Update on closing Rikers Island

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In my official ULURP recommendation, I supported approving the Manhattan component of the city’s Borough-Based Jail System plan, with some conditions that are necessary to make sure local businesses and tenants are protected. The bottom line is this: Rikers Island must close. For too long the criminal justice system has disproportionately punished people in poverty, rather than being restorative and transformative. Last year, I formed a Rikers Task Force… Read more

Agreement reached on FY 2020 city budget

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Each year, the Mayor and City Council must reach an agreement on how the city will spend money in the upcoming year. This is a tall task, as you can imagine, and involves a lot of compromise. In the Fiscal Year 2020 budget, I called for staffing one social worker in every public school, achieving pay parity between city and non-city early educators, and keeping senior centers open. I’m happy… Read more

Capital funding projects unveiled

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One of my responsibilities as Borough President is to fill gaps in the City budget and support worthwhile capital projects across Manhattan. Each year my staff and I read countless applications, visit sites, and crunch the numbers to ensure projects that enrich people’s lives are funded. Capital funding is available to city agencies, nonprofit organizations, cultural institutions and public schools. This year, I granted a total of $29,250,000 to 149… Read more

Brewer announces 2020 Census initiatives

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Gale Brewer talks to a seated crowd Today Deputy Borough President Aldrin R. Bonilla and I led the first meeting of the Manhattan Complete Count Committee, an effort designed to ensure everyone in Manhattan is counted in the 2020 Census. The Committee includes leaders from labor groups, non-profits, business groups, and others. I also launched a first-of-its-kind funding initiative, dubbed ‘Manhattan Counts,’ for creative solutions to reach undercounted groups. Cities like ours, with diverse populations and large… Read more

Volunteers and I hit the streets to promote free summer meals for kids

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Gale Brewer hands a flyer to a parent with her child I led a borough-wide Day of Action today to provide parents and children with detailed information about New York City’s Free Summer Meals Program, including specific sites and times. Along with dozens of volunteers, I greeted commuters, students, and parents across the borough with detailed flyers, starting bright and early at 7:30 am. The Free Summer Meals program is an incredible resource in the fight against childhood hunger, but… Read more

Open Call: Seaport Community Mural Project 2019

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Open Call: Seaport Community Mural Project 2019 My office and the New York City Emergency Management (NYCEM) are announcing an open call for mural designs to be applied to structures that are part of the Interim Flood Protection Measures (IFPM) program, which will be installed along South Street in Manhattan’s South Street Seaport neighborhood. The Open Call isn’t just limited to professional artists—anyone is invited to submit a design, which will be printed on vinyl banners and… Read more

Brewer advocates for budget priorities

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Youth represent the future of New York City. To ensure that this city continues to flourish, there must be adequate funding to support programs and services that invest in our youth through improving public schools, after-school and summer programs and summer meal programs. We need funding to be directed towards our educators and social workers that provide supplementary assistance to young people in the foster care system. To promote civic… Read more