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Transcript: Mayor de Blasio Signs Intros. 1122-A, 1123-A and 1128-A

July 13, 2016

Mayor Bill de Blasio: Mayelin, well done. Well done. Mayelin that was very impressive, and your poise and the clarity of your message is really something we should all admire. Let’s give her another round of applause.

[Applause]

She’s very involved in the school and the community, and it shows. And she spoke from the heart about her own experience. When you hear it broken down as simply as that, she really says it all. This is just the right thing to do. It’s common sense. And I really want to thank you for speaking for young women all over this city and giving voice to something that was being swept under the rug for all sorts of societal reasons, but had to be addressed. Thank you, thank you very much.

It’s great to be here at the High School for Violin and Dance here in the Bronx. A building with an extraordinary chapter – excuse me, extraordinary history to which we’re adding a new chapter. Here is the place we choose to announce this great advance for our city. And here, starting this new school year in September, students will be able to find free feminine hygiene products in the bathrooms throughout their schools. What was not true in June will be true in September. That’s how quickly this is going to change. It’s part of a wave of change across our school system in every neighborhood. And it comes down to the larger discussion we’ve been having in this city about equality and about fairness for all New Yorkers. We talk about it in terms of housing. We talk about it in terms of public safety. Well here’s another way – a very fundamental way to ensure equality and fairness. Too often in the past, instead of having the conversation, we let the stigmas and the taboos that pervade our society rule out even an honest discourse about what our young women go through and what they need. Mayelin said it so simply – it’s a natural part of humanity, and yet somehow we didn’t want to talk about it.

I am reminded of the fact that when I first raised this issue to my wife Chirlane she instantly said this was another taboo that had to be struck down and was holding us back. Women deserve to live and work and learn in dignity, in health, and in comfort. It means acknowledging a basic fact that tampons and pads are not luxuries. They’re necessities. They’re fundamental to the well-being of all women and well-being of transgender, intersex and gender non-conforming individuals as well. For many, for too many, feminine hygiene products are a financial burden. And going without them can be painful and embarrassing in so many ways. Today, we act to change that status quo that has pervaded for so long. We make feminine hygiene products easier to get and easier to talk about openly. We’ll require tampons and pads to be available for the communities that need them the most, for students who end up missing classes because of inadequate resources; for those in shelters who are simply trying to get back on their feet and don’t have money for even the most fundamental necessities; for incarcerated women who need these products to be available.

The bills that we’ll be singing today – Intro. 1128-A – requires the Department of Education to make feminine hygiene products to be available in school bathrooms at no cost to students. The sponsors are Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and Councilmember Julissa Ferreras-Copeland. This will apply to all Department of Education operated school facilities where there are 6th grade through 12th grade girls all over the city. Intro 1123-A requires DCAS to make feminine hygiene products available to agencies that operate or oversee temporary shelters. That includes all DHS and HRA shelters. It also requires DCAS to provide these products to ACS for its mature detention and congregant care facility. Sponsors are Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and Councilmember Steve Levin. Finally, Intro 1122-A codifies existing practices at the Department of Corrections by ensuring that all female inmates have access to feminine hygiene products. The sponsors are Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and Councilmember Julissa Ferreras-Copeland.

This will make our city safer, fairer, healthier. It’s as simple as that. And I want to thank so many people who participated in this effort and with such energy because they knew this is something that had to get done. I want to thank the Chancellor of DOE Carmen Farina; the Commissioner of Corrections Joe Ponte; our ACS Commissioner Gladys Carrion; our Commissioner for Social Services Steve Banks; our DCAS Commissioner Lisette Camilo; the Director of the Commission on Gender Equity Azi Khalili; Councilmember Laurie Cumbo, the Chair of the Committee on Women’s Issues and Co-chair of the Women’s Caucus on the City Council; Councilmember Helen Rosenthal, also Co-chair of the Women’s Caucus. All of them played an active role in getting us to this day.

I’d like to acknowledge as well from the DOE, the folks who are actually going to make this work in our schools, Senior Deputy Chancellor Dorita Gibson, and Chief of Staff of Division of Operations, Aloysee Jarmoszuk. I hope I said that right. Also a thank you – you’re going to hear from some of our colleagues – but I also want to thank the Assemblymember who represents this district and with whom we work on so many important issues here and in Albany, Assemblymember Michael Blake. Thank you for being here.

