About

Launched in October 2023, the NYC Mayor's Office of Equity and Racial Justice (MOERJ) is the City's centralized equity office that takes an intersectional approach to advancing change across our city. This new body expands on the city's extensive equity efforts and fulfills the promise made in November 2022, when New York City residents voted in favor of an office dedicated to racial equity.

MOERJ continues the innovative work of the NYC Mayor's Office of Equity while playing an integral role in the city's new racial equity planning process. This newly enshrined office includes NYC Her Future (NHF), the NYC Commission on Gender Equity (CGE), the NYC Unity Project (UP), and the NYC Young Men's Initiative (YMI) as well as multi-agency bodies like the NYC Pay Equity Cabinet (PEC) and the NYC Taskforce on Racial Inclusion & Equity (TRIE). Together, this body of offices and commissions engage New York City's diverse communities and constituencies to advance equity and create transformative change to promote racial justice within New York City.

MOERJ is kicking off our city's first-ever citywide racial equity planning process, resulting in New York City's Citywide Racial Equity Plan. This plan will provide a roadmap for the city to address systemic inequities through concrete goals, strategies, and structural reforms. As a part of the planning process, MOERJ will work across city agencies and systems to set goals, measure progress, and make ongoing improvements to reduce to end racial disparities and advance equity for our city. Our office will work closely with the new Commission on Racial Equity (CORE), an independent commission charged with engaging New Yorkers, to ensure community voice helps shape the city's plan.

MOERJ is additionally developing the city's first New York City (NYC) True Cost of Living (TCOL) measure. This new measure will focus on what it costs to live in NYC with dignity, without consideration of public, private, or informal assistance. Given rising costs, pay inequities, and a persistent racial wealth gap, NYC's official TCOL measure can help inform local and national policy priorities. Our office is taking the necessary steps to carefully develop the measure, including leveraging local and national research, to best represent costs across various household sizes, age groups, and essential areas of need.

The city is committed to implementing the racial justice charter amendments thoughtfully and in the spirit of what New Yorkers voted for. Below is the adjusted delivery timeline to ensure the city delivers a strong, transformative, and sustainable Citywide Racial Equity Plan and TCOL.

• January-February 2024: Updated timeline published, and preparations made to kick off racial equity planning process.
• March-May 2024: Planning process kicks off and drafting of agency plans underway.
• June-Aug 2024: Draft plans reviewed, and Citywide Racial Equity Plan prepared.
• September-October 2024: Preliminary Citywide Racial Equity Plan released and reviewed.
• November 2024: Final Citywide Racial Equity Plan published.
• December 2024: Preliminary TCOL measure and methodology published.
• March 2025: Final TCOL measure published.