Q&A
Overview of the Task Force on Racial Inclusion and Equity (TRIE)
0:32:28
ยท
102 sec
Council Member Williams asks about the ongoing work of TRIE, and Commissioner Sherman provides an overview of its purpose and activities.
- TRIE was formed during the pandemic to address COVID-related disparities
- It focuses on priority neighborhoods with established neighborhood coalitions
- TRIE brings together city agency designees to work on real-time issues and initiatives
- Current focus is on The Bronx due to concentration of priority neighborhoods
- TRIE's work is connected to the broader racial equity planning efforts across agencies
Nantasha M. Williams
0:32:28
Thank you.
0:32:29
So I wanted to talk a little bit about Tree.
0:32:32
Could you speak more about the ongoing work of Tree including any name, titles, affiliated organizations for task members and if any current plan exists to expand Tree.
Sideya Sherman
0:32:48
Sure, so the task force on racial inclusion and equity was previously started during the pandemic.
0:32:54
I had the honor of leading tree at that time and it was really formed in response to the disparities that we saw during COVID.
0:33:02
At that time we've developed and have continued to develop a set of priority neighborhoods and these priority neighborhoods all have these neighborhood coalitions which I referenced earlier and happy to share a name of those groups.
0:33:15
Internally however, Tree is very focused on city government itself and so through the task force we bring together city agency designees to really focus on more real time issues, programs, activities, initiatives.
0:33:28
As I shared earlier, a lot of our work within this administration has been focused on The Bronx with the recognition that of our priority neighborhoods the majority of zip codes are concentrated within the borough.
0:33:40
This is why we've had community engagement in the borough.
0:33:43
We were able to invest in some new programs last year focused on Bronx residents and we're looking to roll out more really support to address some of the disparities we see in the borough.
0:33:53
But the work of tree is still citywide, right.
0:33:55
The neighborhood coalitions cover all 33 communities, and as we you know look to move forward with our racial equity planning work, you'll see that many agencies are also prioritizing these communities within their work.