REMARKS
Speaker Adrienne Adams' Address: Honoring An Advocate and Addressing Policy Misconceptions
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11 min
Speaker Adrienne Adams commences her address by commemorating the impact of the late Cecilia Gentile, acknowledging the tragic loss of two New Yorkers to fires, and debunking misconceptions about city policies linked to asylum seekers. She strongly denounces violence against officers and clarifies the city's stance on 'sanctuary policies,' emphasizing their long-standing bipartisan support for public safety. Adams' speech takes a powerful stand on behalf of immigrant communities, public housing residents, and extends recognition to various cultural, health, and historic commemorations happening throughout the month.
Speaker 2
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Thank you, Meta majority leader, and good afternoon, everyone.
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I want to begin by acknowledging the loss of Cecilia Gentile, a trailblazing, passionate, and powerful advocate whose work over decades has made our city more equitable.
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Cecilia's relentless pursuit of dignity and justice for our LGBTQIA plus community especially trans New Yorkers, immigrants, women, and so many others will have a lasting impact on our city for generations.
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Thank you for your fearlessness and courage, Cecilia.
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My heart is with your loved ones and community.
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Our city is also mourning the death of 2 New Yorkers who were tragically taken from us due to dangerous fires, including a 6 seven year old man at the Guajones houses and councilmember Hanifs district, and an eighty six year old woman from Regal Park And Councilmember Holden's district.
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Our thoughts are with their family and friends during this very difficult time.
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Now, I'd like to talk about the public conversation.
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That has occurred over the past several days.
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That's been lacking in basic facts.
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It's been reminiscent of the 19 nineties when fear mongering crowded our facts and has sought to conflate issues that have no connection.
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I want to lay out some basic facts and provide some important clarity in context that have been missing from the conversation.
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The alleged assault on NYPD officers and Times Square that we saw on video was deeply troubling.
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In fact, it was deplorable.
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As violence against police officers, city workers, or any New Yorker is wrong and unacceptable.
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Those involved in any assault should be held accountable for their actions.
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These should be shared truths that unite every New Yorker regardless of who may or may not have been responsible.
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While it is fair, to scrutinize the criminal legal process and any issues related to it.
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The unfounded leap to draw a connection to city laws that make New Yorkers safer and cast blame on asylum seekers broadly lacks any foundation and truth.
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This past week, Some have pointed to this deplorable incident as a reason to revisit policies advanced by Democratic and Republican mayors.
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From Ed Koch, to David Jenkins, to Rudy Giuliani, to Michael Bloomberg and beyond, who recognized that keeping city agencies and workers from being used for federal immigration enforcement is in the best interest of public safety and the well-being of our city.
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In reality, these bipartisan city policies have no connection to this incident.
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This was an issue of our local law enforcement solving and prosecuting an alleged crime as governed by the state criminal law and the United States constitution.
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City law does not interfere in the criminal legal process nor any federal immigration law.
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So called, sanctuary policies have no bearing on how crime is prosecuted.
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They don't conceal or shelter people from from detection, nor do they shield people from deportation or prosecution for criminal activities.
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They simply reflect best practices to safeguard public safety and well-being for cities with immigrant communities.
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Which have been a priority of Democratic and Republican mayors alike for decades.
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This started with an executive order by Mayor Ed Koch.
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Reissued by mayor Jenkins and Giuliani, defended in federal court by mayor Giuliani, and restored by Mayor Bloomberg when many of these policies began to be codified into local law.
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In a city where 1 third of all people are immigrants from over 200 countries.
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These diverse mayors shared an understanding that immigrant New Yorkers are not to be deterred from seeking help from or reporting crimes to city agencies due to fear of deportation that would make us less safe.
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These policies foster trust and cooperation between immigrant communities and local authorities, which is critical to public safety.
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In fact, The evidence shows that counties with these policies across the country are safer and have less crime than those without them.
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We can hold 2 truths.
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We can be united in denouncing the attacks, and we can uphold the proven public safety policies that have served our city and our immigrant communities for decades.
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Our city is better than the public conversation of the past several days, and we all have a role to play in advancing public safety, not politics.
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On behalf of all New Yorkers.
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I also want to take a moment to share my profound disappointment and anger on behalf of the city's hundreds of thousands of public housing residents regarding yesterday's announced legal action taken against current and former NICE employees in 1 of the largest corruption cases in the history of the United States Department of Justice.
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THE IMPACT ON NEARLY 100 NYCHA DEVELOPMENTS ACROSS THIS CITY, INCLUDING AT BASELIE PARK HOUSES IN MY OWN DISTRICT.
