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Q&A
Council Member Mercedes Narcisse questions agencies on language accessibility and small business support
0:35:16
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4 min
Council Member Mercedes Narcisse engages in a Q&A session with representatives from the NYC Commission on Human Rights and the Department of Small Business Services. She inquires about the languages available for training materials, discusses challenges faced by small businesses regarding accessibility compliance, and seeks support for her proposed legislation, Intro 1260, which aims to provide legal assistance to small businesses on accessibility compliance.
- The agencies confirm that training materials are available in multiple languages, including Spanish, English, Mandarin, and Arabic, with some materials available in up to 11 languages.
- Narcisse emphasizes the need for more targeted support for small businesses, particularly in understanding and implementing accessibility requirements.
- The Department of Small Business Services expresses willingness to further discuss Intro 1260, while highlighting their existing efforts in providing compliance guidance to businesses.
Mercedes Narcisse
0:35:16
Thank you, chair.
0:35:19
What languages that are those materials in the training of Alabran?
Julie Menin
0:35:26
Can you repeat the question?
Mercedes Narcisse
0:35:27
What are the languages that the materials that you're using for training are available on?
JoAnn Kamuf Ward
0:35:32
Sure.
0:35:33
So for our Human Rights Law 101 training, this is at CCHR.
0:35:38
Primarily the languages are Spanish, English, Mandarin, and Arabic.
0:35:45
That's for our Human Rights Law 101 training.
0:35:48
We have other trainings that are in a whole host of other languages.
0:35:52
All of our print materials are in a more expansive number of languages.
0:35:56
So we have a targeted small business fact sheet, which is about businesses as employers.
0:36:02
We also have a similar brochure for businesses.
0:36:05
Those are in 11 languages.
0:36:07
Those include Haitian Creole, Urdu, French, Russian, Arabic, Mandarin, and several others.
0:36:15
I can find the list.
0:36:16
But it's the Local Law thirty eleven languages, and all of our core materials are available in that way.
0:36:20
And I would say for disability accessibility purposes, guidance that we have put out, which is longer form guidance, is also screen reader accessible.
0:36:32
And when we do campaigns and trainings, we pay attention to visual accessibility as well as when we hold events, we ensure that people are able to get accommodations to be able to participate fully.
Mercedes Narcisse
0:36:47
Thank you.
0:36:49
As a former small business owner, I know how difficult that it can be when it comes to the fees that add up unexpected fees and then what I was talking about small businesses.
0:37:01
When we say small businesses, what is the kind of like the range for me is always too wide first of all because when you're talking about the million 500 to a million or or $2.50, I always kind of find it very hard for me because you have some businesses that is maybe making a lot of money but it's a resale business, how much that those material course because as a person coming from my end, you can buy a wheelchair for 4,000 by the time you sell it for 5,000 that's not really no profit.
0:37:36
So that's the reason I'm talking about my bill twelve sixty.
0:37:39
We have to take those things in consideration.
0:37:43
And my first question to you now, how what do you think about twelve sixty?
0:37:49
How we can make it happen?
Haris Khan
0:37:51
Thank you councilmember for your questions.
0:37:53
So on intro twelve sixty, on trainings for business owners on accessibility, we're proud of our partnership with CCHR and MOPD.
0:38:03
We provide general guidelines and guidance to business owners on the various complicated nature of city regulations, state regulations, and federal laws when we do our New York City Business Express Service Team compliance consultation.
0:38:17
So those are visits where we visit a small business themselves.
0:38:20
We go into their kitchen.
0:38:21
We look at the storefront.
0:38:23
We explain to the business owner what are things they could do to avoid fines and fees.
0:38:27
And I'm proud to report that under this administration, we've served we've saved over $40,000,000 doing that work, just making sure business owners understand the complicated nature of city, state, federal laws.
0:38:39
It's a general service.
0:38:40
As you can imagine, we're not able to have subject matter expertise in all of the overlapping areas jurisdiction.
0:38:46
Whenever there is a more curated, more specialized need that emerges we make sure we partner with the subject matter experts in the administration and that is in this case CCHR on the New York City Human Rights Law and MOPD on ADA at large.
Mercedes Narcisse
0:39:00
First I have to say thank you too because I partner with SBS a lot because I want to educate folks and so I'm assuming that you're okay with the twelve sixty.
0:39:13
That's my assumption.
0:39:14
You should.
Haris Khan
0:39:15
So there's already you know, we already are proud of the work that we do in making sure business understand the regulations.
0:39:21
I think the question to explore is on subject matter expertise related to ADA and to the human rights law, we're unable to have that in house.
0:39:29
So there's a lot of referrals and partnerships that we've established.
0:39:33
But we'd be happy to talk further
JoAnn Kamuf Ward
0:39:34
We're going to have
Mercedes Narcisse
0:39:35
talk further because it has to happen to help the small businesses.
0:39:38
We know this suffering now more than ever.
0:39:41
When you put a fine that so much is hard for small businesses to sustain.
0:39:46
So thank you, thank you chair, appreciate your time.