Transcript: Mayor de Blasio Signs Intros. 1068-A, 554-A, 993-A, and 815-B

April 6, 2016

Mayor Bill de Blasio: Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome. Our first bill today is important for the health of our baseball players, who are important to all of us, but also important to the health of our City as a whole. And I say that as an absolutely rabid baseball fan. I love the sport. I think it’s a beautiful thing, but I think people need to be healthy. And I think athletes are role models, especially for young people, and this is why this legislation is so important. Intro. 1068-A prohibits the use of smokeless tobacco at sports arenas and in recreational areas that issue tickets. The sponsor is Councilmember Corey Johnson. 

Many people think that smokeless tobacco is harmless. They see athlete using it. They think there’s no consequence. Well, unfortunately that’s not true. There’s very real danger in tobacco in any form. It is fundamentally dangerous. Smokeless tobacco is linked to serious negative health outcomes, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, and gum disease. And because young people do pay attention to their role models, unfortunately, what’s happened up to now is young people watch something dangerous happening and think it’s something to emulate, in fact. We don’t want our young people to think smokeless tobacco is a cool thing. And unless we do something about it, there’s way too many examples for them to be influenced by. Estimates are that up to 30 percent of Major League Baseball players use smokeless tobacco, even in the year 2016. 

New York City has long been a leader in reducing tobacco use. We already have a smoking ban in our bars, in our restaurants, in theaters, public transit, sports arenas, and some other key public areas. And just last week, our Department of Health and Mental Hygiene launched their new Quitting is Hard, Cancer is Harder campaign, and they’re giving away quick-kits to those who needs them. And I want to urge everyone who wants to get one of these kits, or wants to get information on how to quit smoking to call 3-1-1 so we can make that available to you. 

This bill is the next step in our efforts. It expands the Smoke-Free Air Act to ensure smokeless tobacco is prohibited in some of the places we see it the most. And with this bill, I’m looking forward to seeing healthier players, healthier fans, and a healthier City for us all.

I want to thank Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, and then I’d like to introduce our Department of Health Commissioner Dr. Mary Bassett. 

[…]

Mayor: Let’s sign the bill.

[Mayor de Blasio signs Intro. 1068-A]

Mayor: Next, we have two bills to help support some of our most vulnerable young people. Intro. 554-A requires the City to appoint a training coordinator who will ensure that agency employees who work with children are trained on the best practices for identifying runaway, homeless, or sexually exploited youth – and train to connect those youth to important social services. These training platforms will be obtained from expert government and nonprofit agencies, and made available to agency employees. The sponsor is Councilmember Mathieu Eugene.

Intro. 993-A amends the date that the Administration for Children’s Services and the Department for Youth and Community Development annually submit their report on the number of sexually exploited youth each agency has worked with. Sponsor is Councilmember Steve Levin.

Runaway, homeless, and sexually exploited youth are among our city’s most vulnerable people. It’s critical that we provide them with the services they need, whether it’s getting back home, finding a new home, or providing these youth with emotional or medical support. The coordinator will oversee the development of training tailored to the four agencies who interact the most with our vulnerable youth – Administration for Children’s Services, Department for Homeless Services, HRA, and Parks Department. This will ensure our city workers can make the greatest difference in the lives of our most vulnerable children.

I want to thank Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, ACS Commissioner Gladys Carrion, DYCD Commissioner Bill Chong, DCAS Commissioner Lissette Camillo, Councilmember Steve Levin – again, sponsor of Intro. 993-A.

And now I want to introduce Councilmember Mathieu Eugene, sponsor of Intro-554-A and chair of the Committee on Youth Services.

[…]

Okay, let’s now sign the legislation.

[Mayor de Blasio signs Intros. 993-A and 554-A]

This bill is now law.

[Applause]

Mayor: A whole lot of democracy going on. Alright. Here we go – lastly, we have Intro 815-B, which expands the right to truthful information under the New York City Human Rights Law. The sponsor is Councilmember Brad Lander.

Our City is fortunate to have many employers, and landlords, and managers who act fairly and honestly, but, unfortunately, there are still bad actors who discriminate, who withhold an apartment, a job, or access to a public place based on gender, race, disability, or any other protected category. In these cases, these bad actors often lie or misrepresent the facts, saying, for example, an apartment is not available when they really just want to rent it to someone else. That goes against our values as New Yorkers. Our belief is that this is a city for everyone and everyone should be equally respected. 

And this bill does three important things to combat discrimination. One, it makes it unlawful for a person or an entity to represent to protected persons that an employment opportunity, or housing, or a public accommodation is unavailable when it is in fact available. Two, the bill empowers employers to pursue a cause of action when their employees experience discriminatory conduct while doing their job. And three, the bill strengthens the ability of organizations to use testers to root out discrimination. 

Now, this is not an abstract problem, it’s very real. The New York Times reported last Sunday that when researchers sent young white people and black people with the same exact resumes to interview for jobs in New York City, the white candidates were twice as likely to get call-backs. Moreover, a black applicant with no criminal record did no better than a white applicant with a record that showed they were just released from 18 months in prison – that speaks volumes. And this bill gives us greater power to hold accountable those who discriminate. 

I want to thank Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito. And now, I want to introduce the Chair of the Human Rights Commission Carmelyn Malalis.

[…]

Mayor: I’d just like to say a few words in Spanish before we sign the bill.

[Mayor de Blasio speaks in Spanish]

With that, let’s sign this legislation.

[Mayor de Blasio signs Intro 815-B]

Thank you, everyone.