City Council

Thursday, April 30, 2026, 1:30 p.m. (New York City time), Council Chambers - City Hall

Video of the meeting

On the agenda

Roll-call votes

Documents

Summary

The New York City Council held its stated meeting of April 30, 2026, chaired by Majority Leader Shaun Abreu, with an invocation delivered by Bishop Mitchell Taylor of Center of Hope International. The Council adopted land use call-ups by a vote of 48 in the affirmative and zero in the negative, and adopted items on the general orders calendar by a vote of 50 in the affirmative and zero in the negative, with the exception of Intro 168 (adopted 44-6-0) and Intro 693-A (adopted 43-7-0). Key legislation included a vaccine education and misinformation package sponsored by Council Members Dinowitz, Krishnan, and Schulman, a code blue/homeless services package sponsored by Council Members Restler and Joseph, and a Tourette Syndrome awareness resolution sponsored by Public Advocate Williams. Members also introduced numerous new bills during general discussion, covering homeownership assistance, small business support, dog waste, legacy businesses, and civic education.

Transcript

0:22 , We start

0:22 . Ladies and Darlene, please

0:33 take seats. Hey, would

0:36 everyone please take a seat at

0:40 this time, make sure you

0:41 silence all electronic devices

0:44 , anybody, any of our guest

0:45 sthat are here to join us to

0:46 watch the meeting that are not

0:47 part of staff, you can join us

0:48 upstairs in the balcony

0:51 .majority leader, we're ready

0:56 to start good afternoon and

0:56 welcome to the state mtingee

0:57 of April 30 2026 I am majority

0:59 leader Shaun Abreu like to

1:00 thank you for joining us as a

1:02 reminder. Decorum must be

1:03 respected at all times. If you

1:04 would like to follow along.

1:08 The agenda for today's meeting

1:08 is posted on our website.

1:13 Please join us for the pledge

1:19 of allegiance regions there

1:32 . Are broke all

1:37 . Aldo bowl present

1:43 . Arriola present Avilés

1:52 thanks present Brewer here,

1:59 Brooks Powers cab on.

2:03 Present dela Rosa here.

2:09 Inuits here.

2:09 Encarnación present Epstein

2:15 ,huh? Farías present felt her

2:25 phillies genero here.

2:31 Hankerson. Here. Honeys

2:40 Hanks presents Hudson

2:48 president

2:48 . Joseph president Chris here,

2:55 Lee here, Louis present

3:00 Maloney.

3:00 Present martin president

3:12 Mealy moreno here, darcy's

3:23 present Hankerson, the

3:30 president. Nurse jose, I'm

3:39 here. Paladino wrestler here,

3:44 reilly president

3:44 . Salaam president Justin

3:50 Sanchez, president. President

3:53 seto. So so here, showman, but

4:01 here Felder here. Stevens her

4:12 e

4:12 . Thomas Henry present on

4:18 president Inna Vernikov

4:24 Williams president one. Oh,

4:32 council number one here, one

4:39 here, iowa here car here. A

4:46 brad. Ooh!

4:47 Here, speaker men in here.

4:54 Thank you. We will now have

4:55 today's vacation, which would

4:56 be delivered by bishop

4:58 mitchell taylor, senior pastor

4:59 at center of hope

5:01 international, which is

5:01 located at 12 11 fortiet

5:04 havenue in queens.

