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L E H A V R E
F E B R U A R Y Katz tackles Census, jails and more
in State of Borough Address
BY MARK HALLUM
mhallum@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Borough President Melinda Katz said
she would opt out of responding to the
2020 Census question regarding the
documented status of residents and
advised the crowd at Friday’s State of
the Borough address to follow suit in a
speech that covered not only immigration,
but also criminal justice reform.
With up to 68,000 children in Queens
live in mixed status households,
according to Katz, policies out of the
White House administration could
impact residents across the borough,
citizen or not.
“For each person in each household
unaccounted for, that’s less
federal funding for our schools, our
hospitals, our infrastructure, even
less representation in Congress and
the state Legislature. An undercount
is something we can’t afford,” Katz
said during the address at LaGuardia
Community College in Long Island
City. “One way or the other, I plan to
fight this … and if the citizen question
appears on the survey, I will abstain. I
will refuse to answer the question. You
can call it a boycott. I, Melinda Katz,
an American-born citizen, will boycott
the citizenship question. Because times
like these compel courage by those
with the privilege to do so.”
Katz has put in place the Queens
Complete Count Committee, which has
over 70 people signed on to go about
the borough and get real numbers on
the population, documented immigrant
or not.
The 2020 federal census is still under
review by the House of Representatives
oversight committee and Commerce
Secretary Wilbur Ross will have to
testify regarding his decision to add
the controversial question immigration
status.
Katz walked a fine line with some
Queens residents when she announced
that she supports the closing of Rikers
Island, on the grounds that the facility
is antiquated and reforms are needed,
but said neighborhood residents have
to be involved in the decisions regarding
the placement of community jails
to ensure a smooth transition.
A new justice system that is safer,
more humane and less costly is something
Katz advocated for on the condition
that communities have their say,
something residents have vocalized the
need for in the past year since Mayor
Bill de Blasio announced an agreement
had been struck with the state in
February 2018 to create borough-based
jails.
“The irony, however, of unveiling a
citywide plan for ‘modern community
based jails’ in the absence of community
input is not lost on the boroughs,
certainly not here in Queens,”
Katz said. “Any plan by the city –
especially the siting and design of any
new jails – must include meaningful
community engagement and input. I
am deeply disturbed by the lack of
opportunity thereof for the proposal to
erect a 1.9-million-square-foot facility
on 82nd Avenue, and that’s from a supporter
of closing Rikers.”
With a projected timeline of a decade
for the closure of Rikers, Katz said
there is still time to include communities
8 LEHAVRE COURIER | FEBRUARY 2019 | WWW.QNS.COM
and implement reforms that reduce
the jail population.
Katz said the continuation of warrant
forgiveness, which outgoing District
Attorney Richard Brown has implemented,
can prevent small offenses
from evolving into a life of crime for
individuals who cannot afford lawyers
fees and are facing low-level offenses
such as loitering.
“And what if you’ve served time and
have proven that you’ve turned your
life around and are making good?” said
Katz, who’s also running for Queens
District Attorney. “One of Governor
Cuomo’s greatest accomplishments, if
you ask me, is legislation he signed
into law 15 months ago that allows
people with two or fewer nonviolent
convictions to seal their records after
a decade of staying clean. As many
as 600,000 people across the state are
Photo: Mark Hallum/THE COURIER
eligible under the law but only 51 individuals
in Queens had taken advantage
of it as of December.”
As part of Katz’s “Know Your
Rights” week, generally intended for
immigrants, the borough president is
now working with convicted felons
to seal their records which could help
pave the way to helping them find jobs
and prevent recidivism.
Katz also highlighted the fact that
schools in Queens are at 106 capacity
borough-wide and schools get fewer
funds per student here than in any other
part of the city.
Although the School Construction
Authority is working to site new locations
for facilities, Katz said it will not
be enough if more funds are not added
to the $11,359 spent for very student
in Queens – a sharp contrast to the
$14,186 spent in the Bronx.
Queens Borough President Melinda Katz
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