It’s now my pleasure to give credit where credit is due. This is an initiative that was a focus of the City Council, of the Speaker, and of Councilmember Ferreras-Copeland. They recognized the need. They took the initiative. And they made very, very sure this would happen well, and this would happen quickly. This is a day they really have given us a great example of what government can and should do for our people. By the way, they’re getting a lot of attention and they both deserve it – nationally – because this is something that New York City’s acting is going to help a lot of other cities and towns around this country to act as well. I just want to express my great appreciation and admiration to both, and first let’s hear from Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito.

[…]

Mayor de Blasio: I remember very vividly the first conversation I had with Councilmember Julissa Ferreras-Copeland on this topic. She was forceful and direct, and she made very clear what a passion it was for her, and I obviously knew the Speaker shared the same view that this was something long overdue. It sort of had an immediate ring of truth, amplified by the vehemence of her presentation. So I went home that same night. I consulted with my most trusted advisor. I don’t remember the exact phrase Chirlane used, but it was something like “Yeah you should do that right now,” and here we are. So it’s a day that really is an example of what effective and assertive public servants are able to do. So I welcome Councilmember Julissa Ferreras-Copeland.

[…]

Mayor de Blasio: I’m going to say a few words in Spanish. We’re then going to then gather around the sign the bill. I’m going to come up here and take questions on this topic, and then we’re going to take questions on other topics. But I just was struck by a sort of personal moment of observation I wanted to share. I live in a home with three other feminists, and I appreciate what Julissa said, and there’s no question about my wife’s feminism, my daughter’s feminism, nor Dante’s. Early on in his education he started reading bell hooks and was a true believer. But I also just have to say there have been some days along the way when I really wish my mother Maria were here. This would be one of those days that she would’ve felt so much about because she was a child of Southern Italian immigrants brought up in a very traditional culture. And she went off the Smith College, and she came back to New York City from Smith College at the end of the 1930s, and she heard about something called the Margaret Sanger Clinic. Even though there were a lot of voices and taboos and things that might’ve told her not to go, she thought it was important she get the healthcare she deserved, and that she do it her own way. She went to the Margaret Sanger Clinic and it allowed her to live her life the way she saw fit. I want you guys to know that when you brought forward this excellent initiative, I think my mother’s teachings helped me to understand why it was important to signs these bills. So thank you.

[Mayor speaks Spanish]

With that, we will now sign the bill.

[…]

Mayor: Okay. Let’s get everybody set here. We’re going to go on now with the remainder of the press conference. Everybody ready? Okay, on this topic first – any questions on the legislation that we signed here today?

Questions? Yes.

Question: In jail, the legislation says that the tampons and maxi-pads have to be available as soon as practicable. What does that mean in actual human words?

[Laughter]

Mayor: I use that phrase often when talking to people in the government. Who are you pointing to JP? Oh, I’m sorry, come on over.

And please introduce yourself for everyone.

Department of Corrections First Deputy Commissioner, Dina Simon: Hi, Dina Simon, First Deputy Commissioner. Currently, all female inmates in our custody are housed in our Rose M. Singer Center, and they’re provided with sanitary napkins and tampons – each housing area – provided on a weekly basis, and they get as needed free of charge.

Question: That’s now or –

First Deputy Commissioner Simon: It’s now. This is mandated by the State Commission of Correction.

Question: So, what’s going to be changing?

First Deputy Commissioner Simon: Brand-name items they can get through commissary. I don’t know if this bill is for brand-name items. If it is, then they will get it.

Question: So, meaning they won’t have to pay for it?

First Deputy Commissioner Simon: They don’t pay for it now. It’s provided now – non brand-name items.

Mayor: Let Julissa jump in too.

Councilmember Julissa Ferreras-Copeland: So, I’m going to speak from the experience of the roundtable. While there is access is to it, what we found is that often times there was certain – the number wasn’t the same. You had to go to the warden. People were told, well we don’t have them available now or –

Mayor: Explain what the roundtable was –

Councilmember Ferreras-Copeland: Oh, the roundtable is – we brought all the advocates that dealt with women on different levels. And we have the Women in Prison representative at the table. So, this now codifies that this must be made available, and that no longer, if women need extra, they have to go to the commissary. Now, they’re able to get this at request, regardless of flow. You know, I didn’t think I’d ever behind your seal talking about flow but yes –

[Laughter]

Flow, or how many days they have to be readily available. So, it’s to codify what – while there is a policy, it necessarily was not, necessarily, adhered to in the way that it will now be.

