Farah N. Louis

This bill would increase fees charged to certain buildings participating in the Department of Housing Preservation’s Alternative Enforcement Program which have not been discharged from such program within the first four months of an initial notice of participation to the owner of such building’s participation in such program.

This bill would require the Department of Correction to develop a comprehensive training program for investigations of sexual crimes. All Department of Correction investigators would be required to complete the training, and the Department of Correction would be required to make annual reports on the training program, including its components, the number of investigators who participated in the training, and the experts consulted in developing the training.

This bill would require the Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) and the Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD) to mandate annual staff trainings relating to identifying sexually exploited youth. The training would include risk factors of trafficking, identifying vulnerable populations, common indicators, trauma-informed responses, and available support services.

The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene inspects food service establishments for compliance with food safety rules at least once a year. These inspections result in the Department issuing a score, which corresponds to a letter grade. Food service establishments are required to post these grades in an area visible to passersby. However, consumers who purchase food or beverages online do not have access to such letter grades. This bill requires food service establishments and third-party food delivery services (such as Seamless or Grubhub) to post sanitary inspection grades on their websites or other online platforms.

This bill would require the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) to report annually on the number of individuals screened for and diagnosed with cervical cancer or ovarian cancer, broken down by race or ethnicity and age group. DOHMH would also be required to identify whether each hospital in the city has staff specializing in cervical or ovarian cancers.

This bill would opt in to state legislation authorizing a ten percent property tax exemption for owners of real property who are enrolled members of an incorporated volunteer fire company, fire department, or incorporated voluntary ambulance service. To qualify for the exemption, such property owner must live within the service area of the volunteer fire or ambulance service with which they volunteer and must have at least two years of service with such volunteer fire or ambulance service. The exemption may only be used for a primary residence used exclusively for residential purposes.

This bill would require entities that contract with certain New York City agencies (City contractors) to report pay and employment information for their employees to the Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS). DCAS would be required to provide such data to the Mayor’s Office of Data Analytics (MODA), and MODA would have to provide such data to the Council. MODA would also be required to issue to the Mayor and the Speaker of the Council an annual report that includes data showing employees of City contractors by contractor, pay band, racial group, ethnicity, and gender. MODA and DCAS would be required to conduct an annual analysis, to be included in MODA’s reports, of the pay and employment data for employees of City contractors in order to identify potential disparities based on gender, race, or other protected classes identified in the City’s Human Rights Law. Finally, DCAS would be required to post an anonymized report describing this analysis annually on its website.

This bill would require the Office to End Gender Based Violence to create an informational resource for newly married individuals that details their legal rights as it pertains to divorce and annulment of such marriage as well as available domestic violence resources. The bill requires the Office to End Gender Based Violence to provide this resource to the Office of the City Clerk and for the City Clerk to distribute this resource when issuing a marriage certificate and post on its website.

This bill would amend the responsibilities of the Office of the Utility Advocate to include hosting public trainings on utility billing practices and affordability, educating utility customers about their rights, connecting utility customers with appropriate agencies or organizations to receive financial or other assistance, and alerting utility customers to actions by the Public Service Commission which may affect their utility rates. The Office would also be required to monitor and make recommendations on policy issues that may affect utility affordability.

This bill would require the Department of Transportation to set a discounted rate for New York City public school students aged 16 or older as part of the City’s bike share program.