New York Note – City Legislation, Migrant Report, Chief Judge | Cozen O’Connor

NYC Council passes and introduces legislation

Last Wednesday, the NYC Council convened a stated meeting where they approved and introduced several pieces of legislation. The Council voted on the Language Access Act, which aims to strengthen language access for New York City residents and small business owners and increase the translation of city documents into more languages. Legislation was also passed to improve the efficiency of parks capital improvement projects. Additionally, the Council approved legislation to create a workforce development program for people with disabilities, along with legislation requiring five-year accessibility plans from every city agency. Here you can find all the bills that have been approved and introduced.

The City Council proposes political reforms for the migrant crisis

The New York City Council has released a report on the Adams administration’s approach to the asylum seeker crisis. The Council also outlined short-term and long-term policy recommendations. Some of the immediate recommendations include increasing the number of beds for young unaccompanied migrants, creating partnerships with local restaurants and expanding legal services through public-private partnerships. Long-term recommendations, targeting structural issues within the city, include reducing the paperwork required to enter city shelters, expanding job readiness programs through the city, connecting migrants to free and low-cost health care, and increasing the number of of bilingual and multilingual persons – language teachers. You can find the full report here.

Governor appoints Hon. Hector D. LaSalle as Chief Judge of the NYS Court of Appeals

Governor Hochul appointed the Honorable Hector D. LaSalle as the next Chief Justice of the New York State Court of Appeals. The Chief Justice oversees the entire judicial branch of New York State. Judge LaSalle currently serves as Chief Justice of the Second Department of the New York Supreme Court. If confirmed, LaSalle would become the first Latino Chief Justice in state history. However, the nomination has been controversial, due to his conservative and anti-abortion judicial record. Several Democrats and progressive organizations, including the Working Families Party and the Center for Community Alternatives, have urged the state Senate to reject the nomination. 32 Senators will have to vote for LaSalle’s confirmation. Given the current partisan makeup of the Senate, just 11 Democrats voting against LaSalle would effectively scuttle the nomination. before time.