Shahana K. Hanif

This bill would require that the Department of Small Business Services (SBS), in collaboration with the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities and the Mayor’s Office of Talent and Workforce Development, develop and implement a pilot program to establish incubator sites that will provide training, guidance, and resources for individuals with disabilities who own or are interested in owning a business, as well as raise awareness about the business incubator pilot program. The bill would also make clear that SBS has primary responsibility for workforce development for people with disabilities.

This bill would require that the Mayor provide written and verbal notification of the right to be placed in a Department of Social Services (DSS) shelter to individuals and families who are housed in specific types of emergency congregate housing in New York City. The notification would include that such individuals and families have the right to be placed in a DSS shelter within 24 hours of their request to be placed in such a shelter. If the City fails to meet its responsibility to provide this shelter, the bill would require that the City report the failure within one calendar day of the failure.

This bill would establish minimum standards for emergency congregate housing in New York City, including at the Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Centers (HERRCs) established to address the increase of migrants in the City. Standards would mirror those that apply to shelters operated by the Department of Social Services including beds being at least three feet apart and at least 30 inches in width, toiletries and secure lockers being provided, a clean, well-maintained, working shower for every fifteen individuals, a clean, well maintained and working toilet and/or urinal and sink for every ten individuals, access to laundry facilities, meals and accommodations for dietary needs and restrictions, and various services and resources

This bill would require agencies to train their employees, contractors, and subcontractors on the requirements of Administrative Code Section 10-178 and to publish protocols for implementing and complying with that law. The bill would apply the same training and protocol publication requirements to the Department of Correction, the Department of Probation, and the New York City Police Department regarding Administrative Code Sections 9-131, 9-205, and 14-154, respectively.

This bill would require the NYC Department of Sanitation (DSNY) to remove snow and ice from any bus stop or bus shelter when DSNY receives at least 5 complaints from persons who identify as having a disability that a property owner has failed to timely complete required snow removal from an abutting bus stop, bus shelter, or the sidewalk path between any such bus stop or bus shelter and the gutter, within 7 hours of receiving such complaints. This bill would also require DSNY to establish a public citywide map for tracking the status of snow removal from bus stops and shelters following snowfall or ice accumulations.

This bill adds protections for tipped workers against tip-based wage theft by their employers. Pursuant to this bill, employers would be required to disclose the daily amount of total compensation, amount of wages, amount of gratuities, aggregate amount of gratuities earned through cashless payments, and total amount of gratuities in the tip pool if the worker is part of a tip pool. The bill also creates additional administrative remedies and a private right of action. This bill also requires fast food and food service establishments to allow customers the option to confer a gratuity in same the manner that they paid for their food. Finally, this bill adds new terms and definitions to the Administrative Code’s Fair Work Practices subchapter.

This bill would require the inclusion of businesses owned by persons of Middle Eastern and North African descent in any future disparity study conducted for the purpose of determining eligibility for certification in the City’s Minority- and Women-owned Business Enterprise program.

This bill would require the Mayor to create an Office of Restaurant Recovery to facilitate the recovery of restaurants from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Office would be led by a director whom the Mayor or, if the Office is within an agency other than the Office of the Mayor, an agency head would appoint no later than 30 days after the bill’s effective date. The director’s responsibilities would include developing and implementing a recovery plan, identifying metrics to assess recovery, advising the Mayor, and promoting recovery. The director would also be required to submit an initial report and subsequent annual reports to the Mayor and the Speaker of the Council. The bill would expire in five years unless the Mayor, in consultation with the director, determines sooner that restaurants have stabilized. In addition, this bill would make technical amendments related to the numbering of this new subchapter in the Administrative Code.

This bill would require that operators of systems offering the use of shared bicycles or scooters to users display rules of the road on their mobile applications and on physical stations. The operators would be required to ensure that users review the rules at least one time per year before activating or unlocking a device.

This bill would set the minimum term for a special vehicle identification parking permit issued by the New York City Department of Transportation for people with permanent disabilities at 10 years.