Mercedes Narcisse

This bill would require the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”) to create a website for victims of a serious motor vehicle collision to access information about the collision, including updates on the status of the investigation of the collision, whether or not any summonses had been issued and whether any witnesses had been identified. Victims’ family representatives, next of kin, attorneys or agents would also be granted access to that information. This bill would also require the Department of Transportation (“Department of Transportation”) to create a guide for collision victims. Such guide would include information related to police reports and no-fault insurance benefits. NYPD officers responding to collisions would be required to provide a copy of the guide to all parties in a collision. The guide would also be posted in every precinct and available on the NYPD and DOT websites.

This bill would require the Department of Small Business Services, in coordination with any other relevant agency, to develop and implement a three-year pilot program which establishes at least one small business incubator located within a public housing facility in each borough. The programmatic offerings and services offered at each incubator shall be determined after conducting a study of the small business interests and needs of the residents of the designated public housing facilities.

This bill would require notices of violation issued by the Department of Buildings (“DOB”) that may be enforced as a lien to include a warning that an unpaid judgment may become a lien against the property after judgment by the Environmental Control Board (“ECB”). Within 3 days of ECB judgment, DOB would be required to send a notice to any property owner whose property is or will be the subject of a tax lien describing available payment plans, deadlines, and resources to avoid or discharge a lien and to enter into compliance with DOB requirements. The bill would also require DOB and DOF to publish annual data on such lien conversions and would further require both departments to provide outreach and educational support to one- and two-family property owners.

This bill would establish a task force to study the current state of mental health resources in the city and mental health bed capacity in hospitals and jails in the city. The task force will issue a report and make recommendations to ensure that any such deficiencies are remedied.

This bill would amend the requirements for short-term rentals in the owner-occupied dwelling unit of one- and two-family dwellings by (1) increasing the number of allowable boarders, roomers, and lodgers to 4, not including any children under the age of 18; (2) allowing the owner-occupant to host guests without being physically present at the dwelling unit during the short-term rental; and (3) addressing the common household requirement, commonly known as the “unlocked doors provision”, by allowing the owner-occupant to lock doors to private bedrooms, bathrooms, closets, and storage areas provided that required means of egress remain available.

This bill would expand the definition of “use of force incidents” that must be reported by the New York City Police Department to include when an officer, while taking police action, responds to an incident or conditions and displays or unholsters a weapon.

This bill would require the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to prepare a plan to improve nurse staffing levels at hospitals. The Department would prepare the plan in consultation with the Health and Hospitals Corporation and nurses employed by city hospitals. The plan would include a strategy to reduce the nurse-to-patient ratio, suggest a safe nurse-to-patient ratio, and address ways to increase and strengthen the nursing workforce. The report would be due to the Speaker of the Council and the Mayor by January 1, 2024.

This bill would require the Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB) and the New York City Police Department (NYPD) to report on cases that were referred to the CCRB, but were deemed outside its jurisdiction. The bill would require that the CCRB report to the mayor and council information pertaining to cases outside their jurisdiction, including information on the type of allegation, borough of occurrence, precinct of occurrence, the reason that the incident is deemed outside the CCRB’s jurisdiction, the number of referrals made by CCRB to external agencies, and the types of agencies referred to. The NYPD would be required to report on how many and what types of cases are referred to them, the disposition of these referrals, and how long it took for a final disposition to occur. The NYPD would also be required to contact the complainant via mail or email, and would provide them a reference number and contact information to allow the complainant to follow-up on the status of their case.

This bill would require the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to set standards regarding air quality in schools, and would require the Department of Education, in collaboration with the Department of Environmental Protection, to issue real time reports on the DOE website regarding air quality in schools and the installation and maintenance of air quality monitoring devices, as well as annual reports regarding air quality in schools. It would also require the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to engage in outreach and education regarding indoor air quality in schools.

This bill would mandate the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) to create a resource guide on shared driveways. The resource guide would include information on how to determine whether a property includes a shared driveway, resources for dispute resolution, and any other information HPD deems to be appropriate. HPD would be required to post the resource guide on its website.