5:13 Good afternoon, everyone let

5:16 us pray. Dear god, we thank

5:17 you for the great City of New

5:20 York, a City of strength,

5:24 diversity, resilience and

5:24 opportunity. We thank you for

5:26 the privilege of gathering in

5:28 this chamber

5:28 . Where decisions are made

5:29 that affect the lives of

5:30 millions of people every

5:35 single day lord. Today I stand

5:37 representing the center of

5:38 open to national and urban up

5:40 bound an organization that has

5:42 been blessed department with

5:43 the New York City Council for

5:44 more than two decades since

5:48 the days of the second speaker

5:49 of this council we have worked

5:51 together to innovate solutions

5:52 that lived families out of

5:54 poverty and create pathways to

5:57 opportunity and wealth in

5:58 public housing and low income

6:02 communities through

6:02 initiatives like jobs plus 1 0

6:05 1 financial counseling

6:06 ,community banking free tax

6:08 preparation, small business

6:09 development. We have witnessed

6:10 how thoughtful leadership and

6:15 strategic investment can

6:16 transform lives and so today

6:18 we pray for your wisdom for

6:22 your courage and unity for the

6:23 leadership of this council, we

6:26 pray for speaker Julie Menin

6:28 you would grant her vision and

6:31 strength as she continues to

6:33 guide this body, we pray for

6:35 the deputy speaker dr Nantasha

6:39 Williams the majority leah

6:41 leader Shaun Abreu majority

6:44 whip Kamillah Hanks for

6:46 minority leader David Carr

6:48 ,minoty wrihip in a verna cause

6:52 asking that you bless them

6:55 with clarity, collaboration

6:56 and a spirit of service

6:59 . Lord, remember my council

7:02 member Council Member Julie

7:03 Won we lift up every council

7:06 member in this chamber, each

7:09 one represents neighborhoods

7:10 filled with families, workers

7:13 ,seniors and young people who

7:14 look to them for hope and

7:18 leadership.

7:19 Give them wisdom to govern

7:20 with justice, compassion and

7:23 integrity as our City faces

7:26 the mammoth challenges of

7:28 affordability, housing,

7:30 economic inequality and

7:33 opportunity.

7:33 We ask that you, lord would

7:34 give us the strength and the

7:38 ingenuity to overcome every

7:40 obstacle before us.

7:41 We ask your blessings upon

7:45 this council bless their

7:46 communities, the communities

7:48 that they serve and continue

7:50 to bless this great City, the

7:52 City of New York in your name,

7:55 we pray. Amen. Thank you. I

8:03 would not. Ex counselor Julie

8:05 Won spread the invocation on

8:06 the record. Thank.

8:07 You so much majority of you.

8:09 I'm honored to have bishop,

8:12 the senior pastor of center of

8:14 hope international to deliver

8:17 today's invocation the center

8:18 of hope international is a

8:19 christian church, located just

8:21 outside of queens, which

8:22 houses in long island City. It

8:23 was fine founded by bishop

8:25 taylor in 19 99 and the churc

8:26 hhas grown to over a thousan

8:28 dcongregants, many who live in

8:30 or have deep roots in queens,

8:33 where houses this church

8:34 serves as a beacon of hope for

8:36 many people and most notably

8:36 their bread of life pantry

8:39 distributes fresh produce

8:40 canned goods, frozen products

8:41 and household staples and

8:42 western queens residents, and

8:43 we saw that really flourish on

8:46 bloom as a beacon of hope for

8:47 our queen spread residents as

8:49 our shelter residents durin

8:50 gthe pandemic and the migrant

8:54 crisis with our partnership.

8:55 The pantry has logged over

8:57 22000 client visits this past

8:58 for school year and

8:59 distributed more than 400

9:01 turkeys to families all over

9:03 western queens and queens

9:04 houses ravenswood houses

9:05 woodside houses and the story

9:06 houses ahead of thanksgiving.

9:09 Bishop mitchell taylor is als

9:10 othe co founder and of urban

9:13 abound, a nonprofit

9:13 organization that serves

9:14 thousands of youth and adults

9:16 living in public housing

9:17 another low, moderate income

9:19 neighborhoods annually

9:20 focusing on expanding economic

9:22 opportunities to send cycles

9:23 of poverty all over the City

9:25 of New York that is the first

9:28 ever

9:29 . Federal credit union created

9:29 by and for black men and women

9:33 and we are so grateful for

9:34 your leadership on the ways

9:35 that you serve in in a true

9:37 place of faith. So thank you

9:38 here today and I make the like

9:43 motion to a unanimous consent

9:45 to spread the invocation and

9:46 full upon the record. Thank

9:47 you so much.

9:48 Thank you. Who? Who in our

9:49 ass counselor erik for the

9:50 adoption of minutes. I make

9:54 emotion at the minutes of the

9:56 April 16 2026 stated meeting

9:57 be adopted as printed

9:59 . Messages and papers from the

10:08 Mayor.

10:09 Refers to the committee to

10:12 combat hate.

