Press Room

As the rights of transgender individuals continue to be under attack nationwide, New York City Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams today advanced his legislation to affirm the rights of transgender New Yorkers in the hospital system. At a joint hearing of the Committee on Women and Gender Equity and the Committee on Health, he advocated passage of a bill to combat the inequities and injustices that transgender patients have long faced in healthcare settings.

“Transgender people have experienced oppression and barriers in different aspects of their lives, whether it pertains to healthcare or social and economic elements,” said Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams to the committee. “These factors, coupled with high rates of discrimination and violence can impact the health disparities that have been exacerbated by the pandemic. These impacts will continue to be felt in the future if we do not start to close the gaps. Through legislation, we can build a more inclusive and equitable City that ensures accessible healthcare to our transgender New Yorkers.”

The bill, Intro 066, would require the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) to distribute signs on an individual’s right to be referred to by a preferred name, title, gender and pronoun to every hospital in the city.

This bill would also require DOHMH to establish guidance to encourage hospitals to list and conspicuously post the transgender-specific services offered by each hospital, and would require DOHMH to post such guidance on its website. DOHMH would also be required to coordinate with hospitals to update such list of transgender-specific services, and post the list of services and any updates on the department’s website.

1 in 3 transgender individuals report having to educate their doctors about basic transgender issues in order to receive appropriate care. About the same proportion of trans individuals who have seen a healthcare provider in the last year report having had at least one negative experience related to being transgender. As a result, 27% of transgender people report having not seen a doctor in the past year for fear of being mistreated.

When the bill was first introduced, the Public Advocate released a short-form documentary piece highlighting the obstacles that transgender and gender non-conforming New Yorkers face in accessing quality, gender-affirming health care. The piece, entitled Our Healthcare, features a roundtable discussion between members of the Office of the Public Advocate and a panel of transgender activists – watch it here.

“We have a duty to support and affirm transgender people,” closed the Public Advocate. “...While New York has made these great strides, transgender people still face barriers and gaps within the healthcare system. This bill creates clear guidelines for hospitals to follow and ensure there is more awareness and visibility for transgender people when they seek medical care. We must create a system of support that reiterates this city’s full commitment.”

Read the Public Advocate’s full statement to the committee below.

STATEMENT OF PUBLIC ADVOCATE JUMAANE D. WILLIAMS

TO THE NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL COMMITTEE ON

WOMEN AND GENDER EQUITY AND COMMITTEE ON HEALTH

JUNE 12, 2023

Good morning, 

My name is Jumaane D. Williams and I am the Public Advocate for the City of New York. Thank you very much Chair Cabán and Chair Schulman and members of the Committee on Women and Gender Equity and Committee on Health for holding this hearing and allowing me the opportunity to provide a statement on the bill I am introducing. 

For the past three years, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a rippling effect on all of us across a range of intersecting issues. However, it has been amplified among marginalized communities of more color. Transgender New Yorkers have experienced oppression and barriers in different aspects of their lives, whether it pertains to healthcare or social and economic elements. These factors coupled with high rates of discrimination and violence can impact the health disparities that have been exacerbated by the pandemic. These impacts will continue to be felt in the future if we do not start to close the gaps. Through legislation, we can build a more inclusive and equitable City that ensures accessible healthcare to our transgender New Yorkers. 

Healthcare in the United States has rarely proactively considered the impact on transgender non-confirming patients. It is important to have signage readily available and accessible to transgender patients who want to know their rights and services that are offered at hospitals. Int 0066-2022 would ensure this happens by requiring the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) to distribute signs on individual’s rights to be referred to by a preferred name, title, gender and pronoun to every hospital in the city. This bill would also require DOHMH to establish guidance to encourage hospitals to list and conspicuously post the transgender-specific services offered by each hospital, and would require DOHMH to post such guidance on its website. DOHMH would also be required to coordinate with hospitals to update such lists of transgender-specific services, and post the list of services and any updates on the department’s website.

