Press Room

Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams introduced legislation today in the New York City Council to expand access to menstrual hygiene products among students on all City University of New York campuses.

The bill, Intro 2015, would require the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to provide menstrual hygiene products for CUNY to make available on campus, at no cost to the university or students. The city would need to provide a sufficient supply of tampons, sanitary napkins, and other related items to meet the needs of CUNY students.

The Public Advocate's legislation is co-sponsored by Council Member Helen Rosenthal, Chair of the Committee on Women and Gender Equity, and Council Member Mark Treyger, Chair of the Committee on Education. All three legislators were sponsors of a 2016 law that mandated the Department of Education provide menstrual hygiene products to students within their facilities, a mandate this new legislation would expand to include college-aged students.

"In 2016, when the Council passed legislation to provide menstrual hygiene products to students in Department of Education buildings, it was a major step forward for menstrual equity," said Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams. "This new legislation would build on that progress and other recent developments, such as repealing the pink tax, to lift discriminatory burdens to health and economic equity."

A 2017 YouGov poll found that 65% of Americans believe menstrual hygiene products should be available free of charge in all school restrooms, compared to just 25% who disagree. 72% of 18-34 year olds believe the same. Half of all women surveyed in the same poll believe that menstrual hygiene products should be available and free in all public bathrooms, similar to other hygiene products like toilet paper and soap.

"Menstrual items are absolutely essential for hygiene. Making these products available to all in public restrooms, regardless of socioeconomic status, is just another part of making public spaces more accessible. And I am especially proud that persons in city jails, shelters, and on CUNY campuses will also have access to free menstrual hygiene items. I thank Public Advocate Williams and Council Member Treyger for their leadership on this issue, along with the CUNY students who worked so hard to make these bills a reality," said Council Member Helen Rosenthal, Chair of the Committee on Women and Gender Equity.

"Every person who menstruates should have equal access to menstrual hygiene products. This is a sexual and reproductive health and rights issue and with the advancement of the Menstrual Equity Bill introduced today, thousands of CUNY students, staff and their families will have free access to a basic life necessity. I thank my legislative co-sponsors, Council Member Rosenthal and Public Advocate Williams, for partnering with me to ensure that the affordability of a health item does not pose a barrier to education," said Council Member Mark Treyger, Chair of the Committee on Education.

Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams released his proposal for a path to a safe, equitable, just re-opening of New York City schools on Monday morning amid a city and nation-wide debate on education strategies in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. The plan, detailed in a new report, is rooted in medical science and public health recommendations, and would reintroduce in-person learning in phases, based on public health infrastructure standards being met by facility, susceptibility to contract or spread the virus, and need.

In order to allow for critical infrastructure to be put in place and contingencies created, the plan calls for no in-school instruction until October, while remote learning would continue. Once the infrastructure is in place, elementary-school children up to age ten - whom recent research has indicated are at significantly lower risk of transmitting the coronavirus or contracting COVID-19 than older students and adults- could return to the classroom first. These classes would utilize empty middle and high school spaces in order to allow for greater social distancing. Prior to resuming any in-school instruction, Regional Enrichment Centers would be opened and expanded upon to provide education resources to students in greatest need, using a "pod model" which keeps students in the same small groupings and the same rooms. Phased reopenings of in-person instruction would be conditional upon meeting key infrastructure measures necessary for re-opening. Older students would continue remote learning through at least the end of 2020, reassessing in December based on the effectiveness of COVID-19 prevention in New York City at that time. "As we work to give our students the best education possible amid the pandemic, our priority has to be on the safety of students and staff, educators and parents," said Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams. "Re-opening strategies for schools, just as with any other element of reopening, need to be driven by medical science. We can never completely eliminate risk, but this proposal minimizes it to the greatest extent possible while still allowing for some students to resume in-person instruction. As the public health crisis evolves, so too can our response." For students to return in October, the report highlights, aggressive public health and safety measures must be adhered to, including temperature screenings, staggered schedules, robust testing within communities, contact tracing, and a strategy which keeps students in the same small groupings, the same rooms, and with the same teachers. This effort would both reduce the risk of spreading the virus and make contact tracing easier and more effective if needed. Schools would also have expanded facility cleaning procedures. The phased re-opening based on student ages builds on similar successes in other countries and on research and population-driven data suggesting a low transmission rate among very young students, including a recent large-scale study in South Korea which indicated that while youth age 10-19 transmit the virus as adults, younger children have a greatly diminished risk. "Just as New York City has wisely slowly reopened, measuring the impact at each phase and reassessing at each step of the way, so, too, should we approach reopening our schools. The city has done the hard work to get to this point, and rushed reopening would run counter to that progress." said Dr. Celine Gounder, Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine and Infectious Diseases, NYU School of Medicine and Bellevue Hospital, and CNN Medical Analyst. "The Public Advocate's plan is the right approach. Based on laboratory, clinical, and population-level data, it seems that children under the age of 10 are at lower risk of being infected, lower risk for developing severe disease, and lower risk of transmitting coronavirus to others. We should begin by reopening in-person teaching for children under 10 and children with special needs, as long as community transmission remains suppressed in the city."

