New York, NY – Following an unprecedented rise in civic engagement, new legislation introduced by City Council Member Ben Kallos would seek to make engagement with the government easier for residents of New York City. The proposed bill would force the City to adopt a standard format and template for the presentation of participation information for every City government meeting, whether virtual or in person. This information would be available through multiple formats, including on the agency’s website, through a mobile application, and through any other commonly used form of communication.

“If 2020 has taught us anything it is that New Yorkers are paying attention to politics and government and want to get involved,” said Council Member Ben Kallos. “By standardizing  how government meetings are presented and how we notice those meetings both virtual and in person it will be easier for more people to participate and get involved.”

Following the death of Greg Floyd in Minneapolis the beginning of the pandemic, more and more New Yorkers have become engaged with their government. During the City Council’s 2020 budget cycle, many took to the streets, held protests, and gathered at City Hall, demanding a voice on the budget vote. This desire to engage with government translated to a record turnout during the November general elections and is likely to continue to next June’s municipal primaries.

Currently, if a member of the public wants to attend or testify at a public hearing, they would have to either receive an invitation, check the City Register (which the average New Yorker does not check daily), or check each agency and organization’s website for each of their schedules and for each of their methods to participate. This cumbersome process leads to low attendance and low participation by the public. The bill would simplify the process by having one standard template that can be shared easily across any online platform.

"Not only has this pandemic amplified existing inequities, it has exposed the City's digital divide and municipal disorganization when hosting virtual meetings" said Noel Hidalgo, executive Director of BetaNYC, a Public Interest Technology Nonprofit Organization. "BetaNYC has long advocated for digitally accessible meetings and looks forward to working with Council Member Kallos to ensure that our public meetings are designed for the digital era we are in. Centralizing a digital standard for the City's myriad of digital meetings starts the process. There is no better time than the present to ensure that our civic institutions are ready for the digital era they operate in."

Bill Text

By Council Member Kallos

 A Local Law to amend the New York city charter, in relation to a civic participation framework

 Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

Section 1. Chapter 47 of the New York city charter is amended by adding a new section 1069.2 to read as follows:

§ 1069.2  Civic participation framework. a. The department of records and information services shall adopt a standard schema and template or templates for the presentation of participation information for every city government meeting, activity or proposed action for which participation by the public, whether in person or through another method, is possible. Such template or templates shall be in plain language, both machine and human readable, and shall, at minimum, include fields for the event title, event location, event date, event time, method of participation, requirements for participation and the location or locations impacted by the subject of the event. The adopted standard template or templates shall be made available online.

b. For every city government meeting, activity or proposed action for which participation by the public, whether in person or through another method, is possible the agency responsible for such meeting or activity shall fill out the relevant template for the presentation of participation information, pursuant to the standard adopted in subdivision a. Such completed template shall be available, in advance of such meeting, activity or proposed action and contemporary with any other notice or outreach efforts, on the agency’s website, through a web application program interface and in such other locations as the commissioner of records and information services shall require.

§ 2. Within 30 days of the effective date of this section, the commissioner of records and information services shall convene a working group that shall include the department of information technology and telecommunications, the office of operations, and such other agencies or offices as the commissioner may deem necessary, as well as the city council and members of the public, to recommend a standard schema and template or templates pursuant to subdivision a of section 1069.2 of the New York city charter. Within 6 months of the effective date of this section, the commissioner of records and information services shall report such working group’s recommendations to the mayor and the speaker of the council. 

§ 3. This local law takes effect 9 months after it becomes law, except that section two of this local law takes effect immediately