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Public
Employee Press Residency
relief passes 50-1
City Council has votes
to override Mayors last-minute veto
By
DIANE S. WILLIAMS
After more than two years of demonstrations and lobbying
at City Hall, District Council 37 achieved a major legislative triumph Dec. 18
as the City Council voted 50-to-1 to pass Intro. 837, which eases residency requirements
for 45,000 members.
This is a tremendous victory for thousands of
dedicated city workers, said DC 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts. In
a show of solidarity, Roberts and dozens of DC 37 presidents, union members, retirees
and staff packed the balcony of the City Council chamber as the legislators voiced
their overwhelming support for the legislation.
We fought for the
right of these workers to enjoy the same freedom of choice as other city employees
who are free to live outside New York City, Roberts said. This huge
vote of support by the City Council is a significant victory in DC 37s battle
for fairness and justice.
The mayor vetoed Intro. 837 on Jan. 18.
DC 37 has enough support in the City Council to override a veto, said Political
Director Wanda Williams. The override vote is expected on Feb. 11.
Throughout
the long battle, DC 37 steadfastly maintained that its fight to give city workers
the option to live where they choose is about equity. Intro. 837, which was sponsored
by Council member Robert Jackson and 44 others, allows DC 37 members to live in
the six surrounding counties Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Rockland, Orange
and Putnam and maintain their city jobs. This compromise legislation differs
slightly from the original Intro. 452 that was sponsored by former Council member
Joseph P. Addabbo Jr. by requiring new city employees to live in the citys
five boroughs for their first two years of employment, said Williams. As support
for the measure grew, Speaker Christine Quinn was able to move the bill from the
Civil Service Committee to the floor.
More than 85 percent of DC 37 members
currently live in the city; while the new law gives them the option to move to
the surrounding counties, that number is not likely to change much.
The
residency restriction posed a hardship for workers searching for affordable housing
in one of the nations most expensive housing markets, and Mayor Michael
Bloomberg agreed in DC 37s 2006-2008 contract to support expanding residency
rules.
Lifting the residency restrictions offers members a viable
option, said Roberts. Now the City Council has taken a critical step toward
making it happen. | |