Contact: Colleen Roche (212) 788-2958 or Dwight Williams (212) 788-2972
This bill amends the Charter by relettering subdivisions (b) and (c) of Section 435 as subdivisions (c) and (d), respectively, and adds a new subdivision (b) authorizing certain employees of the Police Department to enforce the provisions of the law and the rules and regulations of the Department of Transportation related to parking and the movement and conduct of vehicular and pedestrian traffic. The bill would also vest enforcement authority in any employee of the Police Department serving in a civil service title involving traffic enforcement duties, provided that title was within the Department of Transportation on the effective date of the bill.
Employees transferred to the Police Department will retain their respective civil service classifications and civil service status. Officers and employees of the Department of Transportation classified as parking control specialists and working in the Parking Control Unit will remain under the jurisdiction of the Department of Transportation.
In addition, the Police Department will be granted authority to administer and issue permits for the arterial tow program, which includes the towing of vehicles on parkways, expressways, drives, highways, interstate routes, thruways and bridges, as set forth in the rules of the Department of Transportation. The Police Department will have jurisdiction of Target Tow and Violation Tow operations.
The Target Tow program is designed to identify quality of life issues, community board and precinct concerns and also to enforce the proper licensing and regulation of illegally operated vehicles. The Violation Tow program is designed to target impediments to traffic flow that include illegally parked vehicles.
As Mayor, I have sought to improve the quality of life for all visitors and residents of New York City. On November 29, 1995, I announced an initiative designed to improve the quality of life in New York City with the release of "Police Strategy Number 8: Reclaiming the Roads of New York." This strategy, which created a new Traffic Control Division within the Police Department, represents an aggressive approach to reducing chronic traffic congestion, improving the environment and enhancing commerce. This new division within the Police Department has already been effective in improving the flow of traffic and reducing pedestrian and vehicular accidents.
This bill exhibits a continuation of my effort to improve vehicular and pedestrian traffic conditions by transferring personnel to a unified command structure within the Police Department's Traffic Control Division. Under the new structure, precinct commanders will be capable of responding to community concerns related to traffic and parking conditions by working closely with the Traffic Control Division in deploying traffic enforcement agents and precinct personnel. This functional transfer will allow for enhanced coordination between the Traffic Enforcement Agents and the Traffic Control Division in reducing congestion and hazardous traffic conditions citywide.
I would like to thank Transportation Committee Chairman Noach Dear for his timely consideration of this important bill. I would also like to commend Katie Lapp, Criminal Justice Coordinator, Jack Havikan of the Police Department, Joan McDonald of the Department of Transportation, Elizabeth McCarthy of the Mayor's Office of Operations and Susan Rockford of the Law Department.
I will first turn to the bill's sponsor, and then to any other elected officials who wish to speak. Now, I will turn to the general audience. Is there anyone in the general audience to be heard in support? Is there anyone in the general audience to be heard in opposition? There being no one else to be heard, and for the reasons previously stated, I will now sign the bill.
The consolidation of the Departments of General Services and Personnel into a new Department of Citywide Administrative Services represents one component of my Administration's continuing efforts to streamline city government and facilitate the delivery of critical central administrative functions. The new agency will be able to provide these services in a coordinated fashion.
The new agency will continue to perform the wide range of personnel management services now provided by the Department of Personnel. These services include classification of positions and salary levels for governmental employees, administration of civil service examinations and tests for licenses and permits, administration of the management service plan, performance of administrative functions for the disciplinary trial unit, administration of the unemployment insurance program, and administration of the urban/public service corps and leadership institute programs.
The new agency will also assume the support functions now provided by the Department of General Services. These include management of the city's real property portfolio, procurement of supplies for city agencies, maintenance of the city's fleet of motor vehicles, managing the citywide energy conservation monitoring program, and publishing the City Record, Green Book, and other city publications. In addition, the new agency will allow the city to utilize workforce data when making decisions concerning other support functions, such as how supplies, vehicles, and space are allocated, ensuring greater efficiency in the use of resources and helping to eliminate waste.
