Mayor Bloomberg's Call to Eliminate the Office

Just a few months ago, Mayor Bloomberg said, "I don't have any plans to try to have a charter revision commission to eliminate the office" (NY Daily News, June 22, 2009). But today, we hear something completely different: “Get rid of the Public Advocate.” Just like with term limits, the Mayor claims one thing, only to do another when it suits his political needs.

For Mayor Bloomberg, the office representing the needs of New York’s most vulnerable and underserved is merely a pest. The voice for the unemployed, uninsured, homeless, and low-income families is a ‘gadfly’— an annoyance we can do without.

And for Mayor Bloomberg, the most important problem facing New York is that there are too many checks on his power. In a third term, one of the first items on his agenda may be to eliminate the agency that helps New Yorkers receive the services they deserve. This is an arrogant, and out-of-touch view of the problems facing New York. And the last time I looked, I don’t recall the city charter saying that it’s the job of the press to monitor city services and recommend improvements.

The Office of the Public Advocate, in addition to serving as a watchdog over all city agencies, helps over 12,000 New Yorkers ever year access city services and solves their problems with city government.

We have helped school children get education services, senior citizens get transportation and hot meals, and victims of domestic violence find safer places to live. We have reduced barriers to food stamps, improved women’s access to reproductive services, and increased protections for abused and neglected children. In addition to helping individual New Yorkers and families, the Office of the Public Advocate has also gotten the administration to change policies and practices through our reports, advocacy and legislative efforts.

Comments

[Aviv]

Can the public advocate help improve our air quality?
Like many New Yorkers, I would like garbage trucks in NY to be low-emission vehicles. The exhaust from NYC’s fleet of garbage trucks reminds me of bus exhaust before buses were converted into low-emission vehicles.

There are many studies that demonstrate the importance of reducing tailpipe emissions from buses and trucks. The results of these studies apply to garbage truck exhaust, and it is time for New York to reduce pollution from its fleet of garbage trucks.

Can the public advocate be a voice in this campaign?