City Council

Wednesday, May 20, 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's stated meeting of May 20, 2026 was chaired by Majority Leader Shaun Abreu and included a report from Speaker Julie Menin, who announced that the Council would introduce amended legislation in the coming weeks regarding safe access to educational institutions (narrowing covered facilities to early childhood sites and schools through 12th grade), replacing the stalled Introduction 175 approach. The Council voted on land use items including the 147-14 Northern Boulevard rezoning (389 units, 216 affordable) and a 351 Powers Avenue HPD disposition, finance items sponsored by Linda Lee (including a 0.5% early-payment discount for real estate taxes and several 40-year tax exemptions), 21 home rule messages covering pension and retirement benefits for police, correction officers, and sanitation workers, and Introductions 93-A (bicycle parking stations, sponsored by Gale Brewer) and 837-A (Hajj and Umrah scam outreach, sponsored by Yusef Salaam), plus Resolution 392 calling on the State to pass the detective recruitment act. The clerk announced that general orders items were adopted 50-0-0, with exceptions read aloud (e.g., Intro 93-A adopted 36-11-3; SLR 1 adopted 36-14-0; SLR 8 adopted 42-5-3). Members also gave general discussion remarks on tributes (Susan Wright, Reverend Larry Kemp, Albert Gurwitz, Barney Frank), a reported hate incident at a Brooklyn mosque, a drowning at Rockaway Beach, a Brooklyn woman giving birth in a courthouse, and introduced new bills on AI consumer protection, older adult health care, veterans, sidewalk cafe sanitation, outdoor dining payment flexibility, bird sales, and lithium battery and nightlife safety.

Transcript

0:03 You?

0:03 ? Ladies and gentlemen, have

0:04 your attention, please. Can I

0:05 have your attention, please,

0:06 at this time, please place all

0:09 electronic devices, all

0:10 electronic devices to vibrate

0:13 majority leader. It's all

0:17 yours. Good afternoon and

0:17 welcome to the state of

0:18 meeting of May 20 2026 I'm

0:20 majority leader Shaun Abreu I

0:21 to thank you for joining us,

0:22 if you like to follow along

0:23 the agenda for today's meeting

0:25 is posted on our web site on

0:28 behalf of the body. I welcome

0:29 the members of the public who

0:29 have joined us today during

0:31 state of meetings only members

0:32 of the public speak members of

0:34 the public shall remain silent

0:35 if you wish to express your

0:37 support of any remarks you

0:38 make the silent approval

0:41 gesture. I want to remind my

0:42 colleagues at the corners t

0:43 obe respected at all times it

0:44 is essential that even if w

0:45 edisagree. We treat each other

0:49 with respect

0:50 . Please join us for the

0:50 pledge of allegiance, a roll

1:14 call aldo bowl here carry over

1:23 here, Avilés president

1:29 . Banks here, Brewer here,

1:34 Brooks Powers president,

1:41 combine president.

1:42 Dela Rosa here. Janowicz

1:49 here

1:50 . Encarnación present Epstein

1:54 . President.

1:56 Us president philly's

2:01 present them genero good years

2:12 here, honey. It's Hankerson

2:15 here, Hanks present Hudson

2:23 present josephere, h Krishnan

2:36 Lee lewis, president Maloney

2:43 present martin president

2:49 merely present moretto here,

2:58 darcy's present Nurse jose

3:10 Paladino here. Wrestler

3:13 . Here, Riley president, salon

3:24 president Justin Sanchez here,

3:27 Pierina Sanchez here. Santoso.

3:35 So I'm here. Showman. Yeah

3:46 ,Stevens, Thomas Henry,

3:51 president on present

3:53 . Vernick off. Yeah.

3:59 Williams, president Wilson

4:06 president one here. Wang, you.

4:14 Joann? Yeah, car brewing

4:23 here. Speaker men in here.

4:31 Security. Thank which would be

4:33 delivered by reverend larry

4:35 kemp, the senior pastor at

4:37 bethlehem baptist church,

4:38 in brooklyn. Let us pray.