10:12 M 60 vito of introductory

10:13 number one. 75 B of 20 26

10:15 . Referred to the committee t

10:17 ocome

10:17 . Hate m 61 meryl appointment

10:20 . Referred to rules

10:23 communication from City,

10:24 county and borrow offices,

10:27 none petitions like

10:28 communications, none lanyards

10:29 call ups m 60 to thank yard

10:31 now. So the clerk took a roll

10:32 call vote on today's land use

10:35 call up elder ball.

10:38 My boat, I areola, I vote, I

10:46 are realists Banks

10:50 . Brewer yes, Brooks Powers. I

11:00 thank you

11:00 , thank you, Cabán, I thank

11:04 you

11:05 , De La Rosa.

11:07 Most the majority leader. I

11:08 request permission to vote on

11:10 all items onto these

11:10 . Agenda permission. Manson. I

11:12 I don't know dinner. It's all

11:19 right. Incarnation. I'm oda

11:23 . Epstein yes,

11:24 Farah Farías. Felder I

11:31 police I the Gennaro. I thank

11:38 you,

11:39 guterres, I honey, I

11:42 . Hankerson, all right

11:46 . Hank's I

11:48 . Hudson I Joseph I. Krishnan

11:55 I Lee, I

11:59 . Lewis I Maloney, I, marta.

12:06 Majority leader permission.

12:08 So for no items on the

12:10 agenda today

12:10 , permission granted. I I

12:13 don't know. Mealy. I.

12:21 Murano

12:21 . Darcy's I Nurse? I bought a

12:29 oh, say I voted I Paladino.

12:37 Wrestler Riley I salam voto.

12:43 Justin Sanchez. I Pierina

12:48 Sanchez I santos will also.

12:50 All right, thank you. Shoremen

12:55 I Stevens, I Thomas Henry I

13:03 hung I Inna Vernikov. William

13:10 s. One. I.

13:14 One I will I? Huang I car, I

13:25 abrio I speaker man and I.

13:25 Today's land use call ups

13:37 are adopted by a vote of 4

13:38 8and the affirmative and zer

13:40 oin the negative. Thank you

13:41 will now have communication

13:43 from speaker Julie Menin.

13:46 Afternoon, everyone. First

13:46 of all I want to welcome the

13:48 interns from senator schumer's

13:50 office to our City Council

13:51 chambers. Thank you so much

13:53 for being here great to hav

13:58 eyou.

13:58 And I want you welcome

13:59 assembly member jordan, right?

14:00 Who's here, we're thrilled t

14:01 ohave you visiting us. Thank

14:04 you. So tomorrow we recognize

14:06 international labor day in

14:07 honor of the workers, whose

14:09 contributions make our City

14:12 function. But before we go

14:13 further. I want to go down

14:14 lunch of recent deaths of

14:15 working New yorkers who have

14:18 tragically lost their lives

14:18 while on the job since the

14:20 start of the year we lost

14:22 brian done 37 year old

14:25 sanitation worker dominic

14:26 lowry, a 31 year old laundry

14:30 mat worker.

14:30 Captain antoine forest, a 3

14:32 0year old pilot.

14:33 First officer mackenzie

14:35 gunther, a 24 year old pilot

14:37 and.

14:38 A 47 year old construction

14:42 worker this month. We also

14:43 lost. Amanda medina dominic a

14:44 sa 47 year old bricklayer and

14:46 last weekend, 28 year old

14:49 abdul saleh was shot and

14:50 killed while working at his

14:52 bodega, even as we mourn their

14:54 jess. We will continue t

14:56 ocelebrate their lives and

14:58 their contributions. Our

14:58 hearts are with their family

15:00 ,their loved ones and their

15:03 community as they navigate

15:04 this unimaginable loss. I hope

15:05 they know that the whole City

15:07 is with them in their grief

15:11 .this morning we rallied

15:11 outside tweet courthouse.

15:12 And support of a package of

15:14 legislation that would

15:16 increase educational resources

15:16 on vaccines and call for the

15:18 state to expand access to them

15:21 , the numbers show a

15:22 disturbing pattern that fewer

15:24 kindergartners are getting

15:26 vaccinated overall and that

15:28 measles outbreaks have spread

15:30 across the country, killing

15:32 three americans as many deaths

15:33 from measles that in the past

15:38 25 years combined.

