1 CITY COUNCIL CITY OF NEW YORK ------------------------ X TRANSCRIPT OF THE MINUTES Of the COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES ------------------------ X March 9, 2017 Start: 10:12 a.m. Recess: 2:54 p.m. HELD AT: Council Chambers - City Hall B E F O R E: Elizabeth S. Crowley Chairperson COUNCIL MEMBERS: Mathieu Eugene Fernando Cabrera Rory I. Lancman Paul A. Vallone Vanessa Gibson World Wide Dictation 545 Saw Mill River Road – Suite 2C, Ardsley, NY 10502 Phone: 914-964-8500 * 800-442-5993 * Fax: 914-964-8470 www.WorldWideDictation.com 2 A P P E A R A N C E S (CONTINUED) Daniel A. Nigro Commissioner of the New York Fire Department Robert Turner FDNY First Deputy Commissioner James Leonard Chief of Department at FDNY Michael Fitton Assistant Chief of EMS Laura Kavanagh Deputy Commissioner for Government Affairs and Special Programs at FDNY Cecilia Loving Deputy Commissioner and Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer at FDNY Stephen Rush Assistant Commissioner for Budget and Finance at FDNY George Farinacci UFOA Local 854 Ana Bermudez Commissioner of NYC Department of Probation Michael Forte Deputy Commissioner of Administration at Department of Probation 3 A P P E A R A N C E S (CONTINUED) Gineen Gray Deputy Commissioner of Juvenile Operations at Department of Probation Sharun Goodwin Deputy Commissioner of Adult Operations at Department of Probation Wayne McKenzie General Counsel at Department of Probation Joseph Ponte Commissioner of Department of Corrections Frank Doka Deputy Commissioner at DOC Jeff Thamkittikasem Chief of Staff at DOC Winette Saunders Deputy Commissioner for Youthful Offender Programming at DOC Martin Murphy Chief of Department at DOC Cynthia Brann Deputy Commissioner of Quality Assurance and Integrity at DOC Nicole Adams Deputy Commissioner of Health Affairs at DOC 4 A P P E A R A N C E S (CONTINUED) Gregory Kuczinski Deputy Commissioner of Investigations at DOC Martha King Executive Director of Board of Corrections Stanley Richards Board of Corrections Board Member Tanya Krupat Osborne Association Tracie Gardner Legal Action Center/NY ATI and Reentry Coalition Sebastian Solomon Legal Action Center/NY ATI and Reentry Coalition Jennifer Petersen Bronx Community Solutions 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: Good morning. 6 My 3 name is Elizabeth Crowley, and I am the Chair of the 4 d and Criminal Justice Services Committee. Fire 5 the Committee will conduct a hearing on the Fiscal 6 Year 2018 Preliminary Budget and Fiscal Year 2017 7 Preliminar 8 Department, the Department of Probation, Department 9 of Correction, the Board of Correction, and New York Today, Ma or s Management Report for the Fire 10 City Office of Emergency Management. 11 testimony from the agencies in the order I just 12 mentioned, the committee will hear testimony from the 13 public. 14 committee, please make sure you fill out the 15 attendance card and hand it in to the Sergeant at 16 Arms. 17 joined me here today, Council Member Paul Vallone. 18 The committee 19 plan to handle the continued increase in emergency 20 medical calls, its plan to further reduce response 21 times. 22 million amb lance calls. 23 Calendar Year 2015. 24 Department s reso rces are stretched thin and are in 25 need of more resources to support and meet the After we hear If you would like to speak before the I d like to recogni e m colleag es ho ha e o ld like to hear the Department s In Calendar Year 2016, EMS responded to 1.7 That s 35,580 more than It is apparent that the 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 increasing demands. 3 be updated on the following matters: 4 overtime spending, the status of the recruitment 5 campaign for the upcoming filing, period for 6 firefighter exam, if there is any assessment underway 7 to examine the need for additional firehouses in 8 neighborhoods that have experienced significant 9 population increases in recent years, and any other 7 The committee would also like to plans to reduce 10 updates on budgetary or management items that the 11 Department would like to address. 12 Commissioner, Commissioner Nigro, here and his staff 13 to the Co ncil Chambers, and I m going to ask that 14 the Commissioner and anyone from his team who is 15 going to testify take the oath that we give here at 16 the Co ncil. 17 questions and testify, if you could raise your right 18 hand? 19 truth and nothing but the truth in your testimony 20 before this committee and to respond honestly to 21 Co ncil Members And if o I welcome the re going to answer any Do you affirm to tell the truth, the whole q estions? 22 COMMISSIONER NIGRO: 23 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: Thank you. 24 25 Commissioner, o can begin once I do. o re read . 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES COMMISSIONER NIGRO: 2 8 Thank you, and good 3 morning, Chairwoman Crowley and other Council Members 4 present. 5 with you today about the Preliminary Budget for 6 Fiscal Year 2018 for the Fire Department. 7 this morning by First Deputy Commissioner Robert 8 Turner, Chief of Department, James Leonard, Assistant 9 Chief of EMS, Michael Fitton, Deputy Commissioner for Thank you for this opportunity to speak I m joined 10 Government Affairs and Special Programs, Laura 11 Kavanagh, Deputy Commissioner and Chief Diversity and 12 Inclusion Officer, Cecilia Loving, and Assistant 13 Commissioner for Budget and Finance, Stephen Rush. 14 year ago, I sat at this table and told you that the 15 number of fire deaths over the previous 12 months 16 represented the second lowest number since we began 17 keeping records in 1916. 18 report that in 2016 the City experienced the lowest 19 number of fire deaths in recorded history with 48. 20 Even a single death is one too many, but to put that 21 in some context, when I first joined the Department, 22 my first full year 1970, 310 people dies in fires. 23 Last year we also saw a nine percent decline in 24 serious fires, the largest such decrease since 2008. 25 We attribute this remarkable success to the hard work A Today, I am pleased to 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 of our members, diligent efforts to educate the 3 public on fire safety, and consistent investments in 4 improving the performance of the Department. 5 experienced these gains despite receiving calls for 6 over 1.7 million total incidents. 7 recent trends, this represents the largest number of 8 total calls ever received. 9 Department s histor 9 We In keeping with The busiest year in the as also o r safest. 2016 as a 10 positive year for the Department in a number of ways. 11 In March we launched @fdnyalerts on Twitter to 12 provide real-time updates on active FDNY operations. 13 In July, we broke ground on a new firehouse for 14 rescue Company Two. 15 harrowing incident last September when a terrorist 16 detonated a bomb in Chelsea, and our members swiftly 17 responded drawing on critical counter-terrorism 18 training. 19 Taskforce One to the Carolinas to provide aid during 20 Hurricane Matthew. 21 500 people from flooded areas, including stranded 22 motorists and people trapped in their homes. 23 that same month, the members of Rescue One and 24 Ladders 13 and 43 participated in a life-saving roof 25 rope rescue as firefighter Jim Lee descended from a The City was subject to a In October, we dispatched members via The Taskforce rescued more than Later 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 rooftop over the side of a building to reach an 3 imperiled resident during a six alarm fire on East 4 93rd Street. 5 members of Ladder 176 and 120 in Brooklyn performed 6 this same type of rescue just this past weekend when 7 firefighter Andrew Sharf [sp?] rescued a man from a 8 third floor window. 9 means that not every day can be a good day. In 10 Though this type of rescue is rare, Of course, the nature of work 10 particular, we lost a rising star in the Department 11 when Deputy Chief Michael Fahy died from injuries 12 sustained at an explosion in the Kingsbridge section 13 of the Bronx. 14 the extraordinary commitment to service our members 15 make each and every time they begin a shift. 16 factor that has contributed to the decrease in fire 17 deaths has been the intense focus that the Department 18 has placed on fire safety education and outreach. 19 Last year we educated nearly 700,000 New Yorkers at 20 more than 8,000 fire safety events. 21 visit neighborhoods in the wake of harmful fires. 22 However, we have also transformed the nature of our 23 outreach to become more proactive and more robust in 24 our approach to community engagement. 25 able to provide safety materials in more than 90 His supreme sacrifice reminds us of One key Our educators We are now 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 languages, and we have boosted the number of our dual 3 language instructors, hiring 50 already with another 4 50 on the way this summer. 5 size of our Community Affairs Unit, and they work 6 hand-in-hand with our Fire Safety Education Unit, 7 partnering with Community Boards, organizations, 8 schools, and elected officials to provide instruction 9 and education. 11 We have increased the A disproportionate number of recent 10 fire deaths have involved seniors. 11 intensified our fire and life safety education 12 programs for that portion of the population. 13 taken an analytical approach using data analysis to 14 understand trends and develop priorities so that our 15 outreach is as effective as it can be. 16 factor in the reduction of fire deaths is the 17 proliferation of smoke alarms. 18 deaths last year no working smoke alarm was present. 19 A 20 chance to escape and survive. 21 Alarmed NYC program which was funded with the help of 22 the de Blasio Administration and the City Council 23 through the FDNY Foundation, we have distributed or 24 installed more than 130,000 smoke alarms in homes and 25 apartments throughout the city. orking alarm dramaticall So we have We have Another key In 30 of the 48 fire increases a person s Through our Get We plan to install 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 another 20,000 this year. 3 start of Daylight Savings Time, and we remind all New 4 Yorkers to use this time to change the batteries in 5 their smoke alarms. 6 Safety Education teams in route to make presentations 7 on this topic in Brooklyn. 8 the 9 locations across the five boroughs. 12 This coming weekend is the At this very moment we have Fire Over the next two days ll be doing similar presentations at 17 In December I 10 announced the completion of a more than 47 million 11 dollar project to install separate 12 in firehouses across the city. 13 58 female firefighters and officers. 14 of course far too low, but it is an improvement and 15 the highest-ever number of female firefighters. 16 have seven additional female candidates currently 17 enrolled in the Academ 18 now. 19 we are in the final stages of a massive recruitment 20 campaign. 21 executed more than 10 million dollar effort targeted 22 to produce the most diverse group ever to take the 23 firefighter exam. 24 for black, Latino, Asian, and female candidates. 25 have also undertaken initiatives aimed at LGBTQ and the omen s bathrooms We are currently at This number is We re training there With the filing period for the exam approaching Over the last year we very effectively We have developed aggressive goals We 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 candidates and military veterans. 3 upcoming exam will take place over a period of weeks 4 in April and May. We have already conducted more than 5 6,400 recruitment events. 6 we are already well ahead of the 5,000 total events 7 that we held during the last campaign. 8 don t simpl 9 our efforts have paid off. ait 13 Filing for the With several weeks to go, However, we ntil the filing period to see if Rather, we measure our 10 goals in terms of actively collecting expression of 11 interest forms. We are encouraged with the results so 12 far. 13 approximately 190,000 expression of interest forms 14 from candidates of color, including 98,000 from black 15 candidates and 80,000 from Latino candidates. 16 collected 66,000 EOI s from female candidates. 17 this point, we are achieving a daily collection rates 18 of more than four times the rate of the most recent 19 recruitment campaign. 20 progress through an unprecedented strategic effort. 21 In designing the campaign, FDNY recruiters and senior 22 staff worked with FDNY fraternal organizations, the 23 US Army, domestic and international fire departments, 24 and a variety of other subject matter experts to make 25 a series of important improvements to our recruiting As of March 1st, we have collected We e At We have accomplished this 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 unit and the tools it utilizes. 3 a professional marketing firm that worked with us to 4 develop a communication strategy. 5 involved social media ads, modern marketing 6 materials, focus group testing of messages with our 7 target audience, advertising in subway stations, bus 8 stops, billboards, firehouses, as well as the Join 9 FDNY website, which is populated with candidate- 14 This included hiring The strategy 10 specific content designed to solicit and retain the 11 interest of potential recruits. 12 over 60 recruiters in the field each and every day. 13 We designed a program in which our recruitment team 14 worked in tandem with our Community Affairs Unit, 15 broadening the reach of our recruitment efforts and 16 strengthening existing relationships with Community 17 Boards and groups such as CUNY, Black Male 18 Initiative, Non-traditional Employment for Women, and 19 dozens of other groups with shared missions. 20 actively recruited at block parties, open houses, 21 elected official events, job fairs, and FDNY Mobile 22 Academy events. 23 to our use of technology and data analytics, making 24 this recruitment campaign more efficient, effective 25 and data-driven than any previous campaign. We currently have We We implemented significant changes Taken 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 together, this massive effort is yielding very 3 positive results. 4 diversity in EMS, in 2016 we launched a recruitment 5 and retention unit dedicated solely to EMS 6 recruitment. 7 training program which will provide an entry-level 8 opportunity for New York City residents interested in 9 pursuing careers in Emergency Medical Service. 10 Trainees will participate in a 16-week program 11 designed to prepare them to pass the New York State 12 EMT Exam and become FDNY EMTs. 13 filing for this program occurred last month. 14 a third of filers were African-American and more than 15 a third were female. 16 the Recruitment and Retention Unit occurred when 17 Jackie-Michelle Martine , the Department s first 18 Women s O treach Coordinator 19 Yorker of the Year by the New York Times. 20 pride in her success. 21 accomplish for our Office of Diversity and Inclusion. 22 Along with Mayor de Blasio, I issued a new Equal 23 Employment Opportunity Policy in order to reaffirm 24 and strengthen FDNY s commitment to the principles of 25 equal opportunity, diversity and inclusion throughout 15 To maintain and improve our We also recently re-launched an EMT The civil service Roughly One special 2016 highlight for as nominated for Ne We take 2016 was also a year of 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 the Department. 3 Commissioner Cecilia Loving as Chief Diversity and 4 Inclusion Officer, and she is working closely with 5 Don Nguyen, our Assistant Commissioner for EEO. 6 ha e de eloped a ne 7 Diversity and Inclusion Training Unit, and we 8 appointed Lieutenant David O Beci [sp?], the 9 Department s new Diversity Advocate. 16 We have appointed Deputy We EEO Co ncil s program, a ne We launched an 10 LGBTQ training module. 11 quarterly diversity and inclusion newsletter and 12 hired new staff devoted to establishing best 13 practices for diversity and inclusion. 14 over 13,000 members of the Department in EEO and 15 unconscious biased training, and we added Deputy 16 Chiefs dedicated to diversity and inclusion for both 17 Fire and EMS. 18 values of the Department, and we have taken and will 19 continue to take concrete steps to make sure that 20 everyone has an equal opportunity to contribute to 21 our success. 22 strength and fortitude as an institution. 23 area in 24 progress is in our pursuit of innovation in the area 25 of Emergency Medical Service. hich Begun publication of a We instructed Diversity and Inclusion are core We know that these values enhance our e Another e seen a great deal of meaningful Since 2014, the 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 Department has 3 of Operations to reduce response times and improve 4 our ability to care for patients in potentially life- 5 threatening emergencies. 6 Department has addressed increasing call volume by 7 simpl 8 incorporating 50 new tours funded in Fiscal Year 9 2017. orked closel adding amb lances. However, e 17 ith the Ma or s Office Historically, the We e done that, incl ding e chosen to also think 10 strategically and make improvements across the entire 11 spectrum of our emergency response. 12 examining call processing, dispatching, travel time 13 and ambulance availability, and finding ways to 14 address each. 15 area from the de Blasio Administration, and 16 been able to roll out several cutting-edge 17 improvements. 18 these efforts. 19 dispatchers since 20 streamlined dispatching procedures for medical 21 emergencies. 22 led to altering the start times for eight-hour 23 amb lance to rs to increase efficienc , and 24 begun a pilot to move a small number of EMS teams to 25 12-hour tours, which would eliminate one of the three We This includes e recei ed great s pport in this e e We are beginning to see the fruits of For instance, We e e added 150 e began this process, and e e e also cond cted data anal sis that e e 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 dail 3 Dispatch which cuts down on delays during the 4 dispatching process. I m also pleased to update you 5 on the Fly Car pilot program that we have been 6 running in the Bronx. 7 advanced life support, ALS Fly Car, and a basic life 8 support, BLS Ambulance, to each potentially life- 9 threatening emergency rather than simply sending an to r changes. We 18 e also instit ted Direct Under this pilot we send an 10 ALS Ambulance. Whichever unit responds first is able 11 to immediately begin providing care. 12 and paramedic in the Fly Car provide an ALS 13 assessment, and the BLS unit transport the patient to 14 the hospital. 15 accompany the patient to the hospital if the patient 16 needs ALS-level care which happens on less than half 17 of all responses. 18 allowing them to respond to the next call. 19 implemented a new program called Tactical Response 20 Groups. 21 deploy five or seven ambulances, roving BLS Tactical 22 Response Group, to provide locations which we 23 determine using data that is updated by the hour. 24 Initially rolled out in the Bronx, we now have two 25 similar Tactical Response Groups in Queens as well. The lieutenant The lieutenant and paramedic only That frees up the ALS crew faster, We also During the two busiest shifts of the day we 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 This allows us to strategically and dynamically 3 deploy ambulance resources. 4 response times at Rikers Island, in the Borough of 5 Queens, we located an EMS station on the island 6 itself, serving inmates and prison personnel. 7 has improved our service to the needs of the 8 Department of Correction and at the same time 9 eliminated the need to pull ambulances away from 19 In an effort to improve This 10 Western Queens neighborhoods to respond to calls at 11 Rikers. 12 positive effects. 13 Calendar Year 2016, the citywide response time to 14 life-threatening emergencies decreased by 21 seconds. 15 This included improvements in every borough of the 16 city. 17 minutes, which is 25 minutes shorter than regular ALS 18 ambulances. 19 33 percent more assignments. 20 a BLS unit are dispatched to a potentially life- 21 threatening incident, the response is more than a 22 full minute faster than when simply an ALS unit is 23 dispatched. 24 the Bronx has reduced the number of held calls there 25 by 76 percent. The Department s inno ations are ha ing Between Calendar Year 2015 and Fly Cars have an average cycle time of 44 This allows the Fly Cars to respond to When an ALS Fly Car and The use of Tactical Response groups in Since we instituted direct dispatch 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 in January this year, 3 decrease in dispatching time citywide. 4 stationing units on Rikers Island, the average 5 response time to all incidents on the island has 6 decreased by five minutes and 29 seconds. 7 been a significant resulting effect on Northwestern 8 Queens where response times to life-threatening 9 emergencies have decreased by 50 seconds, and e 20 e seen an 11-second Since There has 10 response time to all medical incidents is down one 11 minute and 33 seconds. 12 effect on Elmhurst Hospital where the number of 13 transports from Rikers has decreased by 18 percent. 14 We continued to make improvements at every step of 15 the process. 16 continue operating as we always have. 17 bureaus we have embraced strategies to create a 18 smarter, more effective fire department. 19 to look forward and evolve because we know it 20 ultimately allows us to save more lives and create a 21 safer city. 22 newly promoted officers is also appropriate when 23 considering the nature of a modern fire department 24 and the ways in which we are constantly evolving to 25 meet new challenges. This has also had a positive We know that it is simply not enough to Across all We continue A remark I recently made to a group of Your role changes, your 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 responsibility grows, but the mission remains the 3 same. 4 service to all New Yorkers in every area of the City 5 as well as to the millions of visitors who come to 6 the area every year. 7 entire City Council for its ongoing support of this 8 mission. 9 answer your questions at this time. 21 We embrace our mission to provide exceptional We thank the committee and the My colleagues and I would be happy to CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 10 Thank you for your 11 testimony, Commissioner. 12 on a lot of the improvements the Department has made, 13 certainly your recruitment efforts and the number of 14 fire fatalities being at an all-time low. 15 all good. 16 and I m going to start m 17 about the Fly Car you mentioned. 18 respond-- when you have response times to critical 19 emergencies end-to-end, are you considering the end 20 time when the Fly Car gets there or when the 21 ambulance that can transport the patient to the 22 hospital gets there? 23 I want to congratulate you I m concerned still That is ith the EMS ser ices, q estions first asking COMMISSIONER NIGRO: Now, when you Sure. Well, in the 24 Fly Car pilot we dispatch both a Fly Car and a BLS 25 ambulance. So the times that I mentioned were for 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 one of those units arriving at the patient, which is 3 considerably better than it was without the Fly Car 4 pilot. 5 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 22 It might be better, 6 b t if I m the patient, I 7 quickly as possible to the hospital, because I want 8 to make sure that, you know, I have the doctors 9 looking at my case. COMMISSIONER NIGRO: 10 11 get there, the faster 12 hospital. 13 14 15 16 17 ant to be on m o ay as Well, the faster we ll be on CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: o r a to the Right, right. just want to-COMMISSIONER NIGRO: [interposing] I think that number is down also. CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: make sure that the 18 numbers are genuine in terms of response times, 19 because one wants an ambulance to get to the 20 hospital, and while I think that the Fly Car are 21 definitely a step in the right direction, I just 22 don t think that 23 response times, beca se it s reall 24 that we depend on for the response. 25 I o co ld sa the are bringing do n the amb lance 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 23 COMMISSIONER NIGRO: I think the response 2 3 time is the time a trained unit, ALS or BLS, arrives 4 at the location of the patient, and that response 5 time is considerably better, and the time it takes 6 for us to then package, so to speak, the patient and 7 take them to the hospital has not increased either. CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: I just-- I just 8 9 don t agree ith that philosoph , beca se if m 10 situation is life-threatening, then I want to get to 11 the hospital as q ickl 12 living in a borough, I want to know what my average 13 response time is. as possible, and if I m COMMISSIONER NIGRO: Well, I think the-- 14 15 our philosophy on EMS is if your situation is life- 16 threatening you need people on the scene to treat you 17 immediately. 18 important, b t it s secondar 19 emergency response of medical care that this agency 20 provides. 21 by trained personnel, which is what the Fly Car 22 assists us in doing. 23 The getting to the hospital is to the immediate So, what you want to get is quick response CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: Okay. Now, in my 24 borough, Queens, I notice that the response times are 25 significantly higher compared to the city average of 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 last year or the citywide average altogether. 3 what we have in Queens is response times to Segment 4 One Medical Emergenc 5 o er se en min tes, b t in Q eens it s se en minutes, 6 38 seconds. 7 And the percentage of times when it takes more than 8 10 minutes happens more frequently than not. 9 happens over 50 percent of the time. Amb lance Units. So that s nearl 24 Cit So, ide it s half a min te longer. So that Why is it that 10 if you live in Queens that your service is not as 11 good as other boroughs? 12 COMMISSIONER NIGRO: Well, I would say 13 there is a variation one borough to the next. 14 have been addressing, as you heard, by adding-- we 15 did add two tactical units to Queens, and we have 16 been bringing down response times in Queens. 17 notice that the end-to-end time in Queens for 18 ambulances is slightly larger than the citywide 19 average, and the Department is working very hard to 20 bring that down. We did see a significant 21 impro ement e 22 I mentioned those numbers. 23 Queens, and I do believe that with the addition now 24 of these two tactical groups to Queens, Queens will 25 see what the Bronx saw last year, a significant hen e added those We I nits to Rikers as That was very helpful in 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 improvement. 3 neighborhood in this city equally, and we will see 4 that come down. 5 25 We do endeavor to treat every CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: I don t think ha ing 6 to wait 10 minutes is right for the people who are in 7 life-threatening sit ations. I think it s too long, 8 and the Department needs more resources. 9 average response time that somebody should have to 10 ait for an amb lance if e been str ck b re ha ing a heart attack 11 or if 12 know, have serious trauma to your body? a ehicle and COMMISSIONER NIGRO: 13 14 o o What is the o , o Well, the-- what should the response time be? CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: Yeah, what is? 15 I 16 mean, in a city like New York where we have the 17 ability to provide EMS in such a sophisticated way, 18 19 20 21 22 h can t the response times be mean, that s the time that o o nder si re in cardiac arrest before reall o ha e min tes? I hen start to ha e brain damage. COMMISSIONER NIGRO: I m not s re an 23 municipality can truthfully say that they are 24 providing end-to-end response time in six minutes or 25 less in this country or in any other country, but I 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 believe we have been successfully bringing response 3 time down each and every year since this 4 Administration started. 5 to rs since I started. 6 since I began, and 7 the system. 8 to ad ambulances to the system. 9 response time down. e 26 We have added 134 ambulance We e added 750 people to EMS e p t 36 million dollars into We continue to do that, and we continue We continue to bring Six minutes is a great goal. 10 Will e e er reach that? Let s see. 11 have to show me where they did and how they did it 12 and provide us with the funding to do that, which may 13 be double what we spend right now, maybe triple. CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 14 Someone o ld Your firefighting 15 units are able to get to emergencies in under five 16 minutes. 