Press Room

Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams called for the passage of legislation restoring voting rights in municipal elections to non-citizen residents during a City Council hearing on Monday. The legislation from Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez and of which the Public Advocate is a co-sponsor – the 'Our City, Our Vote' bill – would provide a process for lawful permanent residents in New York city to vote in municipal elections.

"Expanding the franchise through this bill will strengthen civic engagement, government accountability, and immigrant rights..." said Public Advocate Williams before the Committee on Government Operations. "... It is also critical to note that non-citizens had voting rights in this country for much longer than they have not had voting rights. From the founding of the Country until the wave of anti-immigrant sentiment in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, non-citizens had the right to vote in many states and federal territories. Let’s be clear—the exclusion of immigrants from voting is a political choice rooted in racism and xenophobia. We can get this done—and we have a duty to."

The bill would also establish a five-person advisory group, with the Public Advocate as Chairperson, to provide recommendations regarding any problems or potential improvements with respect to the voting process implemented by the legislation. It would include appointees by the Speaker and Mayor.

Public Advocate Williams stressed that "This City has a multitude of priority initiatives that are affecting the immigrant community. It is critical that we amplify their voice in governance by extending them the right to vote... We should allow people who experience the worst impact of our policies the ability to vote on who is making those policies."

The Public Advocate's full testimony is below.

TESTIMONY OF PUBLIC ADVOCATE JUMAANE D. WILLIAMS 

TO THE CITY COUNCIL COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS

SEPTEMBER 20, 2021

My name is Jumaane D. Williams and I am the Public Advocate for the City of New York. Thank you Chair Cabrera and a special shout out to Councilmembers Rodríguez and Salamanca for both of their bills. I’ll be speaking primarily on Councilmember Rodríguez’s bill.

I’d first like to lift up the plight of the 13,000 Haitian nationals at our border that the President is trying to send back. Very often, the plight of black immigrants is not lifted up as much as it should be—so I want to start off with that.

Immigrant New Yorkers shape our City in countless ways, but many are locked out of our electoral processes. This means City residents who fund, use, and provide essential government services have no political voice in how these services are funded and operated. It also means that elected leaders have no political incentive to advance policies that are of interest to these residents. Even when those policies most adversely affect them. As a sanctuary City that prides itself on its immigrant past, present, and future, this must change.

As a first generation American, as the son of immigrants from Grenada, I am proud to co-sponsor the Our City, Our Vote bill, Int. 1867 by Council Member Rodriguez, which would restore—and I think it’s important that we continue to say that, we simply restore— the right of non-citizen New Yorkers who have Green Cards and work authorizations to vote in municipal elections. Expanding the franchise through this bill will strengthen civic engagement, government accountability, and immigrant rights. I strongly urge my colleagues to pass this legislation.

I’d like to note that while this bill is transformative, it is not unprecedented. I hear a lot of pushback of legality—maybe it’s one of logistics we can move through. Because there are nine municipalities in Maryland where non-citizens are not excluded from the franchise: Barnesville, Chevy Chase Sections Five and Three, Glen Echo, Hyattsville, Martin’s Additions, Mount Rainier, Riverdale Park, Somerset, and Takoma Park. Additionally, in Chicago and San Francisco non-citizens are able to vote in school board elections. Further, New Yorkers who were non-citizens were previously able to vote in School Board elections from 1969 to the dissolution of the School Board system in 2002. It is also critical to note that non-citizens had voting rights in this country for much longer than they have not had voting rights. From the founding of the Country until the wave of anti-immigrant sentiment in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, non-citizens had the right to vote in many states and federal territories. Let’s be clear—the exclusion of immigrants from voting is a political choice rooted in racism and xenophobia. We can get this done—and we have a duty to.

Whether it’s furthering language access, keeping Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) off of our streets, securing labor rights for delivery workers and street vendors, supporting small businesses, or improving and legalizing substandard basements, this City has a multitude of priority initiatives that are affecting the immigrant community. It is critical that we amplify their voice in governance by extending them the right to vote.

Very often in these situations it is people of privilege trying to prevent people from getting that privilege. The question we have to ask is: Why? Whether it’s marriage or voting rights—it’s what are we trying to prevent and why are we trying to prevent it? We should allow people who experience the worst impact of our policies the ability to vote on who is making those policies. And as I mentioned, we are simply restoring something that was I believe wrongly taken away from people in the first place.

I don’t have any questions, I just wanted to make that statement. I want to thank all of the panelists for all of the work they are doing to get this forward. Special shout out to Assembly Member Catalina Cruz who has been doing this work for quite some time and is a shining example of the people we are speaking about. This should be a proud moment for New York City. This should be a proud moment for our nation as we are pushing back on the xenophobia we are seeing. I hope that our colleagues support it and that our Mayor shows some leadership in a time where leadership is lacking from that side of City Hall.