Question: So, a woman who has a period, she says, “I need this product. I need a tampon. I need a maxi pad.” The warden, the staff has to give it to them?

Councilmember Ferreras-Copeland: Right. And, you know, we asked about dispensers but the dispenser became more complicated. So, now all they have to do is ask. It’s given, and that’s it. And they can ask for however many they need.

Question: And if they’re refused it, what recourse –

Councilmember Ferreras-Copeland: They can’t be refused it. So, now, you know, it’s your job to make sure they know. Thanks.

Mayor: Okay, who else? Mara.

Question: Is there – do you guys know what kind of tampons you guys will be providing and have you considered using organic, considering that some studies have shown that –

Mayor: I just want to let you know – just stop you right there – that the ever-difficult Julissa said, the “free kind.” That was her question. So, go ahead. I think she’s really on message today.

Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito: There is –

Mayor: Come on up.

Speaker Mark-Viverito: There is a dispensary right here in the restroom. You can check it out. I mean, there’s Tampax and the maxi-pad. So, that’s what’s in – right, here we go. The Tampax – the standard real one that a lot of us use. But at least the dispensers, at least in the DOE are going to be that. You know, so the Maxi pads – and then pads are I think are maxi-pads goes in the dispenser. Yes, Tampax and maxi-pads.

Mayor: As Julissa – also now wearing her finance chair hat – said, there’s going to be a procurement process. So, obviously we want to get high-quality products but we’re also going to be buying a very large quantity. We want to get the best price for the taxpayer.

Question: I have a question with the – how to [inaudible]? Did the nurse have this available when you go to the nurse? And is it now –

Mayor: Okay, Dorita – Deputy Chancellor Dorita Gibson. Come on up.

Department of Education Deputy Chancellor Dorita Gibson: Hi, good afternoon. Yes, we’ve had them in schools but typically in the past students used to either have to go to either the gym teacher or the nurse. This is very freeing that a young lady can go into a restroom, and just get her own tampon or pad. So, it’s very different now. So, it’s liberating.

Speaker Mark-Viverito: Yes, and empowering.

Deputy Chancellor Gibson: And empowering.

Question: Is it the same thing in shelters?

Deputy Chancellor Gibson: And the same thing for shelters.

Mayor: Any other questions on this topic. On this topic? Rich.

Question: Well, I don’t know a lot about this but –

[Laughter]

I’ve been told that there are organic products that may avoid – there are some studies, apparently, that show that non-organic products can reduce infertility. I don’t know whether that’s something you have –

Unknown: [Inaudible]

Question: I’ve been told that there are two studies that say that non-organic products such as these can produce infertility. I don’t know whether you heard of those studies, looked at them – whether an organic product [inaudible].

Councilmember Ferreras-Copeland: So, I – you know, I think that the Mayor’s Office has a procurement process, and all those things would be considered. But the reality is that when I speak to young girls, homeless women, and advocates in prisons that wasn’t the first thing that came to mind. You know, no one was advocating for the organic versus non-organic. This is something that we have to respond to immediately, and whatever the product is, it is going to make women feel amazing about themselves and empowered. And when we talk about going to the nurse’s office – it’s really, the only time young girls were able to go to the nurse’s office is often between classes. Some of these high schools have 5,000 students and one nurse. So, young girls had to wait in line. So, at the moment, when you don’t have a product, often times women aren’t thinking organic versus commercial. So, I think that whatever these dispensers will have, as long as they’re safe and quality products that these young girls will be proud of.

Mayor: Azi.

Commission on Gender Equity Executive Director, Azi Khalili: Good afternoon, I’m Azi Khalili from the Commission on Gender Equity. Women’s health matters, and we will be working with DCAS and the Mayor’s Office on Procurement on making sure that the products that will be purchased in the future will help women to remain healthy – and we’re committed to that. Thank you.

Mayor: Any other questions on this topic? Yes.

Question: Is this – do you think that this is sufficient in terms of providing free tampon and maxi-pad access or are you thinking it should be expanded to other City-owned facilities? Is there any talk about that?

Mayor: I think this is – I’ll start and obviously my colleagues will add – I think this is where the need was greatest. I think there is where we heard the most concerns from advocates for women, and particularly young women. And so, I think this gets to the heart of the challenge.