17 COMMISSIONER NIGRO: Our firefighting 18 units are able-- are responding to much fewer calls; 19 1.4 million medical calls a year were responded to 20 last year, 1.7 million total calls to the Department. 21 So you can see the variation and what it would take. 22 If the Fire Department-- if our fire units were 23 responding to 1.4 million fire calls, their response 24 time would not be what it is today. 25 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 2 o Since e mentioned that o e been 3 the Commissioner, 4 700 and some odd more tours, but is that-- how much 5 of that is taking over from private ambulance 6 services? COMMISSIONER NIGRO: 7 o 27 p t on Almost all of that 8 is new, because many of the tours when Transcare went 9 out of business were taken over by others, but most 10 of these tours, these 134, are additional tours that 11 were added to the system. 12 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 13 what does that amount to on a regular day? 14 more ambulance are serving at any given time in one 15 borough? 16 COMMISSIONER NIGRO: And those tours, How many Well, a tour is an 17 eight or a 12-hour shift. So, if we do the math, it 18 would be-- ambulances would be 50, but we count by 19 tours because not all ambulances run 24 hours a day. 20 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: So, approximately 10 21 more ambulance in each borough. You have about 15 22 more ambulance. 23 COMMISSIONER NIGRO: Okay. 24 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 25 - I m tr ing to fig re it o t. Is that-- I m j st- 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES COMMISSIONER NIGRO: 2 3 28 That would be about right, 10 more vehicles. CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: When 4 o r EMT s take 5 on the job you provide them with a bullet-proof vest, 6 is that right? COMMISSIONER NIGRO: 7 8 They do have bullet- proof vests, correct. 9 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: Are they new or 10 they handed down from one EMT to the next? 11 COMMISSIONER NIGRO: Excuse me? The new 12 employees get new vests. Employees that have been 13 with us have vests that they received a number of 14 years ago. CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 15 And at what point 16 do these vests no longer serve the purpose or are 17 protected? COMMISSIONER NIGRO: 18 19 Anybody? I believe the manufacturer says five to 10 years. CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 20 21 Is there a life span on a vest? Okay. So, do you know how many EMTs are wearing ineffective vests? COMMISSIONER NIGRO: I don t think man 22 23 EMTs are wearing ests at all. I think o 24 hard-pressed to go out today and find one. 25 ha e ests that are older than that period. d be They may The re 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 not required to wear them, nor do the vast majority 3 ever wear them. CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: But this is 4 5 something that s important to the 6 represents the membership. 7 the 8 the membership? sho ld get ne nion, hich Why would they think that ests if it s not important to COMMISSIONER NIGRO: I have not heard them 9 10 stress that on man 11 important for them to get new vests. occasions to me that it s 12 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: Have you-- 13 COMMISSIONER NIGRO: [interposing] 14 29 er Certainly-- 15 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: [interposing] But 16 it s something the Department provides a new EMT. 17 18 e CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: And then the re provide. 19 20 COMMISSIONER NIGRO: It s something expected to buy their own after five years. 21 COMMISSIONER NIGRO: 22 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: B t if it s onl 23 effecti e for fi e 24 o t 25 they become an EMT. h the No, the re not. ears, I m j st tr ing to fig re re not replaced if o gi e them hen 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES COMMISSIONER NIGRO: 2 that the 4 them. 5 by the EMTs. 6 to is our Counter Terrorism Taskforces made up of 7 firefighters and EMTS, I belie e it s abo t a 8 thousand people now who are trained who receive much 9 more effective ballistic gear, helmets and ballistic 11 re not req ired to ear It s not a required piece of equipment to wear I think what the Department has pivoted ests that the can se at times hen that s necessary. 12 13 The ol ntar 3 10 can p rchase one. It s 30 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: So o e not made any funding requests to OMB about replacement vests? 14 COMMISSIONER NIGRO: We have not. 15 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: And so for some 16 reason every EMT gets it, a vest, when they start the 17 job, but if it only lasts for five years then it 18 becomes ineffective, b t the 19 replacement. 20 beca se I 21 didn t think that it 22 replacement 23 and your department to speak to the rank and file and 24 reall 25 understanding that it is. don t get a I just-- I m conf sed b o ldn t bring it ests. that. And p if the membership as important that the get So it s something I enco rage see if it is an iss e, beca se I m o I get calls from EMTs as 1 2 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES ell, and I e been recentl 31 getting calls from EMTs 3 about opportunities for promotion. 4 used to be able to become a lieutenant as an EMT, but 5 it s not the case an more. 6 Are there lieutenants out there that were never 7 paramedics that went from EMT to lieutenants, and why 8 as it oka When did that change? then if it s not oka COMMISSIONER NIGRO: 9 In the past, you no ? At some point the 10 Department had decided that because officers are 11 supervising paramedics who are not paramedics 12 themselves, that a better plan, a more efficient plan 13 would be that all officers should be paramedics. 14 There are still EMT lieutenants in the field who were 15 promoted prior to the r le change, and the 16 operating as lieutenants. 17 Fly Cars. This took place in 2008, the change. 18 it s nine ears right no . 19 now for promotion for EMTs is they can become 20 paramedics; the 21 the opportunity we have right now. 22 to change that. 23 disc ssed it, and for no 24 the-- 25 re They cannot operate on the So The opport nities right can become firefighters, and that s We have no plans We tho ght abo t it. We e e re going to stick to CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: [interposing] Now-- 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES COMMISSIONER NIGRO: 2 3 32 one must be a paramedic to be promoted to lieutenant. CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: Why is it a 4 5 considered a promotion to become a firefighter from 6 being an EMT? Isn t it a total different job? COMMISSIONER NIGRO: I think because you 7 8 can make about twice as much mone . 9 a We don t-- it s ord that s-- I know some bristle at, but generally 10 a promotion in ol es a raise, and that s 11 considered a promotion exam. 12 13 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: COMMISSIONER NIGRO: The Department has A Retention Unit for EMTs? 16 17 it s put together a Retention Unit for EMTs, why is that? 14 15 h CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: I read that. You stated that in your testimony. COMMISSIONER NIGRO: I think it s a 18 19 Recr itment and Retention Unit. 20 previously, we had not spent much time recruiting 21 EMTs and now we will. 24 25 e re-- So-- CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: [interposing] But 22 23 What what is-COMMISSIONER NIGRO: [interposing] Retention goes hand-in-hand with recruitment. 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 2 3 33 What is the retention rate of an EMT? 4 COMMISSIONER NIGRO: Do you know? Steve? 5 ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER RUSH: 6 merger with EMS and Fire Department in 1996, at the 7 beginning of the merger we were so extraordinary high 8 attrition rates. Since that time, the attrition rates 9 have actually come down greatly. I mean, I think even Since the 10 in 11 six percent. 12 exam it increases, promotional exam to firefighter it 13 increases, but generally speaking the attrition and 14 the retention rates for EMS have improved greatly, 15 and we have statistics that back that up. 16 o r o n reports I think it s in the range of like Obviously, when you have a promotional CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: I understand from 17 the nion that the re like less than 60 percent, 18 that you have a turnover rate that when compare your 19 firefighters to your EMTs, EMTs do not put in the 22 20 years and collect full pension as you have with 21 firefighters, because for a number of reasons they 22 feel that the re not treated the same as 23 firefighters. Certainly, as you mentioned earlier, 24 the pay could be one reason, but more and more this 25 Emergency Medical Service is becoming the role of the 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 Fire Department more so than responding to your fire 3 emergencies, and I feel that the EMTs are not getting 4 the same type of opportunities. 5 look at firefighters they have more tests and more 6 promotional opportunities after lieutenant. 7 don t ha e that 8 hearing that we had a few months ago, you mentioned 9 that you do give opportunities for them to become Certainly, when you You ith EMTs, and earlier at one of the 10 paramedics, b t there s only like 80 slots. 11 done anything to expand the paramedic program? 12 34 COMMISSIONER NIGRO: Have you We are in the 13 process of doing that, and I would say that our EMTs 14 and paramedics are certainly treated the same as 15 people on the fire side of the department. The 16 not paid the same, re 17 certainly treated the same. 18 opportunities, they do have opportunities to become 19 paramedic. 20 increase that opportunity. 21 over 1,000 people take the promotion exam to move to 22 the fire side if the 23 to do that, and that s the opport nit 24 advancement. 25 EMS. Captains can become chiefs in EMS. o As I said, re correct, b t the re And as far as e d like to e pand that, They do-- we had well so choose, and the re elcome for Lieutenants can then become captains in 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: B t that s not 3 become-- that s not b 4 with the firefighters. 5 6 taking a test like o ha e COMMISSIONER NIGRO: No, it is not. another process. It s an inter ie CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 7 35 It s process. Is it-- would that 8 be something you would support as Commissioner? 9 Would you support more promotional exams with a civil 10 service title that is protected like you do in the 11 firefighting part of the fire department? 12 support that for EMS? Would you COMMISSIONER NIGRO: I think the process 13 14 we use now has-- and it has been adjusted-- works 15 very well. 16 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: I disagree. 17 going to recognize Council Member Vallone for 18 questions. 19 COUNCIL MEMBER VALLONE: Thank you, Madam 20 Chair. 21 your decades of ongoing service. 22 Very enthusiastic about the new outreach program and 23 the new numbers that you gave us this morning. 24 you have some idea on what the class is going to look 25 Good morning, Commissioner. I m Thank you for We appreciate it. Do 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 like, the incoming class on a numbers and how many 3 taking exam? 36 COMMISSIONER NIGRO: Our future exam, 4 5 well, we-- I think we can give you some numbers on 6 that. 7 8 9 10 11 12 DEPUTY COMMISSIONER KAVANAGH: our goals, it would be about 50 percent non-white. COUNCIL MEMBER VALLONE: No, not-- just in total numbers. DEPUTY COMMISSIONER KAVANAGH: Oh, just how many people are going to turn out? 13 COUNCIL MEMBER VALLONE: Yeah. 14 DEPUTY COMMISSIONER KAVANAGH: 15 50,000 turned out for the last exam. 16 be roughly the same this time around. 17 Based on About We expect it to COUNCIL MEMBER VALLONE: And could you 18 give just some of 19 parameters of when an exam is given and how often 20 that opportunity comes up? 21 s ho aren t familiar DEPUTY COMMISSIONER KAVANAGH: fo r ears. This ith the Sure. 22 It s gi en e er ear, the filing, 23 you have to file to take the test. 24 open on April 5th, and will be open either for one 25 month or t o, that s beca se The filing will e ha e an opport nit 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 to extend it which 3 to the end of April or to the end of May if we extend 4 it, and then the test will be given in September for 5 those who filed. e probabl ill, so it ll be open COUNCIL MEMBER VALLONE: 6 37 With those 7 numbers, how many in the past have gone through and 8 been added to the Department, if you have-DEPUTY COMMISSIONER KAVANAGH: 9 10 [interposing] We would generally hire about 2,000 11 people off of the-- 12 13 COUNCIL MEMBER VALLONE: [interposing] How many? DEPUTY COMMISSIONER KAVANAGH: 14 15 Two thousand. 16 COUNCIL MEMBER VALLONE: Two thousand. 17 DEPUTY COMMISSIONER KAVANAGH: Yeah, so 18 it s abo t fo r percent that file that mo e on to 19 become firefighters. 20 It s er competitive. COUNCIL MEMBER VALLONE: With that 2,000, 21 will that get us a number that we are at today? 22 it be more with retirement and attrition? 23 DEPUTY COMMISSIONER KAVANAGH: I think 24 Steve could probably fill us in further, but I 25 believe we are approaching headcount very soon. Will 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES COUNCIL MEMBER VALLONE: And 2 3 n mber that hat s that e re stri ing to achie e? ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER RUSH: 4 5 38 Firefighter headcount, the budget calls for 8,335 positions, and 6 e re probabl 7 in the Academy. 8 So 9 attrition. We expect to be at full headcount by the 10 abo t at 8,187 ith the c rrent class Of course, the class is 18 weeks. hen the class grad ates e ll have more second half of FY 18. COUNCIL MEMBER VALLONE: 11 Is there any 12 thought of increasing the exam from four years to two 13 years, or? DEPUTY COMMISSIONER KAVANAGH: 14 e looked at that. 16 hire, so it s not clear 17 gi ing an 18 probably have to wait just as long to come onto the 19 job, altho gh the 20 frequently. 21 recently and actually just stopped doing that. e on t affect the rate at e 15 22 It So, hether or not hich e d reall ad antage to candidates, beca se the e be d d be able to take the test more We are looking at it. e been looking to sit do n NYPD did that ith them. So, They just 23 had their most recent filing and e am. We re looking 24 to sit down with them afterwards and hear why they 25 made those changes, either why they moved to doing it 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 more frequently or why they then moved away from it, 3 and 4 want to do for the next exam. e ll look at 5 6 7 hether or not that s something COUNCIL MEMBER VALLONE: And once o e e got that two or three thousand, how is it determined here the re assigned and which firehouses? DEPUTY COMMISSIONER KAVANAGH: I ll pass 8 9 39 that over to Chief Leonard. CHIEF JAMES LEONARD: 10 We have, based on 11 needs where they are. 12 probationary firefighters have a choice through the 13 courts of one of two divisions or they put in for two 14 divisions. 15 cit , and 16 abo t 98 percent of the time. 17 needs of the Department where people want to work and 18 that s ho They also have-- new There are nine divisions throughout the e re obligating. We meet first choice So it s based on the e assign them. 19 COUNCIL MEMBER VALLONE: Okay, last year, 20 and I guess this year too, we started some new 21 programs. 22 sometimes there would be a need to pull some whether 23 it was EMS or EMS services to create or fill a need. 24 Last year it happened at Fort Totten and then it got 25 replaced later on in the year. The Commissioner and I spoke about Is there a gap that 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 needs to be filled with the creation of any of these 3 ne 4 any missing units at this point? ser ices that 5 e can make s re that COMMISSIONER NIGRO: 40 e don t ha e I think what we were 6 discussing, right, there was a unit taken out of Fort 7 Totten. 8 I think what 9 trying to deploy more often are these taskforces I think that was just an error of planning. e re looking at no ith a model e re 10 where units are deployed more to a borough in groups 11 and as we look at the call volume on a live time 12 basis, they can be moved to where the volume is 13 greatest so that if one part of Queens is suddenly 14 inundated with calls, units can be shifted in order 15 to ensure that people aren t 16 amount of time, and if another part of Queens-- as 17 the volume changes, these units can be more flexible 18 in their movement rather than statically being in a 19 place which might not be getting a large volume of 20 calls. 21 these two taskforce groups. 22 already seemed to improve greatly response time in 23 Queens, and we think we can bring it down much 24 further. 25 So aiting an inordinate e re tr ing that right now in Queens with We hope that it-- it has 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES COUNCIL MEMBER VALLONE: Is there hope 2 3 that those might become permanent? COMMISSIONER NIGRO: Yes, we think-- the 4 5 6 7 41 nits are permit. Whether the ll be permanent as taskforces, as we look at the data, we think that ill be the model for them. So o ll ha e a certain 8 number of static units in a borough, and some number 9 of units that are in a taskforce format. COUNCIL MEMBER VALLONE: Does that include 10 11 the Fly Car pilot program, or is that-- 12 COMMISSIONER NIGRO: It s reall a 13 separate issue. The Fly Car program is 10 Fly Cars 14 backed up by 10 BLS ambulances and also the first 15 taskforce was put in place in the Bronx. 16 group went to Queens. The second COUNCIL MEMBER VALLONE: And what 17 18 constitutes the vehicles? 19 of the Jetsons. Sound like something out COMMISSIONER NIGRO: The 20 21 the 22 ambulances, EMT staffing, basic life support, the 23 same 24 street corner. 25 re the same amb lances that ehicles, b t the The o re j st-see, BLS re not assigned to a specific re assigned as a gro p and the 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 can be moved by dispatch as volume in the borough 3 changes. 42 COUNCIL MEMBER VALLONE: And I think the 4 5 last thing I just want to close on was we had 6 discussed opening up the FDNY to become part of the 7 councilmatic [sic]. 8 getting involved with participatory budgeting, 9 getting involved with additional structural repairs 10 that we could assist with and I was happy to say the 11 facilities director made it on up, and we are going 12 to partner with replacing firehouse doors in the 13 district, because it was something that we talked 14 abo t, and I think that s something that each of the 15 Council Members could easily adopt and go forward 16 with to start making some of those changes that we 17 can assist 18 for growth in the participatory budgeting world for 19 the Council Members who actively participate. 20 think the communities would love to rally around 21 their firehouses. 22 can even do more of that. 23 o ith. Our own individual budgets So, I still think there s room I I think for next year I think we COMMISSIONER NIGRO: Well, I thank you 24 for that, and I thank the council for everything 25 the e done for s in these-- in this regard in 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 assisting us in getting things done and funding some 3 of these projects for us. So, thank you very much. COUNCIL MEMBER VALLONE: Thank you, 4 5 43 Commissioner. Thank you, Chair. CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: We 6 e been joined b 7 Council Member Cabrera and Council Member Lancman. 8 Council Member Cabrera has questions. COUNCIL MEMBER CABRERA: 9 10 much, Madam Chair. 11 your staff. 12 questions. 13 are they equipped with cameras? 15 No, the 16 17 Commissioner, welcome, and to all I just have a couple of out-of-the-box Number one, the fire trucks, do they-- COMMISSIONER NIGRO: 14 re not. The COMMISSIONER NIGRO: specific? 20 camera that you see on some-- Can you be more What type of cameras, like a dashboard COUNCIL MEMBER CABRERA: Yeah, dashboard. Let me j st be open as here I m going 23 COMMISSIONER NIGRO: Sure. 24 COUNCIL MEMBER CABRERA: 25 re not. Have you considered equipping them with cameras? 19 22 Not all of them. COUNCIL MEMBER CABRERA: 18 21 Thank you so ith this. The question was asked earlier from the Chair regarding delay time. 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 I m 3 as to what is really causing delay. 4 traffic than ever before in New York City. 5 perhaps, it s lack of pro imit 6 incidents are taking place. 7 it would be profitable from that end to perhaps 8 randomly pick certain trucks and to see what is 9 reall 44 ondering has there ever been like a random study ca sing dela , to We have more We have, here fire is or So, it will be-- I think hat s the norm. And the 10 second is in case of situations where it could be 11 used for training where you have a fire incident 12 taking place and to come out with better practices 13 with best practices. COMMISSIONER NIGRO: 14 We have a policy now 15 where we do send a team out with cameras to major 16 fires, and they do film it, and we do record all of 17 our audios at those fires also for the purposes of 18 training. 19 time, so to speak, 20 lack of effort by the units, and response time grows 21 when volume grows. 22 happened in this Administration. 23 from the system, response time would grow, and of 24 course traffic affects response time. 25 that the average mile-per-hour of Manhattan traffic As far as studies for what causes response e do man . It s certainl not a If units were-- and that has If we removed units We all saw 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 is no 3 challenge to our units. 4 week also that we have cameras on our drone. 5 two tethered drones that can film the site, and at a 6 fourth alarm in the Bronx it was used for the first 7 time to film the operation, and we think this will be 8 very helpful to our chiefs for training in the 9 future. do n to 8.1 miles an ho r. It s a great You might have seen this COUNCIL MEMBER CABRERA: 10 45 We have I appreciate 11 that response, Commissioner, and if you could take in 12 consideration p t in the cameras. 13 expensive, those go-go cameras or any type of-- I 14 don t ant to mention a partic lar-- Certainly worth-COUNCIL MEMBER CABRERA: but, you know, 17 18 re not that COMMISSIONER NIGRO: [interposing] 15 16 The hich cameras I m referring to. In talking and track 19 [sic] your [sic] and speaking to you about 20 technology, is there any new technology that we see 21 on the horizon that you would love to have part of 22 the department, the Fire Department to be included? 23 COMMISSIONER NIGRO: 24 technology is a great assist. 25 past. Well, certainly We e sed it in the One thing that departments all over the 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 country all over the world have been trying to-- and 3 the military-- to perfect is locating members in a-- 4 not just on a horizontal plane, but a horizontal and 5 vertical plane. 6 how do you identify them? 7 a very valuable tool to our department, every 8 department in the world and the military. 9 it s 46 So where someone is in the building, That is a very-- would be Perhaps e re getting closer to sol tion, b t no one has 10 one yet. We do have a very strong technology 11 department and 12 large companies looking at our technology and asking 13 for their assistance and how we can be better. 14 Fire Department, especially the-- well, both sides, 15 fire and EMS demand a lot of hands-on activity and 16 cannot be replaced. 17 firefighters, EMTs and medics can t be replaced b 18 technology, but can certainly be enhanced by 19 technology. e re orking right now with some Much of what we do both as COUNCIL MEMBER CABRERA: 20 The Indeed. I e 21 seen a couple of incidents in television where I know 22 your last response, possible action is to bring 23 somebod 24 rope. Is this like a fire-proof rope, or do we have-- 25 it s j st reg lar rope? do n b rope. I m j st c rio s abo t this Is there ne technolog ? 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 Yo 3 that rope going on fire. 47 kno , there s al a s that e er-present danger of COMMISSIONER NIGRO: I think on the 4 5 incidents o re referring to on the Upper East Side 6 after that firefighter and the person he rescued 7 reached the ground the rope did burn. There are no 8 fire-proof ropes that We are looking 9 at a different rope from the one that was used there e re a are of. 10 that we think may be an improvement. 11 ropes, once the 12 service and never used again for life-saving 13 purposes. re Certainly these sed like that the re p t o t of 14 COUNCIL MEMBER CABRERA: Interesting. 15 COMMISSIONER NIGRO: But we will test 16 whatever ropes are out there and try to find the best 17 possible product. 18 19 20 21 22 We think-- COUNCIL MEMBER CABRERA: [interposing] That will be-COMMISSIONER NIGRO: we have a new one that will be even better [sic]. COUNCIL MEMBER CABRERA: That would be a 23 good startup. And my last question, as you know, we 24 had the unfortunate incident near Broadway in the 25 Bronx where we lost Chief Fahy. We was stationed in 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 m 3 after him in honoring him. 4 there a technology or not technology, a form of 5 protection where the Chief could be protected by some 6 kind of structure that if-- and I know that was a 7 very unusual event, but as I recall, he had even 8 instructed a couple of police officers to move out of 9 the way. district, and 48 e re going to be naming a street I was just curious, is He really saved a couple of lives. But 10 that would have protected him, at the very least have 11 allow him to survive. 12 COMMISSIONER NIGRO: I think one of the 13 most dangerous things our members respond to are gas 14 emergencies, gas leaks, because they never know when 15 that gas will be at the percentages as it was in the 16 Bronx to result in an explosion, and our members 17 respond to thousands of these a year. 18 depended upon the devices we carry to measure the 19 presence of gas, and in that case there, it was a 20 very serious loss for this department. 21 was probably someone who would be sitting where the 22 Chief or I are sitting in the future had he not been 23 killed, but we continue to look for ways to respond 24 to these and to protect the public and public safety 25 Much of it is Chief Fahy 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 at the many thousands of odors of gas we respond to 3 every year. COUNCIL MEMBER CABRERA: Thank you so 4 5 49 much, Commissioner. Madam, thank you so much. CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 6 Thank you, Council 7 Member Cabrera. The Police Commissioner submitted a 8 request to the Federal Government for reimbursement 9 of cost associated with protecting Trump Tower. Does 10 the FDNY incur any costs associated with security at 11 Trump Tower? 12 COMMISSIONER NIGRO: Oh, we absolutely 13 do, and our request was submitted along with 14 Commissioner O Neill s to be reimb rsed. CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 15 16 How much was that request? 17 COMMISSIONER NIGRO: Steve? 18 ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER RUSH: From 19 Election Day to Inauguration our estimates were fully 20 loaded with fringes, obviously, which is the true 21 cost, is 1.7 million dollars for both Fire and EMS. 22 Going forward we have two dedicated teams at Trump 23 Towers, and we project that cost 24 hours a day, 24 seven days a week, is 4.5 million. 25 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: So, if that-- 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 50 ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER RUSH: 2 3 [interposing] Those costs, by the way, will increase 4 as the President is in town, and we-- 5 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: [interposing] Right. 6 ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER RUSH: up the 7 number of resources. CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 8 9 12 hen the President isn t e en in to n? ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER RUSH: 10 11 So that s j st That s correct. CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: It s to protect the 13 building and his family and/or does it have something 14 to do with protests? 15 COMMISSIONER NIGRO: Well, it s to 16 protect the family, and when the President s in to n 17 the size of our numbers of people grow. 18 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: So, you have like-- 19 you have an EMS unit outside just in case something 20 happens with the family? 