15:38 We're also seeing higher

15:39 childhood death, some diseases

15:41 like whooping cloth and

15:42 influenza something that every

15:44 single parent should be

15:46 terrified by now. One

15:47 . Of the root causes for these

15:49 trends is a massive campaign

15:53 of misinformation and

15:54 disinformation. And it's being

15:55 fueled by u. S health

15:57 secretary robert f. Kennedy j

16:00 r. The New life that kennedy is

16:00 giving to the movement has

16:02 clearly given New life to the

16:04 diseases themselves. The

16:05 erosion of public trust in

16:06 science doesn't just increased

16:08 health risks for its own band

16:09 of followers. It also puts our

16:12 wider community in jeopardy as

16:15 lawmakers and as leaders, we

16:17 cannot sit back and let that

16:20 happen so today we're passing

16:21 a package of legislation that

16:25 seeks to combat disinformation

16:26 and create a safer and

16:29 healthier City for all New

16:32 yorkers looking back t

16:32 oearlier this week on Tuesday,

16:33 the Mayor and I announced that

16:34 the City Council reached an

16:36 agreement to move the budget

16:38 deadline for his executive

16:39 very simple reality. We will

16:47 not have the necessary clarity

16:49 to complete the executive

16:50 budget until New York state

16:51 has finalized, there's we in

16:54 the City Council are taking a

16:55 prudent approach to this

16:57 budget process and ensuring

16:59 that our fiscal stewardship is

17:01 responsible by continuing t

17:02 ofind savings that will close

17:04 our budget.

17:05 Shortfall. We also took the

17:07 opportunity to reiterate our

17:08 prior calls on albany t

17:10 odeliver its fair share for New

17:13 York City because despite

17:14 being the economic engine of

17:16 the state, the City

17:17 contributes so much more to

17:19 the state's revenues. Then we

17:22 received back that imbalance

17:23 undermines our capacity t

17:24 okeep the City affordable and

17:26 to invest in long term

17:28 stability with that sad we

17:30 appreciate with the state

17:31 government has been able to d

17:32 ofor New York City. They're an

17:36 essential part of the solutio

17:37 nand we are all committed to

17:38 delivering a budget that meets

17:40 the needs of every New yorker

17:43 yesterday, I was deeply

17:44 disappointed by yesterday's

17:45 supreme court decision t

17:46 ostrike down a louisa

17:49 congressional louisiana

17:50 congressional map in 19 65

17:51 .the voting rights act broader

17:53 ou courntry closer to

17:54 fulfilling the ideals of

17:57 democracy 61 years later, the

17:58 supreme court has brought u

17:59 sfurther apart from them. We

18:02 cannot allow our hard fough

18:04 tvoting protections to be lost

18:05 and we must always defend fair

18:10 representation and finally

18:11 yesterday morning, the

18:12 council's committee on

18:12 consumer and work protection.

18:13 How the hearing to discuss a

18:15 billa introduced it would

18:16 establish an office of

18:18 insurance accountability

18:20 modeled after office of health

18:22 care accountability it aims t

18:24 operform the vital role of

18:26 promoting transparency and

18:28 equity in the insurance

18:33 industry.

18:33 And the cost of insurance

18:34 has gotten completely out of

18:35 control if you're a small

18:36 business owner in New York

18:38 City and let's remember we

18:39 lost 5000 small businesses

18:41 last year. You are paying 4 2

18:45 5 times the national average

18:46 on liability insurance

18:49 . We know that this insurance

18:51 high cost of insurance is

18:53 affecting renters it's

18:55 affecting homeowners it'

18:56 sinfecting patients who need

18:58 health care insurance across

18:59 the board whether it's health

19:01 insurance, homeowners

19:02 insurance or liability

19:03 insurance for small businesse

19:04 s. Everyone is affected and New

19:06 yorkers are footing the bill,

19:07 which is why we need this

19:09 office to give the City the

19:10 tools to understand what's

19:12 driving these costs so we can

19:13 get smarter and better and

19:15 lower scribe rocketing costs.

19:19 Switching gears? Yes. Was

19:20 denim day a day dedicated to

19:23 standing in solidarity with

19:24 survivors of sexual violence

19:26 as a council. We are deeply

19:29 committed to supporting

19:30 survivors with the trauma