different federal judge denied Raphael's habius petition challenging his detention, meaning that he'll continue to remain behind bars pending the resolution of his immigration case. We find this outcome, frankly, devastating and deeply unjust. Raphael should be back home. I spoke to Raphael yesterday. He it's incredibly difficult time for Raphael and for his family who we remain in constant touch with and we speak to Raphael all the time as we have throughout this process. Um he's a very valued public city servant. He's a beloved member of our city council team. We will continue to fight and advocate for a just outcome. Switching gears, yesterday the council debuted our firstofits-kind online budget dashboard. If you haven't seen it, please check it out. It's an innovative new tool to make making New York City's budget process more transparent and accessible for everyone. It was created um through the stellar work of our finance division, and I want to particularly thank our deputy speaker, Dr. Natasha Williams, for her work on it, our web development unit, and our data team. Uh, this new tool translates literally hundreds and hundreds of pages of sometimes opaque budget documents into a truly interactive resource that makes a complex process uh easier to understand. And it's really more than just about data. It's about equity. It's about transparency. It's about accountability. And it's about ensuring that every community has visibility into the decisions that shape their lives. As we turn to today's event, earlier this morning, I was very honored to speak at a rally in the rotunda uh on equal payday as the 20th anniversary. It's honestly rather shocking that we have to be here once again to demand equal pay for women. Um this is gender-based inequality that quite frankly has existed for far too long. uh closing pay gaps is a central focus for our women majority council and as speaker I see it quite frankly as a personal responsibility as well and that's why I was proud today to announce that we are reviving the city council's pay disparity report which was stalled under the last administration and we expect it that it will resume this year when that report is published it won't just measure disparity it will drive action as well and when New York City gets has this right. We set the standard for every single employer in our city. So now I'm going to turn to a the stated agenda. So first we're going to vote on the following land use items. D New Town Creek CSO tunnel. This is an application for site selection and acquisition approvals to facilitate the construction of storm water infrastructure to improve water quality in New Town Creek WHED in the districts of council members Gutierrez, Wrestler, Juan, and Wong. 20 Berry Street will facilitate the development of a 10story office, retail, and light industrial building with over 10,000 square ft of publicly accessible open space in council member wrestler's district. 1727 Amsterdam Hilltop Apartments, an application by HPD to facilitate the redevelopment of an underutilized city-owned NYC H&H facility into a new 9-story mixeduse building with 200 supportive and affordable housing units and community facility space and majority leader of Breo's district. 1325 Avenue of the America's text amendment will bring into compliance two existing open air cafes as well as facilitate the addition of new open air cafe and the publicly accessible galleria of a building in council member Maloney's district Allen Street demapping. This will facilitate the Department of Park and Recreation's management of a future concession and the reactivation of a shuttered restroom in Council Member Marte's district, site selection for a new approximately 754 seat prelimin primary and intermediate school in Council Member Morano's district, and an application for Leai for revocable consent to operate a sidewalk cafe in council member Marte's district. The council is going to modify this application to limit the site plan to a maximum of six tables and 12 chairs. Next, we will vote on the following finance items. A preconsidered resolution sponsored by council member Linda Lee approving a revenue modification that recognizes 3.1 billion in new city funds for fiscal year 2026. A preconsidered resolution sponsored by council member Crystal Hudson would authorize an amendment to the district plan of the Fulton Street Business Improvement District or bid to change a method of assessment upon which the district charge is based. It would also set the date, time, and place for the public hearing of the local law authorizing a change in the method of assessment. Next, we will vote on the appointments of Madori Vald Devilla, appointed by the mayor to lead the New York City TLC, and Wayne Holly, appointed by the controller to the New York City Conflicts of Interest Board. Next, we'll vote on the following resolutions. Resolution 359, sponsored by Council Member Farah Lewis, would declare March 24th as Women of Color in Tech Day in New York City in recognition of the contributions of women in color to the technology in industry and the challenges that they still face. Resolution 360, sponsored by Council Member Virginia Maloney, would call upon the US Congress to pass and the president to sign HJ Resolution 80, SJ Resolution 38, establishing the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment. Uh, today we're going to vote on the following legislation. Introduction Oh, you're here. Wonderful. 