"Another life has been lost on Rikers – another death sentence coming as a consequence of the crisis conditions on the island. I pray for the family of Karim Isaabdul – they, and we all, need answers and the accountability that comes with them.

"As I saw last week, and as we have argued since the start of the pandemic, a lack of adequate health protocols have compounded the threat to the safety of everyone on Rikers. The steps that have been taken in recent days in effort to decarcerate and start to stabilize the situation are welcome, but do not go far enough, fast enough to alleviate the health and safety emergency for all inside."

"I thank the Governor for enacting and expediting the Less Is More Act, as calls from advocates and elected officials amplified the cries for relief that have long echoed from Rikers Island.

"This is an important component of the decarceration strategy that is critical to alleviating the crisis conditions on Rikers, but it is only one step of the many that must be taken, and the pace of action is far too slow for the immediacy of this human rights disaster. We need the city to grant low-level offenders supervised release, and early and compassionate release options should be exercised. Prosecutors and judges must quickly prioritize alternatives to incarceration, and staff must return to work with their safety as a priority. I ask again that the Mayor and Governor see this emergency in person, so that they can understand the urgency and scope of the disaster relief that is needed for those who are incarcerated or working on Rikers Island."

Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams issued the following statement as the City Council Committee on Criminal Justice holds a hearing regarding the ongoing crisis on Rikers Island.

"I hope that the Mayor and Governor are listening today as I and others detail the horrors that have become the norm on Rikers Island. They still refuse to go to the facilities and witness the experiences of incarcerated people and staff for themselves. This failure to see the suffering and trauma up close is the only explanation for why they have still not adequately responded to the extent and urgency of this emergency. It is also, in part, by design - the out of sight, out of mind nature of Rikers Island as an institution remains deliberate and dangerous.

"My office will be pursuing any communication by City Hall surrounding the lack of response to these warnings in the last weeks and months. We need to know where the Mayor has been as conditions mounted to the current level of crisis - we know he wasn't on Rikers."

The Public Advocate formally submitted his requests for immediate action to alleviate these crisis conditions in a letter to both executive leaders today. The letter also details several of the experiences of incarcerated people and corrections staff which the Public Advocate witnessed on his Monday tour.

Public Advocate Williams spoke before the Council at the virtual hearing on Wednesday, discussing his own observations at Rikers and his fears of further deterioration. His comments are available below, and video can be accessed here.

TESTIMONY OF PUBLIC ADVOCATE JUMAANE D. WILLIAMS TO THE NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL COMMITTEE ON CRIMINAL JUSTICE HEARING ON CONDITIONS IN OUR CITY JAILS SEPTEMBER 15, 2021 Good Morning, my name is Jumaane D. Williams, and I am the Public Advocate for the City of New York. I want to thank Chairs Powers and Miller, and the Committees on Criminal Justice and Civil Service and Labor for holding this hearing.

Two days ago, I was one of the elected officials to tour Rikers island, and honestly, no words can describe the inhumane conditions, trauma and pain that I saw. I'm simply stunned that a City that prides itself on how it tries to do its best for New Yorkers can literally leave detained people, along with vulnerable staff, to fend for themselves in the most violent of situations. I thought there would be an Attica-style uprising. These conditions are so bad that I thought an actual riot was going to break out while we were there. In fact, one almost did, and we didn't feel safe. No one feels safe- and based on what I saw, I can understand why.

We have people detained for the smallest of infractions. People are detained for a fist fight, or for technical parole violations, and made to sit across from garbage, rotten food, feces, urine; using shared bags as toilets; with limited access to water, shower or meals. The people on Rikers Island are not afforded recreational time to get fresh air, much less access to phones or transportation to take them to their court dates. Everyone on the island is on edge. There are people who have made weapons for self defense or protection. One of those weapons fell out of someone's pocket while we were touring, that person had to be apprehended. People with broken or fractured arms are denied medical attention, people living with HIV are literally being denied their medication for at least seven days. One trans prisoner, moved from one housing to another. People with mental health conditions with no medications for weeks.

People were seen lying on the concrete. We heard stories of people going hours without food, unless they beg for it. We aren't treating those with mental health conditions. We saw two unclothed men in a shower room who appeared to need assistance. Instead, they were simply standing there, alone, virtually staring into space. There are people who are housing in the showers. One was there for a few days, and we did not know whether it was urine or water dripping from him.

We fail Correction Officers who endure triple shifts, and other conditions that have only eroded morale. Some Officers, primarily women, complain about being sexually harassed, abused and assaulted while on tours.

Let's be clear, this is a human rights crisis. NO ONE should be treated this way. This city has failed every single person who is detained and works on Rikers Island.  And let's remember most of the folks on there have not been found guilty of something - even if they have, they shouldn't be treated this way. I would remind us that both communities on this island are black and brown. If it were different on either side, we would not be here.