4:50 Eternal guard, we invoke

4:53 your presence, we invoke your

4:54 presence in our minds, we

4:55 invoke your presence in our

4:58 decisions, we invoke your

4:59 presence in our serving, we

5:02 invoke your presence in our

5:03 various ways of life. We pray,

5:06 lord, that as we come t

5:10 obusiness that we would do

5:11 everything with the clear

5:12 conscience and a clear mind we

5:15 are trying to pull for life

5:16 and we are thankful for the

5:17 life that you have given us.

5:20 We pray. Oh, master, that you

5:20 would also give us the

5:22 strength to never fear into

5:24 never doubt. Amen. Thank you.

5:30 I will now ask Council Member

5:33 Chris Banks spread the

5:34 indication

5:34 . On the record. If you can

5:35 please keep it down to the

5:36 chambers, they'll be greatly

5:38 appreciated it. Thank you,

5:40 majority leader pass the larry

5:41 camp, the senior pastor of the

5:44 bethlehem baptist church in

5:45 various my very own home, east

5:48 New York there's a man I've

5:49 known for some time and can

5:50 competently say he's a man of

5:52 enormous integrity, fate and

5:54 compassion since being elected

5:56 . A. It's a senior passed in

5:58 the 19 89 to pass the

6:00 alongside first lady camp has

6:03 gone above and beyond in

6:05 service to our community, not

6:06 only to worship and fellowshi

6:08 p, but do a meaningful outreach

6:10 efforts such as their monthly

6:13 food pantry youth programming

6:15 and countless community center

6:16 to the initiatives that have

6:17 touched so many lives

6:18 throughout the 42 council

6:20 district passed. The camp has

6:21 been more than more than just

6:23 a spiritual leader to his

6:26 community, he has been a

6:26 source of guidance, stability

6:28 and encouragement for

6:29 generations of families and we

6:31 are truly adept to him for his

6:34 years of service, and I would

6:35 also would be remiss if I did

6:37 not take the opportunity to

6:40 acknowledge and congratulate

6:41 both past the camp and first

6:42 lady campo and celebrating

6:44 their 37 pastorius and a this

6:48 past Sunday, a 37 years o

6:49 ffaithful service 37 years of

6:52 leadership, sacrifice, prayer

6:53 and oven. We've to god's

6:55 people and to this community

6:58 ,that kind of devotion is rare

6:59 ,and it deserves to be

7:01 recognized and celebrated its

7:02 on behalf of the entire 42

7:04 council district. I want t

7:05 othank past and first lady camp

7:08 for the continual love

7:09 leadership and service to our

7:10 community. I now make a motion

7:13 to and vacation upon the

7:14 record. Thank you, majority

7:18 leader

7:18 . Thank you, councilmember

7:19 adoption of minutes. None.

7:24 Messages and papers from the

7:25 Mayor m 69 through m 74 budget

7:29 documents referred to finance

7:31 . Communication from City,

7:32 county and borrow offices,

7:35 76 budget modifications.

7:36 Referred to finance m 7

7:40 7statement of debt

7:42 affordability.

7:42 Received, ordered printed.

7:44 And filed petitions and

7:46 communications none land use

7:49 columns? None.

7:49 Thank you. We will now hav

7:50 ecommunication from speaker

7:51 . Julie Menin. Afternoon,

7:53 everyone, before I begin. I

7:53 want to offer my deepest

7:56 condolences to former assembly

7:58 member keith, right in the

7:59 manhattan county chair on the

8:02 passing of his beloved wife,

8:05 Susan. Our hearts are with our

8:06 family as they grieve this

8:07 awful loss and her memory be a

8:11 blessing, moving on to

8:13 legislative matters for the

8:14 past few weeks. The council

8:16 has been internally

8:17 considering a path forward for

8:20 introduction hundred 75 be

8:21 Council Member erik

8:23 legislation to provide safe

8:25 access for students to their

8:29 educational institutions, the

8:30 legislation the company to

8:31 build that I introduced and

8:31 that the council passed with

8:33 overwhelming support. 44 2 5

8:36 That bill requires nypd to

8:39 publish its plans for policin

8:41 gprotests outside houses of

8:42 worship whenever there's a

8:44 risk of obstruction,

8:45 intimidation or physical

8:48 injury. These bills are par

8:49 tof the council's five poin

8:50 tplan to combat rising anti

8:52 semitism a plan that responded

8:54 to the deplorable surge of

8:56 this hatred 20 25 hate crimes

8:58 against the jewish community

8:59 made up almost 60% of all

9:02 reported hate crimes despite

9:04 the fact that the jewish

9:05 community represents us in 12%

9:06 of New yorkers this we saw an

9:11 average of one anti semitic

9:13 incident reported each and

9:14 every day and increase of a

9:17 hundred 82% compared to las

9:21 tyear.