177A, sponsored by Council Member Harvey Epstein, would require the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection to create and run a program to provide individualized counseling to individuals about federal and state student loan forgiveness programs and other student loan repayment options. Obviously, very important in affordability crisis. So, we appreciate your work on this. I'm going to invite Council Member Epstein to the podium to discuss his legislation. Thank you, Speaker Menon, and thank you for all your leadership to get us to this point. Um, so intro 177 requires the Department of Consumer Affairs and worker protection to, as she said, to do an individ counseling program. People know that student loan debt has reached astronomical numbers, almost $2 trillion in debt. Average borrower owing about $40,000. One in six Americans carry student loan debt. and difficulty of repayment continue. You know, across the United States, 5.5 million people have defaulted on their debt. You know, as New Yorkers continue to struggle with affordability, this is a critical place that we can help New Yorkers acquiring inside of DCWP a unit that focuses on helping people deal with their student debt, figure out a plan for their student debt, maybe they're eligible for student loan forgiveness, and making sure that people in New York know that affordability just doesn't mean about your rent. it means about living in New York and being a New Yorker. And again, for all your leadership and for your leadership, DCW, the committee before me, I really appreciate everything you continue to do. Thank you. >> Thank you so much, Council Member Epstein. So, now I'm going to turn to a package of five bills that we introduced back in January as part of our efforts to combat all forms of hate. Whether it is more than 70 swastikas that were graffitied into Brooklyn's children's playground, which I visited last month, or whether it's reflecting 182% increase in anti-Semitic incidents, whether it's churches being vandalized across the five burrows or anti-Muslim hate crimes experienced a 69% increase in 2024, the increase in hateful acts across the city is absolutely aborant and we have to do something about it. First, introduction 388A, sponsored by Council Member Lincoln Wrestler, would require the Commission on Civil and Human Rights to establish a hotline to receive reports from the public regarding discriminatory harassment and unlawful discriminatory practices. Um, and I do want to say something about this bill. We know that many hate crimes are under reportported. And one of the constant reframes, and I know this from when I first um became a council member in 2022, the first thing I did is I held a town hall on how to combat anti-semitism back in January of 2022. It was on Zoom because of CO. We had about I think 350 people attended. And the number one thing I heard from that uh anti-semitism town hall was that people did not know how to report a hate crime. They didn't know do you call 311? Do you call 911? So many people weren't sure how to report it. And then even then many people still were not reporting them. So I really appreciate this bill and I want to call up Council Member Wrestler. >> Thank you so much, Speaker Menon, and thank you for your leadership in addressing anti-semitism and hate all across our city. I just firstly want to wish everyone a very happy opening day. We're about 25 minutes out from a what's going to be a glorious season for our Mets. Um there you go. Harvey's with me. Um, and I also just wanted to note since we've got a couple land use actions that are in district 33 today, in particular, the improvements to the long-term control plan are great. This means 74% less poop going into the waterways of New Town Creek and the East River and no more poop going into the future waterways around Bushwick and Park. So, those are very positive things. I'm grateful to the previous team at DP and the current team at DP for helping to make that happen. Uh, I really just want to thank the speaker again for inviting me to carry this bill and I am very pleased that it's moving forward today. Intro 388 will establish a hotline at the New York City Commission on Human Rights that allows New Yorkers to report incidents on discrimination and require CCHR to publish reports on those incidents, something that does not happen today. This report will break down the top five bases for discrimination based on race, religion, national origin, which will include anti-semitism, anti-Muslim incidents, anti-black incidents, anti-Asian incidents, and more. We have seen a profoundly troubling rise in hate incidents across the city of New York. Though not all of those incidents rise to the level of a hate crime that can be reported to the NYPD. And I believe it's important that we have an avenue for New Yorkers to report on those incidents of unlawful discrimination so that we can meticulously track what type of of hateful incidents are happening and we can better tailor education and interventions for communities to prevent these incidents from happening again. For example, if you're discriminated against at a restaurant based on your religion or you're screamed at to get up on a bus based on your race, those