New York City Council Expected To Greenlight Sweeping Reparations Study, Wall Street ‘Slave Market’ Sign

Nearly 200 years after slavery was outlawed in New York, proponents of a New York City reparations package tell The New York Sun they’re expecting the sweeping measures to pass in a City Council vote Thursday, in a move that could one day lead to monetary payments and public apologies.The Committee on Civil and Human Rights will vote on four reparations and slavery-related measures that include authorizing a study of “the historical and present-day role” of the city’s government in “perpetuating slavery and related racial injustices.” The study would recommend “legal, policy and other measures to help remedy or redress associated harms,” such as “monetary or non-monetary reparations, including symbolic measures such as public apologies or memorials,” the bill notes. It also would “propose eligibility criteria for receiving reparations” and would “coordinate” with the statewide commission.The other three measures up for votes would require a sign to be installed at Manhattan’s Wall and Pearl streets “to mark the site of New York’s first slave market,” mandate that the city to establish a “Truth, Healing, and Reconciliation process,” and create a task force to consider creating freedom trails in the city to mark historical sites associated with abolitionists. New York City’s slave market operated between 1711 and 1762, the city’s Parks and Recreation Department notes, and slavery was abolished in New York state in 1827.All four of those reparations and slavery measures are expected to pass, both out of committee and in the full City Council later on Thursday, a representative of Council Member Farah Louis tells the Sun. Ms. Louis is the prime sponsor of the reparations study bill, which she tells the Sun will be “a crucial step towards justice and equity.” She says that she has heard “countless testimonies and conducted numerous hearings revealing the ongoing impacts of historical injustices,” and that she’s committed to the “urgency” of addressing historical wrongs that affect current New Yorkers. The measures also have the backing of the New York Civil Liberties Union, which is urging the City Council to pass it. The group’s racial justice center director, Lanessa Chaplin, tells the Sun the legislation is “an important step towards understanding the legacy of slavery in our City, and undoing the longstanding impacts slavery still has on Black New Yorkers.”If the measures pass on Thursday, they’ll be sent to Mayor Eric Adams, who expressed support for studying reparations when the state commission was announced. His office did not immediately return a request for comment. If New York City authorizes the reparations study, it would join cities across the country, including Detroit, Boston, St. Louis, Chicago, and Washington, D.C.While those cities ponder going forward with reparations, other efforts have faced setbacks in recent months: The first city to hand out reparations — Evanston, Illinois — has been entangled in a lawsuit claiming that race-based eligibility is unconstitutional. In California, widely considered to be a national leader on reparations, proponents have been expressing disappointment and outrage that two key reparations bills died on the last day of California’s legislative session. The New York City Council’s minority leader, Joseph Borelli, did not immediately reply to a request for comment about the reparations votes Thursday. He has previously expressed opposition to the idea, when discussing the state reparations commission, vowing to the Sun that he’ll “never pay a dollar in New York taxes to repent for injustices neither I, nor anyone alive on earth right now, has committed.”Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Mr. Adams said, “New York City has a moral obligation to confront its historical role in the institution of slavery, including harms and long-lasting consequences. This is another crucial step towards addressing systemic inequities, fostering reconciliation, and creating a more just and equitable future for all New Yorkers.”While the measures are considered at New York City, the state’s commission has been charging ahead separately, holding meetings as it faces a one-year deadline to come up with recommendations. The state commission’s website indicates that it is conducting interviews until September 18 to find “qualified contractors” to assist the commission with operations and advising. The state commission, established by the state legislature and approved by Governor Hochul, held its first meeting in July — a meeting that included discussing the need for legal support in the face of potential lawsuits, and included tension among the committee over its leadership, as the Sun reported.

New York City Council Expected To Greenlight Sweeping Reparations Study, Wall Street ‘Slave Market’ Sign

New York City Council Expected To Greenlight Sweeping Reparations Study, Wall Street ‘Slave Market’ Sign

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