REMARKS
Council Member Alexa Avilés introduces 497
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Council Member Alexa Avilés introduces Resolution 497, applauding a settlement that protects First Amendment rights in New York City.
- The resolution acknowledges a September 2023 settlement between the state attorney general, New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU), Legal Aid Society, and New York Police Department (NYPD).
- Avilés expresses concern about recent threats to First Amendment rights, including responses to pro-Palestinian protesters and confiscation of protest tools.
- She criticizes the NYPD's budget allocation for press and public relations, and the use of retention authority for officers involved in protests.
- Avilés warns against a potential mask ban on public transportation, viewing it as a threat to public health and a means to target protesters.
- The Council Member emphasizes the importance of protecting the right to protest as fundamental to democracy.
Alexa Avilés
0:50:57
Thank you.
0:50:58
First, I'd like to, in the spirit, as my colleague, shout out our fabulous interns, Charlie Gorham, Noah Hemley, our alvan fellow Amarachio Nangari, and our SIP intern, Sarah Hernandez and Berrell Hugh.
0:51:12
I'd also like to extend my deepest condolences to the great Jose Lopez and I will be there in in the south side.
0:51:23
He is such a figure in the Puerto Rican community, and I thank him and his family for his profound contribution.
0:51:30
So Jose Lopez Presente.
0:51:33
Today, I'm introducing Reso497, which applauds the protection of the 1st amendment rights that were that were granted through the settlement reached in September 2023 when the state attorney general, NIGHCLU, and the legal aid society sued the NYPD.
0:51:50
Importantly, we continue to see the threats to our first amendment, especially with this administration, including recent violent responses to pro Palestinian protesters.
0:52:00
And their confiscation of protest tools so they they can't fully exercise their rights.
0:52:07
A bloated budget for the NYPD press and public relations that seems to set up to target critics, unprecedented use of practices known as retention authority, which allows off officers who use tasers and batons and protesters to walk away without consequence, and an announcement of a possible mask ban on our public transportation system threatening public health, all just to hunt down protesters.
0:52:33
We cannot allow our 1st amendment rights to be chipped away at whenever our individual beliefs are regarding the presence of the NYPD in our city.
0:52:42
Our right to protest is the under underpinning of a democrat and any efforts to silence dissent is fundamentally in opposition to our collective ideals.
0:52:52
I encourage my colleagues to sign on to this resolution And if it if it occurs to you, Biden is not allowed.