In a little over a year, my time as Public Advocate will be concluding and the newly-elected Public Advocate will be preparing to take office. The field of candidates for this office continues to grow.
Before they charge ahead in their campaigns, I decided to invite them to my office to share, after seven years as Public Advocate, my perception of this office: the challenges that come with it, and also the opportunities. To me, this is a sensible step, beneficial not just to the next office-holder, but to the New Yorkers they will be serving.
Since one of these candidates is going to be the next Public Advocate, it is essential he or she hear first-hand about this office.
First, they need to understand the structure of the office and its various roles (a watchdog over city agencies with the ability to introduce legislation, next-in-line to the Mayor and a trustee of the city's public employee retirement fund, the New York City Employees' Retirement System, a.k.a. NYCERS).
Second, candidates need to know about the increasing
number of calls my Ombuds unit receives. Since coming into office, calls for
help with education increased more than 300%; homeless services, public housing
and public benefits calls at least doubled; and housing preservation and
development calls increased by 150%.
Third, candidates need to know about the challenges my office faces. Most critical, the office lacks an independent budget. Since part of my office's mandate in the City Charter is to act as a watchdog over city agencies, it makes sense for the office's budget to be independent of those agencies.
Earlier last week I said to the New York Times, "The fact that this office has no
independent budget means that there is a constant dance between being cut by the
executive branch and trying to get those funds restored by the City Council
speaker. It makes things complicated, especially if you're supposed to be the
watchdog over city agencies."
The Office of the Public Advocate is essential to the city. Despite the challenges facing this office, it remains an invaluable resource to New Yorkers and a necessary check on the power of the mayor.
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