Press Room

"Brandon Rodriguez is yet another New Yorker to lose their life on Rikers Island - I pray for peace and comfort for his family. Without a trial, he received a death sentence - a sentence also suffered by Robert Jackson, Jose Mejia Martinez, and too many others in just the last few months. We need a thorough investigation of these incidents, and we need transformational change of the systems that tacitly and overtly permit it.

"As we move forward efforts to close Rikers and decarcerate across the city, that work must be paired with a focus on maintaining humane conditions for people who are incarcerated. It has long been clear that mismanagement, misplaced priorities, and missing resources have created an environment that harms both corrections staff and incarcerated individuals, an environment in which humanity and health of those inside are disregarded, with too often tragic results."

Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams put forward testimony today to call for the Independent Redistricting Commission to draw district boundaries that ensure fair, accurate representation in testimony submitted as part the ongoing redistricting process, particularly for communities that have been marginalized and underrepresented through the process in the past. New Yorkers can submit public comments to the Commission online, and the final public hearing of the Commission prior to maps being drafted will be held virtually on August 15. The Public Advocate noted in his testimony that delays in state funding had stunted the process.

"Given the time-sensitive nature of the redistricting process, it is unacceptable that State funding was not disbursed to the Independent Redistricting Commission (IRC) until very recently. To be clear, in Fiscal Years 2020 and 2021, the Governor should have taken steps to ensure that the IRC was able to have the necessary time and funds to hire staff, conduct public outreach, and perform its core functions. Because the Governor failed to do so, the IRC is now working on a compressed timeline that has presented understandable complications." said Public Advocate Williams in his testimony."The Commission must now take swift action to ensure all necessary work can occur before its first map proposals are due... it must make significant improvements to its operations."

He also urged the Commission to engage the public transparently and release its draft maps as soon as possible in order that future hearings can be informed and effective, saying "Public participation in events such as this hearing is the only way that the IRC will be able to identify "communities of interest"-groups with shared policy concerns that would benefit from being maintained together in a single district." He added that "New Yorkers should play their part in informing their neighbors about this redistricting, especially elected officials and community based organizations that have strong and lasting relationships with residents."

Read the full testimony from delivered by the Public Advocate below. Public comments can be submitted here.

TESTIMONY OF PUBLIC ADVOCATE JUMAANE D. WILLIAMS TO THE NEW YORK STATE INDEPENDENT REDISTRICTING COMMISSION AUGUST 11, 2021

My name is Jumaane D. Williams and I am the Public Advocate for the City of New York. I appreciate the opportunity to deliver testimony.

Since the Reconstruction era, gerrymandering has minimized the impact of the votes of people of more color. Through "cracking", which intentionally spreads voters of more color out amongst multiple districts in order to dilute their political voice, and "packing", which intentionally concentrates voters of more color into one district in order to restrict their influence, the drawing of districts has been a harmful political tool. In addition, district lines that ignore local neighborhood boundaries can result in elected representation that is not reflective of community priorities or demographics. In order to avoid these damaging outcomes, it is important that New York State uses this once-in-a-decade opportunity to draw lines that ensure fair and accurate representation for all of its residents, especially those who have been most marginalized by this process in the past. 

Given the time-sensitive nature of the redistricting process, it is unacceptable that State funding was not disbursed to the Independent Redistricting Commission (IRC) until very recently. To be clear, in Fiscal Years 2020 and 2021, the Governor should have taken steps to ensure that the IRC was able to have the necessary time and funds to hire staff, conduct public outreach, and perform its core functions. Because the Governor failed to do so, the IRC is now working on a compressed timeline that has presented understandable complications. Nonetheless, the Commission must now take swift action to ensure all necessary work can occur before its first map proposals are due on September 15th. In order to do so, it must make significant improvements to its operations.

Public participation in events such as this hearing is the only way that the IRC will be able to identify "communities of interest"-groups with shared policy concerns that would benefit from being maintained together in a single district. As such, the IRC must make its public events more accessible. The fact that the hearing schedule was only announced on July 12th severely limited the amount of outreach that could be conducted around it and depressed turnout. The late launch of the IRC website on July 12th has also limited public engagement. Further, requiring members of the public to request translation or American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation for the hearing via this low-traffic website, rather than providing these services proactively, has presented serious accessibility challenges for New Yorkers. Moving forward, the IRC should follow provisions in the State's Public Hearings and Meetings law to ensure that future events meet basic democratic standards, while maintaining the ability for the public to testify remotely. In addition, the IRC should release its draft maps as soon as possible so that future hearings can be as informed and effective as possible.

