Press Room

Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams was joined today by advocates including Akeem Browder, brother of Kalief Browder, VOCAL-NY, and community groups to take on myths and misinformation about the recently enacted pre-trial reforms. These laws, passed in the 2019 legislative session in Albany, are designed to eliminate the privilege gap between wealthy offenders who can pay bail and lower-income New Yorkers forced to remain incarcerated because of an inability to pay.

The group gathered outside New York County Criminal Court, within sight of the ongoing trial for Harvey Weinstein, who paid $1 million and later $2 million to be released pre-trial.

"This new reform- this critical progress -  has been in effect for just six days," said Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams. "Yet we see top officials reacting to headlines and fear mongering, discussing a potential watering down or clawing back of the gains that have been years in the making. In the past, we have seen officials apologize for being on the wrong side of history, for supporting policies that hurt communities in need such as stop, question and frisk, the 1994 crime bill, and the three strikes law. I urge people to wait, to see the good these new laws will accomplish, not only for the benefit of thousands of low income New Yorkers, but so that they are not apologizing for their own opposition to that progress down the road." Public Advocate Williams specifically highlighted that less than 12% of New York City's jail population has been sentenced to jail in 2019, and emphasized that bail is meant not as a punishment but as an assurance that a defendant will return to court - one that poor New Yorkers are unable to pay and so have been far too often punitively incarcerated pre-trial. As of 2018, he noted, 76% of cases already led to release pre-trial, He also made clear that he new bail and discovery laws create more tools for judges and law enforcement to monitor people being released pretrial, and all people facing criminal allegations will now be subject to a range of possible supervision requirements. The Public Advocate announced that his office would be holding a series of informational sessions around the city to engage the public on the impact and implementation of the laws. "I spent eighteen months at Rikers and saw the way money bail devastated the lives of poor people like me. I was proud to fight for bail reform in Albany because wealth should not determine one's freedom. We can't go back to the way things were, we must embrace the new bail reform laws because they make our state more fair and just for all," said Darryl Herring, community leader for VOCAL-NY.

"The presumption of innocence is a principle fundamental to our criminal legal system but for decades, innocent until proven guilty only applied to those who could afford it," said Assemblymember Dan Quart. "New York's new bail laws are a victory decades in the making and we will not allow police unions, prosecutors, and the right-wing media sensationalize and fear monger their way to regressive rollbacks." "Kalief was inevitably sentenced to death for being accused of stealing a backpack - such an insignificant accusation, with a fatal impact. My mother like every parent across New York City never should have to witness and experience a tragedy such as this which caused her death by a broken heart, "said Akeem Browder, brother of Kalief Browder and criminal justice advocate. "Reforming New York's bail came too late to help Kalief, my mother and the countless families that went through similar circumstances- but we fought to have change, attained this reform, and just a week into implementation we are now faced with this action to repeal. This isn't the legacy left due to the sacrifice of Kalief Browder. This is a step towards reviving the system of incarceration." "I have spent the last seven years in the halls and courtrooms of this building right here watching increasing numbers of black and brown and poor New Yorkers behind bars, their families devastated because they simply could not afford bail - because they struggled with poverty, mental health, and substance use issues. Meanwhile the white, the wealthy, and the well connected got to buy their constitutional right to the presumption of innocence," said Tiffany Cabán, public defender and Working Families Party national political organizer, later adding "We need to make sure that we are working together so that none of these reforms, these really important reforms, are rolled back." "These laws are a mere 6 days old and it is shameful that critics continue to spread falsehoods and hysteria to push their anti-reform agenda. This comes as no surprise, as law enforcement and others opposed to reform have employed these baseless tactics for decades to maintain their competitive courtroom advantage, strip our clients of their rights, and keep black and brown New Yorkers in cages at Rikers Island. Albany rightfully overhauled these broken laws and lawmakers must only build on this success by enacting more reforms this upcoming session," said Marie Ndiaye, Supervising Attorney of the Decarceration Project at The Legal Aid Society. "When people say that our Hasidic and Orthodox brothers and sisters are under attack, that is not a metaphor to me, that is literal," said Abby Stein of Jews for Racial and Economic Justice. She went on to say "I am here to tell you that bail reforms isn't just not getting in our way, it's the only thing we can do right now to make sure that the nonstop incarceration of our siblings of color does not get in the way, and does not make anti-Semitism even worse." "We stand here today and instead of celebrating together, we are talking about the efforts of a few New Yorkers with a vested interest in the status quo to roll back what we have accomplished together," said Justine Olderman, Executive Director of The Bronx Defenders. "They are trying to add new charges, more charges, to our two-tiered justice system, where people who are wealthy can pay their way out and people who are low-income New Yorkers will languish in jail... We should not be here looking backwards and finding ways to go back to an unjust system.  We should be standing here celebrating that our criminal legal system is no longer able to crush the poor and that since January 1, people accused of low-level offenses are no longer separated from their family, jobs, and community." The Public Advocate said his office would continue to monitor the reforms for their effectiveness and impact.

Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams labelled the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) as the worst landlord in the city today after touring apartments at the Lincoln Houses complex in East Harlem. The development was the second stop on the Public Advocate's citywide tour following his release of the annual 'Worst Landlords Watchlist' Monday morning in lower Manhattan.

Following the installation of a federal monitor and new Chair, NYCHA tenants have only seen conditions worsen, with its nearly 350,000 current outstanding work orders surpassing the previous year by more than 100,000. While NYCHA is not included in the direct methodology used to rank individual property owners, the Public Advocate has emphasized that its neglect and mismanagement needs to be spotlighted and combated. The agency was first designated as the worst landlord in 2018.

Public Advocate Williams said, "The worst landlord in our city is responsible for the housing safety and security of nearly half a million New Yorkers, and yet again, it is utterly failing in that responsibility. We have seen deplorable and dangerous conditions on the rise without the money or the management to fix it. We have seen NYCHA become a permanent fixture as a perennial political prop. What we have not seen is a commitment to meaningful change, to progress, to tenants. NYCHA has earned its federal monitor, and it has earned a place atop the Watchlist."

The Public Advocate toured a Lincoln Houses apartment Monday with tenant Rina Marie Mungin, who spoke about the deteriorating conditions in her unit and throughout the building and complex. She pointed to rodent infestation and mold growth, hazardous peeling paint, and months-long waits for dangerous conditions to be addressed and repairs to be made. She also discussed building-wide failures including elevators frequently out of serve and human waste in hallways and stairwells. Public Advocate Williams and tenant leaders emphasized that these issues are faced across the system, not specific to Lincoln Houses.

"We are facing deplorable and unsafe conditions on a daily basis," said Mungin of her family and neighbors within NYCHA. "There doesn't seem to be any care, any sense of urgency, to address the needs of people living here, and it's only getting worse."

Public Advocate Williams has introduced legislation to create a NYCHA task force that focuses on tenants and tenant voices, in a conversation where he feels they have too often been overlooked and ignored. That disconnect, he argued, has helped to create a situation where NYCHA is massively underfunded - it is estimated that resolving just the current open work orders system-wide would cost $25 billion dollars.

The Public Advocate's Landlord Watchlist is an information-sharing tool intended to allow tenants, public officials, advocates, and other concerned individuals to identify which residential property owners consistently flout the City's laws intended to protect the rights and safety of tenants.

The Public Advocate launched a citywide tour Monday of properties owned by the worst landlords, with more information available here.

View the full Worst Landlord Watchlist, as well as borough-specific lists, for 2019 at LandlordWatchlist.com.

Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams today announced the creation of five Community Organizer positions within the Office of Public Advocate-- each focusing on designated issue-based areas to build coalitions for change-- as well as the organizers who will fill those roles. This is the latest in a series of organizational restructurings by Public Advocate Williams, designed to better serve New Yorkers across the city.

In announcing the appointments, Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams said, "When I first started working as a community organizer two decades ago-- before President Barack Obama -- people questioned what community organizing was and what organizers did. Since then, organizers across the city and nation have shown how this work creates change. Now, I'm excited to expand the organizing strength of this office to engage and uplift communities across our city, and for our new organizers to be agents of change."

The new Community Organizers work with local constituencies on grassroots campaigns across their specific area of focus, as well as conduct research on policy and legislation. They will implement campaigns and initiatives within these issue portfolios, working with advocacy groups and community-based organizations. The positions are designed in line with Public Advocate's activist-elected official strategy, community organizing background, and newly developed structure for the office.

Today's announcement comes after the previous appointments of Deputy Public Advocates, with each Community Organizer directly aligned with the Deputy Public Advocate's portfolios.  The Community Organizers will work with the five Deputy Public Advocates in the areas of Housing Equity; Infrastructure and Environmental Justice; Justice, Health Equity and Safety; Education and Opportunity; and Civic and Community Empowerment.

