Reports

The Policy Department is responsible for developing progressive policy recommendations for city-wide issues such as pay equity, education, and affordable housing. The department monitors and evaluates the services of city agencies and forms actionable solutions to improve their functioning for the benefit of all New Yorkers.

Welcoming Our Newest New Yorkers: A Review

February 29th, 2024

In the summer of 2022, the first bus of people seeking asylum at the southern border arrived in our city. Since then, the Office of the Public Advocate has worked to be on the ground in this effort, both welcoming and supporting migrants and asylum seekers directly and in our advocacy to the state and federal government. This review documents some of those efforts over the last year and a half, and attempts to chart a course for the next phase of the effort to provide support and safety to people in dire need, upholding both our governing and moral mandate.

Out of Service: Creating an Equitable Transit System for New York City

November 1st, 2023

This report seeks to outline the inequities disabled New Yorkers experience while using public transit in New York City and recommend how the city can make this system fully accessible and inclusive. It is, simply put, the right thing to do: people with disabilities have the same right to fully access city services as people without disabilities. The law also increasingly demands that barriers to full integration and engagement in public life be remedied and addressed.

Orange Sky, Red Alert: A Review of Air Quality Emergencies in NYC

July 11th, 2023

Orange Sky, Red Alert: A Review of Air Quality Emergencies in NYC finds shortcomings in the city’s response to the air quality emergency, and particularly with the speed and scope of public notification and harm mitigation efforts. It notes that while some alerts about potential air quality concerns were available in the days prior to the worst of the crisis, the information about health risks was neither comprehensive nor circulated widely. Additionally, measures such as the postponing of outdoor activities and the shift to remote education were announced long after the crisis was underway, rather than sufficiently in advance or shortly after the crisis started, given the warnings and risk.

Improving New York City’s Responses To Individuals In Mental Health Crisis: 2022 Update

November 16th, 2022

In October of 2019, the Office of the Public Advocate released "Improving New York City’s Responses to Individuals in Mental Health Crisis,” a report outlining the state of mental health response in the city and a guide for restructuring and reforming those systems. Now in 2022, it is time to see how the City has fared in implementing our recommendations and start the conversation on further changes that are needed.

Reimagining Gun Violence Prevention And Public Safety For New York City

September 12th, 2022

Reimagining Gun Violence Prevention And Public Safety In New York City focuses on the numerous factors that are correlated to the increasing number of shootings in New York City. The recommendations are divided by each level of government: effective tactics from other municipalities outside of New York, the public safety 2.0 platform previously released by this office, and existing legislations at the city, state and federal level.

How The Other Half Lives In Public Housing

September 1st, 2022

How The Other Half Lives In Public Housing shows the striking evidence of unresolved issues that impact the lives of NYCHA residents everyday. The report focuses on various problems that all five NYCHA developments face. Towards the end of the report, our office provides recommendations that we urge are taken into consideration.

Committee To End Homelessness By The Year 2026

July 28th, 2022

In winter 2020, there were nearly 80,000 people unhoused in New York City, the highest number in the city’s history. This situation is an unnecessary tragedy, and is the result of an economic system that does not support the needs of the general population of New York City residents. The system as it exists today is inhumane, flawed, wasteful, and self-perpetuating.

Redefining Public Safety 2.0: Gun Violence Updates

May 20th, 2022

Gun violence in our communities is a public health crisis that has been exacerbated amid the compounding public health crisis of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to the pandemic, New York City had worked over the previous decade to bring levels of violence to historic lows, in part due to a slow transition toward holistic, community centered solutions.

Disrupting The Exploitation Economy: A White Paper On Protecting Workers Classified As Independent Contractors

April 21st, 2022

Independent contractors face multiple issues, from wage theft to misclassification, in their jobs. As this industry grows, risks remain for these workers. Elected officials must offer assistance and protections for these workers in light of their challenges.

White Paper 2.0: Invest In Education

February 17th, 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic sent New York City into an unprecedented crisis, with a unique impact on students, families, educators, and school staff. Students have struggled, experienced trauma and isolation, and had their learning disrupted. As students go back to school, the city has an opportunity and a duty to ensure that its schools are equitable, safe, and supportive for every student.

Reviewing The Mayor’s Housing Plan To Bolster Affordability And Equity

December 3rd, 2021

When Mayor Bill De Blasio released his comprehensive housing report in 2014, I expressed my disapproval during my tenure as a Council Member, as I knew it did not go far enough. Following the Mayor’s Housing 2.0 plan, my opinion remained the same.

White Paper: Equitable Pregnancy Outcomes For Black And Brown New Yorkers

November 10th, 2021

The maternal health crisis in the United States disproportionately impacts Black, and Indigenous pregnant persons, with stark disparities at the local level in New York City. This problem has significantly affected Black women, who have been more likely to die during childbirth than white women for more than a century.

Why New York City Needs A Racial Equity Report To Be Part Of The Land Rezoning Process

June 16th, 2021

In 1968, the Fair Housing Act was passed to protect people from discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, and disability. If a person is renting or buying a home, getting a mortgage, seeking housing assistance, or engaging in other housing-related activities, they are protected from discrimination because of this federal law.

A Renewed Deal For New York City

March 11th, 2021

COVID-19 has exposed and exacerbated the inequities that have long plagued New York City. When we break down the data demographically, we see that while all New Yorkers have been impacted in some way, those coming from traditionally marginalized communities have been hit the hardest.

White Paper: On Reimagining School Safety

February 25th, 2021

The Office of the Public Advocate sees a vision for schools and community safety that centers New York City’s children and families—schools that heal and address trauma, and center on de-escalation and supportive resources. We know the main drivers of safety in communities are access to quality and well-resourced education, healthcare, and housing. Schools need to address the ways those are accessed to reimagine public safety in our schools.

White Paper: In The Event Of A Second Wave

November 5th, 2020

When the first reported case of COVID-19 appeared in New York, action was taken too slowly, and in some cases did not go far enough. Knowing little about how SARS-CoV-2 was transmitted, how it manifested in people, and how to protect communities, New York City and New York State were slow to enforce a shutdown. A lack of preparation for an emergency like the COVID-19 pandemic led to an almost immediate shortage of medical supplies and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) did not advise all Americans to wear face masks or coverings until April.

Municipalizing New York City's Electric Grid

August 7th, 2020

Although Investor-Owned Utilities (IOUs) have been the norm in New York City for the entire history of electrification, they pose some serious disadvantages compared with municipal utilities. Continued deferral of necessary repairs, a near complete lack of transparency, and little to no true accountability has made them a liability to the people of New York City...

Addressing The Underfunding of CUNY, New York's Engine of Mobility, Innovation, and Economic Support

December 6th, 2019

Funding challenges threaten to stall a major engine of mobility, innovation, and economic support that the City University of New York (CUNY) represents for its students and the city of New York. For decades, New York State and New York City have invested hundreds of millions of dollars to support CUNY’s mission to be a vehicle of social mobility that provides a high quality of education to all New Yorkers, regardless of their economic status, race, gender, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, or ability status....

Improving New York City's Responses to Individuals in Mental Health Crisis

September 25th, 2019

This report investigates how New York City responds to individuals experiencing mental health crisis. Examining the flaws in current protocols and the best practices of approaches applied in other cities, it presents a framework for an improved response system that would provide those in crisis with the services that they need and minimize the negative outcomes that are currently far too common.

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David N. Dinkins Municipal Building
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New York, NY 10007

Email: gethelp@advocate.nyc.gov

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