21 22 COMMISSIONER NIGRO: There is an EMS unit there 24 hours a day. 23 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 24 COMMISSIONER NIGRO: The 25 It seems excessive. re also there to provide safety for the police officers, the many, 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 many police officers there to protect the building, 3 which is a potential target. 51 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: So, I have some 4 5 other q estions. I m going to try to get through them 6 q ickl , beca se 7 going to ask about the Quarter Master. 8 funding request for bunker gear, breathing apparatus 9 and other essential equipment. How did you decide e ant to sta on calendar. I m So you have 10 that you needed the replacement now for this type of 11 gear in this budget, and the rank and file has said 12 that the 13 included in this quarter master budget which would 14 include essential equipment? 15 boots are essential. 16 question, please? ant a second pair of boots that s not So I understand the And if you can go into that COMMISSIONER NIGRO: Sure, the-- well, 17 18 bunker gear of course has a life expectancy. It 19 wears out. 20 So these replacement costs get in the budget. 21 same is true with air cylinders and the air packs 22 that the members wear. 23 boots, the members have-- that was not stopped. 24 members had never gotten with their gear two pairs of 25 boots to go along with the rest of the equipment. We replace a certain amount every year. The As far as the second pair of The I 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 do understand that the 3 important. 4 important, and it s something I m certainl 5 to talk about with them and see if this is something 6 that needs to be done. feel this is necessar , it s I don t disagree that it ma COMMISSIONER NIGRO: I believe it would 10 cost five million dollars. 11 estimated. Four million? I way over- It s fo r million dollars. 12 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 13 COMMISSIONER NIGRO: 19 For a second pair of CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: So, the department believes that this could be a necessary? COMMISSIONER NIGRO: I m 17 18 Four million. boots for everyone. 15 16 illing second pair of boots cost? 9 14 be CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: How much would a 7 8 52 about it. illing to talk I certainly see their logic behind that. CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: I d like to talk 20 about capital expenses. Recently I wrote a letter 21 about Rescue Company One after I visited it, and they 22 are in need of a larger space. 23 that the department is looking into, building a more 24 adequate space for Rescue One, and is it in the best 25 locations since it s ser ing the Is this something hole borough? 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES COMMISSIONER NIGRO: 2 3 ith o that toda s 53 Certainly we agree orld, Resc e One s q arters is 4 much too small for them, and we have been actively 5 looking in the area, making our look expand for a 6 spot we could build or use. 7 found that spot, but we have not stopped looking, and 8 it is very important to us to find quarters that will 9 be similar to res-- So far, we have not hat s going p for Resc e T o 10 and what already exists for Rescue Three spaces that 11 befit the equipment of a rescue company. 12 also has a plan in on Staten Island to build right 13 across the street. CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 14 15 Rescue Five The Department is looking for new space for Rescue One, which is good. 16 COMMISSIONER NIGRO: 17 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: Absolutely. Now, about 18 firehouse renovations, are there major renovations 19 that 20 there-- 21 renovations? o re looking for thro gho t the Cit ? o re complete ith Are o r bathroom 22 COMMISSIONER NIGRO: We are. 23 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: And so how about 24 new firehouses in Queens, Long Island City and 25 Jamaica and Flushing are building faster than 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 planners could have imagined. 3 get services? 4 was an area that saw closures back maybe I think when 5 Bloomberg was there, that one of their houses closed. 6 So are you looking at the response times individually 7 in neighborhoods or Community Boards? 9 Do those communities In fact, Long Island City, I believe, COMMISSIONER NIGRO: 8 54 We are looking very closely just the way you stated, Community Board by 10 Community Board, as to what the future needs. 11 department has operated for years on the strategic 12 plans that lasted two or three years. Our new 13 strategic plan will look 20 to 25 years out for the 14 needs of the city, and in areas such as Long Island 15 City where growth has been so rapid, we will 16 determine what the needs are. 17 m ch like the Arm 18 defending this city, and we need to be prepared in 19 the future. 20 study is very detailed as to where we think we are 21 lacking resources and where new resources will be 22 needed. 23 So the We have to be prepared does to defend the co ntr ; So, I-- this study is ongoing. e re This CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: Yeah, I would offer 24 the Co ncil s help in the st d . We o ld lo e to 25 look at the numbers if you could share your response 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 times as they relate to Community Boards. 3 especially with Jamaica developing so close to the 4 airport, JFK, our international airport. 5 6 55 I mean, COMMISSIONER NIGRO: I think we can certainly do that. CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: I have a bill that 7 8 actually asks for the department to report broken 9 down, so I would like to continue that conversation 10 and just, you know, as we look to push that bill 11 through the city, that we could just get it to be 12 policy that each year those numbers are reported. 13 I m looking at 14 something that the department doesn t reall 15 Yo 16 statistic that people understand, which is easy to 17 understand, number of fatalities that happened due to 18 fire causes each year. 19 that your department keeps track of which is called 20 EMS Pre-hospital Saves and Engine Pre-hospital Saves, 21 and when looking at those vital statistics, there are 22 more lives being lost today compared to two years 23 ago, and this I believe is something we need to look 24 closer at hen 25 services. For example, what I see is in 2014 Engine ital statistics no . So That s mention. didn t mention in-- you mentioned one vital B t there s a ital statistic e re e al ating o r EMS and fire 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 Pre-hospital Saves were 412 lives, whereas in 2016 3 Engine Pre-hospital sa es 4 decrease of 25 percent. 5 chance. 6 response times as well as EMS Pre-hospital Saves. 7 2014 it was 623, whereas in 2016 it was only 475. 8 That too went down approximately 25 percent. 9 you think these numbers are going down? ent do n to 305. 56 That s a I don t think it s j st b I do believe it has something to do with In Why do COMMISSIONER NIGRO: Well, certainly if it 10 11 was a result of response time, it would mean that the 12 faster we get there the fewer people we save. So, 13 because we are getting there quicker than we were, so 14 it would actually be reverse logic. 15 figures we have found-- 16 But some of the CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: [interposing] I m 17 sorr , I didn t 18 that one more time? 19 nderstand that. Can o e plain COMMISSIONER NIGRO: Well, if we are 20 getting, 21 faster than 22 then one would extrapolate that getting there faster 23 sa es fe er li es, and e e are, if ere, and e re getting to the scene e re sa ing fe er people, e all kno that s-- CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: [interposing] Or the 24 25 hich a o re tracking them. 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES COMMISSIONER NIGRO: 2 3 not true. 5 tracking faster. 6 e er 7 - 9 that s Excuse me? CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: Or the 4 8 We all kno 57 a o re Your EMS numbers are not faster in boro gh, and it s not faster that an amb lance- COMMISSIONER NIGRO: [interposing] Oh, I think they are. 10 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: is getting there. 11 So, I don t think that-- and even with the fire-- 12 even with the fire responses, the 13 response time is not decreasing. 14 15 16 17 18 COMMISSIONER NIGRO: e gone p. The The response times have not increased. CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: Not by the statistics that I have. COMMISSIONER NIGRO: o You know, I have not 19 looked at that n mber that re sing, so I reall 20 have a little difficulty commenting on it. 21 much of what it is, we depend on getting data from 22 the hospitals as to the outcomes of calls. 23 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: Right. 24 COMMISSIONER NIGRO: 25 I think And we had a period where we were getting incomplete data, so we could 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 not report on it, and we have found the numbers may 3 not be what they seem. 4 further-- 5 6 So, unless I look at it CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: [interposing] I encourage the department to. COMMISSIONER NIGRO: 7 8 58 I doubt the accuracy. CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 9 To look at it 10 further, because this is an important statistic, and 11 we need to have better statistics like this, more 12 transparency. 13 information over to the City so that we could analyze 14 this in a way where we could accurately say whether 15 New Yorkers are any safer today than they were two 16 17 ears ago. The hospitals need to be getting the Beca se m n mbers that I m looking at, the numbers I have are saying a different story. 18 [off mic comments] 19 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: I think we covered 20 everything. So, I appreciate the Department. first 21 of all, I appreciate everything your members do in 22 their life-saving, heroic efforts each and every day 23 to protect New Yorkers, and I look forward to 24 continue our conversation on both the boots and the 25 vests, and also looking much closer at response times 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 and services, and working to make sure that New 3 Yorkers are safer especially when it relates to 4 Emergency Medical Services. 5 6 COMMISSIONER NIGRO: Absolutely. 59 Thank you very much. CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 7 Thank you. The 8 committee would like to call up George Farinacci who 9 is the UFOA Local 854 representative. 10 o re read , please begin o r testimon . 11 GEORGE FARINACCI: 12 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 13 well. GEORGE FARINACCI: 15 thanks for having me. 16 Criminal-- 18 Okay. Yeah, might as Sorry for the commotion. 14 17 George, when No worries. Alright, Thank you very much to the CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: [interposing] We also skipped protocol. 19 GEORGE FARINACCI: 20 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: Public was supposed 21 We did. to go on later today. 22 GEORGE FARINACCI: I thank you very much 23 for that as well. I can make my meeting. 24 all and thank you to the Chair. So, just a couple of 25 points about having a second set of boots. Our Thank you 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 members are prett 3 for the ne 4 looking for a second set of boots to operate with at 5 a fire. 6 A wet set of boots which is encountered in the winter 7 months or in the summer months from sweat or just 8 operationally in any type of water leak or any fire 9 for that matter, which obviously we use water to put pragmatic. The 60 re not looking fall fashions or spring fashions, the You know, obviously, a dangerous condition. 10 out the fires. 11 thermal barrier and a liner made up of multiple 12 la ers inside the boot. It s constr cted in s ch a 13 a When the boots are wet, they have a that it s a separate entit from the boot. It s 14 a bootie that s 15 an adhesive. 16 difficult to get your foot in and out of the boot. 17 In that process that adhesive sometimes will break 18 down. 19 o re sed-- that s placed in the boot ith When the boot is wet it becomes very The inside bootie will turn inside out, and can t get o r foot in and o t of the boot in an 20 kind of great speed, which we often need to get into 21 our gear and out of our gear. 22 take often times up to two weeks to dry. 23 lead to wet socks, lead to a cold fireman, and lead 24 to also a much heavier piece of gear that we have to 25 work with. The wet boots will Wet boots When you have an extra couple of pounds 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 on your feet you begin to feel it. 3 often asked to work to exhaustion at fires, and every 4 little bit of effort to be saved for that critical 5 time 6 we could use that extra energy. 7 cost. You know, every number is a big number in the 8 way of the budget, I understand that, but the members 9 have been asking this for quite a while to get a hen God forbid there s somebod 61 Our members are to grab onto, So, we went over the 10 separate set of boots just to be able to operate a 11 little bit more efficiently, and you know, also avoid 12 such things like rashes and bacteria builds up in the 13 boots which come from wet boots. 14 larger incidence of that happening in Probie [sic] 15 school where they wear them wet pretty regularly in 16 training beca se the 17 We have a much re there fi e da s a week. So e can take a look at that and see that it s a-- it s 18 been an ongoing problem. And I would just-- those 19 would be the key points. So I would appreciate any 20 consideration in finding some budget in there to. CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 21 When asked about 22 the boots, the Commissioner seemed to think they were 23 essential, so 24 couple of months to get-- to hopefully get them in 25 the budget. e ll ork together o er the ne t 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 GEORGE FARINACCI: 3 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 4 Very much appreciated. Thank you for testifying today. 5 6 62 GEORGE FARINACCI: Thank you. Thank you very much. CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 7 We will move into 8 the second part of the hearing, the Department of 9 Probation. I would ask Commissioner Bermudez and her 10 team to please-- [off mic comments] So, I would thank 11 Commissioner Bermudez for being here today, for the 12 work that she does on behalf of the City. 13 Department s Fiscal 2018 Preliminar 14 1.6 million dollars, a decrease of less than one 15 percent compared to the Fiscal Year 2017 Adopted 16 Budget. 17 of approximately 1,051 personnel. 18 incl des the Department s efforts to red ce 19 recidivism through initiatives such as mentoring and 20 the Next Steps Program. 21 to learning more abo t the Department s ne 22 initiati es, the Department s ongoing efforts to 23 create programs that reduce recidivism and the budget 24 priorities for 2018. 25 looks for ard to recei ing an The B dget totals The Department budget focuses on headcount The budget The Committee looks forward In addition, the committee pdate on the Co ncil s 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 anti-gun violence initiative. 3 you, Commissioner, and anybody else on your team, we 4 must swear you in. 5 hand? 6 but the truth in answering the committee with the 7 q estions that 8 testimony? Before we hear from If you could raise your right Do you affirm to tell the truth and nothing o re posted and also in your Thank you. COMMISSIONER BERMUDEZ: 9 63 Good morning. 10 Good morning, Chair Crowley and members of the Fire 11 and Criminal Justice Services Committee. 12 Bermudez, Commissioner for the Department of 13 Probation. I m joined by my cabinet, Deputy 14 Commissioners Michael Forte, Gineen Gray, and Sharun 15 Goodwin, and General Counsel Wayne McKenzie. 16 you for the opportunity to testify about the critical 17 work of the Department of Probation and its 18 Preliminary Fiscal Year 2018 Budget. 19 occupies a unique position in the Criminal and 20 Juvenile Justice systems as we help to reduce crime 21 through a carefully calibrated balance of structure 22 and support. 23 probation to create what we refer to as their 24 no 25 and engagement in their neighborhoods. I am Ana Thank Our department This balanced approach allows those on ne hile developing deeper community connections New York City 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 continues to see a decline in overall crime and a 3 decrease in arrest for minor offenses which helps 4 reduce the number of people entering the justice 5 system. 6 including ours to better and more strategically focus 7 resources on those that pose a greater risk to public 8 safety. 9 investigation and supervision services in more than 64 This allows law enforcement agencies Last year the Department provided intake 10 57,000 cases and directly supervised 27,000 adults 11 and 2,600 juveniles. 12 Department supervises 22,000 people, which is more 13 than do ble the cit 14 Fiscal Year 2018 the Department has a Preliminary 15 Budget of 100.6 million dollars as compared to our 16 Fiscal Year 2017 Adopted Budget of 100.7 million 17 dollars. Notable changes in the Preliminary Budget 18 include an expansion of mentoring programming, a 19 reduction in Center for Economic Opportunity funding, 20 and recognition of State Juvenile Prevention funding. 21 When compared to our current budget of 100.6 million 22 dollars, the Fiscal Year 18 Preliminary Budget of 23 100.6 million is four million or nearly four percent 24 less, which is primarily attributable to intercity 25 funding that historically has added to our budget On any given day, the s c rrent jail population. For 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 post-adoption. 3 Preliminary Budget, 73 percent or 73.8 million is 4 allocated personnel services, and 27 percent or 26.8 5 million is allocated to other than personnel 6 services; 79.4 million are city tax levy funds; 14.8 7 million are state funds; 6.3 million are inner-city 8 funds, and 74,000 are federal grant funds. State 9 funding, which previously reimbursed nearly 50 65 Of the 100.6 million allocated to our 10 percent of local probation costs now provides only 14 11 percent of our operating costs and is expected to 12 remain flat the 2011 funding level. 13 priorities reflect critical investment in sustaining 14 and expanding our continuum of structured 15 accountability, opportunity and support services, and 16 our community-focused model of working to meet the 17 unique needs of those on probation. 18 Our budget In other words, e re stri ing for a one-size-fits-one model. In 19 terms of expanding structure and accountability, our 20 Department continues to be a key partner in the Cease 21 Fire initiative with the NYPD, District Attorneys and 22 other key stakeholders dedicated to reducing violent 23 crime. 24 Bronx with the first call-in yielding 100 percent 25 participation from those identified. Last October, Cease Fire expanded to the We have also 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 expanded the role of our Intelligence Unit which in 3 Fiscal Year 16 completed 956 Field Enforcement 4 Actions, an increase of 48 percent. 5 NYPD Domestic Incident Report Notice follow-ups, 6 gang-related investigations, bench warrant 7 enforcement, failure to report home visits, and 8 transporting individuals to and from other 9 j risdictions. 66 Those include We re also in the process of 10 overhauling and revamping our case planning process, 11 known as the Individual Action Plan, or IAP. 12 serves as a behavior change guide to successfully 13 complete one s probation sentence, as it is the 14 agenda for each probation meeting between the 15 probation officer and the person on probation, but it 16 also ensures accountability within the agency as it 17 allows the chain of command to evaluate whether or 18 not 19 toward that change. 20 is to ensure that all probation offices are well- 21 versed and skilled in utilizing the IAP, as the 22 positi e effects of addressing each client s specific 23 criminogenic needs will last throughout future 24 probation practice. 25 with support from a US Department of Justice grant, e re effecti el g iding the people The IAP e s per ise One of my goals as commissioner At the beginning of last year 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 we launched Anyone Can Excel, or ACE, a new 3 supervision model for our young people age 16 to 24. 4 ACE officers completed an unprecedented six months of 5 training on new and additional tools to effectively 6 engage young adults on the issues of violence, peer 7 relations and decision-making. 8 with you preliminary data. 9 percent fewer young adults in ACE were re-arrested as 10 compared to a similar group of non-ACE 16 to 24 year 11 olds. 12 examples of expanded accountability at the agency or 13 system levels, but frankly the individual level is 14 often most compelling. 15 a success story of someone who recently completed a 16 three-year probation sentence. 17 a felon 18 Probation Officer Sang [sp?] and Supervising 19 Probation Officer Perez [sp?]. 20 much of a struggle it was as it was her first offense 21 of any sort and one that nearly broke her. 22 o n 23 life, my then 12-year-old son whom I could have 24 killed or severely hurt had I not been arrested. 25 also lost my job, which I loved, all savings, my 67 I m pleased to share Over the past year, 23 Cease Fire Intel, the IAP and ACE are all So, I want to share with you Sally was arrested on DUI and s per ised at o r Q eens ords, I as g ilt Office b She told us about how In her of neglect of the lo e of m I 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 home, and honestly my will to live at times. I was 3 skeptical I would ever recover, but Officers Perez 4 and Sang pulled me through. 5 grateful as I know my now 16-year-old son, four 6 siblings, 87-year-old parents, and friends are. 7 Though initially not in the best frame of mind, Sally 8 attributes her success on probation to being treated 9 with respect and understanding even when as she says 10 11 68 I will forever be they were delivering answers we all knew I did not ant to hear. I belie e it is beca se of their kind 12 humanity and strict procedure that I was able to 13 successfully complete probation, maintain sobriety 14 and serve as the ultimate example to a vast number of 15 people to ne er commit the offense that I did. 16 People like Sally also need opportunities to thrive. 17 So 18 opportunities for people on probation. 19 partnership with the Center for Employment 20 Opportunities, we were awarded a grant from the New 21 York State s Di ision of Criminal J stice Services to 22 launch a transitional employment program that 23 combines education and training on life skills, 24 short-term paid transitional employment, full-time 25 job placement and post-placement services for high- e e also been orking hard to e pand In 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 need 3 success around employability from our Young Adult 4 S ccess Corps, 5 Launched in partnership with the New York City 6 Service, the Young Adult Success Corps matches young 7 adults on probation with stipend intern positions at 8 service locations selected by community stakeholders. 9 To date, we have had 73 corps members and they have o ng ad lts on probation. hich I 69 We re also seeing e mentioned here before. 10 really transformed through their participation in 11 this program. 12 interviewed by staff from the US Senate 13 Appropriations Committee, and the Committee was so 14 impressed that they wanted to explore scaling the 15 model nation ide. 16 friends j st ha e dreams and hopes, b t the 17 anything about them. 18 getting to learn the skills and make the connections 19 that I can use to make my dreams actually happen, and 20 that s cool and lets me take pride in m 21 This program creates a sense of agency within our 22 young people through a unique transformational 23 experience involving teamwork, leadership and 24 responsibility. 25 area Last fall, the young people were One corps member said, In this program I Most of m don t do e been ork. Out of school time is another key e re addressing. Not surprisingly, youth are 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 more likely to be involved in problematic situations 3 when they have idle time on their hands. 4 this, our new Brooklyn and South Bronx PEAK Centers 5 begin operation later this month in partnership with 6 the Center for Alternative Sentencing and Employment 7 Services. 8 Achievement and Knowledge, and provides and 9 afterschool or evening safe haven for Family Court 70 To address PEAK stands for Pathway to Excellence, 10 involved youth age 18 and under with a focus on a 11 variety of things: educational, skill building, 12 employability, community engagement, peer support, 13 artistic expression, and recreation. 14 and their families will also have access to case 15 assist wrap around services including state license, 16 mental health treatment, monthly family forums, 17 weekly outings, and a daily hot meal. 18 heard, we cannot and do not do this work in a vacuum. 19 Cross-agency partnerships such as co-chairing our 20 working group on the New York City Taskforce on 21 Domestic Violence and expanded work in behavioral 22 health are critical to our success. 23 with ThriveNYC, the Department of Health and Mental 24 H giene, the Ma or s Office of Criminal J stice, and 25 NYC Health & Hospitals, e re Young people As you just In conjunction orking to ens re to 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 those on probation are receiving proper behavioral 3 healthcare. 4 Narcan training for probation officers, and given the 5 high usage of opioids in the borough of Staten 6 Island, we partnered to conduct a joint training with 7 Richmond County District Attorney Michael McMahon. 8 As we continue to address these issues, the use of 9 Adolescent Portable Therapy or APT, a flexible in- 71 We re also pro iding ongoing Nalo one or 10 home family substance abuse and mental health therapy 11 model for at-risk youth and their families is even 12 more critical to our department. 13 hopeful that Council funding for this program can be 14 revisited. 15 and resources that we offer, but how the 16 and by whom that makes the most difference. 17 experiences of credible messengers make them 18 particularly competent in connecting with people and 19 families involved in the justice system. 20 similar backgrounds, Credible Messengers seek to 21 reduce justice system involvement and recidivism by 22 impro ing one s ability to make better, less 23 impulsive decisions and develop safer means of 24 resolving conflicts, thereby enhancing public safety 25 and strengthening communities. To that end, we are In our work, it is not only the services Our Arches re offered The life Often from 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 Transformative Mentoring Program which relies on 3 credible messenger mentors is now a proven success. 4 A forthcoming impact evaluation of Arches and its use 5 of Credible Messengers conducted by the Urban 6 Institute looked at felony reconvictions for Arches 7 participants versus non-Arches participants. 8 Evaluation found a significantly lower level of 9 felony reconvictions for those involved in Arches. 72 10 The program model is already being replicated in 11 targeted NYCHA developments in the form of next steps 12 as well as in other jurisdictions across the country. 13 We also work with Credible Messengers as parent 14 coaches in our Family Court Parent Support Program. 15 Parent coaches whose own children have been justice- 16 involved provide individual support to parents, 17 guardians and families in navigating the juvenile 18 justice system and in taking an active role in their 19 children s cases. 20 families across New York City have participated, and 21 as a result we have seen both increased parental 22 involvement and understanding of the system. Most 23 importantly, we have seen a reduction in violations 24 of probation based on parental report of non- 25 compliance as parents have developed outlets for Since it began in 2014, o er 830 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 their own needs and means of supporting and managing 3 their children. 4 Credible Messengers have on the work that we do, I am 5 pleased to share with you the establishment of the 6 New York City center for Credible Messengering. 7 Across disciplinary collaboration between DOP, 8 Community Connection for Youth and the Silverman 9 School of Social Work at Hunter College, the Center 10 ill ser e as the coordinating h b for Probation s 73 Having seen the profound impact that 11 existing and future Credible Messenger Mentoring and 12 Peer Support programs. 