In addition to transferring functions to the new agency, the legislation makes numerous technical amendments to the Charter to eliminate references to DGS and DOP and replace them with references to the new agency. I am confident that the new department will facilitate improved delivery of the central administrative and personnel functions that are so critical to the day-to-day operation of our city's government. I would like to thank Council Member Mary Pinkett, Chair of the Council Committee on Governmental Operations, for her assistance in the enactment of this important bill. In addition, I would like to thank DGS Commissioner Bill Diamond, Acting DOP Commissioner Bill Carnevale, Martha Mann Alfaro of the Law Department, and Elizabeth McCarthy of the Mayor's Office of Operations for their contributions to this important legislation.
I will now turn to the bill's sponsors, and to any other elected official who wishes to speak on the bill. Is there anyone who would like to speak in support of the bill? Is there anyone who would like to speak in opposition to the bill? There being no more speakers, and for the reasons stated, I will now sign the bill.
The Department of Sanitation provides one of the City's most critical services. The department's 9,500 employees collect and dispose of or recycle 13,000 tons of residential and institutional waste each day. These activities are supported by the agency's waste reduction and lot cleaning efforts.
The routine manner in which our waste is spirited away from the curb each week can easily be taken for granted. However, this winter we were all reminded of the Department's importance to the smooth and healthy operation of the city when its workers kept the city's roads clear through the worst winter in history.
The Department worked diligently to keep the city moving through the sixteen snow storms which dropped a total of seven and a half feet of snow on our city's streets. Many sanitation employees worked 12-hour shifts for two weeks in order to make sure the streets were safe and clear of snow. During the height of the Blizzard of '96, 1,700 plows were deployed. Once the storm was over, plows cleared the City's 15,000 miles of city streets. Within the next week, these same dedicated employees collected 100,000 tons of garbage, including recyclable materials.
I believe posting the Department of Sanitation's moniker outside its headquarters is a wonderful way for all New Yorker's to say 'thank you' for the department's hard work. Accordingly, this legislation adds the name "Avenue of the Strongest" to Worth Street between Broadway and Centre Street.
I will first turn to the sponsor of the bill, and then to any other elected official wishing to speak. Now I turn to the general audience. Is there anyone in the general audience to be heard in opposition? Is there anyone in the general audience to be heard in support? There being no one else to be heard, and for the reasons previously stated, I will now sign the bill.
The Town Hall Organization was founded on November 16, 1894 as the League of Political Education. Its charter members included six New York City women who were active in the suffrage movement whose primary mission was to educate themselves and other women about the relevant issues of their times.
As the League grew in size and widened its scope of activities, its members decided to plan their own building. The design for this building was based on the "democratic principle" that every seat was to be a good seat for viewing and listening. On January 12, 1921, Town Hall opened to the public.
In keeping with the League's mission, Town Hall's first lease was granted to The American Drugless Association for a protest meeting to discuss the issue of "Public School Education Without Compulsory Education." The first of many concert events was given by a young Spanish violinist, Juan Manen, on February 12, 1921. The hall has also served as a stage for various cultural and political leaders and thinkers, including Winston Churchill, Eleanor Roosevelt and W.H. Auden.
The mission of Town Hall is to help other non-profit groups perform in a landmark hall with great acoustics at rentals they can afford. It is also dedicated to presenting established and emerging artists at relatively low ticket prices as a service to the community. In addition, it provides entertainment for 125,000 school children a year at no cost to those who cannot afford to pay.
Town Hall, which reflects the diversity of our city, celebrated its seventy-five years of performances on June 14, 1996. Accordingly, this legislation adds the name "Town Hall Way" to West 43rd Street between Avenue of the Americas and Broadway.
I will first turn to the sponsor of the bill, and then to any other elected official wishing to speak. Now I turn to the general audience. Is there anyone in the general audience to be heard in opposition? Is there anyone in the general audience to be heard in support? There being no one else to be heard, and for the reasons previously stated, I will now sign the bill.