The report also emphasizes the need to improve remote learning for those students still using the method, which includes expanding access to remote learning technology and to reliable internet connections, as well as through targeted trainings for parents and teachers.

The Public Advocate's proposal, which can be downloaded in full here, comes as the Trump administration pushed for a full reopening of schools, rejecting initial CDC guidelines which cautioned against hasty re-opening. After pressure, the CDC released revised guidelines.

Mayor Bill de Blasio signed legislation today from Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams that codifies and protects the right of civilians to record police officer activity. The enacting of this law, first introduced in 2016, comes after video of a Minneapolis police officer killing George Floyd has spurred a national movement for an end to policing injustice, videos taken at these protests have shown further officer misconduct, and an ongoing push for further reforms on a city, state, and federal level continues.

"We are in a moment when the need to protect public safety and the need to re-define it are more intertwined than ever. The solution lies in each entity, civilian and law enforcement working together to keep our communities safe and combat violence- and in allowing for transparency and accountability when that obligation is not met," said Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams. "Because of the advocates who pushed this need for years, we are now codifying the right to record into city law, further protecting the ability for the public to provide transparency and demand accountability as we move forward together in a holistic strategy to have safer streets and better policing at the same time. We cannot give into the false and destructive notion that communities must choose between accountability and transparency in policing or safer streets. The people of this city deserve both. Working together, we can provide it."

Int. 721-B or the Right to Record Act codifies into local law a person's right to record New York City police officers or peace officers acting in their official capacity, from a safe distance and while not interfering with police activity. The bill was  co-sponsored by Council Member Helen Rosenthal. The legislation originally came after a number of prominent instances when civilians' right to record was deliberately infringed.

More information on the bill and the incidents which spurred its introduction and ultimate passage is available here.

Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams issued the following statement after another spike in gun violence in New York City this weekend, including the killing of a one year old child in Brooklyn.

"The violence and loss that our city has seen in the last several weeks, in the last several hours, is devastating, and can leave us at a loss ourselves for how to respond and advance peace. I pray for the victims of this epidemic of gun violence, and for the families facing unimaginable pain in this moment, but I know that prayers alone are not sufficient without action.

"We cannot grow numb to the headlines on our screens or the violence in our streets. This cannot be considered normal, in our city or anywhere. It must shock us, and shock us into action that stems both the supply of guns into our communities and the many factors that lead to violence. To the people who say law enforcement is the only solution - you are wrong. To the people who say law enforcement has no role - you are wrong. We need to come together with increased commitment to the community-driven strategies we know can work and are essential to ending this senseless violence and heartbreaking loss."

Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams issued the following statement in response to the increased incidents of gun violence over the holiday weekend and in recent weeks. He held a press conference on the issue with community members earlier today, video of which is available here.

"This past weekend New York City saw a devastating increase in gun violence, lives lost and lives forever changed, and this phenomena repeats across the nation. My heart hurts, and I know that pain is shared around our city. While it's not enough, I offer my prayers for peace and comfort to the victims, to their families, to the communities impacted.

"But now, we hear unhelpful and unconfirmed accusations and reasonings for this violence - whether civilian to officer, civilian to civilian, officer to civilian. To blame budget reallocations, bail reforms, or banning chokeholds is a false narrative excluding the many factors leading to this moment, including a pandemic and economic crisis which have disproportionately affected these same communities.

"We cannot accept any of these as excuses. If we are going to make meaningful change, if we are going to take steps to stop violence and save lives, it needs to come from an honest conversation toward real solutions, with everyone playing their part. What I have seen and heard is not honest or helpful.

"Protecting public safety means redefining it, reimagining what we can do when police are not the entirety of our public safety strategy. It also means acknowledging that all of these issues are inextricably interconnected. What brings violence interrupters into the streets is connected to what leads protesters to occupy City Hall. And what unites all of these calls for change is that only when united, when working together, will we achieve that transformational change."

Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams issued the following statement in commemoration of Independence Day, the Fourth of July.

"The Fourth of July is and has long been a day of celebration for this country. For many, it is a celebration of our professed values, a reminder of our centuries of working toward a more just society. For my family, it is the day that over five decades ago, my mother arrived in this country from the tri-island state of Grenada, Carriacou & Petit-Martinique.

"This holiday is commemorated as Independence Day. But as Juneteenth reminded us just weeks ago, it was not an independence day for all.  When the Declaration of Independence was first authored, and as our country extolled the virtues of freedom and liberty, the values underpinning that document applied only to a select few. In fact, they were used to justify the legal enslavement of Africans, genocide of Native Americans, and the second-class citizenry offered to women. In 2020, we see the effects of a country still unable to reckon with dichotomy of what the holiday means. Sadly, so many are openly and defiantly determined to move us backward from any gains made. That includes the President of the United States.

"For me, on this day when I think of the pursuit of liberty, justice, equity, and of happiness - I think of the pursuit that brought my mother here fifty years ago and which continues today. While we may not enjoy our usual traditions, we can celebrate that spirit, find happiness with our families, and continue that pursuit.  Independence doesn't come solely from a declaration.  It's a process that still continues, and a renewed commitment to fighting oppression is required if we are ever to achieve the values discussed today."