There has been nationwide backlash towards transgender Americans. The banning of gender-affirming care by 21 states such as Texas, Florida, and recently Missouri, is one of the many anti-trans legislation that has passed. These legislation will threaten the lives and well-being of so many people. More young people will be at risk due to not receiving the care they need, and will be endangered by this discriminatory law. As of 2023, there have been 556 bills introduced that block trans Americans from receiving basic healthcare, education, legal recognition, and the right to publicly exist within 49 states. 83 of them have passed, 369 of them are active, and 104 of them have failed. We have a duty to support and affirm transgender Americans and New Yorkers. In 2014, New York H+H/Metropolitan was the first City hospital to open a health center dedicated to the LGBTQ+ community. Today there are a total of six centers that provide these crucial services with H+H Metropolitan Hospital in East Harlem being the most recent. While New York has made these great strides, transgender New Yorkers still face barriers and gaps within the healthcare system. This bill creates clear guidelines for hospitals to follow and ensure there is more awareness and visibility for transgender people when they seek medical care. We must create a system of support that reiterates this city’s full commitment. I hope my colleagues will join me in supporting this bill. Now is the time to take swift action.

I do want to make sure that all New Yorkers are clear that we have to make sure that everyone has the care they need without exception, and the minute we provide an exception, none of us are safe. I also always want to make sure to lift up Black trans women in particular, who are bearing the brunt of violence and discrimination against them. 

Thank you. 

New York City Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams today introduced a slate of legislation aimed at changing systems in city jails, including a resolution formally calling for the President to place the Department of Correction under federal receivership. He first called for receivership following the federal monitor’s report last month.

“It is clear that after over a year of purported reforms, the city has shown itself to be unable to meet the needs of those under its custody, care, and control at this time. The issues on Rikers are longstanding, and predate this administration, but despite any efforts by the city, patterns of abuse, neglect, secrecy and misinformation have continued,” said Public Advocate Williams in introducing the resolution.

“If the administration could show me a more swift, effective, fully functioning plan than is currently in place, that would be welcome – but we can’t wait to see if conditions worsen and harm compounds,” Public Advocate Williams continued. “I do not take this step lightly, and know that receivership comes with its own challenges -- at the same time, we need rapid reform. Right now, I urge my colleagues on the Council to support this resolution and call for intervention to protect people on both sides of the bars.”

The receivership resolution details the recent history of the crisis on Rikers and the push for receivership in the courts, and argues that “Federal receivership is a designation that would give sweeping powers to an independent authority tasked with finally ending violence on Rikers Island as it has helped remedy entrenched problems at other lockups nationwide.”

In light of the court’s current position that the Department of Correction’s action plan is sufficient and the reality that “only a non-partisan receiver appointed by the Federal Court can suspend laws, regulations, and contracts, including a collective bargaining agreement, that interfere with the implementation of the consent decree, and in correcting the things that the court determined are in need of correction,” the resolution calls on “the President of the United States to immediately place New York City jails in federal receivership.”

After his inspection of Rikers alongside Comptroller Brad Lander yesterday, the Public Advocate repeated his assessment that, at this time, receivership is the best available path to most quickly address the myriad of changes needed and challenges faced at Rikers Island. In addition to the dangerous conditions for people on both sides of the bars, he cited the Department of Correction’s resistance to transparency about deaths and harm in city jails, efforts by the department to reduce or impede oversight, and budget cuts to restorative programming.

He further noted transition to receivership “must be guided by people currently and locally involved in reform and oversight work, rather than those committed to a failing status quo. And must not be up to solely one person."

Public Advocate Williams also introduced legislation today to protect the rights of detainees on Rikers Island.

First, with Council Member Keith Powers, he introduced Intro 1093, a bill to require the city to report on voter registration in city jails, alongside a companion resolution calling for state action to help ensure this right and facilitate registration and voting among incarcerated people.

Second, the Public Advocate introduced a bill with Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson, Intro 1092, to provide opportunity and access for eligible incarcerated people to apply for and obtain IDNYC cards while detained, an important access point for other services and resources.

As the Public Advocate has maintained, systemic change at Rikers must include passage of legislation that will improve services, culture, and safety for all on the island. It must also include a commitment to decarcerate and follow through on the legally and morally mandated timeline to close Rikers for good.