13 jurisdictions across the country regularly reach out 14 to us to learn from and replicate the credible 15 messenger mentoring approach. 16 as a clearing house of Credible Messenger best 17 practices, and it ll enable de elopment and 18 enhancement for other Transformative Mentoring and 19 Credible Messenger initiatives. 20 my testimony be without mentioning our NEONS, our 21 Neighborhood Opportunity Networks, as they continue 22 to break new ground in community corrections, leading 23 the way nationally and providing critical services 24 throughout our city. 25 probation with necessary structure. Other city agencies and This center will serve Finally, what would NEONS provide those on They are first 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 and foremost local probation supervision sites, but 3 the 4 resources and services to both those on probation and 5 other members of their community. 6 only the issuance of IDNYC, enrollment in health 7 institution, HSC [sic] classes and more, but also our 8 signature initiatives, the NEON Nutrition Kitchens, 9 NEON Clothing Closets, NEON Arts, and NEON Sports. 74 re also a place of support where we provide This includes not 10 The NEON model of working with and within a community 11 is truly transformative for both those on probation 12 and others. 13 Rodney Smith who co-chairs our South Bronx NEON 14 Stakeholder Group received a letter from a community 15 resident about a young man who we will call Pablo. 16 Let me tell you a little bit more about Pablo to set 17 the stage. Pablo entered the school system as a non- 18 English-speaking student, extremely shy, withdrawn, 19 and he hardly ever spoke. His family of seven has 20 moved several times in search of affordable housing, 21 and all they can ever afford is a one-bedroom 22 apartment such as the one they live in today. 23 time they moved, Pablo is forced to change schools. 24 Pablo s mother in t rn is so depressed that she is 25 regularly hospitalized and requires a home attendant. Late last year, our Probation Officer Each 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 His father works 24/7 in a pizza shop in order to 3 make ends meet. 4 suffered from constant bullying and harassment by 5 peers, developed no friendships with classmates, and 6 repeatedly came home in tears. 7 said more than t o or three 8 quite bright. 9 sent to evening high school for an additional 75 So, as you can imagine, Pablo Although he rarely ords, he s act all When he failed two classes and was 10 semester, he had no trouble completing them in 11 February of last year. 12 months to wait in an attempt to enter college, but he 13 was expressing no ambition, no motivation, no goals, 14 and no dreams. However, he then had seven The letter talks about how college asn t e en on Pablo s radar until Probation Officer 15 16 Smith stepped in and connected him to NEON Arts. 17 q ote from the letter directl 18 that your program lifted Pablo out of his malaise and 19 depression, gave him hope and a voice. 20 NEON Arts presentation Pablo stood with a group of 21 peers, spoke to an audience and answered questions. 22 He spoke more words on that day than in the 14 years 23 I 24 literally hid underneath a mop of thick curly hair 25 with bangs so long he had to tilt his head slightly e kno n him. no , To All I can sa is During the D ring his entire life Pablo 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 backward to see. 3 something big, permitting a butterfly to emerge from 4 a cocoon where he appeared to be trapped. He is now 5 enrolled in Bronx Community College majoring in 6 mathematics and has cut that mop of hair that enabled 7 all of us as well as himself to see him in more ways 8 than one. 9 Miracle Program, enabled Pablo to find his voice 76 NEON Arts was the start of Most of all, NEON, which I have dubbed the 10 which has emerged loud and clear and it continues to 11 strengthen with each passing day. ell as Pablo s father For that, I thank 12 o , as 13 sa ed m 14 the opportunity to testify about the critical work 15 and very significant accomplishments of this 16 department. 17 the beginning of this year, in fact, you and your 18 City Council colleagues received funding request in 19 regards to expanding NEON Arts and sports so that 20 more New Yorkers like Pablo have access to arts and 21 culture, health and fitness, and stronger community 22 connections in their neighborhoods. 23 probation is singular in its role of providing 24 community-based accountability and support for those 25 who would otherwise be incarcerated. son. ho e claimed, Look at the change. The I thank o As al a s there s more to be done. As you for At e heard, As host of this 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 s mmer s American Probation and Parole Association 3 Conference, New York City Probation is a leading 4 voice on the role of community supervision in 5 strengthening communities and changing lives. 6 7 o again for Thank e re pleased to ans er any questions you may have. CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 8 9 o r time and 77 Commissioner. Thank you, Thank you for the work that you do in 10 your agency, all the team at Probation, and for 11 sharing the story about Pablo. 12 how many of the young adults or teens that you serve 13 have yet to get involved in criminal justice system? My first question is COMMISSIONER BERMUDEZ: 14 Well, e don t-- 15 well, through NEON Arts is the only time that we-- 16 the only program that we have that directly engages 17 with young people who are not in the justice system. 18 Although, justice scholars-- I mean, justice 19 community and the Justice Plus, which you fund, the 20 Council funds, also work with young people who are 21 not on probation. 22 of our Arches program, also works with people not on 23 probation. 24 don t necessaril 25 the Next Steps, which is an adaptation re not, So, we have not because of-- you know, we o track those o tcomes, because kno , ithin o r database s stem, 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 but they all have ongoing evaluations at that time. 3 So we will be seeing some of those results. CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: Do you know how many 4 5 78 New Yorkers are served? COMMISSIONER BERMUDEZ: So, in NEON Arts, 6 7 about 50 percent of the people who participate are 8 not on probation, and that s not co nting-- that s 9 participation in the direct program, b t then there s 10 the audiences. 11 comm nit 12 people attend and participate. presentation. We e had more than 7,000 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: Oh, 13 14 Every NEON Arts cycle ends in a lot. COMMISSIONER BERMUDEZ: 15 16 of those are not on probation. 17 quite deep. And at least half So, our reach is CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 18 19 staff. 20 of Probation? 21 man 22 Office of Criminal Justice? 23 o , that s a Question about your How many work actually within the Department ork How many are contracted out, and how ith other cit agencies, like the Ma or s COMMISSIONER BERMUDEZ: Well, all our 24 employees are-- the thousand as you cited are-- you 25 know, work directly with us, and then we have some 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 subcontracts that we have through the-- oh, yeah. 3 4 So e ha e 14 staff at MOCJ, at the Ma or s Office of Criminal Justice, sorry about that, and we have-- 5 6 79 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: [interposing] Sorry, can you repeat that? How many? 7 COMMISSIONER BERMUDEZ: 8 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 9 COMMISSIONER BERMUDEZ: Fourteen. Fourteen. Positions at the 10 Ma or s Office of Criminal J stice. D e to the 11 partnership that we have and the overlap of the work 12 that we do, we fund those positions, b t the 13 physically housed at the Ma or s Office. re CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: Your testimony you 14 15 mentioned that 75 percent of your budget is PS and 25 16 is OTPS. COMMISSIONER BERMUDEZ: 17 18 19 20 21 The OTPS is not contracted out, right? The OTP-- some of it is. CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: So, it is actually paying for people to do work? COMMISSIONER BERMUDEZ: Yes, it s for the 22 CBO s that r n-- so the Arches program is an RFP. 23 So, that-- so Arches, Justice Plus and all those 24 programs are-- 25 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: [interposing] So-- 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 COMMISSIONER BERMUDEZ: 3 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 80 part of that. So, the budget 4 technically is more than 75 percent personnel 5 services. 6 COMMISSIONER BERMUDEZ: Yes. 7 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: When you break down 8 the-COMMISSIONER BERMUDEZ: [interposing] Yes. 9 10 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 11 COMMISSIONER BERMUDEZ: Ultimately, yes. 12 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: And you can provide 13 the contracts. that for the Executive Budget? 14 COMMISSIONER BERMUDEZ: Absolutely. 15 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: How many people are 16 working and-COMMISSIONER BERMUDEZ: [interposing] 17 18 19 Sure. CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: various different 20 contracted out offices. 21 number of violations of probationers for adults and 22 also for juveniles. 23 in rates, first four months of Fiscal 17 compared to 24 first four months of 16? 25 I did see an increase in Do you see these same increases 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES COMMISSIONER BERMUDEZ: 2 81 So, yes. So we 3 are always watching those, those numbers. When the 4 violations-- violation rates fluctuate because it 5 depends on the population of people that we have 6 etcetera, and we have however, reduced the number of 7 technical violations quite a bit so that when 8 filing violations those violations are for public 9 safety issues, right? e re So, in-- and when you look 10 back at calendar years, which is what we tend to look 11 at on a consistent basis, the Calendar Year 15 rate 12 for example was three percent, and we are you know, 13 we just constantly watch those numbers to make sure 14 that 15 Sometimes it s a 16 so that s 17 violation of probation does not always mean a failure 18 of either the person or 19 doing. e re sing the h iolation process correctl . ake-up call for people, right? e al a s do case re ie s, beca se a s and the ork that 21 pop lation 22 yo 23 could be more likely to revisit the system. 25 e re CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: Could it be the 20 24 And o re orking ith is changing, e en if ha e fe er probationers o re COMMISSIONER BERMUDEZ: atching? The Some, yeah. Some is acco nted for that, absol tel , and that s-- like 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 I said, 3 because we have to know what the trends are, right, 4 and 5 important tool of our practice, and you know, we try 6 to learn from each time we have to file one. 7 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: I m going to 8 e re al a s e al ating that internall h the COUNCIL MEMBER GIBSON: Crowley. So, it s an Thank you, Chair Good morning, Commissioner-COMMISSIONER BERMUDEZ: [interposing] Good 11 12 iolations are being filed. recognize Council Member Gibson for questions. 9 10 82 morning. COUNCIL MEMBER GIBSON: to you and your 13 14 team. 15 give credit and acknowledge the amazing work you do 16 Good to see you once again. Always want to ith a m ltit de of programs in the Bron . I m 17 excited. Had an opportunity recently to meet with 18 both Osborne Association and Carnegie Hall, and I 19 didn t kno 20 with the South Bronx NEON program, but now I do. the ork that Carnegie Hall as doing 21 COMMISSIONER BERMUDEZ: Yeah. 22 COUNCIL MEMBER GIBSON: And it s 23 impressive. I wanted to ask a couple of questions on 24 some of the specific programs. 25 Cease Fire has now began in the 4-0, 4-2, 4-4, I So, I m a are that 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 believe, and maybe PSA Seven, I believe. What is the 3 role that probation plays in Cease Fire? Can you 4 help me understand in terms of the partnership? 5 6 7 83 COMMISSIONER BERMUDEZ: Oh, absolutely. Yes. This is an important partnership that we have as e e been er s ccessf l in Brooklyn. How Cease 8 Fire works is that the NYPD identifies the various 9 crews that are operating in the borough or in those 10 areas that you mentioned, the precincts, and they 11 first target the ones that have been most active in 12 engagement and in violent behavior, right? 13 a call-in to representatives of those groups. 14 there s-- so then our partnership is that any member 15 of those groups who is on probation gets a letter 16 from me sa ing 17 it s not reall 18 right, this call-in meeting, and 19 told where to go, etcetera. 20 with those people to make sure that they attend, and 21 then Cease Fire, the 22 law enforcement voice, a moral authority of the 23 comm nit 24 get right, you know, because we in Brooklyn at first 25 o There is When re being req ested-- of course, ol ntary-- to attend this meeting, a o kno , the re it Our officers then work oice, and that s a orks is that there s a er important piece to e didn t ha e the right person and that made a 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 difference. 3 community is to be saying violence has to stop. 4 cannot live like this. 5 you want to live like this either, right? 6 there s comm nit -based organizations present saying, 7 And if o 84 So, who the moral authority of the This is-- e don t belie e ant to get o t of that, 8 Right? You can engage with us. 9 opportunities, right? We And then e re here. We have all these And so what happens is that we 10 are conduits to the message. 11 people 12 abiding by their commitments and promises, and if 13 the 14 consequences within probation, right? 15 been very successful in containing behavior that way. 16 We then work with the ho are called in to make s re that the don t, then there s enhanced, o re kno , And we have COUNCIL MEMBER GIBSON: Okay. So in terms 17 of the ongoing and the consistent contact, many of 18 the clients that are engaged in, you know, the crew 19 operations, we have attempted and responded in such a 20 way where, you know, there are more youth jobs. 21 There s more opport nities. 22 many of the societal factors? 23 organizations that are a part of this network, I 24 imagine not kno ing e er one that s at the table, b t 25 each of the organizations should be able to provide So ho do e deal ith The community-based 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 some level of services to address maybe an 3 immigration issue that could potentially be a DV 4 issues. 5 with that we know are prevalent and obviously can 6 pla 7 enter the criminal justice system or have an 8 alternative of a positive interaction. Some of the other factors that a role in o ng people s abilit COMMISSIONER BERMUDEZ: 9 85 e re dealing to either not Right. So 10 there s planning meetings in the Cease Fire groups. 11 COUNCIL MEMBER GIBSON: Okay. 12 COMMISSIONER BERMUDEZ: And I think those 13 are the important things to bring into those meetings 14 is what are the needs holding people back, you know, 15 from making the choice not to engage in violence, 16 right, aside from what we already know of either, you 17 know, employment programs or education, etcetera, but 18 the particular communities are, you know-- have 19 immigration issues, as you raised, or housing or 20 whatnot, and what are the connectors. 21 our role is that connective tissue, right, of 22 connection the people on probation do those things, 23 b t 24 probation need that as well, and how Cease Fire can 25 o We-- part of re right that the people who are not on 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 try to make that happen would be an important 3 component in the Bronx. COUNCIL MEMBER GIBSON: Oka . 4 86 I m looking 5 forward to having a discussion about it. 6 Safety hearing is on Tuesda , so Commissioner O Neill 7 will come before us, and what I also know that with a 8 lot of the roll-outs, I think about JRIP [sic], a 9 program that Chair Crowley is very passionate about 10 The Public that looks at robbery-- 11 COMMISSIONER BERMUDEZ: [interposing] Yes. 12 COUNCIL MEMBER GIBSON: intervention 13 services for individuals that may be accused of 14 robberies, and it focuses on some of the similar 15 factors that Cease Fire seeks to do, but we are 16 looking obviously at crime in that particular 17 precinct. 18 at other factors. 19 measurement is how likely are young people able to 20 stay in school to graduate to go to college to get a 21 job? I mean, that to me is a performance indicator 22 that to me measures success as well. I think we can 23 do it simultaneous. 24 make sure that some of the positive interactions are 25 also proving successful as well. Is crime being reduced? But I also look Like for me, a performance We can keep crime down and also 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 87 2 COMMISSIONER BERMUDEZ: Yes, absolutely. 3 COUNCIL MEMBER GIBSON: Okay. I wanted to 4 a little further understand-- so you talked about 5 some of these NEON programs, I m not familiar 6 all of them. 7 had a chance to visit the kitchen at the south NEON 8 office. 9 NEON Arts, I think that-- is that the program with 10 I abo t that. Carnegie Hall? COMMISSIONER BERMUDEZ: The Carnegie Hall, yes. COUNCIL MEMBER GIBSON: Okay. 13 14 I know about the Nutrition Kitchen. Clothing closets, I don t kno 11 12 ith And NEON Sports? COMMISSIONER BERMUDEZ: 15 hat s happening So, let me tell-- 16 so part of ith the NEONS is that 17 believe that we have a very unique structure that 18 allows an ability to channel opportunities to people 19 at the most core level of a community or a 20 neighborhood, right? 21 group, right? 22 which NEON Arts, for example, providers-- which 23 providers are going to give the NEON Arts 24 programming. 25 we got the arts, what other things do people need, e So each NEON has a stakeholder And so the stakeholder groups decide So, the same-- so we thought, okay, so 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 right? 3 looked at our data and saw that the unstructured use, 4 the unstructured leisure time that the young people 5 have is terrible for them, and sports is a natural 6 connector to young people that we would start NEON 7 Sports. 8 little bit right now with some funds that we were 9 able to repurpose to then give that money to the NEON 88 And so we decided that, you know, as we So hat e ha e is that e e piloted a 10 stakeholder groups and say, okay, you guys decide 11 what kind of sporting opportunities are needed and 12 leisure time activity opportunities are needed in 13 your community? 14 t o c cles? 15 from what, Sharun, fencing to-- DC Goodwin can 16 address that a little bit. So, each-- I think T o c cles so far. We e e had, hat, e got e er thing COUNCIL MEMBER GIBSON: Yo 19 COMMISSIONER BERMUDEZ: Turn on your mic. 20 DEPUTY COMMISSIONER GOODWIN: 17 18 re microphone not s on. 21 NEON Sports the 22 done of co rse basketball. 23 really expand. 24 that s like reall 25 boro ghs, b t So, under e done fencing, s imming. So The e e re looking to A lot of them love the basketball, so e major in a lot of different e been, you know, experimenting 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 with other sports like lacrosse and trying to get 3 more people in the room to introduce our community to 4 different kind of sports, b t right no 5 grasping on. 6 course, basketball and swimming, which is unique. They love the fencing. COMMISSIONER BERMUDEZ: 7 the 89 re They loved, of So, then the 8 Clothing Closet happened similar, in a way similar to 9 the NEON Kitchens, the Nutrition Kitchens, which was 10 that our probation officers were essentially feeding 11 our clients, probation clients, as they came in and 12 were hungry, which was fairly prevalent. 13 with clothing. 14 had spent time in Rikers and came out and were put on 15 probation and their clothing was not great, or people 16 who were now trying to get jobs and didn t ha e 17 business attire. Same thing People, you know, people either who 18 COUNCIL MEMBER GIBSON: Right. 19 COMMISSIONER BERMUDEZ: So, it covers-- 20 21 each Clothing Closet has a different flavor, if you ill, b t basicall it s so that people can act all 22 get clothing help if they need it to improve their 23 lives. 24 track record of having community members come in for 25 And so having it as a hub we already have a 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 the food pantry on, you know, one day is always 3 community day. 4 COUNCIL MEMBER GIBSON: Right. 5 COMMISSIONER BERMUDEZ: e been e panding. And so that s-- 6 we 7 - whatever it is that we can just bring to the actual 8 community directly. COUNCIL MEMBER GIBSON: 9 10 What else? 90 o . So I kno NEON Health, NEON- Right. Thank e ha e other committees, I m sorr , 11 other agencies coming after us. 12 your time. 13 want to recognize Deputy Commissioner Goodwin for the 14 long relationship 15 does amazing work. 16 night and she always answers, because I get very 17 So, I thank you for Thank you, Chair Crowley, and I certainly e e had, and Kate Spalding ho I call her all the time day and niq e cases that I j st can t handle. So, thank 18 you, Kate, and thank you, Commissioner, to you and 19 your team. I appreciate it. 20 COMMISSIONER BERMUDEZ: Thank you. 21 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: I have no further 22 questions. 23 today to testify and for the work that you and your 24 agency does. 25 Thank you, Commissioner, for being here COMMISSIONER BERMUDEZ: Thank you. 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 91 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: We re going to take 2 3 a two-minute break before we hear from Department of 4 Correction. 5 [break] 6 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 7 Welcome, Commissioner. 8 statement, and then 9 from you and your staff. Good afternoon. I am going to read my opening e re going to hear testimon We will review Fiscal Year 10 2018 Preliminary Budget and Fiscal Year 2017 11 Preliminar 12 Department s Fiscal 2018 Preliminar 13 1.4 billion, a 48 million increase from last year 14 which will support the increasing number of 15 correction offices hired. 16 Department of Corrections Capital Budget includes 2.1 17 billion dollars for Fiscal Year 2017 through 2020, 18 including major capital projects such as adolescent 19 facility and a new jail in Rikers Island which has 20 been in the budget since the last Administration. 21 The Department s headco nt increased b 22 for Fiscal Year 2018 and its current class size of 23 929, the largest class size to date. 24 expense budget includes funding to support personnel, 25 I am concerned that the capital budget still does not Ma or s Management Report. The B dget totals In addition, the 74 positions Although the 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 support a new training facility that is so 3 desperately needed. 4 Preliminary Budget hearing I addressed the issue for 5 a new training facility. 6 current training facility is substandard and pales in 7 comparison to other uniformed agencies like the FDNY 8 and the NYPD. 9 professionalism that is expected of our correction 92 During Fiscal Year 2017 This has not trained. The It cannot provide the level of 10 officers and new recruits. In the reform agenda the 11 Administration identified improved training as a core 12 tenant in changing the culture of violence on Rikers 13 Island. 14 needs have not been addressed, even with the 15 expensive consulting contract of the McKinsey Group. 16 I am under is also-- it is also understood the 17 department awarded the McKinsey Group and other 18 contracts to help with the implementation of the 14- 19 point Violence Plan Reduction. 20 like to know more information as to the scope of 21 services that McKinsey is to provide under this 22 contract. 23 violent inmate-on-inmate incidents and injuries 24 continue to increase on Rikers Island despite the 25 Department of Corrections ever-growing budget and I am concerned that proper training facility The Committee would The committee would like to know why 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 what the Department plans to do to address these 3 issues. 4 here, and I would ask you to take the oath before you 5 start your testimony. 6 anyone on your team expects to answer questions that 7 are posed by the committee or testify in any way, if 8 you could raise your right hand? 9 tell the truth and nothing but the truth in answering 10 questions this committee poses and in your testimony? 11 Thank you. 12 testimony. 13 93 I welcome the Commissioner and his staff If you, Commissioner, and Do you affirm to Commissioner, please begin your COMMISSIONER PONTE: Well, good morning, 14 Chair Crowley and members of the Fire and Criminal 15 Justice Services Committee. 16 Commissioner of the New York City Department of 17 Corrections, and thank you for the opportunity to 18 testify today. 19 dedicated my time here in NYC to transforming the 20 Department of Corrections and how it operates. 21 on in my tenure, we concluded thorough assessment of 22 the Department s strengths, shortcomings, and needs. 23 From this assessment, we created that 14-Point plan, 24 Anti-Violence Agenda, which is holistic-- It s the 25 first holistic approach to reducing violence, I am Joseph Ponte, As you are all well aware, I have Early 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 encompassing everything from improving search 3 procedures, reducing overtime, improving supply 4 distribution, providing meaningful programming, and 5 reforming our behavior management model. 6 to inform the Council that we are seeing real impacts 7 of our reforms. 8 critical violence indicators, even while reducing the 9 use of punitive segregation by approximately 90 94 I am proud We have substantially driven down 10 percent and eliminating punitive segregation 11 altogether for individuals 21 and younger. 12 also been successfully implementing new and better 13 models of housing, programming, and healthcare for 14 our inmates, while managing to reduce staff overtime. 15 The Ma or s Management Report indicates that several 16 critical violent indicators went down in FY 16 17 compared to FY 15. 18 violence reductions were even more significant 19 through December. 20 to 16, use of force with serious injury decreased by 21 35 percent. 22 by 18 percent. 23 decreased by three percent. 24 inmates stemming from fights or assaults decreased by 25 eight percent. We have These violent reductions-- these When we compare calendar year 15 Use of force with minor injury decreased The total number of use of force Serious injury to Assaults on staff with serious injury 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 decreased by 31 percent. 3 minor injury decreased by 19 percent. 4 of assaults on staff decreased by 11 percent. 5 reductions are significant and demonstrate that our 6 reforms are having real impact on violence. 7 we still have a long ways to go. 8 stabbings and slashings increased again in 2016. 9 factor contributing to this uptick is the prevalence 95 Assaults on staff with Total number These However, Most importantly, One 10 of weapons that we cannot consistently recover. We 11 found 37 percent more weapons in 2016 than in 2015, 12 but found 20 percent fewer scalpel blades, which are 13 a common weapon used in slashing incidents. 14 Council is aware, we are currently unable to use the 15 ionizing body scanners that are the most effective 16 tool to find these types of weapons. 17 pursue a change in legislation to obtain the use of 18 these scanners, and I thank the Council for their 19 continued-- to continue to support us in that 20 endeavor. 21 violence, we still have too many incidents of 22 violence, particularly incidents of violence against 23 staff. 24 District Attorney to combat violence on Rikers Island 25 by ensuring that those who hurt someone, staff, As the We continue to While we are seeing a reduction in most We are working closely with the Bronx 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 visitor, or inmate, while in custody are prosecuted 3 for that assault. 4 convictions by the Bronx District Attorney that added 5 consecutive time to inmate sentences based on 6 assaults committed on staff. 7 is perhaps most-- seem most amongst our seriously 8 mentally ill inmates. 9 Health + Hospitals have established to treat these Recently, e 96 e had t o The impact of reforms The programs that we and 10 inmates have brought about remarkable change in 11 behavior and reductions in violence. 