Linda Tigani
2:13:19
Good afternoon, chair doctor Natasha Williams and members of the Civil and Human Rights Committee.
2:13:24
My name is Linda Tajani, and I have the honor of serving as the chair and executive director of the New York City Commission on Racial Equity.
2:13:32
I lead core in partnership with 14 commissioners and 11 staff members.
2:13:37
Today, I'm joined by Maya Williams, our director of research and policy, and Keiro Kuchiru, who's our senior legislative strategist.
2:13:45
I'm excited to share an overview of the accomplishments from CORE's work this past year and a snapshot of what we have planned for fiscal year 2026.
2:13:55
New York City residents overwhelmingly voted to establish CORE, a 15 person led independent commission responsible for holding New York City government accountable to advancing racial equity in government operations and increased community voice in government decision making.
2:14:11
Commissioners and staff both represent the diversity of New York City.
2:14:17
At a time when efforts to abide by federal, state, and local civil rights laws are deemed suspect at best and misrepresented as illegal at worst, CORE is committed to upholding its mission to eliminating the gap between the letter of these laws and the daily experiences of New Yorkers harmed by racism and social injustice.
2:14:39
As public and private institutions around the country disavow the pursuit of racial equity and social justice, we take heart in the fact that our mission is enshrined in a charter whose preamble proudly declares that our city is a multiracial democracy and that our diversity is our strength.
2:14:59
Our work is focused on holding New York City government accountable for protecting and promoting the well-being, safety, and economic stability of black, indigenous, Latinx, Asian, Pacific Islander, Middle Eastern, North African, and other people of color, women, religious communities, immigrants, people who are LGBTQIA plus, people with disabilities, youth, elders, people who are incarcerated, and people who are unhoused.
2:15:26
To do justice to this mission, CORE small staff works tirelessly to form and sustain community partnerships, collect and synthesize data on existing racial disparities and well-being, and support the development and implementation of projects arising from community and legislative priorities.
2:15:45
I am going to skip over some of the work that we've done in the first year because I know we have talked about that extensively at previous hearings.
2:15:53
I do wanna note that a copy of our 18 community equity priorities are submitted with today's testimony so that they can be entered into the record.
2:16:03
I will now provide an overview of CORE's accomplishments.