Watch the Public Advocate and Comptroller speak following their inspection of Rikers here, and read the Public Advocate’s initial call for federal receivership in the wake of the monitor’s report here.

NEW YORK: After calling for Rikers to be put under federal receivership, New York City Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams furthered his call for reforms on Rikers Island in a statement to the Committees on Criminal Justice and Oversight and Investigations as part of a joint hearing today. The hearing was focused primarily on the Department of Correction’s transportation of detained individuals to Court. a longstanding issue on the island which has contributed to the crisis conditions which now require further federal intervention to protect people on both sides of the bars.

Public Advocate Williams called for receivership after an alarming report from the Rikers federal monitor on Friday revealed recent incidents of harm in the city’s jails and a resistance to transparency from the administration. These were the latest in a long series of incidents for a crisis that dates back and administrations.

“I don’t celebrate this step, which I know would bring its own challenges, but it is clear that when it comes to protecting people on both sides of the bars and correcting the crisis conditions on Rikers, after over a year of purported reforms, this administration has earned neither the trust nor the confidence it shows in this area,” said the Public Advocate in his making call. “They did not create the longstanding issues on Rikers, but despite any efforts they have undertaken, patterns of abuse, neglect, secrecy and misinformation have continued.”

As part of addressing the crisis conditions on Rikers, where the large majority of detainees are held pre-trial, the Public Advocate pushed for measures to help ensure more detainees are able to attend their court appearances and move through the judicial process.

“As we strive to close Rikers, the Department of Correction must improve the rate of court production,” said the Public Advocate. “Delays and postponed hearings and trials further burden our judicial system and force people to remain incarcerated longer than necessary as they wait for new court dates.”

He made clear that increasing the rate of court production is essential to the ultimate goal of closing Rikers, arguing that “Court delays have significantly led to rapid population growth at Rikers, complicating the planned closing of the jail…the majority of people in the jails on Rikers Island have not been convicted of any crime, and these long stays are unacceptable, and violates their Sixth Amendment right to a speedy trial.”

The Public Advocate’s full statement to the committee is below, and his statement calling for receivership is here.

STATEMENT OF PUBLIC ADVOCATE JUMAANE D. WILLIAMS

TO THE NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL COMMITTEES ON CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND OVERSIGHT AND INVESTIGATIONS

MAY 30, 2023

Good afternoon, 

My name is Jumaane D. Williams, and I am the Public Advocate for the City of New York. I would like to thank Chairs Rivera and Brewer and the members of the Committees on Criminal Justice and Oversight and Investigations for holding this hearing. 

Access to the courts is a vital necessity to those incarcerated in our city’s jail yet recent statistics from the Mayor’s Management Report indicate that more than a quarter of people incarcerated in NYC jails are either not getting to court on time or failing to show up for their court appearances. It is the highest rate of failure on record since the data became publicly available in 1999 and a departure from just two years ago when the rate of court transportation was 94.6 percent. 

As we strive to close Rikers, the Department of Correction (DOC) must improve the rate of court production. Delays and postponed hearings and trials further burden our judicial system and force people to remain incarcerated longer than necessary as they wait for new court dates. Furthermore, court delays have significantly led to rapid population growth at Rikers, complicating the planned closing of the jail. The city forecasts that the jail population will increase to 7,000 by next year, but the four proposed borough-based replacement jails together cannot house more than 3,300 people. Last year, those incarcerated on Rikers Island awaiting the conclusion of their cases spent an average of 115 days locked up, four times the national average. According to a list of the longest-serving detainees in city custody obtained by THE CITY last year, several men have been on Rikers Island and in other city Department of Correction jails for years, with one person housed there for more than a decade. It is important to reiterate that the majority of people in the jails on Rikers Island have not been convicted of any crime, and these long stays are unacceptable, and violates their Sixth Amendment right to a speedy trial.

