Council passes local daycare-safety measures, urges state to tighten inspections after child’s fentanyl death

The New York City Council passed two local bills requiring annual outreach to parents about child-care rights and public reporting on inspector training, and adopted Resolution 563 calling on the state legislature to approve companion measures to tighten daycare oversight.

Council Member Petrina Sanchez framed the measures around the 2022 death of 1-year-old Nicholas Feliz Domenici, who died after fentanyl exposure in a licensed daycare. “Nicholas should be here today,” Sanchez said, describing the child as “a radiant, joyful child whose life was stolen by fentanyl exposure in a licensed day care facility.”

The local measures described by Sanchez were Intro. 1041a, which she said would require the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to conduct an annual outreach campaign to inform parents and legal guardians about their rights regarding children in child-care programs in New York City, and Intro. 1042a, which would require the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to report annually on training provided to employees who inspect child-care programs. Sanchez said both intros were passed at the meeting.

The council also adopted Resolution 563 of 2024, which Sanchez said calls on the New York State Assembly and the governor to approve Assembly Bill A3899 and Senate Bill S6225. Those state bills, as described in the meeting, would tighten regulations, enhance inspections, and provide training and resources to day-care providers and parents across New York State.

Sanchez said the initiatives were inspired by the family of Nicholas Feliz Domenici. “The depth of their pain is unimaginable,” she said, and described the city’s action as “rooted in the courage of Nicholas’s family.” She thanked District Attorney Darcel Clark of The Bronx and “the attorneys of the U.S. Southern District,” saying their work had resulted in “100 years of prison time for the depraved criminals responsible in this case.”

Sanchez also described a community response she founded in Nicholas’s memory, the West Bronx Community Safety Partnership, and said it would secure funding to work on community safety.

The council did not provide vote tallies or the names of movers and seconders for the passed introductions and resolution in the meeting transcript excerpts provided. The texts of the introduced local bills and the city resolution were cited by their intro and resolution numbers; full legislative texts and fiscal notes were not included in the record excerpt.

The measures now direct the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to expand outreach to parents and make information on inspector training public, according to the language summarized by Sanchez. Details on implementation timelines, required reporting formats, and funding for outreach were not specified in the meeting excerpt.

The council discussion and Sanchez’s remarks occurred during the stated meeting and were followed by questions on other agenda items.

Votes at a glance

- Intro. 1041a (DOHMH annual outreach to parents about child-care rights): Passed (vote tally not specified). Agenda identifier: Intro. 1041a. Notes: Requires DOHMH annual outreach campaign; implementation details not specified.

- Intro. 1042a (Public reporting on DOHMH inspector training): Passed (vote tally not specified). Agenda identifier: Intro. 1042a. Notes: Requires annual report on training provided to employees who inspect child-care programs; reporting frequency specified as annual in the intro description.

- Resolution 563 of 2024 (calls on state to pass A3899 and S6225): Adopted (vote tally not specified). Notes: Asks the New York State Assembly and the governor to pass legislation described in transcript as A3899 (Assembly) and S6225 (Senate).