News in New York – Agency Vacancy Reduction, City Legislation, Commission on Gender Equity

NYC Agencies Asked to Reduce Vacancies by Half

Last Monday, Office of Management and Budget Director Jacques Jiha sent a memo to heads of NYC agencies asking them to continue mining their budgets for efficiencies and savings, following the announced reductions in the November Financial Plan. Director Jiha’s memo included instructions that agencies will have to self-fund any new needs in the upcoming budget process and that each agency is required to reduce its current vacancies by half. NYPD, FDNY, and DSNY were exempted from the vacancy reduction, along with revenue-producing positions, such as Building Inspectors, “pedagogical” positions like teachers, and “jobs that support mayoral priorities.” Once these exempted positions are removed, it has been estimated that approximately one quarter of the City’s 21,000+ vacancies will be cut.

NYC Council Passes and Introduces Legislation

Last Tuesday, the NYC Council convened a Stated meeting, where they passed and introduced multiple pieces of legislation. The Council approved two land use applications in Brooklyn and Queens, which will create over 5,000 new units of housing. The Council also passed legislation to regulate secondhand dealers’ sale of catalytic converters, and make it more difficult to resell these stolen items. The Council introduced several bills regarding freelancing regulations, including a bill prohibiting employers from requiring non-compete agreements from freelancers. Another introduced bill would require employers to distribute and post material about the Temporary Schedule Change Act in workplaces. The Council also introduced a bill requiring the Department of Education to distribute suicide prevention information to students on an annual basis. You can find all of the bills that were passed and introduced here.

Mayor Adams Appoints Nine New Commissioners to Commission on Gender Equity

Mayor Adams announced the appointments and reappointments of 24 commissioners to the New York City Commission on Gender Equity (CGE). Jacqueline Ebanks and Silda Palerm have been reappointed as Executive Director and Chair respectively. These commissioners are community leaders and advocates who will be advising CGE on action items to dismantle discrimination and inequities. CGE is working toward the Adams administration’s goals to address maternal health, abortion rights, child care access, and expanded services for LGBTQ+ New Yorkers. More information about the appointees is available here.