The IRC should also significantly increase the direct outreach into communities regarding its work. All communities must be made aware of all hearings, map-drawing workshops, and listening sessions. A targeted and robust marketing campaign must be a centerpiece of this outreach strategy. Specifically, at least 50% of marketing funds should be dedicated to ethnic and local community media outlets, in order to reach all corners of New York's diverse population. Further, in the aim of transparency and accountability, the IRC should provide detailed reporting on how funds are spent.

Lastly, all New Yorkers should play their part in informing their neighbors about this redistricting, especially elected officials and community based organizations that have strong and lasting relationships with residents. I encourage them to join our Office in amplifying the redistricting process and connecting residents to all associated events. The stakes are too high here for New Yorkers-especially those who have been traditionally excluded from the political process- to be left unengaged. Please reach out to us to see how we can partner together in this campaign. Thank you for your time and consideration.

"Finally. Many of us have known for a long time that Andrew Cuomo was the wrong Governor for New York. The last several months have plainly revealed that to the world as brave women who endured the Governor's abuse have spoken out, and as his administration has attempted to attack and ignore them. And while I hope that today gives the survivors of his conduct some semblance of peace and measure of justice, it is not a day of triumph and celebration - even the words of his resignation statement inflicted pain on survivors across the state. Today I am reflecting on the totality of the harm done, the systems that enable it, and the work ahead to dismantle those systems.

"Andrew Cuomo has only ever been interested in his own interests. As a result of his forced resignation, state government can now work solely for the people of New York. Resignation does not undo the harm he inflicted on the women who came forward. Nor does it reduce the damage that his abusive governance has long wrought. But it creates an opportunity to begin to recover.

"Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul and I have disagreed in the past about the direction of our state and its leadership. At the same time, in assuming this role, we need her to stabilize New York in a perilous moment and against an incessant volley of crises, and I - as we all should be- am ready to work with her to recover from this pandemic and rebuild New York. I hope that over the coming months she will be able to begin to address the toxic culture created by Governor Cuomo and those around him who empowered and enabled him, and all the damage the administration has wrought.

"It is my hope that this serves as a time for us to reframe notions of what a strong public servant should embody. Being a leader, rather than playing one on TV. Fighting for justice, not for power. Serving the needs of the oppressed, not propping up the oppressor.With Governor Cuomo removed from the position of power that he long abused, I am optimistic that we can restore that power to the people and repurpose it to renew New York."

"The Attorney General's investigation confirmed today what we've known since the first courageous women came forward with their experiences - the Governor repeatedly, with intent and without care for the pain he caused or concern for consequences, sexually harassed multiple women, violating the law and the standards which we must demand, especially of our elected officials. A thorough, independent process documented these patterns of abuse, creating a space for voices to be heard while many were trying to silence or ignore them. I thank the women who came forward to reveal these truths and seek justice in the face of the deflections, denials, and excuses by the Governor and those he empowered. There is no excuse. And there can be no denying the need for justice.

"Andrew Cuomo has acted for his entire career with abusive impunity, but his shamelessness cannot equate with immunity. He created a culture of abuse which he has long employed to evade accountability, but the creation of that culture itself demands accountability. He cannot continue to serve as Governor, and must resign immediately or be impeached expeditiously."

"Vaccination screens for a wide range of activities and spaces are one of the best ways we can both encourage more New Yorkers to get vaccinated and limit the spread of the Delta variant as we continue that work. I thank and applaud the Mayor for announcing this policy and urge businesses to adopt it voluntarily ahead of the mandated deadlines.

"I also believe that vaccine requirements and mask requirements are not mutually exclusive - masks will help us to keep case rates down as vaccination rates go up, and requiring masks indoors for a limited period, regardless of vaccination status, is a critical part of protecting our city amid the current surge."

"City and state executives appear to have learned nothing in the last 17 months. The Governor, who claims and exerts power whenever he wants it, denies and defers that power in the face of difficult decisions. He passed the burden to localities, and the Mayor has dangerously dropped it. Our leaders are moving slowly while the Delta variant does anything but. Waiting to see if cases rise is equivalent to inviting them to do so. We need an indoor mask mandate now - we needed it a week ago before the CDC issued their directive. A prioritized push for increased vaccination and interim mask requirements are not mutually exclusive, they are cooperatively necessary.

"New York: Just because the Mayor and Governor have so far failed to adopt CDC guidance doesn't mean we should. To protect ourselves, our neighbors, our city, please mask up in indoor spaces - and if you have not yet, get vaccinated."