Speaker Mark-Viverito: But I think like with any legislation, right, once you go through the implementation of any law, you come across where there are challenges or ways that you can improve. So, obviously we want – we would love to be able to do this universally but we have to analyze it as we implement it, and roll it out in these different City agencies. And also, the issue that we really want to see – the state is also making this is a tax-exempt product. We don’t have to pay sales tax on it. That’s critical to also provide accessibility, right, for lower-income women or in general. It’s just not a luxury item. But as we roll out this legislation with the City agencies that have been identified, we can figure out whether or not there’s ways we can expand it or even improve it in the way we’re implementing it in the existing City agencies that we’re working with.

Councilmember Ferreras-Copeland: I just wanted to add that while we were beginning this process – there’s very little data on this. So, even for me to be able to say that we needed it, I had to go and speak to the young girls, and I had to get the stories, and understand that. I mean, I have my own experience but I needed to get all the voices. So, for the first time we will be collecting data that will then help us if we need to expand this legislation in the future – it will give us the tools necessary. But this is the first step in just getting information and how this will change young girls’ and women’s lives.

Mayor: Last call on this topic. Any other questions on this topic? Yes.

Question: Did you select the students who were behind you guys? And were the male students there for support? What was the reason for –

Mayor: Well, I don’t know who the expert on the student selection was. Do you want to speak to this?

Councilmember Ferreras-Copeland: Student selection list – so, I know that some of the young people were participants for the Summer Youth Employment Program. Some of them participated at the round table. Yes, the young men – in one of the round tables that we had with the young girls – I had another one at the High School of Arts and Business – and the young men were part of that conversation, and they said, we want our friends – our female friends – to have everything they need because when they go to the bathroom, they have absolutely they need, so the girls should too. So, the young men have really been a part of this conversation, and I’m just very proud of them equally.

Question: [Inaudible] spoke to just the Mayor –

Councilmember Ferreras-Copeland: That was – she attends this high school.

Mayor: She is a leader in the school community, and obviously had something to say, and I thought her remarks were extraordinary.

Okay, last call. Anything else on this topic? Okay, other topics? Yes.

Question: Question is for the Speaker – considering that the Right to Know Act and bills are very high profile, controversial – the mothers of Eric Garner and Ramarley Graham are protesting on the City Hall steps right now – why finalize and announce this deal without the sponsors’ support? And why do the deliberations on the bill without them present last Thursday in the middle of summer in a meeting with very few people?

Speaker Mark-Viverito: Let me be clear – I’m extremely transparent and responsible to my members. The sponsors of the bills have been consistently engaged anytime we’ve had a conversation with the administration. Anytime that we’ve talked about the bill, they have been informed and they have been part of that conversation. We have facilitated meetings between the sponsors of the bills and representatives of the administration. The sponsors of the bill asked me to meet with the advocates last week, understanding that I was going to have that conversation and explain to them that we had arrived at some level of agreement with the admin on things that they would do willingly, on their own. I felt that it was important – that instead of my members hearing about that conversation through the media – that I had a responsibility to have a conversation with them in democratic conference and let them know what the conversation was with the advocates. If members chose to then engage the media and share private conversations, it forced a situation where I had to go public with what it was that we were engaged in. The sponsors were aware – they may not agree. They may want to be codified. They may want legislation. But they were fully aware of the conversations that had been had and the administration’s willingness of what they were willing to do.

So we are at a point now where yes, I understand there’s disappointment. I understand that they are people protesting on the steps – I hear that. We’ve clearly said that legislation is not off the table. The door’s not closed to legislation. But there is a partnership and a willingness with the NYPD to start embracing these changes right now. We’re going to see changes to the Patrol Guide. We’re going to see changes to training. There’s a commitment that within the next nine months, every single officer will be trained on these new policies and procedures. That is very explicit. It’s very clear. It’s very quick. There are concerns that the legislation may have been challenged. Any challenge to any law puts a hold on the implementation of that law. This is going into effect right away. Changes are being done right away. We’re moving the needle in the spirit of collaboration and cooperation. And I don’t try to operate from a perspective of deficit. I try to operate from a perspective of collaboration and operating in good faith. And so I believe that we’re going to move forward on this. I know that many of my colleagues are also supportive of this measure. And I’m proud of what we’re achieving today. And I’m proud of having the support of the Mayor on this.

Mayor: Excuse me, one second. Hold on.

I want to commend the City Council. They wanted to see changes, and they’ve achieved those changes. That is the bottom line here. They raised a series of concerns. There was an extraordinarily thoughtful and detailed conversation between the Council, the Mayor’s Office, and the Police Department that is resulting in immediate and extensive changes. That’s what the City Council set out to achieve and they have achieved it. Speaker made a crucial point – these changes will happen now. They will happen with a spirit of unity amongst all of us and purposefulness. And they will not be subject to any kind of legal challenge. To me, those are the best kind of changes. So the goal here was to change the relationship between police and community for the better. And respect our people while keeping us safe. And I think the actions of the City Council will help us to do that. Go ahead.

