16 THE QUEENS COURIER • JANUARY 31, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Photo: Mark Hallum/THE COURIER
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 aff ord,”
Katz said during the address at LaGuardia
Community College in Long Island City.
“One way or the other, I plan to fi ght 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 Americanborn
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.
Th e 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 fi ne 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.
“Th e 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 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 off enses from evolving
into a life of crime for individuals who
cannot aff ord lawyers fees and are facing
low-level off enses 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 aft er a decade of staying clean. As
many as 600,000 people across the state
are 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 fi nd 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
link
/WWW.QNS.COM
link
