies in the immediate aftermath of attacks that seemingly glorify deaths, like the one in Times Square, were unseemly, ill-placed and repugnant. Many of the responses in our city to unspeakable violence overseas have been to speak in rash, reactionary, and dehumanizing ways, where compassion is determined by creed. I understand the emotions that drive these responses, but they too can be dangerous.

"Massacre of innocent people is indefensible. War is not something to egg on. Death is not something to excuse. Oppression is not something to overlook. As I write this, unspeakable harm and violence is being wrought on innocent people in Gaza caught in cycles of violence.

"We can, we have to be able to, at once grieve the hundreds of innocent lives taken in Israel, and oppose the escalating violence of retaliation, the endless war, the systemic violence and oppression of Palestinians too often ignored, excused, or condoned. I refuse to believe that it is impossible to express all of these sentiments, and I believe that in grief, we must provide space and support for people to cry out in their personal and cultural pain. Particularly in a city of great diversity and constituencies we are honored to represent, that is the space that is needed, that our leaders should be building. Doing so will always invite criticism, but ultimately be the best and only way to see progress. 

"I understand the seeming impossibility of that effort, yet I urge us all to recognize humanity even in opponents —conflict looks different, war looks different, through a lens of humanity. Through that lens, peace must be the only goal.

"Violence begets violence, and only peace can overcome it. I pray for comfort in this moment, an end to both the immediate and the underlying violence, and somehow, for lasting peace."