Name of Council Member: Ydanis Rodriguez Name and Title of Person Completing Questionnaire: Luther Richardson, Media and

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2013 CITY COUNCIL HUMAN RIGHTS QUESTIONNAIRE

1. Many in the United States think of international affairs when they think of human rights. Our work emphasizes the applicability of the human rights framework here in the United States. Please share your thoughts on the domestic applicability of human rights, and discuss why human rights are important to you in the context of New York City and the City Council. I believe that domestic applications of human rights are often ignored in the face of more daunting challenges to these rights in other countries. However, what human rights we have in New York City and the City Council are a part of this global network. I believe that we should continue to work very hard to take advantage of our resources to at some point be able to provide an example for other countries and cities to strive for. That being said, New York City still has its fair share of issues in terms of human rights, and these disproportionately affect the less advantaged. Tenants rights, access to a living wage, racial profiling, as well as issues with human trafficking and immigration are all human rights problems that must be solved through an international framework that provides these individuals with the natural rights they deserve. 2. Please share briefly how you have used your role in Council to advance human rights. My office has been focused on Human Rights since its inception, and I am very proud of the work we have done. We do an incredible amount of advocacy work. One of the major initiatives that we have been working on has been to help streamline the immigration process for our constituents. Our district has many immigrants from a variety of countries, mainly Spanish speaking, and so access to aid is vital. We provide immigration aid through our office, including free access to an immigration lawyer, to help those who have immigrated to the US properly complete their paperwork and advocate for their rights throughout the immigration process. We also are staunch advocates for Tenants Rights in our community. We have helped fight negligent landlords who do not maintain their buildings, creating a living hazards for everyone who lives there. One of our advocacy campaigns resulted in a court case against a negligent landlord who owns 3 buildings in our district and whose buildings had multiple code violations that threatened the safety of their residents.

3. Legislative priorities: Please list your top 3 legislative priorities for 2013. 1. Immigrant Voting Rights 2. The Community Safety Act 3. Hurricane Sandy Recovery What will be your top 3 legislative priorities as a Council Member in the upcoming legislative session? 1. Immigrant Voting Rights 2. Empowering Traditionally Unprepresented Communities in our distric 3. Expanding Civic Engagement in Education, particularly college readiness. 4. Budget priorities: Please list your top three budget priorities of 2013. 1. Education 2. Health 3. Youth What will your top 3 budget priorities be as a Council member in the upcoming legislative session? 1. Education 2. Health 3. Youth Services 5. Have you used participatory budgeting to allocate your discretionary funds? Why or why not? No. While I conceptually support participatory budgeting, as a representative for such an low income community with many capital needs, I have used the capital allocation process to make vital repairs to infrastructure in District 10. I have also been working since my election to organize and empower residents for them to be able to advocate for resources together. I am currently open to the idea of participatory budget, and hope to adopt a participatory budget in the longterm. 6. Please provide examples of recent legislation in Council that you believe promotes human rights. I am very active in the promotion of Human Rights, and have been very pleased to see that the Council has been introducing a number of bills that align with my advocacy. There is a variety of legislation that I believe promotes human rights, many of them particularly significant. The first is Resolution 1799-2013, which is a resolution that the Council passed which calls upon Governor Cuomo to sign the Women's Equality Act into law. The Women's equality act is a pioneering piece of legislation that contains a variety of measures that among other things will help ensure equal pay for Women and reduce workplace discrimination.

I am also a firm supporter of the Community Saftey Act and Int 1080-2013 is also important for New Yorkers. It changes the controversial Stop-and-frisk policy that has been adopted by the NYPD to make it less prone to racial profiling, a major criticism of that policy. It has been shown that a vast majority of the stops affect those of African American and Hispanic descent. Int 1080-2013 will mark a big step toward making the city, and the NYPD, more welcoming for New Yorkers of all races. 7. Legislation is only one of many ways in which Council Members can work to advance human rights. What ways other than through legislation will you advance the human rights of New Yorkers as a City Council Member? As I stated earlier in the Questionnaire, I offer a variety of services through my District Office that help promote Human RIghts in my community. In addition, I also regularly attend protests and vigils that promote Human Rights organizations and petition the Council and Mayor's offices. For example, I myself protested during the Occupy Wall Street protests in the past year along with a number of other Councilmembers. As a Councilman, I promote public advocacy as a way to bring issues to the attention of the government. 8. Some advocates contend that the position of the Council Speaker has too much power over the progression of legislation. Please use this space to respond to that critique. I believe that that this critique holds true. It is imperative that a system be created that allows the Speaker to work hand in hand with Council Members and committee chairs to ensure that legislation is not being held up and instead for a clear and transparent process for introducing, hearing and voting on legislation be put in place. Major reforms are needed in this area. For more information, please visit www.urbanjustice.org.