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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Piyali Basak, Managing Director of Neighborhood Defender Services of Harlem
4:08:18
·
3 min
Piyali Basak, Managing Director of Neighborhood Defender Services of Harlem, testifies about the need for increased funding for public defenders and raises concerns about discovery laws and Desk Appearance Tickets (DATs) reform implementation.
- Basak shares personal experience of financial struggles as a public defender, emphasizing the need for better compensation.
- She highlights concerns about potential rollbacks to discovery laws and asks for the council's commitment to maintaining fair processes.
- Basak brings attention to issues with DAT reform implementation, noting that arrests are being made instead of DATs for certain offenses, disproportionately affecting poor and minority New Yorkers.
Piyali Basak
4:08:18
So I'm gonna be slightly redundant and also personal.
4:08:22
My name is Piali Basak.
4:08:24
I'm the managing director for the neighborhood defender services of Harlem.
4:08:27
And again, I wanna echo what everyone said.
4:08:29
Really appreciate the council has fought for funding, increased funding.
4:08:33
That has made a difference, but I think I wanna echo what Lisa said, that we do need more.
4:08:38
And the personal piece is I'm new to this role.
4:08:41
I became a managing director because I could not afford to just be a public defender.
4:08:46
I supported my family on my salary.
4:08:48
We almost lost our home because we just could not support a family on a public defender's salary.
4:08:55
I'd rather be in a courtroom than here today.
4:08:58
I really would.
4:08:59
It is a privilege to be here before all of you, but you know, our public defenders, they are working because they are committed to the work, but the city needs we need support from the city to properly fund their work and honor their commitment.
4:09:18
So and, you know, we have shared time and time again.
4:09:22
You know, we have staff who are single parents who are supporting their families.
4:09:27
It takes one crisis to completely throw off the delicate balance that public defenders maintain for any sort of stability.
4:09:39
So again, we know that you are our allies and friends in this fight, and we just ask that you continue to fight for more funding.
4:09:46
I'm gonna completely pivot now to policy.
4:09:50
You know, last time we were here, Councilmember Salami had asked us about discovery.
4:09:54
You know, we have you know, I think that we are concerned.
4:10:00
We hope that the council will continue maintaining the fair and transparent discovery laws that we have fought for, And, you know, there are concerns that there might
Christopher Leon Johnson
4:10:11
be
Piyali Basak
4:10:11
potential pushback to roll back discovery in the city, and we just ask for the council's continued commitment to ensure that the process remains fair.
4:10:22
And that is somewhat a little bit related to what else I'm gonna talk about, and I know this is a budget hearing, but I think this is an important issue to raise, and that is the issue of DATs.
4:10:32
And the reason I'm raising this is because it's related to discovery reform, and there've been a lot of conversations about discovery reform.
4:10:39
DAT reform occurred at the same time, which was that the NYPD is required to issue DATs now for certain offenses.
4:10:50
They're everything from public urination to just sitting, taking up space in the subway.
4:10:56
And yet what we are finding across all the boroughs, in some boroughs more than others, and I don't have statistics for you today, but we are working on that, is that DATs are not being given for those offenses, and instead people are being arrested and being brought to arraignments.
4:11:13
And you know this was again something that we fought hard for because this is an issue that disproportionately affects black and brown New Yorkers.
4:11:22
And it is disproportionately affecting the most poorest of New Yorkers given the level of offenses.
4:11:29
And so we wanted to flag this issue for the council more just to flag this issue.
4:11:33
It's an issue we are paying attention to, and I think the council should also be paying attention to this issue.
4:11:39
And we will continue raising Again, I apologize, I don't have the statistics.
4:11:43
We are gonna be working on that, and we will be coming back to you all with more information for that.
4:11:49
Thank you.