Dear New Yorkers,

Federal policy really matters to New York City. That’s why I spent the day in Washington, DC, meeting with federal officials and pushing for the resources, coordination, and partnership that we need to help NYC thrive.

I met at the White House with Senior Adviser to the President Tom Perez, and separately with senior staff from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), about the need for greater resources and coordination to help asylum seekers get work authorization, find jobs, and help their kids thrive in school. That's how we'll help new arrivals become the next generation of New Yorkers.

Look, since the founding of our city, immigrants are what make New York thrive and grow. Immigrants don’t destroy NYC, they make NYC.

But in order to provide shelter and services, New York City has got to have more resources from the federal government. So I pushed for access to additional sources of funds — some that could come now, and some that will require action by Congress in their upcoming supplemental budget package.

Stronger coordination and partnership is essential, too — like the new clinic that launched at John Jay College in NYC today — to help new arrivals who are eligible get Temporary Protective Status (TPS) and work authorization. The new clinic is a collaboration between DHS, City Hall, and New York State. At the White House and DHS, we talked about how to build on this promising effort.

While in Washington, I also had the chance to meet with Acting U.S. Labor Secretary Julie Su about opportunities to advance workers’ rights. 

We participated in a panel discussion where we launched the Labor Rights Investor Network — building on much of the work we’ve been doing to make sure the companies that our pension funds invest in are places where workers’ rights and well-being are respected.

A thriving economy is one that works for workers — and that’s critical to ensuring a sound and growing pension portfolio for the City’s retirees.

I’ll have more updates about my DC meetings soon. But for now, I wanted to loop you in on what was a productive day in Washington, doing the business of New York City and fighting for New Yorkers.

Thanks,

Brad