12 seeing trends that suggest that there has been a 13 decrease in inmate involvement in serious use of 14 force by 67 percent in CAPS Unit and 74 percent in 15 our PACE Unit. 16 and PACE, inmates showed less aggression towards our 17 officers. 18 physically resist staff less, and make fewer threats 19 against staff. 20 correctional staff work hand-in-hand to address 21 inmates 22 environment. 23 1,000 inmates, most of whom had previously been very 24 difficult to manage. 25 PACE Unit and will be diligently working to create Overall we are Most importantly, once placed in CAPS They commit fewer assaults on staff, In PACE and CAPS, health and mental health needs in a clinical To date, these units have served over In 2016, we opened our fifth 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 more of them, including a unit dedicated to young 3 adults, so that these individuals in custody can 4 receive the treatment they need. 5 treatment of mentally ill inmates is not limited to 6 those in the PACE Units. 7 training in Mental Health, First Aid, Basic Crisis 8 Management, Conflict Resolution, and Crisis 9 Intervention in the academy as part of the regular 97 Our focus on All uniformed staff receive 10 in-service training. Recruits receive training in 11 mental illness, drug identification, interpersonal 12 communication, suicide prevention, safe crisis 13 management, and crisis intervention. 14 new in our Academy classes. 15 H+H staff also receive Crisis Intervention Team 16 training. 17 successful throughout the facilities in responding to 18 incidents and deescalating situations without using 19 force. 20 Health and correctional staff attend training 21 together to develop, in partnership, the skills 22 needed to assist patients in crisis. 23 these initiatives, the Department has received a 24 federal grant, along with H+H and the Vera Institute 25 of Justice, to create support teams in our clinics Those are all Many members of DOC and Crisis Intervention Teams have been CIT training is provided twice each month. Expanding on 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 and intake areas to assist inmates with mental health 3 needs and to support officers. 4 grant was announced, the team-- when the grant was 5 announced, the teams, which consist of mental health 6 staff and correction officers, will offer support to 7 correctional staff by providing skill refreshers and 8 reinforcement of Mental Health First Aid training and 9 techniques. Through their emphasis on mental health 10 first aid and de-escalation, the support teams will 11 strengthen the efforts of the agenc 12 Violence Agenda, aiming to reduce uses of force in 13 these historically volatile areas. 14 will be present during times when uses of force in 15 the intake areas tend to peak, such as mornings and 16 during such as evenings and morning court production. 17 We believe that the presence of these targeted teams 18 to support our staff during these times will reduce 19 the uses of force in these areas. 20 part of the ThriveNYC program, we are providing 21 Mental Health First Aid training to many of our 22 inmates in custody, so that when they return to our 23 communities they will be equipped to help friends, 24 family members, and other members of the community to 25 help and stay safe. 98 As stated, when the s 14-Point Anti- The support teams In addition, as The Department has emphasized 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 managing different populations with distinct 3 different approaches. 4 been directed in that regard. 5 inmates as adolescents. 6 for young adults, provide unique programs and 7 services to women, and, as mentioned before, provide 8 specialized services for the seriously mentally ill. 9 Our reforms are seeing impacts. 99 Our programming housing have We treat adolescent We set up separate systems Due to our 10 adolescent reforms that started in 2014, there were 11 had fewer uses of force in RNDC. 12 February of this year, the 13 of uses of force in that facility for the past three 14 years. 15 philosophy of targeted management strategy applies to 16 managing inmates who are persistently violent. 17 custody inmates comprise 25 percent of our 18 population, but are involved in 75 percent of our 19 incidents. 20 less than 13 percent of our population, but are 21 involved in 70 percent of our incidents. 22 and programming must be tailored to this population 23 in a different way than we do to low custody, non- 24 violent inmates. 25 inmates, we created Enhanced Supervision Housing in In January and e seen the lo est le el That goes back to January of 2014. This same High Inmates in Security Risk Groups comprise Management To target the most problematic 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 2015. 3 to manage persistently violent inmates. 4 dedicated to the safe management of problemed [sic] 5 inmates is one reason we have been able to reduce our 6 daily punitive seg by nearly 90 percent. 7 punitive seg, ESH is designed to change behavior by 8 offering meaningful programming and incentivizing 9 positive behavior. 100 This replaces long-term punitive segregation Having units Unlike In 2016, we improved on the ESH 10 model by implementing a level system. Now, the 11 inmates in ESH can progress through a level system, 12 earning more out-of-cell time and additional 13 incentives by maintaining good behavior and 14 participating in programming. 15 provided in this unit is designed to prepare these 16 problematic inmates to safely return to general 17 population housing, and to be better prepared-- and 18 to better prepare them to eventually return to our 19 communities. So far, we have seen great success in 20 these units. The Department continues to roll out 21 reforms facility-by-facility, creating model 22 facilities within the agency. 23 model facility in September 2015. 24 2016, AMKC became the second model facility, and OBCC 25 was recently announced as our third. The programming GRVC became the first In late April Model facility 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 transformations include infrastructure upgrades, 3 reclassification of inmates using a Housing Unit 4 Builder, introduction of unit programming, and 5 implementation of Incident Command System response. 6 Critically, staff are steadied and increased where 7 necessary. 8 has already been notable, as the number of incidents 9 are significantly lower than expected, compared to 101 The effect of the reforms in these areas 10 historical baselines in housing areas of similar 11 classified housing. 12 is the young adult facility, and also restart units 13 overall. 14 percent lower than expected use of force, 76 percent 15 lower assaults on staff, and stabbing and slashing 16 have been lowered by 69 percent in these areas. 17 aspects of the model facility are being expanded 18 Department-wide, including staff training, camera 19 installation, and expanded programming. 20 working to offer five hours of programming to each 21 inmate each day in our facilities. 22 reductions in violence have been achieved while we 23 reducing our reliance on punitive seg. 24 often have fewer than 100 people in a punitive 25 segregation unit, which is more than a 90 percent In GRVC, AMKC, and GMDC, which Use of force in our restart units have 69 Some We are These significant Today, we 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 decrease from a few years ago. 3 reached a monumental milestone in 2016 when we 4 eliminated punitive segregation for all inmates under 5 the age of 21. 6 this. 7 when we removed all adolescents from punitive 8 segregation. 9 and refined therapeutic-based alternatives to 102 The Department No state in the country has done We began working toward this goal in 2014, Throughout 2015 and 2016 we developed 10 punitive segregation to address problematic behavior 11 in young people. 12 from punitive segregation in June 2016 and 19, 20, 13 and 21 year olds were removed in October of the same 14 year. 15 Department by introducing new tools and technology. 16 We have installed more than 10,000 cameras to date. 17 All of our housing areas on Rikers Island are now 18 camera covered. 19 renew use of ionizing body scanners, we are in the 20 process of procuring another TSA-style scanner that 21 will be critical in help us finding contraband. 22 search tools have already increased the amount of 23 contraband we have found on visitors. 24 contraband finds are up by 45 percent in Calendar 25 Year 16. Eighteen-year-olds were removed We are also working to modernize the While we pursue state legislation to New Visit drug Visit weapon contraband finds are up 538 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 percent, and those scanners, some of which will be 3 installed in visit areas, will help us further in our 4 effort to reduce the introduction of contraband. 5 Starting in 2016, staff in our Emergency Services 6 Unit have been trained in the use in carrying of 7 tasers. 8 in correctional settings around the country. 9 of the 14-Point Anti-Violence Reform Agenda, the 103 Tasers are important tools and that are used As part 10 Department has adopted a comprehensive plan and 11 response protocol called Incident Command System. 12 This system is based on the National Incident Command 13 System that s b ilt b 14 system utilized in most jail systems in the country 15 is a way for staff to respond to violent incidents by 16 empowering staff to make decisions on the response 17 both by number and the amount of officers necessary 18 to respond to a particular incident. The deployment 19 of tasers is critical to the implementation of our 20 ICS framework. 21 deployment plan that incorporates appropriate 22 safeguards, protocols, and training, which is founded 23 on an international escalation-based response 24 approach to ensure proper usage. 25 authorized users of tasers has been trained in the the Federal Government. This The DOC has developed a strategic Furthermore, the 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 new use of force policy and received 16 hours of 3 taser training, double the training duration 4 recommended by the manufacturer. 5 been no taser used in our facilities, but the mere 6 presence of tasers as in several occasions reduced 7 any force necessary. 8 the use RFID technology tracking system to manage 9 inmate movement, will be put in place at RNDC this 10 year in order to better document inmate movement in 11 facility and programming. 12 important component of our model facilities and our 13 operation and are critical to the success of all of 14 our efforts. 15 adding more than 1,500 uniformed officers and staff 16 since 2015, and another 900 more entered the academy 17 in December. 18 overtime, which is critical to maintaining a healthy, 19 capable workforce and a safe environment for our 20 jails. 21 training tools in the academy, including new mental 22 health training, the use of force-- new use of force 23 policy, and these new officers contribute to the 24 Department s c lt ral change. 25 previous hearings, our new recruitment emphasis does 104 To date, there have The Department is also piloting Staff are the most We continue to hire at a record pace, These new recruits help us to reduce Furthermore, they receive the most up-to-date As I have detailed in 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 not simply emphasize numbers. 3 revamped our Applicant Investigation Unit, raised our 4 hiring standards. 5 workforce, which now is better equipped to do the job 6 due to new training and hiring tools that we put in 7 place. 8 we have made to reduce assaults on staff and uses of 9 force, address overtime reform,-- address overtime 105 We have completely We have a capable, diverse We are proud of the significant progress that 10 reform, our use of punitive segregation, and 11 transform our management philosophy. 12 that we still face significant challenges. 13 new, modern facilities. 14 need to look at other options in managing problematic 15 inmates. 16 implemented to-date create a strong foundation on 17 which to continue to build our reforms. 18 for your time today, and we ll be a ailable to ans er 19 questions. 20 budget for FY 18. 21 We recognize We need We need a new academy. We But we believe the changes we have Thank you Frank Doka [sp?] will then talk about the Thank you. CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: Thank you for your 22 testimony, Commissioner. On the first page of your 23 testimony you show violence reduction numbers that do 24 not correlate with the numbers that we have. This is 25 an e ercise that e go into ear after ear. Toda s 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 hearing is going o er the 2017 Ma or s Management 3 Report, and that s 4 when it comes to serious injury on inmates as a 5 result of inmate-on-inmate incidents, your rates are 6 not decreasing, and in fact, the 7 since 2014. 8 today due to these numbers increasing and staying 9 very high? here I get m re And p significantly So, do you believe inmates are any safer COMMISSIONER PONTE: 10 n mbers from. 106 So, yes, I believe 11 many of the reforms we have in place have reduced the 12 safet risk of inmates, that s correct. 13 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 14 getting seriously injured at a higher rate? 15 could they be safer if your chances of getting 16 seriously injured are higher? COMMISSIONER PONTE: 17 18 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 20 it s right here. 21 We have plenty of copies. 25 if the re How So, our data does hat This is the data, It s the Ma or s Management Report. JEFF THAMKITTIKASEM: 22 24 h not agree with what you have there. 19 23 B t e re tr ing to pro ide is Yes, and I think p-to-date data, and the trends show in the up-to-date data-- 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: [interposing] You 2 3 say this every year, but this is up-to-date. hat 4 This is e re re ie ing toda . 5 6 107 JEFF THAMKITTIKASEM: We have not actually-CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: [interposing] 7 8 Violent inmate-on-inmate incidents, the monthly 9 report Fiscal Year 2014, 32; Fiscal Year 2015, 37; 10 Fiscal Year 2016, 11 increase, a nearly 25 percent. 12 slashings, the 13 so it s hard for me to belie e 14 most of your testimony. 15 I 16 trying to procure new scanners, TSA-style ones. 17 if it s good eno gh for the airports to 18 scanners, why is not good enough for the jails? e heard 19 p to 47. re p as That s a significant ell from 135 to 155. o re sa ing in o er and o er again. COMMISSIONER PONTE: se. hat And When it comes to scanners, o r testimon e can Your stabbings and We re Why, se those So, the airport 20 scanners It s a proc rement process that 21 we need to go through in order to get those scanners. 22 The ionizing scanners is a law change that has to 23 occur. We have said that. 24 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: Yeah, but your Chief 25 of Staff testified a few months ago that you were in 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 a procurement process, that you were purchasing 3 state-of-the-art technology that was going to detect 4 contraband. 108 5 COMMISSIONER PONTE: 6 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: But where are you in 7 8 9 the process? hat o Correct. I asked for the, you know, records of ere doing back then. It s ne er been produced to the Committee or the Council. JEFF THAMKITTIKASEM: 10 So, as I think I 11 stated to make sure that I said it, that we were in 12 the process-CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: [interposing] Can 13 14 you just state your name for the record? JEFF THAMKITTIKASEM: 15 16 17 18 19 of working with GSA, with-CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: [interposing] Please state your name for the record. JEFF THAMKITTIKASEM: Sorry, Jeff 20 Thamkittikasem, Chief of Staff. I did state and am 21 still stating that we are working with the GSA 22 schedule, because we have to procure it off of 23 federal schedule that is not a city contract. 24 have to procure it off of the federal contract, and 25 we are in the process of doing so. We We can show-- 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: [interposing] What s 2 3 109 the timeline? JEFF THAMKITTIKASEM: 4 We hope that with 5 one Vendex review, that things can happen within 6 April and May for the purchasing of the equipment, 7 and then another federal schedule is required for the 8 training. CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 9 And what was the 10 schedule a few months ago when you testified to this 11 committee? 12 JEFF THAMKITTIKASEM: we were told that 13 the company that was providing the equipment had been 14 bought, and so therefore at a federal level need to 15 change the contract. 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: So you thought back then you would have them already? JEFF THAMKITTIKASEM: that the compan We did not know as being bo ght, that s right. COMMISSIONER PONTE: Yes, I tho ght e d get them sooner than what we did. CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: The frustration 23 comes from a number of announcements by either the 24 Department of In estigation or the Ma or s Office 25 about progress, and saying that these types of 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 machines were going to be implemented right away back 3 then, going back to 2014, and each year you see your 4 indicators going up. 5 and slashed, and 6 not getting better despite 7 O r n mbers don t lie. 8 talk to you specifically about the McKinsey contract. 9 Now, our records show this contract is over 25 110 More people are getting stabbed iolence is o t of control. hat o It s e testified. So, Commissioner, I ant to 10 million dollars. 11 very critical of the previous Administration and the 12 contracting out that they did. 13 priced consultants, and I 14 doing for you day-to-day at the cost of 25 million 15 dollars. 16 This Administration, our Mayor, was This seems like high- ant to kno COMMISSIONER PONTE: hat the re So, this contract 17 has been in place for probably two and a half years 18 no , there abo t. 19 in that two and a half 20 happ 21 done for the duration of the contract. 22 to gi e o So, there s a lot that s been done ear period. I d be more than a detailed o tline of hat s been CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: Yet again, this is 23 something that the committee has asked for. 24 reports, evaluations? 25 Do you What kind of findings should I 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 expect to see that this consulting agency has done 3 for the Department of Corrections? COMMISSIONER PONTE: 4 It s a hole host of 5 things. Again, we can lay that stuff out for you. 6 It s t o and a half 7 accomplished. orth of CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 8 9 ears 111 ork that s been Commissioner, we have routinely asked for information about this 10 contract. We e asked, o kno , for 11 evaluations the 12 work, and each time the Finance Division of the City 13 Co ncil asks e been gi ing and hat t pe of e don t get it. JEFF THAMKITTIKASEM: 14 o hat t pe of We believe that we 15 have provided kind of the scope of the work several 16 times. 17 times also the work that McKinsey has done starting 18 from their assessment overall on the violence that 19 was prevalent before the Commissioner officially 20 started, moving towards implementing several pieces 21 of the Violence Reform agenda, particularly in 22 building kind of the housing, helping us to construct 23 the housing and classification unit, and also helping 24 us to kind of manage through the creation of our 25 model facilities through which we have shown several We have described in our testimony several 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 successes in each of the unit that have been stood 3 up. So, that progression of McKinse s efforts-- CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: [interposing] We 4 5 need to see those successes, because your total 6 numbers-JEFF THAMKITTIKASEM: [interposing] Again- 7 8 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 9 10 11 are not showing any-JEFF THAMKITTIKASEM: we have asked the 12 Council to come to it. 13 the Commissioner s testimon 14 violence indicators specifically related to those 15 restart and model facilities. 16 documentation, the testimony the Commissioner 17 provided, in those 18 use of force by 69 percent over the expected. 19 Assaults on staff were down 76-- 20 112 We e sho n some of the-- in e e read thro gh the If I can refer to the nits specificall e e red ced CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: [interposing] But 21 those don t-- those n mbers don t sho me that an 22 inmate is any safer today. 23 at, your violence indicators show that inmates are 24 more at-risk of violence today than ever before. 25 What your numbers are telling me is that correction The numbers that we look 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 officers are taking on more of a hands-off approach, 3 and that may be good or may be bad in certain 4 situations. 5 increasing and the number of serious injuries 6 increasing, then 7 iolence. 113 When you have the rates of fights o No matter don t ha e s ccess in red cing hich a o d like to dress it 8 up. 9 contracts, and I think that this is an exorbitant 10 amount of money for the Department, especially an 11 Administration that has been very critical of prior 12 Administration s contracting o t. 13 move to questions about your capital budget. 14 first, there s a 500 million dollar e pense that has 15 also been within your capital budget for a number of 16 17 So we want to see more information about those ears. 20 I m going to Which It hasn t mo ed, and this is for a ne jail, is that correct? DEPUTY COMMISSIONER DOKA: 18 19 No Yes, that is correct. CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: So, is it just 21 sitting in the budget, or do you actually have a plan 22 to build a new jail on Rikers Island? 23 COMMISSIONER PONTE: 24 You know, still some site work being done. 25 So, there are plans. You know, 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 I think 3 will build a new jail on Rikers Island at some point. e re proceeding nder the belief that CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 4 114 e Given the fact that 5 this council has consistently pushed for the closure 6 of Rikers Island, why is the DOC moving forward with 7 this plan to build a new jail? 8 commission studying the closure and putting together 9 a plan to close Rikers Island. 10 COMMISSIONER PONTE: Right. So the work 11 that s being done is site 12 demolition of old buildings had to get done. 13 that s the 14 Most of that work was done well before the Council 15 moved the committee forward on closing Rikers Island. 16 So, a lot of that stuff was started-- that work is ongoing. 19 construction. site work. CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 22 25 People are doing some type of COMMISSIONER PONTE: Not construction, 20 24 So ork that s being done at this point. 18 23 Some of the CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: [interposing] But 17 21 ork. Right now we have a Site work, what is site work? COMMISSIONER PONTE: Just the piping, tearing st ff do n, le eling the gro nd. It s a-- 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: [interposing] 2 3 Demolition. COMMISSIONER PONTE: 4 5 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: In the capital budget you have a plan for a new adolescent facility? DEPUTY COMMISSIONER DOKA: 8 9 There s no-- right. There s no b ilding of an thing. 6 7 Yes, that s correct. CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: Can you speak to 10 11 that, please? 12 else? Is it on the island or is it somewhere 13 COMMISSIONER PONTE: 14 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: So is it right to 15 have it in your budget? 16 will it be an ACS-- 17 115 It s not. Will it be a DOC facility or COMMISSIONER PONTE: [interposing] If the 18 law does not change, which you know, to raise the age 19 which is in state legislation, if that does not 20 change it will be a DOC facility off-island. 21 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: So, there s the 170 22 million dollars in the budget, but when can we, you 23 know, cut the ribbon on a new facility and finally 24 get 16 and 17-year-olds off the island? 25 DEPUTY COMMISSIONER DOKA: So-- 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 116 2 COMMISSIONER PONTE: Go ahead. 3 DEPUTY COMMISSIONER DOKA: 4 taking the lead on this, and I believe the last 5 estimate we have is that the population will be moved 6 out within the next six years. CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: Can you say that 7 8 again? DEPUTY COMMISSIONER DOKA: 9 10 So, DDC is Next six years. CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: Six years? 11 The 12 Department of Justice clearly stated that you should 13 remove your 16 and 17-year-olds off the island in its 14 investigation and lawsuit back in 2014. 15 COMMISSIONER PONTE: 16 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 17 Yes. Didn t it-- it recommended you do that back then. 18 COMMISSIONER PONTE: 19 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: Yes. And so since 2014, 20 nearly three years ago, you have a plan somewhat in 21 place that might take six years from now? DEPUTY COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: 22 23 24 25 So if I may-CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: [interposing] Please identify yourself. 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 117 2 DEPUTY COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Winette 3 Saunders, Deputy Commissioner for Youthful Offender 4 Programming. 5 share with you some of the work that has been done 6 over this timeframe to really prepare and work in 7 collaboration with the city agencies to develop a 8 plan for movement of young people off Rikers Island, 9 specifically 16 and 17 year olds. So, if I may, Chair, I just wanted to Over for more than 10 a 11 Justice, the Administration for Children Services, as 12 well as the Department for Design and Construction 13 and consultants have been developing a feasibility 14 study. 15 look at different state-of-the-art facilities, and we 16 have worked together very closely to figure out what 17 the new facility for this target population would 18 look like. 19 and with that being said, there are a number of steps 20 that need to be taken to really make sure that it 21 meets the needs of both DOC and ACS-- 22 23 ear no , DOC, the Ma or s Office of Criminal We have traveled across the country to take a We have developed a feasibility study, CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: [interposing] Understood, but do you have a timeline. 24 DEPUTY COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Yes. 25 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: When can we expect-- 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES DEPUTY COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: 2 3 [interposing] The timeline-CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: the building to be 4 5 118 actually under construction and complete? DEPUTY COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: 6 The 7 timeline is exactly what DC Doka mentioned to you. 8 However-CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: [interposing] You 9 10 said 2000-- he said six years. 11 starts or si 12 ears Six years until it ntil it s completed? DEPUTY COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Right now 13 at this-- 14 beca se it s a feasibility study you have to wait 15 until the results of those studies are done. 16 17 e think it s completion, b t right no CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: Do you have a copy of the feasibility study with you today? DEPUTY COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Oh, no, it 18 19 is an expansive document. I think we should discuss 20 on how to share that with you moving forward. CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: I think that would 21 22 be good. We would like to see it. Committee would 23 like a copy of the feasibility study. 24 b ilding is constr cted there s no plans to mo e 25 adolescents off Rikers Island? So, until that 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 COMMISSIONER PONTE: 3 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 119 That s correct. Commissioner, is 4 there any capital in the plan for a new training 5 facility? 6 MARTIN MURPHY: 7 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 8 MARTIN MURPHY: 9 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: [interposing] Sorry, 10 Chief, o 11 yourself. MARTIN MURPHY: 13 Department. 