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Speaker Johnson says Council is monitoring reports about Lewis; seeks briefing on mayor's community-safety office and warns SCOTUS changes to birthright rules's
Summary
Speaker Johnson said the Council learned of press reports about Council Member Lewis and is monitoring the situation; she also said the Council has not been briefed on the mayor's proposed community-safety office and warned a Supreme Court move to limit birthright citizenship would have —disastrous' consequences for city funding tied to the Census.
The Council said it is closely monitoring press reports concerning Council Member Lewis but that no indictment had been filed and that more information is needed before any action is taken. "No indictment has been brought against Council Member Lewis. We need more information ... and we're closely monitoring that situation," the Speaker said, adding the Council would take "appropriate course of action" if further facts emerge.
On public-safety reorganization, a reporter asked why the mayor proposed an Office of Community Safety instead of a Department of Criminal Justice. The Speaker said she did not believe the choice was made solely out of concern the Council would not approve a department; she noted the bill was early in the legislative process and that the Council (and its Finance Chair, Linda Lee) had not yet been briefed on the administration's proposal, so the Council could not yet comment on costs or details.
Asked about a pending Supreme Court hearing related to birthright citizenship and the federal Census, the Speaker, who said she has served in a senior role at the Law Department and as a former Census director, warned that any effort to exclude undocumented people from the count would have severe funding consequences for New York. "Over 300 vital programs depend on how we do on the Census," she said, citing programs such as SNAP, Head Start, and funding for schools and transportation as examples of services that rely on an accurate count.
The Speaker closed by urging care in assessing hypotheticals about committee assignments in the event of criminal charges, saying an indictment would be "very serious" and would prompt appropriate action by Council leadership.