The newly announced Community Organizers include:

Ivie Bien-Aime; Community Organizer of Housing Equity

Ivie is an experienced AmeriCorps V.I.S.T.A. Tenant Organizer and proudly steps into her role and responsibilities knowing that its goals are aligned with her passion to address New York City's crisis of housing insecurity. Ivie is a former Site Director of a COMPASS Elementary After School Program, and has previously held three Community Engagement positions with the NYC Department of Education as: School Based Parent Coordinator, District Family Advocate and Family Leadership Coordinator. Steve Fox; Infrastructure and Environmental Justice Steve comes to the Office of the Public Advocate after years organizing campaigns and consulting in the renewable energy sector. Before that, Steve organized and developed offices for the Community Voters Project, which registered over 165,000 African American and Latino voters in 6 states, focusing on states that had recently passed discriminatory voter ID laws. He has also actively organized campaigns related to overturning Citizens United and abolishing the death penalty.   He is excited to combine his deep knowledge of energy and environmental policy with his deep passion for organizing for social justice in his new role. Keeshan Harley; Justice, Health Equity, and Safety Keeshan has fully dedicated the last 4 years of his life to community organizing and forwarding public policy in New York City. At Make the Road NY, he was active in city wide campaigns with young people around both Education and Policing reform. Keeshan has partnered with the Public Science Project at CUNY for a Participatory Action Research project called Researchers for Fair Policing and has given testimony to President Obama's 21st Century Policing Task force, and sat on the Mayoral Leadership Team around School Discipline. He will be taking on a range of issues from  marijuana justice and Cure Violence and restorative justice programs to ending the school to prison pipeline, Elizabeth Kennedy; Education and Opportunity Elizabeth began her New York City career as a Human Rights Education Fellow with Amnesty International HQ, and went on to work as an Education Consultant with the Department of Education in the Office of Post-Secondary Readiness. Later, she led a national leadership program called GlobeChangers at Multiplying Good, and engaged in local and national community organizing with groups like NYCoRE, Housing Works, and the Center for Popular Democracy. She has also led diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging consulting work that supported nonprofits with sustainable training, leadership alignment, and strategic planning. Hadeel Mishal; Civic and Community Empowerment Hadeel is an activist and organizer from Bay Ridge who started her career organizing with young immigrants on Staten Island and teaching action civics courses to middle and high school students. She later accepted a fellowship through Newman's Own Foundation and moved to Philadelphia to organize with the Youth Leadership Council, working on local advocacy issues and awarding mini-grants to local organizations doing work align with their values. After completing her fellowship, Hadeel began working as a Youth Organizer at the Arab American Association of New York, engaging in city-wide advocacy and civic engagement initiatives.

Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams called for an end to the practice of solitary confinement today at a New York City Board of Corrections hearing. In testimony before the Board, he argued that "Solitary confinement is a torturous punishment that causes deep and permanent psychological, physical, and social harm." He further states that "It is an ineffective, counterproductive, and unsafe disciplinary practice that fails to address the underlying causes of problematic behavior. We must end solitary confinement in the City of New York now."

While the Board has currently proposed a rule regarding solitary that would reduce the maximum solitary sentence from thirty days to fifteen, among other gradual steps, the Public Advocate and other criminal justice reform leaders believe the practice of solitary must be entirely ended.

The Public Advocate's full testimony is below and can be downloaded here. TESTIMONY OF PUBLIC ADVOCATE JUMAANE D. WILLIAMS

TO THE BOARD OF CORRECTIONS

DECEMBER 2, 2019 Good morning, my name is Jumaane D. Williams and I am the Public Advocate for the City of New York. As the City's watchdog, it is my duty to protect the rights of all New Yorkers, including the roughly 7,000 New Yorkers who are housed in the Department of Correction (DOC) facilities. I'd like to thank the Board for holding this hearing and giving the public an opportunity to have their voices heard on this critically important proposed rule.

A member of my team testified at the Board's October 22nd meeting: Restrictive housing, punitive segregation, separation status, whatever we call it--solitary confinement is a torturous punishment that causes deep and permanent psychological, physical, and social harm. It is an ineffective, counterproductive, and unsafe disciplinary practice that fails to address the underlying causes of problematic behavior. We must end solitary confinement in the City of New York now.

The Board's rule must be revised to reflect this moral imperative. Fifteen days in solitary confinement is fifteen days too many. Through this rulemaking process, New York City has an opportunity to serve as a model for the nation in defending basic human rights. I call on the Board to fully end solitary confinement in New York City by adopting the comprehensive blueprint put forward by The NYC Jails Action Coalition and the #HALTsolitary Campaign.

As this blueprint makes clear, ending solitary confinement does not require a radical overhaul of existing protocols. In order to end this shameful chapter in our City's history, we need to strengthen existing standards and follow the example of previous efforts that have successfully replaced punitive segregation with alternatives that prioritize rehabilitation, health, safety, and basic human rights.

One specific example that I want to raise is the Clinical Alternative to Punitive Segregation (CAPS) program that has already been implemented in New York City jails for those living with serious mental illnesses. Instead of placing folks in solitary units that only exacerbate existing behavioral problems, this program provides intense programming, out of cell time, therapy and recreation activities. This has resulted in improved outcomes and safety, including a significant decrease in self-harm and injury. The success of CAPS should not be confined to those with serious mental illnesses. This approach can and should be applied for all New Yorkers in DOC facilities.