incidents may not rise to a hate crime to be reported to the NYPD, but they are hate incidents that do need to be reported. Uh, and so, uh, we know that many individuals, especially victims of hate incidents, may be reluctant to report on the incidents that occur. and CCHR uh will make sure that all communities feel safe using this valuable resource so that it can help us reduce hate across our city. You know, we've seen 55 56% of hate incidents in New York City last year were anti-Semitic. And while anti-hate incidents have declined over the past 3 years, the number of anti-semitic incidents have increased. And so, we have a very serious issue on our hands that we must confront aggressively. And I really do believe that this hotline is going to be a helpful resource for us to better understand what is happening across the city of New York so we can tailor the right interventions to really make a difference and mitigate hate. Thank you again to the speaker. >> Thank you, Council Member Wrestler. Um, introduction 297A sponsored by Council Member Virginia Maloney would require an agency or office designated by the mayor in consultation with the NYPD to provide religious and nonprofit institutions with support in establishing and maintaining emergency plans that contain protocols to address threats of violence and safely evacuate premises. Um, we know that many of these institutions, smaller ones, may not have the budget to do so. So, this is why this is a very important um bill. And so, I now want to invite Council Member Maloney to the podium to discuss her bill. >> Thank you so much, Speaker Menon, for your leadership and for inviting me to speak. I'm proud to stand here amongst my colleagues in support of this legislative package, which makes clear just how seriously the council is taking our duty to guarantee the safety of our faith communities. My district, District 4, is home to many historic places of worship. From St. Patrick's Cathedral to Temple Emanuel, and just last year, protesters descended on Park East Synagogue in my community and harassed attendees entering an event inside. No one should have to fear going to a house of worship or practicing their religion in our city. A city that has always been defined by its diversity. A city that continues to be made of people from every background and every belief. The fact that too many New Yorkers of faith do not feel safe practicing their religion is unacceptable. Places of worship are sacred spaces where New Yorkers come together in faith and in community. There are spaces where no New Yorker should be intimidated or fear for his or her safety as they enter or exit these sacred spaces. Intro 297, which I'm proud to introduce, gives our houses of worship the tools that they need to keep New Yorkers safe by instructing the city, including the NYPD commissioner, to work with them to develop a comprehensive plan and developing security and emergency protocols against the backdrop of rising targeted attacks against religious institutions. This is a necessary and a proactive measure that needs to be passed. The comprehensive plans that will be developed because of this bill will help prevent the worst from happening and ensure that law enforcement agencies, places of worship, and the public are on the same page so that tensions are kept at a minimum. Intro 297 is a commitment to building a New York City where everyone can gather and worship freely, safely, and securely. Thank you very much. Okay. Thank you, Council Member Maloney. Introduction 22A, sponsored by Majority Leader Shaun Abrau, would require the Department of Education to distribute age appropriate materials regarding the risks and dangers of social media to middle and high school students annually beginning September 30th, 2026. materials would cover online bullying, harassment discrimination misinformation, and disinformation, as well as how to prevent and mitigate associated harms. I now invite Majority Leader Oreo to discuss his bill. >> I have to say I I I think I think Council Member Lincoln Rest is confused that opening day is not at Yankee Stadium tonight. Uh, time to time for everybody's favorite topic, social media. Our kids are growing up in a digital world that moves faster than we we can keep up with. And right now, they're mostly left to figure it out on their own. They're dealing with cyber bullying, harassment, and misinformation. They're being exposed to hate, including anti-semitism and other forms of prejudice, often without any real guidance on how to recognize it or how to respond to it. This bill is pretty straightforward. It requires Department of Education to give every middle and high school student clear age appropriate materials each year about the risks of social media, what to watch out for, how to protect yourself, and how to navigate what you're seeing online. And those materials will be updated regularly and available to parents, too. Because right now, we're asking kids to navigate one of the most powerful forces in their lives with almost no guardrails. This is a basic step to change that. I want to thank Madam Speaker uh Menon for helping us move this bill today. Thank you very much. >> Thank you, Majority Leader. So, in January, as I mentioned, I announced a five-point plan to combat anti-semitism, and the bills we are passing today were a key and