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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Christine Quinn, President and CEO of Win NYC, on Charter Revision
0:10:01
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4 min
Christine Quinn, former NYC Council Speaker and current President and CEO of Win NYC, provided testimony on the need for a comprehensive Charter Revision Commission. She emphasized the potential benefits for non-profits and highlighted areas where the previous charter revision didn't go far enough, particularly in balancing power between the mayor and city council.
- Quinn criticized the current imbalance in budget revenue estimation, land use decision-making, and agency oversight.
- She called out "sham" charter revision commissions used by mayors to avoid addressing core issues.
- Quinn offered to work with the council on charter revision, referencing a still-relevant 2010 council report on potential changes.
Christine Quinn
0:10:01
It's so fun to have Eric Lane on Zoom.
0:10:03
Is that I need to Christine Quinn, and I'm presently the president and CEO of Wynn Women in need, a the largest provider of shelter in permanent housing to homeless women with children.
0:10:16
I mentioned that affiliation as well as being former speaker because The work of a True Charter Revision Commission could very much help not for profits like win.
0:10:26
So this isn't something just for the benefit of the balance of power and government, but also for entities who work with and contract with the city.
0:10:35
Now chair wrestler talked about the the charter of Vision Commission 35 years ago.
0:10:41
And what they undertook was monumental.
0:10:44
Right?
0:10:44
They had a federal civil rights violation they were gonna get rid of the board of estimate.
0:10:50
There was just so much that had to get done.
0:10:52
So it only is logical to assume that in some areas, they were perfect.
0:10:58
In some areas, they went too far.
0:11:00
In some areas, they didn't go far enough.
0:11:03
Now if you look at the ones where they didn't go far enough, there are apparently not quite a few imbalance of all they did, but some that are very significant.
0:11:12
Right?
0:11:12
So only the mayor side can decide what the revenues are in the budget.
0:11:19
That's a massive power to only have in the mayor's office because that then determines if the mayor says there isn't a surplus, then everybody has to cut or or keep things constant.
0:11:34
When we know that the council's budget revenue numbers done by the council's economists are always more accurate than the mayors have been.
0:11:45
Now I always said it's because we were smarter and better.
0:11:48
The truth is we do it later and we have more information, but nonetheless, stick with the smarter and better.
0:11:53
So that's too much power in one person's hands.
0:11:57
In land use, constantly, in all my years in government, we would wanna do something in a rezoning.
0:12:05
And the city planning commission would say, that's out of scope.
0:12:08
Well, can you define scope?
0:12:10
I must have gotten 10 definitions of scope different ones in my time and the council.
0:12:15
What it really means is we don't want to.
0:12:17
We don't want you to do that.
0:12:19
We don't want you to substantially make a change, which then leaves the council in a position where they can't be the voice of neighborhoods.
0:12:28
To a similar regard, when a when a a landmark district comes to the council, the council has the very enormous power of making it making it smaller, which is rarely ever requested and no ability to make it bigger and to include buildings or blocks that the Landmark's preservation commission has left out.
0:12:50
So I just raised those three examples in finance and 2 in land use to say some of the biggest questions that are out there for everyday people are left for the mayor to answer without any ability of the council to answer them.
0:13:11
Now, time and again, and it's not just this mayor.
0:13:15
Mayors have hidden behind these sham charter revision commissions because they don't wanna get to the heart of the matter.
0:13:26
But if you don't get to the heart of the matter, then how are we going to solve problems like the need for more affordable housing without over development and erasing the character of a neighborhood.
0:13:40
How are we gonna work on putting things in the baseline of the budget so that we don't have to revisit things over and over.
0:13:47
Like, you may put this in the baseline Randy, but over and over like senior centers and other things that should be fundamental.
0:13:54
How are we gonna really have power over agencies when the council has advice and consent on the most random of agency heads and not across the board?
0:14:05
And if this is an institution that has true oversight, You have to have that in the same way that other legislative bodies do.
0:14:15
So I would welcome the opportunity to work with the council on this.
0:14:18
There is a report from 2010 that the council put out where we had compiled ideas and worked with the members on coming up with ideas.
0:14:28
And I I I sadly render the guess that most of them are still valid.
0:14:33
So thank you.