COUNCIL ADOPTS FISCAL YEAR 2012 NEW YORK CITY BUDGET

THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK
OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS

CITY HALL
NEW YORK, NY 10007
(212) 788-7116
**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE**                                                                                                                 
June 29, 2011

Contact: 212-788-7116
Release # 063-2011

COUNCIL ADOPTS FISCAL YEAR 2012 NEW YORK CITY BUDGET 
Fiscally Responsible Budget Preserves Funding for Teachers and Fire Companies

Council Also Approves Legislation to Heighten Transparency on Student Discharge and School Closure Data and Improve Regulation of Private Tow Industry

City Hall, NY – Following last week’s budget agreement between the City Council and Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, the Council voted on the Fiscal Year (FY) 2012 budget.

The Council also approved legislation that will improve transparency at New York City public schools by requiring the Department of Education to submit annual reports to the Council regarding students who are discharged from school and students who are transferred to an alternate school as a result of a school closure. These bills will make it easier to assess why students are leaving school and to gauge the performance of students who are being transferred when schools are closed.

In addition, the Council approved legislation to improve regulation of the private towing industry, raise the rates that may be charged by licensed tow businesses and enable the Council to better monitor the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs’ towing regulation enforcement activities.

Finally, the Council approved the proposed co-naming of 56 thoroughfares and other public places throughout the five boroughs.

ADOPTION OF FISCAL YEAR 2012 BUDGET

The Council voted to adopt the Fiscal Year (FY) 2012 budget, which includes funding to avert proposed teacher layoffs and prevent the closure of fire companies.

Speaker Quinn and the City Council made preventing teacher layoffs a top priority during budget negotiations and successfully reached an agreement to save thousands of teachers from the chopping block. Additionally, the Council decreased its total amount in restorations to the budget by $10 million compared to FY 2011. In order to preserve vital programs and services, the city identified extra revenues and recognized funds that had been allocated and not needed.

Speaker Christine C. Quinn stated, “Even in these difficult fiscal times, New Yorkers expect us to protect the most vital services without putting our future economic stability at risk.  Those New Yorkers can rest easy tonight knowing that our children will still have great teachers, our seniors will still have great centers to visit, and our neighborhoods will still have great firehouses to keep them safe.  And I’m incredibly proud that the City Council, under the leadership of Finance Chair Domenic M. Recchia, Jr., was able to do all this without using any additional dollars from our Health Care Trust Fund.  I want to thank Mayor Bloomberg and all of my colleagues for coming together to make tough choices, and produce a budget that is both fiscally responsible and responds to the needs of real New Yorkers.”

“This budget protects jobs and vital services without mortgaging our future,” said Councilman Domenic M. Recchia, Jr., Chairman of the Finance Committee. “We saved teachers, firehouses, seniors, libraries and child care, and we did it without crippling our ability to deliver a budget next year. I want to thank Speaker Christine Quinn for her leadership, as well as Mayor Michael Bloomberg, for working with us to deliver this budget. We didn’t always agree, but we all had the best interest of New York City at heart. I also want to thank our Finance Division, my colleagues in the City Council, and most importantly, the public. They called our offices, they flooded our inboxes, they showed up in force at our hearings, and they told us exactly what was important to them. This was a collaborative process, and considering the challenges we faced from a struggling economy and reduced government aid, it was a success.”


INCREASING TRANSPARENCY ON STUDENT DISCHARGES AND SCHOOL CLOSURES

The Council voted on legislation that will require the Department of Education (DOE) to provide the Council with data on students who are discharged from schools before graduation.  The DOE will be required to report on the number of students discharged from middle and high school and the reasons why.  The DOE will also report on students who were transferred to an alternate school as a result of a school closure. The report will include information on the status of these students, including information with respect to services received and academic progress.

“This legislation is an important step in improving transparency in New York City schools,” said Council Member Robert Jackson, Chair of the Education Committee. “Requiring the DOE to report on the number of students discharged from middle and high schools will help us identify patterns in student departures and understand why a student may leave school before graduating.”

“Providing the Council with data on students who are discharged from schools before graduation will allow us to gauge the performance of students who are being transferred when schools are closed,” Speaker Christine C. Quinn said.  “This legislation will make student discharge procedures more transparent and make it easier to assess why students are leaving school.”

IMPROVING REGULATION OF THE PRIVATE TOWING INDUSTRY

The Council voted on legislation that will improve regulation of the private towing industry and raise the rates that may be charged by licensed tow businesses.  Private tow truck businesses are licensed and regulated by the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA).  The bill will increase the penalties that may be imposed on private tow truck operators who violate laws and regulations governing the operation of tow trucks in the City.  Fines and penalties will be increased for actions like failing to accept a credit card or unjustifiably refusing to release a towed car to its owner.  In an effort to enable the Council to better monitor DCA enforcement of the law, the bill will also require DCA to provide the Council with an annual report regarding its enforcement activities including:

  • The total number of violations issued, broken down by type;
  • The number of violations received by each tow licensee;
  • The number of license revocations and suspensions; and
  • The number of meetings held by the tow advisory board.