critical part of that plan. Among those bills was one that I sponsored in response to a gre uh increasing sense of concern about congregants being subjected to intimidation or obstruction when accessing their house of worship, particularly in the wake of events that we saw as council member Maloney said at Park East Synagogue as well as at the Yeshiva and Q gardens in Queens. Uh that bill is introduction 1-B and it upholds both public safety and constitutional freedoms in the very same breath. It will require the NYPD to establish a plan to address and contain the risk of physical obstruction, physical injury, intimidation, and interference at places of religious worship while also preserving and protecting the rights to free speech, assembly, and protest. That plan will determine whether a security perimeter is needed and if so, how far the perimeter should extend from the entrance and the exit to the house of worship. And importantly, for the first time, the NYPD plan will be required to be shared publicly, introducing a new layer of transparency and accountability, as well as a requirement for community engagement, which is also critical. At a time when many forms of hate are rising, we have a responsibility to act in the name of protecting New Yorkers. The council is proud to take immediate and impactful steps to uphold safety and freedom that should be guaranteed to everyone. That's what it takes to protect New Yorkers and that's what our legislation delivers. Similarly, introduction 175B sponsored by council member Eric Denowitz would uphold that level of safety and respect for our freedoms but specifically at educational facilities. I now invite council member Denowitz to discuss his bill. >> Thank you, speaker. Um, good afternoon everyone. Um, I I I I have to start out by thanking the speaker uh who has really taken a hands-on approach to addressing a problem that we have seen time and time again in our city and that is the rise in hate. Um, and and for me as a as a former public school teacher, it is incredibly important that we are protecting our students as they are entering and leaving schools. Um, this bill is the culmination of listening to student voices and it creates a thoughtful strategy that preempts tragic occurrences, occurrences that we have seen time and time again at our school and preserves the access to that to that special place to our schools. It allows for the creation of safe passages for students going to and from school. Uh preventing circumstances of physical obstruction, physical injury, intimidation, and interference. Uh because no one no one should be prevented from entering their school. No one should be intimidated to not enter their school. Schools are places not just of learning uh but where where students find themselves. For some students, it's where they get their mental health services. It's where they get their food. And for some students, it's where they where they work, where they get the the money so that they can spend they can support their families. And we have heard time and time again from students that being harassed on the way into school, being intimidated and physically obstructed from entering that sacred space has caused them the amount of fear it takes to take classes remotely, take their exams remotely, and in some cases transfer schools. I'm proud that this bill considers the diversity of challenges faced by different communities. And at a time when our federal government is terrorizing so many of our neighbors with arbitrary policies and oppressive actions, we are creating transparency and accountability. And we are specifically protecting our First Amendment rights. This bill holds the NYPD accountable and keeps it transparent, setting clear expectations and publishing them online with time for public comment. Intro 175 respects and protects our students and is void of complex legislative technicalities. Our students already confront complexity in the daily daily lives. They are learning how to comprehend and education itself is one of the most basic forms um rights that that we have to provide to our students and ensuring that we are protecting that right is of paramount importance to me to the speaker and to this council. our students deserve to access that education safely. I want to again thank Speaker Menon um for how hard she's worked on this entire package on this bill to make sure that the students in the back here, every student watching and every student in our city has that safe access to their educational institutions free from intimidation, free from interference, and free from physical obstruction. Great. Thank you. >> I'll begin with on topic questions on today's legislative agenda. >> Speaker, some confusion around the buffer zone bill. So, I'm wondering if you could explain. >> Sure. >> What does the NYPD now have to do other than putting them online and presenting them to you that they don't already have to do? >> Thanks for the question, Sally. A number of different things. So, first of all, what happened at Park East and what happened at Q Gardens, it there was obviously tremendous concern around that. And so, as we heard at the hearing, we heard so much testimony that people were not sure of what the security perimeter had to be. This provides transparency and accountability to a process that was very opaque before. So, it