Williams Announces New Mid-Year Accountability Report on City’s Worst Landlords
Last Monday, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams (D) announced that, starting in 2021, the City will be releasing a mid-year Worst Landlord’s Watchlist to supplement the existing annual list.
The City already releases a rundown of the 100 worst landlords in the City once per year; Williams released the 2020 edition last week. Starting in mid-2021, the office of the Public Advocate will also issue an updated mid-year report on the actions and inactions of the landlords who made the list.
“Accountability is not just an annual occurrence; it’s an ongoing effort,” said Williams. “Supplementing the yearly watchlist six months later will help tell a more complete story and give tenants the information and tools to demand change from the worst landlords in the city- while in turn enabling landlords to demonstrate some measure of progress if they are committed to improvement and encouraging responsible management.”
Velázquez Criticizes New COVID-19 Relief Bill
Last Monday, U.S. Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-LES, Brooklyn, Queens) released a statement on the newly passed Omnibus and Coronavirus Relief Bill.
Velázquez called it “shameful” that it took this long for a second COVID-19 relief bill to pass the House. She also expressed dissatisfaction with the bill’s provision of $600 in direct payments and an additional $300 per week in unemployment insurance. On the other hand, she gave the bill credit for authorizing a second round of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans – and prioritizing small businesses in underserved communities.
“While I am disappointed in my Republican colleagues and recognize this bill is not ideal or as comprehensive as the Heroes Act—it will provide some much-needed relief to the American people until we can pass a more robust stimulus under the Biden Administration,” said Velázquez. “I’d particularly like to thank all the staff from member offices, to committee offices, to leadership and floor staff, who worked long hours and through the weekend to help put this package together.”
Maloney Applauds Inclusion of Women’s Museum Legislation in Omnibus Package
U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens) released a statement on Monday celebrating the inclusion of the Smithsonian Women’s History Museum Act in the House’s latest omnibus package.
In 2016, a bipartisan Congressional Commission issued a report regarding the creation of a women’s museum in Washington, D.C. The report concluded that Americans both need and deserve such a museum; in response, Maloney introduced the Smithsonian Women’s History Museum Act, H.R. 1980, to the 116th Congress.
“Building a Smithsonian Women’s History Museum, a testament to the women who helped build and shape this nation, has been years in the making and I am thrilled that we are finally set to pass this historic legislation,” said Maloney. “For too long, women’s stories have been left out of the telling of our nation’s history, but with this vote, we begin to rectify that. Americans of all ages deserve to see the remarkable women who helped shape this nation – seeing role models doing the thing to which we aspire, can change the course of someone’s life. How fitting that we pass this bill as we mark the centennial of the 19th Amendment and in the year in which we elected our first woman vice president.”
