Int. No. 1959-A

By Council Member Rodriguez, (in conjunction with the Manhattan and Brooklyn Borough Presidents), the Public Advocate (Mr. Williams) and Council Members Ampry-Samuel, Gennaro, Koo and Louis

A Local Law to amend the New York city charter, in relation to the establishment of the office of sports, wellness and recreation

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

Section 1. Chapter 1 of the New York city charter is amended by adding a new section 20-l to read as follows:

§ 20-l Office of sports, wellness and recreation. a. Definitions. For the purposes of this section, the term “youth” means a person under the age of 18 years old.

b. The mayor shall establish an office of sports, wellness and recreation.  Such office shall be established as a separate office and not within another agency or office. Such office shall be headed by a director of sports, wellness and recreation, who shall be appointed by the mayor.

c. There shall be established an advisory board, which shall be composed of 17 members as follows:

                     1. Five members appointed by the mayor;

                     2. Five members appointed by the speaker of the council;

                     3. One member appointed by the public advocate;

                     4. One member appointed by the comptroller; and

                     5. One member appointed by each borough president.

d. Members of such advisory board should be chosen from the public, private and non-profit sectors, as well as from higher education institutions and sports institutions located in the city.  All initial appointments required by subdivision c of this section shall be made no later than 45 days after the effective date of this local law. Any vacancy on such advisory board shall be filled in the manner of original appointment.

e. The advisory board may make recommendations to the director of sports, wellness and recreation on matters relating to the activities and operations of the office.

f. Powers and duties. The director of sports, wellness and recreation shall have the power to:

1. Strategize and submit recommendations to enhance and promote competitive sports among all New York city youth by providing need-based access to quality competitive sport training with the goal of developing high-performance in sports;

2. Make recommendations for organizing and attracting youth sports tournaments, events, and other sporting activities, including the expansion of city-sponsored tournaments and events for and youth;

3. Identify barriers to the growth and development of extracurricular and school-based youth sports, recreation and competitive sports programs;

4. Collect demographic and social investment data, to the extent available, from all institutions whether public, private, non-profit, higher education or any other educational institution running sports programs in New York city. Such data shall be anonymized and include information of racial, ethnic, sex, gender identity, disability, level of education, income and residency of participants of such sports programs, as well as data that includes information on which programs are offered to participants free of charge or at a cost, and the level of financial support or aid that is offered for programs that are not free of charge;

5. Maximize the use of anonymized demographic data to promote sports-related opportunities to youth who have had limited access to participating and achieving success in organized sports and recreation due to their sex, gender identity, disability or residency in under-resourced communities;

6. Determine availability of potential resources for entities involved with organized and youth sports and recreation, with a particular focus on outdoor and indoor fields, courts and facilities;

7. Recommend ways to expand opportunities for  youth, particularly for those from under-resourced communities, transitioning from informal recreational sporting activities to organized high school athletic programs, and from organized high school athletic programs to college athletic programs;

8. Identify training resources for coaches seeking positions with organizations sponsoring extracurricular and school-based sports and recreation programs;

9. Recommend ways to further the city’s commitment to health, wellness, and social development through extracurricular and school-based sports and recreation programs;

10. Expand adaptive sports and inclusive recreation opportunities for youth with disabilities;

11. Research, and where appropriate engage in, private and public partnership opportunities to support extracurricular and school-based sports, competitive sports programs, and recreation programs;

12. Identify and recommend sources of public and private funding that can provide additional resources to community based organizations that operate competitive sports programs in the city;

13. Identify how large sports institutions in the private sector, sports community based organizations, philanthropic foundations and higher education institutions can contribute to the development of competitive youth sports in the city; and

14. Perform such other relevant duties as the mayor may assign or that the office identifies as a result of its work.

g.  In performing the duties of the office, the director shall regularly consult with the commissioner of parks and recreation, or their designee; the commissioner of health and mental hygiene, or their designee; the director of the mayor’s office for people with disabilities, as established pursuant to executive order number 17 of 1990, as amended, or its successor office or agency, or their designee; the commissioner of youth and community development, or their designee; the chancellor of the city school district, or their designee; and any other agency or office the director deems necessary to further the duties of the office.

h. The office shall annually submit no later than January 31 to the mayor and speaker of the council a report on its findings and recommendations and shall post such report on a website established by such office.

§ 2. This local law takes effect 90 days after it becomes law.

JG/KS

LS #11613

4/14/2021 7:05PM