With all that I have described, as someone who spent less than a day touring Rikers Island, why do we think anyone would willingly abide by all the restrictions in place? How long must people go without speaking to their families? I spent a few hours calling families, letting them know that their loved ones were physically okay. How long must anyone go without a single meal a day -- that they do not have to demand numerous times? How long must people feel that they are constantly susceptible to violence, with no recourse? And let us be clear: this administration was warned for months and for years that this would happen. This administration has known for months of the problems Correction Officers experienced, and seemed to wait until we got here. This administration is responsible for deteriorating standards I've described. I hope when Dean Fuliehan testifies, he will take ownership of the problems here. We all must take ownership for not listening to COBA and the many people who have called. The number one person is the Mayor.

The families of Layleen Polanco, Kalief Browder, Esais Johnson, Brandon Rodriguez and so many others have told us time and time again that the City failed their loved ones, and this continues to happen. Five people on Rikers Island have died by suicide over the last nine months, and astoundingly, from April to June of this year, the Department of Correction recorded 539 incidents of incarcerated people hurting themselves, pushing the rate up to 95 such incidents per every thousand detainees - the highest in the last five years.

There have been multiple instances of Correction Officers being hurt. Further, poor staff management and old administrative policies have only led to the detriment of detained individuals and corrections officers. The health and wellness of incarcerated people cannot be fully actualized when there are missed appointments, little to no recreation time and physical and sexual violence pervasive within these jails.

Last week, my colleagues and I met with DOC Commissioner Schiraldi to discuss how all actors can play a part in re-humanizing everyone who lives and works on Rikers Island. The proposed improvements by the Commissioner are needed and overdue, and they are a great mid term plan, but we must do more now, while we work to close Rikers Island once and for all. Everyone, and I mean everyone--elected officials, district attorneys, judges, the Mayor and the Governor--must act right now. It is time to move beyond myths--like bail reform as the cause of increasing crime--and judge s must be trained n how to administer the new bail law; judges must schedule more cases on the daily court calendar and accept more writs of release; it is tie for judges to come back to work and start working on these cases. I understand judges have been concerned about going to work, but we cannot have other people suffering while judges stay at home. The Governor must sign the Less is More Act and release everyone on a technical parole immediately; we must ensure the supervised release of women and continue to shut Rikers once and for all. We can all work together and we absolutely must.

I look forward to hearing all the steps DOC has in place to urgently improve conditions on Rikers Island, and what steps DOC has already taken to alleviate these conditions. Until then, we must remember that everyone on Rikers Island deserves to be treated with dignity and respect.

To the Mayor, over the past year, I have to say it is appalling, after reports from what we heard and the federal monitor, there is a refusal to visit Rikers Island, and I call on the Governor to do the same. Thank you Chairs Powers and Miller for your time.

"G'mar chatima tova, an easy and meaningful fast, to all in the Jewish community preparing for Yom Kippur this evening.

"Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is the holiest day on the Jewish calendar. It is a day when we both ask forgiveness for ourselves and give it to others. Compassion, empathy, and reconciliation are critical on the path toward healing. On this day and moving forward, let us acknowledge and empathize with the experiences and challenges of those around us, granting one another grace in the face of our failings. 

"The call to atone resonates throughout our lives and communities, urging that we lift one another up in the year to come. May G-d bestow blessings, mercy and absolution on all seeking redemption, and may we all be sealed in the Book of Life."

"Twenty years after the attacks of September 11, the memories, the pain, the devastating impact of unimaginable loss remains heavy on our city and our nation's minds, our hearts, our history.

"That was nearly half my lifetime ago, and after all that time, I still vividly recall the fear, the uncertainty, the disbelief and profound loss our city felt - the scale of the devastation that was witnessed. The sense of panic as I briefly struggled to find and speak with family. The unimaginable sadness and grief felt by those who never did. An environment of desperation and pain clouded our city together with the smoke and ash. Twenty years, but I remember it like yesterday.

"And I remember from that collective despair came an environment of collective empathy, of resolve, of support for and from our fellow New Yorkers and our fellow Americans. I hope that twenty years later, we can summon that common spirit and direct it toward common good.

"I pray all who lost loved ones to the attacks have found some measure of healing and peace, remembering not only those who were killed on that day, but all, especially first responders, who still suffer from the health effects of its aftermath. We must provide them not only with gratitude, not only with empathy, but with aid.

"After two decades, as we did in the wake of the attacks, New York moves forward in strength and in solidarity, but each of us carries our own memories of the day and the memories of all who were killed. Recovery means remembering - the collective trauma of this tragedy remains, and we must continue to comfort those in mourning, support those in need, and remember those we lost."