Question: Yes – little follow up. Did you know, Speaker, the fact that the sponsors didn’t back the outcome? And you also said the door was open – does that mean you still could schedule Right to Know for a vote at a later date?

Speaker Mark-Viverito: We are, in the spirit of collaboration – the Commissioner has been very clear about the things that he would implement right away. I had a conversation with the Commissioner today. I told him that obviously my interest is to see that happen immediately, as discussed. We will monitor the progress of implementation, monitor the progress of how quickly the officers are being trained – whether or not they’re trained in that nine-month window and see the implementation on the ground. There’s real literal and there’s real changes that we’re going to feel on the ground with this training and with these policy changes. So we’re going to keep all of that in check. We’re going to have oversight hearings as we do with anything. We’re going to monitor the progress. And so that’s how we’re going to proceed on this issue. And again, as I indicated, we’ll measure it once – once it’s implemented and see if we’re heading in the direction that we had originally intended. And again, the legislation is not off the table for me. But it’s not something we’re going to look at immediately.

Mayor: Marcia?

Question: Mr. Mayor –

Mayor: Wait, no. I had Marcia first.

Question: Mr. Mayor – a K2 question please.

Mayor: Yes.

Question: I know that yesterday there was a neighborhood that was beset with a number of people who were [inaudible] was an overdose. A mile or so from here is another neighborhood – at Lewis Avenue and 149th Street – where when we arrived, there was an ambulance taking away a person who had ODed on K2. People were on the street, strung out on K2 – easy to buy. [Inaudible] businessmen really upset – trying to sign petitions. Their question to you and I guess in other neighborhoods as well – what can you do with what seems to be a very pressing problem [inaudible]?

Mayor: We can do a lot. And I’m very concerned about this. And we’re acting on it immediately. First of all, we had a huge problem, as you know, last year in the Speaker’s district – and she’ll speak to that in a moment. And to the great credit of the Speaker, she asked us to focus all of the resources of government to break the back of that problem – not just the NYPD, but other agencies as well because the problem is there are some stores that sell this drug and make it available, especially to our young people. And we have very powerful enforcement tools to stop that. We used those tools in East Harlem, and we had a situation that was very troubling and turned it around substantially because we really cracked down on these individuals – and I think they’re heinous individuals – who were selling young people this product behind the cover of what we thought was a legitimate store. So any place that we find this happening, we now have – and thanks to the City Council’s efforts – legislatively as well – we have stronger laws, better tools. And we will throw the book at anyone selling K2. NYPD is very focused on it. I talked to the leadership in Brooklyn from the neighborhood that was affected. You’re going to be seeing very rigorous enforcement, and very quickly.

On the bigger front, I think we not only need to go at the stores that sell it. We not only need to do the kind of aggressive police actions we do to disrupt any kind of drugs – we need to educate our young people and our communities about the dangers of K2. What I understand from the NYPD is this a very particular strain. As you know, there’s lots and lots of forms of K2. There’s lots of mixtures. This one was a very bad and dangerous one that people didn’t know before and were trying, and it had really horrible effects. We’ve got to help our young people understand – this is not like other drugs. All drugs should be approached with great suspicion. But this one changes all the time – in some ways, in very, very dangerous ways. So I want to particularly urge parents – talk to your young people. All young people may think they know what they are encountering. But with K2, you literally may find something very different tomorrow than what you saw today.

Question: [Inaudible] talk about what you’ve talked to the people [inaudible]

Mayor: Let me just have the Speaker speak to it, and then I’ll come back.

Speaker Mark-Viverito: Now as the Mayor talked about – and he was very hands-on when we had this problem on 125th Street in my district. And we really did an all-hands on deck moment – right, not just – it was not just an NYPD issue – it became a Department of Health issue; it became a Department of Consumer Affairs issue. So we created a task force and a working group where we aggressively focused on that area. And we were able to bring down the levels of hospitalization – emergency room visits – based on K2 use substantially – quite incredibly. So we are trying to now – we reached out to Council Members Cornegy and Espinal in Brooklyn. We’re starting to do that today as well – [inaudible] handing out flyers; starting to create a working group with the administration; task force – similar to what we did in East Harlem. And we’ll look to do that on 149th Street as well. So we’re going to keep that model that worked. We want to see it replicated. But we have now changed the laws – being that the NYPD has been great in really cracking down on businesses and seizing the product. And we have to raise the level of awareness in our communities. We did a PSA campaign, which we may have to do again. But the PSA campaign raised a lot of visibility and awareness. So those are the measures that we got to – we got to keep implementing. They worked. We got to make sure we’re getting it to other parts of the city as well.

