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Residents urge commission to retain longer public-comment periods and raise safety and inclusion concerns
Summary
Multiple residents used the public-comment period at the Feb. 4 Manhattan City Commission meeting to oppose a proposed change to shorten individual public comments from five minutes to three and to raise worries about community polarization, migrant-related threats and mental-health impacts.
The Manhattan City Commission heard more than a dozen public comments on Feb. 4 opposing a proposed rule change to shorten individual public-comment time from five minutes to three minutes and to cap public-comment segments at 30 minutes. Commenters also raised broader concerns about civic trust, local growth strategy and safety for migrants and nonwhite residents.
“Reducing it to three minutes starts to feel like you don't really want to hear from the public,” said Kathy Joweltowski, who gave her address as 100 South Delaware Avenue. Joweltowski said a previous limit of five minutes had been a reasonable compromise and warned a new cap could exclude people who decide to speak after the speaker list is full.
Amber Starling, who…
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