9:22 Which is shocking.

9:26 Institutions had more than a

9:28 majority of the members

9:29 support and in fact had enough

9:31 votes to have done an override

9:33 of the mayor's vito. However,

9:36 what are weeks of conversation

9:38 also revealed was that there

9:40 are a considerable number of

9:40 members who wholly support the

9:43 intent of the legislation, but

9:45 who have concerns about which

9:47 educational facilities are

9:50 included. I want to sincerely

9:52 thank my colleagues for these

9:54 conversations, we not only

9:56 listen to those concerns, but

9:57 we heard them and we're

9:59 choosing to address the

10:00 mrather than dismiss him. We're

10:03 taking steps that will result

10:05 in greater consensus among

10:06 council members as well as a

10:08 public at large that will

10:10 focus the legislation mor

10:11 eclearly on the sites that

10:12 serve the most vulnerable

10:15 students. These students were

10:16 always at the core of the

10:19 legislation in the coming

10:20 weeks will introduce and hold

10:21 a hearing on a amended

10:23 legislation that more closely

10:26 defines educational facilities

10:28 as early childhood education

10:30 sites and most through 1

10:34 2schools institutions like

10:35 libraries or teaching

10:36 hospitals, which were never

10:38 intended to be covered by the

10:39 legislation are going to be

10:44 explicitly excluded as wel

10:44 lcolleges and universities as

10:46 before the legislation will

10:48 require the nypd to for the

10:51 first time publish its plan

10:53 for policing protests outside

10:54 these schools when there's a

10:56 risk of intimidation,

10:58 obstruction or physical injur

10:59 y, having a plan that's

11:01 transparent and that can be

11:02 reviewed by the Mayor of City

11:04 council as well as a public at

11:07 large where help us hold the

11:09 nypd for ensuring students can

11:11 access our schools and that

11:13 peaceful protesters can have

11:14 their voices heard and brings

11:16 an added degree of

11:19 transparency and

11:19 accountability that didn't

11:23 exist before

11:23 . Switching gears to the

11:24 special days that we celebrate

11:26 as a City Monday, May 1

11:28 8marked haitian flag day it

11:32 coming? Yeah, yeah, ok, let's

11:33 give it up. Yeah, it

11:36 commemorates the historic

11:37 moment in 1803 when

11:40 revolutionary leaders united

11:41 woman named catherine flanite

11:46 sewed the red and blue cloths

11:47 together to forge your own

11:48 symbol of freedom. Later

11:52 tonit wghe will honor africa

11:53 today here in the council

11:55 chambers and invite everyone

11:58 to join us this week is

12:00 national week honoring our

12:02 front line emergency response

12:04 workers and the incredibly

12:07 important life work that they

12:08 do each and every day to keep

12:10 us healthy and safe. I want to

12:12 personally thank all of our

12:14 tremendous workers for their

12:16 dedication to our communities

12:19 from tomorrow through saturda

12:20 y. Members of her jewish

12:21 community across the fibers

12:22 were gather among their family

12:24 and friends for should do it

12:26 whether it's with blintzes,

12:28 cheesecake or all night to our

12:31 study. I want to wish on New

12:32 yorkers who are celebrating a

12:35 hoxie, mick. This Monday, we

12:36 will also observe memorial day

12:38 to honor and commemorate

12:39 service members who paid the

12:41 ultimate sacrifice for the

12:42 safety of our country. Yeah

12:52 ,on a personal note. I want t

12:53 ohonor my late father who was

12:54 an army doctor at walter reed

12:59 hospital

12:59 . And I know many of you and

13:00 New yorkers across all fiv

13:01 eboroughs have loved ones who

13:02 served our country t

13:05 oincredibly thankful for their

13:05 service, and I hope everyone

13:07 has a meaningful memorial.

