Your guide to NYC's public proceedings.
REMARKS
Sharon Greenberger on the NYC Charter Revision Commission's mission and public hearing process
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3 min
Sharon Greenberger, Vice Chair of the NYC Charter Revision Commission, opens the public hearing, emphasizing the commission's goal to improve city government transparency and responsiveness.
She highlights the commission's focus on the housing crisis, low voter turnout, and timely payments to nonprofit partners, stressing the importance of public testimony in their independent review of the charter.
- The commission seeks to make city government more transparent and responsive, particularly concerning the housing crisis.
- Other key areas of focus are low voter turnout in city elections and ensuring timely payments to nonprofit organizations.
- The commission operates independently and encourages public testimony to inform its review of the entire city charter.
- A preliminary report detailing the commission's findings so far is available online.
Sharon Greenberger
0:00:11
Welcome to this public hearing of the Charter Revision Commission.
0:00:14
My name is Sharon Greenberger.
0:00:15
I'm honored to serve as vice chair of this commission.
0:00:17
I wanna start by asking if there's anyone here who currently needs ESL assistance or ASL.
0:00:25
I have a lot of other things on my mind.
0:00:28
ASL assistance.
0:00:29
Our staff is on their way, but I wanna make sure we are accommodating anybody who has immediate needs.
0:00:36
Okay.
0:00:37
Well, we will see them shortly.
0:00:39
Thank you for coming out.
0:00:40
Our commission's mission is to look at ways to make city government more transparent and responsive with a particular focus on the city's housing crisis.
0:00:49
It is this commission's responsibility to review the entire charter and suggest changes for the voters' consideration.
0:00:57
Only if the voters agree to those changes at an election will any changes to the charter go into effect.
0:01:04
I know that I speak for my fellow commissioners when I say that we are committed to hearing from a broad spectrum of New Yorkers and to pursuing the best ideas we can find.
0:01:13
This hearing is just one of many public hearings across every borough to hear ideas from experts, community leaders, elected officials, and indeed any member of the public who wishes to testify.
0:01:25
Importantly, this is an independent commission.
0:01:28
In making our recommendations to the city's voters, we are bound only by our judgment and our values.
0:01:34
We will pursue ideas regardless of who proposed them and regardless of who supports them.
0:01:41
Joining in me in this joining me in this task are 12 other commissioners, chair Richard Burry, who's joining us virtually, secretary Laila Bozorg, Grace Bonilla, Shams de Baron, Anita Larmont, doctor Lizette Nieves, Anthony Richardson, Julie Samuels, Diane Savino, Carl Weisprud, Valerie White, and Katherine Wilde.
0:02:05
Although, as I said, we'll be considering the entire charter, the commission is looking in particular at our charter's approach to housing and planning.
0:02:13
From my perspective, there is no urgent challenge for this body to take up given the city's housing crisis.
0:02:20
We are in the midst of a profound affordability crisis.
0:02:23
For millions of low income New Yorkers, housing costs are the central struggle of their lives.
0:02:28
For millions more, especially low income New Yorkers, our housing crisis severely limits where New Yorkers can live, what schools they can attend, how they get to work, and whether their families can stay together.
0:02:41
Our commission is also taking a close look at the problem of chronically low voter voter turnout in city elections.
0:02:48
Although our city has a vibrant civic life, we suffer from consistency low turnout in local elections.
0:02:55
We're also particularly interested in how to ensure that nonprofit partners who provide vital services for New Yorkers are paid on time for their work.
0:03:04
The commission staff recently released a lengthy preliminary report summarizing what our commission has heard at public hearings so far and identifying areas to explore going forward.
0:03:15
That report is available at nyc.gov/charter.
0:03:20
As the report reflects, your thoughtful testimony has driven and will continue to drive this process as it unfolds.
0:03:28
Testimony of any kind is on any topic is welcome at today's hearing.
0:03:32
So let me say a few words about how this hearing will be run.
0:03:37
We'll generally hear from those who are attending this meeting in person person before turning to virtual testimony.
0:03:43
However, as part of our work to explore the details of alternative election models, we've invited experts from around the country to join us, and we'll hear from them as their schedules permit.