Question: [Inaudible] on the way for that neighborhood in Brooklyn –

Mayor: Yes.

Question: Is help on the way for Willis Avenue and 149th –

Mayor: Help’s on the way, Marcia. There’s no question.

Question: They call it K2 Alley.

Mayor: Yes – help is on the way. And again we proved in East Harlem, we can break the back of the problem. We can go after the bad actors who are selling this very dangerous drug. We’re going to get them. We’re going to shut down any stores that are doing this. I want all the store owners to understand – the bodega owners – that if you’re selling this drug, we have the ability to shut your store down. We will literally take away your livelihood. So I hope that is a clear enough warning. And yes, help is on the way to any neighborhood afflicted.

Erin?

Question: Going back to the Right to Know Act – when you were public advocate, [inaudible] favor of the Community Safety Act – you said that those bills deserved a vote on the floor of the Council regardless of the position of the Speaker at the time, Christine Quinn. Do you still have that position – 

Mayor: Very different reality. I appreciate your sense of research, but that was many years ago and a very different reality. Where, as you know, the then-current mayor was resisting and the current police commissioner of that time – Mayor Bloomberg and Commissioner Kelly – were resisting any number of changes. They resisted what we were trying to do in terms of police inspector general. They resisted changes in stop-and-frisk. They resisted limitations on profiling. I mean that’s an entirely different time. The City Council did what a legislative body always has the option to do – they said we have legislation; we want to know if you can act on this issue in any way that would achieve the same goals as effectively or more effectively. We went through a detailed process – Commissioner Bratton was deeply involved, I was deeply involved. And I think we’ve answered the question yes – we’re going to address the very concerns the City Council had right now in a tangible way that will improve lives in our communities. That – it’s as simple as that. So I think the Council used all of its tools here to achieve the change they set out to achieve. In the back?

Question: Following up on that question – what critics may say on the way it is now – it will be a Departmental charge and not necessarily a criminal charge. And the Handbook – the Officer’s Handbook can be rewritten and this can be taken out – the way it stands now – so?

Mayor: I’m just going to start, and then see if the Speaker wants to add. The – I don’t follow that logic. We have – if and I suppose, for example, if you’re talking about the chokehold dynamic – that’s one that’s been on the books of the city – of the Police Department for years. It’s quite clear. It’s quite rigorous. There are so many other things now that will codified in the Police Manual and be very, very specific. And there’s real consequences for them. So the question is – what achieves change? This is – this is the essence of what we’re doing here. Speaker and I have spent a lot of time talking about how we actually change things – what’s going to create meaningful, and deep, and lasting change. And you have to look at that with your ideals and also with a practical eye to what’s going to work. And I think what we’ve achieved here is something that will work for the long haul – that changes in the Police Department now are rapid and extraordinary. The retraining of all the officers, the neighborhood policing program, the de-escalation techniques that are being taught, the implicit bias training – all of this is happening at once. And because of the Council now, there’s going to be a whole new way to approach a number of these situations. That’s how you effectively make change. Yes?

Question: On policing – related to policing. The PBA seems to be publicly sort of running their PR campaign against you in contract negotiations by painting a city that’s slipping in terms of safety and morale being low among officers. Your having a press conference the other day where crime is at all-time lows and numbers are great – how do explain that campaign? And does it make sense to you that the PBA would do a PR campaign against you that doesn’t promote the fact there officers are doing so [inaudible]?

Mayor: No, it doesn’t. It does not at all. I would think that any union would want to celebrate the good work of their members.Members of the NYPD are doing extraordinary work right now – record lows in crime. I was so proud to be there earlier in the week because Commissioner Bratton, Chief O’Neill, all of the leadership team – but most importantly the men and women of the NYPD work so hard to achieve these changes and these numbers are unbelievable. And they should be celebrated. They should be thanked. So the notion of their own union denigrating what they’ve achieved makes no sense to me and it’s not the way to achieve anything in contract negotiations. How did we get to well over 90 percent of our workforce under contract and all – all of our uniform services unions under contract except the PBA. Everyone else wanted to have a productive dialogue and resolve outstanding issues – how we get to the progress on disability with sanitation, with corrections, with firefighters? Productive, respectful dialogue. We’ve made a lot of changes that those unions needed for their members. The only one that stands a part consistently is the PBA and I don’t that’s helping their members to get the things that they need.

