Your guide to NYC's public proceedings.
PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Samantha Rappa-Giovagnoli, President of District Council 37 Local 3005
4:48:51
ยท
172 sec
Samantha Rappa-Giovagnoli, President of District Council 37 Local 3005, testifies against budget cuts to the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) and Office of Chief Medical Examiner (OCME). She advocates for increased funding and staffing for these agencies, emphasizing their crucial role in public safety and health services.
- Local 3005 represents various scientific and technical professionals in DOHMH and OCME, including criminalists, researchers, and public health nurses.
- Rappa-Giovagnoli highlights the importance of forensic scientists at OCME in handling critical cases like homicides and sexual assaults.
- She requests support to fill 80 current vacancies and fund 100 more positions, particularly for STEM program graduates.
Samantha Rappa-Giovagnoli
4:48:51
Good afternoon.
4:48:53
Good afternoon and thank you members of the committee and council for your time and commitment to oversight on health and to the budget that the broad that this broad category affects.
Lynn Schulman
4:49:01
Can you tell us your name first before you do that?
Samantha Rappa-Giovagnoli
4:49:03
Yes.
4:49:04
My name is Samantha Rappa Chevenoli.
Lynn Schulman
4:49:06
Okay.
Samantha Rappa-Giovagnoli
4:49:06
And I am the president and a proud member of District Council thirty seven, Local three thousand and five, Local three thousand and five, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and Office of Chief Medical Examiner technical professional employees.
4:49:21
I will refer to them as DOHMH and OCME.
4:49:24
I am here today to oppose any budget cuts to the two vital agencies and its workforce.
4:49:29
I instead ask for support of allocation of funding to the budget and to increase the staffing and promotional lines in the New York City OCME and DOHMH.
4:49:38
These agencies and its workforce provide vital public safe services as well as education to the general public, health communities, and legal communities of New York City and other jurisdictions, inclusive of the New York City Police Department, New York City District Attorney's Offices, and New York City and state health clinics, to name a few.
4:49:58
The workforce contributes to their training, skills, knowledge, and expertise as representatives of Gold Star Laboratories to help build others around the world.
4:50:07
District Council thirty seven Local three thousand and five represents criminalists, also known everywhere else in the world as forensic scientists, city research scientists, scientists water ecologists, scientists radiologists, engineers, architects, graphic artists, and administrative public health nurses to name a few.
4:50:26
I am a criminalist who began working for the New York City in OCME in 02/2004.
4:50:30
And with me today are my fellow scientists, researchers, colleagues, and members of Local three thousand and five, representative of the crucial work and cuts and scrutiny being performed at ZOHMH, as you just heard.
4:50:45
All Local three thousand and five members, many female and childbearing, last I checked approximately 70% and excluded from any benefit of the previous You
Lynn Schulman
4:50:54
to summarize.
4:50:56
Summary.
Samantha Rappa-Giovagnoli
4:50:58
Without even reading my testimony, have it.
4:51:01
In summary, this administration and your counsel supports STEM programs.
4:51:07
Your counsel supports the KIPS program.
4:51:09
Your counsel just heard how they need more medical examiners.
4:51:11
The forensic scientists at OCME handle thousands of cases per year.
4:51:17
They handle the homicide, sexual assaults, they're the behind the scene heroes, but the NYPD takes the credit for them.
4:51:24
It's their work.
4:51:25
It's their scientific testing.
4:51:27
I am asking that you help fill the 80 vacancies that currently have and also to help support those who are graduating this year in those STEM programs that you helped support and to fund them with 100 more positions and to stop the cuts at DOHMH.
4:51:42
And with that, thank you.
Lynn Schulman
4:51:43
Thank you very much.