Referred to Committee

I believe providing after-school programming to all New York City students will increase and equalize educational opportunities, keep kids out of the criminal justice system, and make life easier for parents whose jobs keep them at work until at least 5pm. It is far more common than a generation ago for parents to work late and far less common for children to have a stay at home parent. The gap between school dismissal and when parents are able to pick up their kids can be difficult for many families, and can leave kids without food, shelter, or mentorship if after-school programming is not available. With after-school programming we can meet Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and slow the school to prison pipeline.

Introduction 1100 of 2018 by Council Members Kallos, Treyger and Rose would provide “Universal After School” with a mandate for an after school slot for any student that request one. The legislation would also require an annual report to implement universal after school including how many slots are needed, availability and cost, participation rates, advertising and outreach to increase participation, along with implementation dates and progress reports. Reporting would sunset once the city certified that sufficient after school slots are available for all students.

A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to sidewalk shed inspections. This bill would require that sidewalk sheds that have been installed for more than one year to undergo safety inspections at least once every six months by the Department of Buildings at the cost of the building owner for which the shed has been installed.

A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York and the New York city building code in relation to removing construction-related equipment. This bill would create timeframes for the removal of construction-related equipment when there is no active construction and would permit the city to correct unsafe conditions of exterior walls.

A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to the
use of pesticides by City agencies

There are roughly 3.5 million private-sector workers in New York City, a significant percentage of whom have no access to retirement savings whatsoever.

This bill would facilitate voluntary retirement savings by private-sector workers to a city administered auto-enrollment individual retirement account. Auto-enrollment of employees would be mandatory through payroll deduction for employers with five or more employees who have not offered a retirement savings plan for the past two-years. Employees over 21 years of age who worked more than 20-hours a week would be auto-enrolled with a default contribution rate of 5%. Smaller employers who have not offered and independent contractors who do not have access to retirement savings would also be able to join “Savings Access New York.” Employers would not contribute to the plan and there would be no cost to employers.

Restaurants in New York City that serve children’s meals would only be include drinks that do not contain added sugars or sweeteners. Specifically, combination children’s meals may only offer water, sparkling water, flavored water, flavored or unflavored nonfat or one percent milk, non-dairy milk, 100% fruit or vegetable juice, or fruit or vegetable juice combined with water or carbonated water as the default option. Customer could substitute a different drink of their choice by request, with monetary penalties up to $2,500 for restaurants that violate this law.