I’m not inside anyone else’s head. I think it is a counterproductive strategy. It certainly has not changed the way we comport ourselves. We work with people who want to work with us productively.

Question: You said several weeks ago now that you and your administration would be producing a list of some kind of donors to Campaign for One New York who didn’t get what they wanted. Are you still intending to [inaudible] that?

Mayor: All in good time—

Question: When is that?

Mayor: It just means all in good time. And we’re ready. There is a variety of things happening and there is a implicit sequencing to them. You saw obviously we were very proud to talk about the reforms we’ve made in terms of the deep process that we laid out last week. We’re looking forward to working with the City Council on the legislative elements that will be needed in that. There are other elements going on, other investigations that will issue their findings so at the appropriate time we will go ahead with that.

Question: Two part question about policing: you said that the videos of police-involved shootings in Louisiana and in Minnesota deeply affected you. Did you watch the most recent video of Delrawn Small?

Mayor: Yes.

Question: And, what are your thoughts on that?

Mayor: It’s very disturbing although it’s hard to make out exactly what happened obviously and we have to hear from the Attorney General, what his investigation reveals. On its face, it’s disturbing. But it’s not a complete picture so I can’t fully conjecture obviously.

Question: Follow up – have you spoken with Attorney General Lynch about the investigation into Eric Garner?

Mayor: Yes.

Question: Can you give us any clarity on this back and forth between the Eastern District view and then Washington’s view?       

Mayor: In answer to the first question – have I spoken to Attorney General Lynch? Yes. I spoke to her earlier today. In answer to the second question, no I am not going to comment on or try to analyze the different views of different people within the Justice Department because I don’t know what those discussions have been. What I can say is there is a tremendous level of focus at the Justice Department on the Garner case and a very thorough effort being made and a very extensive effort being made to review all the facts and leave no stone unturned. I am convinced of that from a detailed conversation with the Attorney General this morning. But I would say in terms of any details you should ask the Attorney General in her office.

Question: Did she give you any timeline?

Mayor: Again that’s not an appropriate matter for me to speak to. That’s about how the justice department has to do their work. I am convinced it’s very thorough and they’re very focused but you’ll have to ask them to address any timeline issues.

Question: Mr. Mayor you just signed legislation directing the Correction Department to do something that it couldn’t be trusted to do by it’s own rules, which is to give women sanitary napkins, tampons, maxi pads. Now the City Council is going to allow the NYPD to codify its own rules and be trusted to do something. So why is what’s good for the goose not good for the gander?

Mayor: They’re very very different realities, they really are. Look, I think in terms of what we did with the Department of Corrections it was to speak to a concern that had come up that was very heartfelt and making that a part of the package sent a message to the Corrections Department that we felt would be helpful. But, in terms of the work that we are doing at the NYPD and I am not for a moment minimizing the importance of what we announced today. But just listen to what we laid out. This has been a year or two of dialogue regarding a department with 36,000 members who interact with essentially every one of the 8.5 million of us throughout the whole year on the most dangerous and sensitive matters. Given the magnitude of that and that we have to balance – and this is where I want to give the speaker tremendous credit – leadership requires strength and patience and the ability to understand there is so many imperatives simultaneously. She is taking responsibility for the safety of the people of New York City by trying to figure out what will actually work in terms of public safety and what will work in terms of civil rights and respectful relationship between police and community. That’s a very, very big complicated equation. So there are apples and oranges but what we’ve done here on the matters of the police community relations is we’ve achieved real changes that are going to be implemented immediately and with energy and focus because everyone was a part of the process. Everyone agreed that the outcome could further our efforts of public safety while improving police-community relations. 

Question: Would Councilman de Blasio have been happy with the Right To Know legislation?

Mayor: I would say the Councilman himself was always focused on practical progressive change. And this is practical progressive change.

Question: What did your thoughts on the Council’s analysis of Donald Trump’s proposals to undocumented immigrants—?

Mayor: I cannot tell a lie, I have not seen the Council’s analysis. I imagine I am quite— kindred, would you like to speak to it?