14 with-- 16 There is? We re-- re going to j st ha e to identif 12 15 Yes, there is, ma am. Martin Murphy, Chief of So, the City has committed to working CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: [interposing] Can you speak into the microphone, please? 17 MARTIN MURPHY: So, the City has committed 18 to working with the Department, and we are currently 19 right now in the capital project scope development 20 looking at a site for a new academy. 21 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: So, at the rate you 22 complete projects to get that your juvenile facility, 23 after its feasibility study, will take six years. 24 You think maybe what 10 years? 25 MARTIN MURPHY: I co ldn t sa . 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: Probabl 2 not. 120 It s 3 not in the budget. How could we realistically 4 believe you in a realistic 5 put a training facility together if it s not in the 6 budget? a that there s a plan to JEFF THAMKITTIKASEM: 7 8 the b dgets, 9 studies and then to design and then to build. 10 think these are the processes that all of the 11 buildings go through. 12 13 So, I So, what is the timeline for that building to take shape? JEFF THAMKITTIKASEM: Unfortunately, I 15 can t ans er 16 study, so-- ntil the re done ith the feasibilit COMMISSIONER PONTE: [interposing] That s 17 19 e got to go thro gh the feasibilit CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 14 18 e I think, as most of correct. CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: Commissioner, in 20 your testimony you spoke to uniform overtime and the 21 hiring of new staff has allowed you to reduce 22 o ertime, b t isn t it tr e o ertime is increasing 23 continuously every year? 24 25 COMMISSIONER PONTE: So, e e made great strides with this last class that graduated. So our 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 overtime numbers since November have reduced 3 dramatically. CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: Is your overtime 4 5 121 going up or is it decreasing? DEPUTY COMMISSIONER BRANN: 6 Good 7 afternoon. Cynthia Brann, Acting First Deputy 8 Commissioner. Our overtime, our daily use of overtime 9 has decreased from the pre-recruit average of almost 10 12,000 hours to a daily average of approximately 11 8,000 hours, 1,500 hours better than our anticipated 12 savings with the class of 700 hitting the facilities 13 in November. CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 14 15 16 to spend in overtime in Fiscal Year 2017, the year e re in right no ? DEPUTY COMMISSIONER DOKA: 17 18 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: How much did you spend last year? DEPUTY COMMISSIONER DOKA: 21 22 25 Two-hundred and 75 million. 23 24 This fiscal year, approximately 255 million. 19 20 How much DOC expect CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: o So, o re think re going to lo er that n mber? DEPUTY COMMISSIONER DOKA: By 20 million. 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 3 DEPUTY COMMISSIONER DOKA: 4 re confident? Oh, yeah, e re-- 5 6 Yo COMMISSIONER PONTE: [interposing] We re confident. 7 DEPUTY COMMISSIONER DOKA: Yes. 8 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 9 122 o And then next year re planning on lo ering that e en more? 10 COMMISSIONER PONTE: Correct. 11 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: So, Commissioner, 12 I m going to go through some other statistics. 13 natural deaths of inmates in custody. 14 the Ma or s Management Report, in Fiscal 16 there 15 were zero. 16 death when somebody is in need of medical attention 17 and even though they are asking for a doctor and 18 medical and the 19 consider that a natural death? 20 COMMISSIONER PONTE: 21 22 Non- According to Do you categorize it as a non-natural don t get it, and then the that s classified. die, o I m not s re ho Doctor Adams, o ? DEPUTY COMMISSIONER ADAMS: Good 23 afternoon, Doctor Adams, Deputy Commissioner of 24 Health Affairs. 25 attention and requests it and still passes away, it So, if someone is requesting medical 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 really depends on what was the cause that generated 3 the medical request. CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: So, the numbers are 4 5 not accurate. DEPUTY COMMISSIONER ADAMS: 6 7 What numbers are you speaking to? CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: I m speaking to non- 8 9 123 natural deaths of inmates in custody. If somebody is 10 asking for medical attention and it s being reported 11 and the 12 the die, re considering that a nat ral death? just depends on the cause. It really We have-- CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: [interposing] Or 15 16 o DEPUTY COMMISSIONER ADAMS: 13 14 don t recei e the medical attention and then maybe you need to have another column there for-- 17 MARTIN MURPHY: 18 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: [interposing] people 19 20 [interposing] Chair-- who-MARTIN MURPHY: I could just-- so the 21 Department, any death in custody, we rely on the 22 medical examiner to make a determination on the cause 23 of death, and that s ho 24 25 e report o r statistics. CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: Well, that s disingenuous, because someone could die of natural 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 causes, but you could have saved their life before 3 they died if they had medical attention. COMMISSIONER PONTE: 4 5 investigation. 6 the State Department,-- 124 There s also an Any death investigation is done by CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: [interposing] Right, 7 8 but then do you change your numbers to reflect that 9 or you just go by the non-natural deaths that you 10 keep track of? COMMISSIONER PONTE: 11 So, those 12 in estigations are reported thro gh the state. 13 required to respond to their investigation, and 14 either some cases 15 us, show improvement or whatever the course of action 16 should be. 17 on staff. 18 protocols and proced res. 19 process. 20 ill alidate hat the We re re telling In some cases they recommend discipline Some cases the ll recommend change in So that s all part of the CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: Are you familiar 21 with Eugene Castelli [sp?], 27, Staten Island man who 22 wound up on Rikers Island November 2nd. 23 later he was dead. 24 asked for medical attention a number of times and he 25 was not given that attention. Six days Other inmates report that he It was a story in the 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 Daily News about this case. 3 is? Are you familiar with 4 COMMISSIONER PONTE: I m not. 5 DEPUTY COMMISSIONER ADAMS: 6 Yes, the case was investigated, yes. CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 7 8 125 And was it found to be a natural death? 9 DEPUTY COMMISSIONER ADAMS: I m not s re 10 how the medical examiner determined it, but at the 11 time he was requesting attention, attention was 12 given. I understand that that might not be consistent 13 with what you saw in the Daily News report. 14 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 15 Rikers Island or did he die in a hospital? 16 17 Did he die on DEPUTY COMMISSIONER ADAMS: He died on Rikers Island. CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 18 Commissioner, one 19 of your statistics shows a number of uses of force 20 that isn t 21 agent usually in those types of situations, right, 22 when if a fight breaks out and correction officers 23 want to diffuse the fight, they use chemical agents. So COMMISSIONER PONTE: 24 25 iolent, right? force. o se a chemical That s a se of 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 2 se differentl ? 126 Do you calculate 3 the Like, I don t see in the 4 Ma or s Management Report a different col mn for the 5 use of chemical agents. COMMISSIONER PONTE: 6 It s not co nted 7 separately. 8 did nothing but apply a chemical. That would be 9 counted as a use of force. 10 11 Chemical agents is a use of force. CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: We But I understand that the use of these chemicals has increased. 12 COMMISSIONER PONTE: 13 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 14 COMMISSIONER PONTE: 15 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 16 COMMISSIONER PONTE: 17 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: Has increased. Has increased. Yes. Yes. That s correct. And do your 18 correction officers have some type of gas mask when 19 they use these chemicals? 20 COMMISSIONER PONTE: So, in a high- 21 volatile, high-problematic housing areas, the 22 officers are issued chemical agent masks, yes. 23 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: But you could have 24 situations where you have correction officers using 25 this chemical agent without protection. 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 COMMISSIONER PONTE: 3 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: And 4 That s correct. o ldn t that be an OSHA violation? 5 6 127 COMMISSIONER PONTE: I m not a are of that being an OSHA violation. CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 7 Well I mean, it s 8 dangero s chemical e pos re, and o kno , if o 9 not properly covered it could have some effects. re I 10 understand that most people should shower after being 11 exposed to these chemicals and clean themselves well. 12 COMMISSIONER PONTE: 13 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: Correct. So does a 14 correction officer then leave? 15 do they after administering this chemical agent then 16 clean the chemicals off their body? MARTIN MURPHY: 17 Like, at what point So, anytime that we have 18 a deployment of chemical agent and staff is affected, 19 they are removed from the area. 20 locker room. 21 clothing and then seek medical attention. They can decontaminate and change their CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 22 They go to the Is it possible that 23 you could provide gas masks to every correction 24 officer? 25 Do you think it would be needed? 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES MARTIN MURPHY: 2 128 So, we actually-- I e 3 sked if we can look into that feasibility as a cost, 4 as a capital cost to the agency to provide chemical 5 agent masks to each individual, and also the 6 individual would have to be fit-tested and pass the 7 fit test to actually be issued the chemical agent 8 mask. CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 9 10 But the mask would protect the correction officers. 11 MARTIN MURPHY: That s correct. 12 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: How about the 13 inmates, do they shower after they get exposed to 14 this? MARTIN MURPHY: 15 Yes, every inmate is 16 taken to the intake or the sho er area and the 17 decontaminated prior to being produced to medical 18 attention. 19 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: So, o re don t kno 20 how much it would cost to outfit every correction 21 officer with a mask. 22 MARTIN MURPHY: 23 dollars apiece. I think I m on the lo 24 need a couple million dollars. 25 I belie e the re 350 end. So, o 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES DEPUTY COMMISSIONER DOKA: 2 3 129 Yeah, a couple million dollars, yeah. CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 4 How are you using 5 smart technology in the jails? Are you using iPhones 6 or tablets? 7 Do wardens, captains? In calculating incidents of 8 force or any of the type of vital statistics that you 9 captured. Do some correction officers have this? Is it all done manually or do you go to a 10 computer to utilize this? 11 MARTIN MURPHY: So, the data collection 12 for our violence indicators or just our indicators in 13 general, it s paper-based and then put into a 14 database of central collection. 15 JEFF THAMKITTIKASEM: And at the same 16 time we are trying to expand smart technology moving 17 towards providing RFID technology in certain 18 facilities for inmate tracking. 19 started to provide tablets for both training as well 20 as for inmates for programming. We re looking to 21 expand several of those efforts, but yes, I mean, as 22 the Chief said, obviously with the infrastructure we 23 do also rely a lot on paper-based catalogue book 24 entries. 25 As well, we have 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES COMMISSIONER PONTE: 2 We e also added 3 work stations in the dining area for staff. 4 was act all 5 that staff can log onto. a ork location 130 So it here there s comp ters CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: Have there been 6 7 recoveries of contraband from correction officers in 8 recent months? COMMISSIONER PONTE: Yes. 9 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: How frequently has 10 11 that happened? 12 MARTIN MURPHY: It s not freq ent. 13 the Commissioner said, we have had contraband 14 recoveries on staff. CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 15 16 JEFF THAMKITTIKASEM: I d ha e to get that n mber for 19 20 Do you know how many arrests? 17 18 As o . I don t ha e it on-hand. CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: Okay, I have no-- oh, you have the answer? DEPUTY COMMISSIONER KUCZINSKI: 21 Gregory 22 Kuczinski, Deputy Commissioner of Investigations. I 23 don t kno 24 a recovery two weeks ago with canine at the front 25 ho man the total n mber, b t e j st had 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 gate at AMKC. 3 but there have been several. contraband was that? DEPUTY COMMISSIONER KUCZINSKI: 6 7 10 It was tobacco and marijuana. CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 8 9 That ws reported in the news recently, CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: What type of 4 5 131 Okay. I see that the average daily number of inmates in vocational skills has increased substantially. DEPUTY COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: 11 Th s far, I m happ Yes, they 12 ha e. 13 September 2016 we have-- young people have earned 14 over 1,000 certifications in industry-recognized 15 credentials and have participated in 20-hour 16 introductory courses in culinary arts, basic 17 electric, plumbing, carpentry, things of that nature. CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: Good. So, just to 18 19 to anno nce, that since rap p toda s Department of Correction part of the 20 hearing, Commissioner, I am looking forward to 21 finally seeing the McKinsey analyses and 22 understanding better why 25 million dollars has been 23 allocated. 24 the Department needs help, more help, in trying to 25 get your equipment, new technology, your scanners And also trying-- obviously it seems that 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 beca se it s been far too long and too m ch of a 3 delay, so I am committed to helping you with that, 4 b t I need to better 5 thro gh, and if 6 these machines months ago and you didn t get them, 7 that s not acceptable. 8 Council Member Gibson for questions. o nderstand re sa ing hat o re going re going to get I m going to recogni e COUNCIL MEMBER GIBSON: 9 o 132 Thank you very 10 much, Chair Crowley. 11 to you and your team. 12 Cro le 13 style scanners, I recognize that you know, we have to 14 work with o r co nterparts in Alban , b t it s been 15 too long that we have not passed this legislation and 16 gotten real tangible s pport from Alban . 17 shamef l and I think 18 looking at keeping the island and everyone that works 19 there, uniform, civil, clinical staff, detainees, and 20 everyone safe, as well as visitors, we have to do 21 better, and I know that in your testimony you talked 22 a little bit about other TSA-style equipment that 23 o Good afternoon, Commissioner, And keeping in line with Chair s remarks about the technology and the TSA- re able to get. So, it s e need to do better. Is this allowable? If e re Are we able 24 to use this style of equipment, or do we still need 25 to go to Albany to get that done as well? 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES COMMISSIONER PONTE: 2 133 So, the type of 3 equipment that you and I would go through in an 4 airport is the type of equipment we believe we can 5 get and put in place on island and legally operate. 6 It is not as good as the body scanners that we have 7 already on site. 8 sharp-edged weapons that we need to detect with the 9 old scans. It will not detect the smaller So it s going to be helpf l on contraband 10 introduction, but not on the smaller type weapons 11 that we need to detect. 12 COUNCIL MEMBER GIBSON: Okay, so I 13 certainly encourage and suggest that we try to be 14 obviously a little bit more creative. 15 ear e e had this con ersation. 16 e ha e in Alban are cr cial. Year after The relationships We certainl if e re 17 not already talking to the Governor and his team, 18 Speaker Hasty and every leader in Albany, we 19 definitely should be having this conversation. I 20 think, you know, we keep having the same conversation 21 over and over again. 22 when I hear from, you know, DA Clark and she 23 outlines, you know, some of the measure that 24 individuals are using to get these, you know, these 25 razors into the island is very scary for everyone. So, understand my frustration 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 COMMISSIONER PONTE: 3 COUNCIL MEMBER GIBSON: I wanted to ask 134 Absolutely. 4 about the crisis intervention training and how that 5 relates to the support teams in the clinics and the 6 intakes that you talked a little bit about. 7 NYPD has a crisis intervention training that they 8 have embarked on, and I know there is a lot of 9 similarity as I understand with crisis intervention ell. Ho So, the 10 that CO s are recei ing as does that 11 complement and relate to the support teams? 12 what does that support team look like in terms of 13 staff? Like, Can you elaborate a little bit on that? DEPUTY COMMISSIONER ADAMS: 14 So, the 15 Crisis Intervention Teams is a training that really 16 focuses on how do you support individuals that are 17 mentall 18 it s de eloped for t o or three indi id als to come, 19 a clinician and an officer team that respond if 20 someone s in crisis to 21 help de-escalate that person through talking and 22 empath . Since 23 training e 24 location where we have PACE and CAPS, those officers 25 that are steady on those units have all received the ill in a time of crisis. e It s orked on, se mental health skills to e started crisis inter ention e trained over 400 individuals. Every 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 Crisis Intervention training and 3 expand the training model because it is effective. 4 We actually have two trainings every month, and the 5 training is a week-long. 7 e re looking to COUNCIL MEMBER GIBSON: 6 of the t o nits, PACE, and Okay. So, outside hat s the other 8 COMMISSIONER PONTE: 9 DEPUTY COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: 10 nit? CAPS. CAPS, b t there s se eral PACE and CAPS 11 COUNCIL MEMBER GIBSON: 12 DEPUTY COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: 13 135 PACE and nits. Right. It s not just the two. COUNCIL MEMBER GIBSON: 14 So, how do you 15 determine the next phase of officers that are a part 16 of this training? 17 wants implemented every officer existing in the 18 Department as well as within the academy, those that 19 are graduating, will all be well-versed in this 20 particular training? I m ass ming e er one DEPUTY COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: 21 ltimatel Yes, so we 22 recognize the need for that very detailed mental 23 health training that e er one recei es. 24 something 25 academy. e e alread It s incorporated into o r We have a general mental health training 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 curriculum that is a mandatory part of training in 3 the academy right now. 4 supplement that with mental health first aid, but how 5 we determine like where we go next, our goal is to be 6 e er here. 7 It s er 8 trainings 9 next PACE unit or CAPS unit and also where we have We also enhance and It s j st the training is a labor intensive. here e kno that eek-long. So, we tend to target the e re going to open the 10 the higher concentration of individuals that are 11 mentally ill. 12 136 COUNCIL MEMBER GIBSON: Okay. And now 13 with the new healthcare provider with H&H on the 14 island and when you talked about the support teams 15 that go o t and respond to a crisis, 16 again for every officer? hat s the ratio How many clinicians go out? 17 DEPUTY COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: 18 al-- there s a clinician a part of every single team 19 that responds. COUNCIL MEMBER GIBSON: 20 There s Okay. And the 21 crisis intervention training that the officers are 22 receiving, how does that parallel with what the 23 medical staff is also receiving as well in terms of 24 training? 25 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES COMMISSIONER PONTE: 2 3 Succinct, they go together. COUNCIL MEMBER GIBSON: So, it goes 4 5 together hand-in-hand? 6 COMMISSIONER PONTE: Yes. 7 COUNCIL MEMBER GIBSON: Okay. 8 COMMISSIONER PONTE: 9 10 137 training together. So the Actually go to the re trained as a team together, the officer and the clinicians. COUNCIL MEMBER GIBSON: Okay. 11 I think 12 Chair Crowley talked a little bit about the ESU-style 13 equipment, mobilizing in the event of, you know, some 14 sort of an emergency assistance that happens. 15 visited the island a couple of months ago I think I 16 saw like a room that had a number of different 17 equipment, jackets and things of that nature. 18 there any changes underway with the type of equipment 19 that officers have in the event of like a serious 20 emergency? 21 it some, Chief. 23 Some of the equipment is new. 25 Are COMMISSIONER PONTE: Well, we have changed 22 24 When I We went to new vests a year ago. COUNCIL MEMBER GIBSON: Okay. 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES COMMISSIONER PONTE: 2 The general pro-team 3 [sic] response is about the same. That has not 4 changed. 5 MARTIN MURPHY: 138 And so that room that you 6 had sa , ma am, as the-- that s the facilit base 7 response. 8 you saw in that room. 9 a helmet and a baton that they would respond with. So every facility has the equipment that It would be protective vests, 10 Anything beyond that we would call for the Emergency 11 Service Unit with any specialized tools that they 12 would bring into the facility. COUNCIL MEMBER GIBSON: Okay. 13 With regard 14 to H&H and the medical services, some of the feedback 15 that I 16 civil legal service providers, Commissioner, you 17 talked a little bit about a paper-style industry, so 18 to speak, environment. 19 are represented by like Legal Aid and others have 20 been outlining some of the concerns about not 21 necessarily getting to medical appointments on time 22 or at all, and so as I 23 of a log book where the CO is made aware of a 24 partic lar detainees 25 all of that work and what are we doing to make the e recei ed from detainees, from some of the Some of the detainees that nderstand there s some sort medical appointment. How does 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 system more efficient so that detainees can get to 3 their medical appointments on time and get there at 4 all? 5 DEPUTY COMMISSIONER ADAMS: 139 So, that s 6 one of the things that we have also are greatly 7 concerned about, making sure people get access to 8 care in a 9 one of the things a that s timely and comprehensive. e e alread So, instit ted is a dail 10 communication meeting between corrections staff and 11 Health & Hospitals. 12 in the clinic itself where the medical provider 13 discusses with the clinic captain who are the 14 individuals that we need to see who are prioritized 15 for medical treatment and for which services. 16 that point right at the beginning of the tour, they 17 have a comprehensive list of who needs to be seen 18 that s gi en to correctional staff by the medical 19 pro iders, 20 been discharged, 21 there, are the 22 to expedite bringing them to the clinic to get the 23 services that they need. 24 25 At the beginning of every tour ho needs to be seen, ho s here, ho s been transferred, a ailable to be seen, and So, at ho s here are e re able 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 140 COUNCIL MEMBER GIBSON: Oka . B t it s 2 3 still dri en b 4 system. 5 paper, right? It s not an electronic DEPUTY COMMISSIONER ADAMS: 6 correct. The gi e 7 like us to bring down to the clinic. That s s a list of indi id als the d COUNCIL MEMBER GIBSON: Okay. Do you see 8 9 any changes that may happen with that as you have 10 daily, you know, meetings, anything that you are 11 already looking at to make the system a little bit 12 more efficient? 13 so that everyone understands and is on the same page, 14 but taking it a step further, are there any 15 technological advancements that you think would allow 16 the system to work even better? 17 JEFF THAMKITTIKASEM: hat Yes, Council 18 Member. 19 started at one facility, and 20 it, is to have RFID technology for each inmate which 21 would then allow us to kind of match up with Health & 22 Hospitals kind of systems as well so they can track 23 where they move from the Housing Unit to the clinic, 24 where they are along the 25 I think I mean, daily meetings sounds great e re tr ing to do and a , e e e re tr ing to e pand hen the re e pected 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 to arrive. 3 rest of the Department. So we should try to move that towards the 4 COUNCIL MEMBER GIBSON: Okay, is that-- 5 JEFF THAMKITTIKASEM: [interposing] We 6 141 only have that in one facility. 7 COUNCIL MEMBER GIBSON: 8 JEFF THAMKITTIKASEM: 9 COUNCIL MEMBER GIBSON: Okay, and what-- Wristband. 12 13 COUNCIL MEMBER GIBSON: JEFF THAMKITTIKASEM: 18 19 20 It s RFID technology. 16 17 did you call it? The wristband? 14 15 Yes. JEFF THAMKITTIKASEM: [interposing] 10 11 the arm band? COUNCIL MEMBER GIBSON: Okay, RFID technology. JEFF THAMKITTIKASEM: It happens to be in the wristband. COUNCIL MEMBER GIBSON: Okay. You guys 21 have your own language, okay. 22 armband, okay. 23 with, did you roll out with, which one? 24 25 Yeah, I know it as an And what facilities did you start JEFF THAMKITTIKASEM: our juvenile facility. The RNDC, which is 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 COUNCIL MEMBER GIBSON: Oh, okay. 3 JEFF THAMKITTIKASEM: 4 COUNCIL MEMBER GIBSON: Okay. 142 Okay. The adolescent. And I 5 wanted to ask a question. In my capacity as Chair of 6 Public Safety working with each of the District 7 Attorney, specifically DA Clark, came before us along 8 with the Commissioner on a previous hearing talking 9 about prosecuting cases. One of the things that came 10 out of that hearing that I know your team is working 11 on is the DA s office has instituted some level of 12 training of NYPD investigators and detectives as it 13 relates to collecting data, protecting, obviously if 14 needed, a crime scene, evidence gathering, and has 15 suggested the same type of model of training for DOC 16 investigators. 17 where we are in that conversation, and do you find 18 that that could be beneficial for your offices if 19 there is an incident to make sure that we collect as 20 much as possible so that we could obviously have an 21 effective and efficient investigation? 22 So, can you give me an update of COMMISSIONER PONTE: 23 K c inski ans er, b t e 24 the DA being on island and the 25 the beginning e ent the I ll let Greg e been er re pleased er ith re right there. helpf l. The re At 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 helpful. 3 now with us on any event has gotten much better. They give us feedback. The communication DEPUTY COMMISSIONER KUCZINSKI: 4 143 Hi, Greg 5 Kuczinski again. We have not only been working with 6 the DA s office in impro ing and increasing training 7 for the CIB offices who currently handle re-arrests 8 and things like that. 9 collection division which we are literally one We have expanded our evidence 10 program away from a full certification, which would 11 be a first. So, the whole process is getting better, 12 and we talk with them all the time about increasing 13 that even more, like 3D scanner [sic] cameras and 14 things like that which we are working on. 15 COUNCIL MEMBER GIBSON: Okay. 16 know, you talked in the testimony about a thousand 17 new cameras that are on the facility, but in addition 18 to that, other technology that can help collect 19 evidence? 