brings a level of transparency and accountability. It also requires the NYPD to do community engagement, which didn't exist before. So, we heard from so many congregants at Park East and from particularly other synagogues and other houses of worship that they wanted to be able to have that dialogue with the NYPD. The community engagement piece requires the NYPD to engage directly with houses of worship. It also provides accountability and transparency around protesters as well. So it gives accountability and transparency around the actions that the NYPD is doing. So that provides a level of accountability uh and transparency for protesters as well. And the community engagement piece applies not only to the houses of worship but also to protesters as well so that then the protesters can engage in a dialogue with NYPD. So for all of those different reasons, it brings those additional requirements uh to light, which is why you see the level of support and what we really heard from at the hearing, which was overwhelming support for the bill. >> Um, Madam Speaker, I have a three-part question. >> Okay. Okay. Wait, I'm going to take my pen out just so I get them all. >> The first piece of legislation that you introduced, why was this so important to you? And also what do you say to the people who are going to have a press conference at 1:30 to say it's a it's it violates first amendment rights. >> Yeah. >> Part of the question is if the mayor were to veto it would you will be able to override. >> Okay. Sure. A couple different uh answers to that. Thank you Marca for the question. So first of all this is a deeply personal issue for me. I am the daughter of a Holocaust survivor. I'm the daughter and granddaughter of Holocaust survivors. My grandfather was killed in the Holocaust. is very personal. It's not a new issue for me. As I mentioned previously, in January of 2022, the first action I took as a new council member was to host a town hall on anti-semitism, which as I mentioned, there were about 350 people who attended and I had um everyone from the New York Attorney General's office, numerous Jewish groups there. And really what came out of that was my belief that if you are the victim of an anti-semitic incident, oftentimes it's under reportported. People are sometimes afraid to report or they don't know who to report to. And in my first week in the city council there in January of 2022, there were two anti-semitic incidents in my district. One of them was at a comedy club in my district where I called out a Instagram post as being anti-semitic and the comedy club ended up suing me for defamation. We won that case easily. It was a frivolous case. So I mention that simply to say this is not a new issue. This matters because as I said we're seeing skyrocketing incidents of anti-semitism really all across the city. When a swastika is painted into a playground, one swastika is too many. There were 70 swastikas painted onto that playground. I went out to see it myself personally. It's shocking. It really shocks the conscience. So, something has to be done. And so this whole package of bills, and it's certainly not just my bill on the houses of worship, it's all these bills taken in totality that deal with the issue of combating anti-semitism and all forms of hate because again, these bills combat all forms of hate. But in there was a specific um emphasis on combating anti-semitism, of course, because it's comprising, as council member Wrestler said, over 50% of hate crimes are against the Jewish community. Yet the Jewish community comprises about 10% of the New York City population. Um, and the second question I believe you asked if if the NYC >> Oh, sure. So, we look, we I always have a very open legislative process. I've passed some very complicated bills in my time uh in the council. Uh, the healthcare accountability bill being one of them, the safe hotels act. I always welcome feedback. We met with many of the groups uh that are that mentioned that they have a concern and we incorporated, you know, a lot of their concerns. That's the iterative legislative process. To be clear, these bills in no way infringe on the first amendment right to protest, which is sacrien. The bills don't even talk about protests. We took a different approach from the state. The state's bills have penalties in there. Our bills do not. Our bills are really a an an attempt to have a really transparent, accountable approach, which is what I believe um New Yorkers should demand. And so that's why we have overwhelming support for the package. I'm thrilled that 35 council members are co-sponsoring my bill and we've got wide-based support for the other bills in the package as well. So, if the mayor wants to veto it, would you you already have >> um the mayor I've have many conversations with the mayor. We meet one-on-one all the time. He hasn't indicated to me uh that that he would do that. So, I have not heard that. >> We have over we have a tremendous support for this package and so I'm really proud of that. >> Go ahead. >> Sure. Uh yeah, I guess I'd like to know what you make of resistance in the progressive caucus uh to parts of this package, particularly to Councilman Dway's bill. Uh you know, and also the decision this morning to have an event uh with Mak Khalil who uh you know many Jewish students in Colombia did intimidate, harass