Gotham Gazette

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Opinion

Vote Yes on Ballot Questions to Improve Redistricting and Voting Rights


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Voters at the polls (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)


In New York, we are just weeks away from going to the polls to vote in the general election. You may know that we will vote for various important positions in our local government, such as the mayor of New York City and county executives outside of the Big Apple. You may not know that, across the state, we will also be voting on critical ballot questions. To strengthen democracy in our state, it’s important that you vote “yes” on three key questions to reform the redistricting process and expand our voting rights.

Over the years, our communities have tirelessly worked to increase voter turnout and ensure the voices of immigrant, Black, brown, and working-class New Yorkers be heard at the polls. In the upcoming elections, we can take further steps to help all eligible voters cast their ballots by approving ballot questions to adopt same-day voter registration, no-excuse absentee voting, and redistricting reform. At least 50 community-based organizations across the state have supported these measures. And we have launched "Yes on 1, 3, and 4" to educate voters. Here’s why.

The first proposal on the ballot (Question 1) will help improve the redistricting process in our state. In 2020, community-based organizations like ours led massive organizing efforts to have all our communities counted in the Census. Legislators have twice passed a series of important reforms to improve the redistricting process. The proposal before the voters would ensure that all New Yorkers, regardless of immigration status, be included in the Census, regardless of any potential future shenanigans from Washington.

It would also guarantee that incarcerated persons remain counted at the place of their last residence for redistricting and cap the number of state senators at 63 (Senate Republicans increased the number last time around to hold on to a majority). Finally, it will make the redistricting process work by moving up the timeline for redistricting, repealing inoperative language, and eliminating differential vote thresholds for adopting redistricting plans based on which party controls the State Legislature. This will improve the redistricting process and allow for equal and fairer representation across the state. 

November’s ballot will also include key voting rights questions on same-day voter registration and no-excuse absentee voting. Many times, eligible voters miss the deadline for registration or are not aware of any issues with their registration until they arrive at the polls. Same-day voter registration (Question 3) will eliminate voter registration deadlines and allow these voters to make sure they’re registered and cast their ballot on Election Day. 

Voters should also support ‘no-excuse’ absentee voting (Question 4). In the midst of the global pandemic, we witnessed throughout the country and in our state how absentee voting was crucial in allowing voters to cast their ballots. The wide availability of this form of voting should continue after the pandemic. No-excuse absentee voting will allow voters to vote in the future using an absentee ballot without requiring a justification. This is a critical step forward that will help expand access to meet the needs of voters who need an absentee ballot due to health concerns, personal emergencies or who simply cannot make it to the voting polls.

With the elections approaching, New Yorkers will vote for new leadership for their communities. We should also vote to expand voting rights and strengthen our democracy. Vote “yes” on Questions 1, 3, and 4 and help our state move forward toward fairer districts and expanded voting rights for all. 

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Theo Oshiro is the Co-Executive Director of Make the Road New York. Melody Lopez is the Executive Director of the New York Civic Engagement Table. On Twitter @TheoOshiro of @MaketheRoadNY, and @NYCivicEngage.

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Governor Hochul’s Opportunity to Transform New York for Future Generations


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Gov. Hochul (photo: governor's office)


We all knew Governor Kathy Hochul would be unique. Simply by virtue of being our state’s first woman executive, she will stand out in history. She entered the office in unfortunate circumstances, not the typical path to New York’s Executive Chamber. But since taking the oath just over a month ago, we’ve seen a governor in action. 

New York’s 57th governor began her term with a ceremonial swearing in where she wore white, the color of the suffragettes, and noted that “brevity is the hallmark of [her] administration.” Later that day, she delivered an address to the people of New York that included the promise of a fresh start and a commitment to address big issues facing communities, saying “…this is our time.”

In early September, she met with the press regarding the emergency response to historic flooding from Hurricane Ida in a windbreaker with what appeared to be a did-it-herself alteration crossing out in black marker the “Lt.” before “Governor” on her embroidered title. “No-nonsense,” it seems, may be a hallmark of her leadership style, in addition to brevity. 

During Climate Week, the governor shared stories of her childhood, detailing why she cares about the environment and why it is a top priority for her. Growing up in Lackawanna, “pollution was just a fact of life” for everyone who lived there, she said. She described the dirty, orange air and the harm if caused. Her announcements included an air monitoring program for communities most affected by air pollution and the release of $600 million in grants to protect clean drinking water and modernize infrastructure.

At several events that week she expressed her intention to accelerate state investments in clean water quickly and efficiently to address local needs. She also proposed to add $1 billion to the 2022 Environmental Bond Act, to total $4 billion, and proposed to rename the measure to accurately describe its purpose, “Clean Water, Clean Air, and Green Jobs.”

It is, as the governor noted on her first day, our time. Our time to tackle global warming, from reducing the pollution that causes poor air quality and frequent, extreme weather to protecting people and buildings from deadly floods and heat. Our time to ensure state agencies have the resources they need to implement laws and regulations that protect us from pollution and safeguard our environment. Our time to invest in infrastructure that will ensure we have safe roads and clean water to drink and to swim and fish in. Our time to conserve our forests, farms, and wetlands before they are lost forever.

We’re facing big, complex problems, and we need all levels of government to deliver solutions. Governor Hochul can provide strong leadership in New York and demonstrate to the nation what is possible by empowering her agencies to achieve our ambitious climate goals and collaborating with the Legislature to provide the necessary resources and enact policies to save lives. Top priorities must include rapid action to build the renewable energy economy, protect clean water and air, and conserve family farms and forests. The governor already has a strong start. 

In addition to passing the Bond Act in November 2022, we must increase investments in our environment and infrastructure right now – including a $500 million Environmental Protection Fund and $1 billion for the Clean Water Infrastructure Improvement Act. These funds generate huge returns on investment for New York communities, such as good jobs, while preventing pollution in our drinking water and conserving local farms, forests, and parks.

