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REMARKS
Council Member Eric Dinowitz seconds the nomination of Julie Menin for Speaker
0:32:48
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6 min
Council Member Eric Dinowitz seconded the nomination of Julie Menin, reflecting on her moral leadership and the historic nature of her becoming the first Jewish Speaker of the City Council.
- Invoked Jewish traditions of justice, truth, and peace as the foundation of Menin's leadership style
- Cited the Healthcare Accountability Act and the creation of the Office of Healthcare Accountability as key legislative achievements
- Noted her work in reducing red tape for small businesses and codifying reproductive healthcare into city law
- Highlighted her commitment to civil rights, including establishing a right to counsel for domestic violence survivors
Eric Dinowitz
0:32:48
Thank you, mister clerk.
0:32:50
Is anyone else excited besides me?
0:32:52
Are we all excited?
0:32:54
I I'm really excite I'm not just excited for the nominations.
0:33:00
I'm excited because of the work that we get to do, the work that we get to do in this room.
0:33:06
And if we think about the work that our constituents have entrusted us to do, it is an awesome responsibility.
0:33:13
We come here, some of us as new council members, some of us returning to confront enormous challenges.
0:33:20
Challenges we've heard about with affordability, divisiveness in our government, and we must confront those challenges and govern with purpose and clarity in service of our shared values and the people that we were elected to represent, to fight for our children, our working families, older adults, people with disabilities, and everyone in between.
0:33:43
And it's in moments like these that leadership matters most.
0:33:47
Moral leadership.
0:33:48
Leadership that unites, navigates complexity, and moves this institution and our city forward with principle and resolve.
0:33:58
Julie Menon has demonstrated time and again that she possesses that rare and essential ability.
0:34:06
I speak about the work we do in this room, these historic decisions we make, But I I I do have to bring up since we're in the room and Julie's family is here.
0:34:17
This is also the room where we celebrate our culture and diversity.
0:34:21
And where not even a month ago, Julie's daughter, who's here.
0:34:26
Hi.
0:34:28
Julie's daughter and my twin boys, all descendants of holocaust survivors, stood right there and did the the Hanukkah blessings as as they lit the menorah.
0:34:39
As we do these blessings that are hundreds and hundreds of years old, those are the moments that I'm reminded, about our shared history, our city's shared history, and what we pass on to the children of our city.
0:34:53
And we stand on the cusp of making history by electing Julie as the first Jewish speaker of the New York City Council.
0:35:03
And I am mindful not simply of her identity, but that she is guided by our traditions from generation to generation, what those values mean.
0:35:14
I'm gonna share one with you that in Jewish tradition, one of our texts is, ethics of our fathers.
0:35:21
And rabbi Shimon Ben Gamliel teaches the world stands on three things, on justice, on truth, and on peace.
0:35:31
In other words, fairness and honesty and unity.
0:35:35
And in choosing a speaker today, we are choosing a moral steward of this institution, someone entrusted with fairness, with honesty, and with unity.
0:35:46
And Julie's record proves that she embodies those values and acts on them.
0:35:51
Julie has built an extraordinary record focused on justice, honesty, and unity by lowering costs for New Yorkers, increasing transparency for New Yorkers, and delivering real accountability for New Yorkers, all by unifying members of broad and diverse coalitions.
0:36:12
She passed the landmark health care accountability act, which created the first in the nation office of health care accountability to shine a light on excessive hospital prices, protect patients and taxpayers alike, and lowering costs.
0:36:27
She reduced red tape for small businesses by creating a one stop portal for city permits and licenses supporting the small businesses, the backbones of our communities.
0:36:40
And at a time when our civil rights are under question from the federal government, she and New York City strengthened our civil rights by establishing a right to counsel for survivors of domestic violence and codified the right to reproductive health care in in into city law.
0:36:57
Her leadership goes beyond legislation.
0:37:00
Julie led a public private partnership ensuring that every eighth grader in New York City has the opportunity to visit the Museum of Jewish Heritage because she understands that memory, education, and empathy are not luxuries.
0:37:17
They are not extras.
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They're obligations, particularly for us as elected leaders.
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They're vital to unifying this city and combating hate.
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Justice, truth, peace made real through Julie Menon's actions.
0:37:34
And today, we write the next chapter of our into our city's shared history, choosing what kind of legislature we will be and what values we will elevate.
0:37:44
In choosing Julie Menon, we are choosing a stronger and fairer New York City.
0:37:50
We are choosing a bold council that will stand up for everyday New Yorkers.
0:37:56
As speaker, Julie is ready to lead a council that protects the vulnerable, expands opportunity, and strengthens trust in our public institutions.
0:38:10
She understands the weight of this moment and the responsibility of this role.
0:38:16
And, therefore, I am proud to second the nomination of my friend, Julie Menon, as speaker of the New York City Council, And I urge my colleagues to stand with me as one united body to elect Julie Menon as the next speaker of the New York City Council.
Michael McSweeney
0:38:42
Thank you.
0:38:43
Seeing that no other members have signed up to speak and hearing no further candidates, I now close the nominations and direct the clerk to call the role.
0:38:54
Council members, when your name is called, please state the name of the nominee you are voting for.