or led protests that led to them being intimidated or harassed at their place of learning. Uh and I absolutely want to hear Council Wrestler and MC weigh in on this as well. >> Great. Uh well, we I'm really I'll talk about my bill and I'll certainly let Council Member Denowitz talk about his bill. I I'm thrilled that we have such broad-based support for my bill. You know, again, 35 council members are co-sponsors and more are voting for the bill. So, I'm very thrilled with the level of support that we have. In terms of the event you mentioned, this is not an event that we were aware of. This is not an event coming from the speaker's office. This is not a city council event. This is two council members who hosted the event. So all questions should be directed to those council members. And now turn it over to council member Denowitz to talk about his bill. >> Thank you. Thank you. I mean as was mentioned time and again uh acts of hate are on the rise particularly against the Jewish community. Acts of anti-semitism make up uh more than half of the hate crimes here in the city. Um and we need to make sure we're protecting everyone. That includes our students. um to to deny that they that students are being harassed on the way into school, to deny that they're being intimidated, to deny that students have had to take classes remotely or have had to transfer schools because of these actions is to deny their lived experience. Um and so we are making taking steps to make sure that there is a plan in place and we are doing that primarily through transparency and accountability. Um, and so I can't tell you why other people are against it, but I am in favor of a more transparent NYPD. I've seen on on some of these resistance we've seen progressive caucus >> to to specific bills, you know, prog. >> Hi, Jacob. The mayor the mayor cited serious concerns um to the latest draft of of the bill. >> Well, which bill are you just the >> educhu? So my question is twofold. One, um have you spoken to the mayor or has the mayor's office had any input in terms of of drafting the the bill that is going to pass? >> Sure. and and just your general um response to this whole opposition and lobbying against it. Uh if this protects uh first amendment rights and free speech and protest, why is it so controversial? >> Yeah. Well, thank you for the question. I mean, first of all, I have had conversations with the mayor about uh my house of worship, the buffer that buffer zone bill. um and uh those conversations he did not at that time um indicate you know particular concerns. He said he would work with the law department and that to talk to the law department which we did and the law department we had great conversations with the law department. They certainly had input on the bill as did the NYPD and we took those comments and those are reflected in the current version. >> Additional on topic questions though. >> Yeah. So speaker, it's a two-parter. Um, I just want to reflect back, I guess, in 2010 looking at this clip. Julie mentioned the Manhattan Community Board wanted to reiterate Monday that she supports a project in the Islamic Center. If you could talk about that was equally at the charge time about why it was important to speak up for that, your approach to diversity follow. >> Okay. Well, thank you, Bob. So yes, in 2010 when I chaired community board one in lower Manhattan, I stood up for the creation of the Islamic cultural center and mosque. Uh again this is about freedom of religion. Our country is built on fundamental principles. Freedom of religion being one of them. They is sacrosanked. And so there you had a project where um again it was a right to worship which was at stake. And so I was proud to strongly support that project and to write the resolution for the community board and that ultimately was voted on uh by the community board that I chaired. >> And as a followup, you you've been talking about this and there's been a debate about this for months. We did have this really terrifying incident up at the mayor's home related to what's alleged to be ISIS and can you talk about why there's maybe not the same margin of error there was because of the climate that we're in >> that there wasn't the same >> margin of error like that that does change a threat assessment in light of that has to inform what the city council is >> look I'm incredibly proud of this package of bills this bills has been a top priority I mentioned about the rise in anti anti-semitism. I I mentioned about the rise in all different types of hate crimes. What you're talking about in terms of what happened at Gracie Mansion, which is in my district, was an ISIS inspired terrorist act. Um, as you know, Bob, because we worked together back on 911, I mean, I was very involved in the rebuilding of lower Manhattan after 9/11 as a seven-year chair of Community Board One. You know, the NYPD has successfully thwarted over 50 terrorist acts against our city. A lot of people don't know that, but they have. And so certainly what happened uh the events outside of Gracie were wholly unacceptable. I strongly condemn that. And it's obviously an issue of great concern. >> October. >> Hi, I'm Natalie. I'm a senior. >> Hi, welcome. >> And I'm curious what you would say to Jewish New Yorkers who are feeling uncertain and whether you're optimistic for the future in terms