PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Lucas Marquez, Advocate from Brooklyn Defender Services
2:39:33
·
110 sec
Lucas Marquez from Brooklyn Defender Services testifies in support of Intros 152, 625, and 1027, focusing on the safety and rights of transgender individuals in NYC jails. He emphasizes the need for gender-aligned housing and the importance of the TGNCNBI task force in implementing these reforms.
- Highlights ongoing issues of harassment and assault faced by transgender women in men's jails
- Argues for the necessity of Intro 625 to ensure safety, individualized housing determinations, and compliance with human rights laws
- Stresses the importance of extending the TGNCNBI task force's mandate through Intro 152 to properly implement the proposed reforms
Lucas Marquez
2:39:33
Thank you.
2:39:34
My name is Lucas Marquez.
Sandy Nurse
2:39:36
It's not on?
2:39:36
Sorry.
2:39:37
It's for the red light.
Lucas Marquez
2:39:38
Great.
2:39:38
Thanks.
2:39:38
My name is Lucas Marquez from Brooklyn defender services, and I also serve on the TGN CNBI task force.
2:39:46
I would like to thank the city council for having this hearing today.
2:39:50
I will be speaking in support of intros 152-625-1027.
2:39:56
For years, impacted people have been raising alarm of the dangers for trans people NYC jails.
2:40:03
The task force issued report in 2022 with detailed recommendations and an eagerness to work with DOC and CHS.
2:40:11
In January 2023, we testified before the city council on the importance of genderline housing in city jails and detailed client stories of trans women who were harassed, assaulted, and brutalized as women held in men's jails.
2:40:26
Yet today, we continue to speak with transgender women that we represent who are denied or transferred out of gender aligned housing and are struggling to navigate the department's opaque and arbitrary housing process.
2:40:39
Intro 625 is necessary and crucial to ensure the safety and humanity of trans people and custody, to ensure an individualized determination happens in each case, and to bring the department in compliance with New York state and New York City human rights law.
2:40:56
Critically, to ensure the department implements intro 6251027 as intended to protect trans non binary intersex people, the task force must have additional mandate and additional support as outlined in intro 125.
2:41:12
Finally, as the rights and humanity of trans and non binary people are being attacked for political points across the country, it is even more crucial to pass these bills.
2:41:21
Thank you.