Increasing funding for our State Parks and state lands owned by the Department of Environmental Conservation will provide the recreational opportunities New Yorkers sought out with heightened urgency during the pandemic. It will also ensure the state-managed lands and waters are in good condition and safely accessible to residents and tourists alike – an economic boon to many communities. 

Finally, and in a move that would additionally set Governor Hochul apart from her predecessor, we need to increase investments in the public workforce at state agencies. Big announcements for capital projects and nation-leading goals often make excellent press releases. But after the dust settles, someone needs to hold programs accountable for meeting their goals and ensure funding gets to communities quickly and essential services are provided to New Yorkers. 

By investing in our state agencies, partnering with the Legislature, leveraging federal funding, and providing effective, transparent leadership, Governor Hochul can cement her place in history as a truly unique and inspirational leader. 

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Jessica Ottney Mahar is Policy and Strategy Director at The Nature Conservancy. On Twitter @jessicaottney & @nature_ny.

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Health and Safety for Everyone: Former City Jail Physicians on the Crisis at Rikers and Beyond


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Mayor de Blasio & company make an announcement (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)


What is going on at Rikers Island? As former physicians on Rikers Island and in other city jails, we have been horrified to hear of the unsafe, unhygienic, violent, and deadly conditions there. Over 12 people have died this year alone. To prevent more suffering and death, courts need to release thousands of people immediately and to stop sending more people in.

Despite limitations associated with the jail setting, we worked hard to provide excellent medical care for people who were incarcerated. The clinics provided evidence-based substance use disorder treatment, gender affirming hormone therapy, dental care, and mental health care — services oftentimes difficult to access in the community. The electronic medical record was queried by administrators to ensure that patients had appropriately scheduled follow-up appointments and that patterns of injuries were systematically addressed. Providers followed evidence-based algorithms in caring for patients with chronic diseases, referred patients for specialty care, and attended best-practice lectures common to academic medical institutions. On paper, the medical care provided in the jails was exceptional compared to other carceral systems.

Now, we hear from former colleagues and impacted communities that the provision of even basic healthcare is nearly impossible in the jails. We’re told that providers are waiting in the medical clinics for patients who are never brought. We’re told that patients in need of emergency care are waiting for hours for Department of Correction (DOC) escorts to transport them to the hospital.

We read in this letter from Dr. Ross MacDonald, the Chief Medical Officer of Correctional Health Services (and our former boss), that people are waiting for days in intake prior to seeing a medical provider, and that intake areas are overcrowded and violent. We’ve learned that people with positive COVID-19 tests routinely wait more than 24 hours in crowded “pens” prior to being put in isolation.

Elected officials have toured the facilities, testifying about filthy conditions, people sleeping in showers, and even a witnessed suicide attempt. Recently released inmates have shared their stories: days and weeks in intake, sleeping on bed-bug-ridden mats, and without showers, clean water, masks, and adequate food. 

To date, proposed solutions to these problems have largely focused on increasing staffing and reopening strategically shuttered facilities. But the idea that improved staffing will magically improve conditions on the Island is not grounded in reality. The truth is that, even in times of adequate staffing, the care we provided in the medical clinics was marred by the violent and inhumane setting in which our clinics were embedded.

Our exam rooms were not private. The clinic was disturbingly loud with guards and inmates yelling profanities and threats at each other or with people in “pens” begging to be seen right away or struggling psychiatrically. Patients reported trying to get appointments for weeks but being denied care by guards who wouldn’t sign them up for or escort them to the clinic. Providers were limited in what we could prescribe because even pretty harmless things like chapstick were considered “contraband.” Improving staffing will not fix any of these problems.

The only just solution to the problems at Rikers is reducing the ever-growing incarcerated population. To do this, we need to listen to impacted communities and their advocates. As healthcare workers committed to addressing upstream social determinants of health, we heed these suggestions in full, including:

-Stopping the prosecution of minor offenses like drug possession and sex work, like they have done in Baltimore and have started to do in Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez’s office. This policy should be applied retroactively so that people with pending cases, warrants, or on probation for these offenses are impacted. 

-Release people who are held in jail for failure to appear in court, especially if they are not there on a serious offense.

-Prosecutors and defense should file for early release for people in prison who have less than one year left in their sentence.

-Prosecutors and defense and probation services should work to eliminate probation for minor offenses and decline to incarcerate on technical violations.

-Allow review of bail petitions with an eye toward more flexibility on release given the humanitarian crisis.

Surely, some might worry that these changes could make the city less safe, and the city needs to meet with communities to address their concerns. In the meantime, we are convinced by evidence that shows that large-scale decarceration efforts have been successful in the past, and that decarceration can improve both public health and public safety

In 1992, Vernon C. Bain Center, the barge now docked at Hunts Point, the Bronx, was opened as a temporary solution to jail overcrowding. Once it was staffed, it became a permanent facility and now “houses” nearly 600 people. Last month, Stephan Khadu, only 24 years old, died on that barge, marking the twelfth and most recent death associated with the city jails this year. The Rikers Island crisis highlights that there is really no such thing as a “safe jail for staff and patients,” and if concerns today are met with increased staffing and facility re-opening instead of large-scale decarceration efforts, we will move further from health justice. What people need and deserve is comprehensive healthcare in their own communities where they live, not in city jails. 

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Zoey Thill, MD, MPH, MPP, is a member of the Public Health Advisory Group for RAPP (Release Aging People in Prisons). Kimberly Sue, MD, PhD, is an Instructor at the Yale School of Medicine, Program in Addiction Medicine and Medical Director of the National Harm Reduction Coalition.

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