REMARKS
Chi Ossé explains vote and celebrates passage of the FARE Act
0:34:35
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109 sec
Council Member Chi Ossé votes aye on all items and celebrates the passage of the FARE Act (Intro 360-A), which prohibits brokers from charging fees to tenants when exclusively representing landlords. He emphasizes the significance of this legislation for New Yorkers and progressive governance.
- Ossé highlights the coalition-building efforts and social media campaign that contributed to the bill's success.
- He thanks various individuals, including Speaker Adams, fellow council members, unions, advocacy groups, and his staff for their support and work on the legislation.
- The council member frames the passage of the FARE Act as a victory for New York City residents against the real estate lobby.
Chi Ossé
0:34:35
Permission to explain my vote?
Amanda Farias
0:34:37
Permission granted.
Chi Ossé
0:34:38
Aye on all.
0:34:39
And I wanna add that today is a win for all New Yorkers and proof of what progressive governance can accomplish.
0:34:46
Finally, after over a year and a half of work, after a seemingly endless fight against a relentless and ruthless real estate lobby, hell bent on fleecing the people of our city, we passed the Fair Act.
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Housing is the largest cost for New Yorkers and our number one political concern.
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For too many decades, tenants have been forced to hand over 1,000 of dollars in fees to a broker they never hired or asked for, straining their budgets and restricting their freedom of movement.
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This paradigm has always been unacceptable, and now we vote for it to end.
0:35:15
This victory did not come easy.
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Again, we built a coalition of labor unions, advocacy groups, electeds, New Yorkers of all backgrounds, and, yes, even brokers.
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We mobilized the people through a social media campaign that garnered millions of impressions, providing improving the potential for a new and more democratic era of mass politics, and we won through unity.
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I wanna thank speaker Adams, Jeremy John, and council members Sean Abreu and Oswald Felice for their early belief in this project and all of my colleagues in this body.
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I also wanna thank the unions, groups, and every organization whose advocacy made this possible, and, of course, I wouldn't be here without my staff.
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I wanna thank my former chief of staff, Naomi Hopkins, who was there when we launched this campaign, and my current chief of staff, Arlene Gillan, who was here to finish it.
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Thank you to my legislative director, May Vucherpangvatana, who shepherded this bill through the council, and thank you to my director of communications, Elijah Fox, who crafted and executed the communications, political, and social media strategy that won this fight against the $1,000,000 lobby and for the people of our city.
0:36:19
We fought for New York, and today, we win for New York.
0:36:22
This one's for you.
0:36:23
Thank you so much.