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Is far reaching, violating the public trust of New Yorkers is already being ill served by unacceptable living conditions.
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Our public housing residents deserve so much better.
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Residents should be able to trust and rely on NICA management.
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To make timely repairs that address quality of life issues, and these allegations represent an immense betrayal.
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It's unacceptable.
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And Nietcha must do better by public housing residents across our across our city.
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Happy Black History Month, everyone.
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As we celebrate this year, let us do so with great pride and joy and take time to share the known and lesser known stories about the brilliant black Americans who contributions have positively shaped our city and country.
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This month and every month, it is important that we honor our ancestors and those who shoulders we stand on today by continuing our struggles for justice, dignity, and liberation.
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February is American Heart Month.
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It's a time when we raise awareness about the impact of heart disease, which has been the leading cause of death in the United States since 1950.
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And today, we're wearing red ribbons.
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Some of us are wearing red garments in honor of national wear red day.
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Which is observed on the 1st Friday February to bring attention to women's heart health.
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It's critical that we work together.
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To promote greater heart health and work towards preventing cardiovascular diseases.
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We also recognized World Hee Job Day on February 1st and honor all New Yorkers and millions of people around the world who wear the hijab with pride.
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Yesterday was National Black HIV AIDS Awareness Day.
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This day reminds us of the persistent disparities that continue to impact black communities and of the importance of staying committed to promoting HIV prevention, testing, and treatment.
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It will take all of us to confront the stigma and inequities in our communities.
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February 7th was also national girls and women in sports day in commemoration of the implementation of Title 9 more than 5 decades ago.
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Our women majority council remains committed to the goal of equitable funding and access for women and girls across our city.
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February 7th is also Renata's Independence Day.
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This year marks the 50th anniversary of Renata's Independence, so I won't wish all Grenadian New Yorkers a Happy Golden Jubilee Celebration.
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This Saturday, February 10th, the March the start of Lunar New Year, also celebrated as Seoul Lao in our Korean communities, or TET, in our Vietnamese communities.
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Yesterday, the council hosted our annual Lunar New Year celebration marking the year of the dragon.
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We had the opportunity to celebrate together and honor the great community leaders whose work has uplifted our diverse AAPI communities across the city.
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I know it was a great celebration, and I wanna thank everyone who attended and helped to make it a success.
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I wish all New Yorkers who are celebrating a happy healthy and prosperous lunar new year.
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On February 12th, we will be observing n double acp day.
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In celebration of the day that the NAACP was formed in 2009.
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We would not be here today without the work and advocacy of the oldest civil rights organization in the country.
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February 14th is National Doner Day.
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A time to spread awareness and education about organ, eye, and tissue donations.
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These selfless donations make it possible for another to have a second chance at life, and we thank all donors for their generosity.
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February 14th is also asked Wednesday.
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It's the first day of Lent, I wish all those participating a meaningful and reflective season of prayer and fasting.
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February 15th is National Black Girl Magic Day.
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Black women are essential to the success and strength of our communities and our city, and it's important that we uplift our contributions.
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The council is proud to host a Black Girl Magic Day celebration right here in the council chambers next Thursday at 6 PM, I want to thank all of my colleagues who are co sponsoring this celebration.
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On February 17th, We will observe Kosovo Independence Day.
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The council will be hosting Kosovo Independence Day celebration next Tuesday, so I encourage everyone to join us in the Peoples house right here beginning at 6 PM.
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February 16th is Gambian Independence Day.
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New York City is home to a diverse Gambian community, and we thank them for their critical work and contributions to our city.
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February 21st is International Mother Language Day, formerly recognized by New York City last year, to honor the importance of the Bengali, Bangladesh language, to Bangladesh is everywhere.
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Thank you to majority leader Fariyas and council member, Hanif, for your work to promote the acceptance of linguistic and cultural diversity in our communities.
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On February 23rd, I our guy in his communities will be celebrating very public day.
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I am proud to represent a vibrant guy in his community in my district, which I call the great 28, so I wanna wish everyone a happy Guyana Republic Day.
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Next, I wanna encourage all New Yorkers to apply for your local community board.
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As the former chair of Queen's community board 12, I understand the importance of civic engagement and local government when we work together to meet the needs of our communities.
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If you're interested in helping make your helping to make your neighborhood a better place to live, work, and thrive, I hope you will submit your application to serve your community.
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Finally, February 5th was counsel member, Haniib's birthday.
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I hope you had a very happy birthday.
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Now let's move on to our stated agenda first will vote on the following finance items, a transparency resolution approving new designations and changes of certain organizations receiving funding and the expense budget.
