Name of Council Member: Charles Barron Name and Title of Person Completing Questionnaire: M.

Ndigo Washington, Director of Legislation

2013 CITY COUNCIL HUMAN RIGHTS QUESTIONNAIRE

1. Many in the United States think of international affairs when they think of human rights. Our work emphasizes the applicability of the human rights framework here in the United States. Please share your thoughts on the domestic applicability of human rights, and discuss why human rights are important to you in the context of New York City and the City Council. Human rights are important to ensure that citizens are protected, particularly Black, Latinos and Asians, who are often discriminated against. We should embrace the United Nations Declaration of Human rights, which America is a signatory of. This universal declaration calls for education, healthcare, housing and employment as a human right. The City Council has power over legislation, policies, budget and land use as it relates to the citizens of New York. It is our responsibility to use this power to fight against racial profiling, bring fairness and promote social justice to our constituents throughout New York City. Human rights more than civil rights should be embraced, promoted and protected. 2. Please share how you used your tenure in Council to advance human rights. Housing built the most affordable housing than any other Councilmember in Brooklyn Employment advocated for living wage; participated in establishing workforce development programs; supported community-based initiatives, which created thousands of jobs citywide and hundreds in my district Racial Profiling the ability for residents to move about freely in their community is a human right; fought against NYPDs abusing their Stop, Question and Frisk policy Healthcare advocated to keep Brookdale Hospital open Education fought against co-locations of Charter schools and to keep schools open that were targeted by DOE for closure opens and to end Mayoral Control 3. Please list your top 3 legislative priorities for 2013. 1. Reso 81 Central Park Joggers calling for the city to settle with the young men who were wrongly accused and served time in prison, as a result of the Central Park Jogger Case. 2. Reso 1391 Siting of Homeless Shelters calls for the creation of an approval process whereby community boards and the City Council have the power to veto siting of transitional housing for the homeless population. Our office advocates for the development of affordable housing as the answer to NYCs homeless crisis. As housing is a human right.

3. Intro 475 Florence Rice, Elderly Evictions provide legal information to prevent elders from being evicted, requires reporting and a fine for violators 4. Please list your top three budget priorities of 2013. 1. Restore cuts to the Black Male Initiative negotiated and secured funding for this program 2. Restore cuts to DayCare Centers criteria for selection of day care centers was flawed in 2012 and jeopardized groups who had strong ties to the community. Some centers have a history of serving and maintaining a connection and presence to the communities for over 30 years. They are still in jeopardy of closing.This process also awarded new contracts to groups who were new to ACS and did not have a connection to the population that will be served. 3. Brookdale Hospital - worked with State Assemblywoman Inez Barron and State Senator John Sampson to protect cuts and negotiate the continued operations at Brookdale Hospital. 5. Have you used participatory budgeting to allocate your discretionary funds? Why or why not? No, I did not engage in the participatory budgeting initiative. We have a number of other important projects in my district and my office was unable to dedicate the necessary time required to meet the needs for this particular project. However, my decisions to allocate discretionary funding to my constituents are based on numerous meetings and discussions with tenant associations, community and church leaders as well as youth and community board members. 6. Please list recent legislation in Council that you believe promotes human rights. Intro 97 - Paid Sick Leave Bill (CM Brewer) Intro 178 - Fairness Arraignment Act (CM Barron) Intro 404 Environmental Justice Bill (2004) to be introduced this fall (CM Barron) Intro 477 Tenants Bill of Rights (CM Cabrera) Intro 1079 & Intro 1080 Community Safety Act - (CM Williams) Reso 1799 - Womens Equality Act (CM Ferraras)

7. Legislation is only one of many ways in which Council Members can work to advance human rights. What ways other than through legislation have you advanced the human rights of New Yorkers as a City Council Member? Continue to encourage my colleagues to vote no on Mayor Bloombergs proposed budget and challenge the budget negotiating process facilitated by Speaker Quinn. The current process violates the basic human rights of New York communities and families because it does not assure a fair and equitable share and distribution of resources. Encourage colleagues to vote against rezoning and landuse proposals where the Area Median Income (AMI) does not reflect the housing needs of low-income communities, thereby pricing and pushing long-term residents out of their neighborhoods. Attended rallies and press conferences to advocate for the restoration of cuts to CUNY, senior centers and youth programs.

8. Some advocates contend that the position of the Council Speaker has too much power over the progression of legislation. Please use this space to respond to that critique. This statement is accurate. The Speaker decides how much discretionary money is allocated to each district regardless of the median income of their constituents. The Speaker often uses this power as leverage to control Councilmembers. The Speaker has the power to appoint the Chair for each committee. The committee chairs are responsible for holding hearings. In order for legislation to be voted out of committee (other than threw discharge), a hearing must be held by the respective committee. If the Speaker is against legislation, they will put pressure on the Councilmember and influence their decision to avoid or stall convening a hearing. For more information, please visit www.urbanjustice.org.