20 DEPUTY COMMISSIONER KUCZINSKI: Yeah, I Yeah, the 21 cameras I m referring to is not like a Genetec that 22 covers like a cell area. 23 that within a cell area say when you have an incident 24 it does 3D picture for you-- 25 These are portable cameras 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES COUNCIL MEMBER GIBSON: [interposing] 2 3 Okay, I see. DEPUTY COMMISSIONER KUCZINSKI: 4 5 preser e the 6 helpf l. to hole scene, and it s act all We re er orking on getting a co ple of those. COUNCIL MEMBER GIBSON: Oka , and 7 8 144 e on t need state approval for that, right? DEPUTY COMMISSIONER KUCZINSKI: 9 COUNCIL MEMBER GIBSON: Okay. 10 No. Making 11 sure. I guess my final question before I turn it 12 back to Chair Crowley is the education and the level 13 of services that we are providing. 14 goal, obviously in my personal opinion, is to do as 15 m ch as I can in m 16 have to go to Rikers or any city jail in the first 17 place, b t recogni ing that 18 goal is to make them better than the way we got them, 19 right? 20 I 21 effort and I see the work, but I would love to know 22 are we seeing the results like the millions of 23 dollars 24 environmental, I mean, an assortment of programs? 25 Are we finding that it is successful? comm nit so The ultimate o ng people don t hile the re there the e met And I know to the best of our ability, and ith e o r team m ltiple times, and I see the e in esting in ed cation, hortic lt re, Is there any 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 way that we get some sort of an assessment or 3 evaluation from detainees as they leave the facility 4 to say what did you think about the program? 5 you know, best practices? 6 learn. 7 never hear from the voices of those that are on the 8 island, right? 9 have we received any feedback on the investments that 10 11 145 Any, Anything that we could Like, we always talk stakeholders, but we And it s a e re making to date, and er po erf l here do o oice, b t see an areas where we can improve? 12 DEPUTY COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Yeah, so 13 as you know we are very committed with providing 14 programing and raising the bar as it relates to 15 making sure that when young people leave or even 16 arrive on Rikers they have access to programming that 17 can support them being productive citizens upon 18 return. 19 in doing is when we created our Youth Re-entry 20 Network which was the historic launch of re-entry 21 services for 16 and 17 year olds, we added an 22 evaluation component. 23 component, the third 24 actually going to have an evaluation done to 25 determine what is the evaluation in terms of outcome So, one of the things that we were diligent So at the third year of the ear of the project e re 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 evaluation, but also process evaluation. 3 to that, because we are committed to learning the 4 lessons based on all the resources that Mayor de 5 Blasio has provided us with as well as the Council, 6 we also partnered with Vera through a NIJ fund so 7 that they can do an evaluation on our young adult 8 strateg . 9 to find out the exact impact, but we do see some So, it s too earl 146 In addition to get the-- you know, 10 promising-- I have anecdotal, you know, responses and 11 promising outcomes, especially as it relates to some 12 of our restarts, but also with the fact-- I ll j st 13 say we added one of our programs and as a result 14 there has been nine young people who showed up in the 15 community and has connected with that provider to 16 receive additional programming. 17 small anecdotal outcomes that I have now, but the 18 evaluations will tell us more. 19 So, there s those COUNCIL MEMBER GIBSON: Okay, great. 20 Well, I certainly commit to working with you guys. 21 We have to keep doing better. 22 while 23 always think about and know the people and the 24 families that are behind those numbers. 25 I can as a Council Member from the Bronx, too many of I know, you know, e re ha ing con ersations abo t the n mbers, I So, as best 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 m 3 not acceptable. 4 budget process to do what I can to focus on 5 alternatives and prevention and not necessarily 6 reactive, right, and detention programs, but I 7 appreciate the work that, you know, you and the 8 Commissioner and the entire team are doing and look 9 forward to more conversations ahead. kids are on Rikers Island right no 147 and it s just So, I am committed during this 10 DEPUTY COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: 11 COUNCIL MEMBER GIBSON: Thank you, Chair. 12 COMMISSIONER PONTE: 13 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: Thank you, Council We re going to Thank you. Thank you. 14 Member Gibson. rap p the hearing. 15 I just want to point something out today that we 16 discussed, the McKinsey and Company report and back 17 in December when we were analyzing our November plan, 18 OMB said that there was going to be no more funds 19 requested, and then less than a month later in 20 January you requested another extension and nearly 21 doubled, more than doubled, the amount of money 22 expended on the contracts. 23 originally for 13.6 million and now you anticipate 24 spending 13.9 more million to finish the work, is 25 that correct? So, the contract was 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES COMMISSIONER PONTE: That s correct, 13.9, 2 3 yes. CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 4 5 148 And will that be it? 6 COMMISSIONER PONTE: 7 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: That s it. And you will 8 produce to this committee the results that show that 9 this contracting out is beneficial? COMMISSIONER PONTE: I believe we can, 10 11 12 yes. CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: I hope so. And you 13 will break that down by facility, whatever model 14 facilities you-- 15 COMMISSIONER PONTE: [interposing] Some of 16 them were across facilities. 17 specific to facilities, but yes, we can break it down 18 in a great deal of detail, yeah. 19 Some of them were CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: Beca se it s 20 disingen o s o r n mbers. I mean, e re all s orn 21 to tell the truth, and also OMB seems to have a total 22 different n mber. 23 Correction in a few minutes who said that stabbings 24 and slashings have increased significantly. 25 According to OMB and We re going to ha e the Board of o r testimon , o belie e it s 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 declined. 3 at one facility-- ant to k on hether o re looking COMMISSIONER PONTE: [interposing] Not 4 5 So, I 149 stabbings and slashings. They have increased [sic]. CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 6 No. Well, right 7 here we have a letter from Dean Fuleihan saying 8 stabbings and slashings have declined 69 percent. JEFF THAMKITTIKASEM: In the restarted 9 10 units where we actually-- it is not department-wide 11 [sic]. 12 true. Oh, sorry. CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 13 14 In the restarted units that is Right. So we want to see what units,-- 15 COMMISSIONER PONTE: [interposing] Yes. 16 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 17 these n mbers and here o here o re finding re seeing the s ccess. 18 COMMISSIONER PONTE: Absolutely. 19 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: And this completes 20 the Department of Correction portion of toda 21 hearing. We ll take a two minute break before we ask 22 the Department of-- the Board of Correction to 23 testify. 24 25 [break] s 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 2 150 Good afternoon. 3 Good afternoon. For the first time the Board of 4 Correction will be testifying in the Preliminary 5 Budget hearing. 6 oversight board that regulates, monitors and inspects 7 the correctional facilities of the City. 8 establishes and ensures compliance with minimum 9 standards, regulating conditions of confinement and BOC is a nine-person, non-judicial The Board 10 correction health and mental health care in all 11 correctional facilities. 12 Preliminary Budget totals 2.9 million, a decrease of 13 64,000 compared to Fiscal Year 2014 Adopted Budget. 14 The Board supports a budget headcount of 38 percent. 15 I m going to ask the representatives from the Board 16 of Correction to be sworn in before you testify, and 17 if you could raise your right hand and affirm whether 18 you will tell the truth. 19 the truth in answering the questions put forth by 20 this committee and in your testimony? The Board s Fiscal 2018 Do you affirm you will tell 21 MARTHA KING: 22 STANLEY RICHARDS: 23 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: Please begin your 24 25 testimony. Yes, I affirm so. Yes. 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES MARTHA KING: 2 151 Good afternoon Chair 3 Crowley and Members of the Committee on Fire and 4 Criminal Justice Services. 5 and I am the Executive Director of the Board of 6 Correction. 7 members who was appointed by the City Council, 8 Stanle 9 how the Board of Correction is using much needed new 10 reso rces to strengthen the Board s effecti eness and 11 independence and position the Board as a national 12 model for prison and jail oversight and as one of the 13 Cit 14 fairer, and more humane jails. 15 and are executing comprehensive plans to re-establish 16 the Board as a major partner in the critical work to 17 b ild a j stice s stem that reflects the Cit 18 values, brings dignity and respect to people held 19 within, working in, or connected to the system, and 20 brings these same people to the s stem s polic - 21 making table. 22 the Board has played a leading role in major reforms 23 to the Cit 24 New York City the first jurisdiction to voluntarily 25 require appropriate mental health staffing in its My name is Martha King, Today, I am joined by one of our Board Richards. This afternoon I d like to e plain s important le ers in creating smaller, safer, We have mapped out s Since it became independent in 1977, s jails. These include, in 1985, making 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 jails, and, in 2015, making New York City the first 3 major prison or jail system to prohibit punitive 4 segregation for adolescents and young adults. 5 City Charter outlines the Board s central f nctions: 6 To establish and ensure compliance with minimum 7 standards for the care, custody, correction, 8 treatment, supervision and discipline of all persons 9 held or confined under the jurisdiction of the 152 The 10 Department; to investigate any matter within the 11 jurisdiction of the Department to establish 12 procedures for hearing inmate and staff grievances; 13 to evaluate the performance of the Department, and to 14 make recommendations on areas of key correctional 15 planning. 16 Standards on conditions in 1978, on mental health 17 care in 1985, on health care in 1991, and on the 18 elimination of sexual abuse and harassment in 2016. 19 When I arrived at the Board at the end of June 2015, 20 there were 16 staff and a budget of 1.6 million. It 21 had been operating for six months without any 22 management team. 23 spread across its lower Manhattan and Rikers Island 24 offices. 25 Council and the Administration, a Fiscal Year 17 The Board established its Minimum The Board currently has 22 staff With the increased support of the City 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 budget of approximately three million will allow our 3 staff to grow to 35. 4 complete management team and a total of nine staff, 5 growing each of our three divisions: legal, research, 6 and monitoring. 7 a total of seven positions: an additional four 8 Monitors for the jails, a Project Director for our 9 new regulations on sexual abuse, a Deputy General We 153 e restr ct red and hired a We currently have open postings for 10 Counsel, and a Program Associate for Research. 11 I would like to update you on progress and plans in 12 three areas of our work: updated, tailored, and 13 expanded regulations; more research, analysis, and 14 public reporting; and strengthened and structured 15 monitoring. In November 2016, the Board adopted a 16 final rule designed to detect, prevent, and respond 17 to sexual abuse and harassment of people incarcerated 18 in the Cit 19 James petitioned the Board to adopt rules consistent 20 with the federal Prison Rape Elimination Act 21 standards and subsequently this led to the first new 22 chapter of the Minimum Standards in 25 years. 23 Incorporating the ideas and expertise of the U.S. 24 Department of Justice, the Public Advocate, City 25 Council members, DOC and Health and Hospitals, and s jails. Today New York City Public Advocate 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 man 3 are a significant contribution toward safer and more 4 humane jails. 5 standards, require more reporting and monitoring, and 6 include provisions requiring that Health & Hospitals 7 will design and operate new rape crisis counseling 8 services that will serve incarcerated people who 9 report sexual abuse; that DOC must complete all comm nit stakeholders, the Board s ne 154 r les The new Standards go beyond federal 10 investigations of sexual abuse and harassment 11 allegations no later than 90 days from the date the 12 allegation is reported to DOC; that DOC will install, 13 on a pilot basis, security cameras on buses used to 14 transport inmates; and that DOC and Health & 15 Hospitals will implement new training for staff 16 working with inmates who are transgender or intersex, 17 designed to heighten awareness of their psychosocial 18 and safety needs and ensure communication and custody 19 that is respectful of gender identity. The Board is 20 currently working on new standards related to 21 restrictive housing and improving the Board s 22 variance procedures. 23 and your staffs throughout this process and intend to 24 complete rulemaking in these areas in 2017. We have 25 created a stronger research department led by a new We expect to consult with you 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 Deputy Executive Director solely dedicated to 3 analytics, evaluation, and research. 4 to evaluating and analyzing operations and outcomes 5 in the jails, increasing transparency, and sharing 6 data is crucial to maintaining compliance with Board 7 Standards and other regulations. 8 the past year we have issued quarterly reports on 9 punitive segregation reforms, monthly reports on jail 155 This commitment For instance, over 10 visits, and completed assessments of enhanced 11 supervision housing and the inmate grievance program. 12 Monthly reports on medical and mental health care 13 access have now led to action. 14 creating a plan with remedies, timelines, and metrics 15 to evaluate progress toward increased 16 access. 17 issue this plan in May. 18 DOC, which relies heavily on paper logs to monitor 19 occurrences in the jails. 20 these challenges, we continue to move toward a Key 21 Performance Indicator Dashboard to monitor compliance 22 with 12 Minimum Standards in the adolescent and young 23 adult housing areas. 24 tool for transparency and understanding and improving 25 compliance over time. DOC and H&H are Collaboratively we will work together to Data remains a challenge for While understanding of This will be an unparalleled We have also requested 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 unprecedented access to individual-level data about 3 everyone in custody in the jails. 4 BOC has not had this type of data and, with it, we 5 can conduct, robust evaluations of Standards 6 compliance and the implementation of policies and 7 programs, such as evaluating the impact of punitive 8 segregation reform or enhanced supervision. 9 continue to grow our monitoring staff in the jails 156 Traditionally, the We 10 and are poised to add five staff this year. These 11 staff conduct site visits, resolve and refer inmate 12 and staff complaints, monitor compliance with the 13 Minimum Standards and other regulations, investigate 14 and intervene on deviations from regulations, and 15 help to smooth the delivery of basic services and 16 calm tensions in the facilities. 17 has allowed for several new initiatives that reflect 18 strengthened and structured monitoring. 19 embarking on unannounced weekend tours of each 20 facility in 2017, and we expanded our inspections at 21 the hospital prison wards and court pens to every 22 other week. 23 check and gather data on production, appearances, and 24 court clothing issues, including a focus on the 25 implementation of the Co ncil s recent legislation. Increased funding We are BOC staff at the court pens regularly 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 Over the next three years, BOC staff will visit each 3 of the approximately 330 open housing areas to 4 conduct randomized, structured compliance checks on 5 key Minimum Standards, such as lock-out time, 6 recreation, law library, laundry, and sick 7 call. 8 of unannounced visits and will significantly broaden 9 our reach in the jails, making sure no unit goes 157 This new strategy will actualize our mandate 10 unchecked. We are working to improve the inmate 11 complaint system. 12 the inmate grievance program, we saw a need for an 13 annual audit and a biannual interagency team of BOC, 14 DOC, and H+H to review inmate complaint data and 15 identify policies and practices that must be jointly 16 monitored or changed. 17 increasing the procedural justice and fairness of the 18 existing complaint system and making sure patterns of 19 individual complaints feed systemic change where 20 necessary. 21 restriction appeal process and will re-start 22 accepting appeals in seven other areas, including the 23 exercise of religious beliefs, law library access, 24 and telephone rights. 25 appeals in 2016, more than double the number of In completing an audit in 2016 of This team will focus on We have expanded and improved our visit We responded to 209 visit 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 appeals that we received five years ago. 3 54 percent and granted or modified 33 percent. The 4 importance of independent oversight of such 5 individual restrictions and Minimum Standard policy 6 areas cannot be overstated. The appeal process allows 7 us to also work closely with DOC on improving 8 practices to make sure restrictions are appropriate 9 and fair. In the Board s 60th anni ersar 158 We denied ear, e 10 are thankful that this Administration and City 11 Council have shown increased commitment to a strong, 12 active, and effective Board of Correction. The Board 13 is now better poised to play an important role in 14 reform, and we look forward to collaborating with the 15 City Council and its many members who are engaged on 16 these issues. 17 the Committee for the opportunity to testify today. 18 I m happ 19 20 21 22 Thank you again to Chair Crowley and to take an q estions. CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: its Fiscal 2017 allocation, in line to spend it all? MARTHA KING: Have we spent everything from Fiscal Year 17? 23 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 24 meeting your budget allocation? 25 Did the Board spend Are you planning on 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES MARTHA KING: Yes, we are. 2 159 We are 3 currently at 22 staff, and we are currently hiring 4 seven people. 5 6 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: seven people funded [sic]? MARTHA KING: 7 8 Seventeen, for the 17 budget. CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 9 10 When were those Oh, so have you had difficulty finding qualified personnel? MARTHA KING: 11 No. We were initially 12 delayed on hiring monitors in the jails because we 13 needed approval from the New York State Civil Service 14 Commission. 15 proceeded to hire in those roles. 16 attrition losing three staff in the past year, and so 17 at such a small agency to keep up when we lose staff 18 is a challenge. B t 19 can find qualified candidates for all of these rules. We got that in November and then have e re p for it, and CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 20 We also had some e think e Do you think-- 21 earlier you mentioned the paper logs. 22 the Board believes that the logs should be made in an 23 electronic way so that they cannot be altered, or 24 the 25 So, I imagine re s bmitted quickly, efficiently. 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES MARTHA KING: 2 Yes. 160 I mean, electronic 3 data collection in the jails would significantly help 4 the Department and the Board certainly in monitoring 5 compliance. CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 6 7 8 9 And have you felt like the Department of Corrections has agreed with o on that? Do the ha e an plan that o re familiar with? MARTHA KING: I believe the Department 10 11 does agree with that point, and I know that they are 12 working to design a new inmate management system. 13 I m not s re of the c rrent stat s of that. 14 that the Board would like to work very closely with 15 the Department on the development of that system. 16 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: I know Are you hearing 17 from inmates that the 18 attention when they need it, when they ask or request 19 it? 20 re not getting medical MARTHA KING: That s a good q estion. 21 So, we do get a lot of complaints from inmates about 22 access to healthcare, quality of healthcare, and we 23 follow up on many of those complaints, and we also 24 refer a lot of those complaints to Correctional 25 Health Services to manage. We, in addition to 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 dealing with individual complaints, have tried to get 3 DOC and H&H over the past 10 months to focus on if 4 there are larger compliance issues than individual 5 complaints. 6 discussions that 7 our meetings, now DOC and H&H are coming up with a 8 proactive action plan to make sure that access is 9 increased. 161 And so with these monthly reports and e e had abo t healthcare access in I will also just add that the issues are 10 very different in different facilities. 11 facilities seem to be much better at getting people 12 to their healthcare and mental healthcare 13 appointments than others. STANLEY RICHARDS: 14 15 16 17 e e seen ith the monthl seen the numbers. So And I d like to add, data collection e re e re monitoring n mbers. So, some No e e atching the n mbers and e ant to start 18 seeing the numbers go up in terms of the percentage 19 of people who get access, who actually go and see a 20 doctor be it on island or specialty off-island. 21 22 23 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: Do you think the jails are safer today than they were three years ago? STANLEY RICHARDS: Measurement of safety, 24 I m not-- no, I don t think jails are safe. I think 25 jails are places where really tough and dangerous 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 things happen, both in terms of peoples 3 survive in those en ironments. 4 environment itself is conducive to safety. 5 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 162 abilit to So, I don t think the Yeah, but it could 6 be safe, safer or more dangerous today than it was a 7 few years ago? STANLEY RICHARDS: Well, here s 8 9 would say. hat I I would say we have more programs. 10 ha e more o ersight than 11 those are good things, b t I 12 right now as being safe. 13 incarcerated person, jails are much different than 14 when I was in there. 15 violence when I was in there than it is now. 16 e e had in We ears past, and o ldn t define a jail I would say as a formerly I think it was probably less CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: Now, a report I 17 referred to earlier, the Ma or s Management Report, 18 had zero unnatural deaths reported, and then there 19 was the article I referred to in the Daily News of 20 how an inmate was only there for six days and, you 21 know, other witnesses said that this inmate asked for 22 help but never got the help. 23 24 25 e re recording So, do you think that n-natural deaths efficiently? MARTHA KING: So, o re talking abo t-- let me step back and say the Board does conduct death 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 investigations, and we have an independent review 3 panel that brings together DOC and H&H with Board to 4 re ie 5 o each death. I m not e actl re talking abo t. I m er s re happ 163 hich case to go back to 6 the data and look thro gh DOC s reports and o r 7 reports as to un-natural causes of deaths over the 8 past few years, and maybe we can look at that data 9 together. CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 10 That would be good. 11 My last question has to do with diffusing violence. 12 No 13 officers, is there a way that we could accurately 14 evaluate why the violence is happening to diffuse it 15 or to stop it from happening again? 16 type of looking back that ever happens as to why and 17 how to avoid a situation like that in the future? that e re training more and more and retraining MARTHA KING: 18 Is there that I think that s a great 19 question. The Board and the Department have 20 different roles, obviously, to play in that in 21 reviewing why violence is occurring and then what to 22 do about it. 23 the variances and the rules changes that we allow 24 such as enhanced supervision housing which is 25 intended to address violence and safety, the use of Obvio sl , the Board s ork foc ses on 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 restraint desks or other things that the Board gives 3 permission to DOC to use in response to some of these 4 issues. 5 req est for this data that I 6 is individual-level data, that is really the exact 7 data that we at the Board and at the Department need 8 to review to understands the answer to that kind of 9 q estion that 164 Separately, I will say that the Board in its o re asking. e been disc ssing hich There are other t pes 10 of reports and surveys that I think the Board could 11 be very helpful in gathering, both in terms of 12 talking to staff and talking to inmates about the 13 violence that is occurring and retroactively looking 14 back at why some of the patterns exist in the 15 violence. 16 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: I would appreciate 17 that. We ll sta in to ch on that. I ant to thank 18 you both for the work that you do and for being here 19 to testify. 20 the Board of Correction testimon , and ne t 21 going to have the Office of Emergency Management. 22 we have the Commissioner or someone from that office 23 here? We re going to concl de this portion of Okay, thank you. 24 MARTHA KING: Thank you. 25 STANLEY RICHARDS: Thank you. p e re Do 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 2 3 Petersen or Tracie Gardner here? 4 begin your testimony. 5 TANYA KRUPAT: 165 Is either Jennifer Okay, Tanya, please Okay, thank you. Thank 6 you for the opportunity to speak with you today. 7 name is Tanya Krupat. 8 for Justice Policy and Practice at the Osborne 9 Association. My I m the Director of the Center I m here first to speak ith o abo t 10 two exciting and important Osborne initiatives that 11 we seek City Council support for, and then as a proud 12 member of the New York City ATI Reentry Coalition, 13 and 14 Coalition later this afternoon. 15 Reentry Center will provide desperately needed 16 transitional housing and our Elder Reentry Initiative 17 addresses the pressing and growing crisis of those 18 aging in prison and the compelling needs of seniors 19 returning home to New York City. 20 know, Osborne acquired the former New York State 21 Fulton Correctional Facility in the Bronx, the first 22 time in the country that a prison has been 23 transferred to a community-based organization to 24 transform it into a reentry and economic development 25 center. o ll hear from Tracie Gardner more abo t the Osborne s F lton In 2015, as you may We are currently in the architectural phase 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 of the project and are seeking 95,000 in an expense 3 request from the City Council as well as 75,000 for a 4 vehicle. 5 capital request to the New York State Legislature. 6 Our aim is to open the center in 2019 with 135 7 supportive transitional housing beds as well as wrap- 8 around reentry services for residents, others 9 returning to New York City from jails and prisons and 166 We have submitted a three million dollar 10 members of the surrounding community, including some 11 set-aside housing options for the elderly, a fast 12 growing and historically unseen segment of our prison 13 population. 14 the age of 60 leave state prison and return to New 15 York City. 16 citizens are at very low risk of recidivism but are 17 at very high risk of falling through the cracks in 18 our social safety net. 19 addresses this 20 Council support in the amount of 150,000 dollars to 21 support the community component of this initiative. 22 Just this morning one of our staff helped to navigate 23 a 61-year-old s release from Rikers. 