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REMARKS
Acknowledgment of DEP staff and their contributions
3:02:19
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132 sec
Council Member Lincoln Restler concludes by acknowledging and thanking various DEP staff members for their hard work and contributions. He highlights specific individuals and their roles in serving the community.
- Restler recognizes Joe, a long-time DEP employee who recently retired
- He commends Elijah Hutchinson for his work and notes his connection to District 33
- The council member praises Mario Bruno for his technical expertise and dedication to helping the community
- Restler also acknowledges the team working on Local Law 97 implementation
- He expresses appreciation for the DEP staff's day-to-day efforts in serving New York City
Lincoln Restler
3:02:19
I could ask you another three hours of questions that are mostly that are that would without a doubt be highly informative and stimulating.
3:02:30
I want to just say, is this your first budget hearing without Joe?
3:02:35
It is.
3:02:36
So So did Joe retire?
3:02:38
He did.
3:02:38
Well, congratulations to Joe.
3:02:40
He had been a DP for a long time.
3:02:41
Yes.
3:02:42
Well, he was a a good public servant, so thank you to to to Joe for his service.
3:02:47
And I I do wanna just say, I've I've tried to shout out a number of your staff by name today who we have the pleasure of working with, who do a great job.
3:02:55
I would also just note Elijah Hutchinson does a terrific job and has been a great partner.
3:02:59
He's also a District 33 native, like John McLaughlin.
3:03:02
You gotta, you know, recognize, people who grew up in the community.
3:03:06
And, you know, I think you also deserve credit for the team at DOB that's doing a good job on Local I 97, so Laura and her staff.
3:03:13
So I just wanna thank you, not just for the team at DEP that you lead, but for the other folks that are part of your kind of broader climate portfolio.
3:03:21
And, you know, I am and and I I just because this came up and I feel like I should clear this up a little bit.
3:03:29
If I recall correctly, Mario has worked and I think he's on vacation this week, otherwise he'd probably be sitting here.
3:03:35
Mario's worked at DP since the Giuliani administration or close enough to it.
3:03:40
There is nobody that knows more about DP operations than Mario Bruno.
3:03:45
His technical expertise is impressive.
3:03:47
But what is even more impressive is like when I have an emergency in my district at 12:00 at night, Mario responds and helps.
3:03:54
And like that level of care that he has for the people of New York City is really special.
3:04:00
And while, of course, there should be equity and pay whenever it's possible, when somebody's a thirty year plus employee of an agency with a very long record, the idea that everyone's gonna that somebody's coming in without thirty years of experience would be getting the exact same compensation doesn't really make sense.
3:04:14
So I just wanna I didn't like I I wasn't happy about those comments earlier, so I just wanted to say that very clearly to clear it up.
3:04:22
And just thank you for your hard work.
3:04:24
Thank everyone at DP for your hard work.
3:04:26
We really appreciate working with you all day in and day out.
3:04:29
And I hope you guys have a great rest of your day.
Rohit Aggarwala
3:04:30
Thank you.
Lincoln Restler
3:04:31
And we'll take a five minute break to get a seltzer, and we'll start back up with public panel shortly.