“Clearly there is a need to improve regulation of the tow industry,” said Council Member Diana Reyna, Chair of the Committee on Small Business.  “Furthermore, fuel and other operating costs have skyrocketed in the ten years since the last increase in rates tow companies may charge.  This bill will address these issues by holding tow companies responsible for violations of the law and by enabling the tow industry to cover their costs while providing consumers with safe, reliable and quality service at a fair price.”


STREET CO-NAMING LEGISLATION

The members of the City Council voted to co-name 56 thoroughfares and public places throughout New York City.  The members will vote on all 56 proposed co-namings together in one omnibus bill, and the names will include streets across the five boroughs. Some of the prominent street co-namings are:

• Red Hook Heroes Run
Honoring: Fire Fighters Ronnie Lee Henderson, Anthony Jovic, Michael Ragusa, Christian Regenhard and Anthony Rodriguez, who were killed in the September 11, 2001 attacks.
Location: At the intersection of Smith Street and Lorraine Street in Brooklyn.
Present name: None

• Dominick Berardi Way
Honoring: Domnick Berardi, who worked on the 101st floor of the World Trade Center and was killed in the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.
Location: Between 32nd Avenue and 33rd Avenue in Queens.
Present name: 149th Street.

• Police Officer Vito S. Mauro – 9/11 Memorial Way
Honoring: Officer Vito S. Mauro, who died from illness as a result of inhaling toxic materials while participating in the rescue and recovery efforts at the World Trade Center site following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. 
Location: At the intersection of East 38th Street and Quentin Road in Brooklyn.
Present name: None.

• SFC Luis M. Gonzalez Street
Honoring: Sergeant First Class Luis Manuel Gonzalez, who was killed in combat in Afghanistan when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device.
Location: At the intersection of 108th Street and 49th Avenue in Queens.
Present name: None

• LCpl. Julian T. Brennan, USMC Way
Honoring: Lance Corporal Julian T. Brennan, who was killed by a roadside bomb blast during a combat mission in Afghanistan’s Farah Province.
Location: Between 14th Street and the circle on the south west corner of Prospect Park in Brooklyn.
Present name: Prospect Park West.

• 35T1H4 A1V4E1N1U1E1
Honoring: Alfred Mosher Butts, who invented the board game Scrabble at the Community Methodist Church at 35th Avenue and 81st Street.
Location: At the southeast corner of 35th Avenue and 81st Street in Queens.
Present name: None

• Dr. Betty Shabazz Way
Honoring: Dr. Betty Shabazz, who was the wife of Malcolm X, and went on to become the Director of Institutional Advancement at Medgar Evers College.
Location: At the intersection of Broadway and 165th Street in Manhattan.
Present name: None

• Geraldine Ferraro Way
Honoring:  Three-term U.S. Representative Geraldine Ferraro, who served New York’s 9th Congressional District from 1978-1984 and became the first woman to run as a Vice Presidential candidate after Democratic presidential nominee Walter F. Mondale selected her to be his running mate.
Location: At the intersection of Austin Street and Ascan Avenue in Queens.
Present name: None

• Philip Reed Way
Honoring: Phillip Reed, who was the first openly gay black member of the New York City Council and represented East Harlem, Manhattan Valley and parts of the Upper West Side and the South Bronx.
Location: Between 1st Avenue and FDR Drive in Manhattan.
Present name: East 111th Street.

• Thomas White, Jr. Blvd.
Honoring: Thomas White, Jr., who represented Queens’ 28th District in the New York City Council and co-founded J-CAP, a substance abuse treatment program in New York.
Location: Between Foch Boulevard and 114th Avenue in Queens.
Present name: Sutphin Boulevard.

• Ellen Stewart Way
Honoring: Ellen Stewart, who was the first African-American fashion designer for Saks Fifth Avenue and the founder of La Mama Experimental Theatre Club. 
Location: Between Bowery and 2nd Avenue in Manhattan.
Present name: East 4th Street.

"We are very pleased to be celebrating the lives of so many exemplary New Yorkers by voting today on the street co-naming omnibus bill," said Council Member Melissa Mark-Viverito. "Each of these street signs will now serve as a reminder of the contributions that these individuals and organizations have made to our city."
All 56 street co-names sponsored by 31 different Council members were found to meet the reformed guidelines for inclusion in the bill. To be considered for a street co-naming, proposed honorees must be individuals who are deceased and of significant importance to New York City. Honored organizations must meet similar requirements.

For the full list of the proposed street co-names, visit: http://j.mp/stconame.

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