24 to return to and decades of battling addiction as 25 well as surviving childhood violence, Mr. Sampson Each year, some 1,500 men and women over These formerly incarcerated senior Our Elder Reentry Initiative rgent challenge. We re seeking Cit ith no famil 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 faces many barriers and also has high hopes of being 3 able to live a productive life far away from Rikers. 4 Currently, there are no specialized services to meet 5 the geriatric needs of people like Mr. Sampson who 6 also face employment discrimination, trauma, stigma 7 and isolation of a unique nature and magnitude. 8 Council support New York City can lead in addressing 9 the growing needs of returning elders and the need 167 With 10 for transitional housing. 11 of the New York City ATI Reentry Coalition, Osborne 12 would like to thank you, Committee Chair Crowley, the 13 Speaker and all the Council Members for prioritizing 14 reforms to the Criminal Justice System as well as for 15 bringing to the forefront discussion of the 16 feasibilit 17 the Co ncil s contin ed s pport and look for ard to 18 continuing to work closely together to ensure that 19 communities have access to these critical programs. 20 Thank you. 21 22 Finally, as a proud member of closing Rikers. CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: We re gratef l for So your capital request is to the Council? 23 TANYA KRUPAT: It s to the state. 24 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: It s to the state. 25 TANYA KRUPAT: Yeah. 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 2 3 So it s j st an expense request that you have this year? 4 TANYA KRUPAT: 5 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 6 168 vehicle. And that s for a That could be capital. TANYA KRUPAT: 7 Yes. There s-- well, we have a 8 95,000 dollar expense request in to support the three 9 million dollar capital request and then 75,000 for 10 the vehicle. 11 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: Oh, okay. 12 TANYA KRUPAT: 13 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 14 TANYA KRUPAT: e-- yeah. So that could be The veteran can? Should we-CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: [interposing] Pretty 17 18 e capital. 15 16 So s re. Let s do ble-check. 19 TANYA KRUPAT: 20 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: Okay, thank you for 21 Okay. your testimony. 22 TANYA KRUPAT: 23 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: Good afternoon. Thank you. We re no And for what you 24 do. mo ing into the final 25 phase of the Fire and Criminal Justices Services 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 Committee hearing, and we will soon hear from New 3 York City Emergency Management Fiscal 2018 4 Preliminar B dget and the Fiscal 2017 Ma or s 5 Preliminar Management Report. 6 2018 budget totals 24 million-- 24.1 million and 7 supports a headcount of 58 positions. 8 includes funding to support further developing, the 9 notify NYC application in order to disseminate timely 10 information to city residents as well as funding that 11 reflects the agenc 12 Cit 13 supported by city funds, but also relies on federal 14 grants that are accounted for on a year-by-year 15 basis. 16 York City Emergency Management-- how the agency 17 communicates, coordinates, plans, and prepares with 18 other city agencies for emergency situations as well 19 as other programs and initiatives the agency engages 20 in in order to inform and prepare the public. I want 21 to thank Commissioner Esposito and his staff for 22 being here today, and before you begin your 23 testimony, I will need to swear you in. 24 Commissioner, yourself, and anyone else who is 25 prepared to testify or answer any questions could The agenc 169 s Fiscal The budget s goal of better preparing the for emergencies. The agenc s b dget is Today we hope to learn more about how the New If 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 raise your right hand? 3 whole truth in your testimony and in answering 4 questions honestly today? And do you affirm to tell the 5 COMMISSIONER ESPOSITO: 6 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 7 We do. Thank you. You may begin. COMMISSIONER ESPOSITO: 8 9 170 you very much. Alright, thank Good afternoon Chairperson Crowley 10 and members of the Committee on Fire and Criminal 11 J stice. I m Joe Esposito, the Commissioner of Ne 12 York Cit Emergenc 13 about our Fiscal Year 2018 Budget. 14 year. 15 activated eight times for a total of 26 days. 16 included two winter weather events, one heat 17 emergency, one heavy rain and wind emergency, 18 monitoring and preparation for Tropical Storm Hermine 19 and Matthew, the Chelsea bombing event, and the 20 Presidential Election. 21 winter weather events we held citywide calls for 22 elected officials and continuously sent out 23 notifications for incidents in specific districts. 24 In 2016 we monitored 3,190 incidents and sent our 25 citywide coordinators to 988 events. Management. I m here to talk We e had a b s In 2016 our Emergency Operations Center was That During the tropical storm and Notify NYC sent 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 out more than 1,500 messages with a turnaround time 3 of si 4 have just passed the half a million mark in 5 subscribers. 6 our partner agencies to make sure plans are 7 understood and necessary protocols of plans are ready 8 to be implemented as needed. 9 and engagement activities have increased. Hopefully, min tes, and 171 e re pro d to anno nce that e We held 40 interagency exercises with Our community outreach 10 you have likely seen us out there in your 11 neighborhoods at meetings, at town halls, fairs, 12 mobile office hours, and other community events. 13 total, 14 Service Cabinet meetings throughout the year. 15 participated in almost 800 Ready New York events with 16 more than 91,000 people attending, and we distributed 17 close to one million emergency planning guides. 18 graduated eight new classes from our CERT Volunteer 19 Program, taking our total to over 1,500 members 20 thro gho t the Cit . We also hosted the Ma or s 21 Clergy Council at our headquarters to discuss 22 partnering with communities and emergency planning 23 with over 100 members attending. 24 ahead to find new ways to prepare the city and our 25 citizens for the next emergency. e e attended 325 Comm nit In Board District We We We continue to look With that, let me 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 now provide a snapshot of our budget for next year. 3 Our projected total Fiscal Year 2018 City Tax Levy 4 Expense Budget is 23.1 million dollars. 5 our City Tax Levy Expense Budget to support the 6 majorit 7 and operational cost. 8 personnel services budget is 5.1 million dollars 9 which supports the 51 personnel lines paid directly of the agenc 172 We rely on s administrati e, technolog The projected Fiscal Year 2018 10 through our tax levy funds. This includes 1.4 11 million dollars in funding for 18 staff members 12 dedicated to working on increasing communications and 13 services to people with access and functional needs. 14 Our other staffing is supported through grant funds 15 and personnel on assignment for a number of city 16 agencies. 17 Personnel Services Budget is 17.9 million dollars 18 which covers all agency operating and administrative 19 costs. 20 in our budget. 21 our warehouse lease, utilities, telecommunication 22 costs, including the maintenance and operations of 23 our Emergency Operations Center and our back-up 24 facilities. 25 money also supports our fleet and all additional Our projected Fiscal 2018 Other Than There is virtually no discretionary funding These funds are designated to cover Emergency operation-- I m sorr . This 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 equipment, supplies and materials needed to run the 3 agency. 4 to support many of our core programs. 5 year, we secured 25 million dollars in federal 6 funding, primarily through the Urban Area Security 7 Initiatives Grant. 8 ability to run many of our finest initiatives, 9 including our Ready New York Public Education 173 The agency receives grant funding in order In the past This funding is vital to our 10 program, our Community Emergency Response Team 11 program, our Continuity of Operations program, our 12 GIS, our Geographic Information Systems, our training 13 exercises, and our watch command and response in 14 addition to our citywide incident management systems 15 planning. 16 Congressional Delegation, and our partner agencies to 17 push for full Homeland Security funding in future 18 years. 19 within our agency and several other city agencies. 20 Thank you for the opportunity to testify here today. 21 I look forward to continuing working with the Council 22 on issues pertaining to emergency preparedness and 23 response, and no 24 have regarding the budget. 25 We ork ith Cit Hall, OMB, the Cit s This money supports critical operations I ll ans er an q estion Thank you. o ma 1 2 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 174 Thank you, 3 Commissioner. 4 November Plan, the Mayor and your agency asked for an 5 additional-- a million dollars to help with your 6 warehouse operating expenses. 7 committee how expanding the operating space will help 8 the Department s f nctions and meet its goals? 9 Thank you for your testimony. In your Can you share with the COMMISSIONER ESPOSITO: Sure. You know, 10 after Sandy we really learned a lot of lessons on how 11 to do things a little better, and one of it was 12 space, and we were very much in a terrific crunch for 13 space during the Sandy and after Sandy, the recovery 14 from Sandy, and one of the things we needed was more 15 space for our taskforces. City Hall came and worked 16 out of Emergency Management for a time, and there was 17 a lot of necessity for more space. 18 areho se no So, this hich is 100,000 sq are feet, e e 19 just taken over the half of the warehouse to make it 20 300,000 square feet. 21 22 23 24 25 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: What do you keep in the warehouse? COMMISSIONER ESPOSITO: The one e re talking about now is in Bushwick section of Brooklyn. 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 2 3 COMMISSIONER ESPOSITO: 5 in it? 6 the Urban Search and Rescue. 7 So all their equipment is there. 8 the south-- We manage that team. When they deploy to CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: [interposing] Like vehicles? COMMISSIONER ESPOSITO: Yeah, sure, 18- 11 heelers, boats, all their eq ipment that the 13 going to take. 14 Urban Search and Rescue team. 15 Taskforce One. 16 What do we keep What s in there is all the USAR eq ipment, 9 12 And what do you keep in it? 4 10 175 The re re self-contained, the USAR, When the We have New York deplo the ll come to o r areho se, get in those tractor trailers, and the We re 17 18- heelers. e got a n mber of 18-wheelers that 18 have all their equipment on there. 19 there and be self-contained for whatever period they 20 have to be out there. 21 south during the hurricane. 22 So all of their equipment is in there, but in 23 addition to that we have a lot of our stuff. 24 generators. 25 have-- They can go out Most recently they went down We have trucks. They went down there. We have We have snow plows. We 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: [interposing] So, is 2 3 that equipment the Federal Government owns? 4 COMMISSIONER ESPOSITO: I m sorr ? 5 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 6 Does the City own that equipment, or is it owned by-COMMISSIONER ESPOSITO: [interposing] 7 8 176 That s o r eq ipment. CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 9 COMMISSIONER ESPOSITO: So it s OEM s. 10 11 our equipment. 12 Government. It s all A lot of it is funded by the Federal CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 13 Yeah. What happens when 14 you loan your equipment and you use it in other 15 states? Do they reimburse or it just-- 16 COMMISSIONER ESPOSITO: [interposing] We 17 have an agreement with the Federal Government, the 18 taskforce. 19 teams, there are 20 something around the country. 20 The 21 equipment is purchased through grants. 22 it s 23 Those-- that USAR teams, the federal re f nded b these grants and all of that So, yes, if sed it s re-supplied through the grant. CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: So, do you 24 anticipate any cuts with the new Administration, 25 talking about cutting cities like ours? 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES COMMISSIONER ESPOSITO: 2 177 Well, I think the 3 Federal Government have a tough time cutting some of 4 the f nding that 5 in the nation, let s face it. So, to c t federal 6 funding for preparedness and recovery I think will be 7 to gh. 8 it does come to that 9 Administration to see how we would overcome that. 12 We re the n mber one target So, I don t think it ll come to that, b t if e ll talk to OMB and the CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 10 11 e get. How do you determine where to put emergency shelters in the city hen o re preparing to need shelter space? COMMISSIONER ESPOSITO: 13 Well, shelters 14 naturally are out of the flood zones, evacuation 15 zones, and we put them around the city in all five 16 boroughs to-- as close to the flood zones as 17 possible. 18 evacuation zones, as you know. 19 be right outside of zone six as much as possible, and 20 centrally located that we can get to it as quick as 21 possible. 22 We have six flood zones, as you know, six CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: So those centers will Are you visiting 23 this shelter space annually, or just-- there s some 24 report gathered to make sure that you can maintain 25 the utilization of that and the need of emergency? 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES COMMISSIONER ESPOSITO: 2 Sure. 178 We go out 3 to those centers on a regular basis. 4 especially the ones that have to be set up for the 5 people with disabilities, access needs. 6 s re that the 7 who are actually doing inspections of these locations 8 to make s re that the 9 people with the disabilities. So we make re-- we have people that are out there re p to the standard to house CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 10 We check Did you ask any 11 resources for new budget needs from the OMB and were 12 told no? COMMISSIONER ESPOSITO: 13 14 recall. No. COMMISSIONER ESPOSITO: CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 23 24 25 Thank you Thank you for what the agency does. COMMISSIONER ESPOSITO: 21 22 Great. very much. 19 20 And then that would complete my questions for you today. 17 18 No. CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 15 16 Not that I can Happy to be here. Thank you. CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: it s a q iet ear. [gavel] Okay. Hopefully, 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 2 premature gavel. 4 public to testify? 5 [break] 6 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: Sorry, that was a 3 7 Do we have anyone here from the [off mic comments] When o re read to begin your testimony, please do. JENNIFER PETERSEN: 8 9 179 Good afternoon, Chair Crowley and members of the Committee. My name is 10 Jennifer Petersen and I am the Deputy Director of 11 Bronx Community Solutions, a project of the Center 12 for Court Innovation. 13 to speak toda . 14 support continued funding for the Center for Court 15 Innovation and its groundbreaking efforts to improve 16 public safety, promote and expand the use of 17 community-based alternatives to incarceration, and 18 increase equal access to justice for vulnerable New 19 Yorkers. 20 700,000 dollars in City Council support which 21 includes 500,000 to support ongoing court operations 22 in communities across the city and an enhancement of 23 200,000 to expand alternatives to incarceration in 24 several key neighborhoods. 25 Innovation works to create a more effective and Thank you for the opportunity I m here to rge the Co ncil to The Center for Court Innovation is seeking The Center for Court 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 humane justice system in New York City. 3 with the Midtown Community Court, the Center has 4 created 28 neighborhood-based projects in five 5 boroughs. 6 success of our work in decreasing violence, improving 7 public safety, aiding victims, reducing the use of 8 jail, and transforming neighborhoods. 9 projects such as Bronx Community Solutions, Red Hook 180 Beginning Independent evaluators have documented the Through 10 Community Justice Center, Queens Youth Justice 11 Center, Brownsville Community Justice Center, and the 12 Crown Heights Community Mediation Center we have 13 worked to improve the lives of New Yorkers in need 14 including immigrants, the poor, women, the LGBTQ 15 community, communities of color, and young people. 16 Our programs serve more than 6,000 youth each year 17 providing them with opportunities to avoid Rikers 18 Island, and in many cases, a trip to court. 19 adolescent-- the Center s Adolescent and Young Adult 20 program serve misdemeanor defendants ages 16 to 24 21 across Brooklyn, Manhattan and the Bronx with the aim 22 of reducing the use of jail and preventing future 23 justice system involvement. 24 broad range of alternative sentencing options 25 including onsite services-- excuse me, including on Our These programs offer a 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 site services, referrals to community-based programs 3 that offer mental health counseling, drug treatment, 4 education, and employment. 5 Leadership Project and Youth Courts offer 6 participants pathways away from the justice system 7 and toward academic, social and vocational success. 8 In addition to helping divert New Yorkers out of the 9 system, we are working to help people transition back 181 Our Brownsville 10 to community life after spending time behind bars. 11 The Harlem Community Justice together with its faith- 12 based community partners encourages both adult 13 parolees and juveniles returning from state placement 14 to become productive law-abiding citizens. 15 are linked to drug treatment and jobs and receive 16 help reconnecting with their families. 17 and their parents are linked to intensive services. 18 The Brownsville Community Center is working to 19 connect men and women between the ages of 16 and 29 20 who have been in contact with the criminal justice 21 system to resources such as GED and college 22 assistance, internships and professional training. 23 Participants complete community benefit projects, 24 including several large scale mural projects and 25 assisting with the construction of a community Parolees Young people 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 teaching garden. 3 invaluable to the success of the center for Court 4 Innovation, helping us maintain core operation, and 5 expanding our demonstration projects throughout New 6 York City. 7 with the New York City Council to improve public 8 safety and to create new alternatives to 9 incarceration that result in a fair more accessible 182 The City Council support has been We look forward to continuing to work 10 justice system for all New Yorkers. 11 urge you to continue to support our work, and thank 12 you again for the opportunity to speak. 13 happy to answer any questions you may have. 14 you. 15 16 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: Thank in each borough. JENNIFER PETERSEN: 18 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 20 I would be You have programs 17 19 We respectfully Yes, that s correct. And what type of programs do you have in Staten Island? JENNIFER PETERSEN: We have a supervised 21 release program which is about a year old now that is 22 bail reform program, and we also have community-based 23 o th programming, and I m s re I can get o more 24 information beca se there s se eral programs that run 25 out of that office. 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 2 3 183 And what about in Queens? JENNIFER PETERSEN: 4 In Queens we have a 5 Youth Justice Center, I believe, but I can also get 6 you more details. CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: Yeah, I visited your 7 8 Youth Justice Center. er JENNIFER PETERSEN: 9 And you receive f nding from the Ma or s office. 12 JENNIFER PETERSEN: 13 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 14 That s correct. And JENNIFER PETERSEN: 16 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 20 re asking Yes. Are you asking for an increase? JENNIFER PETERSEN: 18 19 o for funding from the City Council? 15 17 good program. Thank you. CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 10 11 It s a Yes, increase of 200,000. CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: And would that just 21 be divided evenly through what you do in each borough 22 in your various programs? 23 JENNIFER PETERSEN: I believe it would-- 24 part of that would go to the core operations, because 25 we have a main central office that works with all the 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 28 project sites, and then to the expansion of 3 alternative to incarceration programming, which would 4 be throughout different project sites. 5 6 184 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: Do you track the participation-- the participants JENNIFER PETERSEN: 7 recidi ism rate? I know we do at some 8 sites, and at Bronx Community Solutions where I work 9 we are currently undergoing an evaluation of our last 10 10 years of work to look at recidivism rates. 11 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 12 great if you could share that-JENNIFER PETERSEN: [interposing] Yep, 13 14 Oh, oka , that d be definitely. CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 15 with the Council. I 16 have no further questions. 17 and for the Center for Court Innovation for doing 18 what they do. 19 20 Thank you for what you do JENNIFER PETERSEN: Thank you, Chair Crowley. 21 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 22 [off mic comments] 23 TRACIE GARDNER: Okay. Okay. Good afternoon. Good 24 afternoon. My name is Tracie Gardner, and I m 25 Associate Director at Legal Action Center, and thank 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 you very much for the opportunity to testify today on 3 behalf of the New York ATI and Reentry Coalition. 4 It s made 5 listed. 6 to introd ce m 7 Senior Policy Director, New York State Policy 8 Director Sebastian Solomon. 9 having to hear me read the entire testimony even p of the 10 organi ations that o 185 see I know you know them well, and I d also like associate, Legal Action Center s I will relieve you of 10 tho gh it s nice and short. 11 appreciative to the Council for the support of our 12 work through the ATI initiative, which in Fiscal Year 13 17 allocated five million-- 5.3 million dollars to 14 the 10 current members of the New York ATI Coalition. 15 The City Council has been a key partner throughout 16 the Coalition s 20-year history. 17 b t I m not. 18 Miller [sp?] was part of helping to establish support 19 for the ATI Coalition, and the Council funding is 20 especially crucial because of the flexibility that it 21 allows many of these organizations who are the 22 leaders or the c tting edge ho e been aro nd since, 23 you know, prior to Mario Cuomo. So, this goes to the 24 abilit 25 criminal justice landscape, and the Coalition I e act all B t e are especially I know I look five, been aro nd since Gifford to be responsi e to the Cit s e ol ing 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 anticipates that the Council funding will be more 3 critical this year. 4 the Speaker and all Council Members for prioritizing 5 reforms to the criminal justice system as well as 6 brining to the forefront discussions of the 7 feasibility of closing Rikers Island. 8 Coalition members have been engaged in ongoing 9 discussion surrounding these efforts, and we believe 10 or organizations are well-positioned to support many 11 of the recommendations that we anticipate will be 12 coming forward. 13 Coalition s e isting ser ices and program is 14 anticipated to be greater than ever. 15 cost and the demand have increased, but it certainly 16 goes without saying that this current federal 17 environment certainly and some of the positions and 18 statements that are coming forth would suggest a more 19 regressive look at criminal justice reforms instead 20 of progressive. 21 position in having low crime, relatively low numbers 22 in its jails and prisons, and that we think is due in 23 part to the fact that we have an ATI and re-entry 24 net ork that is rob st. 25 longer than most j risdictions. 186 We applaud the Committee Chair, A number of The need for ATI and Reentry Obviously, the And so New York enjoys a singular It s older. It has e isted So, for 2018 e re 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 hoping for a one million dollar increase in funding 3 from the City Council for the ATI initiative which 4 would be divided equally among the 10 members of the 5 Coalition. 6 have always played well together. 7 cooperated and coordinated our services together, so 8 it s reall a big bang for the b ck, beca se 9 it go far. So that would bring up the total request So, it s 100,000 per organi ation. 187 We We have always e make 10 to 6.35 million-- 357 million, and it will assist the 11 Coalition in its work to partner with the City in 12 advancing shared criminal justice reforms, allow 13 Coalition members to respond quickly to anticipated 14 increased demand for the programs in the upcoming 15 year, and provide critical ongoing support for ATI 16 reentry services citywide. 17 opportunity to submit testimony today. 18 use a little bit of the time for Sebastian to talk a 19 little bit about some of the issues that are going on 20 with Raise the Age and why in particular our 21 organizations are really well-positioned. 22 SEBASTIAN SOLOMON: o Again, thank you for this I d like to So, as I m s re man 23 of ha e been follo ing, there s a lot going on. 24 There s some real promises here aro nd Raise the Age, 25 and a huge part of Raise the Age is diverting more 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 2 people out of the criminal justice system. 3 the need for these ser ices 4 seen a-- the state has actually proposed for this 5 year a 5.5 percent cut to funding for alternatives to 6 incarceration. 7 Council funding will really help fill that hole that 8 we re seeing at the state le el, and then demand 9 hopefully will be-- hopefully, if we pass Raise the 188 And so ill be ac te, and e e So, this is-- you know, this City 10 Age it ll be e en greater than before. And hen o 11 combine that with the Littman Commission and 12 everything going on around Close Rikers, we all know 13 that closing Rikers requires a shrinking of the 14 population, and part of-- there are many elements of 15 that including various legal reforms, but a part of 16 it has got to be keeping people out, especially 17 people, you know,-- especiall e re going to ha e-- 18 e re going to have to accept the fact that some of 19 the people who sit there longest are the ones who are 20 going to need to be coming out. 21 the ones who are four or five days, 10 days, but also 22 the ones who are there for a year or two years really 23 are going to have to leave if we want to get to the 24 point where we can close Rikers. 25 We need to reduce 1 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES JENNIFER PETERSEN: 2 3 189 I think that s it unless you have any questions for us. CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 4 The Council 5 appreciates the work the ATI Coalition does. 6 request is for a million more dollars to be divided 7 evenly between the 10 agencies, and your agencies 8 support the closure of Rikers Island. JENNIFER PETERSEN: 9 Your Absolutely. CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: Which the Council is 10 11 working towards, too. So, I appreciate your advocacy 12 and the work that you do and your organizations, and 13 I have no further questions. JENNIFER PETERSEN: Thank you, Council 16 SEBASTIAN SOLOMON: Thank you. 17 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 18 JENNIFER PETERSEN: 19 CHAIRPERSON CROWLEY: 14 15 Member. Have a good day. Bye-bye. [gavel] This 20 concludes the Fire and Criminal Justice Services 21 Budget Hearing of March 9th, 2017. 22 23 24 25 [gavel] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 190 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 COMMITTEE ON FIRE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES 191 C E R T I F I C A T E World Wide Dictation certif ies that the foregoing transcript is a true and accurate record of the proceedings. We further certify that there is no relation to any of the parties to this action by blood or marriage, and that there is interest in the outcome of this matter. Date ___ March 30, 2017______________