Court delays can be attributed to understaffing and chronic misuse of sick leave. Though DOC has made improvements in its overall absence rate, the recent Preliminary Mayor’s Management Report for the first four months of Fiscal 2023 indicates DOC still had the highest absence rate out of all city agencies at 17.4 percent, a decrease from FY 2022’s total absence rate of 26.58 percent. In addition to delayed transportation of detainees for court hearings and trials, unlimited sick leave has also opened the door for exploitation and abuse, leaving jails understaffed and officers vulnerable to violence. This chronic lack of staffing has also led to an overuse of emergency lockdowns; during a lockdown, there is no movement on or off Rikers Island, meaning that the people incarcerated there cannot leave the jail to go to court.

There is also a lack of adequate space to hold people transported from jail in the courthouses, and inadequate staff to escort people from holding cells to the courtroom itself. For those who have a scheduled court appearance, the day starts early: as there are no longer jails close to the courthouses in Manhattan and Brooklyn, detainees are typically woken at 4:00 am to be shackled and bussed to the courthouse. Even with the early start, many are still late to their hearings. This causes a domino effect of delayed hearings. 

The dangerous and inhumane conditions that exist at Rikers Island take a significant toll on detainees, exacerbating physical and mental health struggles. More than half of the population at Rikers has a mental health diagnosis, with 16 percent having a serious mental illness. Ensuring that people spend as little time as possible in these conditions means processing their cases in a timely fashion. We call on the Department of Corrections and the Adams administration to rectify this issue and create a criminal justice system that is truly just. Thank you.

"On Memorial Day, we remember all those who have lost their lives in military service to our nation. We honor those whose commitment to protecting their neighbor and nation extended even to that ultimate sacrifice.

"In memorializing those who have been killed in defense of others, we show our gratitude for that sacrifice, and the spirit of service which drives it. This appreciation is separate from the opposition that I and many have to particular military actions – I respect the bravery, resolve, and dedication of people who answer the call to service, including members of my own family.

"Loss, like that which we uplift today, carries pain and trauma that persists. Through sharing memories and memorials, showing our support and our strength, we can find peace and solidarity. I wish all New Yorkers a safe, meaningful Memorial Day."

"Following the federal monitor’s latest damning, alarming report, and all the failures that have preceded it across years, it is time for Rikers to be placed under federal receivership.

"I don’t celebrate this step, which I know would bring its own challenges, but it is clear that when it comes to protecting people on both sides of the bars and correcting the crisis conditions on Rikers, after over a year of purported reforms, this administration has earned neither the trust nor the confidence it shows in this area. They did not create the longstanding issues on Rikers, but despite any efforts they have undertaken, patterns of abuse, neglect, secrecy and misinformation have continued. They repeatedly demonstrate an inability to prevent harm and an unwillingness to support measures that would mitigate it, such as banning solitary confinement, fully funding restorative programming, or holding bad actors accountable. The roadblocks to real transparency, a pattern long highlighted and made even more stark in this report by a statedly objective third party, informs my decision that unfortunately, receivership has become the only option. 

"It is critical, if federal receivership moves forward, that the oversight of the city’s jail systems is guided by a transition task force of experts who have long been involved in that oversight work and people with lived experience, and in developing solutions to failing systems, rather than trying to maintain them. It is just as critical that receivership helps accelerate, rather than impede, the moral and legal obligation to finally close Rikers, and ensure its failures do not spread into the new borough-based system. Ultimately, the most lasting way to prevent the harm on Rikers will be to close it down."

"Expanding access to CityFHEPS housing vouchers is a necessary step in addressing our city’s mounting homelessness crisis, so I applaud the Council for passing bills that will fundamentally transform the voucher program, ensuring that more people can quickly access this critical resource and secure affordable, income targeted housing. As hundreds of new New Yorkers arrive daily to our city, this legislative package will help alleviate our overcrowded shelter system and provide relief to those experiencing homelessness or those being faced with housing insecurity. It's fiscally prudent and morally necessary. I urge Albany to now build on this progress by enacting the The Housing Access Voucher Program, which would further help move people out of temporary shelters and into permanent homes, regardless of immigration status.

"I congratulate Council Members Ayala, Sanchez, Caban, the City Council and Speaker, and all of the dedicated advocates who have worked for years to finally pass these critically important bills.”