of that statistic you mentioned actually going what it means to be Jewish in New York. >> Thank you so much for that question and thank you, you know, for being here today. Yeah, this is a time of immense concern in the Jewish community. And so I appreciate that question. One of the things that we wanted to do with this package of bills is really respond to feedback that we were hearing time and time again from the Jewish community who want to like every single community um be feel comfortable, feel safe, feel secure, not be afraid to wear Jewish symbols, not be afraid to display display any um uh identifying um materials. And so that's something that I think this package really speaks to and that's why I'm incredibly proud of this package. I'm deeply concerned about the explosive rise in anti-semitism. And one thing we haven't talked about is another key and fifth pillar of this package is that we are providing $1.25 $25 million to the Museum of Jewish Heritage to build upon a program I created about a year and a half ago that brings um public school 8th grade students to the Museum of Jewish Heritage to go to the permanent Holocaust exhibition. And the reason I created that program is because uh studies were showing that about 34% of young people believe the Holocaust is a myth or is exaggerated. 34%. And certainly in my humble opinion, the best antidote to that is education. So this $1.25 million in funding expands upon our ability to offer those field trips and also creates a virtual component so that more students can have access because there's nothing like actually viscerally going and seeing those materials yourself. And as someone who I mentioned that uh my mother and grandmother survived the Holocaust, my grandmother was um part of the show series. So, I have hours and hours literally of video footage of my grandmother telling her harrowing story. If you have not personally been able to see those types of stories um and seen those artifacts, you know, you need to do that. And so, that's what that field trip is really all about. >> Why there's so much interest in our agenda today? >> I just wanted to ask I guess I know you said that that your bill particularly for the house of worship will increase transparency. >> Yeah. >> Um >> details on how like will people be notified? Sure. >> And then the second part I asked a few weeks ago when this was first introduced but one of the events at the park >> synagogue was um it wasn't a prayer service it was a real estate event to purchase move to Israel and um and parts of >> West Bank where there has been significant violence. Uh-huh. >> I understand. >> Sorry, I mean, >> it wasn't. Were they I'm just curious if there is a difference. I know you said it's content neutral, but does it make a difference if what's happening inside is a religious service versus um a real estate event or any kind of >> This is about blocking access into and out of the house of worship. So, if someone who's trying to, and I'll use Park East as an example, someone who's trying to go to Park East and they're going to worship, I hope we can all agree that people should not be blocked access. They shouldn't feel intimidation or harassment or threats trying to go into their sanctuary, which is supposed to be a safe and sacred space. And your first question, Katie, was about the community engagement piece. So, um, I'm really excited about this part of the bill, which because one of the things that we heard time and time again, and we also heard at the hearing is from many different faith-based communities, they would say they wanted to have more dialogue with the NYPD around this. So, this actually creates a community engagement piece to do just that. It also creates a dialogue with protesters as well. So protesters who are protesting whether it be a house of worship or a school also it creates a community engagement piece around that. I think community engagement is great. I think more dialogue is great. I think it's honestly what we need more of and every government agency should be doing community engagement. So this really creates that community engagement piece that didn't exist before. So I'm I'm excited about that. >> Was I correct? I'm sorry. I'm pretty sure it was a nephesh benefic organization that helps uh Jews immigrate to Israel and my friends. >> Well, they they they have like my friends, they have helped them, you know, acquire language, right? They've helped them acquire housing in Israel, the things that we try to strive for here in New York City. But regardless of of what it was, this wasn't simply a protest. as the speaker said, it's about harassing people and intimidating them as they're entering their house of worship. Um, and so I I think we can all agree that the transparency element of this is really critical to making sure everyone is made safe. >> All right, Josie. >> Hi, speaker. How are you? >> Hi. >> Um, I wanted to follow up. Just to be clear, have you spoken directly with the mayor oneon one about the buffer zone bills since the and he talked about him department and in that one-on-one conversation if it happened did he raise concerns about the modified bill? >> Um I talked to him uh several times about certainly the house of worship bill um and he knew that we were having really positive and productive conversations uh with the city law department on