REMARKS
Council Member Sanchez's opening remarks on fire displacement legislation
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3 min
Council Member Pierina Ana Sanchez provides opening remarks for the committee meeting on housing and buildings, focusing on proposed intro number 6-A.
She discusses the impact of fire displacement on New Yorkers and the need for better tenant education and agency coordination in response to such emergencies.
- Explains the average length of stay in emergency housing shelters for different family types
- Highlights the roles of various city agencies and organizations in responding to fires
- Urges colleagues to vote in favor of the proposed legislation and mentions a related bill (Intro 89) to increase access to fire information
Pierina Ana Sanchez
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Thank you, Sergeant.
0:00:21
Good morning.
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I'm council member beating Asante's chair of the committee on housing and buildings.
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Join today by my colleagues, council member, Hudson, council member Carr, council member Avilis, council member, a wrestler, council member, Denowitz, and council member, Shauna Grayou.
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Today, we are voting on proposed intro number 6a in relation to tenant education and outreach on potential vacate orders due to damage caused by fires, by council member, Abulis.
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Displacement following a fire or structural problem in your home is one of the most disruptive experiences a family can have.
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Imagine, running for your life, barely remembering to grab your shoes, probably insufficient clothing, and certainly not your wallet, or identify information, only to stand or sit on a sidewalk for hours, looking up, not being sure what is next.
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This happens in our city about 2000 times per year.
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In New York City, we thankfully have some processes designed to help New Yorkers through these destabilizing times, gratitude, of course, to our first responders who risk their lives to pull us out of fires and emergency conditions.
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The American Red Cross, who has a contract with the housing with the Department of Housing Preservation And Development, they visit fires in other emergency sites to help residents with emergency shelter and provisions in certain circumstances.
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And our agencies from emergency management to the Department of Buildings, housing preservation, and fire again, who each play different roles to ensure our buildings are safe, and that there is some degree of internal agency coordination.
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Yet for all that we have in New York City, we can and we must do better.
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On dozens of occasions in my own, 3 years in office, I have visited firesites, and I know my colleagues have, as well, discovering myriad issues.
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Buildings, the Department of Buildings, or HPD, didn't issue a vacate order when they were supposed to.
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ARC wasn't notified when residents were left in limbo.
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And the displacements can be, and often are long lasting blessing.
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In the 1st 4 months of fiscal year 2024, the average length of stay for single adults in emergency housing shelters was 592 days, almost 2 years.
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The average length of safe for adult families was 464 days, and the average length of safe for families with children was 337 days.
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Today, we're voting on proposed intro number 6a, sponsored by council member Abila.
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Which would require HPD in consultation with DOB and FDNY to develop procedures to ensure that occupants of multiple dwellings are informed of the processes for the issuance of residential vacate orders following fires, and provide those residents with resources on how to cope.
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I'm happy to work with my colleague in passing this important legislation and urge all of my colleagues to vote I today along with my bill that's being heard in the fire committee Intro 89, which will also increase the access to information about fires so that more individuals, more New Yorkers, can have support following this destabilizing event.
0:03:19
Together, these bills are part of a joint effort to make information more accessible to the council and to the public where when there is a fire.
0:03:27
I will now call on council member Avila to speak on her legislation.