I'll end by saying that the stakes are too high here for this City to be taking half-measures and exploiting bureaucratic loopholes that continue the practice of solitary confinement. Passing emergency variances for so-called "separation status", issuing substitution orders to send young New York City residents to sit in solitary cells upstate, and capitulating to watered down rules like the ones before us today are how we end up with more tragedies like the preventable deaths of Layleen Polanco and Kalief Browder. We can and we must end solitary confinement in New York City, and I implore the Board to revise and pass rules that will make this happen.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Following the Public Campaign Financing Commission's final vote on its controversial plan for implementation of a public financing system in New York State, The Albany Times-Union has published an op-ed by Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams entitled 'Campaign finance reform was designed to fail.'

In the piece, he argues that the Commission's failure to develop a real plan for fairly financed elections, and its success in developing one which damages minor parties, was a deliberate action by those in power- and that legislators need to act to correct "what would be the among the worst public financing systems in the nation."

Text of the op-ed is available below and can be viewed online here.

'Campaign finance reform was designed to fail'  By Jumaane D. Williams

Our state's Public Campaign Finance Commission raised its voices over the shouts of enraged New Yorkers on Monday to finalize its plan for implementing a public financing system. The commission was ostensibly tasked with creating a system of fairly financed elections, and in that mission they failed.  It's not a fairly financed election if contribution limits are still high enough for the wealthiest donors to outbid New Yorkers for a politician's attention. It's not a fairly financed election if it includes a poison pill to destroy minor parties that push for major change. It's not a fairly financed election if donation thresholds are inflated enough that the program functions as an incumbency protection program - defeating the purpose, not the powerful. But the truth is that the commission's failure to implement a fair system isn't a failure at all - it's by design.  Governor Cuomo-- like too many of his allies in office-- knows that a fairly financed election is one they can't win. This planned failure has been seeded from the beginning- by installing his top ally as Chair, Governor Cuomo has been able to abuse this process for political gain, free of consequence.  It's absurd, Trumpian, and largely unseen by the public this system should serve and uplift.  The commission held hearings, but clearly weren't listening. In 2018, the top 100 donors gave more money than 137,000 small donors combined. This plan won't suitably correct that disparity - but, in another move that undercuts and obfuscates the purpose of the commission, it will target the organizations working to fight it.  I wouldn't be in office without public financing. But I also wouldn't be here without minor parties, who are unafraid to take a stance against powers like Governor Cuomo. I wouldn't be here without grassroots individuals with boundless energy but limited funds, whose voices public financing would amplify, who big money wants to drown out. Without those forces I wouldn't be here. And the Governor knows that.  Advocates, legislators, leaders, know we had an opportunity to uplift the voices of all New Yorkers, and we cannot stop raising our voices - and votes - against what would be among the worst public financing systems in the nation.  Legislators need to return to Albany and fight back against entrenched powers, or voters will themselves - because elected officials who don't support fair elections don't deserve to win them. 

The New York City Council today passed legislation from Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams aimed at combating the use of fraudulent parking permits in New York City, alongside a package of eight other related measures. The Public Advocate's legislation, Intro 596-B, would increase the fine for use of unauthorized or fraudulent city-issued parking permits, or placards, from $250 to $500.

"Placard abuse is egregious across New York City, and its damaging impact can be seen on side streets and avenues in all five boroughs," said Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams. "The effects of placard corruption are not just an inconvenience, but a danger and a misuse of our roadways. While the city has been incredibly concerned with combatting fair evasion, placard abuse amounts to a significant theft in transportation services, and this is an effort to address that beyond just words. Doubling the penalty for such blatant fraudulent actions will serve as a strong deterrent to this abuse."

Placards are intended for usage by qualifying staff of city agencies, non-profit organizations, people with disabilities, and clergy members. In addition to street congestion, abuses of that system result in blocking bus, pedestrian, fire hydrant, and biking passages. There have been over 8,000 complaints to 311 in the last two years, and the use of fraudulent placards is currently punishable with a fine of no less than $250.

This bill, part of a broader package the Council voted on today, would double the penalty for the offense, specifically targeting those who manufacture, purchase, or otherwise use fraudulent permits. Enforcement for this violation is primarily carried out by the NYPD. Among other bills in the package passed today are bills which would create an electronic tracking system for valid parking permits, expand reporting and enforcement on illegal placard and city vehicle usage, and penalize individuals who are misusing otherwise legitimate permits.

Advocates, including those on social media, have long called for reform and enforcement on this issue, in a sustained campaign of sharing photographs and videos of prominent examples of placard abuse and illegal parking with elected officials and the public.