that. I haven't talked to him recently about the bill. So, look forward to having those conversations. >> Can the members step aside? >> Where they going? >> They don't they don't promised land >> to do work and I'm not sick. I promise. I have allergies so don't want anyone thinking I'm spreading germs. All right, we have 10 minutes till our state meeting. Do you agree with >> Can you just speak up a little bit? Sorry. >> Do you agree when said yesterday that >> if they carve off more than the 1.7 billion in savings that could affect the city's functioning essentially harming city's functioning? Uh look, we are engaged in very productive conversations with the administration on savings and so you we'll be presenting our plan on April 1st. Um I think we had a very productive hearing with OM and again we're having very productive conversations um with director Solomon and the whole team over there. So we look forward to that. I mean, I think in terms of we don't want anything to cut services like we are we're in total alignment, the administration and the city council that we are not going to do anything to cut critical services. So there's total agreement on that. We're now looking at are there areas where we can find additional savings that in no way impact services and so we're both engaged in that and I think those conversations are going really really well. >> Off the topic questions. Yeah. Hi uh city limit speaker men. Thank you. Uh the mayor appealed the decision in the city thefts case yesterday um that you condemned at the budget hearings um saying you wanted to see a more sustainable path forward. Yeah. >> Um but I'm wondering the controller said that program expansion would be pretty expensive and um for budgets in future years and and this upcoming year. I'm wondering if if revenue raisers like property tax are also off the table. What what a fair expansion actually. >> Sure. So we agree that the costs are obviously too high which is why from the beginning we have said to the administration we are willing and able and want not just willing we want to settle this matter. It's can't you can't settle when there's an ongoing appeal. So that is why we've urged the administration from day one to drop the appeal because all the appeal does is it extends expensive and and litigation that we don't feel is particularly productive. We are absolutely willing to settle this matter in a way that is financially responsible and at the same time protects vulnerable New Yorkers. We don't think those two ideas are mutually exclusive. So we're eager to reach a settlement. But while the litigation keeps going on, you can't reach it's very difficult to then reach that settlement. So our stance from the beginning is drop the lawsuit and let's reach that sustainable settlement that protects vulnerable New Yorkers and also at the same time is financially responsible. >> Hi Speaker, two quick ones. >> Have you personally pushed lawmakers and governor at all to raise taxes for wealthy New Yorkers? And if not, can you explain why? >> Sure. So, I absolutely believe in progressive taxation to be clear. It's something that I believe in and it's something I've talked about even back when I chaired community board one. Um, in what we don't want to do is put New York State at a different rate than other states. I 100% believe in progressive taxation. I urge a federal government to do progressive taxation on millionaires. I think that's something honestly that should happen. I think my conversations with the governor, we've said, look, all options need to be on the table. We are hopeful to find savings. That's what we're feverishly looking to do. And again, the conversations with the administration in that regard are going very well. >> And then is there anyone in particular that the city council is hoping the MAD administration appoints to be the jailar, the individual that they said? >> Yeah, we haven't we I don't have a comment yet on that. We haven't Yeah, we playing a role though in those conversations. >> Um I mean it's obviously something we're very interested in so we look forward to having that conversation. >> Hi Speaker, quickly um the mayor's office is banking on 1.3 billion in savings in addition to what they said yesterday announced this during the hearing is partly from FAPS which I know your position partly from what they're expecting is a delay >> on cost size. Yeah. >> Yeah. Do you think it's what's your take on the fact that they're putting that, you know, in their savings plan and that they didn't find time during that six hour hearing to mention that? >> Look, the class size conversations are going very well, you know, from uh which I think are important because while we all support reducing class size, we understand the financial realities of where the city is and so that's something that we know needs to be delayed. Um, and then in terms of FEPS, as I said, the FEPS conversations, we believe the administration should come to the table immediately and settle the matter with the council. And that's what we've urged from the beginning. I mean, continuing to litigate, it just doesn't make sense. All the litigation is doing is delaying our ability to settle the matter. And, you know, I it's something I think that needs to happen immediately. >> Okay. Thank you all so much. Thank you. >> Thank you so much. Hey.