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TESTIMONY
Testimony by Gale A. Brewer, Council Member from the New York City Council, on various charter reform proposals
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5 min
Council Member Gale A. Brewer testifies on a range of charter revision topics.
She raises concerns about the Franchise and Concession Review Committee (FCRC) favoring the mayor and suggests council approval for major concessions.
Brewer recommends ULURP improvements like mandatory pre-briefings for Community Boards, establishing a land bank, enhancing landmark protections, streamlining permits by replacing revocable consents, ensuring budget independence and adequate funding for oversight agencies (DOI, BOC), increasing detail in units of appropriation, improving revenue estimates, expanding advice and consent, enforcing local laws, and consolidating election cycles.
Gale A. Brewer
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Oh, sit
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According
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to The New York Times, there are 350 neighborhoods in New York City.
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And according to the Department of City Planning, there are three thirty nine.
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So take your choice.
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So I'm Gail Brewer.
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I'm city council member for District 6, Upper West Side, the 50s to the 90s, and Central Park.
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And I chair a council committee on oversight and investigation.
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So I'm not gonna just in time, I list the fact that Tish James, when she was in the council, and I had our we passed a law.
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I think Weisbrot knows about it.
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That passed we had a commission that was, I think, more representative than this one or anybody else's.
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And then we go through the time that de Blasio, as soon as the council had a commission, he had a commission, and now the same thing is happening.
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Just to give a little history of the charter issues.
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Number two, I'm gonna just list some of the concerns I have.
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ULIP is just really small on my list, but I can talk more if you want.
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I've done 250 ULIPs in my in my life.
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In terms of land use, I just wanna talk about the franchise and concession review committee, FCRC, as you know, those outcomes are weighted in the mayor's favor.
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The charter also states that when an application relates to more than one borough, the borough president share a single vote.
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I did pitch in the past that FCRC in 2010, along with Christine Quinn, that we should have a different system.
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The reforms were not considered, and the Adams administration is poised to award the expiring contract for operation, for instance, on the Wollman Rink in Central Park, perhaps to the Trump Organization or another private outfit.
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The reason I mentioned this, this would be an example where I think the city council, when it's a major concession, and I list this in my testimonyshould be the ones considering that kind of a decision.
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I feel very strongly about it, and that is something that I'd like to have considered as part of your deliberations.
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In terms of EULIP, I agree a lot with my colleagues.
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I do want to say that one aspect that has been in the way it's been done but not mandatedand I do think, to answer your question, Carl, how you could speed up the process.
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Mandate that the Department of City Planning brief community boards on any ULURP application before the process begins.
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A lot of these community boards are turning over with that stupid eight year thing that you came up with in the previous charters, so they only have eight years.
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And that means they never really learn land use.
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And so, therefore, they need pre briefing.
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And then they need to have much more support in terms of the fund for the city Of New York, having the wonderfully Alvin Bunia trained urban fellows to help them with their process.
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That is how you're going to speed it up.
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Some of the neighborhoods, how do you end up having EULRP that is helpful to developing housing?
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You have to listen and maybe not make them, you know, 30 stories tall.
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Quickly, I wanna establish a New York City land bank.
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It could be done legislatively, but can also be done by the charter.
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I want to protect landmark buildings.
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As you know, we have one now that the developer wants to turn turn down tore down.
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It is landmarked, and I think individually designated landmarks, if they are to be torn down, the decision to be made by the same organization that landmarked them called the city council.
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I want to say we had a discussion today about the issue of how you deal with outdoor cafes on the roadside and battery swapping cabinets.
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One of the ways that these get delayed is they need a revocable consent.
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Get rid of it and do a permit.
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Makes much more sense.
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Budget independence oversight agencies, you'll see my list.
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These agencies, some of them have the ability to be tagged and to the agency that they deal with.
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IBO is an example with OMB.
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But guess what?
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Department of investigation does not have that.
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Board of correction does not have that.
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Special commission for investigation of the school district does not have that.
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Really tiny budgets compared to what they have to do.
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They need to be tied to an agency.
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Enhanced units of appropriation.
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Oh my goodness.
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You'll have police department has in one unit of appropriation, borough wide offices, detective division, forensic investigation, narcotics division, and the SRG, strategic response group.
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Operations.
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How the hell are you supposed to know what's in that?
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Revenue estimates, the city council and the mayor's office should somehow come to some kind of an agreement.
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I believe in advice and consent, we did it as a result of my commission, and it should be for all the other agencies.
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I know that wasn't loved by the mayor's office.
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I feel strongly about it.
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And then if a local law is passed, it should be implemented.
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Marrow control of some of the commissions should be less mayoral control, and I talked about the DOI.
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And then I do believe, as the Citizens Union does, that we should have election cycles that are all one so that people would actually not have to vote so many times during the year.
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Thank you very much.