Speaker Melissa Mark- Viverito: I spoke at [inaudible] this morning and presented that we obviously did an internal analysis with our economists who did incredible research hearing what a presidential candidate was proposing nationally for this country and the impact on New York City being the global city that it is and being the financial market that it is for the world and for the country. It was needed to look at what would be the financial implications of his policies on our city and I think it was the financially responsible thing to do. And as I indicated this morning in the speech and obviously the information will be provided to the Mayor is –it’s devastating. It really is devastating. Not only is it morally reprehensible what he’s proposing but in terms of the financial impact on our City – job losses, economic loss, revenue loss, would be devastating. And I think that putting kind of a monetary figure was really important— visually, what these policies would look like and how horrid they are.

Question: I wonder if you think philosophically about the difference between police working police – community-policing and the accountability measures, what the critics of the death of the Right To Know have said – is that it’s not accountability—

Mayor: Again, I don’t know if you are carrying a particular philosophical brief but I would say – I don’t agree with your terminology and I don’t know why – I am going to try this one again. I don’t know why I feel a certain resistance in your question to this truth. The legislative process –I spent eight years doing it. There is more than one way to win. Sometimes the best way to win is a piece of legislation. Sometimes the process of going through the legislative discussion leads to substantive policy change. If the substantive policy change will achieve your goals, you win. And I think the Speaker laid out that we wanted action now. We wanted it to be something that guaranteed both public safety and fairness, which is a very difficult balance to strike. We wanted to know that it would work on the ground with our officers. We wanted it to be perfectly safe from legal challenge. The Council got what they were seeking and we’re now going to go and implement it. If at any point we think we have to do something more or different we all reserve that right. But the bottom line is— this is the legislative process. This is the way that you achieve your goals in another form.

I think there is always going to be different individuals with different viewpoints and I think the beginning of your question, I appreciate the analytical frame you put that some folks are focused on the positive question of how you build a different kind of policing – different relationship between police and community paradigm shift, culture change. Other folks are focused more on accountability. The accountability discussion is real and it’s not only important substantively. It obviously comes with tremendous emotional meaning because there has been so much pain. Both have to happen and both have to give the public confidence in the rule of law. But the one that will have by far the greater impact is the former not the latter.

The culture change is what affects everyday lives, so for example, I believe in my heart there are people who did not end up in a tragic incident – officers and civilians alike, because of the retraining that has already happened. I believe there have been dangerous moments de-escalated because our officers were taught better how to do that. I believe that the implicit bias training is already helping people to think about that maybe they’re seeing things the wrong way because of what’s around us in our society and to be more careful. I don’t know what that officer in Minnesota got for training but I doubt he got the kind of training that we’re talking about because that’s certainly not how he comported himself by what we saw on that video. So from my point of view this is how you make big structural change.

I will give you a separate but related incident. From time to time, we brought forward people who did heroic things. The officer who was at a shopping mall in Queens and saw a guy about to take his own life and jump –had been trained in the five-day mental health training that didn’t used to be part of what the NYPD did. And he was very explicit – he learned things at training that allowed him to diffuse the situation and get that person not to take their own life.

Bill Bratton knows more, I believe, about policing in America than anyone. And he has said that the biggest change factor comes from training. So I would argue that those who focus on accountability, I’m not dismissing them. I respect them. But the thing that will help all of us and all of our young people in particular the most are the positive paradigm shifts: retrain the entire police force; de-escalation technique; implicit bias training; neighborhood policing. These are the things that will change – by the way – in this country, if you applied those as standards for the entire country, I guarantee we would very rarely have to talk about these tragedies.

Last one.

Question: About the Rivington changes [inaudible] are you still intending to sue the Allure Group?     

Mayor: We are going to wait for the investigations that are underway to yield all the facts they will yield. We obviously are reserving our legal rights. I still believe that what I said represented the reality and I think the Attorney General – Attorney General Schneiderman’s report or his statements recently confirm that that company went and did the same thing in other places. So I want to look for every opportunity but I don’t have such a tool right now and certainly not until we get through the investigation.

Okay I am going to do two last ones but these are real last ones. Go ahead – one and then two.   

Question: For you and the Speaker, have you been contacted about a speaking role at the Democratic National Convention and where do those conversations stand?

Mayor: That has something that has to be worked out by the folks running the convention so when there is something to announce we will certainly let you know.

Speaker Mark-Viverito: Same.

Question: [inaudible]

Mayor: I’m working on that. There is a lot going on but we’ll know hopefully soon. Thanks everyone.

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