2017 Testimony

The Commissioner and other members of the New York City Commission on Human Rights senior staff periodically testify before the City Council on issues involving the Commission and the NYC Human Rights Law.

November 8, 2017 - Deputy Commissioner Dana Sussman before the City Council Committee on Housing and Buildings
“The Commission opposes these [Intro. 1458 and Intro. 1467] because neither bill confronts or prohibits discriminatory conduct. The Commission’s jurisdiction is exclusively tied to discrimination based on articulated protected categories in the areas of employment, housing, public accommodations, discriminatory harassment, and bias-based profiling by law enforcement.”  Read Full Testimony

October 19, 2017 - Deputy Commissioner Dana Sussman before the City Council Committee on Immigration and the Committee on Housing and Buildings
“The Commission does not regularly appear before these Committees, but we are happy to testify here today with our partners at the Mayor’s Office for Immigrant Affairs (MOIA) and other city agencies, to discuss the work the Commission is doing to address discrimination in housing, and specifically with respect to housing discrimination on the basis of immigration status and national origin.”  Read Full Testimony

September 28, 2017 - Chief of Staff Lauren Elfant before the City Council Committee on Civil Rights
“As we have all seen and heard, over the past year, bias-motivated harassment, discrimination, and violence is on the rise, fueled by divisive, xenophobic rhetoric and policies from this country’s top leadership. Alongside our sister agencies and elected officials committed to supporting communities targeted by this hateful conduct, the Commission has increased its outreach efforts, strengthened engagement and collaboration with community partners and faith leaders, and promoted unequivocal messages of support.”  Read Full Testimony

June 19, 2017 - Commissioner Carmelyn P. Malalis before the City Council Committee on Civil Rights
“I am happy to be here today to talk about updating the definitions of “sexual orientation” and “gender” under the New York City Human Rights Law to ensure that the law’s coverage for these two protected categories are broad and inclusive.”  Read Full Testimony

April 26, 2017 - Commissioner Carmelyn P. Malalis before the City Council Committee on Civil Rights and Committee on Veterans
“The Commission does not regularly appear before the Committee on Veterans, but we are happy to be here today with our partners at the Department of Veterans’ Services, and my colleague Commissioner Loree Sutton, to discuss Int. No. 1259, an important bill that will create anti-discrimination protections on the basis of “uniformed service” status in the City Human Rights Law.”  Read Full Testimony

March 22, 2017 - Commissioner Carmelyn P. Malalis before the City Council Committee on Civil Rights
“Just last month, I celebrated my two-year anniversary as Commissioner and Chair of the Commission, and I am incredibly proud of what our team has accomplished in this short period. In preparation for today’s hearing, I took the opportunity to reflect on the work of the agency in this last calendar year, and can say that 2016 was nothing short of a transformational year for the agency.”  Read Full Testimony