Press Room

Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams released the following statement calling for the creation of a task force after new data showed the racial disparity in the impact of the COVID-19 public health crisis in New York City.

"As new data continues to show the disparate impact of the COVID-19 crisis on people and communities of more color, the immense toll of the virus on black and brown communities, we need clear vision, targeted expertise, and immediate action. The administration's recently announced efforts at expanded outreach are welcome but weeks late, and much more is required. "The city needs a task force of experts in place to coordinate both the immediate response to and the long-term recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic in the communities of color that are being hardest hit. Rather than oversee a protracted process, this group would rapidly implement an action plan in real time to mitigate racial disparities in COVID-19 exposure, testing, access to resources, and fatalities. "I am pursuing legislation to create such a task force, but the time it will take to enact this law is time that the communities of more color that are being devastated by this crisis, the people who are deemed essential but treated as expendable, just don't have. I'm calling on the Mayor to immediately convene the necessary experts with an urgent and clear directive: strengthen communities and save lives."

Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams released the following statement today, as the Christian community celebrates Easter.

"I want to wish all who are celebrating today a blessed Easter. This is one of the holiest days of the year to Christians worldwide, and its themes of righteousness, redemption and resurrection go beyond personal creed. In the face of this pandemic- while many traditional celebrations cannot be held- we can carry those values as we observe the holiday in our homes.

"Easter Sunday is about hope. The hope that amid loss and grief, in the face of trials we may undergo and tribulations we may be subject to, we can persevere to overcome them and be stronger for it. The triumph and joy of Resurrection Sunday comes only after the suffering and struggle of Good Friday. In heartbreak, hope.

"We can also take forth from Easter Sunday the values espoused by Jesus Christ- to be loyal to family, gracious to friends, kind to strangers, and of aid to those in need. In that spirit and in unity, I hope you have a powerful and meaningful holiday."

Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams released the following statement on the racial disparity in the impact of the COVID-19 public health crisis after the city and state released data showing the fatality rates of the virus by race.

"The data we see today confirms and reinforces what we've seen over years and decades of systemic inequities. These ingrained injustices have always been there, often ignored by many in power, but these numbers show the harsh truth - the bias has a body count. "From both the city and the state, the data released consistently shows that New Yorkers killed by COVID-19 are disproportionately Black or Latino - in New York City, over 60%. But even these statistics are incomplete and undercounted - city data shows that in as high as 37% of fatalities, race is unknown. As I have said, we need to know the racial breakdown in rates of testing and of positive confirmed cases to find and correct these clear failures. The coronavirus may not discriminate, but the response, or lack of response, clearly has. "It's not enough to have this disparity confirmed, it needs to be confronted through a more concerted effort. But instead, today the Administration continues to stubbornly resist the bold measures needed to better protect underserved communities of more color and our frontline workers who are disproportionately from these communities. "As I have consistently said, we need to implement a clear lockdown to slow the rate of spread in these neighborhoods and around our city. We need to drastically expand resources such as testing and masks while redefining which businesses and workers are considered essential. And in our response to and recovery from this pandemic, we need to do the hard work of addressing the injustices and inequities in our systems that have been further exposed and exacerbated by this crisis. We cannot sanitize a history of neglecting communities of more color, cannot mask the resource inequality and inherent biases that spurred the spread of the virus, cannot undo the human cost of these failures. But now, we can work to strengthen communities and save lives."

Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams released the following statement today as the celebration of Passover begins this evening for the Jewish community.

"I would like to wish everyone around the city and around the world a Chag Kasher V'Sameach, a happy and Kosher holiday, as the Jewish community begins to celebrate Passover this evening.

"While this year we may not be able to celebrate Passover as we traditionally would, gathering together family and friends, I know that however each person chooses to honor this holy time in their home, it will be deeply meaningful. I further feel that this historical moment calls us to reflect on the story of and lessons learned from Passover, parallel to our world today.

"Passover commemorates the Israelites achieving freedom from Egyptian servitude, and the holiday demonstrates that with unity, any obstacle can be overcome, no matter how great. It gives us all an opportunity to renew our spirit and resolve in the face of an unseen future. This is an uncertain time, when many of us are feeling fear and grief, but Passover reminds us of the power of redemption, hope, and conviction. 

"May we all have a safe and peaceful Passover celebration this year. Chag Sameach."

Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams released the following statement on the racial disparity in the impact of the COVID-19 public health crisis and measures needed to protect frontline workers, the majority of whom are people of more color. Last week, the Public Advocate sent a letter to the de Blasio administration requesting racial impact data, and today, he held a press conference on the issue, which can be viewed here.

"Everyone in our city is suffering pain and loss in this pandemic, and I want to lift them up and offer my empathy and support, especially to the families of all backgrounds and socioeconomic classes who have lost loved ones to this virus. "COVID-19 does not discriminate, but the policies that exacerbated its spread and deadly impact clearly have, as suffering is compounded for black and brown New Yorkers. Not only are our frontline workers -the majority of whom are people of more color - at higher risk of being exposed to COVID-19, but the virus is itself exposing many deep and long standing inequities in our system that marginalize and therefore jeopardize black and brown communities. The data we have seen so far indicates that these areas are hardest hit, but we need to see further information on the racial impact of this pandemic - including the testing and positive case rates by race, as well as fatalities. "The administration needs to acknowledge the disparity and take immediate action to protect those on the frontlines and in under-resourced communities - through devoting additional resources to these neighborhoods and through restrictions aimed not only at flattening the curve but specifically protecting frontline workers. This includes closing some businesses previously deemed essential, including laundromats, auto parts stores, and hardware stores for one week, and intensifying both the cleaning regimen and social distancing efforts in stores that remain open - with multilingual signage explaining these measures. It also means restricting essential shopping to a local radius, and expanding the capacity for grocery and supply delivery, particularly for participants in WIC/SNAP. "We cannot continue the systemic failures that have exacerbated this crisis in communities of color while calling on those same individuals to further risk their own safety on the front lines of this fight."

Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams released the following statement as the New York State budget is being finalized amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

"In any budget, it is vital to pair fiscal responsibility with human responsibility, to make decisions while considering moral obligation and human cost.Yet instead we are seeing a practice of selective austerity - one in which there is neither the money nor the time to fund critical services or expand progressive policies, but enough of both to enact policies the Governor has long pushed forward. "The COVID-19 crisis and its immense scope and stakes make it all the more troubling that the Governor, rather than closing the Medicaid funding gap through tax increases on ultra millionaires, is instead rejecting billions in immediate federal aid in favor of enacting his plan to slash funding - in healthcare and other areas.

"But for every critical service facing cuts, apparently still affordable are policies which could only pass buried in the blur of a budget. Again, Albany legislators had the opportunity to reject what would be the worst public financing system in the country, yet despite rejection by the courts and broad opposition from progressives and conservatives alike, it is being pushed through. There is also opposition on the left and right to Albany's continued push to claw back the progress made on bail reform in the budget, to put more New Yorkers behind bars and continue a history of over-incarceration and bias in our system. "As the budget is finalized, as this crisis grows, I implore state leaders not to retreat but to progress through it, uplifting the values we hold and the people we serve."