File #: Int 0583-2014    Version: Name: Requiring reporting on crime statistics in shelters.
Type: Introduction Status: Filed (End of Session)
Committee: Committee on General Welfare
On agenda: 12/8/2014
Enactment date: Law number:
Title: A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to requiring reporting on crime statistics in shelters.
Sponsors: Jumaane D. Williams, Fernando Cabrera , Margaret S. Chin, Mathieu Eugene, Vincent J. Gentile, Peter A. Koo, Mark Levine, Rosie Mendez, Annabel Palma, I. Daneek Miller, Helen K. Rosenthal, Alan N. Maisel, Chaim M. Deutsch, Andy L. King, Vanessa L. Gibson, Ben Kallos, Antonio Reynoso, Rafael L. Espinal, Jr., Carlos Menchaca, Andrew Cohen, James G. Van Bramer, Stephen T. Levin, Eric A. Ulrich
Council Member Sponsors: 23
Summary: This bill would require the Department of Homeless Services to produce an annual report detailing critical incidents occurring in homeless shelters throughout the New York City and safety measures taken to address these issues. The annual report would include: (1) the number of critical incidents occurring in shelters, disaggregated by the type of incident; (2) efforts to improve security measures in shelters; (3) any agreements, made between the department and the New York city police department or any other law enforcement entities, for the purpose of enhancing security in shelters throughout the city and (4) the type of security present in shelters, including but not limited to the number of peace officers, private security guards, or whether a shelter has no security measures.
Indexes: Report Required
Attachments: 1. Summary of Int. No. 583-A, 2. Summary of Int. No. 583, 3. Int. No. 583 - 12/8/14, 4. Proposed Int. No. 583-A - 8/14/17
Date Ver.Prime SponsorAction ByActionResultAction DetailsMeeting DetailsMultimedia
12/31/2017AJumaane D. Williams City Council Filed (End of Session)  Action details Meeting details Not available
12/8/2014*Jumaane D. Williams City Council Referred to Comm by Council  Action details Meeting details Not available
12/8/2014*Jumaane D. Williams City Council Introduced by Council  Action details Meeting details Not available

Proposed Int. No. 583-A

 

By Council Members Williams, Cabrera, Chin, Eugene, Gentile, Koo, Levine, Mendez, Palma, Miller, Rosenthal, Maisel, Deutsch, King, Gibson, Kallos, Reynoso, Espinal, Menchaca, Cohen, Van Bramer, Levin and Ulrich

 

A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to requiring reporting on crime statistics in shelters.

 

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

Section 1. Chapter 3 of title 21 of the administrative code of the city of New York is amended by adding a new section 21-317 to read as follows:

                     § 21-317 Crime statistics in shelters. a. For the purposes of this section the following terms shall have the following meanings:

Adult. The term "adult" means any person who is 18 years of age or older.

Adult families. The term "adult families" means families comprised of adults and no children.

Children. The term "children" means people under 18 years of age.

Cluster site. The term “cluster site” means apartments within private buildings or a group of buildings in geographic proximity to each other, under the operation of a social services provider, and used by the department to shelter families with children.

Critical incident. The term “critical incident” means occurrences in shelters tracked and designated by the department as such that shall include but not be limited to assault, sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse or neglect, weapons possession, arson, and theft.

 Families with children. The term "families with children" means families comprised of adults and children, couples including at least one pregnant person, single pregnant person, or parents or grandparents with a pregnant person.

Hotel. The term “hotel” means a building that historically operated as a hotel prior to  its use as shelter and is currently used by the department as shelter or a building that continues to operate as a commercial hotel and also provides a number of units to the department for shelter residents.

Peace officer. The term “peace officer” means an individual as established by article 2 of chapter 11-a of the criminal procedure law working for the department charged with promoting security within department facilities.

Shelter. The term “shelter” means temporary emergency housing provided to homeless single adults, adult families, and families with children by the department or a provider under contract or similar agreement with the department.

Single adult. The term "single adult" means an individual without an accompanying adult or child;

Tier II shelter. The term “tier II shelter” means a shelter facility subject to the provisions of part 900 of the codes, rules, and regulations of the state of New York which provides shelter and services to 10 or more homeless families including, at a minimum, private rooms, access to three nutritional meals a day, supervision, assessment services, permanent housing preparation services, recreational services, information and referral services, health services, and child-care services.

b. Beginning no later than July 31, 2016, and no later than every July 31 annually thereafter, the commissioner shall submit to the council and post on the department’s website an annual report containing information regarding critical incidents occurring in shelters. Each such report shall include but not be limited to: (a) the number of critical incidents occurring in shelters, disaggregated by the type of such incident; (b) efforts to improve security measures in shelters; (c) any agreements, made between the department and the New York city police department or any other law enforcement entities, for the purpose of enhancing security in shelters throughout the city and (d) the  type of security present in shelters, including but not limited to the number of peace officers, private security guards, or whether a shelter has no security measures, disaggregated by individual shelters. Such data shall be disaggregated by the shelter population including single adults, adult families, and families with children, and shelters for families shall be further disaggregated by tier II shelters, cluster sites, and hotels.

c. No information that is otherwise required to be reported pursuant to this section shall be reported in a manner that would violate any applicable provision of federal, state or local law relating to the privacy of information or that would interfere with law enforcement investigations or otherwise conflict with the interests of law enforcement.

§ 2. This local law takes effect immediately.

OA/AV

LS# 2851

3/30/2016