John,

● It was a busy week at City Hall! In addition to our Stated meeting, we hosted an Immigration Committee hearing. Read more about our work below!

● The Department of Transportation's Division of Bridges will be conducting urgent repairs on the Union Street Bridge this coming week! As a result, the bridge will be fully closed on 2/22 starting at 9:00 AM with expected completion by 3:00 PM.

● School’s out on Monday 2/20 but there is still trash pick up! If Monday is a trash or recycling pick up day for your block, be sure to leave your bags out on the curb.

Hearing Recap

On Wednesday 2/15, I was proud to host a joint hearing with the Committee on Criminal Justice to investigate alleged abuses of our City’s immigration detainer laws. For those who don’t know, an immigration detainer is a request from federal immigration authorities to hold someone in criminal custody for the purposes of facilitating immigration proceedings. What this essentially means is that if someone is in jail (meaning charged with a crime but not convicted), ICE will ask the NYPD or Department of Corrections (DOC) to hold them, sometimes for longer than legally allowed (violating their right to habeas corpus) to allow them to be picked up for deportation proceedings. If this sounds like a lot of technical legalese, you’re right, and if it also sounds like a violation of people’s civil rights, you would also be right.

In 2014, New York City passed a suite of bills prohibiting communication between the NYPD, DOC, and ICE to ensure local law enforcement has no place in ICE’s deportation machine. With few exceptions (certain qualifying offenses or if someone was on the terrorist watch list), local law enforcement is prohibited from working with ICE to facilitate the handover of someone in their custody. For years though, advocates have raised alarms that loopholes existed in the 2014 legislative package, and even in some cases, DOC was flaunting the law and acting illegally. The City denied this even when many cases came to light where such illegal communication was found to have taken place.

At our hearing, we heard three bills that would close the loopholes, including one introduced by myself to create a private right of action for people illegally handed over to ICE, which is in violation of our detainer laws. We also questioned DOC under oath on a trove of emails we received showing years of illegal communication and facilitation between DOC employees and ICE. I was extremely disappointed by DOC’s response that we should simply trust them that the culture has changed, even though the staff that acted illegally are still employed!

This fight isn’t close to being over. Aside from passing this package of bills we’re working with state allies to pass the New York for All act to prohibit law enforcement from around the state from working with ICE (the Council passed a resolution calling for this bill to be passed as well) because we know being a sanctuary state means ensuring local law enforcement is not complicit in ICE’s inhumane deportation machine. I encourage everyone to read more about the issue with the linked articles and feel free to reach out if you have any questions about our hearing or legislation.

Stated Recap

On to our second Stated this month! On the passage front, there are two pieces of legislation I am proud to see become law. The first is a new local law, that I cosponsored, championed by Council Member Brannan, that will expand the definition of domestic violence to include economic abuse. Having worked with survivors of domestic violence, I know far too well that intimate partner abuse can take many forms. This important change will help many more people find justice. As the first Bangladeshi City Council Member, I was also thrilled to see the passage of Resolution 474 to designate February 21st as Mother Language Day. This is a victory for all Bangladeshi Americans from Kensington to Los Angeles. It is a bold statement from our City that we stand with the Bangladeshi community in our never-ending struggle for language justice. My community is strong, and I am proud to represent them in the New York City Council to fight for our shared values.

In addition to those two bills passing, I signed on to a number of other pieces of legislation introduced by my colleagues. My cosponsorship isn’t just a name on paper, I look forward to working with the sponsor to advance the bills and learn more about how this legislation can help our community!

● A package of bills from Council Member Avilés to study both the environmental and transit impacts of last-mile facilities. The proliferation of these facilities needs to be understood and properly regulated far beyond where it is now.

● A resolution from Council Member Avilés calling on the state legislature to pass the Working Families Tax Credit to put more money in the pockets of working-class New Yorkers.

● A bill from Council Member Cabán to replace the terms “inmate” and “prisoner” in our City code.

● A bill from Council Member Hudson calling on Congress to pass the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act to decriminalize marijuana nationwide!

● A resolution from Council Members Nurse and Brewer calling on our State to pass Good Cause eviction and finally give tenants the protections they need to feel secure in their homes.

● Finally, a bill from Council Member Barron requiring an informational placard placed at the intersections of Wall and Pearl streets to mark the site of the City’s first slave market. This symbol is an important reminder of our nation’s racist past & a call to continue the fight against bigotry.

Community Bulletin

● The Menstrual Equity Project is a youth movement with the goal of spreading awareness, cultivating action, and enabling change around menstrual product accessibility in District 39 public schools. They are actively recruiting students to participate in their project by attending a series of youth-led workshops. Register HERE! If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Project Manager Gabriela Carrillo at [email protected].

● It’s tax season! Returns for tax season this year are due on 4/18, and to help you out, NYC offers free tax filing tools to those who make under $72,000. Check out the links provided for more information.

● The Prospect Park Alliance is looking for a new vendor to take over concessions at the Parade Grounds. Check out the RFP, and please share with a small business that might be interested!

● February is Black History Month! If you’re a Black business owner, be sure to register with the Black Entrepreneurs NYC registry to earn a spot on BE NYC’s shop your city guide!

● Community Board applications have been extended until 2/23! If you’re interested in getting more involved with local government, learn more about what Community Boards do and consider applying using their online application form.

● The deadline to apply to run for a seat on an Education Council has been extended! Submit your application by Thursday, February 23 at 11:59 PM.

● Spend some time this mid-winter recess at the Prospect Park Audubon Center, the first urban Audubon Center in the nation.

● Brooklyn Workforce Innovations, South Brooklyn Industrial Development Corporation, and Building Skills are hosting a Construction Training Program. Earn 5 in demand credentials and break into the world of construction for FREE! Training starts on 3/13. Register for an info session here.

● NYC & Company is hosting a free Tourism 101 educational program to teach participants how to harness the power of tourism to grow their business. The first of twelve sessions will be this upcoming Thursday 2/23, discussing everything from tourism marketing to specific tactics for working with businesses abroad.

● The Child Mind Institute’s School and Community Programs team invites caregivers and educators to their free support workshops which are designed to provide actionable strategies for families, teachers, counselors and administrators to help support kindergarten through 12th grade students’ mental health and learning needs.

In Solidarity,

Shahana