13:10 Day next week on May 26 wil

13:13 lcelebrate jana's independence

13:14 day and today council

13:16 stephen's office is hosting

13:19 foster youth shadow day in

13:20 partnership with children's

13:24 aid.

13:24 It offers are younger New

13:25 yorkers opportunity to see

13:26 City government in action

13:29 build relationships with

13:30 elected officials and better

13:33 under how policy decisions

13:34 impact our lives and

13:37 communities. So to all the

13:38 participants who are here in

13:41 our chambers

13:42 , thank you so much for being

13:44 here.

13:45 We really salute you your

13:47 voices matter your experiences

13:49 are valued and we could not be

13:50 happier to see that you are

13:52 learning asking questions and

13:54 participating in civic life. I

13:58 also want to extend my sincere

14:00 gratitude to every council

14:01 member and their staff who

14:03 volunteered to open up your

14:04 offices and take the time t

14:06 omentor these future leaders

14:08 .it really makes a difference.

14:11 I want to congratulate all the

14:12 winning proposals for

14:14 participatory budgeting cycle.

14:15 It's so exciting to see the

14:17 projects that New yorkers

14:19 created to improve their local

14:21 parks, their schools or

14:22 libraries or countless other

14:24 public spaces and thank you t

14:24 oall of the council staff who

14:28 worked so hard on

14:30 participatory budgeting and

14:31 every single New yorker who

14:32 engaged in the process and

14:34 lastly, I want to give a shout

14:35 out to a few groups attending

14:37 today's state of meeting. We

14:38 have students from hunte

14:39 rcollege high school, which is

14:40 in my council district.

14:46 We have officials from three

14:47 unions and detectives

14:48 endowment association, the

14:50 lieutenant's benevolent

14:51 association and the uniformed

14:53 sanitation men's association,

14:54 teamsters local 8 31. Thank

14:56 you so much for joining us and

15:01 we also have participants and

15:02 staff of the expand you

15:04 mentoring and training program

15:09 for b e vendors. Hey, that got

15:10 the loudest applause. Wow.

15:14 Great. Okay. Thank you all so

15:14 much for coming. Now. We're

15:15 going to move on to our stated

15:17 agenda first. We're going t

15:18 ovote on the following land use

15:21 items 1 4 7- 14, norther

15:24 nboulevard, rezoning a private

15:26 application to facilitate the

15:27 development of two New 1

15:30 1storey buildings with a total

15:31 of 389 units, up 216 of which

15:35 will be permanently affordable

15:37 under as well as retailing

15:38 ,community facilities, spac

15:41 eand 280 New parking spaces and

15:44 deputy leader Sandra Ung

15:46 district 3 51 Powers avenue an

15:48 application by hp for

15:51 disposition approval of a City

15:51 owned development site t

15:54 ofacilitate a New eight story

15:56 mixed use building with 8

15:59 3affordable rental units,

16:00 community facilities, space

16:01 and parking for the department

16:03 of education in deputy whip

16:05 and kind of district approval

16:08 of two applications for a

16:10 vocareble consent to operate a

16:13 sidewalk cafe to nino's, which

16:14 is in council

16:15 . Member Harvey epstein's

16:17 district long and council

16:19 member Carl wilson's.

16:20 District. Next, we'll vote

16:21 on the following finance items

16:24 a transparency resolution

16:25 sponsored by Council Member

16:27 Linda Lee New designations and

16:29 changes of certain

16:30 organizations receiving being

16:31 funding in the expense budge

16:35 tpre considered resolutions

16:36 sponsor right? Councilmember

16:37 Linda Lee establish a discount

16:39 percentage for early payment

16:40 of real estate taxes to be set

16:42 at 0. 5% Per year for fiscal

16:45 year 20 27 pre considered

16:49 resolution sponsored by

16:50 Council Member Linda Lee

16:52 establish a partial 40 year

16:54 article five tax exemption for

16:56 two buildings in council

16:57 member Yusef Salaam pre

17:01 considered resolution also

17:02 sponsored by Council Member

17:03 Linda Lee establish a New 4

17:04 0year article 11 tax exemption

17:07 for a six story building and

17:08 Council Member Harvey

17:11 epstein's district pre

17:12 considered resolution

17:13 sponsored by a Council Member

17:14 Linda Lee establish a partial