City Council

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

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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